Han Li and the others had not expected that, just as they were driving their spiritual vessel away from the thunderstorm area, the body of the Thunder Tortoise hidden deep within the clouds suddenly sank, and the surrounding black clouds instantly dispersed. The tortoise was enormous, resembling a mountain—no need to elaborate. Its massive, deep gray shell shimmered with a soft, metallic luster, appearing remarkably smooth. More puzzling still, the tortoise appeared to have only its four limbs exposed, with neither its head nor tail visible—clearly fully retracted into the shell. At that moment, the thunderstorm had fully erupted, the entire sky now enveloped in a brilliant blue glow. From the exceptionally bright heavens, countless blue electric arcs of varying sizes fell like rain—some only a few feet long, others stretching up to over ten zhang—each one crashing down with tremendous force toward the ground, their thunderous roar completely drowning out all sounds in the world. With its immense size, the Thunder Tortoise naturally absorbed countless such electric arcs. Yet, once any electric arc came into contact with this turtle's body, it seemed to vanish as if a mud ox had disappeared into the sea, leaving no trace. More astonishing still, the turtle's body was radiating waves of bright white light, and the electric arcs that had fallen nearby were suddenly drawn toward it, as though attracted by a powerful magnet, reversing their direction and converging toward the turtle's back. Thus, the electric arcs that had previously scattered throughout the thunderstorm were all forcibly absorbed into the turtle's body. The turtle's limbs moved slowly and gracefully, as though it were entirely at ease within the storm. Suddenly, its limbs halted and contracted abruptly, drawing inward into its shell. At the same moment, a ripple of spatial disturbance spread through the surrounding area, and a streak of vibrant light burst forth from the void—upon settling, it revealed a massive, luminous bird composed entirely of bone. Though this bone bird was only about a dozen zhang in size, the aura it radiated was no less than that of a massive turtle violently drawing lightning during a thunderstorm. Even more astonishing was the presence of two human figures standing atop its head. One stood two zhang tall, his entire body shimmering with black light, while the other, of ordinary stature, was wrapped in a faint green cloud, both of whom remained barely visible. "Hmph, Wuwu brother indeed has thought this through thoroughly. The two lightning pearls on this turtle's body are its most precious assets—how can you, with just a mere word, take them away without seeming a bit unreasonable?" The figure in green mist emitted a sigh, clearly somewhat dissatisfied. "Master Tian, won't you be able to make this happen?" the tall figure replied calmly. "Since Brother Xuanwu truly has such great value, I certainly won't act as a hindrance. Then it's settled. However, we must act swiftly—do not let matters go awry. This journey is not undertaken solely to gather rare talents or precious treasures. We have other important duties. We must eliminate each of those outlying outposts of the foreign tribes near the Heavenly Abyss City one by one." After a thoughtful pause, the figure in green mist finally agreed, somewhat reluctantly. "Hah! The matter will surely not go awry. With our combined efforts, and with this ancient, colorful phoenix remains you've crafted into a puppet, how long would it take to defeat a young thunder turtle?" The tall figure burst into laughter, then suddenly moved, rising into the air and charging straight into the thunderstorm with both fists clenched. A tremendous roar followed, echoing through the storm, soon joined by a similarly astonishing roar from the beast. The figure within the other green aura of the bone phoenix sighed, shook her head with evident weariness at her companion's fiery temper, yet immediately pressed her palms together in a series of gestures, causing the bone phoenix beneath her to swell rapidly. In moments, it grew to over a hundred zhang in height, and then, under a prompt from the figure atop its head, plunged directly into the heart of the thunderstorm. At once, the roar of the beasts in the distant blue electric flashes grew not only more furious but also tinged with a sense of fear and plaintive distress. ...On the other side, Han Li and his companions steered their spiritual cloud boat, steadily pressing on without pause. It seemed as though the blood-stained youth had indeed struck the mark. Over the course of the following month, though the cloud boat moved swiftly and its illusionary techniques were refined, it still encountered several near-disasters. For instance, once it was suddenly engulfed by a strange crimson gust—this gust, in fact, was composed of countless tiny crimson insects, each no larger than a grain of rice. Had it not been for the combined, startled spellcasting of several of them, the strange wind would have immediately shattered the vessel, scattering its occupants to safety. Not long after this incident, as the spiritual boat was en route, a sudden ripple of spatial disturbance erupted before it, and a second colossal, two-headed bird—stretching a hundred paces in length—burst forth into the sky. This bird, uniformly golden and radiating an impressive aura of spiritual energy, clearly rivaled the thunder turtle in both power and menace, sending everyone's hearts racing. Whether the bird had truly failed to detect the spiritual vessel or simply regarded it as insignificant—no larger than a speck of dust—it merely flickered its massive wings and continued on its way without a glance. After exhaling a deep breath of relief, the group of travelers exchanged puzzled, rueful smiles. Having fully experienced the terrifying nature of the wilderness, no one now dared to seriously practice any cultivation techniques, even within the tranquil chambers of the vessel, where they all remained largely on guard. Indeed, this move proved correct, and the several dangers encountered thereafter were all narrowly averted thanks to the united efforts of the group. Yet fortune inevitably wears thin. On that day, while the young man with white eyebrows was on duty outside, Han Li, who had been meditating on the principles of seal magic within the quiet chamber, suddenly heard a sharp warning howl from outside. At once, his expression changed, and he rose from his seat, but before he could take further action, the great vessel beneath him suddenly shook violently, sending him staggering and nearly falling to the ground. Han Li was startled. As the tremors continued to come in waves, the walls of the chamber began to glow with an unusual, shifting white light, gradually cracking and fragmenting. His expression darkened. With a swift motion, he flung his sleeve toward the ceiling, and instantly a golden arch of light burst through, piercing the roof and creating a large opening. Han Li shifted his stance and then transformed into a streak of jade-green light, racing swiftly through the air. After a few quick movements, he appeared in the sky, twenty or so zhang away from the jade vessel, and then turned to gaze back at the scene. At that moment, several more streaks of light shot out swiftly from the vessel. It was precisely because Longdong and his companions had been so observant that they had also abandoned the spiritual boat and took to flight. Just as everyone had completely departed, a tremendous roar echoed—crashing with a thunderous sound—and the spiritual boat burst apart in the midst of the brilliant white glow, instantly sending a powerful gust of wind sweeping toward the group. All of them were Stage of Immortal cultivators, naturally unafraid of such spiritual winds; they stabilized themselves, hovering motionless in the air, gazing steadily at the spot where the boat had exploded. Except for the young man on duty, the others had no clear idea of what had happened—how the very cloud-boat had been completely destroyed. Yet, upon scanning the surrounding area with their spiritual senses, they found nothing at all. Thus, all of them grew increasingly puzzled. "Li brother, who is attacking us?" Xiao Hong asked urgently. "You all look down!" the young man with the white brow said, his face stern, his voice cold. Upon hearing this, Han Li and the others were momentarily stunned, then immediately scanned the ground below with their spiritual senses. Once they had a clear view of the scene, the young woman and others gasped softly, while Han Li furrowed his brow. They saw an endless range of towering mountains stretching out below, and they themselves were situated in the valley between two massive peaks. Surprisingly, within this seemingly secluded area, amid countless colorful giant trees, there was a vast open space. At the very center of this space stood a colossal deep-purple plant, reaching nearly thirty or forty zhang in height. Each of its leaves was as straight and sharp as a great sword, pointing directly upward, while numerous sharp spines grew around it. On either side of this giant plant, two enormous creatures faced each other, locked in confrontation. One was a massive lizard, stretching over fifty or sixty zhang in length, with a lush emerald body adorned with numerous black spots the size of copper coins. On its large head, two strange crimson, coral-like horns had grown. Another figure, however, was a savage giant towering thirty zhang in height, with a fierce countenance, a head of yellow hair, and a black wooden staff slung over his shoulders. Yet, as one looked upon the giant, everyone gasped in awe. Countless silver-white eyes of varying sizes shimmered across the giant’s body and limbs, each radiating a cold, sharp glow. Nevertheless, whether the giant or the colossal lizard, both locked eyes on their common foe, their gaze fixed steadily on the towering plant in the center. At this, Han Li’s mind stirred, and his divine awareness immediately focused once more on that central plant. To his astonishment, he found his expression transformed. Amidst the sword-like leaves, a cluster of purple, grape-like berries had formed—each berry the size of a clenched fist, plump and round, filled with a transparent coconut-like juice, and exuding a most alluring, unusual fragrance. When the divine awareness swept through the interior of these berries, it was revealed that each one contained a vivid, dragon-shaped seed, shimmering and crystal-clear, exquisitely lifelike. Though these miniature dragons showed no signs of life of their own, they radiated an exceptionally pure spiritual energy. Even merely with a mere divine awareness passing over them, Han Li felt an immediate and profound sense of physical and mental well-being.