After several hours, Han Li finally emerged from the ice fissure within the Inner Valley, but immediately halted his flight. The inner valley still imposed considerable limitations on his awareness; relying solely on his spiritual perception would surely be a tedious task. After a moment's thought, Han Li tapped his jade bag at his waist. Instantly, a resonant hum filled the air, and countless gold-eating insects surged forth, forming a swirling cloud of golden insects that hovered above his head. With swift hand gestures, he sequentially cast several spells upon the insect cloud, then settled himself cross-legged, closing his eyes gently. A soft "puff" sound followed, and the golden insect cloud burst apart, transforming into thousands of golden blossoms that shot out in all directions, vanishing soon after. Han Li had now activated his "Spirit Awareness Divided into Thousands" technique, beginning his search for the three women. As he anticipated, the three women with the surname Song were only at the Condensation stage of cultivation, and not particularly impetuous—thus, even if they had entered the inner valley, they would not have gone too deep. Thus, the search range naturally narrowed significantly. With tens of thousands of gold-devouring insects dispatched simultaneously, vast areas were repeatedly scanned, yet yielding no traces. Only after retreating another hundred miles and sending out fresh insects for further searches did Han Li reach the large mountain where the three women had collected their medicinal herbs. There, he easily discovered the subtle traces left behind by the women during their herb-gathering that day. Upon using his divine awareness to perceive these through the insects' bodies, Han Li was greatly pleased and personally visited each site in detail. Indeed, he found several faint clues, confirming beyond doubt that the three women had indeed entered the inner valley and had stayed on this mountain. However, when he expanded the search further, no additional traces of the women were found. In the end, Han Li had no choice but to return to the mountain's summit and ponder thoughtfully. After a moment's thought, he suddenly let out a long, resonant roar, and countless golden insect larvae that had spread over dozens of miles shot back toward him, settling once more into his spiritual beast bag. But immediately, Han Li then cast out another bag. This time, twelve snow-white, winged centipedes emerged from the bag—precisely the twelve six-winged frost centipedes. With both hands forming gestures and his spiritual awareness urging them, the twelve centipedes simultaneously dispersed in all directions, transforming into twelve streams of cold wind and vanishing within moments. Han Li remained perfectly still in place, motionless. After an unknown length of time, Han Li's expression shifted, and he instantly transformed into a streak of jade-green light, shooting back toward the direction from which he had come. Yet only after a brief flight did he notice one of the snow-white centipedes hovering in the sky at a certain spot, emitting a low, steady hiss. Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly, and in an instant, his light trail reached the centipede. He then lowered his gaze to the ground below. To韩立's sight, a slender, dark object appeared. It lay among a heap of tangled grass, resembling an unremarkable black dry branch—no wonder the earlier divine awareness had failed to detect it. Frowning slightly,韩立 raised his hand and summoned the object, which instantly entered his palm. Yet upon focusing closely, his expression subtly changed. It was not a dry branch at all, but a small section of a tentacle. From the cold radiance emanating from it, it was clearly the tentacle of a Six-Winged Frost Serpent. Yet the Six-Winged Frost Serpent's tentacles should have been snow-white—this one was instead jet-black. Moreover, the deep, somber aura mingling within it was one that韩立 recognized unusually well. It was pure Yin Malignant Qi—more refined even than that of the Primordial Yin Master. With his fingers gently tracing the small segment of tentacle,韓立 felt waves of astonishment and uncertainty surge within him. To be sure, the Xuan Yin Magma Qi originated from the Xuan Yin Magma Technique. Only the Ji Yin Master and Wu Chou had perished at the hands of this technique, and among the Ji Yin Master's disciples, most had not received the true transmission of this technique, nor could they have cultivated such refined Magma Qi and journeyed all the way to the southern lands. Han Li's expression remained uncertain and he remained silent. "Wait—there's one more thing that knows the complete set of Xuan Yin Technique's formulas and has also practiced the Xuan Yin Magma Qi, seemingly capable of refining it to such a degree." A sudden inspiration struck Han Li's mind, and his expression immediately grew strange. "The Zhi Mu Ling Ying—could it be that this entity has also returned to the southern lands!" Han Li looked up at the sky, murmuring softly. He had always been deeply concerned about this lost second Yuan Ying. After returning to the southern lands, he should have immediately set out to search for it, but since Nangong Wan had not yet emerged from the ice wall, he felt uneasy and thus hesitated to depart again. Moreover, after so many years, if this second eldritch embryo had developed a consciousness, it should have done so long ago—there's no reason it should have taken merely these few additional years. Thus, he simply set the matter aside, intending to visit the Mulan Grasslands again in a few years. But now it appears that the second eldritch embryo formed from the Zhi Mu Spiritual Infant has actively returned to the southern heavens, even hiding within the Plum Demon Valley. If so, the disappearance of Mu Pei's three sisters is likely connected to it—and they should still be unharmed. After all, this embryo carries a complete replication of his memories and emotions; even if its nature has evolved over the years, it would be unlikely to have dealt so harshly with these three women. Han Li pondered the various possibilities with growing seriousness. Yet, after so many years, this second embryo should have developed its own physical form. Yet since entering the Inner Valley, he has not sensed the presence of the Tian Sha Demon Corpse, where he had originally planted a trace of his spiritual awareness. Thus, after giving it further thought, it seemed clear that either the magical corpse had been subdued by the second true eldritch form, or it had simply been taken over by it. Han Li's thoughts raced like lightning; with only a slight shift in perspective, he quickly pieced together the truth of the matter. He stroked his chin and exhaled deeply. At that moment, the remaining centipedes flew back from other directions, appearing undisturbed. Han Li found this development entirely unsurprising. He had brought back the golden-munching insects and released these twelve six-winged frost centipedes precisely because Li Yu carried young larvae of the six-winged frost centipedes within her. Though her spiritual insects were not as advanced as his own, they could still sense each other and thus have a reasonable chance of being located among the three women. However, if the attacker were the second true eldritch form, it would naturally anticipate and counteract this method. Han Li then calmly gathered the centipedes, his expression as still as water, and silently pondered in place. "It seems we have no choice but to employ that method to track their movements. This technique was acquired later, a secret art. He could not possibly foresee it. Only a slight loss of vital essence would be required, though." Han Li sighed lightly, murmuring the words, as though reluctantly. Yet, finally, he tapped his waist pouch, and at once a pale, milky jade disk and a crimson small banner appeared in his hands. He tossed them into the air, where they transformed into two luminous orbs of white and red, spinning once before hovering steadily before him. Then, Han Li opened his mouth, and a shimmering green essence enveloped the array disk. With a single finger, he lightly brushed his wrist, and as the green light flashed, a thin thread of green silk briefly traced the path, leaving a delicate wound on his wrist. A few drops of vital essence then flowed out from the wound. Han Li blew gently, and the drops instantly vanished into the white jade disk. With a gentle flick of his crimson banner, Han Li guided it to hover precisely above the array disk. It trembled slightly, then suddenly transformed into a rosy mist that enveloped the jade disk entirely. Yet, as Han Li chanted his incantation, the jade disk itself began to glow with a blood-like radiance, and streams of blood-tinged vapor rose from its surface, merging seamlessly with the banner's mist—blending into one indistinct whole. Suddenly, Han Li raised his voice with a low cry, a surge of cyan energy flashing across his face, then pointed firmly at the disk. Instantly, the white jade disk burst forth with an intense glow, as if transformed into a full-bodied blood moon, swiftly drawing in all the blood mist within mere flashes. Seizing this moment, Han Li uttered another low command, and with a solemn gesture, pressed his palm firmly against the disk. A bright, emerald light—like a beam of life—erupted from his fingertip, flashing and vanishing into the center of the disk. The blood moon now resonated with a deep hum, trembling with an almost sentient vitality, as though eager to rise and take flight immediately. Han Li's eyes dimmed slightly, and a faint wry smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "The Blood Moon's Search for Spiritual Essence technique described in the Da Yan Precious Scripture—this is the first time I'm using it. I'm not sure if it truly works as described. Now, I have no choice but to try. However, without having planted a divine seal and preserved a few drops of Mu Pei Ling's vital blood when I first treated her, this technique simply wouldn't work." Han Li murmured these words and then swallowed a pill, immediately settling into a meditative posture on the spot. The blood-colored light sphere maintained a steady speed throughout its flight, and Han Li remained motionless behind it, expression unchanged. After flying for nearly half a day, Han Li found himself transported to a vast, remarkably desolate basin. A scorching heat immediately rushed toward him. Han Li's expression subtly shifted, realizing that everything in the basin was composed of black and red tones—black, rounded stones lined the basin's edges, while at its center lay a lake of molten red lava. The intense heat radiating from the lake caused the air above the basin to warp and shimmer, creating a hazy, resplendent glow. The blood-colored light sphere hovered above the lake, emitting a sharp, piercing hum, as though it wished to descend yet dared not. Han Li stroked his chin, studied the lava below, and then broke into a quiet smile. "Heh, quite a spot for hiding," he remarked. "If it hadn't been for this secret technique guiding me, I'd never have found this place." But once I know the location, how can a few streams of lava possibly hold me back? (First chapter!