"There's no need to rush. This precious herb has remained here for so many years. Otherwise, even if there were illusions shielding the outside, the immortal fruits would have been devoured by the ancient beasts long ago." Although deeply excited within, Han Li maintained an exceptionally calm demeanor, responding calmly and composedly at this moment. "So, Brother Han means there are still ancient beasts guarding this place?" Zi Ling had already heard Han Li briefly mention the existence of ancient beasts in Zui Ma Valley, so upon hearing this, she was startled and instantly regained a clearer mind. "Indeed. Observe the two distinct chew marks on the top of the herb—clearly, two fruits have been swallowed twice by the guardian ancient beasts. While consuming the Ling Zhu fruit directly may not immediately accelerate one's cultivation stage, it still offers some benefit during a breakthrough phase, especially when facing a bottleneck. That's precisely why the guardian beasts didn't devour all the fruits at once." Han Li said slowly, then scanned the surroundings of the Green Lake, slightly lowering his gaze to the modest lake surface. Undoubtedly, if anything were hidden nearby, it would surely be beneath the lake. As soon as they entered the inner valley, Han Li removed the cloak from his head. Throughout the journey, he had not concealed his presence from Zi Ling, as she had already guessed that he possessed a method to avoid spatial rifts. Thus, there was no need for him to hide anything from her. After scanning the lake water with his divine awareness and finding no anomalies, Han Li's eyes flashed with a blue glow, his gaze instantly penetrating deep into the lake, several dozen zhang, and reaching all the way to the bottom of the green lake, where his expression shifted slightly. "What is it? Han brother, have you found anything?" Zi Ling, who had been carefully observing Han Li's demeanor, raised her elegant brows and slightly furrowed her dark brows in inquiry. "Step back a bit, this guardian ancient beast seems quite challenging. I'll likely need to employ some techniques to finally resolve it," Han Li said calmly, turning his head slightly and speaking gently to Zi Ling. The ancient beast from Huzhou had managed to evade his divine awareness—naturally, Han Li held him in high regard. "Then, thank you, Han brother!" Zi Ling knew her own cultivation was still relatively low, and that staying with Han Li would only be a hindrance. She gracefully agreed. Immediately afterward, she reversed her flight, retreating thirty to forty paces before her light finally settled, leaving her floating motionless in the air. Upon seeing Zi Ling step aside, Han Li promptly reached to his waist, withdrawing three spirit-animal satchels one after another and summoning them into the sky. Then, with both hands pressing seals, tens of thousands of golden flying insects surged forth from the three bags, swirling and dancing in the air, forming a golden canopy that obscured the sky and transformed the heavens above into a brilliant, otherworldly hue. "Ah!" Zi Ling, who had been watching from afar, was visibly startled at this sight, her eyes widening slightly as she softly exclaimed. Han Li's skill in commanding insects was well known to her, and even during the past battle between the Empty Sky Hall and the Six Paths, she had personally witnessed this feat twice. Yet now, the insects that had nearly matured, and those golden devourers from that time, differed greatly in both size and color compared to their former selves. These now larger, more imposing golden insects, released in the tens of thousands by Han Li, created an atmosphere truly unparalleled. It was entirely natural that Zi Ling should be startled and awestruck. Han Li had no time to attend to Zi Ling's astonishment. After arranging the golden devourers, he merely swept his great sleeve, and thirty-six bamboo-hued bee-cloud swords emerged in sequence from his sleeve, forming dozens of golden beams several feet long, which spiraled and danced beneath the insect cloud. He then cast a series of spells toward the sky. Each golden beam trembled slightly, instantly branching out into hundreds of identical beams, radiating brilliant light. "Go!" With a simple nod, Han Li pointed at the beams in the air. The hundreds of beams trembled, then began to vanish one by one from their original positions, and within moments, the space beneath the insect cloud became completely empty. The Dagang Sword Array was instantly deployed around him. Han Li pressed his lips together, and only then did he feel truly at ease. He glanced down at the lake surface, a streak of sternness briefly crossing his face. He rubbed his hands together, and a brilliant golden glow erupted, accompanied by thunderous rumbling. A golden electric sphere, the size of a clenched fist, formed between his palms and gradually expanded, growing increasingly bright and dazzling under Han Li's calm, composed demeanor. In an instant, the sphere swelled to the size of a child's head. Han Li then pushed his hands forward, and with a roar of thunder, the sphere burst forth, striking the lake surface some dozen paces ahead. A dazzling flash of gold erupted, followed by a deep thunderclap as the sphere exploded. Fine and coarse electric arcs spread across the entire lake surface, crackling continuously. Zi Ling, standing behind, stiffened slightly, lightly bit her lower lip, her eyes gleaming with alertness. Even before the golden arcs had fully dissipated, the lake surface suddenly surged and churned violently. Suddenly, a colossal vortex of several dozen feet in diameter emerged at the center of the lake. A deep, resonant roar then rose from the lakebed, and a surge of black and white ethereal aura jetted forth from the vortex, subtly encasing a strange ancient beast. This ancient creature was remarkably unusual—its body, stretching six to seven dozen feet, resembled a mass of dark, decaying flesh, dotted with numerous irregular holes of varying sizes. At its center, a large, rounded mass of flesh slightly elevated resembled a head, yet it possessed only a single dark eye; no visible mouth, nose, or other organs were apparent. To Han Li, the creature's appearance was truly repulsive, prompting a quiet murmur of discomfort even as he observed it. From a distance, Zi Ling, upon seeing the creature, grew pale, her expression filled with a sense of unease and alarm. However, Han Li had never heard of this particular beast nor encountered it in any ancient texts. He glanced at Zi Ling, who offered him a series of gentle, helpless smiles—clearly, she too was unfamiliar with the creature's origins. Faced with this enigmatic entity whose true nature remained unclear, Han Li, desiring caution, would not take his time to probe deeply, risking that the other might unleash its full powers. Thus, he immediately raised his hand, casting a spell upon the floating swarm of insects in the sky, while a long, clear, resonant tone echoed from his mouth. Instantly, the swirling insect群 roared in unison, swiftly converging toward the center and instantly coalescing into a vast golden cloud that descended directly upon the ancient beast. Upon hearing the resonant hum of the gold-eating insects, the ancient beast seemed to sense impending trouble, and as it expanded and contracted, it expelled an unknown green liquid through its numerous openings, spraying it toward the golden cloud above. A pungent, nauseating odor spread out in all directions. Han Li's brow furrowed slightly at first, but then relaxed, for the gold-eating insects struck by the green liquid showed no signs of injury or damage whatsoever. Immediately after the golden cloud settled, it fully enveloped the ancient beast within. Yet this beast was protected by two streams of black and white energy. Though enveloped by golden insect clouds, it suffered no immediate harm. Witnessing countless flying insects desperately tearing at the black-and-white energies it had painstakingly cultivated over years, only to strip away a significant portion in a matter of moments, the beast grew deeply alarmed. It sank lower, preparing to plunge fully back into the lake. At that very instant, Han Li, who had been ready all along, suddenly extended a finger toward the water. A soft "popping" sound echoed as a blue fire orb, the size of a walnut, rose up at the tip of his finger. With a gentle flick of his wrist, the orb shot forth. "Crack!" It burst, emitting a brilliant blue light. Immediately, a layer of cool, misty blue aura spread out, transforming the lake water into thick ice. Within moments, the entire green lake had solidified into a massive block of ice. The ancient beast's intention to submerge itself thus vanished. Instead, it collided with the blue ice and was forcefully rebounded. The beast now grew even more frightened. The black-and-white qi suddenly trembled, carrying with it the dense swarm of golden insects, and darted diagonally away. Yet as it flashed past, just as it reached the edge of a green lake, where the sky was empty, a delicate, hair-thin strand of golden light unexpectedly emerged, precisely intercepting the fleeting passage of the ancient beast. A small chunk of black, rotten flesh fell from the insect cloud, glistening with blood. The protective shield formed by the black-and-white qi was instantly severed, and the ancient beast’s body was sliced clean off by the golden thread. Without the shield in place, countless golden insects surged forth and swiftly covered the entire surface of the ancient beast’s body. The ancient beast immediately emitted a piercing, high-pitched cry, its body glowing with ethereal light. A strange, emerald flame surged upward, "popping" into being on its surface, enveloping all the golden insects gathered around it and burning fiercely. Alas, though the green flame was one of this beast's most powerful and meticulously cultivated techniques, the golden insects seemed completely indifferent to it, instead rousing its fierce instincts. The flying insects, without exception, accelerated their feeding. Under the unbearable pain, the creature suddenly darted in a sudden flash, desperately fleeing toward the other side of the green lake. The true mastery of this nameless ancient beast lay in its ability to absorb and transform its form. Once it activated this power, it could vanish completely—rendering even a Yuan婴后期 cultivator unable to detect its presence, leaving combat encounters merely ordinary. Unfortunately, the beast had first been revealed by Han Li's Qing Ming spiritual sight, then unexpectedly ensnared by the Gold-Feeding Insects, and finally trapped within the Da Geng Sword Array, completely unable to deploy this innate talent to escape. Thus, it perished easily at Han Li's hands. "It's not that Han was particularly skilled, but rather that this ancient beast isn't very powerful—far less so than several I've encountered before." Han shook his head, expressing his disbelief. Then, he raised his hand and reached into the air, "whoosh!"—the immortal fruit was instantly drawn into his hands. He lowered his gaze to examine it, where flickering patches of black and white spiritual light danced across the surface of the fruit. He had never seen a fruit of this color before, and his expression turned noticeably interested.