Under the current circumstances, with such a powerful spiritual insect at his command, upon a mere thought, the small fan in his hand expanded slightly. The golden, gold-devouring insect spiraled once and plunged directly into the surface of the fan, vanishing after a flash of black mist. Without further ado, Han Li then tossed the fan casually into the air. The black-green infant spirit, smiling cheerfully, opened its mouth and instantly swallowed the Yin Luo Fan whole, then suddenly transformed into a dark bloom, which, after a brief shimmer, disappeared into Han Li's celestial forehead. Only then did Han Li take a deep breath, intending to close his eyes and begin meditating on the incantation that would release the seal, in preparation for any unforeseen events ahead. Yet suddenly, his expression changed, and he raised his head to look upward. Though his cultivation had been sealed, his consciousness remained undiminished—indeed, strong as ever. And as he had sensed correctly, the sudden arrival of that ethereal immortal cultivator had once again passed swiftly over their caravan. This was no ordinary occurrence. This clearly out-of-place immortal cultivator was passing by the caravan from the sky every two or three days within just a few weeks, always in a hurried manner, never stopping to inquire or speak with the caravan staff. This left the several concealment strategies that Han Li had prepared completely unused. Though he found it puzzling, Han Li naturally welcomed this behavior and immediately closed his eyes to focus. But just half a day later, Han Li sensed the arrival of another tribe's caravan nearby. Though not large in scale, this caravan was still several dozen persons larger than that of the Conglur tribe. According to their respective directions of travel, the two groups would collide within an hour. Yet, since the people appeared harmless, Han Li paid them no special attention. Some curious, asked, "Isn't your esteemed master also aboard in the vehicle? I wonder how many masters from the Hong Lang tribe have joined this journey." Ying Lu replied vaguely. "Only one? Well, that's no small feat—on my part, I've had to personally appeal, even at the cost of my face, to secure a free-standing master to temporarily join our tribe. Do you have two such masters?" The tall man glanced sideways at the elder, chuckling. "Two? Naturally, only one. It's equally difficult—thanks to our persistent efforts, we've managed to persuade the master to accompany us on this journey." Ying Lu sighed. After exchanging glances with the tall man, both of them couldn't help but smile wryly, feeling a strong sense of mutual sympathy. "Well, regardless, having a master among the ranks brings a great deal of stability. And now, with only one more day's journey to our base, we won't face any further issues." As for the remaining half of the journey, I'll need to be especially cautious about passing through the territories of the larger tribal groups. How about this—after our rest, we gather a few smaller tribes and set off together? That would surely make the journey more secure," the elder suggested, his eyes glinting slightly. "That sounds good in principle, but I'd like to think it over. In the past, there have been several instances where smaller tribes united for a journey, only to suffer significant setbacks because one of them brought an exceptionally valuable tribute." The tall man hesitated, expressing some reservation. "Brother Ba, you're overthinking it. Such incidents are truly rare. For tribes of our size, the likelihood of bringing a precious tribute is far lower than the chance of being directly plundered on the road." Ying Lu shook her head, unconvinced. "Very well. We can discuss this further when the time comes." The man named Ba did not outright reject the proposal, indicating he had at least begun to consider it. At this moment, the common members of both groups had also mingled together, chatting warmly and freely. Particularly, several young women from each group were being簇拥 by young men from both sides, occasionally emitting clear, bright laughter. Since these women had been selected to participate in the tribute, they naturally stood out as the finest talents of their respective tribes, with exceptional beauty. It was no wonder that the men from both tribes immediately became enthusiastic. Enlue, hearing the laughter coming from behind, shook her head slightly, intending to turn around and urge her followers to pay attention, so as not to offend the celestial master in the chariot. But just then, suddenly a strange bird call echoed from the sky—a sound unlike any ordinary eagle, yet resembling a vulture—yet it was remarkably clear and reached every single person below. Upon hearing this sound, the elder immediately grew pale and quickly turned to look at the tall man beside him, who likewise looked troubled and visibly alarmed. "Everyone, dismount immediately and take shelter—this is an enchanted bird, the妖禽猿鹫." "Call out the Cold Immortal!" the elder cried out in alarm, nearly at the same time, the tall man shouted the nearly identical words to his troops. "Get behind the vehicles—quick, summon the Maple Immortal to deal with the demonic birds." Upon hearing the name "Giant Ape-Bird," the entire caravan erupted into chaos. Everyone leapt off their horses, pale with fear, some even rolling off their mounts in panic. All scrambled either to the ground beside their horses or behind the vehicles, gazing upward with white faces. There, in the sky, three dark spots appeared suddenly and rapidly grew larger. In an instant, three large, brown demonic birds came into view. With an ape's head and a bird's body, each bird had two fluffy ape-like arms extending from its broad, two-zhang-long wings. Yet, from its open, gaping maw, it emitted a chilling cry—so haunting that every observer felt their hearts sink. Although only a second-tier divine bird on the vast grasslands, the gibbons prove far smarter and more fierce than their peers among the divine beasts. Not only do they possess immense strength—capable of shattering stones and splitting gold with their sharp talons—but their strange, resonant calls also have remarkable effects. Even ordinary mortals, and even lower-tier foundation-stage immortals, often find themselves hard-pressed to cope. Yet such birds have rarely appeared on the grasslands in the past. Now, two of them have suddenly emerged—how could the travelers not be deeply startled and frightened? "The tall Han, stepping forward, spoke with a voice slightly out of tune. Having learned of the other's cultivation level before hiring him, he knew that Master Feng was only at the initial stage of the Foundation Period—just recently granted his formal status as a true Immortal. By all accounts, he should have found it difficult even to handle a single Yujie, let alone three. Thus, he grew deeply concerned. At that moment, the elder lying on the ground quickly turned his gaze toward one of the carriages in his tribe. When he saw a figure in a jade-green cloak standing atop the carriage, gazing upward at the sky, a sense of relief settled in his heart. As long as Master Han's cultivation wasn't too weak, their combined efforts would surely be enough to drive away the three Yujies." At that moment, the three Yujiao naturally spotted the other blue-robed cultivator rising above the ground. Though they had seen other unusual cultivators before, they knew this one was no easy opponent. Yet, they hesitated, unwilling to abandon the numerous prey below. The three divine birds spiraled in mid-air, hovering at a height of over a hundred paces. "Hmph! You're dead! Seeing that the Yujiao were not startled, the blue-robed cultivator grew impatient. Without a word, he raised his hand, and several scrolls shot out, instantly transforming into several fire serpents several zhang long, rushing straight toward the birds. "Hmm! Fire Serpent Technique!" Han Li, standing on the vehicle, murmured in mild surprise. Though the Fire Serpent Technique was a basic spell, it was not something a Foundation-level cultivator could casually or freely employ when inscribed into scrolls. This person was clearly no ordinary cultivator. Han Li narrowed his eyes, growing increasingly interested in him. But immediately, his brows furrowed, and Han Li sighed inwardly. The three fire serpents, though advancing with great vigor, were easily evaded by the three monkey-hawks due to their considerable distance—each one flashing past with ease. The blue-robed figure's understanding of the fire serpent technique was remarkably shallow; he failed to realize that the serpents should be guided mid-journey to pursue the enemy, thus wasting several scrolls. In fact, his inaction even roused the fierce instincts of the three mythical birds. The larger of the three suddenly let out a sharp cry, and all three birds simultaneously folded their wings, plunging straight toward the blue-robed figure. Upon seeing the fire serpent scrolls fail to achieve their purpose, the figure seemed momentarily stunned. When he then witnessed the birds charging directly at him, he grew visibly anxious. After a flurry of hurried movements, he finally produced a small, faintly white sword, reciting rapid incantations to activate it and launch an attack against the enemy. Han Li shook his head in growing disbelief. With the mythical birds now advancing swiftly, the figure did not first deploy a protective barrier to shield himself—instead, he attempted to counterattack with his magical artifact. Wasn't It seems this person is indeed a newcomer who rarely engages in disputes. Yet the small sword he wields is a mid-tier magical artifact—this individual clearly has some background. The blue-robed adept recited his spell with remarkable fluency, and as the spectral bird approached, finally activated his artifact, launching the sword with sudden force. A brilliant flash ensued, and the sword transformed into a luminous white arc several feet long, swiftly cutting toward the central ape-eagle, moving with astonishing speed. Recognizing the threat, the creature shifted its body abruptly, attempting to evade the beam—but it was too late. It managed only to grasp the arc with one black claw. The light momentarily faltered, and a sharp cry echoed through the air as the black, sharp claw was cleanly severed by the sword's brilliance. Blood splashed down from the sky. However, two more spectral birds instantly surged from either side, reaching the blue-robed adept's head, and their four sharp claws pressed firmly against his cranial region.