At the moment of this goddess's disturbance, the numerous flying swords that had previously held their ground against Han Li's sword were suddenly dimmed, their luminescence fading. Seeing this, Han Li instantly intensified his sword technique, and at once, the dozen or so green bamboo honey-cloud swords flared with golden light, circling the now sluggish group of ice swords. A series of sharp "crack" sounds echoed as half of the ice swords were severed in two by the golden blades. The remaining ice swords also instantly dimmed, emitting continuous cries of distress, as though they had sustained serious damage. The white-robed woman, who had just regained consciousness after being struck unconscious, was now deeply alarmed upon seeing her life-sustaining artifact destroyed. As her spirit was pulled in the struggle, several drops of precious blood spilled from her. Yet, without pausing to attend to this, she swiftly accelerated her sword technique, attempting to recover all the remaining flying swords. Otherwise, if all the swords were completely destroyed, the damage would far exceed the current state. But Han Li had already taken action—how could he now allow this woman to easily recover her life-sustaining flying swords? He swiftly raised his hand, pointing it toward the distant flying swords. Instantly, all the Qingzhu Fengyun swords surged forward, tightly pursuing and entangling the remaining ice swords. Meanwhile, the flying swords without opponents darted with astonishing speed; in just a few swift movements, they unexpectedly looped around and positioned themselves ahead of the ice swords. Under the combined pressure from both fronts, a loud clash of sword energies erupted, trapping the latter within the encirclement. A clear chime rang out within the book, and hundreds of ancient characters in gold and silver hues shot forth. As soon as they emerged, they surged with the wind, expanding rapidly before transforming into countless luminous orbs that directly rushed toward the two black crocodiles. The crocodiles did not hesitate, continuously expelling black streams of light from their mouths, plunging headlong into the gathering characters. A continuous series of thunderous booms echoed, as the golden and silver glimmers exploded upon the crocodiles' bodies, shattering their black mist and sending the two black crocodiles tumbling backward several times. These ancient characters proved astonishingly powerful, one by one. The two black crocodiles, seemingly unable to withstand such relentless assaults, roared once before revealing their true forms—two short black spears. Seeing this, Han Li felt a subtle sense of relief and immediately increased the magical power he infused into the book by three parts. Suddenly, the red scroll trembled, and more ancient characters surged forth from it, swiftly enveloping a vast expanse above, then shooting forward. A flash of black light, and the middle-aged man in green robes emerged, his face darkened, surrounded by numerous runes. Yet without a word, he raised his hand, summoning the two black short spears back to him. Then, with a flick of his palm, a small green banner appeared in his hand. Though only a few inches in size, when the banner was waved, its runes surged and rolled, a strong wind erupted, and the middle-aged man vanished completely. The ancient texts all fell to the ground, leaving everyone stunned. Han Li was no less surprised. On the other side, Han Li also failed to gain the upper hand. For Bai Mengxin, after a firm determination, suddenly raised a flawless white mirror. Directing it at the golden glow formed by Han Li's sword, the mirror merely flickered. Instantly, a column of milky-white light erupted from its surface. The golden glow, unprepared, was struck by this beam, and layer after layer of ice instantly formed on the sword, causing most of the sword to transform into frozen blocks, sealed within the ice. The remaining few ice swords then managed to escape and vanish in a flash, swiftly absorbed by the young woman. Han Li turned his gaze, observing the scene, and emitted a cold sigh. Immediately, he raised his hand and tapped the distant golden sword several times. At once, thunder roared across the sword, delicate electric arcs shimmering upon its surface. Under the force of the Divine Exorcising Lightning, the blocks of dark ice cracked and shattered piece by piece, and the flying sword regained its freedom instantly. Bai Mengxin's expression changed dramatically, and she swiftly rotated her small mirror, now pointing directly at Han Li. Yet, as Han Li stepped back, a deep rumbling sound echoed behind him, and a pair of silvery feather wings unfolded. With a slight motion, he vanished into the silver light. Bai Mengxin was momentarily stunned, but almost at the same time, a sudden gale swept past her, suddenly extending an arm from the wind, which seized her and pulled her into it. As the wind faded, her figure disappeared entirely. In the next instant, a silver arc flashed, and Han Li reappeared precisely where Bai Mengxin had stood before. He gazed into the empty void, his face darkening with anger. A blue glow swept across his pupils, and then, with a sudden motion, he flicked his hand back. A black streak shot forth from his sleeve, vanishing as swiftly as it had appeared. At a spot some dozens of zhang away, the black light flashed suddenly. A low hum followed, and then a severed arm slid down strangely before a figure in green robes staggered into view—none other than the middle-aged man in the green robe! Then Han Li floated motionless in the wind and snow, constantly glancing around with no change in expression, his pupils flashing with blue light as if searching for something. At another part of the spell array, beyond the illusion, a middle-aged man in a green robe hurriedly pressed his broken arm against the wound, then swiftly affixed several talismans. After a surge of white light, the arm was seamlessly reconnected. "Such an unusual artifact—clearly, Dream Yao's words weren't an exaggeration. This Master Han indeed possesses extraordinary abilities. Dream Xin, are you all right?" Upon seeing the bleeding at the broken arm cease, the man in green robes exhaled a long breath, then turned to glance at Bai Mengxin beside him, his face showing a touch of concern. "I'm fine. Though my life artifact was destroyed, I managed to recover nearly half of it. However, these pyro-ice swords cannot be summoned to defend us anymore. Master Han Li, the seal seems to have no effect on him, and it appears he has even perceived the illusion!" "Our concealment, powered by the seal's strength, has proven utterly ineffective." Bai Mengxin's originally pale complexion now carried two unusual flushes on her cheeks, and her voice was slightly hoarse. "I've watched the entire exchange closely. The other party truly deserves no understatement. Had it not been for the involvement of the Xitian Ding, I would have genuinely hesitated to make this a major adversary. Yet, once we've engaged, there's no turning back. I've now fully resolved the final backlash of celestial and primordial qi. From here on, all you need to do is support me. This opponent shall be eliminated by me. With my current condition, I can temporarily channel the cold qi throughout the entire Xuanyu Cavern—this should be sufficient. Even if he is exceptionally skilled, he will surely be unable to withstand such a vast volume of Xuanyu cold qi." Currently, the Master Han Li radiated a brilliant blue glow, yet the golden gleam in his eyes was gradually fading, and he spoke calmly. "By stirring the cold jade qi, we'll be unable to reopen the Jade Cavern for the next thousand years." Upon hearing this, the young man in the green robe was startled. White Mengxin's delicate jade complexion also changed slightly. "This is the only course we can take—just now, you both tested the situation. This person clearly possesses profound mastery of array techniques, and his divine artifacts and abilities are exceptionally sharp. Moreover, besides the Xutian Ding, he appears to have another fan, a replica of a spiritual treasure, which would be equally difficult to handle. Only by harnessing the full power of the Jade Cavern itself can I be certain of defeating him. Compared to the Xutian Ding, the temporary sealing of the Jade Cavern for a thousand years is entirely worthwhile." Master Hanli, gazing steadily at Han Li, who was ensconced within the distant seals, spoke with calm composure. Upon hearing the elder's words, although the young man in the green robe and White Mengxin still harbored some hesitation, they found themselves unable to offer any objections. With a single hand motion, Master Hanli suddenly produced a translucent, lustrous jade tablet in his hand. The mysterious runes on the token flickered incessantly, while an image of a frozen qilin spewing ice from its maw was engraved on its back. As he prepared to activate the token and cast his spell, his gaze instinctively swept toward Han Li once more—only for his expression to suddenly shift into alarm. "Unfortunate," he exclaimed. "They've located the array's focal point and are breaking through the seal! You two—quickly strengthen the spell array. Use every means possible to buy me some time!" Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man in blue robes was instantly startled and turned toward the distant scene. There, Han Li, immersed in the illusion, was now channeling incantations with both hands. A golden greatsword several dozen feet long had materialized above his head, glowing with countless arcs of electricity, steadily cutting toward a specific point within the entire seal. The man in blue robes was deeply astonished, unable to hesitate, and with a swift flick of his sleeve, launched a sphere of yellow-green light directly at the sword. By the side, Bai Mengxin remained silent, raising her hand single-handedly. The white mirror that had once frozen Han Li's sword instantly emerged, shimmering as its surface rippled. A surge of several pale luminous beams flashed forth, all converging directly upon Han Li himself. It seemed she intended to engage in a strategic encirclement, a classic "attack the enemy's rear to save the front." But when the yellow-green light sphere suddenly appeared beneath the great sword, and several white-light columns surged forth from the wind and snow, rushing toward him, a faint scornful smile played at Han Li's lips. (Second update! The updates have been a bit irregular lately, and I can't quite explain it—though I've made every effort to minimize distractions. However, as the year draws near, certain things inevitably arise that no one can avoid. Time is no longer something I can control. I hope you can understand and be patient with me in the coming weeks. All I can say is that I will do my very best to keep updating. Hehe—after all, we're living off the words I type, and I absolutely won't let myself slack off!)