The others heard this and seemed to understand clearly—these high-level cultivators had only dared to imprison them with seals, which indicated that their own senior cultivators were indeed scarce. Otherwise, they would have surged forward in a unified effort. Yet they could not be held for long. Once the Mulan reinforcements arrived, things would truly become troublesome! Thus, the elderly women and others began to emit vibrant, colorful radiance, no longer concealing their own powers, and actively breaking through the surrounding seals. Han Li, in a graceful motion, merely flicked his hand, sending out three streaks of jade-green light that swiftly expanded in the wind, soon transforming into three brilliant jade-green streaks of light racing toward the distant yellow sand. A ripple-like wave of energy suddenly emerged under the combined assault. Then, as yellow light flashed, the seal, thin as paper, was easily torn and shattered by the collective force. Seeing such a swift and effortless breakthrough, the others were momentarily astonished. Han Li, however, remained composed, transforming into a streak of light and shooting straight through the opening. How powerful could a hastily established seal be? It was entirely normal for it to be broken in a single strike—there was no need for hesitation. Witnessing Han Li's decisive action, the other elders were momentarily stunned before quickly grasping the situation and following suit. Once outside, although the sky was still filled with swirling sand, the oppressive sensation they had felt within the seal was clearly gone. This gave Han Li a slight sense of relief. He scanned the surroundings with his awareness, trying to determine his direction before taking further action. Yet at that very moment, Han Li's expression shifted, his eyes suddenly half-closed, fixed intently on a patch of yellow sand floating motionless in the air. A subtle blue glow flickered within his pupils, giving him an almost otherworldly appearance, while his face remained calm and composed, as if nothing were passing through his mind. "Han, what are you doing here?" At that moment, Nanlong Marquis, who had been approaching from behind, saw Han Li's motionless gaze and, with a look of surprise, cast his spiritual awareness toward this area. Yet he found no anomaly. He couldn't help but remark, "Nothing unusual. I'm merely pondering which direction we should take." Han Li turned back, speaking calmly. "In this realm of ghost winds and sandstorms, spiritual awareness is quite impaired. How could one rely solely on the eyes to discern anything? I possess a rare artifact known as the 'Stellar Compass,' which is perfectly suited for such conditions." The Marquis said with a somewhat dismissive tone, then reached into his waistband and produced a slender, round jade disc of a pale red hue. Holding the artifact in one hand, he raised the other and began to chant an intricate incantation. As he extended his five fingers, a beam of golden light shot forth from his palm and struck a flowing symbol on the surface of the disc. Radiant hues of gold and crimson burst forth from the disc. Han Li's eyes widened slightly, and he studied the artifact more closely. The result was a shimmering pattern of golden stars appearing on the disk, revealing an unusual celestial design—clearly hinting at constellations, sun, moon, and other heavenly phenomena, truly remarkable. Han Li was spellbound, and the group of white-robed elders gathered around, each expressing curiosity. Nan Long Hou paid no attention to this development, merely focusing intently on the pattern on the disk. After a while, he raised his hand and flipped it once—his precious object vanished from his grasp—then simply said, "Come with me!" With these words, Nan Long Hou transformed into a swirling mass of golden light and sped off diagonally. The old woman, the cold-faced cultivator, and others followed without hesitation, clearly placing great trust in the judgment of this Yuan-Stage cultivator. Wang Tiangu's body glowed with black light, and he wrapped Wang Chan and Yan Ru Yan once more, then took off after them. However, as he passed by Han Li, the elder from Gui Ling Sect glanced at him briefly—only slightly—then moved on as if nothing had happened. Han Li smiled faintly, a quiet, half-smiling gaze fixed on the elder's retreating form. Glimpsing the King's cicada, bathed in the dark glow, bowed low, not daring to look this way, appearing unusually humble. In contrast, the beautiful Yan Ruxian, her eyes sparkling, gazed steadily at Han Li for a moment before turning her graceful head. More terrifying still, the yōchū's triangular head, besides a dozen pale yellow compound eyes, bore several slender antennae and a pair of large, sharp, gleaming fangs that shimmered with a cold, intimidating radiance. On its back, four translucent, delicate wings vibrated gently. Standing upon this fearsome creature were three figures of varying heights. One radiated an intense white glow, so bright it was difficult to look upon directly; another was completely enveloped in a strange, emerald mist, his form faint and ethereal. The third shimmered with constantly jumping blue electric arcs, as though the god of thunder had descended. "Master Grand Master, shall we simply let them go like this? Doesn't that seem rather unsatisfactory?" the figure glowing with white light said, gazing toward the direction where Han Li and the other cultivators had vanished, his voice subtly conveying concern. "Hmph! Can we truly hold them captive merely with a single illusion array? Don't forget, most of these individuals are senior cultivators at the Yuan Ying stage—equal in rank to myself." Even the two weakest among them were late-stage Jin Dan cultivators. Simply relying on our Huangsha Clan alone to hold off their persistent hopes! After a cold snort, the figure in the green mist spoke with a chilly tone, clearly displeased. "But what about Mu Master of the Tianfeng Clan? He personally sent a message requesting that we do everything possible to contain this group of cultivators. This entire vanguard delegation is currently under his temporary command. Moreover, Mu Master has already gone to coordinate with the Grand Masters of several other clans. Perhaps if we activate our clan's ancestral sacred artifacts—the Thirty-Six Mag-Soil Flags—we might not be able to seriously injure these Yuan-Ying cultivators, but we could at least hold them for a while." The figure in the white light still offered the suggestion without letting go. "Nonsense! How can we casually deploy those thirty-six Mag-Soil Flags? Our ancestors have passed down strict traditions—those sacred flags must remain untouched unless the very survival of our clan is at stake." Moreover, with these cultivators' abilities, even if we could temporarily imprison them, what if they suffered counter-effects and damaged several of our sacred artifacts? How would we respond then? Without our clan's foundational holy relics, how could we maintain our position among the Ten Allied Clans? And even worse, smaller clans might begin to watch us closely—facing an extinction-level threat would no longer be unthinkable. "I am furious," said the figure in the green mist, delivering a sharp reprimand without hesitation. "My disciple has been rash; thank you, Grand Master, for your timely reminder!" The cultivator in the white light, perspiring visibly, quickly apologized. "Considering you've only recently ascended to the rank of Master, I'll give you a passing grade. But this will not be an exception. After all, we haven't been idle—we've already taken action. It's just that these individuals possess such extraordinary abilities that we simply cannot contain them. Master Mu's strategy has been truly astute—he has arranged for our Huangsha Clan members to provide resources and manpower to help contain the enemy. Once both sides are exhausted and suffer mutual defeats, he will then come forward to claim the spoils and rewards, naturally securing the lion's Otherwise, the Tianfeng Clan surely has treasures of great significance to their lineage—why haven't they brought them out to obstruct us? I suspect Master Mu has ill intentions, seeking an opportunity to retaliate against our Huangsha Clan! The "Great Master" in the green mist spoke coldly, clearly holding a very unfavorable impression of Master Mu. "Master Mu is indeed planning this carefully. After all, our two clans have never been particularly harmonious. Now that we've formed a coalition, we're still not truly subordinate to one another. Thus, it's natural that we wouldn't take such a significant loss of strength to benefit others seriously. Moreover, with the Tianfeng Clan's divine artifact—the 'Wind-Propelled Cart'—capable of such astonishing speed, it might well catch up with these individuals. Hm, by then, it's truly uncertain who will prevail! Still, as long as they can delay these people until our main forces arrive, they'll certainly achieve a decisive victory." The Mu Lan, glowing with electric arcs, calmly analyzed. "Though the Wind-Propelled Cart is remarkably swift, if it requires gathering sufficient manpower before setting out, it may simply not have enough time." "The Great Master in the green mist disagreed. 'Whether or not they can catch up with us, it really doesn't matter much to either the cultivators or ourselves. What puzzles me is that the young man who broke through the array first seemed to have noticed us hiding within the Mu-mir holes. That's quite unusual! I, the Mu-mir insect, am one of the most renowned odd creatures from ancient times. Though not particularly strong in combat, I naturally possess the ability to temporarily tear open spatial rifts, making me exceptionally skilled at concealing myself in place. Even as a young larva, my capacity to create such rifts and manipulate time is still limited. Yet neither of the two cultivators at the metagrand stage of the Yuan-ying phase detected the presence of the Mu-mir holes. It was only the one at the initial Yuan-ying stage who sensed us. Clearly, this young man is no ordinary person—either he has mastered some special secret technique, or he possesses an exceptionally powerful detection artifact!' After pondering for a while, the Great Master murmured to himself, yet a trace of astonishment remained on his face."