At that moment, the dual-headed serpents released by the Supreme Saint of the Six Paths, seemingly having received some command from the old demon, shifted their bodies and simultaneously expelled dark liquid downward. The liquid surged forth in a powerful jet, instantly transforming into a swirling tide of toxic mist. As the dark glow and the flying dagger collided with a loud "thunderous boom," a brilliant, glaring black radiance erupted. This dark glow, an unknown treasure, burst open on impact, effectively halting the demon's essence dagger. After a flash of silver light, the humanoid automaton appeared mysteriously where the old demon had stood, and the toxic mist surged in, immediately engulfing and submerging him. The black serpent, with its two heads swaying, prepared to charge directly toward the automaton. Yet, at the very next instant, a silver lotus bloomed unexpectedly in the space above the serpent's head—only a few cun in size—but radiating seven-colored Buddhist light from its center. As soon as the serpent was enveloped by this radiant glow, it instantly became rigid, completely motionless. Only the four jade-green eyes on the fierce serpent's head kept rotating steadily. With no delay, "pffft, pffft"—two slender silver threads, moving in perfect harmony, flashed out from within the green mist and looped around the two serpent heads once before vanishing. Instantly, the two serpent heads rolled down, bone-crunching. The green mist surged and rippled, and then the humanoid automaton emerged gracefully from within, completely undamaged. In fact, this black serpent had a notable lineage. While its toxic mist might not quite match the ten supreme poisons of the immortal realm, it was still quite close. Ordinary cultivators who came into contact with even a small amount would typically perish immediately. What made this poison even more formidable was its ability to bypass most of the five-element protective barriers—seeping in unnoticed, allowing the guardian to remain unaware. Even if a Yuan-Infant cultivator wasn't on guard, they could still fall victim and meet a fatal end. Otherwise, the old demon would never have chosen to raise and nurture this serpent as a spiritual creature. Yet the humanoid automaton was not of flesh and blood, so no matter how strange the poison, it remained completely indifferent to it. Thus, the serpent easily claimed its life! Among the two spectral forms, the one spiritually linked to the serpent sensed the moment the spirit of the serpentine creature perished, and a flicker of fear passed through his eyes. Yet, instead of turning back, he fled wildly, only suddenly reaching out and pointing his hand toward the distant bone banner. Instantly, the banner trembled slightly, then emitted a brilliant black glow, as if about to rise into the air. At that very moment, a flash of azure electric arcs appeared above the spectral form, and a human figure emerged from the light—none other than Han Li himself. He glanced down at the scene with glowing blue eyes, then raised one hand, and a thunderous sound followed, as a vast golden grid descended directly upon the scene. With the other hand, he spun it once, and a small jade cauldron appeared, with countless strands of green silk shooting out ahead of it, just as they had been released. Although the old demon's technique of transforming and projecting shadows was remarkably exquisite, and merely relying on his consciousness made it impossible to discern any difference, under the combined sight of Ming and Qing spiritual perception, the two spectral forms seemed to be directly laid bare before his eyes. Instantly, Han Li noticed the subtle distinctions and identified the genuine from the counterfeit. The spectral form long established as a Sixth Path Supreme Saint was greatly startled, and with a sudden shake of his shoulders, six shadowy forms of the demon emerged from behind, shooting upward. However, these new shadows were noticeably dimmer than before, and much of them remained blurred and indistinct. Immediately afterward, the old demon flicked his sleeve, sending a blue jade parasol soaring upward and hovering above his head. This precious artifact swiftly expanded, growing several times its original size and instantly shielding the old demon below. With a series of soft "pfft" sounds, the six shadowy forms collided with the floating silken strands, causing a brief pause in the strands—yet they did not immediately penetrate through. But when the subsequent golden arc thundered down, the magical shadow was instantly scattered and left utterly defenseless. As the golden arc and the silvery threads intertwined and flashed, a sharp strike landed squarely upon the giant umbrella. The umbrella, seemingly a marvel of some rare artifact, glowed brilliantly and remained undisturbed in the air, holding both the arc and the threads suspended mid-air, preventing either from descending at all. Observing this from above, Han Li's expression darkened. With a sudden motion, he extended his hand and, in a most unusual manner, a golden sword several feet long floated into his grasp. Then, as he raised his back and flapped his two wings, he transformed into a streak of white silk and shot downward—only to vanish mid-flight. The elder demon below instantly sensed the urgency, realizing trouble was imminent and immediately prepared to retreat. Yet before he could take any action, a flash of golden light rippled across the jade umbrella, followed by a sharp "crack," and the umbrella was suddenly severed in two right in the middle. "Ah!" The old demon gasped, and instantly, a surge of black light erupted from his body, ready to blast forth. Yet before he could act, a ripple passed through the space in front of him, and a strand of white silk shot out, swiftly circling the old demon. With a soft "pffft," the Sixth Way Supreme Saint was finally unable to evade it—feeling a sudden coolness behind him, a palm blazing with purple flame struck through his protective magical aura and pierced him from behind. His close-fitting armor, which he wore, offered no resistance at all to this strange palm. Under the intense pain, the old demon barely caught a faint sigh from behind before he saw the purple flame on the palm surge dramatically, and then a layer of purple ice rapidly spread outward, encircling him so swiftly that within moments, half his body was fully enveloped. It seemed only a matter of time before the old demon would be completely sealed in ice. The old demon's face, now shrouded in the purple ice, twisted instantly. Then, he bit down hard on his teeth. A deep rumble echoed, and the ancient demon, though not fully frozen in the lower half of his body, suddenly burst apart at that very moment. Instantly, a downpour of blood materialized in the air, and as the bloodlight flashed, it transformed into strange, flaming streaks of blood that surged directly toward Han Li. At the same time, a surge of green light erupted from the demon's remains and shot out, appearing just thirty paces away. Enveloped within the green glow was a dark infant, tightly clutching a green jade bottle in both arms—the demon's true immortal embryo. Han Li flicked his sleeve, and a powerful surge of purple cold flame erupted, swiftly extinguishing the surrounding magical flames. Yet he did not immediately take flight to pursue the demon's embryo. Instead, he remained in place, calm and composed, silently watching as the embryo fled in panic. After several instantaneous teleportations, the embryo reached over a hundred paces away, only to pause when it saw Han Li still standing motionless. A moment of surprise passed through the embryo's mind, causing its form to hesitate. At that instant, a shimmer of light appeared above the embryo's head, and a black, floating blade mysteriously materialized, The Yuan婴 only suddenly realized the moment the flying dagger struck his head. But it was too late—after a flash of black light, the old demon's Yuan婴 was severed into two halves. Then, a brilliant silver glow erupted, and another Han Li materialized calmly in the air nearby. It turned out that, after defeating the two-headed black serpent, the humanoid figure had already arrived at the vicinity and, under Han Li's command, promptly intercepted and struck down the old demon's Yuan婴. Yet, an odd phenomenon unfolded below. After being cut into two, the Yuan婴 did not vanish entirely. Instead, the two halves suddenly surged with black energy, transforming into six black filaments that shot out simultaneously in all directions. The humanoid figure paused momentarily, then swiftly responded, rapidly flicking his ten fingers. Instantly, a series of thunderclaps rang out, and dozens of slender golden arcs shot forth, swiftly vanishing and then converging on several of the black filaments. Following several deep resonant thunderclaps, clusters of golden light burst into splendor! The black filaments, offering no resistance, were completely dissolved. The first great mage who had ruled the turbulent Star Sea for hundreds of years had truly perished—body and spirit. The humanoid automaton gazed calmly at the site of the explosion, confirming that no residual soul had escaped, then reached out with a steady motion toward the lone green vial floating in midair, drawing it into its hands. It did not open the vial's lid, merely maintaining a composed demeanor as it drifted slowly toward Han Li. It must have been unfortunate for the old mage! His secret technique of transforming his Yuan婴 into a soul was already rare. If it were a common cultivator who had sprung an unexpected move, perhaps a fragment of his soul might have managed to escape, giving him a chance to return and rebuild. Yet, precisely when Han Li passed through the Mulan Grasslands, a Yuan婴 cultivator had once used a similar technique to escape. This had prompted the old mage to anticipate and prepare such a contingency. Thus, the humanoid automaton, without hesitation, drew upon the divine protective lightning from the Golden Thunder Bamboo arrow, and in a single strike, completely extinguished all of the old mage's soul fragments. Otherwise, once hesitated even slightly, the trouble would quickly escalate. After all, once these residual spirits vanished, they would prove exceedingly difficult to locate or track. As soon as the humanoid automaton reached韩立's presence, it tossed over a green bottle. 韩立 caught it instantly, glanced at it carefully, and his face showed a hint of interest. Yet before he could open the bottle, a sudden chorus of ghostly wails and fierce cries echoed from afar. 韩立's gaze flickered, and he turned his head toward the Five-Hearted Magic Circle. There, the bone banner once led by the elder magician had lost much of its strength, once again falling under the dominance of the five magicians. However, the three skulls displayed on the banner—clearly not ordinary cultivators—still flashed with intense green light in their furious eyes, their expressions radiating a storm of rage and unrest. Upon witnessing this scene,韩立's brow furrowed slightly, and at once activated a mental incantation, urging the five magicians forward. At once, the three spirits that had transformed into ghost heads rolled onto the ground, turning into three white skeletons amid阵阵 gray mist. The other two spirits, which had been engaged in battle with the mist dragon, suddenly shifted their positions and stepped back. Before the three ghost heads on the bone banner and the black mist dragon could launch another assault, the five spirits simultaneously pressed their palms together and opened a broad, white, frosty mouth. Five streams of cold flames of different colors erupted violently, weaving together to form a vast, vibrant sea of five hues, surging forward with great momentum. The black mist dragon, the first to meet the flames, experienced an astonishing phenomenon. Under the enveloping glow of the five-colored fire, the once-agile, snakelike black dragon momentarily stalled—its massive form suddenly slowed down to a staggering degree, trembling as if its movements had been slowed by a factor of ten or more. At that moment, the five spirits roared in unison! Numerous five-colored ice blades, each the size of a palm, rose from the midst of the flames. As the fire rolled and surged, the sharp blades shot forth in dense waves, instantly slicing the black dragon into countless fragments. The dragon vanished completely, its form absorbed into black vapor within the flames. (First update!)