Under the convergence of numerous flaming arrows, a massive column of fire struck the black luminous shield. At the same time, as the young child's palm pressed against the iron shield, the shield itself radiated brilliant light. A tremendous roar erupted, and a surge of flames leapt upward, swirling violently along the shield's surface, causing the entire structure to tremble with astonishing force. The magical essence flying blade, which had flashed past, silently embedded itself into the top of the shield. With a soft "crack," the blade cleaved a fine crack, which swiftly closed and then appeared within the shield's interior. At that moment, the money-shaped artifact, enveloped in dark mist, shot toward the shield and struck the blade with a crisp "clang." A deep, ethereal glow flashed, and both objects momentarily vanished from sight. Han Li was startled, but fortunately, the consciousness transmitted from the humanoid automaton indicated that the magical essence flying blade had not been lost—only displaced, seemingly temporarily trapped somewhere nearby. Han Li swiftly decided, no longer hesitating, and activated his next reserve move. One of the dozens of fire cranes blocked outside by the black light shield suddenly spread its wings, emitted a clear, resonant cry, and expanded in size several times over. Then, opening its mouth, a stream of pale, chilly vapor burst forth. This was the Xuanyu Cold Qi that had been transformed into spiritual cranes by the Taiyin True Fire during the incident in the Xuanyu Cavern. Though this cold qi had been extensively absorbed, it could not easily become the essence of the Taiyin True Fire unless it had been carefully refined over a considerable period. Yet, under the impetus of Han Li's urging, a substantial amount of it now surged out at once. The white vapor struck the light shield, causing the black and white light to stand out vividly. A layer of translucent, thick ice spread across the shield, and within just one breath and one exhalation, a massive ice sphere suddenly formed, instantly freezing both the black shield and the infant inside it. Han Li raised a brow, his expression brightening with satisfaction. Yet he naturally knew that a mere ice seal could not truly restrain a ten-tiered beast. But for this brief delay, he pressed his palms together in seals, then with one hand pointed at the hundreds of sword beams near the massive ice, chanting his incantation as golden sword lights surged upward. After a slight spiral, they emitted a resonant hum and then dispersed outward, with the sword beams gradually vanishing in an eerie manner. Witnessing how tenacious this old beast had become, Han Li now decided to deploy the Dageng Sword Array to finally eliminate it. However, just as the array was half-constructed, the great ice sphere suddenly trembled violently, and countless silver filaments shot forth from the ice, swiftly slicing it into irregular fragments of varying sizes—clearly attempting to break through the ice seal. Through the semi-transparent crystal ice, one could see that the black light shield within had vanished, now reappearing as a dark iron shield spanning before the young child. The child himself held a glowing object in one hand, radiating a brilliant silver light—thousands of fine silver filaments bursting forth from the luminous orb. Within this silver glow, clearly visible was the silver lock that had originally hung at the child’s chest. Han Li sighed inwardly, knowing the sword array could no longer be fully established. He then turned his gloomy face and, with a hand gesture, summoned a jade-green wooden ruler, gently waving it toward the young child at a distance. A flash of light appeared at the child’s head, and a silver lotus about a foot long materialized, spinning steadily before expanding into a broad expanse of seven-colored Buddhist light that enveloped the child just as he emerged from the ice. The child’s form momentarily slowed, then went completely still. At that very moment, the humanoid automaton rubbed its palms together, releasing a surge of silver light, and suddenly a spear several feet long appeared in its hands. The young child, upon seeing this scene, had a sudden flicker in his eye. Suddenly, his small gray banner in his hands floated forth on its own, gently swaying in the empty space before him. Remarkably, he could ignore the Buddha's light incantation and summon the Ten-Beast Banner with mere gestures. But upon a sudden thought, he suddenly understood. The barrier formed by the Ten-Thousand-Beasts Banner possessed the miraculous ability to warp space—a far more extraordinary power than ordinary feats of magic, requiring no mere moment or brief effort to overcome. Behind the barrier, a young child stood, one hand holding the banner and the other cradling a silver lock, gazing at him coldly. Black aura flickered constantly around the child, gradually separating the serene, radiant light of the Buddha emanating from him, as though determined to break free. Han Li felt his heart sink. Clearly, the child was no ordinary late-stage cultivator, and fighting within the banner’s seal proved extremely disadvantageous. With this realization, he turned his gaze toward the four dark openings now visible around the flames. Though the child was engaged and unable to fully deploy certain techniques, these four black holes continued to expand slowly, and from within, faint roars of beasts could be heard, as though some monsters were preparing to emerge. Han Li furrowed his brow, snorted coldly, and immediately formed a firm plan. He retracted his Baoling Chi-rod, then pressed a series of hand seals. Instantly, the distant fire cauldron, the fiery phoenix, the humanoid automaton, and the thirty-six golden swords all trembled violently and shot toward him. The Taiyin Fire Phoenix, however, circled the spatial barrier once, opened its beak, and expelled a surge of intense cold air. Though the spatial barrier deflected much of this cold energy—shifting it seemingly to unknown destinations—the residual chill once again froze the child within. Yet the silver chain threads held firmly in the child’s hands continuously sliced through the crystalline ice, fragmenting it into scattered pieces, rendering the ice-bound effect almost negligible. By this time, the Taiyin Fire Phoenix had returned. Han Li glanced neither at the scene nor at the child, but merely flipped his palm, producing a yellow scroll in his hand. The characters on the scroll shimmered and danced with luminous energy—exactly the Break-Bound Scroll gifted to him by Linglong Lady before her departure. As for this scroll, it proves particularly effective in dispelling such spatial restrictions. However, Han Li only possessed one, and felt that using it prematurely would be a waste. Thus, he initially hesitated to summon it immediately. Now, witnessing the ever-changing transformations of the Ten-Thousand-Beasts Banner—still uncertain about any hidden, strange techniques it might yet unleash—he was determined not to suffer another such setback and promptly drew forth the scroll. Yet, his purpose in retrieving it was not to break the spatial barrier itself, but rather to escape from this space entirely. After all, since the opponent could still command the banner, even if the barrier were lifted, defeating them would take far more than a brief moment. It would be wiser to first extricate himself from the range of their magical constraints. With two fingers gently clasping the scroll, he lightly waved it before the empty space in front of him. The brilliant yellow glow on the scroll flashed, instantly causing ripples in the space that soon took on a continuous, twisting motion, eventually forming a bright, translucent white orb. Upon seeing this, Han Li was overjoyed and immediately summoned all the nearby objects. The flying sword, the flaming raven, and the humanoid automaton launched their attacks together, striking at the void. At once, a tremendous roar echoed, and a translucent, milky hole appeared, revealing the surrounding landscape with sudden clarity—clearly the Hall of Spiritual Emanation. Upon witnessing this sight, the child far off, who was breaking the seal, grew pale in alarm. In desperation, he summoned his true essence, sending out a surge of divine awareness. The ten-thousand-phantom banner emitted a surge of gray light, and a gray column of energy suddenly shot upward from the banner, striking the silver lotus floating in midair. With a deep resonance, both the banner and the lotus collapsed, dissolving into formless energy. The child immediately broke free! At that very moment, the green glow surrounding Han Li intensified, transforming him into a streak of jade-green light that shot forth swiftly, then vanished completely. All the treasures nearby followed his motion, flying off in unison. The child held the gray banner in one hand, his eyes flashing with cold determination, his face growing steadily stern. As the green light faded, Han Li materialized, hovering in midair. At that moment, a thunderous roar of bursting sound suddenly surged into his ears. Han Li quickly summoned his flying swords, channeling their light to form a golden shield around his body, then swiftly surveyed the entire hall. To his astonishment, he drew in a deep breath. The so-called Spirit Hall was truly vast—stretching out as far as two or three thousand zhang at a glance. High above, some fifty zhang away, a colossal object floated in mid-air, a banner over two hundred zhang long, remarkably similar to the gray banner he had seen earlier in the realm of the demonic aura. Yet this banner was not only thousands of times, if not ten thousand times, larger in scale, but its gray surface rippled with turbulent demonic energy, shimmering with various symbols of the demonic races, casting a broad expanse of the entrance area beneath its influence. That explained it—when he first entered the hall, he had been completely unable to avoid it and had been instantly ensnared by the banner's seal. This was indeed the true essence of the Universal Banner of the Ten Thousand Demons. The small banner held by the old demon, Car, was merely a fragment of its spiritual essence. Han Li was naturally startled! Yet when he looked further ahead, he saw another fiercely intense battle unfolding at the very center of the hall. Half of the hall had been transformed into a frozen expanse. Whirling streams of piercing cold air roared throughout the sky, enveloping the white jade floor and towering pillars, which were now completely covered in thick layers of ice. One after another, small ice mountains—ranging from several to dozens of zhang in height—rose along the edges of the ice fields. In the lofty skies above this frozen realm, a magnificent ice phoenix, exceeding ten zhang in length and pure white in hue, was wrapped in a shimmering layer of pale, cold flame, unleashing its full might. Its adversaries were three senior cultivators from the Xiao Ji Gong—one middle-aged woman of graceful beauty and two elderly men with snow-white hair. Each of them wielded a variety of distinct artifacts, desperately defending against the ice phoenix’s attacks. Though their artifacts were powerful, they were gradually falling behind under the relentless onslaught of the phoenix’s sharp claws and wings. Han Li was struck again when he saw the layer of white cold flame wrapping around the package, carried by the icy wind. This cold flame seemed remarkably similar to the Feng Li Ice Flame that Bai Mengxin wielded, yet in terms of power, the difference was astonishing. Even if the Feng Li Ice Flame were refined to its absolute peak, it could hardly achieve such formidable strength! (First update! This chapter was originally supposed to be completed earlier, but the initial draft didn't satisfy me—it felt too fanciful and unrealistic. After reconsidering, I decided to revise and rewrite it entirely. Sorry for the delay! The next chapter will be posted a bit later, probably around noon. I'm not going to sleep now—I'll keep working hard. Also, as we're now in the second half of the month, I'd kindly ask for some monthly subscription votes. Your continued support means a great deal. I'll make every effort to deliver the next chapter promptly!)