Han Li murmured a few words to himself, then raised his hand and gestured toward the blood-colored glow. Instantly, the blood-light hummed and shot back, spiraling before settling. With a swift motion of his other hand, Han Li produced a sharp *pffft*, and a vibrant purple flame instantly bloomed on his arm, spreading rapidly to envelop him entirely. A massive purple flame sphere then plummeted directly from the sky. Upon impact, the sphere, transformed into Han Li's form, seemed untouched by the surrounding crimson molten rock, vanishing into the lake without a trace, sending a brief shower of molten rock flying. The lake surface quickly calmed, as if nothing had happened. Yet at that moment, Han Li had already descended over ten zhang beneath the surface, slowly sinking deeper, still encased in the purple flame. Though immersed in the molten rock, the purple flame—being of extreme cold—naturally shielded the intense heat, keeping it entirely outside its embrace. After Han Li had continued to descend for over two hundred zhang, he finally reached the lake bed, his feet resting upon a solid surface covered in black stones. Surveying the surroundings, he found only the shade of deep crimson—no other colors were visible. Frowning slightly, Han Li directed his spiritual energy into his eyes, and instantly, a blue glow shimmered within his pupils as he activated his Ming-Qing Spirit Vision. He then scanned the area once more. Holding up his blood-colored jade disk, it trembled slightly, then began to vibrate vigorously in one direction, as if eager to slip from his hands. Han Li promptly flew in that direction, gradually extending his journey. As he traveled a considerable distance, the disk ceased its trembling and suddenly began to sink downward. Han Li swiftly caught it again, preventing it from falling outside the range of the purple flame. Yet, he lowered his head and focused intently. Upon observing closely, his expression changed, and with a swift motion, a brilliant beam of golden light shot forth, cutting straight toward the lake bed beneath him. With a tremendous roar, the seemingly ordinary lake bed was suddenly cleaved open by a golden sword aura, forming a massive crack several dozen feet long. Immediately, a bluish glow surged forth from the crack, instantly blocking the molten lava outside. A layer of luminous barrier spell had been concealed beneath the lake bed. Han Li was overjoyed and promptly descended toward the barrier without hesitation. This blue barrier, however, proved to be rather ordinary—upon contact with the purple lotus fire, it was easily pierced, revealing a hole several zhang wide. Han Li himself flashed through, entering the barrier seamlessly. The blue glow quickly restored itself, once again shielding the molten lava. Yet Han Li paid it no further attention, instead taking in his surroundings. Now situated within a subterranean tunnel, the ground and tunnel walls were deeply uneven and rugged, clearly not artificially excavated, but rather naturally formed. Han Li, without a word, once again launched the jade plate in his hands. Instantly, the plate spun smoothly and transformed into a blood-colored round moon, shooting straight toward the deeper part of the tunnel. Han Li remained expressionless, lifting his feet and slowly following behind. After flying for five or six li, the tunnel began to rise, but after ascending another hundred paces, a glow appeared ahead—finally, they reached the exit. The blood moon sped forward without hesitation. Han Li, however, flashed a look of cautious alertness in his eyes. He silently shook his sleeve, and a cluster of three-colored flames rolled down, revealing precisely the Three-Flame Fan. With a gentle grasp of his feather fan, his body swayed slightly, and he unexpectedly stood outside the exit, motionless, scanning the surroundings. Everything appeared dark and still, yet under his clear and refined spiritual vision, everything was vividly clear. It turned out to be a naturally formed underground cavern, silent and empty, with no trace of human presence. Han Li's lips moved slightly, his gaze fixed on an exit at the far end of the cavern, as if connecting to another cavern. The cluster of bloodlight was heading toward that direction, but upon reaching the exit, it paused, emitting a sharp, resonant hum. Suddenly, a crisp sound rang out, and dozens of fine black fissures appeared on the surface of the blood moon, flashing briefly before dispersing into scattered, luminous points. Seeing this, Han Li did not grow alarmed—he grew pleased instead. With only a light, effortless step, he had already arrived at the side of the adjacent cavern. Inside, it was indeed a cavern larger than the one he had just left. Yet upon closer inspection, he paused, slightly startled. Everywhere within the cavern, thick black mist rolled and swirled, filling every corner. Yet as this mist reached the exit, it immediately halted, as though blocked by an invisible barrier, leaving the exit seemingly empty. Han Li, endowed with the spiritual sight of the Ming and Qing dynasties, found the cavern—seemingly opaque to ordinary cultivators—transparent as air. Thus, he immediately spotted the three women lying motionless on the ground at the center of the cavern. Who else could they be but the three daughters of Mu Pei Ling! Beneath them lay a strange magical array, softly glowing with a faint luminous aura, from which the black mist was continuously seeping out. Han Li did not rush immediately to enter and rescue the three women. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and thoroughly scanned the entire cavern with his spiritual awareness, confirming that the second prenatal stage indeed was not present there. Only then did he decisively raised his hand and severed the space at the entrance with a single gesture. A flash of golden light—followed by a sharp "crack"—as though something had been cleaved apart—caused the thick black mist to surge forth and rush directly toward Han Li. Yet Han Li merely pressed a series of hand seals, and instantly, thunderous crackling sounds erupted from his body, with a shimmering layer of golden electric arcs forming. The black mist immediately shattered and vanished upon contact with the electric arcs. Han Li took a single step forward, and his body disappeared directly into the mist. After a series of crackling sounds, as the golden arcs leapt and flashed, the black mist could not come close at all. Yet these mist-like forms seemed alive, coalescing within moments into several black serpents of varying sizes, gathering around Han Li and swaying their heads and tails uncertainly, as if eager to strike but hesitant to do so. Seeing this, Han Li's expression darkened. With a flick of his hand, his three-flame fan vanished, and as he mentally activated his inner technique, a brilliant golden arc shimmered vividly across his body. Gently shaking his sleeves, two golden electric dragons burst forth from the sleeves, swiftly attacking and instantly devouring the black serpents. The dragons did not stop there; they lunged out, stretching and pawing at the surrounding mist. With a series of thunderous roars, the nearby mist was swiftly cleared away, allowing Han Li to easily reach the magical array. Simply taking in the appearance of the spell array, Han Li immediately realized it was merely a simple, basic illusionary array. It seemed the three women had already had their inner qi suppressed; otherwise, such a spell could not possibly hold back three Jin Dan cultivators. With this thought in mind, Han Li rapidly flicked his fingers at various points of the array, sending a dozen golden sword-like qi waves that struck the array simultaneously. Instantly, the array emitted a sharp "crack" and came to a sudden halt. At the same time, deep within the Wànzhàng Móyuān on the distant Seven Spirit Island—where Han Li had previously visited the platform where several times he had extracted the magical marrow—a tall, dark figure suddenly opened his eyes, glowing with brilliant light, his expression clearly astonished. He suddenly reached into his sleeve with one hand, and a blue, translucent orb appeared in his grasp. Yet, on the originally smooth and lustrous surface of the orb, a distinct crack had now become clearly visible. "Impossible! The seal has been broken!" How could that person have found the place so quickly? If I were in their position, I’d be completely at a loss. Gao Da, his voice hoarse, murmured a few words, his tone subtly conveying disbelief and frustration. "Well, the people have been rescued—what more can be done? It was merely a backup plan anyway. Still, we shouldn’t stay here much longer. We must complete the magical infusion immediately and then seek another concealed body for cultivation right away." After a brief pause, Gao Da murmured a few more thoughts to himself, then closed his eyes once more, as though the matter had been instantly set aside. At that moment, Han Li had already removed a jade vial from his robes, poured out three fragrant pills, and placed one in each of the three women’s mouths before standing silently with his hands behind his back. Within just one cup of tea’s time, the Song-family woman stirred first and gradually regained consciousness. "Master Song, it seems your cultivation has advanced significantly—your awakening is earlier than I expected." The woman had not yet fully regained consciousness when a remarkably familiar male voice reached her ears. At once alert, Song, the woman, snapped back to awareness and looked up, meeting Han Li's faintly amused gaze. "Master Han! Wait—aren't you really Master Han, or is it that young demon infant pretending?" Song's face flushed deeply as she exclaimed, her voice trembling. "Heh, I didn't expect you to be so observant, Master. But I've finally managed to locate this very place. As for whether I'm genuine or not—do you think I'm pretending?" Han Li spoke calmly. "You are truly Master Han!" Song seemed momentarily stunned. Though she had already believed, with about six or seven parts of conviction, that he was indeed Han Li, she still hesitated to fully believe. Han Li smiled gently, said nothing, and simply extended his hand, lightly beckoning to the woman. A series of sharp sounds echoed as dozens of silver needles shot out from various parts of the Song-family woman’s body, all caught in one go by Han Li. At the same time, the Song-family woman suddenly felt her inner qi flow smoothly, as though it had been flowing effortlessly all along—her face lit up with joy. Just then, Mu Peilin and Liu Yu also began to awaken. Upon seeing Han Li beside them, both women were startled. However, Mu Peilin immediately confirmed Han Li’s identity through the seal embedded in her consciousness, and rose with great enthusiasm to bow to him. This confirmed the doubts of Liu Yu and the Song-family woman, who promptly approached to pay their respectful greetings. While Han Li raised his hand and collected the silver needles from Liu Yu and the other young lady, he spoke calmly and deliberately. (Second chapter!) ------------ Please pull another monthly subscription! ------------ The update time will be a bit later!