The bald man and others below also showed signs of concern, knowing that Master Ma had brought forth the scroll to face his opponent—something he would not have done in vain. Indeed, at the heart of the flames, the elderly Master Ma pressed his palms together, and the scroll before him instantly rose vertically. A flash of white light followed, accompanied by a surge of strong winds, as a silvery wind pillar erupted from the Bagua diagram, spreading out to cover an area of over fifteen zhang around. The surrounding flames were swiftly drawn in by this wind pillar, advancing with unstoppable momentum, and within moments, the vast expanse of fire had lost nearly half its area. Moreover, upon Master Ma's fierce roar, a streak of silver light shot forth from the wind pillar, directly aimed at Ku Yao, while completely ignoring the fire dragon hovering above his head. It seemed clear that Master Ma understood that as long as Ku Yao was struck, the fire dragon—being spiritually connected to him—would be significantly weakened. Ku Yao remained expressionless, his lips twitching slightly before he raised his hand. A red flying dagger shot out from his palm, transforming into a beam of red light, and charged directly toward the silver streak. This flying dagger shone a vivid, deep crimson, its radiance dazzling, instantly intercepting the silver arc and intertwining with it in midair. The red and silver glimmers merged, indistinguishable from one another, making it difficult to determine who held the upper hand. Upon seeing this, Ku Yao's eyes flashed with cold light. With a swift motion of his hands, his light brightened, and two small banners, each about an inch in length, emerged in his hands. He raised the banners into the air, and with a crisp "crack," they expanded in the wind, swelling to a height of several feet. A low, resonant incantation flowed from Ku Yao's lips, somewhat guttural, as the banners radiated a strong crimson glow. From the banners, two thick columns of flame shot out, precisely meeting and merging at the top of the fire dragon. Thick clouds of flame began to form and gradually take shape. "Go!" As Ku Yao finished his incantation, he exhaled a concentrated stream of red vital energy, which landed directly upon the fire dragon's head. The dragon was instantly energized, shook its head and tail with a long, resonant dragon-like roar, then plunged fully into the Han Li, observing from below, narrowed his eyes, a blue glow flashing in his pupils. With the clarity of his Qingming Lingyan divination ability, he was astonished to find that the fiery dragon had been concealed within the clouds, greedily inhaling the surrounding fire clouds. In a moment, the fire clouds were completely consumed, and the dragon rapidly expanded in size, swelling like a breath to over ten zhang in height, its head now as large as a room, its sharp fangs prominently exposed and terrifying in appearance. At that very moment, the previously visible white, misty gales and the surrounding sea of flames vanished entirely, revealing an elderly figure with the serene aura of a Daoist sage. The elderly man named Ma held a set of Bagua diagrams in his hands, coldly gazing at the massive, intimidating fire dragon. Without a word, he launched the scroll in his hands upward. The scroll transformed into a streak of radiant light, shooting straight into the sky and soon vanishing into the upper cloud layers, as if it had flown beyond the heavens. Ku Yao, witnessing this, was momentarily stunned. Yet even during this brief hesitation, an unusual surge of spiritual energy rippled through his head. Then, streams of five-colored spiritual light descended from the heavens, and suddenly a vast Ba-Gua diagram emerged within the radiance, spanning dozens of zhang in width, and settled directly downward without hesitation. Ku Yao's face paled, and before he could think further, he pointed his index finger, summoning a fire-jelly dragon. The colossal dragon immediately lifted its thick neck, blasting a column of crimson light from its mouth, which struck the base of the Ba-Gua diagram. The massive array paused slightly, then continued its descent as if unharmed. Ku Yao now grew pale, clutching his hands together and suddenly spreading them out, launching countless fire orbs—each the size of a fist—toward the sky in a dense, continuous stream. At this sight, Han Li felt a spark of insight. These were not mere fire orbs generated by multiple talismans, but fire spheres instantly summoned by his own cultivation level. Clearly, the magic arts of the fangshi were no ordinary affair—they proved far more effective in practical combat than ordinary Wuxing Dao techniques. As Han Li was quietly pondering, numerous fire balls streaked like meteors toward the vast array beneath, yet they made no difference—the enormous Baogua pattern remained utterly still, instead descending with astonishing speed, as if a small city unprepared had been swiftly enveloped beneath it. At once, the onlookers from both sides could only see the massive array slowly rotating in the air and no longer observe any movements of Kuo Yao. The elder named Ma, who had been struck by the failed attack, did not appear pleased; instead, he sat cross-legged, hands forming seals, his soft white light flowing like crystal, radiating brilliantly. Simultaneously, the array responded with a surge of ethereal glow, and within it,阵阵 bursts of thunderous crackling sounds echoed. The Baogua pattern began to flicker between light and dark, its luminous energy pulsing dynamically. "Master Tian Ku, is Kuo Yao safe inside? If there's any danger, we need not adhere to one-on-one combat—we can simply rush in together and rescue him directly." "How strange that this Yuan-Encampment cultivator should possess such an unusual ancient artifact—I hadn't anticipated this at all!" The tall, slender cultivator, observing the scene, frowned slightly and turned to the black-robed figure beside him, politely inquiring. "Heh! Don't worry. Although the 'Tai-Xuan Ba-Gua Map' crafted by this ancient cultivator is indeed an exceptional relic, the practitioner has not yet fully mastered its usage. Currently, they rely solely on the map's powerful spiritual energy to forcibly restrain their opponents. Under such circumstances, they won't be able to hold off the elder for long. This crude, forceful method of activating the array is quite exhausting in terms of spiritual energy consumption. Truly, the cultivator is rather foolish! Yet, it's understandable. In such a remote location, how many people even know the true method of utilizing such a rare and precious artifact?" The black-robed figure chuckled softly, speaking hesitantly, his tone subtly conveying a sense of disdain toward the cultivators from the southern region. Hearing the black-robed figure's explanation, the tall, slender sorcerer felt a great relief, and thus temporarily abandoned his original plan to command his followers to surge forward. Meanwhile, the group of observers below—especially the man with the balding brow—exhibited a mixture of hope and concern. Initially, when they saw the Eight-Trigram Array successfully trapping the opposing sorcerer, they were indeed excited. However, as the array began to emit intermittent strange sounds and the elderly man named Ma sat in meditative stillness, steadily casting spells, they realized the battle far from over, and felt somewhat disappointed. Even the elder himself was quietly exasperated! This precious artifact he had only recently acquired; previously, he had used it solely against cultivators at the Jiadian stage. Once ensnared, these individuals had no ability to resist, and no matter how hard he activated various seals within the array, he could simply eliminate them one by one. Yet, the sorcerer named Ku Yue, now encased within the array, was not only able to withstand the lightning and fire attacks through his own powers but also continuously summoned and unleashed the great fire dragon, constantly breaching the array's seals. This forced him to continuously infuse spiritual energy into the array to stabilize it. The combat in the sky momentarily calmed down, with only the distant rumbling from the massive array shimmering in the dawn light, leaving the surroundings silent. The group of bearded men grew increasingly concerned. Han Li stood alone on the side, gazing upward with an expressionless face, while mentally conversing with Yin Yue. "Master Ma truly seems to be hoarding his resources—such intense efforts to activate the Tai Xuan Ba Gu Array. After all, this is an ancient treasure whose power rivals even that of the 'Zi Cheng Dou'." Yin Yue expressed her admiration with a series of murmurs, as though deeply regretting the underutilization of such a valuable asset. "The Tai Xuan Ba Gu Array! Do you know of this ancient treasure?" Han Li's face remained composed, yet he quietly inquired through mental communication. "Of course. The Ba Gu Array is one of the more renowned ancient treasures from the ancient era. However, this particular piece appears to be a subpar, hastily crafted version. Otherwise, even if it fails to fully unleash the array's true potential, it would have suffocated the opponent completely." "The true first-rate Bagua diagram shouldn't require such a substantial expenditure of spell power," Silver Moon replied swiftly. "Even the lower-quality ones make such a grand display—imagine what the genuine first-rate array must be like! However, you mentioned that Zhi Cheng's cloak is at least as powerful as this artifact—does that ancient relic then have some specific activation technique as well?" Han Li hesitated, asking a follow-up question. "Zhi Cheng's cloak is far simpler! All that's needed is to infuse it with spiritual energy. As for the jade yang fire incantations on it, with just a bit of practice, one can master them easily," Silver Moon smiled and replied. Upon hearing this, Han Li fell silent, saying nothing, his eyes flickering several times before he turned back to the sky. Yet after only glancing at it twice, his brows furrowed and he murmured under his breath, "Not good." A thunderous roar erupted from within the array. Suddenly, the Bagua diagram in the sky began to warp and tremble, and then countless crimson light beams shot out in all directions, instantly tearing the entire structure to shreds—now scattered and fragmented. Just as the onlookers were struck by the breathtaking spectacle, another deep and resonant roar echoed from one corner of the formation. A surge of blazing fire erupted and shot upward, extinguishing its flame at a height of over ten zhang, revealing Kuo Yao, his face flushed crimson. The fire-jelly dragon beneath him, which had previously expanded, now retracted back to its original length of one zhang, appearing listless and sluggish. On the other side, the elderly man named Ma fared no better—his complexion pale, his eyes lifeless. Yet, with a firm bite of his teeth, he extended his hand toward the already tattered array, and as he did, the fragmented Ba-Gua pattern shimmered with a brief flash of light and soared skyward. A moment later, the formation reformed into a scroll and descended, landing safely into his hands.