Han Li narrowed his eyes, and the first layer of Tongbao Sect's cultivation technique flowed smoothly. A roar like a dragon's voice resonated, and the lid of the cauldron instantly transformed into a blue glow, shooting skyward. Then, a myriad of five-colored spiritual lights surged from within the cauldron, while the Qinglang Holy Maiden's green light, flowing like a thousand rivers converging into the sea, condensed into a beam of green mist and vanished instantly, absorbed into the cauldron. The silver-robed woman was stunned, and Han Li himself paused in surprise. At that moment, the massive cauldron beneath the Qinglang Holy Maiden began emitting an unusual hum. Suddenly, it transformed into a streak of green light and shot downward. The silver-robed woman's face turned pale, and she quickly raised both hands to recite her spell, attempting to summon the cauldron back—but her incantation failed. The green light ignored her completely and plunged directly into the smaller cauldron below, disappearing without a trace. The Qinglang Holy Maiden was filled with shock and anger, yet the situation was far from over. Suddenly, Han Li's virtual sky cauldron detached itself from his hands and spun smoothly in the air At once, a startled roar echoed through the white mist, and a dark figure shot forth from the vapor, soaring upward. It was the Tianlan Sacred Beast, with a cow's head and a serpent's body. Suddenly, a magnificent streak of blue light erupted from the cauldron, pursuing the Tianlan Beast at an astonishing speed and swiftly enveloping it. The Tianlan Beast roared desperately, struggling fiercely, yet the blue light seemed to be its very weakness—its efforts proved utterly ineffective. After a graceful spiral, the beast within the light rapidly shrunk in size and was carried directly into the cauldron. The cauldron lid spun once and descended gracefully, sealing itself over the mouth of the cauldron, thus trapping the Tianlan Beast inside. These remarkable changes unfolded in the blink of an eye. The silver-robed woman's face turned pale as a sheet. She could hardly believe it—though she had clearly been in the upper hand, everything had shifted so dramatically within a single moment. Not only had her opponent broken free from the constraints, but both the sacred cauldron and the sacred beast's duplicate had been taken as well. Yet this woman was no ordinary person. As her gaze shifted, it instantly settled upon the Huatian Ding in Han Li’s hands. She was well aware that the very cause of this dramatic transformation lay precisely within this vessel, comparable in size and significance to the Sacred Ding. Given that the Sacred Ding had lost control, it was clear that this Ding shared a deep connection with it—otherwise, such a remarkable shift would not have occurred. This Ding must be seized! In that instant, her resolve was firmly set. Han Li naturally felt both surprised and delighted. Observing the cold gleam in her eyes, he could not fail to sense her intentions. With a hearty laugh, he gently扇ed his back silver wings, and in an instant, he materialized as a silver arc, now standing dozens of paces away. Without hesitation, he swiftly raised his arms toward the massive sword, then rapidly flicked his fingers, forming a series of strange hand seals. As he did so, a shimmering green light danced around him, and a powerful aura surged forth from his body. With a single breath, he expelled several clots of refined blood, which dispersed into the wind, transforming into fine blood mist. The luminous glow instantly took on a vibrant, At the same time, the exposed hands and face began to turn an unusually deep crimson, quickly becoming as vivid and blood-like as fresh wounds—startling to behold. Amidst the blood mist, Han Li's figure grew increasingly indistinct. "Unfortunate!" As soon as she saw Han Li's sudden movement, the silver-robed woman suddenly recalled something, her heart racing as she cried out, raising both hands and sending two bursts of silver light forth, which swiftly transformed into countless fine silver threads, sweeping down like a dense, all-encompassing veil toward Han Li. Within a radius of several dozen zhang, the entire area shimmered with a brilliant silver glow, truly impressive. However, just as Han Li's great sword returned, his form wavered slightly within the blood mist, and a streak of blood surged forward before vanishing abruptly from the sky. In the next instant, the heavens seemed to flash with bloodlight twice, and Han Li was completely gone. The Tianlan Holy Maiden felt her heart sink, quickly extending her divine awareness. But just as she had located a target a hundred zhang away, Han Li once again vanished into a streak of blood, escaping beyond the reach of her awareness. Her … Meanwhile, at another distant location, nine shimmering green flywheels hummed and spiraled around a graceful young man. Gazing out at the endless grasslands stretching before him, he wore a puzzled expression. "Wood Transmutation Technique? After being struck so severely, he's still able to use the vitality of plants to conceal and vanish—this magical artifact must be quite powerful. The counterattack I just endured was indeed formidable. Yet, it hasn't even possessed the ability to forcibly take over his body, has it? With only a Yuanjing stage, and injured so badly, his body should have already begun to dissipate and collapse within this brief span. Yet, since just now, there's been a growing sense of unease—could it be that something has gone wrong with the others?" The young man's eyes flickered several times as he murmured softly, then lifted his gaze toward the opposite direction, hesitated slightly, and suddenly converged the nine wheels into a single streak of emerald light, swiftly retreating back. And within a humble, low-growing thicket, a small banner of dark, lustrous hue stood firmly on the ground. The banner shimmered with a steady black glow, and through it, a half-shi-sized hole appeared and faded in and out. Inside the hole lay a black-green infant spirit, only an inch in size, unconscious, its body enveloped in swirling black qi, quietly drawing upon the refined magical energy hidden within the banner to heal itself. "So it seems we didn't just fail to secure the cultivation method for the Gold-Eating Insect—we actually lost both the Sacred Vessel and the Sacred Beast." The young man furrowed his brows, speaking in a low, serious tone. "The Sacred Vessel is manageable; our clan still has a backup. We can still summon the Sacred Beast. But the Beast's duplicate was taken by that person. This will surely provoke the wrath of the upper-tier Sacred Beasts. We must recover it at all costs." The purple-haired woman also spoke with a visibly strained expression. "This time, I was too careless. I never expected someone to have the means to counteract the Sacred Vessel, which is precisely what led to this situation. I'll go to Dajin myself and retrieve the Beast's duplicate. Moreover, that smaller Vessel they possess is so unusual—it can even control our Sacred Vessel. This is no ordinary matter. I suspect it is the genuine, original artifact that the Sacred Vessel was modeled after. Otherwise, there's no way to explain what's happened." The silver-robed woman remained exceptionally composed, speaking calmly. "A spiritually attuned artifact? That seems unlikely." Such treasures should never have appeared in this realm—they ought to have all been carried by ancient cultivators to the Upper Realm. Even the Sacred Cauldron, which we possess, was obtained through a particularly talented master of our Tuwu clan, who used a secret technique to communicate with a sacred beast and learned the method of replication from it. How could the genuine, spirit-communicating treasures be left behind in the mortal realm? The raven-haired woman frowned, expressing her disbelief. "Actually, that's quite possible! Since ancient demons have already appeared in the mortal world, it's not implausible that a few spirit-communicating treasures have also remained here." The young, elegant man shook his head calmly. Upon hearing the word "ancient demon," both the raven-haired woman and the Tianlan Princess instantly grew pale. "Hmph! Everyone always speaks of how terrifying ancient demons are. Unfortunately, we've never had the chance to face one in battle and test our strength. Yet this demon's evasive technique is truly extraordinary—he simply passed through the grasslands without ever meeting us, and vanished into the great Jin state." The raven-haired woman seemed somewhat unconvinced. "That is because this demon had already sustained serious injuries, and upon entering the grasslands, we happened to encounter him just as he was. We pursued him relentlessly, forcing him to have no time to rest and recover. Otherwise, I daresay he would have caused quite a commotion in the grasslands!" The young man sighed, a touch of苦笑 appearing on his face. "Regardless of whether his treasure is truly a living, sentient artifact, he has slain so many of our immortals and taken away the sacred beasts. We cannot simply let it go. As the current Saint Maiden, the tripod I entrusted to me has also been lost. I must personally retrieve it. Otherwise, when we summon the sacred beasts next time, we shall find ourselves unable to answer their questions." The silver-robed woman spoke with a grave expression. Upon hearing this, the young man and the beautiful woman exchanged a glance, as if discussing their thoughts. "Since the Saint Maiden is so determined about this matter, a visit to Dajin is certainly feasible. However, several sects in Dajin hold some prejudice toward our sudden clan's immortals. The Saint Maiden would do well to remain discreet about her identity." After all, with that person's abilities, his influence within the Grand Jin realm should be considerable. You could first visit Yin Luo Sect to verify whether he is indeed a senior monk of Yin Luo Sect. Once you've confirmed his identity, you can then return to the grasslands to inform us. We will all be able to support you. The young man nodded and said so. "I understand. That person's abilities are on par with mine. I won't act hastily!" The silver-robed woman spoke with a serious expression. Thus, the three of them immediately set off back. Tian Lan, the holy maiden, would promptly depart to seek out Han Li once she had finished handling a few matters. ... In the Great Jin Dynasty, Liao State of Liaozhou is one of the largest among the hundred and eight provinces, ranking among the top ten in terms of territory. However, most of its region remains in a severely cold climate, often covered in snow year-round, resulting in a sparse population. Its level of prosperity ranks only mid-to-lower among all the provinces and prefectures. The Shun River within Liaozhou is the second-largest river in the region and one of the few that never freeze during the flood season. As a result, every year at this time, merchants transporting goods and travelers with urgent matters alike choose to take riverboats and travel downstream. This is far more convenient than riding horses or taking carts. Along the river, official government boats are dispatched at regular intervals to patrol the stretches of water. Nevertheless, given the sheer number of passenger vessels and the river's considerable length, there are numerous bandits who are willing to risk their lives and even their families' safety to rob passing ships. Consequently, larger vessels often hire agile, skilled martial artists—known as courier guards—to serve as on-board protectors. Wang Tieguang is one such ordinary courier guard, whose name clearly indicates that he has a strong command of gunmanship. But these were secondary matters. Most importantly, his experience as a shipguard had been exceptionally rich—he had entered the profession as a young man and remained dedicated for over twenty years, transforming from a vigorous youth into a composed, calm veteran of the waterways. Now, he stands steadily on the bow of a large vessel, one hand resting on the wooden railing, observing the ships passing by, his expression utterly still and unchanging. This journey as a shipguard, to him, was merely a routine assignment. The only notable aspect was that the ship’s owner was the family of an official of the government, suggesting a certain status and background. Generally speaking, such semi-official vessels—carrying both official and civilian elements—were rarely targeted even by river bandits, making this a relatively straightforward and less demanding escort. And indeed, the journey unfolded as expected: the large ship sailed smoothly for most of the way, encountering no disturbances. Now he is thinking, this time the ship owner has been very generous—the silver he's given seems sufficient to buy several fine bolts of cloth for his family, enough to make several good garments. Thinking of these things, Wang Tiegang's mind naturally pictures his young son, no more than seven years old, and a gentle smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. But at that very moment, suddenly a woman's astonished cry comes from the side of the great ship. "Come quickly! There's a large piece of ice here—inside... inside, it seems there's someone!"