Through the partial divination within the puppet, as soon as they entered the entrance, a naturally formed passageway several to seven or eight zhang high appeared before the white wolf. The walls on both sides were of a deep black and crimson hue, with occasional streaks of flame shooting out from the fissures, distorting the surrounding air due to the intense heat. Han Li believed that a cultivator of slightly lower修为 would likely be instantly overwhelmed by the scorching wind and heat, losing consciousness without even realizing it. As the white wolf, being an automaton puppet, was naturally immune to such an occurrence, it continued forward. Not long afterward, the scene brightened, revealing a fiery underground realm before it. The area spanned hundreds of zhang in width, but the most striking feature was a vast molten lava lake occupying nearly half of it. The lava bubbles continuously churned and burst with a crisp "popping" sound, creating a terrifying sensation—so intense that merely approaching it would likely turn one into a dry husk. Surrounding the lake were faintly crimson terraces of red stone, upon which several patches of green shimmered—some rare spiritual herbs growing there, truly astonishing. It was evident that these herbs were no ordinary ones. However, Han Li, the white wolf among the group, had diverted his attention and showed no interest in the herbs. His gaze had already settled on a massive outcropping of rock at the center of the molten rock lake. There, a creature that had always been entirely flame-red lay on its back, breathing deeply and sleeping soundly. This creature was not large—three zhang wide and five or six zhang long—its form resembling that of a giant toad. Yet its skin, glowing like flame, gave it an imposing presence. With each breath, layers of red cloud-like mist occasionally rose from its body, adding to its mysterious aura. This must be the Fire Toad Beast! Han Li studied the creature carefully, observing it with cautious attention for a long time before shifting his gaze to a stone platform across the lake, opposite the molten rock lake. This stone platform clearly appeared ancient. Though it was adorned with numerous carvings and symbols around its perimeter, the four corners had long since corroded and were worn beyond recognition. Yet at its center lay the remains of a cultivator, gently wrapped in a deep green robe, resting quietly. The robe was simple and ancient in style, distinctly unlike the garments worn by cultivators of today. Remarkably, even after so many years, the robe remained fresh and vibrant, radiating a soft green glow—clearly no ordinary item. Within the robe, the remains had turned into a pile of bones. What was even more strange was that each bone was translucent and crystalline, as clear and pure as crystal. After carefully examining the bones and glancing at the fire toad creature, Han Li sent a small portion of his consciousness out, gently winding it around the bones. He intended to check whether the cultivator's remains truly contained any precious treasures. After all, appearances could be deceiving. He found no treasure or storage bags on the remains, which raised his suspicions. Perhaps the treasures had been placed inside the green robe or near the stone platform, so he decided to search first before drawing any conclusions. As his divine awareness gently drifted to the space above the remains and settled down, an unusual phenomenon occurred. The green robe suddenly burst with luminous light, a layer of soft, misty azure glow emerging upon it, which instantly bounced his awareness back. A ripple of unusual energy waves spread through the surrounding atmosphere. The fire tortoise, which had been lying motionless, eyes open toward the sky, suddenly sensed something, and its closed eyes snapped open. Its emerald eyes darted rapidly before fixing firmly on the white wolf puppet at the entrance. "Unfortunate!" murmured Han Li. The white wolf puppet under his control quickly turned around, shimmering with light and transforming into a streak of white light, rushing back toward its origin. At the same time, the seemingly sluggish fire tortoise suddenly flipped over, leaping high and landing gracefully back on the massive rock, settling into a crouched posture. It glanced at the retreating silhouette of the white rainbow, roared in furious indignation, then suddenly drove its two massive hind legs hard against the ground. Instantly, it was enveloped in a swirl of crimson light and surged forward in pursuit. "The fire toad has arrived. Both of you, take care," whispered Han Li, who was invisible near the spell array. Let it fly with extraordinary strength, unafraid of damaging the puppet's body. Then, with a simple flip of his palm, a quiet, shimmering blue ice flame materialized gently in his palm. The two officials from Nanlonghou also adopted a gloomy expression, preparing their own treasures and standing quietly at either side of the spell array. Though the location of Ju Feng and the others seemed distant, the white rainbow and the crimson glow of the flame arrived side by side within moments. Han Li's face flashed with a sharp expression, and the ice flame in his hand grew three more degrees in size. Yet, as the white rainbow neared and was about to plunge into the spell array, the fire tortoise still some thirty or forty paces behind seemed restless. With a loud croak, a crimson orb of flame burst forth from its mouth. When first expelled, the fire ball was only as large as a human head. However, after shooting several zhang forward, it suddenly burst with a "pffft" sound, instantly swelling into a massive sphere several zhang in diameter, swiftly catching up to the white wolf automaton stationed at the edge of the array. A fierce flame gale, reaching nearly fifteen zhang in height, instantly engulfed and submerged the automaton. Subsequently, a series of deep, resonant explosions echoed from within the flames before gradually fading into silence. Han Li's face grew pale! The flames swiftly receded, and where the automaton had stood, it vanished completely—leaving not a single trace. Han Li was naturally taken aback by this sight. The inner spirit-fire of the fire toad was indeed no ordinary flame; at the very least, it surpassed the infant fire of a Yuan婴 cultivator. He wondered whether his own ice flame could counter it. Yet he need not have been overly concerned. For he possessed no fewer than several powerful means to defeat such a creature. Whether it was the Purple Lotus Heaven Fire or the Da Ge Sword Array, both were far more formidable. Moreover, even if all the Jie-Dan-level puppets were released at once, the mound could easily annihilate this beast. Yet, Han Li would naturally not be willing to suffer such a great loss. Puppet beasts proved truly useful under certain circumstances. At that moment, the fire toad, having witnessed the sudden enemy forces that had breached its lair, emitted a long, satisfied cry and, with a flash of crimson light, prepared to turn and take flight. Han Li and his two companions exchanged puzzled glances. Among them, Han Li himself felt a sudden tightening in his chest. How could Han Li allow the fire toad to easily depart, especially since its fate was so closely tied to Nan Gong Wan's? With a furrowed brow, he suddenly moved, transforming into a streak of jade-green light and shooting forth. On the other side of the magical array, Han Li appeared alone and distinct. Nan Long Marquis and Lu Weiying were first startled, then quickly grasped Han Li's intent. Han Li's action successfully startled the fire toad, which had previously begun to turn around halfway. With a swift turn, it fixed its gaze on the newly appeared enemy at a distance, remaining motionless, its single eye flickering with a hint of doubt. Han Li said nothing. In one hand, he held the faint, swirling cluster of icy flames from the roused wolf; with the other, he struck his waist, and six glowing blue orbs shot forth from his storage pouch, landing behind him. As the light faded, six towering blue turtles—each three zhang tall, shimmering with ethereal radiance—materialized behind Han Li. These were the colossal turtle automata he had recently crafted. With a mere thought in his consciousness, Han Li issued the command. The shells of the six great turtles flashed with light, instantly solidifying into ice spears of identical size and height, each one straight and elegant, rising diagonally, radiating a steady chill. Suddenly, the once seemingly harmless giants appeared fierce and formidable, exuding an impressive aura. The fire toad on the opposite side sensed Han Li's hostility, its green eyes flashing with menace, and in a single breath, it expelled a fiery orb from its mouth. Seeing the fire ball likewise grow immensely and surge toward him with great force, Han Li said nothing. With the intention of testing the power of the fire from the Fire Tortoise Beast, he simply raised his palm, holding the ice flame. The blue ice flame in his hand instantly coalesced into a delicate, bluish ice blossom, drifting gently toward the opposing fire ball, precisely meeting it. The fire ball launched by the Fire Tortoise Beast was nearly five to six zhang in diameter, while the ice blossom formed from the condensed blue flame was only a few inches in size—by sheer scale, the two were utterly incomparable. Yet, as soon as they made contact in the air, an astonishing scene unfolded. A sharp "crack" sounded, and the fire ball shimmered with blue light, a thick layer of blue ice forming on its surface. A massive ice sphere now hung suspended in the air, yet at its core, the red flames continued to dance and flicker vigorously. Even Han Li was momentarily stunned by this sight. But upon seeing his own fire ball immobilized, the Fire Tortoise Beast erupted into furious rage. As soon as he opened his mouth, hundreds and thousands of fist-sized flames surged forth, blasting toward the oncoming foes. Han Li pursed his lips and waved his hand. The six massive turtle puppets behind, already poised and ready, simultaneously shook their shells. From the shells, countless ice spears shot out, piercing the air and densely converging against the waves of fire. But immediately after喷出 a fresh batch of ice spikes, the six giant turtles once again blocked the fiery waves with a surge of cold air, and Han Li and several of the turtles had already flown out over twenty paces. Han Li kept his eyes fixed on the fire-toad beast, which remained motionless in place, his lips tightly closed. According to the information he had gathered before arriving at the Valley of the Fallen Demon, the fire-toad beast not only could restore its vitality using the power of molten rock, but also mastered the art of fire-style teleportation—capable of moving instantly over a thousand paces. With the molten rock sea spreading throughout the lower slopes of these mountains, if the beast were to sink into the ground, it could easily escape. To the two southern Llong侯s, this might not matter much—after all, they were there primarily to retrieve the relics and treasures, and even if they couldn't eliminate the beast, as long as they could drive it away, they would be satisfied. But Han Li was different. He was determined to obtain the beast's immortal essence. Therefore, he insisted on drawing the beast into the magical array, sealing off its escape routes—only then would he feel confident enough to Thus, whether the fire-toad beast would come after him became the crucial matter. Seeing that Han Li had only engaged in a brief fight before retreating immediately, the beast was momentarily stunned. Yet seemingly lacking higher intelligence, it did not hesitate—its body shimmered with living霞, transforming into a bright red glow and swiftly charging after him. Han Li was delighted by this development. As the beast closed only a short distance, a shimmer of blue and white light suddenly appeared around it, forming a delicate, pale blue water veil around its body. Then, several flashes of white light danced across the veil, causing several white water dragons to emerge and appear, ready to leap forth. The entire water veil grew damp and cool. The fire-toad beast was startled, momentarily halting its flight, its eyes darting wildly, and emitting low, threatening growls. At the same time, flashes of luminous light appeared on either side of the veil, and both Nan Long Hou and the elderly man with the Lu surname stepped into view. Upon seeing the fire-toad beast ensnared by the spell, the two immediately cast their respective treasures without hesitation. Nanlong Hou still held out the jade ring in his hand, while the elder did not use his original magical banner or treasure object. Instead, he raised both hands, and two blue flying spears, interlacing and darting forth. The luminous screen of the magical array, unaffected by their objects, instantly pierced through the water veil and struck the fire toad within. At the same time, several white water dragons on the screen gracefully leapt out from the veil, charging with outstretched jaws and powerful movements—precisely timed and coordinated with the attack. This was achieved through Han Li, stationed at a distance, who promptly activated the array's inherent seals by waving his banner. The fire toad, though not particularly intelligent, sensed the growing peril. It let out a thunderous roar, then contracted its body, followed by a sudden expansion, unleashing its life-saving technique. As the toad roared, a series of uniformly sized crimson light shields instantly appeared on its body. These small shields poured forth in a continuous stream from the fire salamander, merging seamlessly to form a dense, impenetrable layer of fiery red light within moments. At that very instant, the jade ring, the water dragon, and the two blue glaives struck the light shield simultaneously. The resulting clash sent forth a constant roar, as streams of water, flames, and vibrant hues of light intertwined, creating an intensely bright and dazzling spectacle that made it difficult to look directly at. However, following another thunderous roar from the fire salamander, a massive column of crimson light—thick as a water cistern—erupted from the midst of the radiance and struck the water curtain directly. The curtain responded with a soft "pffft," momentarily resisting before being easily pierced, revealing a large, gaping hole.