The Yin-Yang Dual Mage's eyes flickered slightly, and a strong stench of decay surged around him. Suddenly, the two magicians stood side by side, facing precisely where the Mu Lan sacred bird was located. The monks and cultivators instantly breathed a sigh of relief. Facing such a creature that fed on the vital essence of living humans, anyone would have felt chilled to the core. Though the green wind formed by the two magicians appeared slow, it moved with remarkable speed—yet gradually grew faint and intangible, eventually vanishing completely, leaving no trace. Everyone else looked at the bearded elder who controlled the two corpses, astonished. The elder remained calm and composed, showing no signs of disturbance. Upon seeing this, the other cultivators exchanged glances and gradually steadied their composure. On the battlefield near the Daoist forces, the large green bird released its eerie flames steadily, pressing down seven elders with steady force. As long as it can tap into the celestial and terrestrial spiritual energies, this bird effortlessly gathers all the fire spiritual energies within a ten-li radius around itself and seamlessly transforms them into its cultivated green spirit-fire, consuming almost no internal spiritual energy in the process. The longer it sustains this, the more abundant the available fire spiritual energies become. This is a fundamental difference between cultivators at the Huashen stage and those below it. Otherwise, the cultivator who achieved Huashen stage in Tiannan could never have swiftly swept across the entire Tiannan region, unafraid of being surrounded by multiple opponents in such a short span. Initially, the Ta-zhen Seven Masters could still leverage the power of their ancient artifacts to engage this spirit-beast for a while, but as time passed, not only did the Confining Demon Array break, but they themselves became trapped within the surging waves of intense flame. Now, they can only fend for themselves, and their situation is increasingly precarious! Suddenly, the spirit-beast halts its flame emission, flashes a look of surprise and suspicion, and glances around, as though sensing something significant. Suddenly, a clear cry rang out. The bird spread both wings, and a jade-hued glow surged from its body, radiating outward in all directions, instantly enveloping everything within a hundred paces. A soft hiss followed, and a green mist rose within the glow. Then, amidst the ethereal, almost insubstantial vapor, the Yin and Yang demons emerged, poised to fly past the bird's head. Their concealment revealed, the two demons immediately unleashed piercing roars. Rolling over, they surged upward, their forms expanding to two zhang in height, transforming into ghostly beings with red hair and green faces. With a flick of their fingers, they shot out dozens of gray filaments, aimed directly at the great bird. The crane stood stunned at first, then her eyes flared with rage. As the two demons advanced, she opened her mouth and expelled a remarkably thick column of azure flame. At the same time, she spread her wings, and a fierce gust of fire surged beneath her, rising into waves of jade-colored flames several zhang high, swiftly engulfing and sweeping the two demons into the blaze. The Yin-Yang Dual Demons had no clear idea of the cultivation technique they were employing; though they were clearly at a disadvantage overall, the faint shivers of corpse energy emanating from their bodies proved resilient against the azure phoenix flames, successfully withstanding most of the attacks. With the pressure on the Seven True Perfections easing, the cultivators regained their composure and reconnected the Seven Treasures, launching a renewed assault. While most believed the Dual Demons would join forces with the Seven True Perfections to confront Mu Lan's Sacred Bird, the Dual Demons, after a fierce exchange of blows, suddenly flashed with gray light, feinted, then darted sideways, slipping out from beneath the great bird and breaking through the fire encirclement to charge directly toward an ancient lamp located nearby. A woman of the Le family stood beside the ancient lamp, guarding it. Upon seeing this, her expression remained calm and composed. She swiftly cast a spell upon one of the ancient lamps. Immediately, all nine lamps flared to life and simultaneously released a new bloom of flame. As the Dual Demons approached, the nine flames spun around, then surged upward, transforming into nine young birds of jade-green hue. With their wings spread, The two magicians were also remarkably fierce, exhaling gray corpse-energy, their ten fingers transforming into a sweeping shadow of claws that instantly enclosed the several fire birds. A flash of gray light passed through, and the nine fire birds were torn to fragments by the claw shadows. Yet in this brief pause, the giant bird in the sky suddenly turned its head, spewing out vast streams of azure light from its beak, swiftly engulfing the two magicians and drawing them back into the flames at the very moment of impact. Tai-Zhen's Seven Refinements felt a deepening sense of concern upon seeing this. At this moment, the thin, elderly figure in the distance smiled slightly, then turned and whispered a few words to the black-robed woman. The woman's eyes swept over the battlefield, observing the weariness evident in both the spellcasters and the cultivators, and then nodded calmly. With a slight movement of her lips, she issued her command. Immediately, a group of black-robed spellcasters emerged from the mage ranks, standing in a straight line, each bearing several bags at their waists, full and heavy. As the black-robed woman opened her mouth, a delicate, finely crafted banner sprang forth. Only two inches long and glowing with a soft black light, it expanded to several feet in size when raised into the air and caught by the wind. With a cold gesture, she pointed at the treasure. The banner trembled, then shimmered with a steady black radiance, shooting upward as a streak of deep black light, vanishing within moments. Such a remarkable scene naturally caught the attention of the cultivators observing from the opposite side, causing their expressions to grow somber. Long Han's brows were furrowed, and he sighed inwardly. Soon after, all the mist from the bags was expelled, and the army emerging from the mist gradually revealed itself—each one a hollow-bodied, bronze-armored corpse. Though these corpses wobbled as they moved and their armor plates clinked incessantly, each one glowed with a green light in its eyes, its fangs exposed, and possessed the qualifications of at least a Foundation Stage cultivator. The three leading corpse kings, tall and imposing, even reached the level of Condensation or beyond, their eyes moving with an evident intelligence. "Bronze-armored corpses! How come there are so many? This number must be in the thousands!" one of the cultivators behind Long Han exclaimed, astonished and agitated. "Nothing extraordinary! The people of Muling have the assistance of the Magistrate Sect of Jin State, so having such a large number of corpses is no surprise. When the battle begins, we won't need to fear them at all. But now, both we and the magistrates are weary—physically and mentally drained." With these bronze-armored corpses charging forward, our Tiannan forces are certain to suffer defeat! We must go up and hold the line first." Long Han said coldly. Upon hearing this, the others exchanged glances and could only shake their heads with a wry smile. Even if these onlooker cultivators intervened, the opposing martial cultivators still had nearly equal forces unengaged—thus, their defeat was already sealed. As for the three cultivators and Mu Lan, the divine master, although the final outcome remained uncertain, the continuous thunderous clashes heard from above clearly indicated that the battle was fierce and neither side could easily prevail. It was therefore impossible to count on the three cultivators for assistance. Just as Long Han and the others were at a loss, a deep, resonant roar suddenly echoed from afar. At one point on the battlefield, a brilliant silver glow erupted, dazzling in its intensity, and then, within the radiance, a colossal beast emerged. This giant ape stood over twenty zhang tall, its entire body black as ink, its fur standing like arrows. Its eyes burned red like lamps, and its nose was unusually large and grotesque—indeed, a strange and unprecedented giant ape. As soon as the giant ape appeared, it turned its massive head toward the bronze-clad corpse shrouded in the distant black mist, then suddenly struck its chest with both long arms, exuding a joyful, resonant roar. After a series of powerful leaps and bounds, it drew near to the group of bronze-clad corpses. Upon seeing the giant ape approach, the bronze-clad corpses—without any command—began to rise into the air, simultaneously expelling waves of black vapor that coalesced into vast black clouds, enveloping the ape. Though these corpses were not highly advanced in cultivation, the sheer volume of black vapor released in unison would have compelled even a Yuan婴-stage cultivator to momentarily retreat and avoid direct confrontation. Yet the giant ape showed no intention of retreating; instead, it lifted its head and gently exhaled through its broad nostrils, emitting a soft hum. Instantly, two thick beams of golden light burst forth from the ape's nose, swiftly transforming into a shimmering golden haze that surged like lightning toward the black clouds. In a mere stretch and contraction, the black clouds, as if a great whale drawing in the sea, were effortlessly drawn and swallowed whole into the giant ape's massive mouth. These corpse spirits had extremely low spiritual awareness and were likewise stunned by the scene. Seizing the opportunity, the giant ape emitted a continuous series of low hums, and thick waves of golden light surged forth, this time directly striking the corpse spirits. As the light poured over them, black vapors rose from each spirit, gradually being drawn away and absorbed by the radiance. The corpse spirits, having lost their vital essence, fell from the sky like inert objects, disintegrating into wisps of gray smoke and dissolving into nothingness mid-air. Within moments, hundreds of floating corpse spirits were completely cleared away by the ape's powerful sweep. The giant ape then extended its massive tongue, gently licking its upper lip, before turning its hungry gaze toward the remaining corpse spirits on the ground. The ordinary corpse spirits remained unmoved, showing no signs of fear. However, three of the Dan-jing stage corpse kings stirred nervously, their eyes revealing hesitation and apprehension. The other cultivators and magicians were left speechless, awestruck by the ape's extraordinary abilities. The black-robed woman, meanwhile, was deeply alarmed, and she did not even pause to greet her frail companion beside her. Her figure merely transformed into a sphere of golden light, rushing straight toward the giant ape. As she saw the ape open its massive mouth, a subtle glow emanating from its nostrils, she grew furious and, raising her hand, a purple flash erupted—forming a massive blade several dozen feet long, which she hurled straight at the ape. Yet before the blade even reached the ape's body, a faint rumble of thunder sounded, and a flash of silver lightning illuminated the air. Suddenly, a young man dressed in green robes floated mysteriously onto the ape's shoulder. His face was covered with crimson scales, and a single horn rose from his head, a foot tall. With a graceful gesture, he launched a blue light shield into the air. "Clang!" The blue and purple lights intertwined, the shield rebounding back, while the blade was also halted. The young man, slightly unsteady on the ape's shoulder, blinked in mild surprise. "A magic cultivator!" he said calmly, turning to the black-robed woman. Then, he rubbed his palms together, and a loud crackling sound followed—golden arcs of varying thickness and sizes suddenly sprouted across his body, leaping and shimmering with brilliant brilliance. This young man was Han Li!