The blue-robed figure was stunned, hastily activating the brocade scarf beneath his feet to propel himself backward. Yet he clearly underestimated the two ape-hawks. As a second-tier spirit beast, they naturally possessed certain abilities. Before either of the two birds had settled, a piercing, mournful cry like that of an ape burst forth. Upon hearing this sound, the blue-robed figure felt as though his mind had been struck by a heavy hammer; his body wavered, and he could barely maintain his balance. A pungent, foul wind then surged over his head. He gasped, his face instantly pale. Almost at the same time, two deep, resonant thuds echoed—two fist-sized fire balls, seemingly appearing from nowhere, struck the two birds with perfect precision and silence. A violent explosion followed, with flashes of red light as the flames engulfed the two hawks. The intense heat rapidly spread throughout the surrounding space. The ape-like cries ceased abruptly. The blue-robed figure was naturally filled with exhilaration, feeling as though he had just escaped a near-fatal encounter. He didn't hesitate, immediately activating his magical artifact. With a sudden "whoosh," he shot forward, landing十余 zhang away. Then, he quickly drew out a scroll and hurriedly pressed it against his body. A shimmering yellow light shield instantly formed around him. At this point, the blue-robed cultivator felt a sense of relief, realizing that practicing spells in theory was entirely different from applying them in actual combat. Had it not been for this timely intervention, his very first foundation-level cultivator status might have been lost. Thinking of this, he glanced toward the lower side and immediately spotted Han Li, dressed in the same-colored cloak. With a sense of astonishment, he instantly recognized the person who had saved his life. Han Li's two fire balls, released at foundation-level cultivation, could not have extinguished the two second-tier beast creatures. Instead, they caused the two monkey-hawks to burst out of the flames, their fierce nature now greatly intensified. The two beasts, their feathers scorched and singed, no longer paid attention to the blue-robed cultivator, but turned sharply and charged straight toward Han Li's carriage. The other, a gale-owl with one claw severed, now charged fiercely at the blue-robed figure, its eyes blazing crimson. Han Li watched the two massive birds streaking toward him, his brows subtly furrowing. Suddenly, he struck the storage sack at his waist with his palm, and two beams of white light shot forth. As the light danced in the wind, two snow-white earthworms, each about half a span long, materialized in the air. Compared to the gale-owls, these smaller creatures seemed oddly diminutive, yet upon their emergence, they displayed remarkable excitement, emitting strange chirping sounds and advancing boldly toward the two gale-owls without fear. Upon seeing the earthworms summoned, the two gale-owls, for some reason, suddenly appeared hesitant—faintly shrinking in stature—and halted mid-flight as their wings stopped flapping abruptly. Even more, they carefully sniffed the air, then, overwhelmed with fear, turned and fled immediately. The ancient, rare aura of these creatures was no match for the lower-tier beasts. Yet the two centipedes showed no intention of letting them go. Upon emitting a strange cry, they opened their mouths and unleashed two powerful streams of pale, chilly mist that surged forth instantly, transforming the area nearby into a vast expanse of white fog. The macaque hawk could only emit a mournful cry before being engulfed. The two centipedes, in turn, swiftly darted into the mist, without hesitation. Though the flying sword artifact was formidable, its wielder was notably inexperienced. Though they had unexpectedly wounded the enemy earlier, now they could only trail behind the demonic bird, desperately pursuing it. As for employing other spells or incantations—clearly beyond the capabilities of the blue-robed mage—mere control of the sword required great effort, let alone managing multiple tasks simultaneously. Should nothing change, defeat and death were inevitable. While gazing at the ape-bird with a steady glint in his eyes, Han Li was about to decide whether to strike and take the creature down. Suddenly, the bird seemed to sense something, emitting a sharp cry and abruptly abandoning the blue-robed mage, flapping its wings and rocketing upward into the sky, reaching over ten zhang away in mere moments. This unexpected turn left both the blue-robed mage and Han Li himself astonished. Yet, with a cold exhalation, Han Li raised his hand without hesitation, and a streak of red light flashed swiftly into the air. The mythical bird instantly trembled, then plummeted straight from the sky, crashing heavily onto the ground before going completely still. Though he had only recently arrived in the Tianlan Grasslands, Han Li had heard that these creatures known as Yujiao were exceptionally tenacious and held grudges. He didn’t want to create any unnecessary complications later on—better to settle this matter once and for all. Yet, Han Li’s sudden action startled the blue-robed man, who gasped in surprise and exclaimed, “Flying needles! You truly possess needle-based techniques!” His voice carried clear astonishment. “Is there something unusual about my use of needle-type artifacts?” Han Li glanced at him calmly and said. Then, with a simple gesture, he reached out to the fallen bird’s body, and a streak of red light shot back up, landing gently in his palm. Indeed, it was a slender silver needle, glowing with a bright red hue. “Of course not—only….” Before the blue-robed man could begin to explain, two more dull, resonant sounds echoed from the side. Two massive, translucent, and pristine blocks of ice plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ground and leaving behind two deep pits several feet in depth. Within the ice, two pairs of ape-eagles were clearly trapped—yet these two spirit birds now had their eyes frozen solid, clearly devoid of breath. The blue-robed man stared in open astonishment. Suddenly, a flash of light erupted from the ice, and two beams of white light rose upward, spiraling before settling gently upon either side of Han Li’s shoulders, revealing their true forms as centipedes. "Are these the spirit insects you have cultivated?" the blue-robed man asked, swallowing a lump in his throat, his voice filled with wonder. "Indeed," Han Li replied calmly, gently stroking the back of one of the centipedes. "These are the two cold-snow centipedes I have nurtured." The cold-snow centipede was no mere invention of Han Li’s. There truly existed such a rare creature. In its mature form, it closely resembled the current形态 of He Liu Yi’s frost centipede. Without a deep understanding of insect cultivation, even a master of spiritual cultivation would find it difficult to distinguish the two. "May I have the privilege of purchasing your flying needles and spirit insects? I'm willing to pay a substantial sum!" Han Li was utterly surprised that, after examining these two centipedes closely, the blue-robed visitor expressed such eagerness. Well, that's all I have to say. My name is Feng Yue, and I haven't yet thanked you for saving my life. May I ask your honorable name?" Hearing this, the blue-robed man was deeply disappointed, yet after a slight glance, he became remarkably courteous and inquired politely. "My name is Han. Let's have someone clear the space first." Han said calmly. "Clear the space?" The blue-robed man was taken aback. He glanced around and realized that, at some point, the ordinary people who had previously been scattering everywhere had all risen to their feet. Yet they all stood in respectful silence, gathered at a distance of over ten zhang. Only Ying Lu and the bearded man with the surname Ba stood closer, listening attentively to the conversation between the two immortals. The elder, in particular, was beaming with delight. He had clearly seen that nearly all three formidable, previously insurmountable demonic birds—so daunting to them—had been vanquished by Han's sudden and decisive actions. The power of this immortal far exceeded his expectations. Indeed, it was a delightful surprise! It seems that even if he were to travel alone, there should be no major issues. "These three beasts, you take care of them. Aside from the claws and a few long feathers on their wings and tails, the fur and flesh aren't useful to me. You may keep them." Han Li spoke to the large man and the elder in a commanding tone. By the customs of the grasslands, whoever killed a beast naturally claimed its belongings. Though in reality, these lower-grade materials held little value for Han Li, he was currently portraying himself as a cultivator at the Foundation Stage, and thus could not afford to overlook them. "Indeed! We shall faithfully carry out the Master's orders," the elder said, visibly pleased. While the skin and flesh of the gibbons and eagles might not be of much significance to cultivators, they were quite valuable to ordinary people—worth exchanging for many fine items. The large man also nodded respectfully and agreed. Then, after a moment of calling out, several strong young men approached and walked toward the three bodies of the beastly birds. Prepare to handle the three corpses of the ape-eagles as instructed by Han Li. The one slain by Han Li's flying needles is in good condition, but the two frozen ones will need to be crushed with heavy hammers. "If Master Feng is unharmed, please return to rest," Han Li said coldly to the blue-robed figure, then, without waiting for a response, turned and went back to his own vehicle. Upon seeing Han Li's indifferent demeanor, the blue-robed figure felt a sudden chill. He had expected, given the strength of Han Li's spiritual artifacts and spiritual insects, to establish a more meaningful connection with him. Instead, Han Li gave him no chance to speak and simply departed with cold detachment—leaving him deeply embarrassed. Though Han Li had just shown him kindness and clearly possessed extraordinary capabilities, the figure found himself unable to object. After a while, he finally sighed, and returned to his own vehicle with some reluctance. He didn't know that Han Li, seated in the carriage, was intently gazing at his back, silently pondering. "Master! This person seems to have some significance, yet Master treats him so coldly," came the unusual voice of Yin Yue in Han Li's mind. After this period of recuperation, though Yin Yue still felt greatly weakened, she could now speak without difficulty. The blue-robed man was startled, hastily activating the embroidered silk scroll beneath his feet and sending himself backward in a desperate attempt to evade the attacks from the two macaque eagles. Yet he clearly failed to avoid both assaults. As a second-tier beast, the macaque eagles naturally possessed certain abilities. As the two birds still hovered mid-air, a piercing, mournful cry, reminiscent of a macaque's call, burst forth. Upon hearing this sound, the blue-robed man felt as though a heavy hammer had struck his mind—his body wavered and trembled, unable to maintain his balance. A foul, pungent wind then swept over his head. With a gasp, he looked utterly pale. At almost the same time, two deep thuds echoed, as two fiery fist-balls shot forth from unknown sources, striking the two spirit birds with perfect precision and silence. A roar of explosion surged forth, red light flashing as two blazing flames engulfed the two apes. The intense heat instantly spread throughout the surrounding space. The cries of the ape ceased abruptly. The blue-robed cultivator was naturally filled with exhilaration, feeling as though he had just escaped death. Not being slow-witted, he immediately activated his artifact, shooting forward with a "whoosh" to land十余丈 away, then hastily drew out a scroll and pressed it against his body. A yellow luminous shield suddenly materialized around him. Only then did he feel a sense of reassurance, realizing that practicing spells in theory was entirely different from applying them in actual combat. Had it not been for this sudden turn of events, this newly established foundation-level cultivator might have perished. Thinking of this, he glanced downward to one side and immediately spotted Han Li, wearing a cloak of the same color. With a sense of astonishment, he naturally recognized the person who had saved his life. Han Li's two fire balls, released with only Foundation Stage cultivation, could not have easily extinguished the two second-tier beast creatures. Instead, the two gregarious storks leaped out of the flames, their fury intensifying. The storks, whose feathers had been scorched, no longer paid attention to the blue-robed figure and turned sharply, charging straight toward Han Li's carriage. The other stork, whose one claw had been severed, still charged forward with blazing red eyes, aiming directly at the blue-robed figure. Han Li observed the two large birds rushing toward him, his brows subtly furrowing. Suddenly, he reached out and struck his storage pouch at his waist. Two beams of white light shot forth. As the light danced in the wind, two snow-white earthworms, each about half a foot long, materialized in the air. Compared to the two giant centipede apes, the smaller one appeared disproportionately petite, yet upon being released, it exhibited extraordinary excitement, emitting strange, chirping sounds, and boldly advancing toward the two apes without fear. The two apes charging in, upon seeing these two centipedes summoned, suddenly displayed a subtle shrinking on their cephalic ends, halting their vigorous wingbeats mid-flight. Even after carefully sniffing the air, they panicked and promptly turned around to flee. The aura of these ancient, rare insects was clearly beyond the reach of such lower-tier beasts. Yet the two centipedes showed no intention of letting them go. After emitting a strange cry, they opened their mouths, and two streams of clear, cold, misty qi surged forth, instantly transforming the area nearby into a vast, white expanse. The apes barely managed to emit a mournful cry before being completely engulfed. The two centipedes, meanwhile, without hesitation, shot straight into the cold mist with a swift "whoosh." Han Li, observing this, turned his gaze away from the scene and focused on the blue-robed figure. There he stood, the blue-robed figure drenched in sweat, skillfully maneuvering his small sword artifact, engaging in a lively battle with the largest and most injured of the ape eagles. Though severely wounded, the beast remained fiercely combative, its entire form transforming into a swift, brown-gray blur, weaving and dodging with remarkable agility around the blue-robed figure, constantly driving his single talon hard against the protective shield. Its cries of distress never ceased, growing increasingly frantic and disorienting the blue-robed figure, who found it hard to concentrate and fully focus on the fight. The flying sword artifact, though powerful, was being handled by a somewhat inexperienced operator. Though it had managed a surprise strike earlier, it now trailed behind the beast, desperately attempting to close the gap. As for summoning other spells or incantations—clearly beyond the blue-robed figure’s current capacity—his primary effort was already stretched thin simply maintaining control of the sword artifact, let alone managing multiple tasks simultaneously. Unless something unexpected occurred, defeat or death was inevitable. While observing the ape eagle, a cold glint of determination passed through Han Li’s eyes, and he considered whether to intervene and take down this formidable foe. The spectral bird suddenly let out a piercing cry, as if sensing something, and abruptly abandoned the blue-robed man, flapping its wings and rocketing upward—within a blink, it had reached over a dozen paces away. This development left not only the blue-robed man, but even Han Li himself, utterly astonished. Yet, after a cold exhalation, Han Li raised his hand with no hesitation, and a streak of red light flashed and vanished instantly. The bird instantly trembled, then plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily to the ground, where it lay motionless. Though Han Li had only recently arrived in the Tianlan Grasslands, he had heard that these so-called yuanshi—flying apes—were notoriously tenacious and easily resentful. He didn’t want to create any unnecessary complications in the future. It was better to settle this matter once and for all. Yet, Han Li’s swift action startled the blue-robed man, who gasped aloud, “Flying needles! You truly possess needle-based techniques.” His voice carried clear astonishment. “How is it, then, that my use of needle-like artifacts seems unusual to you?” Han Li glanced at him calmly and replied. With a wave of his hand toward the corpses of the spectral birds on the ground, a streak of red light shot back up and settled into the palm of his hand with a flash of light. Indeed, a slender silver needle, glowing with a bright red hue, no more than an inch long. "Of course not—just..." Before the blue-robed man could explain further, two dull thuds echoed from beside him. Two massive, translucent, and pristine ice blocks fell from the sky, crashing into the ground and leaving behind two deep pits several feet in depth. Within each block, two more ape-hawks were trapped—yet both birds now had their eyes frozen, clearly lifeless. The blue-robed man stared in open amazement. A flash of light then rippled across the ice, and two beams of white light rose upward, spiraling before landing on either side of Han Li’s shoulders, revealing their true forms as centipedes. "Are these the spiritual insects you've been cultivating?" asked the blue-robed man, his voice slightly trembling. "Indeed," replied the speaker, "these are the two cold-snow centipedes I've been feeding and nurturing." Han Li gently ran his hand along the back of one of the centipedes, speaking calmly. The cold snow centipede was no mere invention of his—it was indeed a rare creature. In its mature form, it closely resembled the current形态 of He Liu Yi's frost centipede, so that even a master of insect cultivation might find it difficult to distinguish between the two. "Would you be willing to part with your flying needles and spirit insects? I'm prepared to pay a substantial price for them," Han Li was utterly surprised when the blue-robed guest, after examining the two centipedes, suddenly expressed such eagerness. Han Li stared, then smiled lightly. "Are you jesting? The spirit insects have already taken root in their current owners. As for the flying needles—though I'm willing to sell them, I doubt you could afford them even if you tried." "The spirit stones are no issue—I'll gladly set my price," the blue-robed guest said confidently, as if he were already well-off. After witnessing Han Li's skill in commanding the needle and instantly dispatching a mythical bird creature, he had grown increasingly enthusiastic. Hán Lì heard this and slightly narrowed his eyes. After carefully observing the other for a long time, however, his expression darkened and his voice grew cold. "I'm sorry. This needle is one I've grown accustomed to using—currently, I have no intention of selling it." "If you're unwilling, that's perfectly fine. Should I have such a sharp artifact, I wouldn't sell it lightly either. Then, let it be as though I never mentioned it. My name is Feng Yue. I haven't yet had the chance to thank you for saving my life. Might I ask your honorable name?" The blue-robed figure, though deeply disappointed, turned his gaze with a subtle shift and asked politely. "My name is Han. Let's have someone clear the area first." Hán Lì replied calmly. "Clear the area?" The blue-robed figure was momentarily taken aback. He glanced around and realized that, at some point, the ordinary people who had previously been scattering everywhere had now all risen to their feet. They all stood respectfully, gathered some ten zhang away, forming a respectful circle. Only Ying Lu and the tall man with the surname Ba stood closer, their faces showing a touch of excitement, quietly listening to The elder was especially delighted, his mouth nearly closing with joy. He had clearly seen just now that nearly all of these formidable, previously insurmountable beastly creatures—those that had once seemed utterly unmanageable to them—had been vanquished by the cold-tempered immortal master he had hired along the way. The master’s prowess far exceeded his expectations; truly a delightful surprise! It now seemed clear that even if he were to lead the group alone, there would be no significant issues. "These beasts," said Han Li, addressing the Han official and the elder with a commanding tone, "you take care of. Aside from the claws and a few long feathers from their wings and tails, the fur and flesh are of no use to me. You may keep them." By the customs of the grasslands, the one who defeated a beast naturally claimed its spoils. Though in reality, Han Li found these lower-grade materials utterly unremarkable, he was now playing the part of a Foundation Stage cultivator, and thus could not afford to overlook them. "Yes, respectfully following the immortal master's orders," the elder said, his face bright with renewed delight. Although the flesh and skin of the gibbons were of little value to cultivators, they were a rare treasure for ordinary people—something that could be exchanged for many valuable items. Dahang nodded respectfully beside him. Then, after a moment of calling out, several strong young men approached and walked toward the three bodies of the divine birds, ready to carry out Han Li's instructions on preparing the remains of the three gibbons. The one slain by Han Li's flying needles remained intact, while the two frozen ones would have to be crushed with heavy hammers. "Master Feng, if you're well, go rest now. I'm feeling a bit weary myself and will return to my carriage." Han Li turned to the blue-robed scholar, speaking coldly, and without waiting for a response, took off toward his own carriage. Upon seeing Han Li's indifferent demeanor, the blue-robed scholar felt a sudden chill. He had expected, given Han Li's impressive array of spiritual artifacts and spiritual insects, to gain some further purpose or establish a more personal connection. Yet, Han Li gave him no chance to speak and simply departed with cold detachment. This left him most embarrassed. Yet the person had just shown him kindness, and his strength was clearly extraordinary—so he could not very well object. After a while, the blue-robed man finally sighed, somewhat disgruntled, and returned to his own vehicle. He was unaware that Han Li, seated quietly in the car, was intently watching his back, silently pondering. "Master! This person seems to have some background. But why has Master been so distant toward him?" came the unusual voice of Yin Yue from within Han Li's mind. After this period of rest and recuperation, although his energy was still greatly diminished, the young maid could now speak without difficulty.