As for this delicate young lady, she too was startled, but quickly recovered and interjected, "Senior Han is absolutely right. There might even be some hidden beast concealed within. We should naturally depart swiftly." Upon hearing this, Yue Zong finally regained his composure and nodded vigorously. Immediately, the three of them activated their flight spells and continued on their way. This time, after only a short half-hour of flight, they broke through the mist and finally exited the region. The trio showed no intention of stopping, steadily heading deeper into the mountain range. Unaware of this, at the very moment the three of them left the mist, a faint silver glow surged from the horizon, flashing several times before suddenly halting in front of the mist. As the light faded, a small, graceful figure emerged—her ears pointed and delicate, her face rosy, and her long, fluffy tail gently swaying behind her. This seemingly beautiful woman scanned the surroundings with her eyes, then pressed her palm to her chest, murmuring incantations. With a sharp "pop," a surge of silvery mist erupted from her body, swiftly spreading out in swirling runes in all directions before finally dissipating into nothingness. "Indeed, I haven't mistaken the direction! This is truly the right place. However, it appears that these mutated human-faced vultures have recently settled here—descendants of the Golden Sun lineage, under the command of the Blood-Arms faction. They're not exactly easy to deal with. Yet that's a blessing. At least, the outsiders will find it difficult to escape from here." With her hand gestures released, the woman spoke softly, her expression brightening. As the silver glow faded, a silvery arc vanished into the mist. More than an hour later, at the site where Han Li had previously slain several magical birds, the silver light receded, and the woman reappeared. She lightly sniffed the air, her face now showing a touch of surprise, then pressed her palm once again, performing the same spell as before. A moment later, the woman's face grew increasingly restless. After pondering for a while, she suddenly raised her head and let out a long, resonant cry—somewhat like a tiger's roar, yet reminiscent of a dragon's song! Yet, despite the prolonged duration of the cry, the surroundings remained utterly still, with no signs of movement whatsoever. The woman exhaled deeply, and the cry abruptly ceased, yet her dark brows remained furrowed. After a while, she shook her head with a flicker of determination, then once again launched into flight, departing in a direction that was almost identical to that of Han Li and his companions. Yet this great beast had shrunk in size countless times compared to before, and among so many more formidable creatures, it now stood somewhat unremarkable. The colossal turtle remained motionless upon the massive stone, as if waiting for something. Surprisingly, the over a thousand other beasts surrounding it all displayed evident impatience, yet remained equally calm. After a while, suddenly, several magical birds in the sky parted, and a large bat—several feet long, its body adorned with golden patterns—dashed down through the air, finally coming to rest before the turtle. "Master, the time has come. All who were supposed to arrive have now gathered!" "Then let us proceed. Once again, I repeat our objective: eliminate all outsiders who have entered the mountain range, seize one of their disc-shaped magical artifacts, and use that artifact to locate the 'Zhi Xian'—then present it to the Iron Demon. Whoever succeeds in finding the Zhi Xian shall be rewarded handsomely." The giant abalone's words were brief—merely repeating its objective, with no other words of mere formality. Upon hearing this, the thousands of magical beasts nestled in the mountain valley instantly scattered. Some took to the skies, others turned and plunged deep into the earth, all rushing toward the outer edges of the mountain range. The abalone itself leapt into the midst of the beastly throng. Yet it failed to notice that within the first gray cloud soaring thousands of feet above the valley floor—a cloud seemingly ordinary—there lay a dark silhouette concealed within. This shadow blinked its blood-red eyes, coldly observing everything below. Only after all the beasts had departed did it rise from the cloud, emerging as a large parrot, about a foot in size, entirely crimson. After circling in the air, it emitted a soft "pop" and then burst into a mist of blood, dispersing into a swirling blood vapor. Within this vapor, faint blood-colored runes flickered and vanished. At the same time, deep within the mountain range of the Magic Peak, in a stone chamber heavily sealed by ancient spells, a blood-robed man who had been lying on his bed, eyes closed and resting, suddenly exhaled a soft "Hm?" and opened his eyes. "Xue Ying, get up. While I'm planning these few days, have Iron-Wings and Many-Eyes arrived at the underground palace yet?" The large man gestured with one hand, asking gently. "Reporting to Father, they haven't appeared at the palace yet." The woman's voice was slightly low, yet still pleasant. "They haven't even reached here. It seems there's indeed a problem." Xue Bo, the large man, flashed a glance, his expression thoughtful. "Father, have you received any news?" The dressed-in-court woman sounded curious. "Yes, currently, all of Iron-Wings' subordinates have left their stronghold." The man spoke slowly. "Wait—have they all left? Could it be—?" The woman was startled. "It's not what you thought. They've all moved outward toward the mountain's periphery, preparing to capture all the spiritual-world beings who've recently entered the mountain range!" The man shook his head. "Eliminate the spiritual-world beings! What does that mean?" The court-dressed woman was stunned. "That, in fact, is precisely why I summoned you here." It seems connected to something called "Chi Xian." The Sage-Ancestor is about to awaken, and I cannot leave. You go investigate this matter first. As soon as you have any news, report immediately." The tall man spoke with a flash of cold light in his eyes. "Yes, Father." The dressed-in-imperial-clothes woman stiffened internally, yet replied politely. She then respectfully stepped out of the room, the stone door closing of its own accord. The blood-spattered man exhaled gently and settled back into meditation. But at that moment, a strange, creaking sound suddenly rose from the heavens, followed by a sweeping mass of dark clouds. A flock of black, one-horned monster birds, numbering in the hundreds, emerged. One of them, measuring a full zhang in length, had emerald eyes that emitted a cold, eerie glow. Upon seeing this sight, the Yuan-Shen-level foreign being was instantly terrified, yet unable to move due to being locked in a fierce battle with two massive bears. He could only sweat profusely, desperately urging his three flying blades. The three blades transformed into three brilliant streaks of light, forming a tight protective shield around him. However, upon the lead monster bird's sudden cry, the hundred or so birds surged forward en masse, and the blades managed to cut down only a dozen before being torn to shreds by the magpie-like creatures. Even the originally engaged, bear-sized beasts were no exception, all falling prey to the onslaught of the bird horde. Yet, suddenly, one of the birds opened its mouth and expelled a disc-shaped magical artifact. Seeing this, the lead bird's eyes lit up with joy, and then, with a single breath, it emitted a radiant glow that drew the disc into Then, they carried the group of magical birds off in another direction. ...Above a mountain peak, five魔兽 resembling leopards breathed out streams of energy downward. A yellow, hazy light veil floated above the mountain peak, trembling incessantly as the gray-white magical energies struck it. Below the veil, two beings from different ethnic groups held banners in their hands, desperately shaking them to maintain the wavering light veil—clearly, their situation was dire. ...At another broad expanse, an elder of the Yan surname and a young man with a pale face transformed into two streaks of light, fleeing desperately. Behind them, a strange emerald-green cloud and a powerful black whirlwind surged forward, relentlessly pursuing. As the latter two closed in steadily, the elder of the Yan surname grew increasingly worried, then, with a determined breath, suddenly flipped his hand and drew out a somewhat worn golden scroll. While muttering incantations, he raised and launched it into the air. With a tremendous roar, a brilliant golden light suddenly burst forth, shining as bright as the noon sun. As it spun smoothly, the golden light that passed through caused all the magical energies to dissipate and retreat, creating an astonishing display. The green clouds and black winds trailing behind were also momentarily forced to slow their pace. Yet within a short while, the golden light vanished entirely, and the elder who had been at the forefront, along with the young man with a pale face, were completely gone. This same phenomenon unfolded repeatedly over several days, throughout the entire outer perimeter of the Mountain of Magic. Most of the foreign visitors perished in the mouths of the beasts, only a handful—around seven or eight—managing to survive. These survivors, far from ordinary, immediately sensed the unusual activity of the deep-mountain beasts appearing at the outer edge and swiftly shifted from openness to caution. The beasts, having obtained some of the foreign visitors' tracking discs, began systematically searching the outer regions. Yet strangely, neither the remaining foreign visitors nor the beasts themselves could trace any trace of Zhixin's whereabouts. At that moment, after several days of travel, Han Li and the others finally reached their destination safely.