A moment later, the small jade steamer shimmered brilliantly within the infant flame, and the entire chamber began to surge with warm air, its temperature rising sharply. A glint of cold light flashed in Han Li's eyes as he raised his hand and cast a spell upon the steamer. With a soft "pffft," a streak of jade light shot upward from the steamer—its lid had lifted on its own, spinning once before hovering motionless above the steamer. Seeing this, Han Li quickly pointed at a square jade box lying before him. Instantly, the lid vanished silently, revealing within a dark, knob-like mass about an inch and a half in size, slightly flattened and round. Han Li gazed at it for a while, then extended his hand and waved it gently, and the mass floated out of the box, hovering at a height of about ten feet above the ground. With a simple flick of his finger, a faint green glow passed through, and one-fifth of the stem-like mass fell silently to the ground. The robe swayed, and a streak of azure light shot out from its sleeve, wrapping and tossing the fallen portion into the small cauldron. Then, with a spell cast at the root, it immediately fell back into the jade box. After that, Han Li paid no further attention to it, and instead cast a spell to open another long, rectangular wooden box, revealing a stem of an unknown greenish herb, glistening with freshness. With the same spell, he used the sword's glow to trim off a small section and placed it into the cauldron. Thus, following the prescription, Han Li carefully selected various materials from before him and gradually added them to the cauldron until he finally withdrew one Ling Zhu Gu fruit. A streak of azure swordlight split the fruit into four parts, and he placed one portion into the cauldron. Only then did Han Li gently tap the suspended lid of the cauldron. The lid descended smoothly, sealing the small cauldron tightly. Han Li exhaled softly, then opened his mouth again. A stream of azure infant flame burst forth, instantly intensifying the flames and raising the room's temperature significantly. At this moment, staring intently at the small cauldron amidst the flames, Han Li had his fingers rapidly tapping and casting one after another of his spells, each and every one precisely striking the cauldron. Not long after, the cauldron began to emit阵阵 thunderous sounds, growing progressively louder. Seeing this, Han Li raised his eyebrows slightly and altered the pace of his hand gestures, suddenly making them fluctuate between slow and fast. The thunderous sounds within the cauldron mirrored this rhythm, rising and falling in an increasingly strange and irregular manner. Han Li's expression remained calm and composed, yet the blue glow in his eyes flickered constantly, as if he could clearly see through the cauldron's walls and directly observe the state of the pills inside—unmoved, neither joyful nor sorrowful. Time passed steadily, one moment at a time. Starting from the base of the altar, the gravitational pressure exerted upon these individuals increased noticeably with every certain height gained along the staircase. Thus, while it took them merely over two hours to climb from the base to the middle of the altar, it took a full day and night to reach the summit—enough time that they had to pause halfway, resting and restoring their inner energy. The senior cultivators, including the Master of the Gui Ling Sect and other Yuan婴 stage practitioners, managed well, but the three Jin Dan stage disciples struggled significantly. By the final dozen or so steps, each step required nearly a thousand catties of force. These Jin Dan cultivators moved inch by inch, barely making it to the top. Naturally, Wei Wuyi found it the most effortless. Throughout the entire journey, the restrictions exerted little noticeable impact on this Yuan婴 stage cultivator, and he never once appeared strained. To be honest, even when Wang Tiangu and the others reached the final stretch, they could only advance one step at a time, their faces clearly showing great strain. Naturally, when the ghostly spirit gate master observed Wei Wuya's performance, he was somewhat taken aback and cast a more appreciative glance at him. Though their levels of cultivation varied, under the careful attention of the gate master, they all managed to reach the summit of the altar simultaneously. As soon as they stepped onto the top, the heavy, overwhelming sensation they had felt all along vanished completely—relief washed over the several ghostly spirit gate disciples. Though protected by their body-light aura, the journey from the base of the altar had left them each with aching backs, weary legs, and limbs trembling with weakness. This very human experience—something they hadn't felt in a long time—was truly refreshing. Indeed, in their daily lives, reaching the altar had always been a matter of simply stepping briskly; they had rarely, if ever, endured such physical hardship. Wang Tiangu and the others paid no attention to all this, immediately beginning to glance around as soon as they stepped into the hall. The space was over a hundred zhang in width, the ground paved with luminous white jade tiles. In the center stood a massive altar, about six or seven zhang long, crafted from fine emerald jade, exquisitely detailed. The rest of the area was empty, though at each of the four corners of the altar stood a tall green stone pillar. Each pillar was approximately ten zhang high, its surface inscribed with dense, intricate symbols and incantations that appeared obscure and ancient. At the top of each pillar sat a stone qilin statue, lifelike and varying in form, each radiating a gentle glow, as though unusual. Such a simple arrangement, the group naturally surveyed it within moments. Wei Wuyi found nothing particularly noteworthy, and his brow furrowed slightly, his gaze shifting sideways to the ghostly spirit gate's master. The Master of Gui Ling Sect was raising his head to gaze at the sky, motionless with hands behind his back, as though he had seen something particularly interesting... Wei Wuyafa was surprised and likewise looked up at the heavens. High above, the sky was a deep crimson, while lower down, various hues of霞 glowed and drifted gently—besides the occasional streaks of light, there were no other unusual phenomena. "Master Wang! We've arrived here. Where exactly is the entrance to Ling Miao Garden?" Wei asked directly and without hesitation. "Master Wei, there's no need to rush. The entrance to Ling Miao Garden is naturally concealed by a seal. However, only the spirit essence within the painting knows the method to break it. Once we summon that spirit and ask him, everything will become clear," replied the Master of Gui Ling Sect calmly. "Ah, so that's the case. It seems this is also one of the agreements between Master Wang and the immortal, Cheng Kun, in his current form." Wei's expression brightened slightly as he spoke slowly. "Heh! Master Wei is indeed a sharp mind. This matter certainly involves some of the conditions I had promised to the other party." "My good friend, just a moment— I'll summon it right away." The Master of Gui Ling Sect smiled, reaching into his sleeve, where a silver scroll floated into his hands. Wang Tiangu observed silently, his eyes gleaming, and then stepped forward without speaking. As soon as the Master of Gui Ling Sect released the scroll and unfurled it, a cluster of green light surged forth from the scroll and immediately took on the form of a scholar. "Indeed, it's here. I never thought I'd return to this very place." The embodied spirit of Cang Kun appeared, neither acknowledging anyone in particular nor paying attention to the surroundings, but instead eagerly surveying the scene with a visibly excited expression. "As per our agreement, I have brought you to this altar. According to your description, this is the very center of Zui Mo Valley—the entrance to Ling Miao Garden. Now it is your turn to fulfill your promise and open the entrance to Ling Miao Garden." The Master of Gui Ling Sect looked at the scholar coldly, only speaking once the scholar's expression had settled somewhat, and then continued with a composed, detached tone. "I have already placed a seal upon you. Shall I then fear to deceive you? The entrance to Ling Miao Garden hovers right above the altar. This I have not deceived you about. The only oddity is that the seal requires me to personally cast the spell." With these words, the scholar also raised his head and gazed upward at the shimmering light, then rubbed his hands together. A gray-white ball of fire appeared in his hands. He then raised it high and launched it toward the heavens. However, as the fire ball reached the clouds, it mysteriously vanished mid-flight. Seeing this, the scholar nodded, turned to the four stone pillars surrounding them, and without further delay said, "My esteemed friends, please channel some spiritual energy into the four pillars. Then, I shall handle the task of breaking the seal below." Upon hearing this, Wang Tian Gu and the other two exchanged glances. The headmaster of Gui Ling Sect hesitated slightly before speaking in a steady tone, "Very well, I shall follow your advice. You three go to the pillars on that side. Wang, I shall also need your assistance below." "Understood, Headmaster!" Three disciples immediately bowed and agreed. Wang Tiangu, without hesitation, took a few steps toward one of the stone pillars. At the master's command, the four of them each extended one hand and pressed it onto the pillar, slowly channeling their spiritual energy into it, which then traveled through the pillar and into the stone figure at the top. Not long after, the four stone pillars began to emit a low hum and gently tremble. The stone qilin figure at the summit shimmered with luminous light; its previously lifeless eyes suddenly glowed with a deep crimson hue, as if coming to life. Wei Wuyi observed this scene and felt, somewhat vaguely, that he had heard of this situation before—yet could not recall where. He furrowed his brow. The master of the Gui Ling Sect remained standing in place, silently observing the scene, saying nothing. Suddenly, the qilin figure slowly raised its head and opened its mouth, with five-colored radiance flickering within, as though something was about to burst forth. The scholarly scholar, whose essence was ethereal and ghostly, now took action. Raising both hands, he lightly flicked his fingers, sending forth four streams of pale, misty spells that struck the stone statue. Instantly, as if swelling and contracting, the contents within the麒麟's mouth burst forth in a continuous stream. Four beams of vibrant, five-colored light shot skyward, then surged upward with a sharp point. Suddenly, they radiated brilliant light, forming a luminous sphere of five colors, about one zhang in diameter, hovering in the sky. Then, the space around the sphere began to warp and distort, and with a thunderous roar, it exploded in a sudden burst. The radiant five-colored spiritual light was dazzling and intense, completely enveloping the entire space above the altar. A powerful surge of spiritual energy, like a tidal wave, swept across the platform, reaching the assembled cultivators. Even Wei Wuyi, a cultivator of considerable standing, could not help but pale slightly upon sensing the intensity of the energy flow. The others, in turn, stepped back several paces, urgently drawing upon their internal spiritual energy to withstand the impact. Fortunately, the explosion lasted only briefly, and within moments, the radiance faded Only then did the others feel reassured and quickly lift their heads to gaze upward. Upon seeing the scene in the sky clearly, everyone was stunned. Wei Wuya's face turned stern, and he swiftly turned to the scholar, his tone cold and sharp: "Is this what you described as the entrance to Lingmiao Garden?"