Bai Yao Yi's eyes sparkled as she held the sword in one hand and made a sweeping cut through the air. Instantly, a blade of several feet in length materialized, striking hard against the ice wall. Han Li observed this and his expression shifted. "After so many years, this flying sword still retains its vitality—clear evidence of the care and dedication its former master must have poured into it. As for its power, the master appears to be a cultivator at the mid-to-late Jin Dan stage. That is rather surprising, though. A cultivator of that rank should not have been able to reach this location." After carefully examining the sword several times, Bai Yao Yi found no useful markings and looked slightly puzzled. "Would you mind if I take a look?" Han Li suddenly asked. "Why, there's no need for formality—please, go ahead," smiled Bai Yao Yi, her jade fingers lightly tapping, and the sword floated toward Han Li. Han Li caught it effortlessly with one hand and then lowered his gaze to examine it closely. After a while, however, a subtle furrow appeared between his brows. "What is it, Han brother? Have you noticed something?" Bai Yao Yi inquired with curiosity. "This sword is entirely crafted from blue yuan crystal. However, using only this material to forge flying swords is not a wise choice—by incorporating a few other materials as auxiliary elements, the sword's inherent quality would undoubtedly be enhanced. Yet, this method of crafting flying swords was widely popular for several thousand years before that, while the technique of blending other materials was only developed later. From the patterns and inscriptions on the sword itself, it appears to be quite ancient. This suggests that although the sword's owner is not an ancient cultivator, they must have been a cultivator from several thousand years ago." Han Li calmly stated one point at a time. "Your mastery of metallurgy is truly impressive—this truly surprises me!" Bai Yao Yi looked visibly surprised. "Nothing remarkable. I merely happened to have seen such swords described in ancient diagrams. Let us proceed into the cave—perhaps we'll discover something worthwhile." Han Li turned his gaze toward the cave, speaking with a composed, indifferent tone. "Very well, friend—please lead the way!" Bai Yaoyi thought for a moment and then nodded. She raised a white, misty jade umbrella with a graceful motion, then swayed her body gently and stepped forward into the cave first. Han Li smiled slightly, pointed at several flying swords hovering above his head, and summoned their golden light to form a protective shield around his body before following in. Inside the cave, it was pitch black, with only the wind and faint, distant shrieks echoing from deeper within. The ghostly creatures seemed to have sensed their arrival and grew even more fierce, though the sounds appeared to come from not far away. "So the cave isn't very large—this should be manageable," Han Li murmured. He raised his hand, and a luminous moonstone floated above them, glowing softly. Then he chanted a spell. Instantly, the moonstone radiated bright light, illuminating the surroundings clearly. However, due to the black, gusting winds, areas farther away remained somewhat blurred. After walking only fifty or sixty paces along the cave passage, a sudden brightening revealed a entrance not far ahead, faintly emitting a pale green glow. Han Li and Bai Yao Yi exchanged surprised glances. All the caves they had previously explored were unusually cold and dark, with not a single beam of light to be found. Moreover, every one of them was an abandoned mine shaft, utterly devoid of value. Yet, given their level of cultivation, though they heightened their vigilance slightly, they did not hesitate to take action. With the jade parasol shielding them from front and back, Bai Yao Yi simply flickered and materialized at the entrance. Upon glancing inside, she immediately turned pale. Han Li, arriving beside her, also took a quick survey and remained composed, his expression unchanged. This was a stalactite cave with a diameter of over thirty paces. The ceiling and the walls emitted a soft, pale green light, while at the center stood a stone pillar several paces tall. The stone pillar was unimpressive, rough and simple, yet upon it lay a dry corpse tightly bound by iron chains. The corpse had silvery-white hair flowing down its back, and the entire body was black, its head bowed so that its face was barely visible. However, its abdomen had been sliced open with a sharp blade, and all its internal organs—five viscera and six lungs—had vanished completely. This scene was so strange that even Han Li, who had not expected it, felt a sudden shock. As Han Li pressed his lips together, preparing to speak, the blue flying sword he held suddenly began to emit a long, resonant cry and then trembled violently. With a thought, Han Li simply threw the sword into the air. Instantly, a beam of blue light shot straight toward the stone pillar, only to transform into a small sword about half a foot long upon reaching the vicinity. It then circled the corpse rapidly, dancing around it and emitting mournful cries. "Is this dry corpse the owner of the sword?" White Yao Yi sighed deeply, her expression gently touched with compassion. "He wasn't just simply killed—he was ritually sacrificed through a dark spell!" Han Li said coldly. "Ritual sacrifice?" Bai Yaoyi was startled and only then noticed a faint, roughly ten-zhang-wide spell array on the ground of the cavern. The array had been covered in dust for so long that most of it had faded, causing her to overlook it initially. "To determine the exact type of sacrifice array, we'll need to reconstruct the spell," Han Li nodded calmly. "That won't be difficult—this task I'll handle right away," Bai Yaoyi smiled gently. With a gentle motion of her mouth, a small fan resembling ice sculpture shot out. A flash of cold light followed, and the fan instantly shrunk to the size of a foot, then gently waved over the ground. A yellow-hued, fierce wind surged forth from the fan, sweeping the sand and soil into a whirlwind. For a moment, the entire cavern became dim and hazy, with people unable to see even a few feet ahead. Yet Han Li and Bai Yao Yi were bathed in the purple and ethereal divine light, protected by a luminous aura, so they were completely oblivious to the wind and sand. They merely gazed at the spell array on the ground, as though paying no attention to anything else. At this moment, about fifteen paces behind them, the faint glow on the ground flickered once, and a dark, solid object emerged silently from the earth, lying motionless upon the ground. Han Li and Bai Yao Yi remained completely unmoved, as if completely unaware. The dark figure, upon seeing this, flashed a fierce red glow in its crimson eyes, then swiftly darted forward like an arrow. As it moved, it slightly tilted its head, and with a soft hiss, a streak of black light flashed past and vanished toward Bai Yao Yi. The figure had intended to strike both Han Li and Bai Yao Yi simultaneously. Just as this happened, Han Li suddenly reached out and struck with his palm. Suddenly, a bright green hand materialized above the cave's ceiling, extending downward with force, and caught the dark figure precisely in the middle, lifting it effortlessly. The jet of black energy aimed at the court-dressed woman was gently deflected by a graceful flick of her hand-held jade parasol, appearing unexpectedly behind her. Upon contact, the parasol shimmered with a bright light, and the black energy was instantly repelled, vanishing into a stone wall on one side, leaving behind a deep hole only an inch in diameter. At this moment, Bai Yaoyi smiled and turned her gaze toward the dark figure now held in the light's hand—revealing a monstrous creature with a serpent's body and a monkey's face, possessing two arms. The creature was covered in dark, scale-like plates, measuring approximately three to four zhang in length. With each hand, it grasped a slender bone spear, about a foot long, sharp and formidable. Though tightly held by the light's hands, the creature struggled fiercely, its blood-red eyes filled with intense resentment, fixed upon the two figures as if harboring a deep, life-or-death enmity. "A demon-monkey? Indeed, such a creature exists in the world?" Bai Yaoyi was slightly taken aback upon seeing the creature's appearance. "Hmm, I've heard that this ghost forms from the accumulated resentment of humans solidifying in the realm of profound darkness—fierce, cruel, and particularly fond of devouring fresh human brains. It can also mimic various ghostly voices. It seems the earlier cries of the preserved corpses were simply imitations of this one. Well now! I've only seen images of such creatures in ancient texts before—this is the first time I've actually encountered one. Still, this ghost isn't that formidable. To launch a surprise attack on us like this? Truly, it's asking for it." Han Li stared at the ghost for a moment, speaking with a calm, unconcerned tone. At that moment, the yellow phoenix within the cave had settled into stillness, and the circular spell array now clearly emerged. Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly, walking calmly toward the array without any urgency. In contrast, Bai Yao Yi seemed less interested, her bright eyes continuously scanning the surroundings as if searching for something specific. "This is a type of soul-forging array, and in fact, one of the more ancient varieties. Moreover..." After a pause, Han Li finally began to speak. "Moreover, what?" Bai Yao Yi shifted her gaze to the array, her expression filled with curiosity. "Moreover, the year this array was inscribed here appears to be significantly older than the age of this mummified body. It likely dates back to the ancient times when this site was first established," Han Li stated with confidence. "How do you know this, Han brother?" Bai Yao Yi stared at him, clearly surprised. "This is merely my personal experience—perhaps I'm mistaken," Han Li chuckled, brushing off the matter with a vague and diplomatic response. Bai Yaoyi was first startled, then lightly chuckled, and ultimately decided not to press further. "No matter how strange this spell array or the mummified body might be, it has nothing to do with us. There's nothing else here either. Let's just go!" she suggested. Then she lifted her hand and once again grasped the blue flying sword, placing it back into her storage pouch. "That does make sense," Han Li nodded in agreement. The two then proceeded toward the exit. As they approached the entrance, Han Li suddenly felt an odd sense of unease, causing him to pause mid-step and turn back to gaze once more at the mummified body. "What's wrong? Is there something amiss?" Bai Yaoyi asked, puzzled. Han Li did not immediately respond. After a few flickers of his gaze, he suddenly raised one hand and pointed a single finger. A deep rumble of thunder echoed, and golden light flashed at his fingertip, launching a slender golden arc that struck directly at the mummified body on the distant stone pillar.