The Lady Luo raised the ancient lamp high into the air, her lips slightly parted, a thin stream of white infant flame spouting from her mouth. With both hands forming a lotus gesture, she slowly uttered a low, deep, and somewhat obscure incantation, and a white lotus bloomed beneath her, as if a celestial maiden gracefully poised above. The tone of the incantation carried an indescribable wild, primal quality. Suddenly, the bronze lamp trembled, its shadows shifting, and nine identical ancient lamps materialized in succession. After spiraling through the air, they arranged themselves in a character resembling a "character" (pin), slowly rotating in the sky. The Lady Luo lightly tapped the air with her jade finger, sending nine distinct magical gestures of varying colors toward the ancient lamps. A surge of green light radiated out, and simultaneously, nine lamp flames gently drifted upward, converging at the center of the "pin" formation to form a cluster of green flame the size of a human head. With a soft "pffft," the lady expelled a stream of pure blood onto the green flame, causing the light to surge upward by a foot, now brilliant and dazzling. A moment later, a clear, clear chime reson This bird is lithe and graceful, with long, emerald feathers and two bright, gem-like eyes of fiery red—indeed, a resplendent peacock. It surveys the scene with an air of dignified pride, and upon spotting the woman of the Le surname below, slightly tilts its neck, and from its pointed beak emits a primitive, ancient dialect of speech. The woman of the Le surname bows deeply three times, respectfully, and in unison, her own mouth produces the same ancient words, and the two begin to converse. Upon witnessing this, the thin, elderly man's face grows slightly serious. Suddenly, the woman halts her ancient speech, then flips her jade hand, producing a round, unknown pearl of a soft pink hue, emitting a fragrant aroma of unknown origin. The peacock, upon seeing the pearl, beams with delight, opens its beak, and a cascade of jade-like mist bursts forth, fully engulfing the pearl within its mouth. "Zzha!" A luminous aura rises from the peacock's body, and soon, emerald flames surge from its form, transforming it into a magnificent, towering fire bird. After a sharp cry, the bird spread its wings and soared skyward. Suddenly, the fire qi in the surrounding ten li area grew unstable. All cultivators and practitioners employing fire-based techniques simultaneously noticed their spells' power had diminished by half—leaving them astonished. Vast streams of fire qi flowed like a thousand rivers converging into the sea, gently pouring into the green bird. The bird's body swelled in size, and its green flames grew increasingly brilliant. Every cultivator within ten li stopped mid-motion, gazing in awe at the green fire bird. The temperature around them surged instantly, even with various protective devices in place, making the atmosphere feel as though they were standing beside a furnace—frightening everyone. However, upon seeing the peacock within the green fire, the practitioners' faces lit up with joy. "It's a sacred bird! The Master has summoned the sacred bird!" "We will surely win!" Some practitioners shouted excitedly, immediately launching a furious assault against their opponents, their enthusiasm palpable. The thin, elderly man, witnessing the phoenix's divine prowess, could not help but smile—a rare sight on his face. The black-robed woman from Yin Luo Sect gazed at the green peacock blazing in the flames, her eyes flashing with a strange expression. Suddenly she said, "Mastering the celestial fire spirit of the heavens and earth, this holy bird must at least be at the stage of Transformation or beyond. That explains why you've reserved it as your last resort. Yet, though this bird's cultivation level is high, when it first emerged, its inner spiritual energy was only at the early Yuan婴 stage. Even after absorbing so much fiery spirit energy, it has only just managed to reach the late stage. This must be a separate manifestation of its true self—otherwise, how could you have lost so decisively in your battle against the sudden intruder?" "Lady Lu indeed possesses exceptional insight—she has immediately discerned this! Though the peacock is not the true body descending, its presence is still no ordinary matter. A typical Yuan婴后期 cultivator would certainly not stand a chance against it." The elder glanced at the black-robed woman and spoke calmly. "Indeed, the method of harnessing the celestial and terrestrial spiritual energies is a great transcendental technique accessible only to Dao Immortal stage cultivators. With this alone, we are nearly assured of victory." The black-robed woman nodded, her voice tinged with a hint of admiration. Seeing this, the elder chuckled softly and said no more. Meanwhile, the seven elders who had previously cast out their ancient relics were only just using several of them to defeat a few cultivators when they suddenly spotted the colossal bird within Qingyang, their faces pale with astonishment. "Unfortunate. This beast appears so formidable—ordinary cultivators would surely be no match for it. We must act to stop it," said the leading gray-robed elder, his expression now grave. "Then what are we waiting for? Let us swiftly deploy the Tai-Zhen Seven Treasures to eliminate this monster. Clearly, this avian entity is not native to this realm. We must prevent it from casting spells that harm the others," another elder exclaimed, his tone urgent. He then transformed into a beam of golden light and shot off toward Qingyang first. The others saw this and immediately followed. The leading gray-robed elder hesitated slightly, then sighed and also transformed into a golden rainbow, flying forward. As the seven of them had just taken off toward the azure flame sun, the Mu Lan sacred bird seemed to have completed its absorption of the fiery qi, its body now stretching over twenty zhang in length. With a slight bow, it immediately spotted the seven cultivators who had been hostile toward it. At that moment, a flash of fierce light flashed in its eyes. It spread its wings and unleashed a dense, continuous stream of fist-sized jade-colored fire balls, hurling them toward the seven. Before the seven elders could even begin their attack, a warm breeze swept over them, making them instantly feel intensely hot. They were startled! Seeing so many jade-colored fire balls rushing toward them, one of the elders with long eyebrows raised his hand and tapped his storage bag, then waved it out, presenting a translucent, shimmering ice net to meet the onslaught. This net proved remarkably effective—after emitting a bright white glow, it instantly captured all the fire balls within. The elder with the long eyebrows smiled slightly at this, but then suddenly turned pale. The fiery orb within the ice lattice erupted suddenly, and the lattice burned and dissolved in the green flame, vanishing in an instant. The freed green flame surged forth as a column of fire, bearing down upon the group. "Go!" The senior elder swiftly raised his ancient artifact—a pale, misty mirror—which materialized in midair. After a graceful spiral, a cascade of white light surged from the mirror, forming a white veil that held firm against the green flame, preventing it from descending. Yet, upon witnessing the transformation of the senior elder's artifact, the others gasped in awe, recognizing the extraordinary nature of this green flame and realizing no ordinary artifact could now be used. "Quick! Activate the Confinement of the Demon Array and secure this mythical bird!" the leading elder roared. The other elders promptly responded, hastily summoning their respective ancient artifacts. The six treasures—the Red Cord, the Yellow Ge, the Seal, the Small Cauldron, the Jade Fan, and the如意—rose into the air, radiating their light around the giant bird. After a prolonged resonant hum, the luminous glow merged with the ancient mirror, transforming into a cascade of colorful mist that not only supported the azure flame but also formed a seven-colored aura, encircling the giant bird. Seeing this, the crane's eyes flared with even greater fury. It opened its beak and suddenly plunged its head downward, striking the void. A sharp, cone-shaped surge of vivid green light flashed and vanished instantly. Below, a tall elder suddenly felt his ancient seal and relic tremble violently. With a thunderous "crash," the seal was knocked back, flying in reverse. The elder was stunned, his spirit shaken to the core. He quickly cast several spells upon the seal, attempting to stabilize its momentum, but the seal only paused briefly before continuing its course with unyielding force. As it approached, about to strike him directly, a sudden figure appeared—two arms pressed firmly against his shoulders, and a powerful surge of spiritual energy flowed into his body. "Cast your spells now," the figure urged. " A cold voice echoed, and it was the gray-robed elder who spoke. Upon hearing this, the tall elder instantly sprang to alertness, once again channeling five or six sets of spells, until the token finally halted at a distance of four or five zhang, regaining full control. Both of them exhaled in relief. Witnessing this, the other elders grew quietly astonished, now even more vigilant, and hurried to unleash the full power of their ancient relics. Their radiant energies intertwined, successfully deflecting several of the great bird's azure light cones. Near the group, the woman of the Le surname watched the scene unfold, then glanced back at the ancient lamp behind her, hesitating before stepping forward. As long as the lamp oil remained unspent, she must guard it fiercely, ensuring it would not be struck and extinguished by others. Otherwise, disaster would ensue. Upon seeing the great bird now ensnared by these elders, the thin, frail elder expressed a moment of surprise, but quickly composed himself. He was not in a hurry. For the sacred bird that the Mu Lan clan has venerated for tens of thousands of years clearly held the upper hand. Though the treasures summoned by these seven elders were exceptionally powerful, they still fell short against the bird. Undoubtedly, they could eliminate all seven cultivators before the oil in the lamps ran out. These seven must be the final reserve of the Tian Nan side. Thinking of this, the Zhu Shen Shi turned his gaze toward the opposing cultivators. Long Han stood before a crowd of over a thousand disciples, his expression deeply somber. "I didn't expect the Mu Lan people to summon such a mythical bird. This situation has become quite serious," Long Han said with steady composure, though his voice was barely audible. "Hurry—send out the batch of spiritual image beasts as well. While the Tai Zhen Seven are still engaged with the bird, let them contribute their strength." With these words, Long Han spoke louder, his tone cold and resolute. As his command was issued, dozens of dark, lustrous beast-carvings were suddenly pushed forward by the cultivators to the front of the array. Then several cultivators withdrew a set of spiritual seals from their bodies, pressed them onto the statue, and as a green glow flashed, the seals mysteriously vanished into the statue, leaving no trace. Immediately, the cultivators settled onto the ground, remaining motionless. After a while, the stone carvings began to emit shimmering hues of dark light, and their eyes emitted cold blue radiance, gradually rising and extending their limbs to come fully to life. Without any instruction from anyone, they surged from their positions and darted toward the battlefield, swiftly attacking the various cultivators. The cultivators who had pressed the seals remained seated, heads bowed, completely still—seeming half-asleep. From afar, the thin, elderly man observed the scene with a touch of scorn. Turning to the black-robed woman beside him, he politely said, “By now, it’s time to deliver the decisive blow. Lady Lu, please deploy your bronze-armored corpses. This move will secure our victory.” With that, he spoke with a tone of self-assurance. “Master Zhù, please don’t rush—just wait a little longer.” Most of the bronze-armored corpses from our sect are only equivalent to the foundational stage of cultivation. They can only exert a significant impact when the disciples from the southern region have nearly exhausted their inner energy. "After a few glances, the woman in black spoke calmly. "That... well, then! As long as your sect doesn't change its mind, we can simply wait—there's no issue with that." The thin, elderly man first furrowed his brows, hesitated slightly, but then nodded in agreement. What the other party said did indeed hold some merit.