"A Mountain-Worthy Giant Ape!" Han Li, though he had never before seen this legendary true spirit, knew that only this true spirit bore such unusual patterns on his chest. Indeed, this magical ape truly carried the bloodline of a mountain ape—otherwise, it could never have manifested such a form. Han Li gazed at the purple ethereal silhouette within the sword formation, his eyes blazing with fervor. This mountain-worthy giant ape was one of the twelve transformations of Jing Zhe. If Han Li could obtain the true spirit's blood, not only would he instantly gain a new divine ability, but several of the other transformations would also grow significantly stronger. With this thought, his determination to defeat this holy-rank magical ape grew even stronger. Yet, ordinary divine techniques proved insufficient against this formidable foe. After a brief hesitation, Han Li took a deep breath and then shook his sleeve, causing a seemingly ordinary circular ring to fall into his hands—a spirit ring fully stocked with gold-devouring insects. He had decided to deploy this decisive weapon against the magical ape's immortal essence. Releasing too many Golden-Feeding Insects at once indeed could severely damage one's divine awareness. However, if the battle could be resolved swiftly, it would still serve as a decisive weapon in Han Li's reserve arsenal. With Han Li's current divine awareness, after advancing to the Liangxu stage, he could command over a hundred such insects for a period of one incense-burn—approximately ten minutes. Yet, if the number of insects doubled, the duration of command would drop to just one-quarter of that. Without the Spring-Li Sword Array providing support, Han Li might have hesitated to act boldly. But now, this demon is trapped within the array, constantly maneuvering to evade spatial shifts, making it the ideal battlefield for the Golden-Feeding Insects. Based on Han Li's calculations, the fierce nature of the mature-bodied insects would be sufficient to defeat the opponent within one-third of an incense-burn period after their initial release. His only hesitation was that after such a significant expenditure of divine awareness, much of his other abilities would weaken. Should he encounter a formidable foe on his return journey, that would pose a real danger. Yet this thought merely flashed through his mind! To him, nature still demanded that the immediate, pressing enemy be dealt with first—everything else could be set aside for now. Yet before Han Li had even summoned the spirit beast ring from his sleeve, the blood-colored magical ape within the sword formation suddenly roared, halting its incantations mid-sentence and spewing out a burst of blood-like splendor that vanished instantly, merging into the blood-streaked remnants of the blade. The blade spun swiftly, and the previously dark magical aura emanating from it surged violently. A resonant hum rose, and scattered points of black light appeared near the blade, spreading rapidly throughout the entire formation. Han Li was taken aback, suddenly sensing an unusual disturbance in the ambient qi around him, and turned to survey the surroundings. To his astonishment, the once stagnant, lifeless magical atmosphere flowing through the corridor now surged and rippled, releasing cascades of black luminous streaks that spiraled steadily toward the sword formation. The Spring Li sword formation now resembled a vast vortex, drawing in these black light streaks one by one. However, upon reaching the vicinity of the sword formation, these black misty clouds were blocked by the cyan light barrier, coalescing into dense clusters of dark luminous spheres—numerous and compact—but failed to penetrate into the formation itself. "True demonic energy!" Han Li instantly recognized their true nature upon a single glance, his eyes suddenly darting with sudden excitement. Yet at that very moment, a thunderous roar erupted from within the sword formation, causing the entire passage to tremble violently as if collapsing. Simultaneously, an overwhelming spiritual pressure surged upward from the formation, shaking the nearby light barriers. Han Li was startled, and without hesitation, swiftly turned his gaze back to the center of the sword formation. A strange sight now unfolded before him. The entire sword formation was now densely filled with countless symbols of varying sizes. Each symbol pulsed with a faint, dim black glow, intermittently brightening and dimming. At the very center of these symbols, the blood-colored broken blade hung motionless, its missing upper half now fully restored at an unknown time. Moreover, the originally blood-red blade now bore an additional row of three unfamiliar, pale golden ancient characters, shimmering brilliantly. Upon narrowing his eyes, Han Li was startled to discover that the flashing and glowing of the black runes within the sword formation matched perfectly with the movements of the broken blade—seemingly all under the control of this sword! A strange laugh erupted from the magic ape beside him. Suddenly, it pressed both palms together in a gesture. Though its own form remained still, the towering purple spectral image above its head extended a great hand and effortlessly drew the blood-colored fragment into its grasp. Then, with a seemingly ordinary flick of the wrist, an astonishing phenomenon occurred! The golden ancient characters on the surface of the broken blade stirred to life, swirling and radiating a brilliant glow, then emitting a clear, resonant chime. Han Li instantly felt a disturbance in the celestial and terrestrial vital energies within the sword formation—the black runes surged forth like moths flying toward a flame, racing toward the broken blade. At the same time, the surface of the broken blade emitted concentric circles of dark light. Each rune, upon touching this light, vanished completely, as if it had never existed. The blade itself darkened slightly. After all the dense rows of runes were completely absorbed by the glow, the glow vanished silently, and the clear resonance ceased abruptly. The blade, once blood-red, now turned a deep, ink-black, while the giant ape merely slightly waved his hand, and the three ancient characters on its surface shone with golden light, growing ever more enigmatic. Yet Han Li's eyes widened suddenly. He suddenly pressed one of his arms against the other, fixing his gaze on the black blade in the ape's hands, his face instantly pale and lifeless. "A treasure of Xuan Tian! Impossible! You possess a divine artifact capable of reversing the laws of heaven and earth—how could you still be so severely wounded here?" Han Li uttered these words almost in a whisper, each one carefully emphasized. "How do you know it's a Xuan Tian treasure?" Upon hearing Han Li's words, the magical ape himself grew visibly alarmed, his voice now sharp and fierce, his purple-hued eyes flashing with the intensity of a predator ready to pounce. Yet at that moment, Han Li had no heart to answer the magical ape's question. For at this very moment, the arm he was pressing upon was unusually scorching hot—the very spot where the Seal of the Heavenly Sword was located. This unusual phenomenon had erupted suddenly, without any prior warning, precisely when the mountain-giant ape first grasped the magical blade and swung it a few times. He could clearly feel that the Heavenly Sword, which had hitherto remained quietly sealed within his arm, now stirred and became restless, seemingly stimulated by the pressure and motion of the dark blade in the ape’s hands. It was only then that Han Li had a sudden flash of insight, instantly guessing the origin of that broken blade. Now, seeing that the ape had not denied it at all, Han Li’s heart sank. With most of his magical energy currently devoted to desperately containing the Heavenly Sword within his arm, he had little confidence in whether even the use of the Golden-Biting Insects would prove effective—especially given that the ape still held the Heavenly Treasure. He remembered all too well the consequences of his last attempt to use the Heavenly Treasure, and he was deeply reluctant to repeat that experience. After all, this was a perilous realm teeming with monsters—once his magic faded, it would be no different from suicide. Yet, when he last unleashed the extraordinary power of the Heavenly Sky Sword, he hadn't forgotten a single detail. The opponent's remaining blade, even if it possessed only half the power of the treasure sealed within his arm, would be utterly incapable of withstanding a single strike. No matter how masterful the Spring Li Sword Formation might be, it could never withstand the force of fundamental laws. Upon seeing that Han Li showed no response, the magical macaque in the formation grew furious and immediately urged his celestial form with a decisive surge. The mountainous giant macaque silhouette swiftly raised his magical blade, aligning it precisely at Han Li's position. Han Li's eyes twitched, cold sweat breaking out instantly on his back, leaving him drenched in perspiration. With the power of the Heavenly Sky Treasure slicing through the void, he simply couldn't escape, no matter how hard he tried. At this moment, he faced either surrendering passively or using the Heavenly Sky Sword sealed within his arm to meet the attack. Neither of these outcomes was something he had intended to accept. Yet, with the other party already compelling the celestial form to raise the dark, gleaming fragment of blade, he had no time left to consider any other course of action. "No—that other party has lost their physical body and their cultivation level is no greater than his own. How could they possibly command the Heavenly Immortal Treasure? The fragment they are now wielding isn't truly theirs, is it? Perhaps..." In a moment of desperation, Han Li suddenly had a flash of inspiration, as if he had grasped the key to the situation. At that moment, a flash of fierce expression passed over the face of the demonic ape, and the purple celestial form began to slowly lower the black blade. Han Li was startled and immediately bit down on his teeth, then, instead of pressing with his fingers, suddenly pulled them upward on his forearm. A deep, resonant sound echoed, and a slender, pale yellow wooden stick appeared in his hands—none other than the Heavenly Immortal Fruit. Without pausing at all, Han Li gave a quick flick of his wrist and tossed the fruit into the air. A flash of golden light revealed the Buddha-Saint's true magical form once more. As one of the golden arms moved, it instantly grasped the Xuan Tian fruit in its hand. Then, each of the other arms performed a series of gestures. The three-headed, six-armed form radiated brilliant golden light. Immediately, the golden light surged forth like a flowing river, pouring into the Xuan Tian fruit in great abundance, transforming it into a radiant glow and causing the originally dark green patterns on its surface to shimmer with vibrant, jade-green vitality. Han Li saw this and immediately beamed with delight. Yet at that very moment, a deep, resonant sound echoed from within the sword formation—a dull "pffft." A dark, misty wave surged forth from the black blade. At first, it seemed unimpressive, but just as it traveled over fifteen paces, it suddenly rose into a towering black surge, rushing toward Han Li with great momentum. In an instant, the dark wave collided with the translucent blue light shield. The shield immediately began to hum, and countless lotus blossoms bloomed anew, seemingly endless. But then, something utterly unbelievable happened. The black waves merely surged forward, and every Qinglian that had plunged into them—regardless of size—vanished in a flash, as if turned to ash. With a single flick, the silvery-green barrier seemed to be pierced like thin paper. Han Li's eyes widened, and before he could even glance around, he suddenly accelerated his spell. Instantly, countless five-colored light spots appeared all around him, rushing toward the Xuan Tian fruit like moths to a flame. "Pffft!" At one end of the fruit, a jade-green glow flashed, and suddenly a blade of shimmering light, about a foot long, shot out. This blade was exceptionally bright and smooth, like a mirror, yet at its center, five jade-green characters were engraved, their cold light constantly shifting and flowing.