On the third day in the late evening, Han Li, who had been in meditation since early morning, raised his head to gaze at the darkening sky. He flipped his hand and a moonstone appeared in his grasp. Throwing the stone into the air, a soft, milky glow spread out, illuminating the nearby peach grove with bright, gentle light. Without a word, Han Li rose and produced a red coral several feet in size, placing it beneath one of the peach trees. Then he pulled out a jade box, opened it, and revealed a small, single-stemmed, thirteen-leaf medicinal herb—just a few inches tall. The herb was pale and shimmered with a faint, ethereal radiance, the very one he had nurtured and cultivated countless times—the Nishang Grass! "This is what you've prepared?" asked the Daxian Divine Sovereign, still puzzled, even after Han Li successfully transplanted the Nishang Grass onto the coral. Though he had witnessed Han Li use this herb to nourish the gold-devouring insects and found the results astonishing, the very presence of this herb now left him deeply uncertain. Han Li smiled lightly upon hearing this: "In fact, this herb has another name—'Herb that Lures Demons.' Without needing further explanation, Senior, shouldn't you now understand my intent?" "Herb that Lures Demons? Do you mean to say..." The Grand Sovereign of Daxian seemed momentarily puzzled. "Exactly. Six days from now, when the smaller, younger Huya bird is released to breathe fresh air—well, you'll see, hehe..." Han Li chuckled coldly. Yet, though proud, he knew that all this had stemmed solely from his official duties—specifically, his role as the designated caretaker of the younger of the two Huyaowei birds within the sect. He had been chosen precisely because he possessed a rare, innate ability to understand the language of birds and spirit birds, a talent unmatched by anyone else. Otherwise, given the exceptional rarity of the Huyaowei birds, it would have been impossible for him to have been entrusted with such responsibility. After all, the act of "care" itself could, to some extent, influence and even guide the spirit birds—something far from trivial. The birds under his charge, though still in relatively early stages of cultivation, were capable of surpassing late Jadan-stage cultivators and even rivaling those at the Yuan'ing level. This naturally made other cultivators deeply cautious and wary of him. For over thirty years, he had been entrusted with this specialized role, and he had always managed it with ease and efficiency. The only inconvenience was that, whether he was practicing meditation or sitting in stillness, he had to spend his entire day in close proximity to the spirit bird. Even the brief half-day period—when he could allow the bird to go out and stretch its wings, flying freely—had to be interrupted. He would quietly follow it from a distance, ever vigilant, in case something unforeseen should happen. Yet, with regard to this spirit bird, Fang Chu felt absolutely at ease. The entire Tianyue Mountain Range, spanning ten thousand li, was under the full control of Yueyang Palace. What could possibly go wrong? As he thought this calmly, on this day, Fang Chu watched as the morning sun rose and the Haoyang bird took off from its nest, flying ahead, while he followed behind at a distance. Though the Haoyang bird was not particularly large—measuring about one zhang in size—the length of its tail feathers occupied a significant portion of its body. From afar, it appeared as a magnificent red peacock. Yet, how many peacocks in the world could boast such vivid, resplendent plumage? The spirit bird seemed clearly excited. As soon as it stepped out of the Yueyang Palace's protective seal, it fluttered its fiery wings, continuously circling and dancing in the air, completely unaware that someone was trailing behind it. If a conventional method had been used, Fang Chu would inevitably have been detected by the celestial bird's awareness. However, before leaving, he had already attached a specially crafted stillness scroll from the palace to his body—ensuring that even though his cultivation was still modest, he could remain undetected. Now, watching the bird emit clear, melodious calls, Fang Chu smiled with satisfaction. Having spent time with this spirit creature, he naturally understood that the bird was experiencing profound joy at the moment. It seemed today's outing would allow it to settle comfortably for another half-month. Thus, the昊阳 bird circled steadily above the Yueyang Palace for a while before finally changing direction and taking off toward the outer reaches. Fang Chu didn't find it unusual. By the bird king's customary habit, he would circle the Yueyang Palace for a wide range of hundreds of miles before returning contentedly to the palace grounds, so he calmly followed at a leisurely pace. However, this time, after flying only thirty or so li with the bird, an unexpected event occurred. The once exuberant Haoyang bird suddenly stiffened its wings, then its voice changed—sharp and piercing. As Fang Chu heard the bird's cry, he was momentarily stunned, still unsure of what was happening, when he saw the Haoyang bird urgently spread its wings, a surge of flames several feet high erupting from its body, and then breaking through the air in a new direction. After a few swift movements, it transformed into a massive fire ball and shot out hundreds of li ahead. This sight startled Fang Chu deeply, and soon he was terrified beyond measure. Realizing what had happened, he quickly drew out a jade plaque from his robes, poured strong spiritual energy into it, and at the same time emitted a strange, bird-like cry, attempting to summon the Haoyang bird back. Yet the Haoyang bird, glowing in the distant flames, seemed to have sensed the call. After a slight hesitation, it emitted several louder, more clamorous calls before turning and vanishing silently toward the horizon without a backward glance. Fang Chu, witnessing this, instantly grew pale, floating motionless in the air, utterly at a loss as to what to do. But shortly afterward, he remembered something, suddenly pulling out a communication scroll from his storage pouch, shouting several hurried words into it before tossing it upward with no further thought—where it instantly transformed into a blazing streak of light, racing swiftly toward Yueyang Palace. He himself clenched his teeth, tightly grasping his jade plaque, and set off on his way, riding his vessel toward the direction where the Haoyang bird had disappeared. Whether or not he could actually catch up, he could not simply remain here idle—otherwise, should the several senior masters encounter him, they would surely impose a severe reprimand. As Fang Chu rushed off in pursuit, disturbances erupted simultaneously across other parts of the Tian Yue Mountain Range where spirit beasts were present. In the northern part of the mountain range, several junior disciples from Yueyang Palace were desperately using silver rope strands to restrain a massive, bald-eagle-like monster bird beneath them, striving to control the sudden, uncooperative changes in direction of these low-level spiritual birds. Soon, everyone was sweating profusely, yet the spiritual birds remained wildly agitated, repeatedly turning and trying to surge toward a specific direction. Yet the old woman clearly sensed that, since just now, the spirit bird under her command had grown increasingly restless, showing no signs of calm. Without her continuous spells to soothe it, the bird would have flown out of the secret hall long before. Her face bore a touch of strangeness, and she found herself pondering. The high-ranking spirit beasts and flying spirit birds within the mountain range had already been swept away by the senior cultivators of Yueyang Palace, so there was no real cause for concern. Yet even thus, the sudden loss of control among the herds and the Huangyang birds still sent waves of shock and deep unease through Fang Chu's heart. At a secluded valley thousands of miles away, Han Li sat cross-legged on the ground, with a piece of Nishang grass planted on coral before him, glowing with a soft red radiance. The grass had unfurled six luminous leaves, shimmering with an ethereal light that appeared profoundly mysterious. Yet Han Li was not gazing intently at the Nishang grass; instead, his eyes were slightly narrowed, fixed on the scene beyond the peach grove, his expression utterly composed. Outside the barrier, several dozen low-ranking spirit beasts that had come running nearby had gathered, desperately battering against the outer layers of the seal, striving to breach it and consume the six-leaf Nishang grass. It was surprising that so many low-ranking spirit beasts existed in the Tianyue Mountain Range. Nevertheless, despite their numbers, Han Li paid them no special attention. Instead, he closed his eyes and carefully scanned the area toward Yueyang Palace with his spiritual awareness. According to his estimation, the power of the Nishang grass should be ideally suited to lure seven-tiered beasts, and since the Haoyang bird is a divine creature with a flight speed surpassing that of ordinary法宝, he expected to have arrived at this location not long ago. Soon after, a change came over the cold expression on Han Li's face, and he suddenly opened his eyes. With a low hum, he pressed a series of hand seals, instantly activating the outermost illusion array. A layer of pale, misty vapor rose from the ground and, within moments, partially enveloped the entire bamboo grove. At that very moment, simultaneous roars of wild beasts and clear, melodic bird calls echoed from both the eastern and western directions. A large yellow light sphere and a massive crimson fire ball launched simultaneously from both sides, both heading directly toward Han Li's valley. On seeing this situation, Han Li murmured a light "ah" and showed a touch of surprise.