A strange cry rang out, and a shadow surged forth from the depths of the mist, stumbling yet rushing forward—revealing a pale red mythical bird several feet long, with blue eyes. However, the wing it had spread open was streaked with blood, bearing a large hole the size of a clenched fist, from which a steady stream of fresh crimson兽blood gushed forth. This bird seemed exceptionally fierce; despite its severe injuries, it charged straight at Han Li with fierce determination. This was no unusual sight—fire-type mythical beasts were naturally more aggressive and volatile than those of other attributes. Han Li raised his hand once more, and the red threads flew back on their own, flashing briefly before vanishing into his palm. As he delved deeper into the misty sea, the number and frequency of the demonic beasts increased steadily, with over a dozen of them slain within a short span. On one occasion, five or six fire apes—each measuring several zhang in length—emerged simultaneously and charged together. While an ordinary Yuan-En Ci stage cultivator would have been caught off guard, Han Li, with his current prowess, found the situation effortless. He merely exhaled a sword-sized blade of several inches in length, gently circling and dispatching four of the famed bronze-headed, iron-armed fire apes. However, after advancing a little further, he finally encountered his first genuine challenge. Before him, at a distance of several dozen zhang, a luminous orb of a zhang in diameter, glowing vividly red, was continuously shifting and transforming. It would occasionally transform into the form of tigers or wolves, and at other times into that of mythical birds, never maintaining a truly fixed shape—seeming more like an intangible entity. Han Li stared at it coldly, then raised his hand and launched a series of golden sword-energy waves in succession. As the golden light passed through, the entity was effortlessly severed into several fragments. Yet, as soon as the sword-energy dissipated, the red glow gathered once again at the center and seamlessly restored itself to its original form. Han Li's brow furrowed slightly. Then, with a new set of hand gestures, he suddenly opened his mouth and expelled a beam of purple light. In a flash, it pierced through the center of the light sphere, creating a hole as wide as a serving bowl. This was a secret technique Han Li had recently mastered upon advancing to the late Yuan婴 stage—by compressing refined purple lotus fire and then projecting it forth with powerful spiritual energy. The resulting power was undoubtedly formidable. Though the light sphere eventually restored itself again after a short while, the process of healing was noticeably slower than before. "Indeed, as the rumors suggested, these Fire-Devouring Spirits are quite troublesome. Even the extremely cold, flame-resistant type seems ineffective. It's no wonder Master Hanli has always been cautious about such creatures." Han Li murmured to himself. At that moment, however, the red luminous orb on the opposite side transformed into a fully crimson spectral ghost, spewing out streams of red flame and charging straight toward him. Han Li's expression darkened. With a single hand gesture, he summoned a massive, jade-colored hand that materialized above the ghost's head. In a lightning-fast motion, he seized the ghost, holding it firmly. With a slight pressure of his fingers, the red light flashed, and the ghost's body shattered silently. Yet moments later, the scattered red lights recombined nearby, seamlessly restoring the ghost's form. Han Li's lips curled into a quiet smile of amusement. He then raised his hand and lightly tapped his storage scroll, as if preparing to retrieve something valuable. Yet at that moment, a clear chime resonated from within his body, followed by a flash of crimson light on his shoulders, revealing a small crimson bird—only a few inches in size, delicate and graceful. Han Li glanced at the bird, his expression instantly filled with astonishment. It was the true spirit of the True Yin Fire, manifested from the original flame. As Han Li still struggled to comprehend how this fire had spontaneously materialized, the bird suddenly spread its wings and took flight, heading straight toward the glowing red orb across from it. Along the way, the bird rapidly expanded in size, several flashes later growing to a span of a foot, then opened its beak to strike the light form. Remarkably, the intangible red orb was instantly punctured by the bird’s beak, forming a clear opening. With just a few such strikes, a hole the size of a large bowl appeared, and the flame could no longer recover to its original state as it had before. Yet this fire spirit seemed rather dull in intelligence, showing no sense of pain at all, merely continuously shifting its form, slightly uncomfortable, as it tried to escape the Yin Fire Phoenix. However, the phoenix's claws were firmly locked onto the spirit's body, and no matter how many transformations it attempted, it remained motionless. On the contrary, the phoenix's beak struck with increasing speed, and within moments, half of the fiery form was gradually consumed. Han Li, witnessing this, couldn't help but smile lightly. He had never expected the Yin Fire Phoenix to be so effective against this fire spirit—his most troublesome foe in the Fire Hell. With this development, he had saved himself considerable effort. While Han Li watched calmly, not long afterward, the distinctive creature from the Fire Hell was completely devoured by the phoenix. Then, the phoenix emitted a clear, resonant call, spiraled once, and returned to rest upon Han Li's shoulder, tidying its feathers, as though it had no intention of returning immediately into his body. Naturally, the misty sea could not contain just this one Fire Woe Spirit. Han Li certainly wouldn’t have bothered to forcibly retrieve the bird. Instead, his light form surged once more, and he vanished again into the misty sea. Yet, as they passed through a stretch of the region featuring fiery lakes nestled within the mountains, Han Li had to significantly slow down his flight speed. The continuous jets of vivid red flames erupting from the lakes showed no signs of weakening and carried considerable force. Though Han Li was not afraid of being struck by these flame columns, he naturally did not wish to waste his magical energy merely to endure them. Thus, he carefully reduced his speed and moved steadily through this area. Now, Han Li had descended to the edge of the circular volcanic crater, arms folded, gazing steadily ahead with his eyes flickering with anticipation. With a single palm strike on his waist satchel, a stack of thick array flags and discs materialized in his hands. He then tossed them backward. Instantly, a flash of silver light followed, and a second Han Li appeared—strange and elegant—reaching out to summon a broad expanse of silver mist that swiftly gathered and enclosed all the array tools within his grasp. This was the humanoid automaton controlled by his second infant soul. The automaton flickered slightly before transforming into a streak of silver light and soaring through the air, vanishing into the mist within moments. Han Li then settled down in his original position, closing his eyes and calming his mind. After a meal's worth of meditation, the sound of space breaking came, and a humanoid automaton appeared before him, hands empty. Han Li reopened his eyes, glanced at the automaton, and gave a quiet nod. The automaton flickered and then vanished once more. Meanwhile, a brilliant glow radiated around Han Li, who transformed into a streak of jade-colored light and swiftly darted through the air, stopping at the very center of the volcanic crater. As the glow subsided, Han Li reappeared. He surveyed the surrounding environment, then raised his hand, launching a white object that had been held in his grasp all along. The object spun in the air before rapidly expanding under the surge of luminous energy, eventually growing into a colossal form over ten dozen feet tall, and landing with a strong impact on the ground, causing the nearby terrain to tremble slightly and radiating an overwhelming sense of weight. It turned out to be a small altar crafted from pure white jade, with several incantations etched upon its surface, clearly now a magical artifact. Han Li flipped his palm, and a small blue-tinged cauldron appeared in his hand. He chanted softly, and several spells struck the cauldron. The cauldron spun smoothly, radiating bright luminescence and rapidly expanding in size until it reached a height of several zhang. With a gentle flick of his finger, Han Li caused the lid to fly open, emitting a resonant hum from within, followed by a surge of blue light that quickly spread outward. A series of sharp "crack" sounds echoed as the blue light passed over the ground, forming a thick layer of shimmering, translucent blue ice. It was the Dry Blue Ice Flame! The blue cauldron itself was naturally the replica of the spiritual artifact originally received from Han Li's master, Han Li, known as the Dry Blue Cauldron. Originally there were two such cauldrons, both of which had now come into Han Li's possession. At this moment, wherever the blue light passed, the red mist swiftly retreated, and within a moment, the circular mountain entrance became remarkably clear, the mist being forcibly pushed aside. Seeing this, Han Li smiled gently. With a single gesture, he pointed his hand toward the massive cauldron, and the cauldron floated lightly before him, spinning once before settling precisely at the center of the altar in front. At the same time, Han Li found himself holding several blue circular talismans in his hands, each the size of a palm. Several spells swiftly flowed onto them, and suddenly, a deep thunderous rumble echoed from the ground near the altar, giving rise to a vast magical array. The altar now stood at the very heart of this array, its various streams of luminous energy constantly flickering. The cauldron, the altar, and the array now appeared as one seamless whole, the dry blue ice flame within the cauldron spewing forth an endless stream of blue light. The blue ice spread throughout every part of the volcanic crater. At this moment, Han Li's face grew serious as he tapped the array disk in his hand several times. Suddenly, the entire magical array roared with a tremendous sound. Dozens of blue light pillars surged upward simultaneously from the edges of the volcano's crater, coalescing into a massive luminous dome that completely sealed off the surrounding space. Each pillar shimmered with brilliant blue light, reaching heights of dozens of zhang, radiating an awe-inspiring presence. (Second update! Sweat! Last night I was so tired that I fell asleep while typing—now I'm even speechless!)