"An old bearded man!" Han Li only now noticed the face of the Yuan婴. If his memory served him right, the old bearded man had been nearing the end of his life span back then. Now, after nearly two centuries, he should have passed away and entered into stillness—yet here he was, still alive, and even under the care of Jiyin Master. This was indeed surprising. With this in mind, Han Li did not immediately intend to eliminate Jiyin. Instead, he carefully observed the Yuan婴. Suddenly, he raised his hand and reached out into the void. A large, jade-green hand materialized above the Yuan婴, swiftly grasping it and pulling it firmly into his hands. The five fingers of the hand shimmered with vibrant green light, completely immobilizing the Yuan婴. "Master Han, there's no need to be so cautious. Right now, even the ability to instantaneously teleport has fled me. Where could I possibly go?" The Yuan婴 showed no signs of struggle at all. "Hmph. That's quite possible. Yet I never expected you to survive this long. Back in the Xitian Hall, you were never particularly friendly toward me." "Are you now boldly stepping forward, expecting me to accompany you on this journey?" Han Li's face darkened. "You've already reached the late Yuan婴 stage. If you're to hold any ground in questioning the affairs of the Xutian Hall, then it's natural for you to speak thus. Yet back then, Brother Han was merely a Jade Dan cultivator. As for me, I never saw anything amiss in that. Moreover, even if you don't take action, I just now expended all my remaining vital essence to break free from the seal—my ability to remain on this world for any length of time is now severely compromised!" The Yuan婴 appeared utterly unconcerned about life and death. "That's true! With you in this weakened state, the collapse of your Yuan婴 is indeed imminent. I am no one who holds grudges. Though you once treated me with rudeness and pressured me, the imperial scale armor you once gifted me saved my life on more than one occasion. I won't let you fall now—this matter shall be settled as it is!" After a moment of silence, Han Li spoke something that completely surprised Man Hu. "I didn't intend to gift you that armor at all. Back then, "You needn't worry about this at all," the bearded man said, startled at first, then smiling wryly. "I don't care what your original intentions were—just that the Emperor's Scale saved me once. As for you, however, don't expect me to come to your aid. Let you perish on your own." Han Li spoke calmly, raising his hand and then waving it with a single motion—his large, jade-like hand instantly dissipated, freeing the bearded man's true form once more. Then, Han Li turned his gaze back to the towering block of ice beside him. "Master Han, the Patriarch of Extreme Cold has a deep, unyielding grudge against me. Could I possibly take it upon myself to handle this matter, so that the bearded man may fulfill his final wish before he passes?" The bearded man's true form inhaled deeply, fixed a stern gaze on the Patriarch frozen within the ice, and reiterated his earlier request. "My own grudge against the Patriarch is not small. I will personally see to it—there's no need for you to intervene." Han Li didn't even turn around, firmly rejecting the request. "I am willing to offer some of my rare "Panicked, the bearded elder quickly put forward his exchange conditions, no longer hesitating to conceal anything. Han Li turned back to gaze at the Yuan婴 for a moment, then suddenly smiled lightly. "Master Pan, what is your true intention? Just state it plainly. I don't believe you would be willing to make such a great sacrifice merely for vengeance. If you can honestly explain the full circumstances, and if there's no direct involvement for me, I might even agree to this arrangement. Additionally, I'm equally curious about how Master Pan failed to achieve the state of stillness, and how you ended up in the hands of the Extreme Yin. I hope you can share these details with me," Han Li said calmly. Then, with a sweeping motion of his long robe, he brushed the ice, and all the golden swords were instantly engulfed by a wave of emerald mist, vanishing within the folds of his robe. No one else had ever genuinely troubled me over a single pill. Yet, things didn't last long—when my life was nearly coming to an end, Six-Paths blocked my way and demanded that I hand over my post-mortem body after I satiated, to be used for his magical cultivation. Naturally, I refused, and as a result, he severely injured me with his Six-Extremity True Magician's Technique. Fortunately, I myself possessed a solid level of cultivation and managed to escape in time using a secret technique. Yet, en route, I encountered the old rogue, Jì Yīn. This man was exceptionally cunning—he immediately launched an attack upon seeing that I was severely wounded. We fought for three days and three nights, but eventually, due to the worsening of my injuries, I lost my physical form and my immortal embryo fell into his hands. This old magician, coveting my various collections and that one pill to restore the heavens, has kept me imprisoned here, interrogating me ever since. "Interrogating? He never employed the soul-retrieval technique on you?" Han Li asked, somewhat surprised. "Hehe, if other cultivators—especially those at the late Yuan Ying stage—fell into the hands of others, they'd inevitably be forcibly drained of their spiritual essence. But the Tao Tian Magic Technique I've been practicing is precisely immune to such methods. It allows me to tightly guard my spirit essence within my core, making it extremely difficult for anyone to extract it. Even if they intensify the draining technique, they'd at best cause my spirit to disperse—making it a mere fantasy to learn my secrets." The bearded man sneered, then spoke with unwavering confidence. "Is there such a secret technique?" Han Li's eyebrows lifted slightly, as though genuinely intrigued. "Of course. Do you think the Tao Tian Magic Technique is merely a name without substance? It's simply that I've never shared this secret with others. In desperation, the extreme cold and darkness can only periodically torment my Yuan Ying with corpse fire. Hehe, yet how easily would I yield to such treatment? Even if I did reveal it, I'd still end up with my spirit dispersed." However, after his secret technique forcibly extended the Yuan-Infant's lifespan by over a hundred years, the Yuan-Infant truly had burned out all its vitality—unless he employed the technique again to absorb the essence of another Yuan-Infant, he would certainly be unable to reincarnate. Even if he did that, it remained uncertain whether he would indeed have a chance at a future life. "Speaking of this, the bearded Yuan-Infant fixed his gaze on the Jiyin Master frozen within the blue ice, his expression full of resentment, as if he wanted to tear him apart right then and there." "Ah, I see. You intend to absorb the Jiyin Master's Yuan-Infant essence in order to secure a chance at reincarnation. I've heard of this technique before, though I still can't confirm whether it actually works." Han Li stroked his chin, murmuring. "Whether it's true or not, this technique is my only chance. I simply have to try it, no matter what. After all, my collection might end up being acquired by someone else—why not trade it for this slim chance of survival?" The bearded Yuan-Infant said, with a sigh of resignation. "That "No, as soon as I stepped out of the Xu Tian Hall, I devoured it whole. Yet it seemed to have done me no great good. The extreme cold energy, seeing my cultivation level unchanged from before, assumed I had still not taken the pill and kept pressing me to find out where it had gone. Otherwise, whether he truly possessed such patience to interrogate me at length remains uncertain." Man with a thick beard replied with great composure. "Oh, such a thing indeed!" Han Li's face flashed with surprise. Back when he had taken the Bu Tian Pill, the effects had been quite remarkable. Yet, given that the other party had now reached this stage, he likely wouldn't be lying. It seemed the Bu Tian Pill had only made a slight improvement in the innate qualities of Yuan Ying cultivators. Of course, this might also be because the other party's original spiritual root had already been quite good, leaving little room for further enhancement. Han Li thought this over in his mind. "I can settle this matter for you. But first, I'd like to have a copy of the Tou Tian Magic Technique's incantation. Once I have that, I'll hand over the extreme cold energy to you." I'm particularly interested in the soul-sealing secret technique inside. After you've finally consumed my Yuan婴, I'll then tell you where the other treasures are stored." Han Li pondered a moment, fixing his gaze on the bearded Yuan婴, and spoke slowly. "Good! No problem!" The Yuan婴 beamed with delight and replied without hesitation. Han Li nodded, but upon noticing the Yuan婴's somewhat weary expression, suddenly pressed his palms together and began chanting incantations, sequentially striking the Yuan婴's body with several hand seals. Instantly, after a flash of colorful spiritual light shimmering across its surface, the Yuan婴 suddenly regained energy and seemed much better. "Thank you so much for your assistance!" the bearded Yuan婴 gratefully exclaimed. Han Li waved his hand, then swept it out, sending a pale, blank jade scroll flying directly toward the Yuan婴. The Yuan婴 quickly opened its mouth slightly, and a gentle golden aura burst forth, instantly wrapping the scroll and shrinking it down, until it was neatly held in the Yuan婴's hand. Then it closed its eyes and lowered its head, beginning to replicate the hand seals. For the Mountain-Brow, copying a spell he had presumably memorized countless times was no effort at all. In the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the Yuan-Emperor opened his eyes and raised his small hand. A beam of white light shot straight toward Han Li. Han Li raised his hand and caught the light; upon a brief flash of insight, the jade scroll returned to its original size. "Has the Mountain-Brow made any alterations in the spell?" Han Li glanced at the scroll in his hands and suddenly adopted a half-smiling, half-quirky expression. "Han brother is jesting. At your current Yuan-Emperor stage, the authenticity of the spell is clearly evident. Besides, the Mountain-Brow has now fallen to such a pass—how could he possibly undertake such a self-sacrificing, self-harming move?" The Yuan-Emperor replied, his face betraying a mixture of exasperation and amusement. (First update!