At that moment, suddenly a golden arc descended like a celestial messenger, exploding with a thunderous "boom." The ghost-faced figure screamed, its form dissipating by half; yet the remaining portion grew fiercer, seizing the Xu-family youth at the moment the latter showed great joy, and suddenly lunged downward to bite into his neck. Layer upon layer of bloodlight surged forth, swiftly engulfing the Xu-family youth, as if about to swallow him whole. As the Xu-family youth felt his body rapidly being consumed by the bloodlight, he gasped in alarm and hastily murmured an odd incantation. Instantly, his remaining body glowed with a layer of yellow light, pulsing and contracting before bursting into fragments. The bloodlight was instantly pierced by countless beams of light, scattering and breaking apart. Then, a small, inch-tall immortal embryo flashed briefly and vanished, instantly materializing several dozen feet above, before its protective light shimmered again and transformed into a yellow streak, preparing to vanish. "Want to escape?" a cold snort echoed from the corpse bear. It raised its arms and grasped the void with a powerful, determined motion. At that moment, a cluster of black qi appeared above the Yuan'ing, then flashed with light, transforming into a massive hand that reached out to grasp the Yuan'ing. Before it had fully descended, the power emanating from the hand enveloped an area of over fifteen zhang in radius. Xu, the young man of the Xu family, silently groaned in frustration. If he had not been attacked, he could have continuously teleported, and even relied on the Yuan'ing's inherent capabilities to forcibly break this mystical seal. After all, a late-stage cultivator's solidified Yuan'ing was far superior to that of early or mid-stage cultivators. Even without a physical body, the Yuan'ing could still engage in combat with a human being. However, his current Yuan'ing had already depleted its spiritual energy during the Blood Sea incident, leaving it powerless to break through the opponent's technique. At this moment, Han Li, standing some thirty zhang away, simply crossed his arms behind his back, his expression calm and composed, as though he had only launched a golden arc and then decided never to move again. With no other choice, Xu had to press his advantage desperately. He suddenly summoned his remaining spiritual power, opening his mouth to expel a seal that shimmered neither entirely gold nor entirely silver—his true life essence artifact—intending to make a final, desperate strike. But at that very moment, a silver glow flashed in the space above the black hand, and suddenly, a figure materialized there, ghostly and unexpected. With a single gesture, the figure emitted a clear, resonant cry like a dragon's roar. A green flash followed, and a streak of emerald light, edged with gold, surged forth at lightning speed, striking the black-hand-shaped form with such force it seemed to thunder and flash. "Boom!" A golden arc burst forth, and the black hand was instantly pierced through, its structure shattered by countless fine electric arcs, dissolving into black mist and dispersing completely. The figure in the silver glow then shifted slightly, and in a single motion, crossed over more than fifteen zhang of distance, arriving directly beside the Xu youth’s Yuan-Infant stage. The Xu youth, only just barely saved, was both startled and delighted. Without hesitation, he activated all the spiritual light around him, transforming it into a brilliant streak of light and swiftly retreating. Though Fortunately, the figure in the silver glow paid no attention to the corpses of the bear and others at a distance, merely facing them coldly. At that moment, the spirit-linked peacock seemed to have received a command from the young man with the Xu surname. Suddenly, its body trembled, and several exceptionally beautiful, long tail feathers shot forward, bursting into splendor. The five-colored radiance surged dramatically, causing the lion-like beast to be startled and step back, unable to meet it directly. The purple mist, illuminated by the five-colored spiritual light, instantly dissolved and fragmented, revealing a gap several zhang wide. Seizing this opportunity, the spirit bird rapidly扇ed its wings several times, its form twisting like a stream of vapor, and then suddenly materialized outside the mist, heading straight toward the Xu surname young man's prenatal stage without turning back. Within moments, it reached him. The Xu young man was delighted and promptly allowed his prenatal stage to meet it head-on, and the two immediately merged. An astonishing scene unfolded! As the spirit bird opened its mouth, the Xu young man's prenatal stage suddenly disappeared, vanishing entirely into the bird's mouth. At once, a clear trill resonated, and the remaining long feathers at the tail of the Lingxi peacock suddenly rose and unfurled into a magnificent fan. A brilliant array of five colors surged forth, blindingly bright, instantly engulfing the spirit bird so completely that its form could no longer be discerned. Almost simultaneously, above the battlefield between the Silver-Winged Night Guardian and Lin Yinping, a sudden surge of black-and-white energy emerged, and the figure of Gui Ling materialized. Upon seeing the ugly woman, the Silver-Winged Night Guardian's expression instantly stiffened. Gui Ling, however, merely glanced at the demon without any reaction, then softly murmured a few words to herself. The Night Guardian's face slightly tightened, and after a moment of thoughtful silence, he sighed deeply. With a sudden sweep of both hands, the deadly soul threads that had tightly bound Tianlan's holy maiden began to swirl back, releasing Lin Yinping after a long confinement. As Lin Yinping rejoiced and prepared to take flight, Gui Ling suddenly smiled coldly, stepped swiftly beside her, and with a single stroke of a massive silver axe, sent a streak of silver light rushing down to cut her off. To her great surprise, the celestial澜 merchant woman didn't hesitate—she pointed at the silk cloth before her, intending to use it to shield herself in the air. Yet, as a flash of unusual light passed, a phantom of a giant one-horned tiger emerged on the great axe and charged downward. "Crack!" The silk cloth was severed into two pieces in the silver glow. Then, the tiger phantom shimmered and instantly transformed into a swirling mass of yellow vapor, fully enclosing the woman. Lin Yinping felt a strong stench rush over her, gasped in alarm, and then her head sank as she rolled over and fell to the ground. Gui Ling didn't waste any time—she pressed her palms together, and the yellow vapor instantly tightened its grip, binding the woman firmly. As the black and white energies surged and rolled, Lin Yinping was swiftly carried and vanished from her spot, reappearing a few moments later beside Han Li. Throughout this entire process, the corpse bear made no move to intervene, merely gazing coldly and silently, his expression as still as water. Meanwhile, the humanoid puppet in the silver glow remained motionless until Gui Ling retreated, then simply swayed and flew to Han Li's back. Han Li didn’t even glance at the Tianlan Holy Maiden who had been captured, but instead stared in astonishment toward the other side. There, vibrant five-colored spiritual light shimmered brilliantly, having grown more than twice as bright and expansive as before. "Rest assured, I won't do anything to Mr. Lin. In fact, I have a few matters I'd like to ask you first. I'm certain you won't let Han be disappointed." Han spoke calmly. "Han is threatening me!" The face formed by the ethereal silhouette suddenly darkened, showing clear displeasure. "Threatening? Surely you don't forget what you agreed to just now. Mr. Lin is here merely to ensure Mr. Xu doesn't make any rash moves. Do you really intend to break your word?" Han gave a cold laugh, his expression now stern. "You may ask me anything—yet you'll have to first deal with these several beastly creatures before me." Upon hearing Han's words, the young Xu finally calmed down, his eyes flickering slightly beneath the ethereal face. "Deal with them. Excellent! That's precisely what I've been thinking." Han stroked his chin and readily agreed. Han's composed demeanor actually surprised the young Xu. They didn't know what to say next. Han Li gave a slight smile, turned to give a brief instruction to Gui Ling, and then, accompanied by the humanoid automaton, immediately flew off side by side. When they reached the vicinity of the Blood Sea, their flight halted. Han Li glanced at the ten-thousand-year-old corpse bear and then said calmly, "As your esteemed position as Deputy Master of the Ten-Thousand-Beast Valley, I assume you have other matters to attend to in Kunwu Mountain. These two companions are still useful to me, so I'll take them with me temporarily. Do you have any objections?" Though the tone was conversational, Han Li's demeanor was notably firm, which caused the silver-winged night warrior and the lion-fowl beast to grow furious. "You are Han Li, a cultivator from the southern heavens, aren't you?" The corpse bear, who had remained silent until now, suddenly asked a question that seemed rather unexpected. Han Li was momentarily taken aback, then settled into a relaxed expression. "That's correct. Do you perhaps intend to seek revenge against me later in the southern lands?" "No interest in revenge." With regard to these two individuals that Brother Han saved for Tianlan this time, I can simply let them go without further notice—though only this once. Should he intervene again and disrupt our good fortune at Wàn Yāo Gǔ once more, I shall no longer be so lenient. Even if these two truly assist him, he will surely not survive to return to Tiannan. The Wàn-nian Shī Xióng’s eyes flared with green flame, then quickly returned to their usual calm. Hearing this, Han Li’s lips twitched slightly, yet he smiled gently and remained silent. The Wàn-nian Shī Xióng then pressed his palms together in a series of gestures, and suddenly pointed toward the distant blood glow. Instantly, the blood radiance shimmered and spiraled through the air, eventually coalescing into a massive blood-scarred blade. This blade spun smoothly before plunging fully into the blood sea beneath. A surge of blood light shot straight upward to the heavens, and the ghostly faces previously shattered by Han Li’s strike now appeared clearly on the blade’s surface. The creature snarled with a grim smile, opened its mouth wide, and the blood sea beneath instantly transformed into a towering column of blood The Blood Blade appeared no different from before, yet the thick scent of blood was so intense and pungent that it made one gag merely by inhaling. Upon a word from the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Corpse Bear, the silver-winged night hawk and the lion-fowl promptly followed, and without a word, they headed straight toward the palace. Moments later, the three spirits vanished seamlessly into the palace, their forms fully absorbed—clearly, the bear had come with a purpose beyond mere visitation. It remained a mystery, however, how the bear had convinced the silver-winged night hawk and lion-fowl to follow him. As for the palace itself, it seemed to hold its own secrets. Han Li narrowed his eyes, his gaze steady and cold. "Well," he said, turning suddenly to face the luminous peacock behind him, "now, Brother Xu, it's your turn to answer my questions!" (First update!)