“.Frater Han, listen carefully!” Upon hearing Han Li’s response, Yan Li beamed with delight and whispered the message to him. Han Li listened intently, his face briefly showing a thoughtful expression. Meanwhile, Yuan Yao stood quietly by, her gaze sweeping over Han Li’s face, her eyes shifting and lingering in contemplation. "As long as we delay until we reach the realm of the River of the Dead, we will all have a chance to escape their control," Yuan Yao said slowly. Han Li's brow slightly lifted, and he remained silent, knowing that the two women would elaborate further. Indeed, Yan Li immediately continued, "The ghost nuns and others now rely heavily on you. If we simply mention that my brother has been a close friend of ours for a long time, with deep ties, and if Brother Han expresses his admiration for Yuan sister before the ghost nun, then even if she harbors any suspicions, she will likely refrain from harming us outright." "Admiration for Yuan sister!" Han Li was momentarily startled, his gaze shifting to Yuan Yao's delicate, flawless face. Though Yuan Yao had practiced for many years, upon hearing Yan Li's words, a gentle blush spread across her cheeks, making her appear especially radiant and charming. "Should it merely be a matter of words, I am certain I can manage that. But what has the ghost nun and Mu Qing agreed upon?" "As to whether this move truly proves effective, that remains to be seen," Han Li warned. "Indeed, such a matter?" Yan Li's expression slightly changed, but then she shook her head with a faint smile. "If this is truly the case, then there are indeed some risks involved. However, aside from this plan, we have no other viable options—our fate now rests entirely with the spirits' attendants, particularly with how much they value Brother Han." Yuan Yao's face also showed a subtle change, and she smiled slightly with a touch of resignation. "How about this—Han, when confirming our words, could emphasize your devotion to us more strongly. Make the spirit attendant believe that you are deeply devoted to Yuan Shi-mei. In that case, she should feel an additional three parts of concern and likely refrain from taking any drastic action. Moreover, I and Yuan Yao have some background known to the spirit attendant. As for Han's secret of impersonating a member of the Fei Ling clan, that may not be safe anymore." Yan Li thought carefully and spoke with caution. "To begin with, pretending to be a Fei Ling clan member was merely a spontaneous idea. Whether or not the spirit attendant knows about it, it won't significantly "What they truly care about is not Mr. Han's identity as a Feilin person, but rather his ability to summon the divine thunder that repels evil spirits." Han Li shook his head, unconcerned. "If Brother Han says so, then we are completely at ease. The sooner, the better—we will follow our plan as soon as the ghost nun appears. As for you, just adapt and coordinate accordingly. As long as the details don't involve our core strategy, even some specifics about the human realm, feel free to share them directly with the ghost nun. After all, a blend of truth and falsehood will only strengthen her trust." The graceful woman suggested. "Very well, that works. I will certainly make every effort to support both of you." Han Li bowed slightly, reviewed the matter carefully, and found it indeed manageable. With a serious expression, he confirmed. Upon hearing this, Yuan Yao and Yan Li both breathed a deep sigh of relief, their gaze toward Han Li growing more warm and intimate. After further discussing several details, the two women finally bid farewell and departed. Even though the ghost widow was in seclusion, the two young women could not afford the slightest negligence—they had to rush immediately back to the deeper layers of the Earth's depths. Upon witnessing the two women transform into ethereal winds that vanished without a trace within moments, even from the horizon, Han Li suddenly shook his sleeve. His body shimmered with luminous light, then took the form of a magnificent peacock, measuring over a zhang in length, with resplendent plumage. With a single flap of his wings, countless streaks of霞 light radiated out, causing the surrounding space to hum softly. As a cascade of five-colored radiance wrapped around him, the peacock's form blurred, and he swiftly transformed into a swirling band of light, hurtling toward the heart of the mountain range. Not long after, Han Li appeared within his dwelling and entered the inner chamber, closing the chamber door once more. Two months later, a dark, ghostly wind surged directly from the horizon toward Han Li’s dwelling, landing with firm resolve and then vanishing completely—seeming to dissolve entirely into the mountain’s core. Han Li’s previously established seals and wards proved utterly ineffective against it. After another full hour, the gate of Han Li's dwelling opened once more, and a surge of black, gloomy wind shot forth, vanishing into the distant sky. Only then did the gate begin to close slowly. Time flew by; after being blanketed twice by snowy white ice, the mountain range seemed to vanish in the span of just two years. A section was shrouded in vast black gales, with countless ghostly figures flickering faintly, and ghostly wails and howls rising from the wind, causing other creatures to retreat far away, unwilling to draw near at all. Directly above this swirling wind, a white-haired beauty floated in mid-air, accompanied by eight additional black silhouettes. Each stood several丈 tall, clad in grotesque, battle-worn armor—some armed with weapons, others barehanded. Yet when one looked at their faces, they remained blurred, indistinct. Further still, two graceful women floated in the air—none other than Yuan Yao and Yan Li. Nearby, at a distance from the great black wind, stood various statues of differing heights, motionless. Most were earth-and-stone figures, standing about a zhang tall, their bodies glowing with a pale gray or brown luminescence, yet clearly crafted with roughness and imperfection. A smaller number were made of dark green wood or metallic figures radiating a strong black glow. These puppets, in terms of both materials and surface-etched array patterns, are clearly more refined. Among them, the most striking is undoubtedly the central one—a towering figure over thirty zhang high, bearing six eyes, with a deep purple-red hue. This was precisely the massive purple-blood puppet crafted by the Earth-Blood Elder beneath the Blood Flame Palace, originally resembling a mountain. Yet now, though still extraordinarily tall, it has shrunk to only a fraction of its original size, no longer as imposing as it once was. Standing on either shoulder of this purple-blood puppet are two figures dressed in blood-colored robes, each with hands folded behind their backs. In front of the puppet and the other creatures, several others stand at an elevated position. One wears a black cloak that completely envelops him, shielding him from wind and rain—this is the most enigmatic of the Four King-Beasts. What is astonishing is that a colossal eye, measuring several zhang in diameter, hovers above the six-footed beast, glowing with an eerie gray light. Nearby, a magnificent golden flower floats suspended in the air. Mu Qing stood upon the flower, lifting his head to gaze into the sky. Beside him stood a golden young ape, carrying two swords on his back, his eyes flashing with cold light. Below them, a hundred high-ranking immortal beasts had already transformed into half-divine forms, each maintaining a solemn expression. At the side of the golden ape, a young man dressed in green robes stood with arms folded, silent and expressionless—none of his features changed. This was Han Li, who had been practicing alone for several years and had only recently been forcibly summoned by the various chieftains of the immortals. Now, his gaze frequently swept across the surrounding puppet beasts, his face showing no outward signs of surprise, though within his mind he was deeply astonished. With so many lower-tier beasts gathered here, it seemed that the combined strength of the four chieftains' forces in the Deep Realm had been brought together in full. Even without counting these, the ghost soldiers drifting through the black winds and the countless puppets clearly represented two even more powerful forces. These achievements, undoubtedly, were the result of decades of joint efforts by the chieftains themselves. They had gone to such great lengths, clearly determined to secure the realm of the River of Souls. Yet it remained unclear what it was within that realm that had driven them to such a bold commitment. Han Li's heart stirred with uncertainty. As the six-limbed figure ahead moved slightly, he suddenly issued a cold command: "Wood Princess, the time has come. Quickly offer your blood offering and perform the final blood sacrifice." Upon hearing this, Mu Qing nodded and raised her hand downward. At once, several figures emerged from among the high-ranking beasts below. Each of them held no weapons, yet each carried a blood-red leather satchel at their waist. These figures said nothing, and within moments, they ascended into the sky, then simultaneously grasped their satchels and sharply shook the openings. A series of "pffft" sounds echoed, and flashes of crimson light burst forth, transforming into dozens of streams of fresh blood that shot out from the satchels. Immediately, a thick, pervasive scent of blood filled the sky, spreading throughout the heavens. And as the streams of blood gathered in the air, they seemed to come to life, coalescing into a single orb of blood, three or forty zhang in diameter. At that moment, Mu Qing stepped on a golden blossom beneath her feet. After a flash of dark light on the blossom, her form vanished instantly. A moment later, a shimmer of black light flashed before the massive blood orb. Mu Qing reappeared. She looked serious, lifting one hand, and a small black vial materialized in her grasp, then rose into the air, hovering precisely above the orb. With a subtle incantation, Mu Qing urged her spell, and the vial spun smoothly. Instantly, the lid flew off. From the spout, several objects the size of a clenched fist—black and crimson—dripped out, vanishing in a flash and merging into the blood orb.