"Are these people your companions?" Han Li examined the circular disk in his hands, the green light flashing as he folded it away, then glanced at the several figures behind him. "These几位 have been friends of mine recently—each of them wished to join the Xiao Ji Sect, so they've come along together. Is there any issue?" Gu Tiqin was momentarily startled and grew somewhat uneasy. "Not an issue with all of them—only one of them is problematic." Han Li fixed his gaze on a young, beautiful female cultivator below, and coldly remarked. "What do you mean?" Gu Tiqin remained puzzled. "One of your companions is an immortal creature—don't you think that's rather out of place?" Han Li gave a slight smile, speaking calmly. "An immortal creature?" Hearing this, Gu Tiqin's face turned pale and he quickly turned to look at the female cultivator. The other cultivators also gasped, instinctively stepping back a few paces, all expressing surprise. "You're jesting, aren't you? I am a disciple of the Ning family from Shuang Commandery—how could I possibly be an immortal creature?" The young woman widened her eyes, startled by the words, and stammered her explanation hurriedly. "Indeed, Senior! You must have mistaken me. Master Ning truly comes from the Ning family—I've seen him several times before." Seeing the young female cultivator pale with embarrassment, the young man who had previously taken the pill could not help but step in to clarify. The others also hesitated slightly. Yet Han Li remained unmoved, merely emitting a light sigh. "A mere momentary distraction, and you dare to pass yourself off as someone else? Come out here!" As he spoke, Han Li extended his hand into the air, and a flash of light shimmered above the young woman's head. Instantly, a large hand of jade green color appeared and descended, grasping her firmly. The female cultivator, who had initially looked pained and indignant, instantly stiffened upon seeing the large hand appear. Her expression of surprise vanished, replaced by a deep, resentful glare. Then, her figure flickered suddenly, transforming into a streak of brilliant light that shot forth like a shockwave, arriving at a point twenty or more zhang away on the side in a matter of moments. How could this still be considered the level of a Qi Condensation cultivator? Even a Dan-Stage cultivator could hardly match such astonishing speed. The phantom of the staff struck the young woman's crown with a sudden impact. She cried out in pain and immediately rolled over, collapsing to the ground. Yet almost at the same time, a faint black silhouette shot off her body, spiraling before diving toward the earth. At that very moment, thunder roared, and a golden grid materialized above the black figure's head without anyone noticing—before it could react, it descended with lightning speed. Instantly, a series of explosive sounds followed, and the black spectral form emitted no sound at all, completely extinguished by the golden light. This swift sequence of events left everyone, including the middle-aged man, utterly stunned. Han Li raised his hand, and the staff, which had gently trembled, shrank back to its original size and flew back into his sleeve. Then, with a simple motion, he tossed a small pale blue vial toward Gu Tiqi. The middle-aged cultivator instinctively reached out and caught it. "The pill inside may help you pass through this section. Consider it my exchange for your Qingyuan Disk." After calmly stating those words, Han Li immediately radiated a strong azure glow, transforming into a brilliant streak of light that surged forward and vanished within moments, disappearing into the swirling snow. Only then did the middle-aged man realize and grasp tightly the small vial in his hands, his face lighting up with surprise. Others nearby also gasped in astonishment—seemingly, the young female cultivator had just slowly regained consciousness. The powerful strike had not actually caused any serious injury to her body. At that moment, Han Li, following the guidance of the circular disk in his hand, was already heading straight toward Xiao Ji Palace. Yet, recalling the previous events, he smiled gently. The young woman's body had harbored a high-level spirit fragment of a divine beast—no less than an eighth-tier beast's spirit essence. This creature was indeed clever, having used some mysterious beast magic to subtly embed its spirit awareness within the young woman's body, without her even realizing it. If things continue like this, should the two truly step out of this region, a small-jie palace cultivator, by mere accident, might indeed allow this beast to use the woman's body as cover and infiltrate the small-jie palace. Since they had now encountered each other, and since it was merely a matter of reaching out, Han Li naturally decided to eliminate the beast's spirit and consciousness right then and there, so as to prevent it from stirring up trouble during its stay on Bei-Ming Island. Yet, given how carefully this beast had been planning to infiltrate, wasn't it specifically come for the cold marrow? After all, he had already inquired about it, and no reports of the cold marrow going missing had ever reached him. Over such a long period, the small-jie palace could hardly have failed to notice the disappearance of the marrow. It seemed there was some special reason for them to have deliberately concealed this matter. With this point of confusion lingering in his mind, his flight light, guided by his will, surged forward with the speed of lightning, swiftly entering a strange region where ice pellets the size of fists rained down from the sky. These hailstones, caught between wind and snow, were each crystal clear and translucent, striking the shield with a deep, resonant "thud," as if massive stones had collided. Yet, for Han Li's level of cultivation, such colossal hailstones were utterly insignificant. After flying for half an hour, Han Li suddenly noticed a change—both the hail and the snow had vanished entirely, and he finally broke free of the region. Not far ahead, a city built upon a mountain emerged. From a distance, it shimmered with a radiant glow, radiating vibrant hues of color under the sunlight, and with a faint white mist swirling around it, the city appeared like a heavenly paradise, far beyond what one would expect from a human realm structure. Han Li expressed a moment of mild astonishment. However, his gaze quickly shifted to the towering mountain behind the city. While this mountain was already immense to ordinary people—reaching nearly ten thousand feet—it still paled in comparison to the colossal peaks like Kunwu Mountain he had previously encountered. What truly astonished Han Li was that the mountain appeared like a colossal pillar stretching skyward, its body gleaming and shimmering, veiled in an ice layer of unknown thickness. If it weren't for the occasional streaks of emerald green appearing on its surface, Han Li would have doubted that the entire mountain was nothing but a vast expanse of ice. Though endowed with the keen sight of the Ming and Qing dynasties, at this distance he could not clearly discern the details of the mountain's features, only vaguely seeing a cluster of colorful structures at the peak of the ice—precisely the so-called Small Polar Palace. Han Li gazed at the distant ice city towering on the mountain, yet did not immediately take flight toward it. For, although the ice plateau between the city and himself seemed ordinary, it concealed various invisible restrictions that Han Li, a master of array arts, could clearly sense as formidable. Anyone who ventured in without caution would likely be immediately struck by their potency. And as he stepped out of the previous area, several beams of light had already shot forth from Ice City, rushing toward him as if they had known his arrival all along. Han Li raised a brow slightly, suddenly remembering something, and glanced down at the Dingyuan Disk in his hands, his face brightening with sudden comprehension. It seemed that this Disk not only guided the way but also allowed the cultivators of Xiao Ji Palace to keep track of the holder's movements at all times. Just as he was beginning to grasp this, the beams of light arrived at his sight within moments. Three white-robed cultivators—two women and one man—approached. The man was at the Jiedan stage, while the two women were at the Juzhi stage. The man, in his thirties with a refined appearance, glanced at Han Li briefly, then immediately showed a look of surprise, bowing deeply and bowing his head respectfully. "I am Shi Yun, an official of the Outer Palace. May I know your honorable name, and what brings you to our palace?" This cultivator of the Bei Ji Palace had spotted Han Li emerging from the wind and snow at a distance. Though he had known already that the other was no ordinary cultivator, it still took him a moment to be certain that the person was indeed a Yuan婴 cultivator—and furthermore, an unfamiliar mid-stage one—which left him slightly nervous. "My name doesn't need to be mentioned—I've come to your palace on a visit to a friend. I have a certain acquaintance with one of your senior elders," Han Li said calmly. "Which senior elder would you like to see, Master? I'll immediately inform them on your behalf," the man replied, his expression relaxing and his tone becoming more courteous. "White Yaoyi, the young lady, has been a close acquaintance of mine from years past. Is she currently in the palace?" Han Li said slowly. "Ah, Master is referring to White Senior! She hasn't been away recently, though she seems to be in seclusion at the moment. I'll immediately send a transmission scroll to notify her. Please wait a moment or two," Stone Yun said, growing more at ease upon hearing Han Li's accurate mention of White Yaoyi's name, and then promptly dispatched a transmission scroll right before Han Li's eyes. During this time, Han Li remained calmly in place, motionless, his gaze carefully observing the scene far off. Seeing this, the young man blinked, smiled warmly, and was about to say something more. But at that very moment, a brilliant crimson streak shot forth from behind Han Li, emerging from the snowy windscape—yet it seemed only a few hundred paces away from Han Li and his companions. A soft exclamation rang out amid the flowing light, and the crimson streak instantly shifted its glow, heading directly toward Han Li and his group. As it still had not yet reached them, a hearty, resonant laugh burst forth from within. "Esteemed guest, have you come to visit our palace? Might I know your name? I’d be honored to have the pleasure of knowing you," the voice said. The light gently faded, revealing a young man with a fair complexion, though his hair was somewhat gray, his eyes radiating a sense of quiet maturity and experience. Han Li narrowed his eyes, studying the figure before him closely. With a mere mental sweep, he confirmed that the man was also a Yuan-Ence stage cultivator. This surprised him slightly. Before韩立 had even opened his mouth, Shi Yun stepped forward with a look of great excitement, holding out both hands in a respectful gesture. "Disciple bows to the Azure Senior. I hope the Senior's journey has been smooth!" (Second update!)