The humanoid automaton made no elaborate movements when the swordlight approached—merely lightly touched the silver shield before it. Instantly, a flash of luminous energy surged across the shield, and suddenly, a solid, thick light shield several times its original size materialized, expanding and drifting out like a soft, milky sheet. Under Han Li's watchful gaze, the swordlight struck the shield without mercy. With a thunderous explosion, the light shimmered and flickered, yet the shield remained as immovable as a rock in a flowing stream, steadfastly deflecting all the swordlight, as if it had more than enough strength. The old Kunzhu elder's expression changed, and a subtle surprise flickered across Han Li's composed face. "It appears the power of this Yuan Gang shield exceeds our expectations. Though newly crafted and not yet fully refined, it clearly handles ordinary法宝 attacks with ease. Yet only this automaton can achieve such a level of defensive performance. If you were to operate the shield, achieving half the current effectiveness would already be considered excellent." "The Great Yanshan Sovereign spoke. "Of course. The extent to which our cultivators can harness the power of our artifacts largely depends on the inherent strength of the artifact itself, the amount of cultivative energy infused into it, and the level of spiritual awareness employed in its manipulation. The fundamental principle of cultivation lies in how much spiritual energy the artifact can store and how much it can release at once. Advancement in cultivation levels is merely a series of successive leaps and refinements in this process. This puppet is crafted from various rare materials, capable of receiving an infusion of spiritual energy three times greater than mine—thus, I naturally cannot match its capabilities." Han Li replied without surprise. Over these days, under the direct guidance of the Great Yanshan Sovereign in the art of puppetry, Han Li had attained an exceptionally high level of mastery in this discipline. While he might not surpass the Sovereign himself, he certainly stood on par with the other leading puppet artisans of the human realm. "Hehe, although the Yuan Gang Shield was refined within your body and then passed on to the puppet for use, it was entirely crafted based on the characteristics of this humanoid puppet from the outset—thus, it differs from ordinary法宝. Even if you infuse the shield with the same spiritual power as the puppet itself, it still fails to unleash its full potential," said the Daxian Divine Sovereign, adding a quiet remark. This time, Han Li nodded in agreement but said nothing further. For, after the old Gu Zhu elder continued to intensify his swordlight attacks, unable to penetrate the radiant shield, he finally activated his sword array above his head and unleashed a different form of divine technique. With a simple gesture, he pointed at the floating swords in the sky, and instantly, a chorus of sword sounds resonated. All the flying swords, as if summoned, surged upward toward a specific point in the air. As the swordlight flashed, a sword wheel of about one zhang in diameter materialized in the sky. After the old bamboo elder consecutively cast several spells, the sword wheel suddenly began to spin, accelerating rapidly. In a moment, the center glowed brilliantly, and a green light column coalesced and surged forth, striking the massive light shield with great force. A deep, resonant thud echoed, and a massive green sphere erupted on the surface of the shield. This sphere was enormous, pressing down so hard that it indented the shield's center and progressively deformed it until the shield finally showed signs of strain. At this moment, the humanoid automaton raised a hand and gently pointed it at the silver shield, causing the shield to instantly disintegrate into scattered points of white light. The previously blocked green sphere then surged forward with great momentum, pressing directly against the core of the silver giant shield. Though the shield trembled violently, it did not shatter but instead burst forth with a cascade of liquid silver glimmers, transforming its surface into a smooth, mirror-like finish. Under the illumination of this silver radiance, the green sphere shuddered violently, with countless green rays reflecting and scattering in all directions, and within a moment, it had shrunk significantly. Then, the Silver Shield tilted slightly, its silver surface radiating brilliant light. The remaining light orbs were rebounded by this glow, flashing once in the sky before bursting into fragments and vanishing. Master Guzhu took a deep breath, his astonishment now fully evident as he stared at the figure across the field, his face grave with serious concern. Though the attack hadn't fully unleashed the full potential of his sword formation, the opponent had effortlessly deflected every strike with merely a single shield—his mastery was truly profound. Now, whether or not to unleash the final, decisive power of the sword formation, he found himself hesitating. "Good. Since the Yuan Gang Shield demonstrates such strength, there's no need to test the Five-Element Shield. The protective aura generated by the Five-Element Jade will not match the power of this shield. Let's now examine the strength of the figure's offensive capabilities." The Great Derivation Sovereign seemed highly satisfied with the performance of the Silver Shield and spoke with confidence. "Understood," replied Han Li calmly. The humanoid automaton's purple light flashed in its eyes, responsive to the horse's movement. Then, without speaking, it gently rubbed its hands together, and a crimson glow emerged and shimmered subtly between them. After a flash of piercing light, a small red bow materialized between its palms. Only a few inches in size, exquisitely crafted! The bow's arms were shaped like a dragon, with scales clearly visible. "Ah! The 'Jiaoqiao Bow'!" the old Guzhu cried out upon seeing it. "This is not the Jiaoqiao Bow at all, but a version I have crafted myself—the 'Lei Hu Bow.' I'd like to inform my companion that this bow is also made from the sinew of a dragon, though its power surpasses that of the Jiaoqiao Bow." The humanoid automaton remained expressionless, yet its words settled deeply in the old Guzhu's heart. Then, with a single hand motion, it grasped the small red bow firmly in its hand. With a thunderous crack, the other hand produced a slender green arrow, appearing clearly between its fingers. A rapid series of incantations flowed from its mouth. At once, the red bow and the small arrow radiated brilliant light, then rapidly expanded in size, soon attaining their normal dimensions. Symbols shimmered across their surfaces, and a surge of crimson flame erupted on the bow, enveloping it entirely. On the green arrow, golden light flashed, with several electric arcs shooting off, accompanied by continuous thunderous rumblings. The puppet skillfully placed the arrow on the bow and slowly drew it back, aiming steadily at the opposite side. Before releasing it, the golden arcs and crimson flame fused seamlessly, producing a deep, resonant roar. Then, a powerful spiritual pressure surged forth from the body, radiating outward like a tidal wave, spreading unimpeded. The cultivators who were observing from afar, all at the Dan stage, felt their breath tighten as this spiritual wave struck them—each of their protective light shields trembled and wavered. Some with lower cultivation levels grew pale and quickly staggered back, retreating several paces. "Stop! No need for further competition—I yield!" After sensing the spiritual energy emitted by the puppet, the Old Bamboo Sage suddenly paled and roared, declaring his surrender. Yet, though he spoke thus, he never relaxed his vigilance over the protective barriers. With a single hand motion, a triangular seal token was launched forward, rapidly expanding and glowing with an eerie blend of green, red, and yellow hues, now shielding him. At the same time, he swept his hand downward toward the sky, and the sword wheel roared into action, transforming into hundreds of flying swords that spiraled around him in an unceasing motion. The gravity with which the Old Bamboo Sage treated this moment came as a surprise to Han Li, who subtly raised an eyebrow and whispered to the Great Derivative Sovereign. "The power of this Thunder-Fire Bow seems so formidable—it appears to have truly unsettled this guest." "To summon a vast amount of spiritual energy equivalent to a late Yuan-Stage cultivator is no small feat; no magical artifact would be taken lightly. Moreover, your bow and arrow are no ordinary items—this one is crafted from the bones and sinews of the Crimson Fire Serpent, and the other is a specially modified version of your Golden Thunder Bamboo Arrow." The power of this combination is far more than a simple sum of its parts. It's no surprise that it makes the opponent feel threatened. After all, he's not a late Yuan婴 stage cultivator. If you allow this puppet to give its full effort, there's roughly a forty-percent chance that a single arrow could eliminate the master of Kuzhu Island. Would you like to settle this by killing him outright? The Great Derivation Sovereign said with a cold smile. "Forty percent? Perhaps. Still, we must secure the Black Phoenix Feathers. Should the arrow fail, the island's defenses will activate, and that would be troublesome. With such a renowned name, he likely possesses some life-saving cultivation techniques we're unaware of—something we wouldn't want to botch. I'm not a ruthless killer by nature, nor do I care for senseless deaths. But the actual strength of the puppet's attack remains untested." Han Li shook his head quietly. "Then that's settled." I could personally witness it effortlessly overpowering a cultivator at the peak of the mid-late stage of the Yuan Ying period, proving that the puppet's capabilities are truly on par with those of a Yuan Ying late-stage cultivator—no regrets now. After all, my half-century of efforts haven't been in vain," the Da Yan Sovereign sighed, murmuring softly. Hearing this, a faint sense of sorrow flickered in Han Li's eyes. At the same time, the astonishing spiritual energy radiating from the puppet gradually receded, and the bow and arrow lowered, returning to its original size within the luminous glow. The flames and golden arcs vanished completely. Old Ku Zhu felt a great relief upon seeing this, yet suddenly found himself drenched in cold sweat behind his back. When the bow and arrow had first aimed directly at him, he had truly sensed the imminent danger of being extinguished and slain, prompting him to immediately yield and submit. Now, regardless of the spells employed or the overwhelming spiritual pressure he had just endured, he was certain that the opponent was undoubtedly a Yuan Ying late-stage cultivator. It seems that stepping out of the meditation chamber specifically for these two has indeed been a wise decision. He didn't think the vast forest array on the island could truly withstand the wrath of a senior cultivator, especially with another cultivator of his own stage accompanying him. As he thought this, upon seeing the other party withdraw their法宝, the old bamboo-island master also retracted his flying sword token, and summoned Han Li and the other two to fly downward, re-entering the wooden hall. This time, the master of Kuzhu Island was unusually courteous, immediately instructing the senior cultivator at the jie dan stage to take his precious artifact and proceed to collect the Ufeng's feather, while he himself made friendly overtures to Han Li and the others, subtly probing for information about their backgrounds. After all, there were only a few senior cultivators in the Great Jin at the yuan ying late stage, and none of them matched the description of a humanoid automaton—this naturally stirred his curiosity. The humanoid automaton sat silently on the chair, expression neutral, saying nothing. Han Li, on the other hand, chatted pleasantly with the island's master, weaving in and out of topics, for a while, yet revealed not a single clue about their origins. To the bitter amusement of the old Bamboo Elder, he could only sigh helplessly. A minute later, the elder entered with a jade box in hand, respectfully placing it before his master. After a quick glance at Han Li and his companion, the elder waved his sleeve, and the jade box flew automatically toward Han Li. At this point, he had also noticed that although the Li surname cultivator possessed remarkable cultivation, he seemed reluctant to engage with others, thus wisely choosing to enter direct trade with Han Li. Han Li accepted the box without hesitation, opened the lid, and immediately a brilliant red glow filled the box. With a slight narrowing of his eyes, a look of delight spread across his face. Half a day later, Han Li and his humanoid automaton took off from the Bamboo Island, transforming into two streaks of brilliant light that broke through the sky. In a moment, the streaks vanished completely from the sky above.