At the very moment the great battle commenced outside Xiao Ji's Palace, within the hurricane nestled among the scattered stones of Xuan Yu Cave, a purple lotus of half a zhang in size shimmered with activity. Han Li pressed his hands in intricate gestures and exhaled a slender, delicate strand of purple flame. This luminous sphere, illuminated not only by Han Li's purple Luo Ji fire, also received three additional streams of cold flames—black, white, yellow, and green—emitted by the elderly women seated in other lotuses. Yet at this moment, including Han Li himself, all five figures seemed drained, their faces pale and their spirits weakened. The light sphere at the center of the spell flickered with shifting hues, and within it, a faint silhouette of a person appeared, seated in meditation. This figure stood nearly a zhang tall, remarkably robust—seeming unlike the cold, serene Elder Han Li. Upon closer inspection of his face, however, he appeared to be a middle-aged, strong-bodied cultivator of about thirty, yet his facial features bore a striking resemblance to the original Elder Han Li, as if he had suddenly rejuvenated, appearing decades younger and restored to his prime youth. This was indeed a most unusual sight. Yet the sturdy man before them displayed an exceptionally robust upper body, with several short, gleaming blades embedded in key areas—across his shoulders, chest, neck, and abdomen—each penetrating halfway, yet leaving not a single drop of blood at the wounds. What was even more striking was that the man’s eyes were slightly closed, and several slender, multi-colored luminous insects, each a few inches long, were constantly drilling in and out of his flesh, as if his body had become a natural nest. Each time an insect entered, the man shuddered, his face contorting with pain, as though enduring immense suffering. Yet upon close observation, one could be astonished to discover that these so-called insects were actually condensed flames of extreme cold, manifesting in luminous form. With every entry and exit, the insects shrank slightly in size. Eventually, when they reached a certain small size, they would emit a soft "pffft" sound and then dissolve completely into nothingness. And immediately, a stream of light flame of the same color sprang forth from the outer sphere, coalesced into another light creature nearby, and then penetrated into the robust man's body. This process repeated continuously. At that moment, if a cultivator could perceive the man's internal state, they would be astonished to find that at his dantian, a Yuan婴—about three inches in size and resembling the robust man—was performing hand seals, enveloped in layers of blue ice-flame. Yet, the light creatures entering from outside ignored these blue flames entirely, smoothly separating them and entering through the slightly opened nostrils of the Yuan婴, then emerging through his mouth before re-entering the robust man's body. The Yuan婴 remained expressionless, yet the blue light flames on its surface flickered and dimmed in a mysterious rhythm. After an indeterminate length of time, the robust man suddenly trembled violently and opened his eyes. The group who had originally expelled intensely cold flames seemed to have received a signal, and almost simultaneously, they changed their hand seals. As a result, the various cold flames swirling around the luminous orb instantly reversed direction and flowed back inward, and the luminous lotus beneath them also gradually dispersed and vanished. Then, each of them either took a pill or withdrew a spiritual stone, closing their eyes to meditate. This scene had now repeated itself over a dozen times in the past few days. Each time, they nearly depleted half of their inner spiritual energy. Fortunately, all of them were affluent individuals, and through the regular intake of spiritual pills and stones, they could restore their energy to full strength within just half a day. Upon seeing the cold flames drawn back by Han Li and the others, the bearded man seated within the luminous orb closed his eyes, as if beginning to enter a meditative state. Time passed slowly, and suddenly, the old woman opened her eyes, gazed intently at the bearded man within the orb, and deeply exhaled. "I truly admire Cold Li's perseverance. How could he endure the agony of the Five-Flame Bone-Refining process? Though he has deliberately restrained the power of the cold flames, the experience must be unbearable—more than life itself. It seems Cold Li must have cultivated a special body-strengthening technique. Otherwise, his body would have collapsed long ago. This is no mere matter of strong mental awareness." "However, the Xuan Yu cold qi within the spell array seems to be somewhat insufficient and will require us to temporarily pause the array and replenish it from outside." Han Li said calmly from beside. "Ah! I didn't expect Master Han to have such a deep understanding of this secret technique—especially to notice this detail. Indeed, before the breakthrough, it is necessary to gather the cold qi from the surrounding Xuan Yu crystals once again." A vibrant, surprised voice came from within the light sphere, that of Han Li's superior, Han Li. Han Li stiffened slightly and turned to look. He noticed that Master Han Li had risen at some point, his form slowly emerging from a soft, milky cold glow. Yet, the five short blades previously inserted into him had vanished without a trace, leaving no visible wound at all. With a gentle, serene smile on his face, the image was distinctly otherworldly. "Not much, really," Han Li chuckled, casually brushing off the matter. "Oh, Brother Han has been observing all this. I wonder if you think my current attempt to break through this bottleneck holds any chance—how does it compare with my own expectations?" The elder Han casually reached into his storage pouch, pulled out a blue robe, and draped it over his shoulders, yet continued to gaze at Han with a thoughtful tone. With the light screens and the outer hurricanes gone, a surge of pale, cold radiance instantly swept over the group once more. However, several prepared individuals promptly released streams of cold flame from their bodies, shielding themselves within them. "Over the next day, I'll make slight adjustments to the spell array and gather fresh cold energy. In the meantime, my esteemed friends, take this opportunity to rest well. At this time tomorrow, I sincerely hope you'll once again assist me in breaking through my current bottleneck. Should we succeed, I vow to fulfill every promise I've made to you without fail," said Master Han Li, stretching his tall frame and bowing slightly to Han Li and the others, his expression earnest and sincere. "Master, please have no worries," replied the elder. "As long as we've committed to this, we will certainly give our full effort. Moreover, should this secret technique prove effective during the transition to the stage of Divine Immortality, we may find ourselves needing it again in the future." The old woman chuckled warmly. "If I happen to reach the late Yuan婴 stage by chance, this method might just be our own fortunate opportunity," the gray-robed monk said calmly. Han Li nodded slightly, saying nothing. However, the Han Li Master seemed highly satisfied with their performances, thanked them loudly, and then began adjusting various elements of the spell arrays. Han Li and his two companions first returned to the stone pavilion beside the Sun Spirit Stone to rest. Though they had recovered their inner energy, several days of continuously manipulating the intensely cold flame had left their consciousness deeply fatigued—they truly needed a good rest. Time passed quickly. When Han Li and the others stepped out of the pavilion again, the Han Li Master was already meditating in a cluster of cold energy within the spell array. This white-hued cluster had grown several times larger than it was yesterday. Clearly, he had given it his full attention. As for the young man in the green robe and Bai Mengxin, they had also returned to the pavilion shortly after entering. It was only the Cold-Li Monks who had remained outside the stone pavilion throughout the entire day and night. When Han Li had just intended to carefully observe the specific changes in the previous array, he suddenly heard the monk utter a surprised sound, as though both unexpectedly and astonished. Han Li glanced back and saw the monk raising his head toward the sky, his face displaying a strange expression. As Han Li's expression shifted, he quickly turned to look as well—only to find his face slightly pale. The entrance that had previously been faintly visible had now vanished entirely, and the massive tripod used to open the passage was nowhere to be found. "Monk Cold-Li, what does this mean?" the old woman, seeing this, could no longer contain her impatience, her expression now tinged with alertness. "Ah, don't worry, my friends. Since the breakthrough below is crucial, I've decided to temporarily close this entrance to avoid any unforeseen interruptions. Moreover, I believe I'll need the power of this 'Qianlan Tripod' to assist me during the breakthrough." "Han Li, however, remained utterly calm, smiling gently as he replied. "Ah, so it is!" The monk and the old woman exchanged glances, slightly hesitating. Han Li, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes, gazing steadily at the sky, remaining silent for a moment. The atmosphere within the cave suddenly grew tense. "It seems I have not considered matters thoroughly, and have caused your companions some discomfort. Then, I need not use this cauldron at all. While the entrance will still need to be temporarily closed, I shall place the Qianlan Cauldron right at the entrance. What do you think?" Han Li smiled warmly and spoke kindly to the three of them. With a simple sweep of his sleeve, a blue flame enveloped the small cauldron and launched it skyward, soaring swiftly to over several hundred feet before hovering motionless just below the entrance. Though the three still harbored some lingering doubts, seeing the cauldron—so clearly under Han Li's control—now suspended so far from the monk's reach, they felt considerably reassured. After a moment's thought, the elder lady finally calmed down, offering a dry smile: "Master Han Li is being overly concerned. How could we doubt you? It was only that we were momentarily puzzled earlier. Still, we should make good use of the time and assist Master Han Li in breaking through his current bottleneck!" Upon saying this, the elder lady didn't wait for anyone else to speak—she merely flickered and stepped into the array. (Second chapter!