After a brief inspection of his spirit awareness, the man in the brocade robe was found to be at the late Yuan婴 stage—no ordinary cultivator, but a Master of the Muling Sect! Didn't it say there were only three Masters of Muling? As yet, unclear about what was happening, the man in the brocade robe raised his hand and gestured into the air as the lightning orbs shot down toward him. Han Li was startled, quickly pointing with his finger, and the lightning orbs immediately spun around, seemingly about to change direction. Yet this movement came too late—suddenly, a large hand of jade-green hue appeared above the orbs, seizing them with lightning speed and catching them firmly. There was no way to evade it. Han Li raised a brow, then without hesitation, pressed two hand seals, triggering the lightning orbs that had been sealed. Bright golden and jade-like radiance erupted from the hand, and both the hand and the orbs instantly vanished, leaving no trace. The man in the brocade robe emitted a cold sigh, but a flash of jade-green light passed over his face, and he resumed his composed expression. Han Li made no move to retreat, merely stared coldly at him, silent The clad-in-embroidered-jacket man raised his head and glanced at Han Li, speaking calmly, "You are Han Li, the cultivator who wields the Golden Thunder Bamboo artifact!" "Mulan doesn't have only three divine masters, does it? Then who exactly are you?" Han Li did not answer the man's question, but instead asked a new one. "Excellent! Knowing my identity as a divine master of Mulan and still remaining composed—clearly, you are indeed the person Zhong Master mentioned. My name is Tian Zhong, the fourth divine master of Mulan!" The man spoke without showing any surprise or excitement. "The fourth divine master? That's the first I've heard of it. Yet your form and presence are so commanding, you've even failed to contain my single lightning orb. I suspect you've only recently entered the late stage, and your cultivation foundation is still not fully solid!" Han Li stared intently at the man, speaking frankly. At the same time, he casually pointed his finger at the cluster of sword lights before him, and instantly the swords resonated, forming a shimmering, misty veil of jade-green light that shielded Han Li. "Indeed, I have only been in the late "You're truly overconfident," the man in the brocade robe sneered, a hint of scorn playing at the corner of his lips. "He may not be able to do it alone, but what if I join him?" A pleasant female voice suddenly broke in from the side. Han Li was momentarily startled, then immediately beamed with delight. "Who?" The man in the brocade robe blinked in surprise, his eyes flashing as he asked sharply. "I didn't expect it to have been only a hundred years since we last saw each other—Field Friend has now reached the late stage. That truly surprises me! I wonder if your abilities have truly grown so much." As she spoke, a flash of white light revealed a graceful woman in a crimson robe appearing halfway in the air, her gaze cool and steady upon the man in the brocade. "Ah, Lady Feng—though only Field Friend has come here, wouldn't you worry that Lord Long Han might encounter trouble? Don't you and your husband usually fight side by side?" Upon seeing the woman in red, the man in brocade robe's expression shifted slightly. "Rest assured! In a gathering of over a thousand cultivators, even your own master would find it difficult to overcome my husband I'd really like to try the fourth master's powers. Friend Han, go and rescue the other friends." The last two sentences were addressed directly to Han. Then, with a wave of her hand, she spread her fingers, and a clear, bright red vial appeared in her palm. Before she could even begin to cast a spell, the vial flashed with red light, enveloped in a surge of intense flame, and gently floated upward. "The Fire Spirit Vial!" The man in the brocade robe frowned slightly, murmuring the name aloud. Upon hearing the woman's words, Han didn't hesitate. He launched himself into the air, transforming into a streak of jade-green light and soaring upward. The man in the brocade robe grew serious, then removed a spirit-beast pouch from his waist and cast it into the air. A cascade of霞 light burst forth, revealing two identical winged creatures—each with a body covered in green feathers and a tiger's head and eagle's body. "The Heavenly Tiger Beasts!" Seeing the appearance of these two creatures, Han was startled and exclaimed the name aloud. This was a particularly rare flying beast from the Mulan Grasslands, proficient in earth and wind magic types, and notoriously difficult to handle. These two, appearing to be at the late Jin Dan stage, were certainly no mere ordinary creatures. At that moment, the two Tian Hu beasts suddenly spread their wings, vanishing in a flash of emerald light, and reappearing a moment later—one in front, one behind—facing Han Li with unwavering vigilance. After Han Li had withdrawn his light trail, his body came to an abrupt halt. "Teleportation!" Han Li silently groaned in his mind. He had long heard that such beasts possessed the ability to teleport, and now it was truly happening. With this new development, it would be quite difficult to shake off these two beasts! But even more so, Tian Zhong did not stop there—his form flickered, and a humanoid silhouette detached itself from behind him, then stepped out on its own, as if a real person. This figure was identical in form to Tian Zhong, yet entirely composed of a shimmering, translucent green aura, its face so bright and vivid that it seemed nothing more than a true phantom. "An outer-body This time, the beautiful woman displayed a touch of surprise. It wasn't that she found it strange for the other to have a manifested form—rather, it was the unusually strange form that she had never seen before. A flash of azure light swiftly darted over to Han Li's side. The red-robed woman did not attempt to intercept, as the man in the brocade robe opened his mouth and expelled a shimmering, five-colored wheel of crystal, then said to her, "With this, I shall be able to properly spar with both of you." As he spoke, he pointed his finger at the wheel, which instantly transformed into a cascade of colorful mist and sped toward the woman. Upon seeing this, the woman pressed a serious seal onto her palm, striking it against the fire spirit vial before her. The vial trembled slightly and then emitted a strong glow of red light, from which surged countless intense, blazing flames—distinct from ordinary flames. These flames seemed alive, shifting and dispersing at times, then gathering again; after a series of swirling motions, they coalesced into several massive crimson serpents, which surged forward and charged directly at the incoming wave of colorful mist. He immediately knew that the Mei woman and Tian Zhong had joined forces, even without turning around. Glancing at the strange green silhouette before him, then at the two tiger beasts glaring intently, he sighed lightly. He was well aware that unless he defeated these three non-human beings, he would be unable to rescue the other trapped cultivators. Now, even this specially-ranked figure had stepped in—clearly, the others had no further strength to send reinforcements. If only he had known earlier, he could have sent more lightning pearls to Yin Yue at the beginning, entrusting her to quietly rescue the others. Now, that opportunity had vanished. What he had to do now was to swiftly defeat these three adversaries before he could consider anything else. With this thought in mind, Han Li reached to his waist, summoned a spiritual beast pouch, and cast it into the air. A vast swarm of golden, gold-devouring insects surged forth, forming a shimmering golden cloud that hovered in the sky. Without hesitation, Han Li activated a spell, which seamlessly merged into the insect cloud and vanished. As the humming sound began, the insect cloud transformed into three streams of golden mist, surging forward to meet the three determined foes. "Golden-devouring insects! If they were mature specimens, I'd still feel a measure of fear." The azure light scoffed, uttering a voice identical to Tian Zhong's—completely unimpressed. In contrast, the two heavenly tiger beasts instantly spread their wings and retreated twenty paces away, clearly intimidated upon seeing the insects. At that moment, the azure figure opened his mouth and launched three consecutive beams of light, each as wide as a serving bowl. With every emission, the azure glow on his form dimmed slightly. After three such bursts, even his stature had shrunk by three inches. The three beams traveled swiftly and precisely, striking the insect cloud with pinpoint accuracy. "Pop," "pop," "pop"—three sounds echoed as the azure light flashed. Suddenly, three spherical orbs of azure light, each several zhang in diameter, materialized, fully encasing the three streams of golden-devouring insects. Han Li was taken aback and, without further thought, quickly pointed at the three clusters of clouds. Instantly, all the gold-devouring insects scrambled up and densely covered the walls, fiercely feeding upon them. A moment later, Han Li's face grew grim. The pale blue walls seemed remarkably resilient, and the insects were devouring them with astonishing slowness. At this point, he realized that these three luminous blue shields were entirely composed of refined wooden qi—a temporary containment of the insects was indeed no surprise. However, the Seer's mastery of sealing techniques contrasted with the Tiger Beast's ability of instantaneous teleportation, leaving Han Li feeling constrained and hesitant. Could it be that this fourth divine master had specifically come to target him? Han Li remained motionless, yet his mind murmured quietly, an uneasy feeling stirring within. His intuition was indeed spot-on. Before the battle began, after consultations among the senior legal and ritual officers, the decision had indeed been made to eliminate Han Li, and it was entrusted to Tian Zhong. Moreover, he specially lent this person the elder master Zhu, the Tian Hu beast, and several other treasures capable of countering Han Li's divine techniques. Initially, none of the participants had anticipated Han Li's involvement in the gambling contest, so the Tian Zhong naturally set this matter aside. Only after Han Li reappeared, slew a group of cultivators, and even destroyed the physical form of a senior master did Tian Zhong realize the urgency of the situation—whether to prevent Han Li from rescuing the cultivators trapped within the blood shield, or to eliminate him himself in order to make amends to Yin Luo Sect, he had no choice but to make a personal appearance. Unexpectedly, Long Han, who had been closely monitoring developments at the blood shield, also noticed Han Li breaking through the shield and immediately dispatched Feng Bing to intervene. Should Han Li succeed in rescuing the remaining cultivators, the outcome of the battle would surely favor him greatly. However, seeing that the Golden Feeder Insects, who had yet to achieve any notable success, were now temporarily restrained by the opponent, Han Li naturally felt deeply frustrated. But before he could launch another attack, upon seeing the Phage Gold Insect trapped, the two Heavenly Tiger Beasts immediately lost their fear. A flash of green light, and both spirit beasts vanished from their original spots. At that moment, without any prior coordination, Long Han and the lean mage stationed at both flanks simultaneously issued their commands and activated their respective decisive moves. Seven Yuan-Stage cultivators with flowing white hair each held a precious ancient artifact and gracefully drifted out from behind Long Han. On the mage side, the Lu-named woman who had remained unseen until now stepped forward with a serious expression, joining the lean elder. Under his guidance, she carefully retrieved the bronze ancient lamp from her storage bag and gently held it in her palm.