The elder's action seemed like a signal; the other元婴 cultivators still engaged in combat suddenly employed various astonishing secret techniques—some vanished in a flash of white light, while others spouted pure blood, transforming it into eerie bloodlight and fleeing, each one sacrificing substantial vital essence. A sharp, icy exhalation echoed from above, and the Jin Jiao King's face darkened with fury. With a single hand motion, a thunderous crack followed, and a streak of shimmering gold and silver light shot forth. To the astonishment of all, the beast hurled its golden spear directly at the slender elder. As soon as the light emerged, it flickered strangely and vanished into the void. "Unfortunate!" The slender elder, who had been closely observing the Jin Jiao King's every move, felt a jolt of alarm upon seeing this. He immediately threw his jade mirror backward. As the jade light surged, a full moon, several zhang in diameter, materialized, its soft glow enveloping the elder completely. And almost at the very moment the clear moon took shape, a golden spear, manifesting itself at close range and stretching over ten zhang in length, flashed with silver electric glimmers, then struck the clear moon at its center with a thunderous roar. The surface of the moon, like a mirror, cracked in delicate fragments, and the massive spear plunged fully into the moon, shattering it completely. "Ah!" The slender elder was stunned, his body radiating a deep purple glow, and instantly reached for a secret technique to escape. Yet at that very instant, the spear, now reduced to nearly half its original size, shot forth from the remaining lunar shadows, darted through the air, and strangely pierced the purple glow. A tremendous crash! The silk handkerchief—what ancient treasure it was—transformed into a shimmering purple radiance and absorbed the impact. Nevertheless, the slender elder was struck as if by lightning, launched several zhang away, and lost complete control of his body. The Golden Dragon King, lifting his leg mid-air, astonishingly spanned over fifteen zhang of distance, instantly closing the gap with just a few movements and immediately reaching out to grasp the slender elder. With no words, he raised his hand and seized him. His five fingers glowed with golden light, shining as if forged entirely of pure gold. A brilliant green flash erupted, yet the golden claws remained undamaged, as if untouched. "The Transformation into a Dragon Technique!" the slender elder gasped aloud the instant the orb was shattered, simultaneously expelling a concentrated drop of blood through his spiritual connection. However, due to this delay, the purple glow that enveloped him surged forward once more, instantly widening the gap between him and the Golden Dragon King by over ten paces. This time, the Golden Dragon King did not pursue. Instead, his face, beneath the armor, grew stern, and with one hand he slowly punched forward toward the distant purple light. A golden fist, measuring a zhang in size, unexpectedly materialized above the purple glow and descended in a lightning-fast strike. With a tremendous roar, the slender elder was launched diagonally by the impact, plummeting like a meteor toward the stone peak and crashing through a certain pavilion, creating a massive hole several zhang wide—then buried beneath countless fragments of stone. A faint smile of contempt curled at the Golden Dragon King's lips. With a subtle movement, he appeared on the pavilion's roof, standing at the edge of the great opening and gazing out at it for a moment. With his arm raised, the palm glowed brilliantly golden, poised to strike the emaciated elder to death in a single breath. Yet at that very instant, his expression changed suddenly—he swiftly altered the direction of his arm, reaching out toward a specific spot before the hall's main door, and roared, "Whoever you are, come out now!" Five golden grasping streaks flashed and vanished instantly, sinking into the ground. A few "pffft" sounds later, five deep furrows several zhang long appeared before the hall, black and astonishingly deep, yet the surrounding ground showed no disturbance, and no figures emerged. Observing this, the Golden Dragon King atop the pavilion blinked several times, his gaze flickering—his face now revealed a subtle surprise. Though he had felt no prior warning, an inexplicable chill had swept through him, prompting him to act without hesitation. This was not because the creature had truly discovered something, but rather, due to the innate, celestial sensitivity of a divine spiritual beast, which instinctively triggered this sudden response. This intuitive sense of danger had saved his life on several occasions throughout countless years of cultivation. But now, with the attack falling short, even Golden Serpent King hesitated, uncertain whether it had been merely a fleeting illusion. After all, mistaken premonitions had not been unheard of in the past. What made it different now, however, was the intensity of the tremor—so vivid that it felt as though something extremely perilous were silently observing him, leaving him still shaken. As this spirit was pondering whether to expand his search, a subtle shift occurred in the pile of rubble at the base of the pavilion, only to settle back into stillness. This faint disturbance immediately drew the King's attention; upon glancing at the disordered stones, a glint of murderous intent appeared on his face. With a single hand extended before him, he seized the golden lance and, with a thunderous crack, summoned it forth, still wrapped in the coils of the electric serpent. The spirit, silent throughout, lifted the lance and struck it with decisive force. In the flash of the silver arc, Jin Jiang instantly became a brilliant, piercing streak of light, then suddenly vanished mid-flight. When he reappeared, his spear had already plunged into the ground some twenty paces away from the pavilion. A thunderous "crash" echoed as the spear sank completely, disappearing into the earth. After another sweeping motion, the slender elder whose遁light had slowed considerably summoned once more a shield and an iron ruler—yet both proved utterly ineffective against the golden spear that flashed swiftly into range! With two thunderous impacts, the two treasures were shattered in a single blow, and the spear continued its relentless advance. Though the elder desperately dodged, he could not evade the spear’s swift, unyielding pace. As a result, the spear pierced through the now-thin layer of purple light and passed straight through his chest. The Yuan-Stage mid-level cultivator cried out in agony and then plummeted to the ground, falling motionless moments later. A bowl-sized, blackened hole now appeared on his chest, with several delicate silver arcs flickering around its edges, and a faint smell of charred aroma wafting out. "Hmph," said the Golden Dragon King, calmly raising his hand to retrieve the golden spear, "A Yuan-Stage mid-level cultivator wishing to escape my grasp? Pure fantasy!" With a single flick of his hand, a rushing sound echoed, and several fingernails shot forth, swelling in the wind to form golden spikes several inches long. These spikes drove straight into the ground, firmly anchoring the elder’s limbs and neck. Instantly, the runes on the spikes glowed and shimmered, and several golden chains materialized, sealing the elder in place—his immortal essence could no longer escape. Yet the blood mist pushed the other two original eldritch cultivators farther and farther away, their speed far surpassing that of their pursuers... The Golden Dragon King's mouth twitched slightly, glanced at the distant mist, and after a brief pause, moved swiftly, a golden beam shooting straight toward the mist. Watching the fading golden light recede, Han Li, standing by the entrance of the pavilion, exhaled gently. Having just witnessed the Golden Dragon King send the slender elder flying into the pavilion, he had momentarily considered stepping in to subdue the elder and search him thoroughly, to verify whether the superior spiritual stone was indeed upon him. However, he ultimately decided it was not safe enough and held back. Unexpectedly, the Golden Dragon King's spiritual awareness was so acute that even during that brief moment of distraction, he sensed something and suddenly reached out, seizing the spot where Han Li stood. Fortunately, Han Li's eldritch flight technique had now become remarkably refined, allowing him to glide silently and seamlessly to the other side of the pavilion's entrance, so that the sudden grasp landed empty-handed. And from the expression of Jin Jiao just now, it was clearly evident that the slender elder's storage bag indeed contained no piece of superior spiritual stone—the elder could not have kept the stone directly on his person. After all, such refined spiritual energy, if not stored in a storage bag, would be immediately noticeable by anyone. Han Li paid no attention to the slender elder on the ground, instead directing his gaze toward several points in the air. Currently, beneath the blue spectral mist, only one unknown cultivator of the eighth rank floated motionless in the sky, seemingly a special envoy left by Jin Jiao to monitor the stone peak. This cultivator had a pale blue complexion and a fierce countenance, with patches of blue scales covering his arms and legs, appearing remarkably formidable. Suddenly, the cultivator turned his head and gazed toward one side. Han Li, observing this, instantly turned his head to follow the direction. There, at a distance, a cluster of yellow light was rushing toward them, with the faint image of an animal creature holding something in its hands. Han Li's eyes flashed, and a sudden blue glow shimmered in his pupils, as if activating the spiritual ability of Qing-Ming Ling Miao, allowing him to see the creature clearly within the yellow light. (First update! The weather has been unpredictable lately, alternating between cold and warm, making me feel unwell with a persistent headache. As a result, updates have been slower than usual. I hope you'll forgive me for this!)