A surge of black mist erupted, only to be momentarily slowed upon contact with the five-colored flame, then swept clean away as the flames rolled and surged. The three skeletons, watching the five-colored flame gradually close in, though still expelling black mist, finally showed signs of fear, their wheezing sounds growing louder. At this sight, the Five-Hearted Spirit of Harmony emitted a cold, eerie laugh, then abruptly halted the flow of cold flames from her mouth, her form suddenly transforming into five streams of pale gray mist that surged into the fire. Instantly, when the five-colored flame reached the apex of the bone banner, mere inches from the three skeletons, the five streams of pale mist flashed out from the fire and swiftly reformed into five fierce, grim ghost heads. These ghost heads seemed exceptionally excited, their fangs clattering as they charged forward without needing to summon any special powers. "Crack!" the sound resounded. The five ghost heads opened their jaws fiercely and bit down upon the three white-boned skeletons. The three skeletons, naturally unwilling to be swallowed whole, likewise snapped their jaws and retaliated, biting back at the five ghost heads. At once, cries and roars erupted, unceasing. Five ghost-headed figures and three skeletal heads engaged in fierce biting and tearing. Due to the overwhelming black mist emitted ahead, the three skeletal heads seemed to be depleted of their own vital energy, and with three facing five, they were naturally struggling even more. In a matter of moments, two of the three were each seized by four of the ghost heads, who began to gnaw vigorously on their sides. The remaining skeletal head could only fend off the relentless pressure from the final ghost head. "But your cold flame is exceptionally cold. If the opponent is unaware and mistakenly takes it for a Five-Element cultivation technique, they might suffer a significant disadvantage," said the young boy in a light, flowing voice. A flash of green light revealed the child, dressed in a pale blue robe, with rosy lips and white teeth, barefoot and standing gracefully on the lid of the virtual heaven cauldron, gently speaking as he glanced toward the five demons in the distance. "A Five-Element cultivation technique?" Han Li was momentarily startled. "Indeed. Since I arrived in your human realm, I've noticed that your cultivation techniques tend to focus on a single element rather than combining multiple elements. Heh—heh. If this trend continues, even if someone manages to ascend to the spiritual realm, they may never reach the Lingxu stage." The child smiled, a touch of subtle irony in his expression. "What exactly does Tianlan Daojun mean by that?" Han Li's heart stirred with concern, pressing for clarification. "Not much. Right now, it's still too early to discuss your progress toward the Lingxu stage. However, I'd like to offer you one piece of advice." The key to advancing to the Refinement of Void Stage lies in achieving harmony among the Five Elements. If you wish to advance to the Stage of Spirit Transformation, it's best to immediately switch your primary cultivation technique to one that integrates multiple elemental attributes. If that's not feasible, supplementing with a specialized technique such as Wind or Thunder can at least serve as a viable compromise. This will significantly increase your chances of breaking through the Void Stage. Of course, such multi-elemental techniques are naturally far more difficult to cultivate than ordinary ones, progressing more slowly in terms of spiritual energy accumulation. If you don't expect to reach the Void Stage, then cultivating a single-element technique remains the better choice—it allows for faster spiritual energy growth, which makes it easier to endure the minor celestial storms that occur every three centuries! The young attendant casually mentioned these points. Han Li listened in wide-eyed astonishment, and only after a moment did he express his surprise and inquiry: "Harmony of the Five Elements? That truly sounds complicated. My primary technique, the Qingyuan Sword Method, is a single-element technique focused on Wood. Cultivating techniques with Wind and Thunder attributes makes sense—after all, these hybrid attributes are naturally formed by the fusion of multiple elements." But shouldn't one's cultivation method be suited to the corresponding spiritual root? How can celestial spiritual root cultivators be considered ordinary in your spiritual realm? What exactly is the so-called minor celestial calamity? Do humans in your spiritual realm also, like your immortal cultivators, have to endure thunder calamities? "Heh, I didn't expect a single sentence from me to raise so many questions from you. Then, why not take this opportunity to explain a few points to you," the child said, smiling slightly at Han Li. "Celestial spiritual roots are indeed rare in our realm and far from being ordinary—just as the major sects and various powers strive to recruit such disciples. After all, cultivators with a single spiritual root only face the issue of the Five Elements harmonizing at the Transcendent Realm stage. Before that, celestial root cultivators are undoubtedly far stronger than those with ordinary roots. In our realm, cultivators reaching the Transcendent Realm level hold the status of regional masters or regional rulers. However, when they finally reach the Transcendent stage, most will either supplement or switch to multi-element cultivation methods. As for the issue of spiritual roots, it is quite well resolved. In our spiritual realm, there has long existed a secret technique developed by certain practitioners, utilizing specially crafted inner essences of mythical beasts to replace the naturally missing spiritual roots. This type of spiritual root is known as a "Dan Spirit Root," and while its effectiveness is slightly inferior to that of a naturally formed spiritual root, it is still sufficient for practitioners to cultivate other elemental techniques. However, such "Dan Spirit Roots" are only beneficial to those who already possess other elemental roots at birth; ordinary mortals are unable to transform them into spiritual roots. In fact, in the past, our spiritual realm also featured another type known as the "Artifact Spirit Root," which used specific magical artifacts to serve as substitutes for spiritual roots. Nevertheless, this method of transforming physical objects into spiritual roots is not only time-consuming but also carries significant risks once successfully achieved. Consequently, it has become rare in our realm. As for practitioners born with three or four elemental roots, or even possessing all five elements naturally, who have independently advanced to the Lian Xu stage, we are not lacking such individuals in our spiritual realm. Yet none of these individuals were ordinary cultivators—they all possessed extraordinary tenacity. Hehe! As for what they call the "small celestial calamity," every cultivator reaching the Yuan Ying stage or above must inevitably face it in the Spirit Realm. The Yuan Ying and Hua Shen cultivators at the lower levels experience a celestial calamity every three hundred years, hence the name "small celestial calamity." Those at the mid-level stages—Lian Xiu and He Ti, as well as the Da Cheng stage—face such calamities every three thousand years, thus known as the "great celestial calamity." As for the final stage, when cultivators ascend to the True Immortal Realm, they encounter the celestial calamity of the Immortal Path. Of course, even among the same type of celestial calamity, the intensity and specifics can vary from stage to stage and from individual to individual. Nevertheless, generally speaking, even if your cultivation remains stagnant without progress, the subsequent celestial calamity will be significantly more severe than the one that preceded it. Thus, although the Spirit Realm is rich in spiritual energy and boasts a much faster cultivation pace than your human realm, once a Yuan Ying is successfully formed, one's progress becomes as challenging as rowing against a current Each year, countless renowned cultivators perish under various celestial calamities. Brother Han need not believe that once reaching the Lingxu stage, he will be completely secure. While, in theory, cultivators at the Lingxu stage are said to enjoy boundless lifespans as long as they have a steady supply of celestial and terrestrial vital energy, few—perhaps none—have ever heard of a Lingxu cultivator truly attaining eternal, worry-free life. As long as they have not ascended to the Immortal Realm, death by major celestial calamities is inevitable, no matter how delayed. As he spoke, the young attendant's expression darkened, and a deep sense of apprehension shimmered in his eyes. Brother Han also grew serious. Though the young man spoke little, his words clearly conveyed that the Spirit Realm was far from a true paradise. Yet, upon hearing that Lingxu cultivators enjoy unlimited lifespans, Han felt a surge of genuine joy. Although he had occasionally read about it in ancient texts—some claiming that cultivators at the Liangxi stage seemed to live forever—he only truly felt at ease after receiving concrete confirmation from the other person. According to the latter, such boundless longevity was only truly achievable within the spiritual realm. Otherwise, even if a cultivator attained the Liangxi stage in the human realm, the天地's fundamental qi would inevitably fall short, thus limiting their lifespan. At the Huashen stage, cultivators could already begin to communicate with the fundamental qi of heaven and earth; thus, it was surely no longer confined to merely two thousand years in the spiritual realm. That explained why those ancient Huashen elders so diligently sought ways to ascend to the spiritual realm. After a moment, Han Li played with the jade-green bottle in his hands, gently tapping it with a finger on the lid. A shimmer of green light flashed, and the bottle flipped over, the lid springing open on its own. Yet for a while, nothing emerged from within. Han Li was momentarily surprised, just as he was about to take further action, when suddenly a surge of green light shot out from the bottle, then seemed to be trying to vanish. Though slightly caught off guard, Han Li certainly didn't let it escape—he emitted a low, steady hum from his nose and, with a swift motion, reached out and grasped the space in front of him. A large, translucent hand materialized above the green light and reached down to seize it. The green light, already weakened, struggled to evade, though its speed was not particularly swift. It was easily caught by Han Li's hand. As the light flickered, a female cultivator at the stage of Yuan Yin appeared—her face blurred and indistinct. Han Li stroked his chin, a look of mild surprise on his face. "Who might you be? How have you been sealed within this vial by the Six Paths?" Han Li stared steadily at the female cultivator with a Yuan婴, speaking slowly. "And who are you, exactly? Where is the old demon of the Six Paths?" Though firmly held by Han Li's hand, the Yuan婴 did not hesitate to return the questions with equal vigor. "The Six Paths! If you wish to see him, you'll likely be disappointed. I've already sent him on his way." Facing merely a Yuan婴, Han Li smiled gently, showing no particular effort, and simply replied. "What? You've extinguished that old demon? That's impossible! Hm, you're—!" The Yuan婴's form trembled, and her voice carried a tone of disbelief. (Second update!)