With his mind made up, Han Li naturally no longer hesitated. He merely flipped his palm, and this time, instead of contemplating the sword technique, he began studying the method of refining the flying sword. Though he had glanced over it hurriedly before, given its importance, he naturally needed to go through it again in detail. Not long afterward, Han Li withdrew his divine awareness and settled into a quiet, thoughtful gaze. According to the scroll, there were three methods to completely purify the impurities within the flying sword. The first was the simplest—one that required almost no external materials—and involved using the Yuan'ing fire within his body to gradually refine and eliminate all materials in the sword except those of the Wood nature. This method was both simple and the safest. However, in his current flying sword, the various materials had already fully integrated into one another. To forcibly separate them and then refine each one would be a lengthy process, and it was unlikely to succeed within just a few hundred years. Moreover, during this period, the Yuan婴 fire must be continuously stimulated, which would significantly delay one's own cultivation progress. For such an extended duration, Han Li had almost immediately abandoned this method. The second approach involved a technique called the "Nine-Flame Melting Gold Technique," provided in the jade scroll. If Han Li were willing to gather several special fire-type pills and remain in seclusion for about seventy to eighty years, he could use this technique, combined with the power of the pills, to forcibly eliminate impurities from the Qing Zhu Feng Yun sword. However, this method was extremely risky, as it would also damage part of the wooden essence within the sword, severely weakening its vital energy. Furthermore, the fire-type pills were exceptionally rare and difficult to collect. At that time, the elder named Jiang had proposed to assist Han Li in refining the sword precisely using this method. Han Li, however, did not particularly favor this self-sacrificing approach. As a result, only the final method remained—by far the most difficult and time-consuming for ordinary people. The elder of the Jiang family left a note at the end of this method, stating that it was merely a theoretical conjecture on his part—he had not personally attempted it. Yet, as long as the instructions were strictly followed, there should be a very strong chance of success. Once achieved, the benefits would be truly astonishing. Although the flying swords' power might not immediately surge significantly, with a little additional cultivation, Han Li could easily guide them to reach the stage of "sword-heart clarity" in the future. Of course, the elder named Jiang did not adopt this perfectly balanced approach, which remained merely a theoretical one and naturally had its fatal flaws. The most critical shortcoming was that this method required an exceptionally long duration. As described above, the time span—from the initial planting of the flying swords to the complete transformation of their material properties—was far longer than the two previously mentioned methods. After all, the spiritual trees had to grow gradually; even ordinary spiritual trees would fail to mature without centuries of careful nurturing. During this entire period, the flying swords could not be used at all, and it was essential to ensure that none of the spiritual trees perished due to unforeseen circumstances. Otherwise, any such mishap would completely undermine all previous efforts. Even if the swords were subsequently replanted into other spiritual trees, the damage would still be irreparable. As for the exact number of years required for planting the swords, there was no specific boundary. Yet one thing is certain: the longer the time spent cultivating the sword, the rarer the spiritual tree, the more refined the final essence of the flying sword becomes. After reviewing this method, Han Li was overjoyed and immediately decided to adopt it. While this cultivation method might be impossible for others, it was perfectly suited for him, who possessed the ability to accelerate plant growth. As long as he made full use of the small vases, whether it was a thousand-year-old spiritual tree or even a ten-thousand-year-old one, would be nothing short of trivial. However, he still harbored a slight doubt as to whether this method of using the vases to accelerate the growth of the spiritual trees truly benefited the sword cultivation technique. Nevertheless, since this method required little of his personal effort and would soon reveal its effectiveness within a relatively short time, he decided to give it a trial run. If it failed, he could always fall back on one of the previous two methods. With his decision firmly settled, Han Li merely shook his sleeve, and a jade box of emerald green material materialized before him. The lid flew open, revealing a seemingly ordinary dry green bamboo, with a few root tendrils still attached at its lower end. This was precisely the small section of rooted Jin Lei Bamboo that Han Li had特意 retained after refining his flying sword, as a reserve. Although the jade scroll did not explicitly state it, using a spirit wood identical to the primary material of the flying sword would naturally yield better results. Moreover, since he now knew that Jin Lei Bamboo leaves could be used to refine more powerful Jin Gang Mie Mo Lightning, it made sense to gather some leaves at this moment as well. With a mere thought, Han Li summoned his second immortal embryo and handed it the wooden box and one of the flying swords. He would first have the embryo try it out with the sword; if it proved successful, he would then generate a large quantity of Jin Lei Bamboo to cultivate the remaining flying swords within it. After the second immortal embryo departed, carrying the jade box and the sword, Han Li closed his eyes and rested for a while. Upon reopening his eyes, he reached for a small, creamy-colored bottle. With a lift of his neck, after drawing a drop of genuine Chang Liquid from the bottle and swallowing it, Han Li finally began his true cultivation. No matter how precious the treasures or how miraculous the divine techniques and scriptures, without a solid foundation of spiritual power, they would remain mere floating reeds. Han Li had long recognized this truth. As he pressed his palms together in a series of gestures, golden light shimmered all over his body, and the true divine magic form behind him reappeared once more. In the form of a three-headed, six-armed deity, each of the six arms moved to form a complex hand seal, while his legs remained in a seated posture, perfectly assuming the posture of cultivation. As the golden light danced across Han Li's body, a radiant golden aura expanded around the divine magic form, enveloping it completely. Numerous golden characters continuously surged from the six hands forming seals, spiraled through the aura, and then gradually dissolved into the body of the form itself. Han Li remained expressionless, his golden scales subtly shimmering, with luminous energy flowing continuously across his skin, exuding an air of mystery. Though days and months passed without end, the sealed chamber's doors remained untouched. During this time, only the second Yuan-Emperor was seen occasionally manipulating a colossal stone ape automaton in the medicinal garden, before vanishing mysteriously. Outside the dwelling, the mid-tier immortal beasts from Hei Yin Mountain repeatedly brought large quantities of rare materials to trade for Mu Ling flowers, each appearing as if a great calamity had loomed over them. Yet, the second Yuan-Emperor merely spent a little time nurturing the Mu Ling flowers and transformed Ti Hún into Han Li’s form to pass undetected, easily completing the trades. Seeing Ti Hún able to offer so many additional rare flowers, these beasts finally breathed a sigh of relief, their initial panic gradually fading. As autumn gave way to winter, over a hundred years passed quietly. Nothing remarkable had occurred on the great island, as if this calm state would continue indefinitely. Yet on that day, an extraordinary celestial phenomenon suddenly appeared in the sky above the mountain where Han Li's abode stood. Suddenly, a continuous series of thunderclaps resonated through the clear heavens, followed by a cascade of pale milky spiritual clouds that materialized out of nowhere and swiftly converged toward the mountain peak. Simultaneously, across mountains and hills within a radius of ten thousand li, vibrant points of colored light emerged from the ground trees and surged upward into the sky. As these light points ascended to a certain height, they swelled and contracted, then burst like foam, transforming into cascades of radiant hues that raced toward Han Li's dwelling. Within just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the towering mountain where Han Li resided was completely enveloped in layers upon layers of dense, richly colored light, turning entirely into a tapestry of five hues. Yet, in the sky above, another celestial spectacle unfolded! To the sight, those milky-white spiritual clouds had now coalesced into a vast ring, spanning over a hundred li in diameter. At the center of the ring, gusts of shimmering green winds were forming spontaneously, roaring louder and louder as they surged. The five-colored light halos beneath began to be drawn into the ring, then torn apart and recombined. As the winds grew stronger, more and more of the five-colored light ascended into the sky, eventually transforming the hue of the winds themselves into an eerie blend of five colors. Yet, the five-colored light halos arriving from afar over ten thousand li remained unchanged in quantity, and the luminous veil enveloping the entire mountain below grew even denser and more solid. Meanwhile, various medium- and lower-intelligence beasts纷纷 took flight from their homes, rushing urgently toward Han Li's dwelling. However, once they reached a distance of a thousand li from Tianxiang, they all seemed to encounter an invisible boundary, their flight lights dimming and halting. They gazed in wonder at the magnificent five-colored mountain in the distance and the strange, eerie cloud rings above, appearing increasingly alarmed. Beasts that had previously traded with Han Li—such as the ox-headed creature and the three-headed giant serpent—also began to gather nearby. Naturally recognizing the location beneath Tianxiang, they gathered closely together, exchanging glances and finding themselves at a loss. "Has that person finally reached a new stage? Such an extraordinary phenomenon—could it be that he is ascending to the rank of Spiritual Commander?" the three-headed giant serpent, with its hoarse voice, spoke first. "Most likely. A mere advancement in ordinary stages wouldn't produce such signs," the ox-headed creature said, gazing steadily at the distant cloud rings and slowly affirming.