But for this brief hesitation, a wave of spatial disturbance surged from several zhang away, and Han Li emerged, his purple flame flickering. Without a word, he swept his sleeve at the turtle demon's robe. Instantly, thirty-six small swords shot forth from the sleeve, then shimmered and transformed into over a hundred golden sword beams, creating a roaring sound as they surged forward, forming a dense, intricate network of blades that immediately enveloped the turtle demon. "You?" The turtle demon finally turned its head and saw Han Li's true form, gasping as if seeing a ghost—astonished to recognize him at once. Yet, upon witnessing the sheer volume of golden sword beams rushing toward it, its face instantly paled, almost losing all color. It had clearly seen that Han Li had effortlessly defeated another eight-tier beast of equal rank with just a single golden sword beam, and even that beast's most cherished treasures had failed to withstand the attack. Terrified, the tortoise immortal roared several times, then suddenly tugged at his long robe, causing a vast cloud of dark mist to surge directly toward the sword lattice. His own dark aura coalesced, preparing to cast a secret spell and vanish. Yet at that very moment, a sharp, icy sneer suddenly issued from Han Li's lips. In desperation, the monster suddenly bit down hard on his teeth, shouting aloud: "Jin brother, he was the one named Li from back then..." But before he could finish his words, Han Li's face darkened, and he suddenly accelerated his sword technique. The sword network instantly contracted, flashing countless golden streaks across the tortoise monster's body. The creature was severed into countless fragments, and even the green flames that formed its spirit were merely flickered before being completely swallowed by the surging swordlight. The entire process of eliminating the tortoise monster took only a few breaths. Han Li shifted slightly, once again transforming into a brilliant streak of light, breaking through the air and vanishing within a few hundred paces. A hint of green light flickered several times at the horizon before fading entirely. Naturally, the Golden Dragon King was not satisfied. He continued pursuing Han Li beyond the Biling Island, but as he realized he could never catch up, and knowing he lacked the confidence to defeat him single-handedly, he finally gave up and turned back toward the stone peak, his expression dark and grim. "Li... Li..." When the Golden Dragon King returned to the stone peak, his expression suddenly brightened, and he murmured softly several times. At that moment, the other fully-formed immortal beasts also gathered around, all of them looking rather uneasy. "Jin brother, who is this late-stage Yuan-Infant cultivator? From his appearance and demeanor, he doesn't seem to be the one described in the tales—the Six Paths and the Twin Stars. The Twin Stars can't leave the Star City, so it's even less likely they could have come here. Could it be a newly ascended human cultivator?" one of the beasts, whose entire body was enveloped in flames and whose true form was barely visible, broke the silence first. "I'm not entirely sure, but even though we haven't faced him directly, his talismans and cultivation techniques are completely unfamiliar. It seems that no prominent Yuan-Infant cultivator from the Chaotic Star Sea has heard of him before." The Golden Dragon King replied in a low, steady voice. "This person's abilities are truly impressive. Both Blue and Wu friends were unable to even meet him in combat—his power appears to surpass that of the Six Paths and the Twin Stars by quite a "Another green-robed immortal cultivator, somewhat shaken, remarked, while most of the others also displayed a subtle sense of apprehension... After all, the present cultivators were mostly eighth-tier beasts, and they didn't believe their own cultivation could surpass that of the two turtle immortals. If Han Li could defeat these two so effortlessly, what would happen if they encountered him? Surely, they would find themselves helpless. Many of them immediately resolved in their hearts to make a move. Should they meet Han Li again, they might just have to flee at once. 'I once fought against the Sixth Path Supreme Saint. This man appears even more tenacious than the Sixth Path Saint. Under normal circumstances, without a surprise attack, the Sixth Path Saint would never have been able to eliminate our sea-people who have achieved human form so decisively. However, don't be overly impressed by this cultivator. We are meeting him for the first time, and thus, we are still quite unfamiliar with his abilities. Otherwise, this human cultivator would not have succeeded so easily.' King Jinjiao spoke calmly. Upon hearing this, some of the other cultivators looked enlightened, while others remained silent. But at that moment, the Nine-Prestige Immortal, the plump cultivator who had initially been fighting the lean elder, suddenly asked: "Jin brother, what did Wu friend say just before he perished? Do you have any insight into the meaning of those words? He suddenly mentioned the name 'Li,' as though he recognized the person. As for Nie, if I'm not mistaken, several years ago, the Dragon Clan and the Suanli Royal Family jointly launched an attack on human cultivators and islands near Wan Zhang Sea, searching for a cultivator named Li. Could this person be connected to the one just now mentioned?" Upon hearing this, the nearby immortals stirred in excitement. Jin however, furrowed his brow slightly. "There should be no connection. Back then, one of my descendants was ambushed and killed by a human cultivator at the Dan Stage. That's why I dispatched search parties to find the murderer. Yet this person is a late Yuan-Ying stage cultivator—how could he possibly be the same?" Unless this person is a rare cultivator of once-in-tens-of-thousands-of-years' caliber, how could they have achieved such divine capabilities in less than two centuries? The Golden Dragon King pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "That's not necessarily true. I once defeated a human Yuan-Stage cultivator. After extracting his soul, I learned that the famed 'Xutian Ding'—widely regarded as the most secret and prestigious among human cultivators—had already emerged and was obtained by a cultivator named Han, who had achieved the Jiedan stage. However, later investigations by human Yuan-Stage elders revealed that this person had previously lived under the name 'Li' in our outer seas for an extended period. The 'Buhuan Pill' within the Ding is well known, and with this pill combined with other ancient, lesser-known immortal elixirs inside the Ding, it's quite plausible that this individual has advanced so swiftly to the later stages." The fat man chuckled and said this. Upon hearing these words, all the beasts were stunned, some of them immediately beginning to whisper and exchange glances among themselves. After hearing this, King Jinjiao also fell into thoughtful silence. Only after a while did he flash a cold gaze and say: "If Nei Daojun's account is true, then this person truly may be the very cultivator who killed my grandson back then. In that case, I will by no means let him go unpunished. Whether it's the vengeance for my grandson's death, or the untimely passing of my two esteemed colleagues, Wu and Lan, all must be avenged through the blood of this man. Not to mention that he has taken away the premium spiritual stones and possesses the invaluable Xitian Ding." Instead of losing two of our friends in this journey, we have also eliminated six human Yuan-Stage cultivators, and from now on, the spiritual mineral deposits on Bi Ling Island will be ours. Even if the top-tier spiritual stone is taken, there may still be other exceptional stones yet to be mined—so we need not be overly concerned. Our immediate priority is to re-establish protective seals, gather our forces, and prevent the human cultivators from launching another attack. The Xisheng Alliance and the Star Palace will certainly not accept this defeat—they will surely return with renewed strength. We must...” King Jinjiao seemed far less enthusiastic about avenging these losses, and within moments, had already shifted the conversation back to the current matter of the mineral deposits. This issue, directly affecting the interests of the present gathering of yin and yang cultivators, had successfully captured everyone’s attention. All listened with serious concentration. Only the fat cultivator remained furrowed in brows, his gaze flickering uncertainly, clearly unsettled. At that moment, far away across ten thousand miles, upon sensing through his divine awareness that there were no pursuing forces within hundreds of miles, Han Li immediately slowed down his flight speed, letting the light trail ease and transform into a steady, unhurried pace. Of course, Han Li would not return to that so-called "Thunder Sky Island"; once he had settled on his course, he simply headed directly toward the Silver Shark Island where he had come from. While floating within the light trail, Han Li reached out instinctively, pulling forth from his cloak a jade-colored storage pouch, then shook it with evident excitement. Instantly, a veil of white mist surged out from the pouch's opening, and a jade-green, thumb-sized spiritual stone materialized in his palm. Han Li gently cradled the stone in one hand, examining it closely. The surface of the stone shimmered with ever-shifting light, its green glow flickering between bright and dim—seeming almost alive. Moreover, delicate, whitish specks seemed to continuously emerge from the stone's surface, though their small size made them momentarily invisible to the naked eye. Han Li was surprised, his pupils constricting, a sudden blue glow flashing in his eyes, and finally the green-lit objects came into sharp focus. To his astonishment, they appeared as clusters of pale, snow-like points, resembling incantation symbols. These points continuously surged from the emerald-green spiritual stone, then burst spontaneously, transforming into pure, scattered wooden spiritual essences. The stone, due to its immense spiritual energy, was compelled to force this energy outward. Han Li was both astonished and delighted by this sight. This must indeed be the famed premium spiritual stone—specifically one of the wooden nature—perfectly suited for his needs. It was not surprising at all that it should be of the wooden type. The mineral veins on Bi Ling Island were known to naturally produce wooden-natured spiritual stones, and premium stones of this kind were expected. Han Li closed his eyes and gently sensed the wooden spiritual essence radiating from the stone. After a while, he hesitated, then flashed a flash of green light from his five fingers, attempting to absorb the vast spiritual energy within the crystal stone. (First update!)