On the small island, Han Li raised his head and dripped one drop of spiritual elixir into his mouth. He then glanced at the small bottle in his hand—this was the fifth drop he had poured in. The golden glow outside the silver light shield showed no sign of diminishing, though the outermost golden flames had slightly diminished compared to when they first appeared. It seemed that after this prolonged consumption, the other side was beginning to falter. He likely would soon be free. As this thought formed, Han Li's white light flashed as he calmly stored the bottle into his storage pouch. At the same time, he looked upward at the dark clouds in the sky, his brows furrowing slightly. He had clearly seen the green light beam and the sky's unusual changes. The beam originated from the small valley, clearly caused by Yuan Yao's spell. Though he didn't know the exact details there, the way the clouds pressed down suggested the resurrection spell had not yet been completed. These thoughts swiftly passed through his mind and were then set aside. Until he had freed himself from the golden light, he had been too preoccupied to think much about this matter. Now, after a gentle exhalation, the various treasures within him began to stir with eager anticipation, and the silver wings that had previously vanished from his back now reappeared, faintly and intermittently. Thus, though he had slightly depleted his vital energy, it was well worth it to eliminate this trusted adversary. Yet, half an hour later, there was no sign of movement from the opponent within the golden flame, which surprised him. By the first hour, the opponent's aura still hadn't faded, and a look of concern appeared on his face. After two hours, with the golden aura surrounding Han Li as if untouched, Wen Tianren truly sensed something was amiss. He began to suspect that he might be making a foolish move—his opponent clearly wasn't afraid of enduring a prolonged battle of magical energy expenditure. It was evident that the opponent neither carried any rare item capable of rapidly restoring magical energy nor had some hidden strategy. Indeed, the only such rare item known to him was the extraordinary liquid of a thousand years' potency. Could it be that the opponent truly possessed this very liquid? Wen Tianren soon deduced the truth! Yet now, he found himself trapped—first, half of his true demonic forms had been extinguished, and then, he had willingly expended his precious essence to activate the Eight Gates of Golden Light. His current cultivation level had significantly declined. If he now sent Han Li out to fight directly, his chances of victory would be extremely slim. Yet Wen Tianren fully understood that the Wanyuan Spiritual Liquid—a truly miraculous substance—was generally impossible for ordinary cultivators to carry with them in large quantities. Thus, he braved further losses of true energy, continuing to use this golden flame to refine Han Li. He was willing to close himself off for twenty to thirty years upon returning, fully restoring his vital energy, in order to exhaust Han Li's medicinal supplies and ultimately reduce him to ash. This prolonged stalemate had now reached its current state. During this time, every passing minute made the Sixth Path Successor's expression grow increasingly stern. At present, the silvery luminous shield within the golden flame remained remarkably stable, showing no signs of collapse whatsoever. Meanwhile, Wen Tian仁 himself was growing increasingly strained. Now, he could only rapidly think through new strategies to break free from this predicament. The emergence of that green light column just now had sparked a sudden inspiration within him. "Purple Spirit!" Now go to where he has been and seize his companion for me. At the crucial moment of the spellcasting, that person should have little or no strength to resist." Wen Tianren, having gently moistened his slightly dry lips, suddenly issued a cold command to the distant Zi Ling Immortal Maiden. The previously gentle and refined demeanor of the young woman vanished entirely, replaced now by a hint of fierce and savage intensity. Upon hearing this, the Maiden, who had remained motionless until now, showed a subtle change in expression. This battle had repeatedly tested her sense of judgment. She had originally believed that Han Li from Jin Yan would not last long, but now, after a full night had passed, Han Li remained unharmed, while Wen Tianren found himself in a difficult predicament. This deeply startled her. As Wen Tianren's words reached her ears, the exceptionally intelligent Maiden first paused, then quickly grasped the underlying intent. The young master of the Nixing Alliance intended to use the spellcaster as leverage to compel Han Li to hesitate—hesitate in acting, for fear of harming him. It was surely the case that Han Li had developed a strong rapport with this young man, given that he had willingly offered to serve as his protector. Yet this meant that the six-path disciple, always so highly regarded, had truly reached a point of utter desperation—so much so that even such an unseemly measure had to be resorted to. Zuiling’s expression returned to cold and she took no action as instructed. When Wen Tianren saw this, a glint of frost flashed in his eyes, and his voice grew somber. "Is it possible you think my cultivation has declined significantly, and now intend to defy me outright? Or perhaps you found your joining to this alliance a mere compromise, and wish to defect? But do not forget—our alliance now dominates half the Luanxing Sea. With you, a Jin-Dan stage cultivator, where could you possibly go? Simply obey my commands. I shall treat your earlier defiance as if it had never happened, and hold no account against it." Wen Tianren’s words were both firm and gentle. Zuiling’s expression shifted slightly, and she turned to gaze at the cluster of golden flames, hesitating within herself. Just as this young lady was still undecided, a streak of light appeared from afar, approaching steadily. Upon drawing closer, both Zilin and Wenti Ren recognized the group of female cultivators accompanying the procession. Wenti Ren felt an immediate surge of joy upon seeing them, while Zilin, the Immortal Maiden, sighed with a touch of wryness. These female cultivators at the foundational stage were not particularly impressive at first, but now, their arrival had just proven to be a great help to Wenti Ren. However, before Zilin’s wry smile could fade away, another group of more than a dozen streaks of light burst into view from the sky above, each of a different hue and varying in strength. They arrived almost immediately after the female cultivators had just reached the scene. Now, they stood in astonishment, gazing at the scene and at the graceful young female cultivator who was about to bow to Wenti Ren, and exchanged glances with one another, none of them daring to speak. Wenti Ren, observing this, grew a touch stern in expression. He sneered, just about to speak, when suddenly his expression changed, and he glanced sharply toward one side of the island, his face now showing a touch of surprise. The others found this odd, some of them even turning to look in the same direction. "What on earth is that?" One person immediately gasped upon seeing it. They had come from that direction, and now a vast black line was rushing swiftly from the sea surface—so fast it was hard to believe. "Is it ghost mist?" Only moments later, another person, now trembling with fear, roared and instantly summoned his flight light, turning and fleeing. By then, the others finally realized—it wasn't just a black line at all! It was an endless expanse of dark mist, alive and surging toward them with great momentum. The other cultivators were instantly thrown into chaos, all abandoning their concerns and transforming into various flight lights, scattering in all directions. Wen Tianren and Zilin both looked utterly startled. Then, without hesitation, Zilings stepped firmly with her foot, transforming into a streak of red light and rushing forward. Wen Tianren, looking down at the golden flame with a look of concern, flashed a cold glint in his eyes, then bit his teeth and spurted a large amount of refined blood onto the flame—immediately causing it to rise by one-third. Only then did Wen Tianren emit a shimmering golden glow, transforming into a golden rainbow and taking flight. The female cultivators followed closely behind, fleeing swiftly. At the same time, the golden flame that remained in place trembled slightly, then extinguished cleanly, revealing its original form—a set of eight small mirrors—and exposing a silver light shield within. As soon as this shield emerged, it emitted a soft "pffft" sound and instantly fragmented into scattered points, dissolving on its own. Inside, Han Li stood, his face filled with astonishment. He had observed all the others' experiences, yet before Han Li could fully grasp what had just happened, his inner qi suddenly stalled—his magical power vanished completely—and he fell down like an ordinary mortal from the sky.