Master Hanli, residing on the cold and fiery platform of Hanli, emitted a low groan. A blue glow gently enveloped a Yuan婴—about an inch in size—and it drifted slowly out of his body. The Yuan婴 sat with both legs crossed and hands in seals, yet a jade plaque, no larger than a thumb, hung from his neck, radiating a soft silvery light—an unusual treasure of unknown origin. As soon as the Yuan婴 rose one zhang above his body, it drew in a breath and then exhaled, spitting out a cluster of blue flame. This flame was the very essence of Hanli's decades of cultivation—the refined and pure Qi of the Dry Blue Ice Flame. The flame spun smoothly, transforming into a brilliantly polished blue disc that suddenly appeared beneath the Yuan婴, lifting it gently and carrying it upward, eventually emerging from the milky white frosty sphere. Upon seeing Master Hanli's Yuan婴 detach, Han Li and the others no longer hesitated. They each raised one hand and pointed toward the distant light sphere, and instantly, streams of intensely cold flame shot forth. An eerie scene unfolded! Before the cold flames had even touched the Yuan'ing, the luminous wheel beneath it suddenly began to spin rapidly. Instantly, a powerful suction emerged, causing all the cold flames to tremble and shift direction, drawn in and captured onto the wheel. The originally bright blue wheel instantly transformed into a vibrant, multicolored spectacle, so resplendent that merely gazing at it for a moment induced a sensation of dizziness, making it difficult to look at for too long. The Yuan'ing murmured a low command, launching a series of spell techniques that struck the wheel beneath. A thunderous sound erupted from below, and the various hues of light flames trembled before bursting into fragments. At this point, the Yuan'ing's spell techniques grew increasingly rapid, one after another, without pause, as though striving to exhaust all of his inner magical energy at once. Under the influence of these spells, the cold flames, after bursting and trembling, swiftly interwove and fused, coalescing within moments into a radiant lotus bloom. This luminous lotus subtly embodies six colors—black, white, red, yellow, green, and blue—appearing distinctly separated yet seamlessly unified, an utterly marvelous phenomenon. However, the lotus itself is nearly three zhang in width, making the Yuan Ying appear remarkably small within it. Yet as a mysterious incantation emanates from the Yuan Ying's mouth, the lotus glows with vibrant radiance and begins to shrink. With each inch of contraction, the brilliance of the lotus grows more dazzling. In a short while, when the lotus has shrunk to a size of a few chi, the petals on its surface seem to take on tangible form, thick and substantial, with the six hues of light dancing and flickering above them, as if the flames of celestial spirits. Seeing this, Han Li's face briefly flickers with a subtle expression of surprise, yet like the others, the cold flames he projects from his hands grow even more robust. These cold flames, once they enter the luminous lotus, vanish as if they had never existed—disappearing without a trace. At this moment, the Yuan Ying suddenly opens its eyes, which have remained closed all along, now revealing a strangely golden hue. With a single hand A series of soft "pffft" sounds echoed, and countless fine blue filaments jetted out from the tips of the fingers, landing upon the nearby lotus petals and merging into a single, unified mass. The Yuan-Ember continued chanting, his face growing increasingly serious, yet his raised fingers began to slowly converge toward the center. The filaments connected to his fingers pulsed with vibrant blue light, trembling increasingly rapidly. A low hum resonated from within the luminous lotus, and as the petals were drawn inward by the blue filaments, they gradually closed in, transforming in a moment as if time had reversed—now the flower appeared as a bud, completely enclosing the Yuan-Ember within. Six hues of radiant flame flowed continuously over the surface, shimmering brilliantly. Seeing this, Han Li and the others simultaneously activated their spells, momentarily cutting off the control over the intensely cold flames. The six-hued bud then gently shifted, descending slightly. After a flash of light, the blossom vanished as if it had never existed, sinking seamlessly into the milky cold mass. Then, with a final flicker, it disappeared entirely within the body of the cold-lord, leaving no trace. At that moment, the other five finally erupted with cold flames, striking the luminous orb. Immediately, fine streaks of cold light emerged within the milky glow, shooting out toward the cold-lord's body, continuously stimulating it with the intense cold power of the flames—harmonizing with the cold-lord's breakthrough. The entire spell array fell silent, save for the continuous hissing of air rushing through the space. Outside the Xuanyu Cavern, on a quiet street within the ice city, two young disciples of the Xiao Ji Gong walked side by side, dressed in white robes. They maintained a composed expression, yet their eyes constantly scanned the surroundings, appearing cautious and reserved even within their own temple. The once-majestic ice phoenix that had hovered above the city had vanished completely—either temporarily repelled by Bai Yao Yi and her companions, or perhaps diverted to another location. Although located in a remote corner of the icy city, the ice huts on both sides remain neatly arranged. The two disciples had already inquired beforehand and learned that the lower-level disciples who once lived here had evacuated the city several days ago—making this area a true blind spot. Yet even so, they remained vigilant, constantly projecting their spiritual awareness outward to guard against any unforeseen events. "Here it is," said one man, his gaze shifting toward the front. He then guided his companion around a corner to the back of an ice hut. Suddenly, a spacious open area of over thirty zhang came into view, where a man and a woman were already waiting. "You've come a bit late," the woman in her thirties remarked, slightly impatient. "If you hadn't arrived, we would have already begun our actions." The other figure was a tall man with a dark complexion. These two wore the same attire of junior disciples from Xiaoji Gong, though their clothing appeared only that of the lowest-ranking disciples—far less distinguished than the two who had arrived later. Yet the woman spoke with such directness and formality, which made the situation seem rather strange. "The guests outside have already broken through the outermost several layers of the array and are now less than a hundred li from this city. Human cultivators are patrolling diligently. We've spent considerable effort finding suitable pretexts to make our escape. Otherwise, if they suspect us, all our efforts would be wasted," said the newly arrived man, adding a cold sigh. The woman raised her eyebrows, about to speak further, when the tall, dark-faced man beside her grew impatient. "Enough! No more words. Begin immediately. Even if only a brief diversion, I don't want to lose any of my strength." Upon hearing this, the woman fell silent. The two newcomers also seemed somewhat wary of her and said nothing further. They纷纷 pulled out stacks of array discs and chunks of spiritual stones from their storage bags, beginning to lay out the magical arrays on the open space. The four moved with remarkable ease, and within just a short while, a small array took shape. Anyone familiar with array magic would be amazed to notice that this was actually a temporary teleportation array—one that operated in a single direction. After a meal's worth of time, as the array began to take final form, a tremendous roar suddenly shook the ground. Without warning, the nearby ice hut collapsed, sending a wave of cold, misty air rolling in. The four were startled, like birds startled from their flight, and immediately raised their protective magical artifacts. "With only a few spirit souls causing trouble, dare they stir up such a commotion right under the eyes of our small Jijing Palace? This surely shows they don't take us old fellows seriously," said an elderly voice, as two figures in flowing robes slowly emerged from the cold mist. One figure had his eyebrows hanging downward, with three long strands of beard, while the other was a middle-aged man with a rosy complexion, carrying a long sword on his back. "It's the judicial elder of Xiaoji Palace—get moving!" The woman gasped upon seeing their appearances and instantly shot off like a green streak toward one side. The big man and the other two also didn't lag behind, swiftly summoning their flight lights and taking off. "Hmph! If even a few strands of demonic souls manage to escape us, that would indeed be a great joke." The man carrying the sword sneered, lifted his head, and lightly flicked his sword. Instantly, four brilliant beams of sword energy shot forth. Three cries of pain followed—both the woman and the other two were pierced through by the sword energy, their bodies falling straight down from the sky. Only the black-faced man, who had transformed into a shimmering green light, stumbled slightly, yet continued to fly forward. "Hm, this is quite interesting!" The middle-aged man with a red face was somewhat astonished, yet as soon as he opened his mouth, a brilliant white rainbow surged forth, swiftly catching up to the dharma light of the tall man. The light circled once and then severed him cleanly in two. At that moment, however, the elderly man with a furrowed brow flicked his sleeve, and four jade-green, willow-leaf-shaped artifacts shot out from within, vanishing instantly. Moments later, the four flowers that had just scrambled out of the corpses in a hurry were struck by these leaf-like instruments, emitting strange cries before transforming into wisps of green smoke and gradually fading into the void. The red-faced man glanced at the transmission array, now nearly complete, his expression darkening. He then waved his hand, sending out a sword-like aura as thick as a large bowl. With a tremendous roar, the array collapsed, leaving behind a deep crater in its place. "Let's go! Though this array's partial destruction may not inflict serious damage upon these beasts, the experience will surely be anything but pleasant." The elderly man with a furrowed brow gently stroked his beard and said one sentence before a flash of luminous energy surged around him, carrying him upward into the air. The middle-aged man with a red face chuckled warmly and then calmly vanished as well. The same scene unfolded at two other locations within the Ice City, where the remaining puppet disciples, whose bodies had been taken over by high-tier beast spirits, were all captured by the other junior elders of Xiao Ji Palace. Inside a hall within the cold and secluded realm of Xiao Ji Palace—the very seat of the palace—five or six Yuan-Enlightened cultivators, including the Palace Master, were gathered, their expressions grave as they discussed matters of urgency. Among them, the graceful woman and the other two appeared unusually pale, as though their vital energy had been significantly depleted. "We never expected the Wàn Yāo Valley to bring even the Wàn Yāo Banner. We originally thought it would merely be a replica spiritual artifact, but its power is far greater than we imagined! If either Fang or Huang Elder had come to assist, I might have struggled to repel the elder beast spirit's duplicate. And even this achievement was only possible thanks to the grand array and its restrictions." But the elder demon's duplicate was only lightly wounded and would return within at most two days. It seems we must make our exit now." The beautiful woman with the surname Li said, her brows tightly furrowed. (First chapter!