But then came this scene: as soon as the giant sword made contact with the silk net, the net immediately flashed with blue light, and the translucent, fine threads proved remarkably strong and resilient. After the sword slashed furiously several times within the net, it not only failed to break it but, under the elder's control, the net layer after layer wrapped itself around the sword. In a short while, the sword found itself encased and trapped within the net. Though it could not be completely restrained, it was indeed difficult to free itself at that moment. Han Li frowned slightly, about to cast another spell, when the elder on the other side moved first. His expression, initially cold, flashed briefly as he swiftly formed a series of unusual hand seals with both hands. At the same time, a rapid stream of colorful spell gestures shot out from between his palms and struck the luminous glow atop his head. Instantly, the blue luminous sphere began to contract and distort, and under the murmur of complex incantations, burst apart in an instant. Numerous slender ice crystals, each the size of a palm, then materialized suddenly around the elder, shimmering with blue light and spreading throughout a radius of over ten zhang. A stern expression flashed across the elder's face as he suddenly thrust both hands outward in a broad, powerful gesture, then uttered a crisp, icy word—"Go!" At once, the countless ice crystals seemed to be launched like arrows from a strong bow, all bursting forth in unison. A dense array of shimmering blue crystal glimmers instantly enveloped Han Li, completely surrounding him, creating a truly imposing and intimidating spectacle. Once the floral basket was released, it transformed into a stream of white vapor, rushing toward the countless ice crystals shooting forth from the opposite side. Upon collision, a portion of the ice crystals were instantly engulfed and drawn into the vapor, which then contracted and spiraled them in. Witnessing this, the other ice crystals seemed to sense the movement and instantly parted to either side, swiftly spiraling around and striking the insect shield directly in front of Han Li. A series of dull thuds followed one after another! The rhombic ice crystals, though momentarily halted upon contact with the shield, still tore through it, creating one opening after another, before gradually sinking into the shield. The shield then returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened at all. Mu, the elder, was taken aback by this sight. His technique, "Ice Crystal Art," appeared remarkably similar to the "Ice Rain Art" of the Five Elements cultivation traditions, differing only in the greater volume of ice crystals involved. In fact, all these ice spines were formed from the profound, refined cold qi cultivated within him—sharp, keen, and astonishingly cold. Even cultivators unfamiliar with such phenomena could temporarily withstand them with their protective artifacts, yet found themselves unable to endure the subsequent freezing effect when the spines shattered, sealing them in ice. Yet now, after these ice spines had penetrated, there was no trace of their impact—how could this not leave him astonished? As the elder hesitated, preparing to use his divine awareness to investigate the condition within the insect enclosure, a tremendous roar suddenly erupted from above. He felt a resonant "hum" in both ears, then darkness swept over his vision, and without warning, he nearly plummeted straight down from the sky. In surprise and anger, the Mu elder quickly rubbed his hands together and struck them forcefully against his body, instantly forming a layer of white protective aura over himself. Only then did he regain his balance and lift his gaze. There, suspended above, the large silver bell had seemingly risen into the sky—its earlier thunderous sound was precisely the resonance of that bell. At that moment, the clock shimmered with silver light, and a second great resonance echoed out. This time, rather than targeting the elder who had been on guard, it emitted concentric waves of sound directly aimed at the blue giant net and the green giant sword struggling within it. "Unfortunate!" the elder exclaimed, instantly realizing what was happening, and hurried to cast a spell to block the attack—but clearly, he had been too slow. As the soft silver waves struck the blue net, it fractured layer by layer, and the sword broke free, immediately launching a furious series of slashing blows at the elder. Even before the blade reached him, the overwhelming pressure surged forward. Though the elder still had a protective shield in place, he dared not meet such a massive, devastating sword strike. His face paled, and he staggered, then recoiled, spinning backward in the blue glow, retreating several dozen paces to evade the sword's full impact. Then, without hesitation, he waved his hand toward the orb floating in the air, and it instantly shot upward to rest at the tip of his head. After exhaling a stream of refined qi, it re-established a luminous shield around him, and only then did the elder turn his serious gaze toward his opponent. His face paled instantly. The insect barrier in front of him had begun to disintegrate under the hum, dissolving into a drifting cloud of insects that now floated above Han Li’s head. Han Li himself held a small, several-inch-blue ice blossom in one hand, gazing calmly at the elder. As their eyes met, the cold demeanor in the elder’s gaze sent a chill through him. Yet, as his gaze shifted, he no longer looked at Han Li, but fixed his attention on the delicate ice blossom in Han Li’s hand, his expression now filled with astonishment and uncertainty. The ice blossom shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight, exuding an exceptional beauty. Yet the elder paid it no attention. What mattered most was that, despite being so far from Han Li, and having refined ice-based spiritual techniques for several centuries, he had sensed an astonishingly cold spiritual energy emanating from the ice flowers—though unfamiliar, it stirred in him a sense of unexpected reverence, which left him deeply astonished. In that moment, the elder gently pursed his lips and, with a displeased expression, spoke: "The spiritual technique I just emitted was precisely disrupted by your object—what is this? What kind of treasure is it? Could you kindly tell me?" Upon hearing this, Han Li merely smiled lightly. "A treasure? Perhaps that's fair to call it. As for what this object is, if you'd care to share the technique you just used, I'd be happy to elaborate." With a composed smile, he continued calmly. "Indeed, you're a spiritual cultivator yourself—how surprising that you're also interested in our spiritual arts! That's quite intriguing!" The elder's initial astonishment gradually faded, and his expression once again settled into its usual coldness. Yet from the fluctuating gaze of the elder, Han Li sensed a clear apprehension regarding the ice blossoms he held, a subtle smirk forming at the corner of his lips as he adopted an air of indifference, unwilling to respond. The elder studied Han Li's expression intently, his heart blazing with anger. With a cold exhalation, he struck his waist pouch, and as black light rippled through his hands, a new object suddenly materialized. It was a dark, compact mound—seeming almost like a miniature mountain. Han Li blinked in surprise, still catching his breath as he gazed at it, when the elder already began reciting incantations. He then tossed the mound into the air, whereupon its surface shimmered with black light, rapidly expanding in volume. Within moments, it swelled to dozens of zhang in size, and continued to grow larger. Han Li, witnessing this, drew in a sharp breath. Without hesitation, he pointed his finger at the massive green sword. The sword emitted a clear resonance, transforming into a streak of jade-green light that shot straight upward and plunged directly into the sky, landing with a solid thud at the very summit of the mountain. A tremendous roar echoed, stones flew in all directions, and brilliant light surged as the green and black glows collided and interwove. Han Li glanced at it briefly. The summit of the black mountain had been cleaved by his sword stroke into a gap roughly seven to eight zhang long and one zhang deep, yet it was clearly far from sufficient to split the mountain in two. Yet, right before his very eyes, the gap rapidly closed, almost fully healing before Han Li could even deliver his second strike. At that moment, the mountain had swelled in the black glow to over a hundred zhang in height, indistinguishable from a true small hill. Even though Han Li remained calm and composed, the flutter of his eyelids and the growing pallor of his face betrayed his growing apprehension—he didn’t need to think about it to know that should the mountain’s peak strike him directly, no insect shield or insect armor would stand a chance, and everything would be crushed instantly. As Han Li continued to strike the mountain with his great sword, the efforts proved utterly futile. After a quiet chuckle, the elder raised his hand and pointed single-handedly toward the mountain peak. The mountain peak emitted a sudden "whoosh," and in the next instant, it appeared suddenly atop Han Li's head, then crashed down with great force. Han Li was stunned, unable to process how such a massive entity could have instantaneously teleported—his own body had vanished in a flash of thunderous sound, dissolving into silver light behind him. A few dozen zhang away, Han Li reappeared, now with a cluster of silvery wind-and-thunder wings extending from his back. "Ah!" The elder, witnessing Han Li's sudden disappearance, was himself taken aback. As his face turned pale, he instantly launched himself backward, widening the distance between himself and Han Li, adopting a most cautious posture. His gaze remained fixed on Han Li, filled with genuine astonishment. At this moment, the elder finally realized something: Han Li was no ordinary Yuan-Stage initial cultivator. With such teleportation ability, he simply could not hold him. This visit, it seemed, would likely end in failure. After all, with his current cultivation, the divine technique that allows him to move the massive Black Peak instantaneously is only usable a few times. Each casting drains a significant portion of his spiritual energy. He simply cannot afford to use it frequently.