Not far behind him, there stretched a vast expanse of at least a hundred paces, barren and devoid of any grass or vegetation—clearly not a natural formation. Han Li's expression shifted, but before he took a closer look, he first extended his awareness, swiftly scanning the area within twenty to thirty li and found no trace of other cultivators. Only then did he feel at ease and approached the depression. Standing at the edge of the depression, Han Li examined it carefully, his face briefly expressing surprise. It wasn't a depression at all—it was a perfectly circular pit. The interior was gray and hazy, covered with a thick layer of dust, obscuring what lay beneath. Han Li stared at the large pit for a while, his expression growing thoughtful. Then, after a moment, he clasped his hands in a series of gestures, raised his arm, and instantly summoned a gale of wind reaching over ten paces in height, forming spontaneously before him. With a single exhalation of the character "Qi" and a gentle sweep of his sleeve, the wind surged forward, carrying the dust and debris from the ground and rushing toward the center of the pit. Wherever the wind passed, stones and dust were swept clean. The true nature of the stone crater was revealed in a short while. Below, the walls were entirely composed of smooth, dark-red lava-like rock, remarkably polished. "Ah...," Han Li immediately recognized that this was clearly the result of high-temperature fire. Linking this observation with the shape of the crater, he paused and then his face fell into astonishment. Could this have been caused by a fire ball technique, akin to a fire projectile? If he himself launched a fire ball at a stone wall, he would indeed create a similar crater—though only a few tens of meters in diameter. Compared to this vast crater, stretching hundreds of meters, it was truly insignificant. Was this truly the kind of divine skill possessed by ancient cultivators? Remarkably powerful indeed. Han Li stood in quiet contemplation for a long time before finally taking a deep breath and shaking his head. He had overestimated the situation. The crater might also have been formed by an ancient, fire-elemental artifact. Nevertheless, even in that case, the skills of the ancient cultivators were undoubtedly far beyond those of today's cultivators. Then, Han Li slowly walked around the stone pit, finding no particularly notable features, and finally stopped, lifting his gaze toward the sky. It should now be noon, yet the brilliant, blinding sun that had been visible before had vanished, replaced instead by an endless expanse of yellowish, dimly luminous clouds. Han Li did not find this surprising—this phenomenon was one he had witnessed many times before. It was the result of a certain spell covering the entire sky, and he estimated that at this moment, they could not ascend much higher, or else they would trigger the spell. Although he made this assessment, Han Li still flicked his finger, sending a golden gold-eating insect—drawn from somewhere at an earlier time—into the air, aimed straight upward. He watched the insect intently, expression unchanged. Indeed, the insect only reached about fifty to sixty zhang above the ground when a sudden blue lightning bolt descended from nowhere, striking it precisely. The insect immediately rolled once, falling straight downward from the air, but when it reached a height of seven or eight zhang, it spread its wings and resumed its normal state without a hitch. Seeing this, Han Li adopted a thoughtful expression, then summoned the flying insect back with his spiritual awareness. After determining the direction, the light around him flickered and shimmered, and he gradually took off westward. In such an unusual place, he dared not fully unleash his speed. Otherwise, he would surely collide with some seal or spatial rift—purely a death sentence. With engagements already scheduled with Zi Ling and Nan Long Hou, Han Li intended to attend to these two matters one by one. He would slightly delay the acquisition of the Ling Zhu Guo, and first unite with Nan Long Hou to eliminate that fire tortoise beast. Although it was certain that the members of Gui Ling Sect would also search for the Ling Zhu Guo after entering the valley, Han Li did not believe that the vague memory of the Yuan Yin who had escaped the valley would be sufficient to locate the fruit promptly—nor did he know how long the search would take. Moreover, even if he struggled to find this spiritual fruit, he would have to immediately extract it and then immediately begin refining it into a pill. After taking the pill, he would need to meditate to fully absorb and distribute its effects. Such delays would not be mere days. Thus, naturally, he would first secure the fire-toad inner essence—of paramount importance to him and to Nangong Wan—before he could then proceed to seek out the spiritual candle fruit. Furthermore, he was equally eager to learn what treasures might be hidden within the ancient relics of the primordial cultivator who once guarded the ancient fire-toad beast. While pondering these matters, he devoted considerable mental energy, fully opening his consciousness. His eyes occasionally flashed with blue light, and he periodically activated his clear and bright spiritual insight to ensure that any seals or spatial rifts went unnoticed by his awareness. Although he still could not determine his exact location within the outer valley, it was clearly not far from other cultivators. After all, although the teleportation array was said to randomly transport him, it did so within a defined range. Han Li had no intention of meeting other cultivators; he merely wished to join forces with the southern Langhou and others at the westernmost part of the Suimagi Valley. As the southern Langhou explained, although he had also received the method from the Master Cangkun for entering the valley, this method came with certain risks and required a notable expenditure of qi to succeed. Its only advantage was that once inside, one did not need to constantly determine one’s position within the valley, but could simply follow the path that Master Cangkun had once taken to reach the inner valley. After careful consideration, Han Li still decided to use the method from the Gui Ling Sect to enter the valley. After all, the Gui Ling Sect was willing to extensively sell the Suimagi Mandates, which clearly indicated a certain level of confidence in their method—Han Li naturally preferred a more reliable approach. It now appeared that the Gui Ling Sect’s method for entering the outer valley had indeed proven remarkably smooth. However, the journey itself might still involve some risks. As he pondered, Han Li continuously glanced around. Suddenly, his posture stilled, his gaze fixed ahead, and his brow furrowed slightly. But he immediately regained his composure, continuing forward, though unconsciously his speed had slowed by a third. After flying over a hundred paces, Han Li came to a halt, gazing at the white luminous fox floating in the distance halfway in the sky, and gently pressed his lips together. But it was said that there were also intangible, formless spatial rifts—this was no small matter. And just as they had stepped out a short distance, they immediately encountered such a rift. This clearly indicated that spatial rifts were widespread throughout the Valley of the Fallen Demons. A single misstep might well prove disastrous. Han Li thought with growing apprehension. Then, his figure flickered, and a great arc of light traced out, allowing him to gracefully circumvent the rift and continue his flight without so much as a glance. Then he likewise surveyed the surroundings, using his divine awareness to confirm there was no danger, and once he had determined a direction, a flash of light from his body carried him several dozen feet away, preparing to leave. Suddenly, a beam of white light brightened along the way. The elder did not even utter a cry—his body instantly split in two, fracturing completely. The two severed bodies, heavy with thick blood, fell to the ground. On his face, expressions of disbelief and unyielding resistance remained etched in death. The newly formed spatial rift, its radiance gradually fading, then slowly became transparent and vanished—so that anyone arriving afterward would find it entirely absent. …At another location, three cultivators dressed in brocade robes were moving swiftly and breathlessly through a scattered heap of stones, but no matter which direction they flew, after just several dozen feet, a vibrant spectrum of rainbow hues would appear, blocking their path. "It's impossible," one of them said. "These ghostly spirits from the Guiling Sect—how could they have transported us all into this sealed area?" After our brothers have gone, we must definitely settle accounts with them properly." One of the three, a tall man with a full face of scars, finally broke his flight of light and erupted into a fierce tirade. "Hmph. Just relax, then. The Ghost Spirit Sect won't fear us, the small sects and individual cultivators, coming to bother them. Besides, they themselves mentioned that the transmission is random—being sent into a spatial rift counts as bad luck. Fortunately, although this seal is powerful, it seems not to be an offensive one. We can gradually find ways to break free." Another cultivator with prominent cheekbones also stopped, speaking coldly. "But then, what about the treasures in the valley? The others will surely claim them first. After all, our three of us, even with our current levels, can only scout the outer valley. To reach the inner valley would mean certain death. And to secure this residence mandate, we've already sacrificed everything we had." The man with the scars shook his head repeatedly. "If that's the case, then we'll have to rely on sheer force to break through the seal." Although this seal may appear somewhat magical, the seal of the Outer Valley, no matter how powerful, cannot be truly extraordinary. Thus, though it will cost a bit of spiritual energy, they will be able to leave promptly. "Well, that's as good as it gets," said the young cultivator with high cheekbones, hesitating slightly. "Agreed. Second brother, your法宝 is primarily offensive—relies entirely on your efforts. We'll provide support from the sidelines." The other cultivator, with dark features, after a moment's thought, also nodded in agreement. "This is entirely within my capability. With just a few movements, I'll be able to dismantle this strange seal." The large man brightened at this. Then, he opened his mouth and expelled a sphere of yellow light, within which lay a small, square stone seal, about a foot in size. With both hands, he chanted incantations and pointed at the seal. Instantly, the stone seal expanded rapidly in the wind, growing to several feet in size within moments. The other two cultivators, meanwhile, each released a red and a white, shimmering, refined sword.