From a distance, the mountain range appeared composed of towering, steep peaks rising one after another. Though he had not yet entered, the sheer presence of the terrain already exuded a fierce, ominous atmosphere, which slightly surprised Han Li. Nevertheless, the spiritual energy within the mountains was notably denser than that outside. This alone left Han Li with no further considerations; he once again activated his flight spell, dimming its intensity and slowing his pace, gliding smoothly past the mountain slopes. While in motion, Han Li extended his spiritual awareness to encompass everything within several miles, constantly scanning his surroundings. Within just a thousand li of entering the mountain range, Han Li could no longer conceal his growing astonishment. Throughout the range, he found numerous medicinal herbs and trees scattered abundantly—though many grew in particularly rugged locations and were mostly of lower-tier medicinal quality—the sheer volume of them still filled him with great delight. After all, he had only been a brief visitor—should one search carefully, there would surely be abundant finds here in the mountain range. High-grade medicinal herbs, in particular, were likely to be plentiful. Beyond the herbs, the sheer number of animals in the mountains far exceeded Han Li's expectations. He even unexpectedly witnessed a fierce battle between two groups of beasts. While flying over a relatively flat valley between two massive mountains, sudden cries of monkeys and roars resembling wild beasts erupted from within the mountains. Suddenly, numerous towering white-furred giant apes, each reaching two zhang in height, emerged from one mountain, led by a magnificent golden-bodied giant, wielding sticks and stones, and charged directly toward the opposite mountain. Meanwhile, from the other mountain, a group of fierce creatures with the heads of oxen and bodies of lions surged forth, with a particularly massive beast at the forefront, far surpassing its peers in size. The two groups met head-on in the open valley and engaged in a vigorous and unrelenting battle. The giant apes leaped with astonishing agility and possessed immense strength, while the bovine-like beasts had sharp teeth and claws, thick hides, and solid bodies—thus, the two forces fought evenly. What Han Li noticed was that both the leading giant ape and the bovine beasts seemed to have developed some intelligence, reaching a mature stage: one could hurl massive stones with its hands, and the other emitted a golden-yellow light from its mouth—likely equivalent to beasts of three or four tiers in spirit rank. The golden-mantled giant ape, relying on its superior agility, held a slight advantage, yet the leader of the bovine beasts was no less formidable. After half an hour of fierce combat, weary from the struggle, both groups finally retreated to their respective mountain heads, each leader roaring a long, resonant call. However, they left behind numerous corpses scattered across the valley, which were then claimed by a pair of grotesque, two-headed bird creatures, who consumed them entirely. Han Li hid himself high above, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle of the great beast battle. When he saw the colossal apes moving with such disciplined coordination—seeming to wage war with clear strategy—he felt a sudden spark of inspiration, and some thoughts began to form. Along his journey deeper into the mountain range, he naturally encountered other unusual creatures appearing and disappearing at various points throughout the range. On several peaks where the spiritual energy was most concentrated, he even discovered a few beasts seemingly at the level of sixth or seventh-tier immortal animals. Though these creatures posed no immediate threat, Han Li chose simply to pay them no further attention, instead continuously riding his light-speed flight toward the heart of the mountain range. The vastness of this mountain range far exceeded his expectations. After two months of nonstop flight, he had still not managed to break free from it. This surprised him greatly. As he hesitated, wondering whether to turn back, he suddenly encountered an endless sea of black mist stretching ahead, enveloping countless mountain peaks and giant ridges in its vapor. At a distance of several miles from the misty sea, Han Li halted his flight, employing his spiritual vision to gaze intently at the clear form within the mist. Along the edge of the mist, he clearly observed that not a single blade of grass or tree stood beneath the black fog, and even the ground stones and soil had turned dark and unusually dry and cracked. Given this strange sight, Han Li naturally did not rush headlong into the mist but instead reached out with a gesture toward a small tree at his feet, of diameter roughly that of a bowl. Instantly, the tree rose vertically and was grasped firmly by Han Li in one hand. As golden light radiated from his body, countless golden scales shimmered on the arm he raised. With a powerful sweep, he sent the tree hurtling forward. A sharp, resonant crack echoed through the air, and the small tree shot straight toward the black mist, as if launched by a crossbow bolt. Han Li's eyes glowed with a deep blue light, and he maintained intense focus on the tree, silent and motionless. Then, a sudden, unexpected scene unfolded, causing his heart to leap. As soon as the young tree plunged into the black mist, it instantly turned from yellow to green and withered into dust within a moment. Han Li's face grew pale. He glanced around, then after a moment's hesitation, suddenly summoned his flight spell and sped off toward one side, intending to search along the edge of the misty sea for any possible way forward. Half a day later, Han Li appeared near a small mountain adjacent to the misty sea, his expression serious as he gazed intently at one side of the mountain's cliff. Though the mountain was only several hundred paces high, the face facing Han Li was remarkably flat, as if smoothed out by some great divine power. On this exceptionally smooth cliff, three blood-red characters, each several paces tall, were clearly inscribed. During his time in Tianyuan City, Han Li had carefully studied the ancient scripts of both humans and immortals, as well as several other ethnic scripts in the vicinity. Yet these three unusual characters did not belong to any of those known scripts, clearly representing a script from a previously uncontacted ethnic group. Though he couldn't understand the meaning of the characters above, each stroke seemed like a sword, giving him an astonishing sensation of overwhelming ferocity. It was certain that a cultivator of lower attainment would immediately be driven back, unable to endure gazing upon this cliff wall for long. Naturally, with the powers currently at his command,韩立 paid no heed to this aura of intensity and carefully examined the characters. To his surprise, he found they appeared remarkably ancient—the surrounding stones had been significantly weathered by time, and parts of the characters themselves were now blurred and indistinct. After quietly pondering for a while, he once again flew forward through the black misty sea. After several days of flight, he finally emerged beyond the mountain range. Yet, just as he was about to feel a surge of joy, upon taking a closer look at the scene before him, he suddenly froze, stunned. Here lay another stretch of coastal sand, with the distant crimson waves continuously washing against the nearby rocks. With a gentle touch to his chin,韩立 stood motionless in the sky above, gazing silently at the sea. After some time, he suddenly burst forth with a streak of light, transforming into a brilliant arc of rainbow light and rushing back toward his original path, speeding toward the far end of the black mist sea. This time, Fan Li pushed his speed to the absolute limit, and after十余 days, he appeared once again on a coastal cliff at another location. Finally, Fan Li was certain that the place he now occupied was actually a vast, extraordinary island. The size of this island was undoubtedly something he had never witnessed before. It appeared to be elongated in shape, with one half—the side where he stood—exposed, while the other half was completely enveloped by the black mist sea. Initially, Fan Li had intended to circumnavigate the black mist sea from outside the island to explore what lay on the far end. However, after tracing the island's edge for a full month, he still failed to see any sign of an endpoint—the inner side remained entirely dominated by the black mist sea. Startled, Fan Li turned around and simply retraced his steps. It now seemed that the land he stood upon might actually be a massive peninsula, rather than a true island. Otherwise, the island's size would be sufficient to stand as a separate small continent. Whether it is a peninsula or a true island, to him, it makes no difference. Aside from the somewhat eerie black mist sea, the rest of the island seems to lack any particularly powerful entities. The mountain ranges within the island are exceptionally rich in spiritual energy, making them undoubtedly ideal for cultivation. Yet, Han Li found it strange that, despite the island's vast size, no such powerful creature of his own level had been encountered along the coast. The octopus beast he had spotted there had already reached the eighth stage of transformation, yet it simply turned and fled without a word upon seeing him—this only deepened his curiosity. After pondering for a long time, Han Li still couldn't reach a definite conclusion. Nevertheless, to be safe, he decided to spend more time exploring the surrounding area, checking whether there were any other islands or potentially threatening strong entities nearby. Thus, with one month remaining, Han Li, taking the half-island as his center, carefully searched the entire sea area spanning over ten thousand miles. Aside from a few valueless deserted islets, no significant discoveries were made. While several sea creatures had grown into notable beings near the ocean floor, even the most powerful were no more than comparable to the sea monster he had encountered previously—lacking any real intelligence and thus posing no threat at all. With this, Han Li felt completely at ease and returned to the great mountain range, preparing once again to focus on his cultivation for some time before making further plans. After carefully selecting the mountain with the most abundant spiritual energy, he excavated half of its mountain body, creating a vast cave residence, and then settled there after setting up protective spells. The residence was located near the edge of the mountain range, some fifteen days’ journey from the black mist sea. Even if the mist sea were to pose any danger, it would not strike suddenly, giving Han Li ample time to react and prepare. After scattering the spiritual herbs he carried throughout the medicinal garden of his dwelling, Han Li immediately entered the inner chamber and began to busy himself. At that moment, his wrist-mounted storage bracelet launched itself into the air, spinning smoothly before a wave of azure light rolled out, revealing nine bodies of the jade-eyed true toad beasts—two large and seven small—spreading across the floor and nearly filling half the chamber. Several scrolls of varying colors were affixed to each body to prevent the beasts' essence from dissipating and to preserve the potency of their spiritual blood. Han Li took a deep breath and then lightly touched the storage bracelet once more, causing a clear jade vial to shimmer and appear. With his other hand, he reached out and gently grasped the body of one of the young toads, lifting it into the air. A simple flick of his fingers sent a flash of green light, piercing the young toad's body and creating a small hole about the width of a thumb. Soon afterward, a thick, luminous liquid began to seep out—shining brilliantly, and unexpectedly silver-white.