At sight of this scene, the large man and his companions' faces slightly pale. At the same time, Han Li hears the voice of the elderly man from the Fu family transmitting through the air: "It seems that after this array is broken, our combined strength has also been weakened. I wonder, Han brother, what plans do you have next?" Han Li glances at the elder nearby, pauses slightly, then speaks in a soft transmission. "There are so many destinations accessible from here. I intend to act independently from now on. As long as I don't choose those particularly prominent spots, I believe there should be no significant danger." "Ah, I see! But I am not confident in acting alone—should the Silver-Winged Night Monkey or the Lion-Bird strike me from behind, I shall have no defense at all. I shall take the same stone staircase as White Brother. Our success will depend entirely on our own fortune." The elder replies with a wry smile after a brief pause. This senior from the Jiuyou Sect shows no particular resentment. After all, with so many people exploring for treasures, it truly makes sense for them to spread out and pursue different paths. Otherwise, should any rare treasure truly appear, a fierce competition would be inevitable. Han Li's abilities clearly surpassed both him and Bai Yao Yi by a considerable margin, so it would be better to simply split up and proceed from here. "Rich brother, Han friend! We're off!" On the other side, it seemed they had reached an agreement. The tall man promptly waved a greeting toward them and, in pairs, made a brief circuit around several stone steles before taking off in two separate directions along two of the stone staircases. Not long after, their figures vanished into the distant spiritual mist. At that moment, the wealthy elder also completed a private conversation with Bai Yao Yi, exchanged farewells with Han Li, and then, together with her, swiftly chose a staircase that no one else had yet taken, immediately launching into a light-footed departure. In the vast square, only Han Li remained alone. Surveying the now empty surroundings, Han Li gave a quiet smile of contempt, his eyes sweeping over the stone steles. Besides the earlier locations visited—such as the "Kunwu Hall" and the "Taming Demon Tower," which clearly belonged to Kunwu Mountain's key sites—the rest were vague and uncertain, leaving the destination unclear. "Hui Ming Pavilion, Xiang Yun Hall, Gou Yu Spring... the Forging Spirit Hall. Could this be related to crafting artifacts?" Han Li paused, his gaze fixed on a particular stone stele. Though he knew that places like the Kunwu Hall or the Spirit Treasure Pavilion were more likely to yield precious treasures, he also recognized that many cultivators had already visited them. He had no desire to risk his life for such competition. With the Infant Nourishing Pill already secured, his primary goal now was simply to escape unharmed from this place. As Han Li pondered, he found the Forging Spirit Hall particularly intriguing and decided to move immediately. With a subtle shift of his form, he stepped onto the stone steps behind the stele and ascended toward the mountain. Not long after Han Li disappeared from view, a golden glow flashed at the center of the plaza, and simultaneously, the three creatures—the earth-dwelling night guardian, the hunched woman, and the lion-like bird— "If we move any further, we'll trigger the underground seals," said the Silver-Winged Night Monkey, drawing back the glow and turning to gaze at the stone steps leading toward Kunwu Hall, speaking slowly. "The residual spiritual fluctuations here are quite strong—it seems the human cultivators have just broken through those arrays." The Ugly Woman also crossed her arms, commenting. At that moment, the lion-fowl creature suddenly roared twice, then spread its wings and soared into the lower air, circling several stone steles before returning. "People have already passed through these areas! Remarkable—how keen the lion-fowl's sense of smell is!" The Silver-Winged Night Monkey was momentarily startled, then smiled. "That's perfect. With the human cultivators spreading out, I'll have an easier time seizing their life-plates. Still, if the cultivators attempting to enter Kunwu Hall lack sufficient abilities, they may still be unable to overcome this hall's seals," the Ugly Woman frowned, growing concerned again. "Hmph. Don't worry—should these humans fall short, I'll lend them my support from the shadows." "As long as we don't disturb those few restrictions that restrain us, we're fairly confident in breaking the rest," said the Silver-Winged Yaksha with assured confidence. "Then it's time for us to move. Let's find out who exactly the cultivators walking this stone staircase are. Yaksha brother, among the three of us, my most refined technique for concealment is the one that hides you best—so please step in and shield our forms for us." The plain-spoken woman declared with ease. "Understood," replied the Silver-Winged Yaksha without hesitation. Then, with a gentle flick of his wings behind him, a surge of silver light erupted from above, sweeping all three of them into its embrace. A flash of brilliance later, the three creatures vanished completely. At that moment, halfway up Kunwu Mountain, within a stone pavilion, a five-colored peacock had just begun to emerge from the shimmering light curtain—yet none of this was known to Han Li. At this very instant, Han Li moved with the grace of a silent ripple, his body seeming weightless as he drifted several paces away. After turning a few corners, the White Jade Plaza had already vanished from sight. On both sides of the stone steps stood tall spiritual trees, some familiar to Han Li, others new and intriguing, which he glanced at with interest. These trees had grown on Kunwu Mountain for countless tens of thousands of years—what were once ordinary spiritual trees had now become excellent materials for crafting artifacts. Yet Han Li naturally did not slow his pace for these. After walking for about a minute, the view suddenly opened up, and in the distance, a vast array of pavilions and halls came into sight. Han Li smiled slightly, quickening his steps and reaching the end of the stone steps in a short while. But then, his expression changed, and he halted abruptly. Before him stretched a hazy, luminous veil, through which he could see clearly a towering green wall, six or seven zhang high, completely concealing the area behind it. But at the stone steps stood a grand stele pavilion, from which the vast buildings behind the walls could be faintly seen. Prominently inscribed on the pavilion's top with silver powder were the three large characters: "Chu Ling Hall." Han Li scanned the surroundings. The luminous screen was remarkably wide, encompassing the entire estate-like Chu Ling Hall, offering no convenient way to penetrate it. It seemed that the ancient cultivator who had sealed the mountain years ago had activated all the protective spells before departing, safeguarding everything here—perhaps with the intention of returning someday. While his mind remained calm, his movements were decisive. He shook his sleeve, and a beam of golden light shot forth, striking the screen with force. "Crack!" The golden light, sharp and resilient, cleaved through the screen by a few cun, yet still halted. As the screen broke, a surge of white light erupted, only to begin resealing itself. Frowning slightly, he raised his hand and pointed at a spot within the screen. "Whoosh!" Instantly, the sword returned to him. The luminous barrier once again sealed shut. Looking at this barrier, thick enough to span a zhang's length, Han Li assessed that even with the full power of his great sword technique, it would likely remain unbroken. After all, such barrier-based spells typically restore themselves almost instantly if not completely shattered in the first strike. Of course, if he were patient enough, he could summon the gold-devouring insects to gradually consume the spiritual energy on the surface of the barrier—perhaps taking several days to fully dismantle it. Yet he simply did not have the time to wait patiently. After a brief calculation, he made up his mind instantly. With a single palm strike on his waist satchel, a glowing orb the size of a fist shot out, spiraling before materializing into an ancient-looking fan, its surface shimmering with ever-changing hues of silver, gold, and red. He then waved his hand toward the sky, and the fan descended with a sound like a phoenix's call, landing in his hands. Without ceremony, he rubbed his palms together, and the light dimmed, reducing the fan to a size of several feet. Han Li raised his hand, gazing coldly at the luminous screen before him. He slightly shook his jade fan in hand. With his inner qi deliberately controlled, a stream of tri-colored flames surged from the fan—yet this time, the flames did not transform into a phoenix. Instead, they directly struck the screen. Where the flames passed, the screen melted as if warmed by spring sunlight, dissolving rapidly and visibly. In moments, a large opening appeared in the screen. Han Li's eyes flashed. He retracted his fan, and instantly, his form became a streak of jade-green light, shooting directly into the screen. As the green light faded, Han Li materialized before the stele pavilion, then turned to gaze back. To his sight, the screen was now beginning to heal itself within that brief interval. A faint smile of resignation curled at the corner of his lips. It seemed he would need to exert more effort upon his return. Thinking this, he checked his inner qi once more. Although he had previously used the Three-Flame Fan at full strength, this time he only deployed half of its power, still losing nearly one-third of his magical energy. He shook his head, turned around, and strode steadily toward the bell tower behind the stone wall. Several pavilions ahead were identical in design—two-story structures about fifteen zhang tall. Han Li casually entered one near the entrance and found it empty, save for a few tables and chairs. It seemed to be designed solely as a place for rest. It appeared that even personal belongings had been carefully packed and removed when the ancient cultivators evacuated. Though he had anticipated this, Han Li still sighed quietly. Thus, he no longer held much hope for the other pavilions. Indeed, after touring several of the identical pavilions in succession, he found them equally empty. The stone buildings below, resembling warehouses, were also completely vacant. No matter how many stone shelves, stone platforms, or massive metal boxes there were inside, everything was completely empty—not a single trace of crafting materials in sight. This left Han Li, who had nearly walked a short distance, deeply frustrated. When Han Li stepped out of the last stone pavilion, he found himself suddenly standing before a stone hall. Though the hall appeared modest in size—spanning over a hundred paces—it was uniformly a deep crimson color, as if a flame were continuously burning across its entire surface. "Hall of Spiritual Transformation," Han Li murmured softly, gazing at the fiery plaque hanging above the hall's entrance. Even standing outside, a strong wave of heat already surged toward him from within. He paused, then straightened his arms and stepped inside. As soon as he entered the hall's doorway, a thunderous roar filled his ears, causing Han Li to narrow his eyes and quickly scan the interior.