One golden arm moved, delivering a punch that scattered the surrounding misty light. Another golden arm swept through the air, instantly forming a dense network of golden palm shadows that effortlessly blocked the swirling waves of azure energy. At the same time, the other two golden arms snapped their fingers toward the two wooden spirits, launching ten beams of golden sword energy that swiftly reached them. Han Li finally took a deep breath, and at that moment, the arms that had been holding him suddenly trembled, revealing an eerie ripple of golden light emerging on his arms. As soon as this golden light came into contact with the wooden body of the creature that had clamped onto his hands and the jade spear of the green hue, it began to shatter in trembling fragments, eventually dissolving into a fine powder of green wood that drifted away with the wind. Han Li withdrew his hands, the golden glow fading from his body, and the four previously blurred golden arms vanished in an instant. To defeat merely a few Yuan Ying-level beings, he had resorted to the second phase of the Buddhist Saint's True Demon Technique—indeed, a case of underutilizing his resources. However, the technique was still in its early stages, and its full potential had not yet been realized. It could not yet be deployed effectively in direct confrontation against powerful adversaries, only achieving some unexpected and remarkable effects. But once his cultivation reached the Lian Xu stage and he began to master the third phase of the technique, with the synergistic development of his physical and spiritual bodies, the power of the Buddhist Saint's True Demon Technique would be truly incalculable, surpassing Han Li pondered in his mind, once more transforming into a streak of azure light and shooting off. Along the way, he encountered several waves of intercepting members from the Wood Clan. However, these Wood Clan members were mostly of relatively low cultivation—mostly Wood Spirits at the Yuan Ying level, and even some lower-tier ones. For these Wood Spirits, Han Li would simply evade whenever possible; if escape wasn't feasible, he would unleash a sudden, powerful strike to eliminate them instantly, never allowing them time to engage or resist. After racing through the skies for nearly half a day, Han Li finally encountered serious difficulties. Before him stood two Wood Spirits, each wearing a purple sash—one broad-shouldered and one slender, clearly a man and a woman. Behind them stood four Wood ape beasts, their fur silvery-white, each reaching seven or eight zhang in length, each wielding a large yellow staff. These four wooden apes stared intently at Han Li, as if imbued with extraordinary spirit and awakened to a kind of spiritual awareness, exuding a distinctly threatening presence that seemed no less formidable than the two pairs of male and female wooden spirits. The two purple-stage wooden spirits themselves were already comparable to human cultivators at the stage of Perfected Immortality, equally difficult to handle. Now, Han Li had barely a few thousand li left to reach the edge of the Night Forest. Urged to leave the perilous area immediately, he naturally had no intention of lingering in a prolonged battle. As he was blocked, a cold aura spread across his face, and he gazed steadily at the two figures and four apes across from him, his expression icy. Suddenly, he reached up with one hand to stroke behind his scalp, and a vast expanse of gray light surged upward. After a spiraling motion, it coalesced into an immense, extraordinarily thick circular halo, measuring over twenty or thirty zhang in diameter. As it spun smoothly in the air, it instantly captured the attention of all the opponents across from him. At the same time, with a mere shake of his sleeve, seventy-two small swords shot out silently, flying swiftly in all directions. He intended to use the Yuanmagnetic Divine Light to hold the opponent in place, then deploy the Dageng Sword Formation to annihilate these adversaries all at once. ... At the same moment, Xiao Hong's face turned pale as she hovered motionless in the air, her eyes fixed intently on the several green silhouettes materializing before her. Three Wood Spirits, each wearing a purple sash! ... In the other direction, the golden light formed by Longdong continued to advance without pause, with a golden-yellow wood ape, its fur resembling molten gold, bearing a massive black battle axe on its shoulders, its body radiating shifting hues of five colors, chasing relentlessly behind. Longdong, now no longer in the form of his black-clawed golden dragon, had paused only briefly to glance back at the fierce golden-haired ape, yet showed no intention of slowing down—instead, he accelerated his flight even more. Ahead, beyond a hundred li, lay the edge of the Black-Leaf Forest. …A streak of white light emitted a piercing, wailing cry and sped forward, pursued by a silver glow from several li behind. Both streaks flickered in and out of sight, and within a moment, they had surged a thousand zhang ahead. Though the white light could not immediately shed the silver glow, nor could the silver glow catch up instantly, the two lights swept swiftly past, breaking through the forest and leaving the Black-leaf Forest far behind. Gazing at the center where the sword array had once been, he noticed that many blood mist still lingered there. His eyes flashed. The true Dageng Sword Array formed by the seventy-two flying swords proved far more powerful than he had anticipated. The two purple-stage wooden spirits and four silver-colored wooden apes—seemingly formidable—initially trapped within the array, were effortlessly cut down by the sword filaments released by the array, with no resistance at all. It seemed that Longdong's account of Qingyuan Zi using his Lingxu-stage cultivation to withstand a Héti stage cultivator's assault with the power of a grand sword array might indeed be true. While pondering this, Han Li did not linger even for a moment. He drew his flying swords back into his body and once again activated his flight light, heading straight toward the forest's edge, shooting forward. Half an hour later, Han Li departed the forest. As soon as he was beyond a hundred li from the forest, he immediately withdrew the Taiyi Huaqing Scroll from his sleeve and pressed it against his body. Instantly, his form became completely ethereal, fully vanishing. Only then did he truly exhale in relief, suddenly changing direction and continuing to fly. Not long after leaving, two yellow flashes arrived from the direction of the Black-Leaf Forest, revealing two mid-level wood spirits wearing orange-yellow sashes. These two wood spirits were among the high-ranking wood spirits who had initially accompanied the silver-tier wood spirit and had been temporarily detained by the white-robed young woman. They circled around the spot where Han Li had previously stayed for a while, whispering to each other, but ultimately found no trace of Han Li, and returned reluctantly. Han Li was unaware that his careful actions had once again saved him from danger. If caught by these two mid-level wood spirits from the Lingxu stage, even if he managed to escape with his life, he would certainly not be able to make it safely. After traveling over ten thousand li, and confirming that the pursuit from the Wood Clan had truly been abandoned, Han Li pressed two palms together, and instantly, the runes on his body flashed, restoring his form from ethereal to solid. At the same time, a glow of spiritual light surged from within him, reconstituting the Taiyi Huaqing Seal. With a gentle flick of his fingers, the seal vanished completely. After carefully surveying his surroundings, Han Li quietly descended to a small mountain below, his expression grave as he began to ponder thoughtfully. At this moment, he felt deeply frustrated. The jade scroll had been unexpectedly destroyed by the Wood Clan. Could it be that their mission had truly failed? If so, without sufficient Mochen Dan, he would have to return to Tianyuan City once again. Not quite! The person who suddenly intervened to trap the Silver-Rank Wood Spirit was clearly a double agent sent by both clans. If that were true, then the earlier jade scroll might not have been genuine at all. Perhaps the true information about the Wood Clan lies right on this person's body. As soon as they find him, the mission can still be accomplished. Han Li swiftly ran through his thoughts, only to find the situation suddenly brightening. It seemed they would first need to locate the white-robed maiden. As for how? Han Li's face shifted slightly, and a strange expression appeared on his lips. Suddenly, he shook his sleeve, and a shimmering outline shot out, spiraling before materializing into a small golden leopard about the size of a palm, which then lay down on the ground. It was the leopard spirit once again. The creature stared at Han Li with its adorable emerald eyes, softly murmuring a few times. Han Li said nothing. With a flash of spiritual light in his hands, he suddenly produced a jade disc of a clear green hue. Then, he murmured a few words, extending his hand and reaching toward the empty space within the disc. Instantly, a bean-sized cluster of milky-white light emerged from the disc, floating steadily at a height of half a foot above it, motionless. Han Li emitted a soft whistle and casually waved his hand toward the small creature. Yet the leopard-mane beast merely chuckled, remaining perfectly still and adopting a lazy demeanor. Han Li found himself somewhat puzzled. During their journey to the Wood Clan, he had allowed this creature to coexist with the啼魂 beast for several days, and now it had clearly inherited the latter's fondness for napping. However, at this moment, it wasn't the time to complain about such minor details. With a single hand motion toward his storage bracelet, a small, emerald-colored vial appeared in his hand. He poured out a particularly vividly red pill and tossed it toward the beast. Instantly, the previously sluggish leopard-mane beast sprang to life, its form shimmering as it leapt into the air, swallowing the pill whole. Then, with its head shaking and tail swaying, it emitted a series of soft, melodic murmurs toward Han Li, displaying a clearly eager, courtly expression, as though it wished to receive more. Han Li said nothing, simply gesturing with his hand at the glowing point on the magical disk. Without a word from him, the creature instantly received the message through his divine awareness. The little creature moved without hesitation, and in the next moment appeared mysteriously upon the magical disk. It glanced at the glowing points in the air, slightly tilted its fluffy head, and then swallowed the milky light whole. (Second chapter update!)