The masked woman also gazed at Han Li, her eyes showing no waver. She had originally believed her opponent to be within easy reach, only to find him unexpectedly formidable—this surprise caused her to hesitate. Though she considered herself well-armed with the Yuanmagnetic Light and Yuanmagnetic Mountain, and believed she should have at least a seven-out-of-ten chance of victory once the fight began, she now realized that capturing or defeating Han Li single-handedly, as she had initially envisioned, would be far from certain. Should Han Li escape, he would surely become a major threat to the Star Palace. Even as one of the Twin Saints of the Heavenly Star, she dared not act rashly. Neither Han Li nor the masked woman spoke. The great hall fell into a profound silence, the atmosphere so heavy it seemed to make breathing difficult. Suddenly, Han Li's expression darkened, and he raised his hand, lightly grasping at one side. At that moment, a shimmering, jade-like hand suddenly emerged from the direction, materializing in a strange manner. It swiftly descended, snatching a beam of fire from the void and tightly sealing it within its grasp. Witnessing this, the masked woman's eyebrows lifted slightly, her eyes flashing a touch of surprise. "Perhaps you shouldn't send off your transmission signals so casually," said Han Li coldly. "I would not wish to be caught between two fellow cultivators of the same stage. As far as I know, I have never done anything to offend the Star Palace. You, as its master, why should you treat me so adversarially?" At the same time, the jade hand radiated a layer of cool, jade-colored flame, which in a matter of moments completely consumed the beam of fire it held. "Master Han misunderstands," the masked woman replied after a brief pause, suddenly smiling. "I have no intention of causing you any difficulty at all. Rather, I am deeply grateful for the assistance you provided to my daughter years ago." The once solemn atmosphere in the hall seemed to instantly ease and relax as soon as she spoke. "My young niece? Could it be that Master Ling is—?" Han Li was momentarily startled, then a look of sudden clarity flashed across his face, and his tone softened accordingly. Though he knew from the start that the young woman's demeanor had been far from humble, he took this opportunity to gracefully lower his guard. Han Li himself felt confident in handling a late-stage Yuan Ying cultivator—after all, he hadn't been without such encounters before, and now that he himself had reached that stage, his powers had grown vastly superior. Yet, he also didn't wish to accumulate many adversaries. And with his current location in the Star City, where the famed Yuan-Magnetic Divine Light held such prestige, he naturally carried a certain measure of caution. Han Li smiled slightly. "Han brother is being too generous. As for cultivation potential, while your journey from a Ji Dan stage to a Yuan Yin late stage in under two centuries may not be unprecedented, it is truly rare—few cultivators since ancient times have achieved such rapid progress. How could Yun Ling possibly be compared to you?" The masked woman chuckled and shook her head, her expression filled with mild surprise at Han Li's swift advancement to Yuan Yin late stage. She had been genuinely curious and thus asked the question to test his claim. Upon hearing her inquiry, Han Li offered a composed smile, neither confirming nor denying, and made it clear he had no intention of lingering here any longer. "I have long admired the great reputations of both of you, and originally intended to engage in a thorough conversation with you. However, I have other matters that require my immediate attention. Would you mind if I borrowed your palace's teleportation array?" After saying this, he glanced at the now-unsealed teleportation array and then slowly looked toward the masked woman. "Such a minor request—absolutely no problem at all!" The lady here has a guest's credential from my palace. If you don't mind, please take it and use it at your convenience. I know, given your esteemed status, you won't readily accept a guest title from any one sect. This credential is temporarily lent to you by my husband and myself. With this token, you may draw upon all the personnel and resources of my palace across the outer seas. This is our small gesture of appreciation. The masked lady immediately agreed and, with a swift gesture of her hand, drew out a golden token from her waist, tossing it toward Han Li. Though Han Li's face briefly showed a touch of surprise, he instinctively reached out with one hand and, without effort, caught the golden token in mid-air, then examined it closely. "Given your generous offer, I shall not be overly formal," Han Li said after a moment's hesitation, and without further hesitation, placed the token into his storage pouch. Seeing that Han Li had accepted the guest's credential without reservation, the masked lady's eyes sparkled with delight, and she smiled gently at the same time. "When your lordship returned from the outer sea, we would like to formally invite you to our abode for a gathering, to exchange insights on our progress toward the stage of Shén-Stage transcendence. Would your lordship be interested?" "Insights on Shén-Stage transcendence? I have only recently reached the late stage of Yuan-Ying. Though I have long wished to seek guidance from fellow cultivators at this level, at present, my primary focus remains on consolidating my current state. However, if I happen to find time, I would certainly make a special visit to both of your lordships." Han Li paused, then added with a touch of apology. Yuan-Ying cultivators at the late stage in the human realm are exceedingly rare—having the opportunity to exchange with peers of the same level is indeed a rare chance. Yet he was unwilling to appear overly formal and place himself in a vulnerable position. Though he held the confidence that his divine powers could comfortably handle several late-stage cultivators simultaneously, it did not mean that the human realm, beyond Shén-Stage cultivators, had nothing capable of posing a real challenge to him. As long as one is a bit careless and becomes trapped within an ancient seal or a particularly significant large spell array, and then has a peer-level cultivator strike at them opportunistically, the outcome could prove quite disastrous. Therefore, upon hearing that the young lady intended for him to visit her residence, he naturally and gently declined. Upon hearing this, the veiled lady expressed a touch of regret, yet could not help but chuckle softly in her heart. This newly advanced late-stage cultivator indeed shows remarkable caution! However, if he truly agreed to visit their couple's dwelling, she might not be entirely sure whether there were other intentions hidden within—perhaps even she herself could not be certain. Now that he has declined, the lady, one of the Dual Saints, has no further need to consider this matter, and instead remains calm and composed, engaging in a few more pleasant exchanges with him. Meanwhile, Han Li offers only a few polite remarks before quietly stating his intention to depart. The masked woman did not attempt to detain him further. With a graceful movement, she stepped aside from beside the teleportation array, drifting to a distant corner to signal her willingness not to interfere with the transmission, thus earning韩立's trust. Han Li smiled slightly, walking steadily toward the array without any hesitation. The two star-palace cultivators— the stern man and the elder— originally blocking his path naturally bowed deeply, retreating promptly to the side with great courtesy. This action, in turn, revealed the couple of Dan-stage cultivators and their disciples standing behind. The refined man, too, remained silent, immediately pulling his daughter aside to clear the way. Yet he was stunned when, unexpectedly, his beloved Dan-stage female cultivator—whom he had cherished for over a hundred years—stepped forward two paces, bowed gracefully to Han Li, and uttered words that left him speechless. "Wen Si Yue, bowing to Master Han! Congratulations on your attainment of the Yuan Ying stage! Had it not been for your timely assistance back then, I truly would have faced an unending calamity." "This is Wen Siyue—the female cultivator who, during her time in the extraterrestrial sea, nearly became a concubine of Han Li's." "Siyue... you... you know this senior!" The refined man murmured in surprise. "Didn't see you for these years, and yet you've successfully attained the Dan stage. It's clear you haven't slackened in your cultivation—otherwise, given your initial talent, it's hard to say whether you'd have achieved the Dan stage at all." Han Li glanced at the woman, his gaze flickering slightly before settling into a calm, composed tone. "All this is due to the medicinal elixirs left behind by the senior back then. Without them, how could Siyue have even had the chance to form her Golden Dan?" Wen Siyue bowed respectfully in reply. "I used to have a few connections with your father—those events of old were merely incidental. You needn't take it to heart. From your expression, it seems you're eager to head out to the outer sea. Why don't we go together? This woman has a certain connection with me. I'll take these people with me—will that be all right?" Han Li's final "Since you're already a longtime acquaintance of Han's, this will surely be nothing at all!" The masked woman smiled lightly and spoke without hesitation. "Then, Han shall be most grateful!" Han remained composed, nodded briefly, and said nothing further to Wen Siyue. With a mere lift of his leg, he suddenly appeared within the teleportation array—remarkably, a technique typically mastered by Yuan婴后期 cultivators known as the "Shrinking the Earth" maneuver. Wen Siyue and the others were startled, gazing at Han with deep reverence, except for the thin, gaunt young woman, who stared wide-eyed at his form, her expression filled with curiosity. "By the way, I haven't yet heard your name. Would your ladyship be so kind as to reveal it?" As Han cast a seal on the edge of the array, retrieved his Great Translocation Mandate, and then, unexpectedly, smiled warmly at the masked woman as the bright light illuminated the scene. "My name is Wen Qing," the masked woman replied, slightly taken aback, yet smiling gracefully. And at that very instant, Han Li vanished from within the beam of white light, without knowing whether he had heard the masked woman's true name. The gentle smile in her eyes disappeared as swiftly as it had appeared. "Arrange for them to be transported," she said, her voice cold and firm. "Afterward, go to the Hall of Enforcement—each of them shall receive twenty lashes of thunder-whips as punishment. Should such incidents occur again, my penalties will no longer be so lenient." "Thank you, Your Majesty! We shall certainly ensure such things never happen again!" Upon hearing the severity of the punishment, the ever-anxious young man and the elder were both filled with a mixture of relief and apprehension. They were relieved that their penalties were far lighter than expected, yet fearful that even twenty lashes of thunder-whips would leave them bedridden for a full month. The masked woman paid no attention to Wen Siyue or the others, her body shimmering with霞light, and then simply vanished into thin air. (First update!)