"Crack!" The silk-like quilt paper was sliced through as if by a sharp blade. Mu Qing's face paled—she now realized just how sharp this cutting blade was. Though she tried to dodge, she had already lost her timing. As the blade moved, it shimmered and transformed into a series of translucent shadows, then vanished into the void in a single flash. She gasped—unfortunately, on her body, only a layer of jade-green armor had time to form. At the same time, silver-bladed great swords rose up from all around, shimmering in the distance. As the sharp cries of the blades began, a wave of cold, eerie light surged forth, enveloping Mu Qing completely, making her impermeable to wind and rain. Her face turned pale as a sheet, then, with a determined grit, she clenched her teeth and suddenly shook her sleeves—two short, dark staffs appeared in her hands. With a simple motion, she summoned a mountain of staffs before her, and as she moved, she charged straight toward the advancing wave of cold light. Mu Qing knew clearly that she had lost the initiative—should she remain still, her life would surely be in jeopardy. A steady barrage of sharp, rapid As for those black wooden staffs, their true nature remained a mystery. At first, the shadowy forms of the staffs struck hard, forcefully shattering the cold radiance and shielding Mu Qing, who surged through. But shortly thereafter, the cold radiance surged wave upon wave, seemingly endless. The black staff shadows rapidly thinned out. In fact, the two staffs were severed in a sudden flurry of sharp cuts by the cold light, becoming fragmented and incomplete. Mu Qing was stunned. As she reached out to contract her hands and summon another set of divine powers, the cold radiance surged forth, surging past the remaining staff shadows and engulfing her. The green armor managed only a few frantic flashes before being completely submerged. A piercing cry followed, after which there was silence within. Mu Qing fell thus, without a trace of resistance. The white-haired noblewoman stood motionless, nearly unable to believe what she had just witnessed. She was well aware that Mu Qing's powers were no less than her own. At that moment, the golden-armored automaton gently touched the cold radiance. Instantly, the light receded, gathering upward into a concentrated mass, and once again solidifying into that silver cutting blade. Below the chopping blade, the body of Mu Qing hung suspended in midair, shattered into countless fragments. Yet strangely, these fragments dripped not a single drop of blood—no longer resembling flesh and blood. Yet the golden-armored automaton merely glanced at it and paid no heed. With his keen eyesight, he had already discerned that Mu Qing was of wood spirit essence. Such a state of the corpse was no unusual occurrence. Now, he sneered, raised a single hand, and with a swift gesture, the chopping blade spun once and launched again—this time aimed squarely at the nearby purple-blooded automaton. Given the latter’s immense size, it was an ideal target. By his design, he had intended to strike when the others’ magical energies were nearly depleted, launching a surprise assault to capture them all at once. But unexpectedly, Lu Zhu had slipped beneath the pool and even mastered the rare technique of severing the spiritual meridians—something few were aware of. This development left the golden-armored automaton deeply concerned. Should the connection between the other party and the spring's spiritual meridian truly be severed, even if he were to defeat these foreign visitors, he would still incur grave blame upon returning to his clan. Thus, after waiting so long, he could endure no longer and launched his attack. Yet he was unexpectedly vigilant—Wood Qing had deployed an extensive network of alert spiritual filaments around the area, exposing his movements without his awareness. Nevertheless, for the golden-armored automaton, this was of little consequence. With the Five-Drake Slicer in hand, the current adversaries had expended considerable spiritual energy, and there was also the constant pressure exerted by the冥雷兽. Given these favorable conditions, eliminating them was certain. The blood-robed figure, standing above the purple-blooded automaton, observed the silver arc approaching and flashed a moment of apprehension in his eyes. Without further hesitation, he raised his hand and pointed it directly at the incoming silver arc. Instantly, the massive blood sphere before him trembled and burst forth as a beam of bloodlight. At the same time, the purple-blooded puppet beneath him rapidly shrank, its form diminishing until it became indistinguishable from a common person. Yet, as its six eyes flashed simultaneously, six crimson beams of light surged forth in sequence, following the blood orb. The blood-robed figure then drifted slightly, landing beside the puppet. This blood mist drifted only briefly before transforming into a foul, black vapor and dispersing completely. At that moment, the silver iridescence of the Five-Drake Slicer had already collided with the six crimson light pillars. Strange indeed—though the silver iridescence was sharp and dynamic, upon striking the pillars, its surface shimmered momentarily, and its speed seemed to slow slightly. In the span of a few instants, several pillars cascaded onto it, causing the iridescence to tremble and reveal its true form. The blood-clad figure brightened his eyes and quickly pressed a hand seal. Instantly, the several crimson light pillars solidified and coalesced into a massive blood-sword, which surged forward and engaged the slicer in a fierce entanglement. The Five-Drake Slicer's sharpness was astonishing, yet from the vantage point of the blood-sword, it could not immediately cleave it in two, and thus was momentarily held in check. Observing this, the golden-armored automaton flashed a glint of fierce determination in his eyes and swiftly activated the relevant incantation. Immediately, the silver glow of the slicer intensified, spinning rapidly, and countless streaks of cold Finally, with a resounding "crash," the blood sword was severed into several fragments, transforming into a swirling mass of blood light. At a distance, the blood-robed figure suddenly opened his mouth and expelled a cluster of pure blood. This blood instantly solidified into several blood-colored seals, which flickered briefly before vanishing without a trace in front of the figure. At the very next moment, the distant blood light flashed several times, then coalesced into a new blood-colored flying sword. This sword emitted a low hum and, as it flashed, immediately ensnared the Five-Drake Sickle, preventing it from fleeing. The white-haired beauty, who had been deeply afraid of the Five-Drake Sickle since the unexpected demise of Mu Qing, now felt a surge of joy upon seeing this sacred artifact unexpectedly blocked by the blood-robed figure's blood sword. Without attending to the black light array now forming over her head, she swiftly flipped her hand and suddenly produced a black leather pouch, which she then launched skyward. The pouch, light as a feather, spun gently, and as it rotated, its opening inverted, releasing a surge of gray, misty阴 energy. A group of no fewer than a hundred towering, fully armored yin-jia guibing suddenly materialized within. This woman has always kept this contingent on standby. With a sharp cry, the white-haired woman swiftly pointed her finger toward the distant golden-armored automaton. Immediately, the guibing raised their swords and spears, riding the currents of阴wind, charging straight toward the golden automaton with loud cries of battle. Upon witnessing this spectacle, the golden automaton chuckled. Turning his head, he addressed a nearby horse-faced spirit: "These will be yours. Is there any issue?" "Please rest assured, Master," replied the horse-faced spirit, whose body shimmered with extraordinary clarity. "Though these are merely lower-tier spirits, they pose no challenge to me." Nodding in approval, the automaton then caused a flash of lustrous jade light to ripple across the spirit's form, which immediately surged forth as a vibrant, five-colored aura. A moment later, the spirit plunged into the swirling阴wind, materializing a pair of long swords in mid-air and joining the ranks of the one hundred guibing. The golden-armored puppet paid no attention to the combat on that side, instead immediately reciting incantations, once again expending his spiritual awareness to rapidly summon the Five Dragon Saws. At once, the silver-hued sword spirit, engaged in a fierce struggle with the blood sword, emitted a long, clear cry and then split into five distinct streaks of radiant light, each of a different hue. One of these streaks continued to weave and clash with the blood sword, while the other four split into pairs, charging with thunderous speed toward the blood-robed man and the white-haired beauty. The white-haired beauty frowned, first glancing at the green light shield above, now wavering due to the lack of wood-green energy and her own magical support, then turning to the blood-robed man standing beside the purple-blooded puppet—her expression shifting between concern and uncertainty. Seeing that victory was no longer within reach, a subtle sense of hesitation began to take hold within her. Yet at that very moment, a deep, resonant roar suddenly erupted from within the golden light array beneath them, followed by a series of intense ripples across the array's surface, causing the ground nearby to tremble slightly. "Six-legged Suddenly, a cold voice from the blood-robed figure reached the white-haired beauty's ears. Startled, she hesitated slightly, and as a flash of cold light ahead, two streaks of surprise surged forward with astonishing speed. With no choice, the white-haired beauty revealed a ghostly shadow behind her, raised both hands and made a sweeping gesture toward the front—immediately, two large black ghost hands appeared above the streaks, reaching down to grasp them. At the same time, the beauty spun her hand once, producing a small white bone banner in her grasp. With a gentle flick, a surge of gray light erupted, sweeping toward the streaks as well. On the other side, the blood-robed figure and the purple-blooded puppet combined their efforts, now encircled by two more streaks of surprise, and were engaged in a fierce struggle. Just then, a sudden warning flashed through the white-haired beauty's mind, prompting her to glance toward one corner of the palace. To her astonishment, her face instantly turned ashen. There, beside Yuan Yao and the graceful young woman who had been standing motionless in the corner of the palace, a young man appeared—without any prior sign of his arrival. With both hands pressed firmly against the shoulders of the two young women, countless delicate golden arcs surged forth from his palms and rushed rapidly into their bodies. The young man was none other than Han Li. Originally composed, Yuan Yao and the other graceful woman now trembled violently, blood vessels gradually bursting outward, their faces revealing unmistakable distress. "Little thief! Do you dare?" the elderly woman with silver hair exclaimed, startled and furious. Yet Han Li paid no heed to her sharp cry, merely intensifying the golden electric arcs emanating from his hands, which instantly forced all the blood vessels to burst and then transformed them into nothingness through the divine, purifying thunder. As the two women's bodies grew weak, they collapsed to the ground. A resplendent azure aura radiated from Han Li's form, swiftly lifting both women and drawing them into it. Then, he surged forward as a streak of azure light, racing straight toward the exit of the hall.