The giant bird was startled but remained calm. Two massive claws, the size of houses, emitted a series of sharp "shush-shush" sounds, and dozens of dark claw-spikes instantly rose in the air, cutting through the void like dozens of sword beams. They flashed and vanished, precisely striking the azure light aura. A thunderous roar erupted as the dark spikes made contact with the blue glow—the aura, like thin fabric, was instantly torn open at dozens of points. Yet, in an instant, the blue light seamlessly repaired itself, as if nothing had happened. The dark spikes were now trapped within the blue glow and gradually frozen into blocks of blue ice. The light aura then spiraled upward and settled firmly over the giant bird’s head, enveloping it with powerful force. The bird’s central head erupted in a sharp cry of outrage, and its two enormous bone wings suddenly snapped upward simultaneously. Two streams of gray mist surged from the wings and struck the descending blue aura directly. With the impact, the blue light and gray mist briefly intertwined, emitting a deep, resonant rumble. Then the blue light surged powerfully, rolling several times before fully engulfing the gray mist and transforming it into irregular blocks of ice, suspended in midair. Yet the blue light itself could no longer descend, being continuously pushed upward by the surging gray mist. Unexpectedly, a remarkable phenomenon occurred! As the nine-headed bone bird emitted a chilling, sharp cry, all the ice blocks flashed with an unusual radiance—on their smooth surfaces, countless fine pores suddenly appeared, densely clustered. Gray mist surged violently through these pores, instantly consuming the ice blocks and dissolving them completely. This gray mist exhibited an unusually potent and corrosive nature, and within mere breaths, it completely erased both the ice blocks and the blue light formations. "Indeed, it still retains the fierce, ominous aura of the nine-headed bird's life. I shall see just how much of that original essence remains," came the cold voice of the fish-eyed man from afar. Immediately, the blue light there surged and trembled violently, dimming suddenly, and a loud rushing sound erupted as countless blue orbs shot forth from within. Each orb, roughly the size of a human fist, shimmered with a tangible, crystalline clarity, and as they were launched, emitted a mournful, whistling cry, hurtling directly toward the giant bone bird. Having already witnessed the power of the blue mist, the massive bone bird no longer regarded the incoming assault as insignificant. It opened its head like a great mouth, expelling a steady stream of gray mist. As its side wings fluttered, three streams of gray mist converged and flowed steadily forward. Upon contact with the opposing attack, the blue orbs instantly flashed and were completely absorbed, followed by a series of explosive bursts. Inside, each orb transformed into clusters of luminous, lotus-like glimmers, but only to vanish instantly, swallowed whole by the gray mist—utterly failing to exert any significant effect. Yet the blue light spheres were dense and endless, as if boundless. Under the combined force of so many spheres exploding simultaneously, the surging gray mist was momentarily halted, firmly impeded in its advance. "Indeed, there are quite a few malevolent energies—let me attempt once more!" The voice of the young unicorn with a single horn resonated from within the blue glow, and then a flash of luminous energy followed, gradually revealing a figure. It was the handsome young unicorn himself. Now, with both hands forming gestures, his white short horn instantly lengthened several times over, while at the same time, a subtle shimmer behind him caused a massive monster form to emerge from the shadows—crack! A surge of azure lightning erupted from the tip of his horn. The young man slightly inclined his head, and the azure lightning shot forth, instantly thickening to the diameter of a large bowl, stretching over ten zhang in length. As he tilted his head again, the massive arc slightly blurred, then instantly split into two, then into four, then into eight. In a flash, half the sky was filled with these azure electric arcs, charging straight toward the thunderous, relentless assault on the great bone birds. Startled by this sight, the massive bone bird did not hesitate—its gray mist from the central cranium shifted direction and surged forward, meeting the electric arcs head-on. At the moment of their intense collision, most of the arcs flickered and instantly transformed into a series of shimmering azure electric grids. The thunder roared. The azure light and gray mist intertwined in the air, one side shrouded in hazy gray with gusts of wind, the other side flashing with electric arcs and continuous thunder. The two powers held each other in a tense standoff. Yet shortly thereafter, the young man at a distance showed a subtle change in expression. With a single hand gesture, a fresh electric arc surged from his single horn atop his head. The same scene repeated itself—hundreds of azure arcs struck simultaneously. The fragile balance was shattered instantly. Under the powerful surge of the azure light, the gray mist was swiftly driven back, retreating step by step. At the moment of thundering, the electric light began to transform into serpentine electric dragons and thunderous leviathans, swirling and charging furiously in the gray mist. Upon seeing this, the massive bone bird raised all nine of its heads simultaneously, emitting a unified call; then, its mouths opened in unison, spewing out nine beams of black light at an astonishing speed. Five beams shot upward toward the sky, while four surged downward toward the blue glow. Wherever the beams passed, the surrounding air heated up, and both the electric arcs and the blue light scattered and vanished instantly, as if easily shattered. In a flash, the nine beams appeared before the young man with a single horn and the fish-eyed figure hidden within the blue light, piercing through them completely. Yet, at the very instant the beams struck their bodies, both figures seemed to dissolve like foam, vanishing entirely—revealing them to be mere illusions. Immediately afterward, at another location some hundred paces away, a ripple of spatial disturbance unfolded, and two faint silhouettes materialized. These were the true forms of the two foreign beings. "How do you think the residual malevolent qi still clinging to its body compares to what it had at the time of its passing?" The young unicorn exhaled deeply and asked his companion. "It should be less than half—only about one-third!" The fish-eyed being narrowed his eyes and replied without hesitation. "Hmm, that matches my expectations. If this corpse had sufficient malevolent qi to sustain it, it wouldn't have erupted its Spirit-Annihilating Light so early." The unicorn said, his tone settling into a more composed one. "It seems, then, that Mr. Min isn't planning to give up on the true spiritual yin qi. He's ready to engage in a prolonged defense battle." The fish-eyed being emitted a soft, low chuckle. "Since the malevolent qi remaining in this nine-headed bird corpse isn't particularly abundant, I naturally won't relinquish these true spiritual yin qi. Yet something seems odd—given this corpse's condition, it appears that it hasn't yet generated such a large quantity or such refined purity of true spiritual yin qi." The young unicorn glanced at the endless expanse of black mist, his brow furrowed. "There does seem to be something suspicious." But as long as there isn't another yin spirit corpse within this true spirit's shadow qi, what does it matter to us? If there are only a few, we still won't be able to distinguish who deserves what." The fish-eyed being chuckled softly. "You're quite right. I'll give it my all and try to defeat this foe as swiftly as possible!" The unihorn youth thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement. "I share the same intention." The fish-eyed being's stern expression flickered only briefly. At that moment, the nine-headed bone bird, seeing its attack fall short, also erupted in fury. It suddenly lowered its wings sharply, and with a powerful thrust, its massive body plunged headlong into the misty sea. Immediately afterward, a great roar echoed, and a towering black silhouette leapt upward from below. The mist within a radius of several miles was lifted and carried along, transforming into the bird's dark plumage, and it charged straight toward the unihorn youth and his companion with fierce momentum. Witnessing this, the two foreign beings, who had been confident in their victory, could no longer help but feel a sudden sense of alarm. The young unicorn, without a word, slammed his forehead against the sky, instantly transforming into a towering copper-armored monster reaching a hundred zhang in height. With countless streaks of azure electricity surging across his body, he faced the oncoming foe with unwavering courage. A thunderous roar erupted instantly, resonating through the air and the ground like a storm of lightning, the clash of voices echoing far beyond ten miles—such a commotion made it utterly impossible for Han Li to have missed it, unless he were deaf. Without pausing to think, Han Li reactivated the seal on the Wàn Lóng Jū Zhu in his dwelling, gaining a broad view of the distant combat from over a hundred miles away. When he saw the massive, towering form of the nine-headed bone creature emerging and fading within the black misty sea, he gasped in astonishment. Such a formidable presence had remained hidden within this black冥mist—he had once stepped out of the mist without disturbing it, which was truly fortunate. Otherwise, facing this bone bird, who could withstand the combined powers of two cultivators at the Consolidated Stage, Han Li would have surely perished. He watched the immense spiritual wind vortex growing larger and larger due to the clash among the three cultivators at the Consolidated Stage, and the turbulent, undulating black mist below, disturbed by the force of the battle. Han Li's pupils constricted as he fixed his gaze on the three massive figures within the battle, his expression shifting between stormy and calm. With his keen eyesight, he could easily see that the two foreign beings appeared to be gaining the upper hand, and the battle seemed to be gradually moving toward his dwelling. "It's no longer feasible to stay here. Whether or not their conflict directly impacts my cave—right now is the perfect moment to leave. If we wait until they finally settle their dispute, we'll be too late." His thoughts racing, Han Li finally made up his mind. Without further hesitation, he flickered into motion, instantly transforming into a streak of jade-green light that surged forward. After a graceful spiral, he vanished completely within the hall. A short while later, the green glow faded, and Han Li suddenly appeared in the medicinal garden. Before him stood several rows of thousand-year-old golden-thunder bamboo, each one lush and vibrant with fresh green. Han Li took a deep breath and vigorously shook his sleeves toward the bamboo stalks.