It wasn't clear how long it had been before a soft, deep male sigh echoed, "Huh, Daojun! You weren't cultivating and refining your essence at Mago Mountain—why have you come all the way to my Ice Soul Valley? I don't recall ever inviting you." "Do you think I'd willingly come here? No, it's all because of the matter at Kunwu Mountain." The gray-robed elder snorted, clearly just as displeased. "Kunwu Mountain! Isn't that matter already entrusted to one of our disciples? What more reason do you have to get involved?" The figure within the ice wall replied calmly, without any emotion. "It would have been so simple if that were the case. How could I have come all the way from Mago Mountain? You haven't heard, have you? Master Feng—the old fellow—seems to have encountered trouble at Kunwu Mountain." The gray-robed elder said, his tone gloomy. "Master Feng? I can't believe it. He's one of the most accomplished among our senior immortals—how could he possibly have an issue?" The figure within the ice wall finally showed some surprise. "I myself am not entirely convinced, but it's precisely You also know well that Feng Lao-Gai and Xiang Lao-Gui have always been close friends, and thus each possesses the other's spiritual jade beads. When Kunwu Mountain came into being this time, Xiang Lao-Gui was just nearby, so he went to inspect it. Shortly after entering, however, his spiritual jade bead grew dim—either he was seriously injured or trapped within some seal. In either case, Xiang Lao-Gui would not fare well. Unfortunately, Feng Lao-Gai himself is now facing a major crisis and cannot make it in time to assist. He has therefore sent a message requesting that we go and investigate together, and promised to present us each with two Blood Qi Dan pills as compensation. "The gray-robed elder said coldly. "Blood Qi Dan! Feng Lao-Gui has indeed been generous this time. With these pills, our lifespans can each be extended by several decades. Yet, how did Feng Lao-Gui know that Xiang Lao-Gui had entered Kunwu Mountain?" the man within the ice wall asked cautiously. "This old fellow is always shrewd and cautious. He always makes sure to secure a safety plan before taking any risks." Before entering the seal, he had already sent a message to the Wind Elder via his flying sword. Now it seems his move has truly proven wise—at the very least, someone will now go to rescue him. How about White Brother? Would you be interested in going to see this blood-essence pill for yourself? If we were to prepare it ourselves, I daresay it would take quite some time!" the elder gently suggested. The man within the ice wall remained silent, offering no immediate response. After an uncertain length of time, he finally transmitted his voice slowly: "Alright, go then. I shall not be involved in this matter." "Indeed? Even the blood-essence pill couldn't move you?" The man's reply clearly surprised the gray-robed elder. "I very much desire the blood-essence pill, but I'm even more afraid that my journey might end up with a loss rather than a gain." The man replied coldly. "What do you mean? Even if that monster truly escapes the seal, won't our combined efforts make us truly afraid of it?" the elder sneered. "I'm not necessarily afraid—! Even if it was mighty back then, after so many years of suppression, combined with the great transformation of the celestial and terrestrial vital energies, its current powers wouldn't be much greater than ours. How different it was during the ancient times of the great wars—when a sufficiently strong being would have willingly taken on some risks to manifest the transcendence-stage powers in the human realm. "Why didn't it go then?" the elder frowned, growing even more puzzled. "If I hadn't consumed a fire-essence persimmon three years ago, I might have accompanied you on this journey. But now, I'm actively using this rare essence to force my breakthrough at the current stage of my cultivation. Though the chances are slim, I don't want to sacrifice the small for the sake of the large." The man said this with such calmness. "The fire-essence persimmon? You actually obtained this rare item—did you... did you consume it directly?" The gray-robed elder's face grew pale. "Of course! Only by doing so can I fully harness the fire essence within!" The man replied without emotion. "You truly did that! Do you not realize that without being refined into a pill, the fierce and dominant spiritual power of the Fire Spirit Jujube can forcibly ignite the magical energy within your body? We discussed this very risk back when we gathered, didn't we?" The elder's eyes flashed with brilliance as he spoke in a low, steady tone. "I don't need you to explain—it's clear to me how perilous this journey is. But if I don't give it my all, shall I truly spend the rest of my life here, confined within this icy wall? Or shall I follow the old ghost and the Wind Elder, who, though possessing great powers, must instead live like a clown among lower-tier cultivators, constantly fearing that overuse of their magical energy will lead to their demise?" The man named Bai spoke with a tone of irony. "White Brother, your perspective is rather extreme. Indeed, the old ghost and the Wind Elder have chosen this path precisely in hopes of discovering the reverse spiritual pathway used by the celestial cultivators when they descended to the mortal realm—seeking whether they can achieve transcendence directly through this route, without needing to advance to the late stage of the Spirit Body cultivation." After all, it was reasonable that the immortals from the upper realm could suppress their qi and forcibly descend to our human realm, and likewise, our human realm cultivators could utilize this pathway, employing secret techniques to temporarily enhance their qi and enter the spiritual realm. Since the great transformation of the celestial and terrestrial qi back then, countless cultivators at the Stage of Immortal Transformation had searched for this reverse spiritual channel. Not only in the Great Jin dynasty, but much of the human realm had been thoroughly explored. If such a channel truly existed, there should have been clear signs long ago. Then why would we need to search again? Most likely, either the channel simply didn't exist, or it wasn't on land at all, but rather floating over that vast ocean—making it utterly impossible to locate. The man inside the ice wall expressed little confidence in this. Perhaps that's true. Nevertheless, this remains one of our hopes for ascending to the spiritual realm—better than simply waiting passively. The gray-robed elder seemed to find the man's argument convincing, and his expression carried a touch of resignation. "Compared to the reverse spiritual channel route, it's far more practical to steadily advance to the late stage of Divine Spirit Realm and then ascend independently. Had it not been for the ancient demonic realm's interference, thinning out the elemental qi of our human realm, how could we, with our current aptitudes, have remained stagnant at the initial stages, unable to make any progress?" The man spoke with a growing sense of frustration. "White Brother, no matter how much you complain about fate, the situation has hardly improved since the last batch of ancient cultivators ascended. While there have been a few more cultivators reaching the late stages and ascending to the spiritual realm afterward, the total number remains remarkably small—utterly different from the ancient times. In recent years, things have only worsened. For nearly ten thousand years, not a single cultivator has managed to ascend. It's no surprise that the venerable Wind Old One and his companions, knowing the odds were slim, have placed all their hopes on the reverse spiritual channel." The gray-robed elder shared the same sense of disappointment. "They have their own methods, and I have mine. That's all for now." Now Brother Feng has clearly grasped White's intentions—he must either directly reject the old sage or make his own way alone. I still need to enter meditation retreat; I'll have to bid you good-bye without further ceremony. By the way, I'll have my disciples completely seal off this valley. No one will see anyone again until the Fire Essence Jujube is fully refined. Please convey this to you and the other old beings as well!" The man within the ice wall grew impatient, quickly delivering the final remarks before issuing a clear dismissal. Then, silence fell completely within the ice wall. Before the eighth palace of Kunwu Mountain's Tower of Exorcising Demons, Han Lin pressed his palms together, forming a series of gestures. Dozens of flying swords in the air hummed and coalesced into a single massive blade, several zhang in length, which then flashed with golden light and suddenly descended in a powerful strike. And these stone puppets' golden blades, crafted from some unknown material, were not only exceptionally sharp but each also possessed a divine power capable of extinguishing demons. Han Li had personally witnessed that the blade's aura could not be approached by any cultivator practicing demonic arts—those cultivators dared not let the blades come within a single inch, or else their protective demonic energy would be instantly pierced and unable to withstand even a single blow. As for cultivators attempting to enter the array directly, the stone puppets on the altar would simultaneously abandon the outer figures and instead converge countless streams of blade energy along an intricate, refined path, all converging to strike one individual within the array. Thus, no one could withstand such a continuous and powerful assault, and yet this array was a multi-functional seal—once entered, it remained difficult to dismantle quickly. The cultivators here were no ordinary individuals, and naturally all understood the subtle intricacies of this setup. Consequently, no one sought to distinguish themselves; everyone simply focused on attacking the stone puppets nearest to them. Once these puppets are completely eliminated, breaking the array will be much easier. After destroying the puppet before him, Han Li did not immediately proceed with any further actions, but furrowed his brow and glanced around. He could see that only a few puppets remained active on the altar—clearly, the array was about to collapse. As he was thinking this, suddenly, the silver moon in his mind emitted a soft cry without any prior warning, followed by a series of low, distressed murmurs, as though in great pain. Han Li was startled and immediately sent a voice message: "What's wrong, Silver Moon? Is something amiss?" His tone carried a touch of concern. "It's nothing... The things in the palace seem to have awakened. It feels very strange, almost familiar—important, even—but... my head is pounding..." Silver Moon managed only a few words before she had to continue groaning. (Second update!) It took a bit longer, but since it involves important plot points, I had to be more careful and thoughtful!