Innumerable gold-devouring insects surged forth from the bag, instantly forming a vast swarm of three hues that spread across the space above Han Li's head, stretching nearly twenty to thirty paces wide. "Ah!" a voice of astonishment rang out. Han Li's eyes flashed with cold light as his gaze shifted, landing on the distant beauty. The young woman held her delicate mouth with one hand, her eyes wide with surprise, yet a subtle gleam of delight shimmered beneath. Han Li paused, momentarily puzzled as to why she displayed such a look. Just then, two thunderous crashes echoed from another direction. Startled, he quickly turned his attention back. There, a bronze ancient shield, gleaming with a white radiance, emerged from the purple clouds and effortlessly deflected the blows of two massive swords. Upon witnessing this, Han Li silently sighed. He had never found the time to cultivate these flying swords, and thus, their power relied solely on the exceptional materials, only matching that of ordinary dan-shi's artifacts. But now, after reaching the late stage of Jie Dan cultivation, the power of the Qing Zhu Feng Yun sword no longer matches his level of cultivation. Even when he fully deployed his Great Sword Technique, it still fails to pose a significant threat to fellow cultivators of the same stage. With this in mind, Han Li mentally summoned his two flying swords, commanding them to continuously slash and strike the purple cloud from above and below. Yet, each attack was effortlessly blocked by the ancient shield. At the same time, Han Li began emitting low, murmuring sounds from his mouth, and the army of golden-eating insects hovering above his head responded with a resonant hum, eventually coalescing into a vast swarm that surged downward toward the purple cloud. Though he did not know what the purple cloud was made of, the insects' innate ability to consume all things ensured that it could not withstand the relentless onslaught. "Hmph! A mere summoning of insects—how foolish!" Wen Tianren, standing within the purple cloud, observed the terrifying insect swarm descending upon them. Instead of showing fear, he merely sneered, displaying clear disdain. Han Li, upon hearing this, grew not only calm but actually delighted. How foolish of the other party to treat the gold-devouring insects as mere spiritual insects! Surely, when the swarm lands upon the Purple Cloud, that will be the moment of their demise. Han Li silently chuckled, watching as the insect cloud settled upon the Purple Cloud. Suddenly, Wen Tianren, standing within the cloud, softly uttered the word "depart." A large number of insects continued to plummet from the sky. Han Li's face grew grim. Without pausing to think, he slapped his storage scroll, then swiftly flipped his hand. A floral ancient artifact appeared in his grasp. With no hesitation, he hurled the basket into the air. Instantly, a flash of white light illuminated the scene, transforming the basket into a swirling mass of white vapor that directly surged toward the golden filaments. As the vapor passed through the insect swarm as if it were intangible, smoothly entering the filaments, Han Li's eyes widened in surprise. He quickly activated a series of hand seals, and the vapor immediately began to spin rapidly, radiating brilliant light. The golden filaments, once aimed at the insects, instantly slowed down upon being enveloped in this luminous glow, their speed becoming noticeably sluggish. Seizing this moment, the insect cloud pulled back and returned to the bag of spiritual beasts at Han Li's waist. Yet Han Li's expression remained strained, as nearly ten thousand of the three-colored gold-devouring insects had been lost in this brief encounter. Had it not been for the floral treasure basket receiving the support, although the insect army would not have been completely annihilated, it would certainly have suffered devastating losses. What exactly is this golden silk? How could it possess such remarkable power? Even now, he finds it hard to believe—though the golden insect swarm has shown no apparent strength, it has been effortlessly contained. He is utterly frustrated! Just as Han Li is quietly stunned, the golden silk within the white vapor undergoes further changes. After flashing several times, the light dims, and the silk settles into its true form—revealing slender golden needles, each only an inch or so long, glowing brilliantly. Seeing this, Han Li is truly astonished. The sixth-path disciple has mastered a particularly difficult type of flying needle artifact—dense, numerous, and totaling hundreds of needles. This alone sends a shiver through him. However, just as Han Li is about to think of something, the light of the needles subtly recedes and then suddenly intensifies once again. Then, a series of swift "whoosh" sounds echoed as they simultaneously shot toward one point, coalescing within a moment to form a small golden sword. This golden sword trembled gently before suddenly launching forth, instantly breaking through the seal of the floral basket relic and rushing straight toward Han Li. Han Li's expression darkened. He reached into his storage pouch, then produced a shimmering green scroll from his palm—precisely the scroll bestowed upon him by Qing Yi, the resident of the Xutian Hall that day. A flying needle-type artifact, it was now perfectly suited to test its power. As the golden sword approached Han Li, it suddenly "thumped" and dispersed once more, reforming into countless golden filaments that surged toward him. Without hesitation, Han Li opened his mouth and blew a cluster of vibrant green qi onto the scroll. The scroll flashed with green light, instantly activated, and then took off in a streak of brilliance. As Qing Guang burst out of the protective aura, he instantly transformed into a swirling multitude of jade-green filaments. At first glance, aside from their distinct hue from the golden threads, they appeared exactly alike in form. "Wait a moment," Wen Tianren in the purple cloud stared, his expression filled with surprise. The golden threads and the jade-green filaments had already collided and intertwined near Han Li's side, shooting out clusters of light of varying sizes, creating a tense standoff. "Qingming Needle! What's your connection to Qing Yi-monk? You possess his Qingming Needle seal—this old man is notoriously frugal, and he treats this needle as if it were his lifeblood. Surely you're one of his disciples?" Wen Tianren, after a startled exhalation, suddenly asked coldly. Upon hearing the name "Qingming Needle" mentioned, Han Li was initially taken aback, but soon reassured. It seemed that while the incident involving the Xitian Ding had become known, the specific details of what transpired within the Xitian Pavilion had not yet spread widely among the Yuan Ying-period elders. Otherwise, the other party would immediately know their identity simply by this scroll package. Thinking this through, Han Li had no further words to offer, merely sneering coldly as he turned away. Then, he directly channeled his full inner power, seizing the moment when the opponent hesitated, allowing the azure silk glow to gain the upper hand and forcing the golden silk threads to retreat step by step. "You're dead! If you're unwilling to explain, I won't bother giving the old man Qingyi any more face. Don't expect me to be polite! Now, let me show you the true power of the First Great Magic Technique of Luanxing Sea—the 'Six-Polar True Magic Technique'!" Wen Tianren, in the purple cloud, erupted in rage, his voice turning icy. Soon, the golden silk threads ceased their entanglement with the Qingming needle scrolls, turned around, and shot back, vanishing silently into the cloud mass within moments. Han Li's expression darkened momentarily, yet he did not hesitate. With a swift surge of the azure silk glow, he immediately encircled the entire purple cloud with unwavering intensity, launching relentless attacks. Yet the result was just as before—the cloud mass appeared utterly empty, the silken threads piercing through it with no effect at all. Seeing this, Han Li's face grew cold, swiftly recalling the silken threads and transforming them back into scroll-like talismans, which he then stored in his storage pouch. The Qingming needles possessed immense power and could not be wasted. Observing the still-silent purple cloud across from him, Han Li's expression shifted between gloom and uncertainty, as though he intended to do something, yet hesitated indecisively. At that very instant, the purple cloud surged without any prior sign, and a strong wind arose, causing the celestial qi within dozens of miles to become agitated. Suddenly, as if a river flowing into the sea, the qi surged forcefully into the cloud. The cloud then expanded rapidly, its color shifting from purple to gray-white. And an eerie cracking sound emerged, initially faint but suddenly booming to a deafening level, causing profound restlessness and unease. Witnessing this strange scene, the hesitation on Han Li's face instantly vanished. He suddenly grasped his right arm with his left hand, then raised his right palm straight toward the pale gray cloud mass across from him, radiating an astonishingly cold, fierce aura. Despite the continuous surge of celestial qi around him and the ongoing expansion of the pale gray cloud, the cracking sound had fully transformed into a thunderous roar, with each crash sending shockwaves that left those of slightly lower cultivation levels startled and utterly disoriented.