"Is this indeed the lair of the Snow Roar Beast?" Han Li gazed at the deep, ever-wind-blown ice fissure, sending forth piercing cold gusts. "Yes, this is exactly where our lady-in-waiting described it to be!" The graceful Bai Yao Yi floated beside Han Li, surveying the surroundings before confirming with certainty. "Then, let us summon them directly." Han Li nodded, pressing a hand seal. As his body shimmered with luminous energy, glowing sparks appeared before him. With a series of "pfft" sounds, the sparks rapidly swelled into red, fist-sized fire balls. "Go!" Gently brushing the dozens of fire balls with his robe, the red glow surged forward, enveloping them in a wave of bright light that plunged them into the dark fissure, where they vanished without a trace. Han Li and Bai Yao Yi watched below, their eyes never blinking. Yet, after a while, the fissure remained perfectly still, silent as ever—so quiet, it seemed almost eerie. Han Li and Bai Yaoyi exchanged glances, both showing a touch of surprise. "It's impossible for mere five- or six-tiered beasts to silently extinguish those fire balls without making a sound. It seems there must be even stronger beasts down below." Han Li stroked his chin as he spoke. "That makes sense. My disciple hadn't ventured deep into the ice fissure; she only noticed the ten-thousand-year-old pyrite ice and pyrite flowers at the edge, when suddenly the Snow Roar Beast spotted her." Bai Yaoyi also adopted a more serious expression. "Heh, no problem. I'll have my spirit beasts drive them out." Han Li said calmly, lightly tapping his waist where a spirit beast pouch rested. Instantly, twelve beams of white light shot out from the pouch, spiraling through the air before coalescing into twelve slender, snow-white earthworms, each with transparent wings on its back, fierce and menacing. Han Li gave a low call, then pointed at the six-winged frost earthworms in the sky. As these flying earthworms shook their heads and swayed their bodies, waves of cold light radiated from their forms, and they swiftly darted downward toward the base. Bai Yaoyi saw this development and registered a brief surprise, but said nothing. Han Li had no fear at all that the six-winged frost centipedes would encounter any danger—after all, with twelve of them working together, even if they faced an eight-tiered beast, they could easily escape unharmed. Indeed, not long after, the ice fissure below began to echo with the sound of thunderous combat, growing steadily louder, as though something were about to burst forth from within. Han Li pressed his lips together, then, with a simple motion of his sleeve, sent out a dozen golden streaks that shot forth from the sleeve like arrows, forming fifteen golden swords each about a foot in length. These swords hovered motionless above the fissure, shimmering brightly and steady as stone. Bai Yaoyi smiled, yet made no move to attack—clearly, she believed that Han Li alone would effortlessly handle the beast emerging from below. A moment later, a strange, resonant roar came clearly from below, followed by gusts of snow-wind sweeping upward, carrying with them seven or eight snow-white creatures resembling lions—yet each one appeared wildly terrified, as though fleeing for its life. Han Li instantly recognized these lion-like beasts as the very "Snow Roar Beasts" mentioned before. Without hesitation, he activated his sword technique, and with a swift stroke of his inner sword诀, several golden swords trembled and shimmered, transforming into streaks of radiant golden light that shot downward like brilliant arcs, stretching over ten paces in length and shining brilliantly. The flying swords moved with the speed of thunder and lightning, slicing swiftly through the seemingly powerful snow-wind and reaching the beasts just as they were reacting. Before the beasts could respond, the golden arcs began to spiral around them in an eerie manner. A few cries of agony followed, and the beasts were severed in half, their bodies falling from the sky and settling back into the ice crevices. At that very moment, a thunderous roar erupted from below, followed by a tremendous "boom." A gale several zhang in diameter surged upward from deep within the ice fissure. Han Li narrowed his eyes and looked up. There, at the peak of the gale, lay a large, furious beast several zhang long, its eyes blazing with anger. Though its appearance was remarkably similar to the snow howlers that had been slain, its fur shimmered with a brilliant silvery gleam, and its body was more than double the size of a typical snow howler. "Hm," Bai Yao Yi exclaimed in mild surprise, "This isn't a snow howler—it's an ice grim! How has such an advanced beast come to be here?" Han Li's gaze flickered, and before he could speak, a burst of十余 white vapors shot out from the fissure, instantly transforming into twelve snow-white centipedes that exhaled cold breath and surged toward the silver-furred beast. Though this beast only appeared as a seventh-rank monster, it showed no fear at all of the six-winged frost serpent's cold aura. In hand-to-hand combat, it proved exceptionally fierce, managing to roll and fight alongside twelve six-winged frost serpents, and thus held its ground for a time. Han Li raised an eyebrow, exhaled a cold breath, and lifted his finger. A shimmering green glow danced at his fingertip as he prepared to summon several flying swords from atop his head, aiming to strike and eliminate the beast. The twelve white centipedes immediately scattered in fear upon seeing the purple phoenix approach, leaving the silver妖 beast alone. Though the ice-fierce beast had not yet fully awakened its intelligence, it possessed a certain level of awareness. As soon as it perceived the terrifying presence of the purple phoenix, a fierce gale surged around it, and it immediately sought to ride the storm to escape. At that moment, Han Li, who had been prepared, emitted a cold exhalation and flashed a brilliant gaze. The beast instantly felt a sharp, piercing pain as though a sharp cone had been driven into its head, and roared lowly, collapsing to the ground. It was precisely Han Li's powerful divine awareness that had struck it senseless in a single, decisive blow. Though Han Li had not summoned his full strength, his divine awareness—comparable to that of a late Yuan-Stage cultivator—was more than sufficient for this seven-tiered妖 beast, and thus the attack succeeded immediately. Seizing the opportunity, the purple phoenix swiftly descended and began to circle and dance around the fallen creature. A loud "zhi la" echoed, and suddenly a shimmering purple mist materialized, fully enclosing the beast within it. Immediately, the purple fire phoenix spread its wings and shot back, vanishing into Han Li's body. After the purple mist dispersed, a towering block of purple ice, reaching ten zhang in height, appeared in place, and the ice-beast was clearly frozen inside. As a result of the beast's entrapment, the surrounding gale gradually faded and dissipated, and the massive ice block began to descend. White Yao Yi, who had been surprised by Han Li's purple polar flame, did not hesitate—she simply raised her hand and, with a single gesture, summoned a large white hand that instantly materialized above the ice block, grasping it firmly and drawing it toward herself. "Thank you, Brother Han," she smiled gracefully. Then, with a swift flick of her jade fingers, a softly glowing, pale black spiritual creature pouch suddenly appeared beside her. In a single motion, she raised the spirit-beast satchel into the air, and a cascade of霞light surged forth, instantly drawing the massive ice block along with the silvery beast into the satchel. The satchel was then secured in her hands. However, as they neared the bottom, a faint luminous glow began to appear on the crystal walls of the ice fissure—these were the materials used to craft ice-based artifacts, known as Xuan Ice. Yet these were only ordinary Xuan Ice, not particularly rare; only ice that had accumulated over ten thousand years could be considered truly exceptional. Han Li and his companion naturally did not consider these materials valuable. "Three specimens of the Azure Ice Blossoms should be more than sufficient!" Han Li exhaled, murmuring softly. "The ancient ice here seems to be quite abundant. It appears that the disciple has truly made a significant contribution—back at the estate, I'll surely bestow a well-deserved reward upon her." Bai Yao Yi surveyed the ice blossoms and smiled in return. "These Ice Spirit Blossoms must be processed into pills immediately after being harvested. I've already prepared all the other materials. Shall I return to the estate first, or shall I—?" Han Li shifted his gaze from the blossoms and asked Bai Yao Yi. "How long will it take, Brother Han, to complete the pill-making process? Perhaps I'll take a walk around the area first. The northern Ming Island isn't far away, yet we've encountered a seven-tiered beast, the Ice Warden—this seems rather unusual. I might as well make use of this opportunity to investigate further." Bai Yao Yi thought for a moment, then replied gently. "That would be fine. Though, Madam Bai, you should be careful." Han Li was slightly taken aback, neither speaking to stop her nor offering further advice, merely adding the remark. "Brother Han, please don't worry—I've only done this as a precaution. Most likely, this seven-tier beast has accidentally wandered into this area. Such incidents have happened before. Yi Yao will go first!" Bai Yaoyi smiled gently, her graceful features now radiating a touch of elegance and charm. Instantly, she transformed into a streak of brilliant light and soared upward, vanishing into the distance. (First chapter!)