At almost the same time, a streak of azure electricity flashed above Yu Che's head, and Han Li suddenly materialized, emerging with an eerie grace. Without a word, he shook his sleeve, and dozens of golden small sword-fish burst forth, transforming into streaks of golden light and shooting down like a rain of sharp beams. "Break!" The middle-aged Daoist's face paled instantly, then roared, pointing his finger at the ceiling's Bagua mirror and activating the artifact. Immediately, twin columns of light—black and white—sprang from the mirror's surface, swirling and thinning into a dense mat of fine filaments that swiftly encircled the golden beams. Yet as soon as the two streams of light collided just outside the azure glow, a series of "pffft" sounds erupted continuously. As the golden beams flashed and shimmered, they swiftly severed each filament, as if cutting through dry, brittle reeds. The Daoist was stunned, still catching his breath when the sword-beams struck the azure orb once more. The same scene repeated itself—the azure light merely offered slight resistance before being pierced through, and the golden beams surged straight into the two figures within. This time, both the elderly man named Long and the At the same moment, the two figures released their glowing forms, discarding the jade boat beneath them and transforming into two streaks of jade-white light that shot off in opposite directions. In a flash, they reached over ten zhang away, just narrowly evading the golden sword's cutting attack. As the middle-aged Taoist launched into motion, he simultaneously tapped a spirit-beast bag at his waist, and a clear, melodic sound emerged from within. A snow-white spirit bird, about a foot long, spiraled out of the bag's opening. The bird had emerald eyes, a crimson beak, and black claws. Upon seeing the bird appear, the Taoist felt a sense of relief. He then reached into his sleeve and produced a crimson seal token, glowing brightly with intricate, densely arranged characters. However, before he could activate the token, a ripple of spatial disturbance surged above his head, and Han Li materialized there, his form shimmering with a green arc. He sniffed disdainfully at the Taoist below, his eyes flashing with a deep blue luminescence. The Daoist from the Hua family, Fang Da, was about to activate his precious artifact in his hands when suddenly he felt a sharp, spear-like foreign object piercing his consciousness, delivering a searing, tearing pain to his head. Instantly, he let out a piercing cry, blood streaks appearing in his ears and nose, and his token trembled, nearly slipping from his grasp. The Daoist of the Hua surname grew increasingly urgent, hastily glancing aside and only then noticing a silver lotus forming in the air above the spirit bird beside him. Radiating seven hues of Buddhist light, the lotus enveloped the bird, immobilizing it mid-air, as though it too were bound. The Daoist was stunned and furious, still struggling to devise a course of action when, suddenly, a gentle breeze stirred from above, followed instantly by a golden beam slicing through the air like lightning. The Daoist cried out as the golden light swept over his head, his body then rolling bonelessly to the ground. Han Li stepped into view with the wind, immediately raising both hands, and thunder roared as vast arcs of gold burst forth, weaving into a golden net that swiftly encased the lifeless, headless body. The net shimmered with radiant gold light, its momentum astonishing. Then, Han Li murmured softly, and the fire ropes still clinging to the body suddenly flared brightly, waves of crimson flames erupting, instantly reducing the corpse to ash. Yet at nearly the same time, a sphere of white light enveloped the Daoist's Yuan Ying, who waved a white如意 with both hands, shooting forth from the flames in a desperate attempt to escape. But he collided squarely with the golden net. After a series of thunderous cracks, the net propelled the Yuan Ying back, then burst into brilliant golden light, with electric arcs exploding outward—finally shattering completely. The Yuan Ying instantly vanished in the dazzling electric glare. Han Li exhaled gently, then turned his gaze coldly toward the other side. The elderly man named Long had already advanced forty paces beyond, just about to draw out two jade cymbals from his waist, hesitating whether to launch an attack on Han Li, when suddenly the Daoist had already perished. The elder's heart sank deeply, and he felt a profound chill throughout his body. As Han Li's gaze swept over him, the elder suddenly raised one hand, a flash of green light rippling through—then severed his own arm cleanly with the sharp edge of the circular cymbal. The arm suddenly burst apart with a loud "thud," enveloping the elder in a surge of blood mist. Immediately, a piercing, wailing cry erupted! The blood mist itself wrapped the elder, transforming him into a faint, translucent blood silhouette that shot forth. Within just a few flashes, the silhouette had vanished hundreds of feet away—so swift was its movement that even Han Li was astonished. Han Li narrowed his eyes, hesitated slightly, and as he did, the blood silhouette dissolved completely into the swirling light and radiance, leaving no trace. He stroked his chin, shook his head, and a touch of regret settled upon his face. Clearly, this elder possessed some remarkable abilities, mastering a form of blood shadow teleportation akin to the strange techniques Han Li had seen. Yet, with that, he now decided he had no need to expend much more effort chasing him. His priority remained the journey to Tianxing City. With this thought, he turned his gaze to the spirit bird still bound by the Baoling Ruler's staff, then flicked his finger, sending a golden sword beam spiraling around the bird. In a single motion, the beam cleaved it into two, and the spirit bird was slain. Such a spirit bird nurtured from infancy through blood rituals could never be tamed by anyone else, and naturally, Han Li would not leave it behind. He then transformed into a streak of jade-green light, heading straight for Tianxing City. This time, under his full power of flight, within just a cup of tea's time, his streak of light pierced through the prohibitive seals of the Fenghuo Tianjue Array and entered the great island. Han Li paused slightly, then stood still for a moment, gazing afar at Tianxing City. He saw the immense city walls now covered by a thick, pale blue luminous veil. Above the veil, vast patches of vivid green and crimson glows continuously collided with it, their interplay generating a continuous, thunderous roar. Han Li's expression changed, and without hesitation, he sped directly toward Tianxing City. After a few swift movements, the jade-green streak reached the entrance of a city gate, yet was halted by the blue light veil. The star-guild cultivators behind the luminous screen naturally also noticed Han Li's presence at that moment. After a sharp, piercing whistle, several star-guild cultivators of varying heights and statures appeared at the city gate, all gazing at Han Li with expressions of astonishment. Indeed, it was said that Han Li was one of the cultivators who had led the Inverse Star Alliance in attacking the seal—yet how could he have come alone? If they were speaking of someone else, then, since the Inverse Star Alliance had surrounded them, how could any other cultivators have reached the outskirts of Tianxing City? At once, several of them looked astonished. One of them hurriedly produced a banner from his sleeve and waved it several times in front of the blue light screen outside the city gate. The screen shimmered, and the token shot forward with a sudden "whoosh," transforming into a yellow glow that vanished into the screen. Then, it flickered briefly before emerging from the opposite side as if the screen had become intangible. Han Li watched all this coldly, remaining motionless in front of the screen. At that moment, the guest token was passed around among the cultivators at the city gate, and each of them expressed both surprise and delight. One of them gestured toward Han Li, speaking to him in a lively manner, then drew out a sealed message scroll from his sleeve, raised it, and sent it soaring toward the city interior with a burst of fiery light. Then, he produced a disc-shaped artifact from his inner sleeve, performed a few hand gestures, and suddenly spoke: "Is that Master Han outside? Please forgive me, Master!" Now is a special time. I've never before seen a senior elder in person, so I wasn't sure about sending the elder into the city now, but I've already sent a transmission scroll to the Palace Master. She will arrive shortly. These words passed straight through the blue light screen and reached Han Li directly via the array disk. Han Li raised his eyebrows slightly, nodded gently, and then stood motionless with his hands behind his back. He didn't have to wait long—within just one meal's time, three brilliant streaks of light shot back from the city direction, flashing briefly before landing at the city gate. Among them, two men and one woman, with the woman standing at the center, the other two clearly following her lead. The woman was exceptionally beautiful, and her facial features gave Han Li a sense of familiarity he couldn't quite explain. It was precisely Ling Yuling in her female attire. The two men were a mid-thirties yellow-robed cultivator and an elderly man with white hair and beard. The three of them immediately turned their gaze toward Han Li as they stood at the city gate. The other gatekeepers arrived one by one, each of them holding their breath, barely daring to breathe. "It's truly Master Han! That's wonderful! I thought he wouldn't make it at all! Attendants, hurry and open the seal—bring Master Han into the city!" Ling Yuling's eyes sparkled with excitement, and she then addressed the other cultivators. "Master, this seems questionable. Is this person truly trustworthy? What if it's a pretender sent by the Inverse Star Alliance—then we'd be in serious trouble," the yellow-robed cultivator said, clearly uncertain about Han's true identity. "Rest assured, it's genuine. This guest's token was specially crafted—there's only one of it in the entire realm. Moreover, with the cultivator's prowess, no one in the Star Sea could single-handedly seize anything from him." Ling Yuling shook her head firmly. Upon hearing this, the yellow-robed cultivator found it difficult to object and could only slowly nod in agreement. The gatekeepers, seeing this, lost no further hesitation. They immediately drew out a banner or a platform of array from their belts. Several of them simultaneously launched their incantation tools, and various hues of light shimmered, gradually dissolving into the luminous veil before the city gate. (Second update!)