The Fulu Marsh was indeed far more mysterious than the rest of the regions! For some unknown reason, as soon as the Han Li and his companions entered the marsh, their spiritual senses could not remain detached beyond a hundred paces. Thick mist and vivid illusions swirled all around. What proved most troublesome were the peculiar creatures known as "Gui Jiu," growing beneath the damp, muddy surface. These creatures each possessed bodies resembling those of centipedes, with countless slender, sharp spines covering their surfaces, capable of exhaling a toxic mist that could corrode magical artifacts and even consume the protective spiritual light of the cultivators. While a few individual Gui Jiu might go unnoticed—such as by the bearded cultivator—these creatures were inherently social, often emerging in groups. Once they surged from the mud, dozens would appear together, stretching several zhang in length, and could even fly at low altitudes. Every time the group was disturbed, the party found themselves in a state of constant chaos and hurried response. Of course, if they weren't on a routine inspection mission and simply flew overhead, the Gui Jiu would pose no real threat at all. Yet the patrol squads were specifically tasked with tracking the movements of non-native creatures, and could not fly so high—they had to remain at low altitudes. As a result, the attacks by the Gui insects became frequent and unpredictable, always catching people off guard. On one occasion, they even startled an enormous swarm of Gui insects, which surged out in numbers—over three hundred—directly from beneath the marsh. Had it not been for Han Li suddenly releasing the Yuanmagnetic Divine Light, which instantly froze the strange insects mid-air, and then unleashing a powerful spiritual flame that completely incinerated them, the entire party would have suffered a serious setback. Thanks to this single display, however, the members who had previously harbored some doubts about Han Li's abilities now looked at him with greater confidence. Of course, the Floating Li Marsh harbored many other dangers beyond the Gui insects. Among them was an ancient beast known as the Silver-Headed Beast, which preferred to hide within the dense forests of the marsh. It could evade any attack, split its body into multiple parts, and thus proved particularly difficult to defeat, even for Han Li himself. Fortunately, this beast moves rather slowly and has a strong regional character; once it steps beyond its operational range, it no longer pursues. Thus, in terms of danger, it is not as formidable as the Gui Jiu. Nevertheless, even so, merely after entering the marsh, the members of the party—including Han Li—had come to fully appreciate why the Flutian Marsh is designated as a first-tier patrol zone. They were constantly on high alert, as a single misstep could easily result in a minor setback. In this way, within just over twenty days, Han Li and his companions had ventured deep into the marsh, proceeding with great caution and without encountering any traces of foreign beings. This brought great relief to Ma Daoist and the others, and the tense atmosphere surrounding the group gradually lightened. That day, the group flew for most of the day, holding the "Yi Ling Pan." Even the senior cultivators, accustomed to high-level practice, began to feel a noticeable sense of fatigue. Maintaining such constant mental concentration during patrol proved to be quite taxing to the mind. At this moment, a clear spring pond appeared ahead, stretching over one hundred zhang in width. Along the pond's edge lay a small patch of scattered stones, upon which stood a row of exceptionally emerald-green bamboo, gracefully upright. With gentle, refreshing breezes blowing, the scene became as beautiful as a scroll painting. Everyone felt their spirits lift. After exchanging glances with one another, the man with green eyes instantly flashed his light and approached Han Li, respectfully saying, "Master Han, this spot is indeed excellent. Shall we take a brief rest here for a while, and then continue our inspection later?" "Agreed. Be cautious, check thoroughly, and see if anything unusual has arisen," Han Li replied, neither expressing any hesitation nor disagreement. Throughout this journey, Han Li had rarely issued direct commands and had largely accepted the suggestions of the man with green eyes and others. As a result, the relationship between Han Li and the others had grown increasingly warm and familiar. "Of course!" The man with green eyes beamed with delight and gestured to the others behind him. At once, the two elderly men and the couple swiftly circled around the area, their strange spiritual discs showing no reaction. Only then did the group feel at ease and descend to the patch of scattered stones. They did not intend to stay long, so each promptly chose a clean spot and settled into a meditative posture to quickly restore their drained spiritual energies. As a Yuan-Shen cultivator and one who had mastered the Da-Yan Technique, Han Li felt no fatigue during his journey of inspection. Thus, he did not join the others in sitting down, but instead strolled calmly to the edge of the pond, observing it carefully. The pond was not very deep, and its water was clear and transparent, allowing one to see the bottom at a glance. Within the water, small silver fish of finger-thick size swam about, appearing harmless. Upon seeing this scene, Han Li furrowed his brows and instinctively raised his head, scanning the surroundings. His gaze swept over the dozen or so green bamboo stalks nearby. Beyond the gentle breeze brushing past, there was not a single sound, making the surroundings exceptionally serene. The ten men with green eyes, either by the edge of the water pool or beneath the emerald bamboo, remained completely still. Han Li glanced once more at the water surface, which shimmered like a mirror, paused thoughtfully, then his pupils suddenly narrowed—only to return to their usual calm almost immediately. He slowly turned and raised his foot, as if intending to walk toward the bamboo grove. Yet no one noticed that, at the very instant Han Li turned, the hands concealed within his sleeves snapped his ten fingers, sending out a flash of red light. Ten faint red threads shimmered and then mysteriously vanished into the broken stones beneath the ground—silent, with no trace at all. Han Li walked slowly to the vicinity of the bamboo and halted before one of the stalks, gazing at it with a calm, steady gaze. This action, however, seemed rather unusual. The nearby young man named Ying and the female cultivator named Xu couldn't help but open their eyes, staring at each other in surprise. Yet Han Li paid no attention to their gazes. After a moment, a cold gleam flashed in his eyes, and as he opened his mouth, a beam of golden light shot out, striking the green bamboo with the suddenness of a thunderbolt. A crisp "crack" echoed, and the thick bamboo, as wide as a serving bowl, was cleanly severed in two. More astonishing still, at nearly the same time, the entire ground trembled, and a deep, agonizing roar emanated from beneath, as the other bamboo stalks shivered and transformed into thick, green, flesh-like tendrils resembling octopus arms, which then violently whipped toward Han Li. But how could Han Li, with his divine prowess, be defeated by such attacks? With a mere flick of his body, he vanished from his spot and reappeared above the pond, his gaze coldly fixed upon the eerie spectacle of the writhing tendrils. The large, green-clad men who had been meditating nearby had already been startled from their stillness, instantly rising to their feet upon witnessing the sudden upheaval, all of them stunned and rushing upward. Some of the more urgent even immediately summoned several flying swords and knives as magical artifacts, aiming sharp strikes at the writhing tendrils. Seeing Han Li effortlessly sever one of these tendrils with a single sword stroke, they instinctively felt the threat to be rather minor. But what they never expected was that when the flying swords and spears struck the tendrils, they emitted a strange metallic clashing sound and were easily bounced back. After the group of men with green eyes and others were stunned, just as they prepared to summon other treasures to attack, the originally gray-white crushed stones by the water pool suddenly turned black. As the stones twisted and trembled, they transformed into clusters of dark purple and black scales, each the size of a human head—thus, they found themselves resting upon the body of a massive ancient beast. This creature was round and featureless in the face, with no visible mouth or nostrils, yet it bore over a dozen tendril-like flesh projections stretching several tens of zhang in length. It lay close to the water pool, its body having changed into a low, compact posture, and those dozen bamboo stalks were actually the transformed tendrils on its back. Until now, the group of people had merely rested on the creature’s body, unaware of its presence. It seemed the beast possessed some mysterious power, completely evading the awareness of all the onlookers, even the strange spiritual disk, which failed to detect it at all. "Let us attack!" said Han Li, hovering above the water The Beiyan men were struck with alarm and immediately summoned their other treasures. A myriad of colorful light halos surged forth, pressing fiercely upon the colossal beast beneath. The ancient creature showed no intention of fleeing; instead, its back muscles and sinewy tendrils danced rapidly, weaving a shimmering green glow that shielded its body. As soon as the two forces collided, a thunderous roar erupted—the sinewy tendrils proved as resilient as any divine artifact, sweeping away any object that struck them with unwavering force, preventing even the slightest approach. Upon seeing this, the younger man of the Ying family emitted a cold exhalation, then rubbed his palms together before spreading them out. Suddenly, clusters of strange crimson and yellow light appeared in his hands and burst forth, transforming into countless fist-sized bolts of lightning that rained down upon the beast below. At the same time, the Xu Xianzi shimmered with silver cold light; as the light flashed rapidly, countless icy lightning orbs descended in a powerful barrage. With the dual forces of thunder and fire combining and intensifying, the resulting momentum was astonishing. After a deafening roar of thunder, the brilliant beam of the colossal lightning beast completely engulfed half of the area. Seeing this, everyone else could not help but smile. At this moment, Han Li did not intervene; he simply stared impassively at the attacks unfolding beneath him. This strange man has pale green skin; aside from wearing an unknown animal hide around his lower body, he is bare from head to toe. He has no hair at all on his head. Though his mouth and nostrils are open, his eyes show no emotion, instantly sending a chill down the observer's spine. Even more astonishing is that while he arms himself with his arms folded across his chest, his lower body from the thighs downward has completely merged into the giant beast's form, as though he has always been one with it.