Yet at such close range, Han Li naturally dared not unleash his full power, for otherwise he would himself be swept into the force of the fan. With a mere flick of the fan, a layer of three-colored flames emerged upon its surface, resembling a fiery blade. "Crack!" Indeed, the fan's power proved formidable. The seemingly impenetrable light shield was forcibly split open, though only a crack a foot wide—enough for Han Li to escape through. Han Li was delighted and just as he was about to cast a spell to flee, a sudden flash of white light appeared outside the crack, and the silver-robed woman materialized there, tearing through the space. With a raised hand, her jade arm suddenly transformed into a translucent, sharp claw, darting through the crack to seize Han Li and pull him out. Han Li grew alarmed. Though he wished to leave, he absolutely did not want to fall under the control of this ten-tiered ice phoenix. As he prepared to vigorously shake the Three-Flame Fan to deal her a heavy blow, suddenly, his expression changed dramatically. Suddenly, Han Li drew back his three-flame fan, and at the same time, a blue, radiant token appeared—precisely the "Great Translocation Token." As soon as Han Li produced the token, the ancient teleportation array burst into brilliant light, dazzling and intense. At that moment, the azure light curtain shattered and dissolved. After the teleportation glow subsided, not only did Han Li and the five sons of the magical lamps vanish from within the light, but even the silver-robed woman, originally formed from a level-ten ice phoenix standing at the edge of the array, disappeared as well—seemingly carried away by the same teleportation surge. Witnessing this, the young Jijing Palace's master was first stunned, then her expression turned both delighted and exasperated. She was delighted to have suddenly lost a powerful opponent, yet exasperated to have just encountered the personal spiritual artifact of the young palace's founding master, the Ice Essence Immortal, only for it to vanish without a trace. The young child far off looked pale and distressed, but instantly his fierce expression flashed, and he fixed a stern gaze upon the beautiful woman. With a long, resonant cry that pierced the heavens, he suddenly pointed at the celestial banner floating in the air. At once, the aura of the banner surged dramatically, and beneath the dense ranks of phantom creatures, countless phantom beasts of varying sizes surged forth. In an instant, a thick, dark wave of妖 energy filled half the sky of the hall, sweeping down upon the beautiful woman in a relentless tide. In an instant, green mist and black vapor intertwined and collided, as ghostly forms and spectral beings flickered in and out, engaging in fierce combat. This Yellow Springs Ghost Mother, though only a ghost cultivator, managed to hold her own against the ancient car-elder demon, showing no sign of being overwhelmed. At the side, the Master of Xiao Ji Palace was delighted by the scene and immediately set aside her concerns about Han Li. With a quick搓 of her hands and a gesture of her mouth, a cascade of bright red lightning surged directly toward the swirling aura of the demons. For a moment, the entire hall resounded with thunderous roars, as the figures of the human, the demon, and the ghost vanished into the mist and vapor. Only now and then could one hear the deep, earth-shaking crashes echoing from within. Inside a stone chamber measuring over thirty zhang in size, within a magical array resembling the one used in the Xuling Hall, Han Li held the Xitian Cauldron in one hand, his expression utterly still, facing off against a stunningly beautiful woman. Behind him, the humanoid puppet remained motionless, while the ghostly head formed by the five-magic phoenixes hovered in the magical atmosphere, its bloodthirsty magical glow fixed upon the woman across the way, emitting intermittent low growls as if it would immediately charge at her the moment Han Li gave the command. The woman across the way, of course, was the ten-tiered ice phoenix that had been unexpectedly drawn into the teleportation array. In fact, this ice phoenix had been rather unfortunate—when the azure light curtain shattered, she had already sensed something was amiss and intended to immediately cast a spatial-separating spell to distance herself from the array. But due to the mutual influence of spatial forces, she ended up being pulled into the transmission process instead. This particular teleportation clearly wasn't a short-range one; had it not been for the phoenix's innate talent in spatial magic, she likely would have been torn apart into fragments during the journey. Nevertheless, her current situation was far from ideal—now she stood at the edge of the stone pavilion, her white spiritual glow flickering unevenly, and she stared coldly at Han Li. According to her estimation, if the human cultivator across from her truly faced a life-or-death battle, the outcome would likely be a close four-to-six split—though what frustrated her was that the advantage clearly lay with the opponent, not herself. After all, she could have easily advanced to the Shenzhen stage at any time, simply by maintaining her cultivation level, which was just short of Shenzhen. Yet the opponent, whom she had seen as one of the most tenacious and difficult to handle, had already achieved a level of power comparable to that of a senior cultivator at the Yuanying Mid-Stage, even surpassing it in some aspects. Moreover, the Five-Hearted Mysterious Magic and the silent, unobtrusive humanoid automaton she possessed were both exceptionally refined—so refined, in fact, that they could easily be considered two additional senior cultivators. Thus, no matter how confident she might be, she could not help but feel that in a direct confrontation with Han Li, she would not emerge as the clear victor. Yet the ice phoenix inside felt no fear. Even if she were no match for Han Li, who could possibly stop her if she charged full force, given her mastery of spatial magic? Han Li's eyes narrowed steadily as he gazed at the woman across from him, his mind equally uncertain. But after a moment, he finally exhaled a cold breath, lifting his leg suddenly and drifting slowly out of the spell array, then moving straight toward one of the smooth, green stone walls. The stone chamber was peculiar—there were no doors around it at all, and the walls appeared perfectly seamless, as if crafted from a single, unbroken piece of stone, with not a single crack or seam visible. In such an enigmatic setting, Han Li had no desire to risk a life-or-death battle with the ice phoenix. As long as the woman didn't initiate an attack, he had no intention of expending much of his magical energy in a prolonged struggle. After all, the woman's innate magical talents were truly extraordinary. Upon seeing Han Li's calm demeanor, the silver-robed woman's expression softened, and she silently breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, Han Li had carefully scanned the stone wall with his divine awareness, only to furrow his brows. As soon as his awareness penetrated the stone, a powerful force immediately surged back—clearly indicating the presence of a strong seal embedded within the wall. This was precisely the most frustrating outcome. Han Li's expression darkened. Suddenly, he lifted his head and extended a finger, lightly piercing the stone wall before him. A flash of azure light appeared at his fingertip, and a half-foot-long streak of cold brilliance momentarily pierced into the jade stone. A sharp rushing sound followed, yet the cold streak only penetrated slightly before being pushed back. Han Li remained composed, casually flicking his finger in all directions, sending three additional streams of azure sword energy striking against the other three stone walls. The same result occurred each time. Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly, fixing his gaze on the walls in silence, with a faint blue glow flashing deep within his pupils. "Hmph!" the silver-robed woman observed the scene and sneered. Suddenly, with a single hand motion, he swept forward through the air, and instantly a pale, misty crack vanished—then the young woman was gone, having manifested spatial magic and directly vanished from the stone pavilion. Watching this scene, Han Li remained utterly unmoved, silently gazing at the stone wall before him for a while. Then, suddenly, the humanoid automaton behind him raised his hand, and a black short blade shot forth, striking with a brief flash at an inconspicuous spot on the wall. Immediately, a deep "thunderous" boom echoed. The once-solid green stone wall cracked and shattered in segments, and Han Li found himself suddenly standing in a vast hall, empty and open, with the silver-robed woman no longer within it. Yet, upon closer inspection, Han Li's mouth twitched slightly, and a look of disbelief flashed across his eyes. For directly across from the hall stood a square stone door, about fifteen zhang in length and width, adorned with strange symbols, glowing faintly with a soft white light—clearly enchanted. Yet this stone gate was familiar to Han Li, whom he recognized almost instantly, leaving him stunned as if struck by a blow. Taking a deep breath, he composed himself and strode straight toward the gate without hesitation. With a flash of golden light in his hand, a sword about a foot long materialized. He then swept it slightly, sending a golden-hued sword aura slicing through the air. "Boom!" The gate's surface flashed white, yet it was ultimately severed by the sword's force, splitting into two halves and revealing a crossroads paved with dark green stone. Han Li shifted slightly, stepping into the center of the intersection, and then quickly scanned the surroundings before standing still, motionless. Before him stretched a network of intersecting stone pathways, each leading in the four cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west—flanked by towering, thick stone walls that were identical in appearance, as if cast from the same mold. Indeed, it was here—no mistake. "It wasn't long before Han Li exhaled deeply, murmuring softly with a touch of melancholy. Here stood the very inner hall where he had once obtained the Xitian Immortal Cauldron—the towering five-story stone pagoda. He had been suddenly transported from the far northern reaches of the Great Jin Empire all the way to this chaotic star sea, and now, gazing at the surrounding stone corridors, he could not tell which floor of the pagoda he was on. "The Xitian Hall and the Xiling Hall—how remarkably connected they truly are!" Han Li murmured to himself, his expression finally settling into calm. With his current abilities, he needn't worry about being out of place even in the midst of the star sea. As long as he could step out of this hall and restore the transmission array he had previously destroyed—the one that had carried him to the star sea—he could return directly to the southern lands. After mentally resolving this, Han Li scanned the surroundings and settled on one of the stone corridors, instantly transforming into a streak of jade-green light and shooting off toward it. But just after a cup of tea's worth of time, Han Li realized that not a single puppet guard—those which should have been wandering throughout this tower—had appeared. He immediately understood upon reflection that since the next opening of Xutian Hall was still some time away, these puppets must have been drawn back by pre-set restrictions from Xutian Hall itself. Moreover, along his journey, he had not encountered any other seals or mechanisms obstructing his path—the entire great tower seemed to have become lifeless! When he first entered it before, the tower had been bristling with intricate seals and traps. (First update! As we've begun a new volume, I've taken a moment to reflect on the content of this new chapter, so the update has been slightly delayed. However, the next chapter will be posted by noon! Hehe—this volume marks the final one of the Human Realm section!)