The middle-aged man, who seemed blind, reacted instantly—his facial muscles twitched, and he suddenly gasped, "Xutian Hall! Impossible! It's been less than three hundred years since it last opened!" Upon hearing the name Xutian Hall, the blue-robed Taoist and the scholar remained calm, but the three in the green robes were startled, and the tall man's voice trembled: "Xutian Hall! That's the hidden sanctuary housing the ancient treasures!" "Could it possibly be anything else? It's appearing now, when the time hasn't even passed—this is indeed strange. Yet, even if it is truly Xutian Hall, without the Xutian Fragments, no one could enter. Hm, what is that? Someone has gone there." As the middle-aged man was still in astonishment, a vast cloud of fire surged from another direction on the horizon, moving with astonishing speed, as if sensing the unusual phenomena in the sky and eager to investigate the newly revealed palace first. The middle-aged man with gray-white eyes slightly frowned upon seeing the fire cloud's momentum. Though he had originally intended to retreat, his mind instantly changed course. A subtle chill, however, deepened within his pupils. As the fire cloud, its momentum astonishing, approached the palace, a corner of the massive hall, half-hidden in white light, suddenly flashed with five hues of color. From there, a remarkably thick, misty green light column erupted, piercing straight through the sea's surface. Instantly, a deep, dark hole of immense depth appeared on the sea surface. Where the light column reached, the seawater parted and receded automatically, forming a substantial vortex. Yet an even more astonishing scene unfolded! At the center of the azure light column, a white magical array several dozen feet in diameter suddenly materialized without any prior sign or indication. A flash of light from the array revealed a man and a woman, along with a massive green-bronze cauldron, appearing out of nowhere—yet both figures remained motionless, as if still trapped within the light column and unable to move. At this moment, the fiery cloud had already reached them, pausing in surprise, seemingly at a loss. Then, a thunderous roar erupted from within the white glow, causing the grand palace to tremble. A surge of spatial disturbances followed immediately, and under the blinding white light, the palace mysteriously vanished into the void. The azure light column also flashed violently several times before dissolving entirely, leaving only the man, the woman, and the giant cauldron suspended in the vast expanse. The figures within the fiery cloud, sensing something amiss, responded to the roar and suddenly shot back toward their origin. But at that instant, the woman raised her elegant brows and swept her long sleeve. Hundreds of shimmering swordlights surged forth from the sleeves, filling half the sky with an eerie, cold radiance and rushing toward the flame cloud. The swordlights moved with astonishing speed, darting and weaving several times before easily catching up to the flame cloud, then immediately launching a relentless barrage of strikes against it. Upon contact, the flame cloud roared in shock and anger, rolling and surging, with faint glimmers of cold light pulsing within—seeming as though the cultivator inside had summoned some precious artifact. Yet as soon as the two forces met, the flame cloud collapsed like it had encountered its nemesis, dissolving into the translucent, crystalline glow. The artifacts summoned were instantly severed in half by the sword strikes and fell to the ground in fragments. The cultivator within the flame cloud grew terrified, desperately attempting to cast spells and flee, but found no chance at all. As the hundred swords descended together, a piercing cry rang out—his body was torn apart by the blades, and even his spirit failed to escape. A thick wave of blood and gore materialized in midair, and this mid-level cultivator was completely annihilated in a single encounter. In this scene, not only did the Jianshan elder and the other Dan-stage cultivators pale, their faces filled with alarm, but even the usually composed middle-aged man, who had remained calm throughout, now showed a trace of fear. "Uncle, is it one of the disciples under the Hun Elder's gate in that fire cloud? Otherwise, how could it be—?" The large man moved his lips several times, struggling to speak, and managed a weak smile. "What disciple? It's the Hun Elder himself! Otherwise, how could the burning flames have such overwhelming force!" The middle-aged man, taking a deep breath, spoke firmly without turning his head. Though he had suspected it all along, the moment he uttered these words, all three Dan-stage cultivators gasped in astonishment. "Both the Hun Elder and Uncle are Yuan-Ying stage cultivators—how could he have been completely annihilated like this? It seems as though even his Yuan-Ying stage body had not had time to escape!" the graceful woman exclaimed, visibly startled. The Jianshan elder and the large man shared the same expression of disbelief. The middle-aged man said nothing, simply gazing steadily at the distant scene without blinking. At that moment, the couple floating in the air seemed to exchange a few words. Then, the woman appeared to sneer, suddenly drawing in her floating sword, which transformed into a shimmering,十余-zhang-long crystal arc, vanishing swiftly at the edge of the sky. The man, on the other hand, shook his head, glanced toward the harbor, and then materialized as an unremarkable green glow, approaching steadily—though not particularly swift—carrying a composed air. However, this action of the distant man caused the middle-aged man of the Gan family, seated in the pavilion, to suddenly flush with concern, and he issued a hurried command: "You three stay right here—don't move! I'll be back shortly!" As soon as he spoke, the middle-aged man surged forward as a blue light, leaving the pavilion and circling slightly at a lower altitude before directly meeting the approaching green glow heading toward the island. This sudden development left the group in the pavilion momentarily stunned, staring at one another in quiet surprise. They had personally witnessed cultivators of the same rank as their senior disciple being casually extinguished like ants by that woman. If this man were her companion, his cultivation level must surely be no less impressive. Naturally, they grew increasingly anxious. Indeed, the middle-aged man named Gan, who was facing the green-hued light, shared the same sense of unease. However, upon merely observing the woman's actions, he immediately concluded—without hesitation—that she was undoubtedly a formidable presence at the level of the Heavenly Star Dual Saints or the Six Paths Supreme Saints, both of whom are late-stage Yuan-ying cultivators. Should she choose to target them, even if he tried to flee, he would be utterly unable to escape her pursuit. After all, he was merely a cultivator at the initial stage, with a vast gap in his abilities compared to hers. Thus, rather than risk triggering her killing intent through any sudden movements, it would be wiser for him to approach cautiously. Under these circumstances, the Yuan-ying cultivator at the initial stage finally braved his way forward. Two streams of light converged, meeting almost in the span of a moment. The azure glow on the other side faded, revealing the figure of a man. The middle-aged man named Gan, whose light had slowed to a halt some fifteen zhang away, now focused his attention. It was then that he realized the figure across was a young man in a green robe, ordinary in appearance, with slightly darker skin, gazing at him with a half-smiling expression. With a mental sweep, Gan's eyes narrowed slightly, his expression straightened, and he bowed both hands respectfully. "My name is Gan Lin, a senior at Huangsha Sect. May I inquire, esteemed friend, your name? Is there any way I may assist you?" Though he used a peerly form of address, his tone was exceptionally courteous. Upon hearing this, the young man glanced at Gan with interest, smiled gently. "My name is Han. Huangsha Sect—I believe I've heard of it before, though the memory is a bit hazy. Is that the sect you're referring to?" "Our sect is merely a small one in the Luoxing Sea, so it's no surprise that you may not be familiar with us." If your lordship doesn't mind, might I invite you to take a brief rest at our humble abode? Upon hearing the courteous tone of the speaker, the middle-aged man felt instantly at ease, yet he spoke with no less care and respect. After a brief inquiry, he had discovered that the visitor was indeed a genuine late-stage great cultivator—how could he not treat the matter with utmost caution? This young man, naturally, was none other than Han Li, who after eighty years of rigorous cultivation at the Shu Tian Hall, finally broke free from his confinement. When, under the aid of the Spirit-Eye Spring, he spent a full decade refining his cultivation to the peak of the Yuan Yin mid-stage, and then another twenty years solidifying that foundation to meet the conditions for a breakthrough, he had merely hoped for a chance to succeed in overcoming the final barrier. Yet, to his astonishment, he encountered almost no resistance at all—his cultivation naturally and effortlessly advanced, culminating in the attainment of the Yuan Yin late-stage realm. This made him feel utterly incredulous, having already ascended to the rank of a late-stage great cultivator. After all, back then, to break through into the mid-stage, he had exerted immense effort—gathering numerous rare elixirs and medicinal pills to support his progress—only to succeed. This time, for the late-stage advancement, he had merely prepared some ordinary pills, with little hope at all, yet the breakthrough came as naturally as breathing. He found it utterly surreal, as if dreaming. He反复 pondered it over and over, yet still couldn't grasp the underlying reason. It might have been the cumulative effect of his long-standing practice of the Dàyǎn Sectual Technique and the single Elixir of Infant Transformation, or perhaps the five-colored pearls generated from the Tian-Bu Elixir had enhanced his spiritual root's potential. Alternatively, the Qingyuan Sword Technique might have been inherently more conducive to late-stage progression, or perhaps his own cultivation depth—far surpassing that of peers—had played a decisive role. Any or all of these factors could very well have contributed. Han Li ultimately decided to set aside his pursuit of the underlying reasons. After all, each cultivator who reaches the late Yuan Ying stage possesses unique, non-replicable conditions for success—otherwise, the number of senior cultivators in the Human World would not have become so scarce. Once his cultivation was complete, Han Li naturally took the opportunity to re-temper the Baoling Scale and the Xitian Ding, effortlessly refining the second layer of the Tongbao Sect Technique. Then he went in search of the silver-robed woman, who had also been in seclusion for continuous cultivation. Upon seeing Han Li, now a late-stage cultivator of the tenth rank, the ten-level Jade Phoenix was naturally stunned, her mouth hanging open in awe for a long time. As a result, the creature completely abandoned any intention of opposing Han Li. Under her secret techniques, the two of them, along with the Five Magi and the humanoid automaton, successfully activated the controlling array, forcing the floating palace to be temporarily withdrawn from the void and brought down to the Luanxing Sea. Then, using the controlling array, they simultaneously transported themselves and the Xitian Ding. As for the Daoist cultivator within the flame cloud, he truly had it rough. That ice phoenix had been unexpectedly trapped in the Xutian Hall for nearly a century, and upon hearing that Han Li had so easily advanced to the late stage, she naturally released a surge of frustration directly onto him. After that, she simply departed, leaving Han Li to seek her own way back to the Great Jin realm. Though Han Li had made significant progress in his cultivation, he still lacked confidence in confronting this female immortal, and thus the creature left without further ado. Naturally, he kept the ancient transmission array capable of returning to the southern lands entirely secret from the ice phoenix. (Second update! Finally finished—please continue to support with your monthly votes!)