"Brave!" Seeing the visitor, who had materialized in a corporeal form, dare to strike and kill him right before his eyes, the young attendant raised his brows in astonishment. As the shimmering rainbow before him trembled, the Jiang surname elder also grew pale, hastily expelling a yellow flying sword to shield his entire body, and then stepping back hurriedly with a quick foot press. He dared not meet the swift attack from the master of the household head-on. The Tiansha True Sovereign, however, suddenly smiled with a strange air, shifting his direction and darting past to join the white-robed young lady beside her. With no hesitation, his purple claw descended directly upon her arm. The white-robed young lady, already shaken by the revelation that the scholarly man had been a traitor, had been somewhat dazed. The sudden surprise attack from the Tiansha True Sovereign caused her face to pale momentarily. Without pausing to think, she threw the elderly man to the ground and, pressing her palms together in a series of gestures, launched a streak of green light from her sleeve, aiming to withstand the incoming assault. With a burst of laughter, Tiansha True Sovereign once again feinted, then reached down with his massive hand and plucked the elderly man with the long face from the ground, drawing him into his grasp. He then formed a massive fist with one hand, purple light flashing wildly, and delivered a blow that met precisely the fiery sword thread rushing toward him. A deep grunt followed, and the old demon stepped back two paces, yet used the impact to gently settle back to his original position, holding the elderly man aloft. Unaware of what had been done to him, the elderly man suddenly leapt upward and bowed deeply to Tiansha True Sovereign, exclaiming, "Thank you so much for your rescue!" "Hmph! If it weren't for the shortage of personnel here, I wouldn't have spared the time to save you—a mere young disciple of the righteous sect. Whether you survive depends entirely on your own abilities," Tiansha True Sovereign said coldly, then moved swiftly, charging again toward the blue-clad child. This time, he truly intended to engage the boy, creating an opening for Du Dong and the others to escape. "Come—my outer defenses have been adjusted." Its power was barely one-tenth of its usual strength, yet we could easily break through. The stoic elder, clearly a decisive fighter, roared at Du Dong and the scholar, then charged straight toward the Fu elder and his companions at the stone gate. Upon hearing this, Du Dong and the scholar both cheered. Du Dong launched two white flying swords, while the scholar enveloped himself in a black aura, and the three of them surged forward together. The Fu elders and their companions, unwilling to let the trio escape easily, summoned all their treasures and met them with full force. Instantly, the cave's cultivators split into two groups and engaged in fierce combat. Amidst the rising shouts of battle and the bursts of explosions, the light shimmered and danced in vibrant hues. Observing this scene, Han Li on the side sensed the moment had arrived and promptly took action. He flicked his wolf-headed如意, a yellow glow flashed across his body, and immediately activated his earth-transcendence technique, silently slipping toward the base of the Spirit-Eye Tree. At that moment, with all the cultivators engaged in battle, no one had thought to notice that someone else was quietly setting up to reap the rewards. To everyone's surprise, Han Li had arrived beneath the Spirit-Eye Tree, only to find a delicate golden light shield blocking his path. His eyes flashed with brilliance as he raised both hands, sending out vibrant green glimmers from his ten fingers that silently pressed against the shield's surface. The golden and green lights intertwined, causing the shield to vibrate gently. Under normal circumstances, such movement in the golden shield would have been noticed by the cultivators guarding the tree. But now, immersed in the intense battle, no one had noticed this subtle shift. After a while, seeing his hands firmly penetrating the golden light, Han Li's face brightened. With his green glimmers surging upward, he then suddenly separated his hands. Instantly, a narrow crack appeared in the shield. "Whoosh!" Han Li's body stretched strangely, then flickered and vanished into the shield, which seamlessly closed once more. Glancing at the tree's roots before him, Han Li smiled with a rare sense of delight. This spirit-eyed tree may not look like a typical tree with its main trunk, but its spiritual roots resemble ordinary trees, though the green hue is somewhat unusual. A tremendous burst of sound echoes from the ground, followed by a cascade of falling stones. Even the area around Han Li experiences sharp tremors—clearly someone has summoned a powerful technique. At this moment, the voice of an elder named Fu, agitated and urgent, rises from the ground. "Hurry up and catch up with them! We mustn't let them escape!" The sound of rushing through the air follows, then the hearty laughter of Tiansha True Sovereign. "Blue friend, how powerful is my 'Zi Luo Xuan Gong'? Though I'm using this body as a vessel, as long as I'm willing to sacrifice my vital essence and blood, I can easily hold you for a while." "Tiansha Elder, you've even neglected your own disciples! Should your disciple survive, their cultivation will be severely compromised." Though the voice of the young attendant remained cool and emotionless,韩立 still detected a hint of anger. "My disciple? Does this rebellious one still consider himself a disciple of Tiansha Sect? It seems, from what he said, as if he sees him more as a disciple of Luoyun Sect. That suits me well—now I have fewer concerns. Hm! Blue old man, where do you intend to go?" The Tiansha True Sovereign, who had been so composed, suddenly changed his tone, exclaiming in surprise. "Hmph! I have no interest in纠缠 with a mere avatar. Those demonic youngsters won't succeed in carrying off the essence liquid away from our Yundong Mountain." At that moment, the young attendant's voice came faintly from afar, and the figure had already vanished beyond the cave entrance. "To leave? That won't be so easy!" The Tiansha True Sovereign roared, as if he too had stepped out of the cave. In a moment, the cave was left with only Han Li—no one else remained. Han Li finally felt at ease. At that moment, with no hesitation, he flicked his fingers, sending out a slender streak of emerald light that shimmered and fluctuated in length. The light flashed once, neatly severing a small section of the spiritual root, and a few drops of milky spiritual fluid gushed out from the cut. A delicate fragrance spread through the air. With all this accomplished, Han Li smiled with satisfaction. Then he intended to break through the aura and see if he could catch up with the hair-clad cultivator and the others who had fled. After all, although he now possessed a spiritual root, the methods for refining Qingming Ling Shui and Ding Ling Dan still needed to be secured—opportunities for obtaining them remained uncertain. As for the that true cultivator, though he had temporarily taken over the form of the hair-clad elder, the possession was not sustainable; he would surely be defeated by the child and would not escape far. Han Li gazed steadily at the jade scroll, his body motionless as his consciousness began probing the contents within. After a while, Han Li withdrew his awareness from the green jade scroll with a look of astonishment. Inside, it clearly recorded the cultivation techniques of the bearded cultivator, along with insights on medicinal preparations—specifically, the methods for crafting the Dingling Pill and the Qingming Ling Shui. Han Li held the scroll in his hands, feeling somewhat puzzled. It was rare that the elderly man of the Wei surname had anticipated his imminent demise and thus left this scroll behind, intending to pass it on to someone. Yet, the scroll was placed so deliberately behind the spirit tree, suggesting it was meant for the disciples of Luoyun Sect. What special significance might this imply? Han Li glanced at the scroll again, then thought carefully, and suddenly retrieved another blank jade scroll from his storage pouch. He swiftly copied the contents of the green scroll onto the new one. With his current cultivation level, the transfer was complete within just a moment. Han Li placed the green scroll back where it was, and put the copied jade scroll into his storage bag. Then he strode steadily toward the golden encasing wall on one side. Who knew when the cultivators from the three sects would return—he'd better leave as soon as possible. After all, his objectives for this journey had now been fully achieved! No longer concerned about who might be present, Han Li surged his full spiritual energy, and with a flash of emerald light, the light shield was cleaved open by a powerful surge of Qingyuan sword energy. Instantly, Han Li stepped out of the shield and transformed into a streak of emerald light, shooting forth.