"Ladies and gentlemen, be on your guard—there's an unknown, strange bird in the mist. Its strength isn't particularly high, so as long as you stay alert to its acidic spray, you'll be fine. As for this light mist, it'll be my couple's responsibility—rest assured, we'll clear it away." The young man with a silver hair, leading the group, suddenly spoke loudly. At the word of the young scholar from Zhù, he and his companion stepped forward first into the passage, while the jade bottle remained hovering steadily above his head, the wind roaring continuously. Seeing this, the others grew reassured and soon followed without hesitation. Indeed, as predicted by the young scholar, only after flying just over ten li into the lake did white birds of several feet in size begin to emerge from the mist—each with a flat beak, long wings, and a pair of bright green, sharp claws growing from its belly. Clearly coming to meet the group of cultivators, these birds immediately launched a barrage of dark water arrows as soon as they broke through the mist. With a few sharp calls, the cultivators swiftly activated their talismans, transforming their flying swords into compact orbs of luminous energy, or summoning ancient shields before them. Upon impact, the dark water arrows instantly turned into wisps of black smoke and vanished, while wherever the arrows struck, shallow craters appeared in both the swords and other objects. The owners of these treasures grew pale and immediately someone shouted aloud: "Act now—sever these creatures! Their acidic fluid can corrode our precious artifacts!" Hearing this, the others grew wary as well, summoning all their powers, sending forth streaks of dazzling light and waves of radiant glories straight toward the strange birds. Wherever the light and glories struck, the creatures turned into cascades of blood rain, falling swiftly and being completely eliminated within moments. Seeing this, those who had initially been cautious now felt relieved. Indeed, these strange birds were far weaker than expected. Yet almost instantly, a series of strange cries emerged from the mist, and suddenly, fresh flocks of identical white birds surged forth, each releasing streams of black water arrows that swept across the sky. The assembled cultivators were startled, hastily retrieving their artifacts once more, deploying their powers to fend them off, and ultimately extinguishing all the new waves of attackers. Yet the same situation arose again. As the last strange bird was turned to blood rain, countless bird silhouettes emerged from the mist, dense and unending. The crowd stirred, many showing signs of unease. Han Li furrowed his brow, directing his divine awareness toward the mist, only to find that the strange birds were everywhere—swarming in vast numbers, seemingly numbering in the tens of thousands. Though Han Li had witnessed many great storms, he could not help but take a deep breath, startled. "Need not be afraid!" a calm voice from a young man with a Zhù surname spoke up. "These strange birds are merely testing their attacks. Once their initial waves of assault fail, they will naturally retreat, knowing they've faced resistance." Hearing this, others grew more composed and immediately activated their various treasures, successfully eliminating every single white strange bird that had launched their attacks. After a series of consecutive attacks—thirteen or fourteen in total—the birds originally gathered in the mist suddenly erupted in a long, sharp cry. Instantly, all the white creatures scattered, taking flight in every direction through the mist. They had indeed retreated without a fight. Seeing this, everyone finally felt at ease and immediately hastened forward, taking flight. Half a day later, as the mist around them began to dissipate, a sudden brightening occurred before their eyes, revealing a colossal mountain rising from the lake—towering over ten thousand feet, its base plunging straight into the lake bed. The exposed parts of the mountain were composed entirely of dark green stone, bare and unadorned, save for patches of moss and ferns. "Here it is! Heh, truly hard to believe you managed to find this place, Ying Xianzi," said the young man with the surname Zhu, gazing at the mountain and murmuring in admiration. "This is where our party first encountered a strange beast while chasing it. We stumbled upon this place by accident. It's truly a fortunate turn of events for us." "The masked woman smiled gently and said, 'Indeed, it's no mere coincidence that such a secluded spot is hard to discover. It's precisely because of this rarity that we've been able to preserve such a group of true toad beasts. If they were located elsewhere, they would have surely been found and claimed by others long before we could act.' Hearing this, the young man with silver hair chuckled heartily, his eyes gleaming with excitement. The other cultivators nodded in agreement, smiling as well. 'The true toad nests are located within a natural underground cavern at the base of this mountain. As per our original plan, we will first lure out and eliminate the black-blooded ants. Everyone take care—though these ants only possess the strength of level-eight spirit beasts, they are naturally capable of piercing our cultivators' protective spiritual lights and shields. Moreover, their internal black-blooded poison is exceptionally potent; should any of us be bitten, we must immediately take antivenom pills, or else we risk our lives. All right, everyone, get ready—I'll now light the sand crane incense!" The young Chu then reiterated his instructions before single-handedly flipping his hand, and suddenly a steaming incense burner the size of a palm appeared in his grasp, with a slender, jade-green sandalwood stick of about half a foot in length inserted inside. He tossed the burner into the air, and it instantly floated, spinning gently and continuously. With a further gesture, he lightly touched the incense stick with a fingertip, and a streak of red light passed over it—immediately, the green candle ignited, sending a steady plume of mist rising upward. Han Li gazed at the incense burner, his expression momentarily surprised. This was the famed "Tian He Fragrance"—so unassuming, seemingly odorless—could it truly prove effective against the black-blood ants? Han Li murmured to himself in doubt. Without any further instruction, everyone dispersed and began casting their concealment spells in all directions. Han Li himself transformed into a streak of emerald light, rushing upward until he halted at a height of over a hundred paces, where he began to chant and perform his incantations. At that moment, a streak of white light flashed beside him, and another slender figure emerged from the surrounding area. Han Li was momentarily stunned. Upon looking around, he noticed a delicate, petite woman—none other than the "Xiao Fairy" he had known before. The woman seemed somewhat surprised that Han Li had appeared here, yet she smiled gracefully and politely said, "Brother Han, I hold a Hundred-Obstacle, Misty-Light Banner in my hands, which is quite effective at concealing figures. Why don't I cast a spell to hide both of us?" "Ah, very well," Han Li replied politely, with no hesitation. "It's merely a small favor, Brother Han—why should you be so formal?" The woman smiled gently, raised her hand, and a slender, snow-white banner flew out, spiraling gracefully to rest above their heads. Then, with a gentle incantation, she activated the banner. It shimmered briefly, then suddenly emitted a bright, milky radiance, so intense and brilliant that within moments, both of their forms were completely enveloped by the light. At that very instant, the white glow vanished as if it had never been, leaving the space completely empty—neither Han Li nor the woman was visible in any way. Han Li remained motionless, yet lifted his hand to examine his now-invisible palm. A flash of blue light passed through his eyes, yet he still saw nothing. A moment of surprise flashed across his face, and he praised, "Your treasure truly is remarkable—far more impressive than ordinary concealment artifacts." "Master Han is being too generous," the woman with the Xiao surname replied with a calm smile. "Though this Hundred-Obstacle, Veil-of-Light Banner is exceptionally effective at invisibility, it cannot withstand a focused divine awareness scan. It can only serve to conceal creatures naturally lacking in refined spiritual perception." Han Li was momentarily taken aback, then used his divine awareness to scan toward her. Instantly, he detected her form clearly, easing his mind slightly, yet he felt a quiet sense of regret. For her artifact could not even be perceived by the keen eyes of a clear-sighted spiritual adept—how much more impressive it would be if it could also obscure divine awareness itself. At that moment, the others likewise concealed their forms and subdued their aura. At that moment, aside from the modest incense burner floating in midair, nothing else remained in the place. Indeed, the sandalwood crane incense proved effective—within no time at all, after just a meal's worth of time, a low, resonant hum suddenly rose from the massive mountain ahead. Then, from an unremarkable opening in the mountain's midsection, a swarm of enormous flying ants burst forth, each bearing a pair of wings. These ants, each measuring a foot in length with their fangs prominently exposed, and adorned with pairs of emerald-green wings, appeared exactly like birds in flight—remarkably stunning. Clearly, their destination was the incense burner. As soon as they emerged from the mountain, they immediately took off, flying straight toward it without pause, maintaining a swift pace that never wavered. Within a short while, they had entered the midst of the crowd. "Engage!" Suddenly, a ripple of spatial disturbance surged around the incense burner, and the silver-haired young man and the beautiful woman both materialized from the void at the same time, issuing cold, decisive commands. At once, flashes of various luminous energies surged from all directions, and shortly thereafter, dozens of treasures were consecrated simultaneously, transforming into cascades of radiant light that surged forth with great force toward the ant colony, accompanied by fireballs and lightning arcs—spreading out over broad areas. It appeared that every single participant had summoned their full power, aiming to decisively eliminate these black-blooded ants in a single strike.