Hearing the elder's words, the green-haired foreigner's eyes flashed with fierce determination, and he suddenly stepped forward. But at that moment, the lean, wiry man, who had been standing nearby, suddenly moved to the side of the green-haired foreigner, murmured a few words in a low tone, as if offering a reminder. The green-haired foreigner's expression remained uncertain, and only after a moment did his aura of intensity ease, allowing him to speak coldly: "Very well. Let's first see what treasures the valley holds. If it's not the Immortal Hermit, then we each proceed on our own paths. Should it be so, heh... well then." After a sharp laugh, the green-haired foreigner paid no further attention to the two elders and suddenly transformed with the lean man into two streaks of brilliant light, vanishing into the valley below, shrouded in magical mist. "Uncle Yan, what shall we do? Should we truly follow them into the valley?" The dressed-in-courtly-attire woman, witnessing the scene, took a deep breath and asked the elder. "Of course we go. The magical compass has responded—how could we possibly let it pass?" replied the elder "But those two..." The lady in court attire hesitated. "If there's no Zhixian inside, these two would naturally have no reason to act. Should there be, then they should even be more resolute. Otherwise, what would have prompted us to take the risk of entering here? The elder shook his head, his face darkening. "Indeed, it's Nv'er who has not thought this through. This valley must be thoroughly searched." After a brief pause, the lady in court attire also straightened her spine and said firmly. "You needn't worry so much! Though my health has not yet fully recovered, I've specially prepared a rare treasure for this journey. As long as I secure Zhixian's words, I'm confident I can ensure our safe retreat without having to engage in direct combat." The elder spoke with assurance. Given the elder's stature and her own experience, the lady in court attire naturally placed full faith in his words. Hearing this, her unease eased somewhat, and she nodded silently, saying nothing further. Thus, the two of them flashed into the air and swiftly arrived at their destination. Yet as soon as the elder named Yan entered the valley, he immediately noticed something unusual. Though the valley appeared ordinary from the outside, it seemed profoundly deep and mysterious. A faint black magical aura drifted through the upper part of the valley, while the lower section resembled an immense, elongated chasm—no matter how deeply he summoned his法宝 to descend over a thousand zhang, the bottom remained unseen. This both astonished and delighted him. He was delighted that such an extraordinary valley might truly conceal the Zhixin immortal beneath it; yet he was also astonished by the depth of the lower section, compounded by the dense magical atmosphere, which would surely make exploration difficult. With these thoughts in mind, both the elder Yan and the lady in imperial robes drew out disc-shaped magical instruments and flew directly toward the valley's heart. Had it not been for the two green-haired beings present, they might have chosen to split up and proceed separately in order to improve efficiency. But now, neither would risk such a potentially vulnerable strategy. Proceeding one after the other, they vanished into the subtle black mist of the valley after a few swift movements. At the same time, deep within the valley, along a river flowing swiftly. At the riverbed, something dark and half-buried in the soil stirred, and then two greenish, misty eyes snapped open, gazing with emotionless intensity. ……Far beyond the valley, several thousand miles away, a giant toad several feet tall carried a similar magical disc, flying with seven or eight strange beasts. The toad's large, ox-like eyes occasionally scanned the disc in its mouth, moving at a moderate pace, yet its direction of flight clearly pointed toward the valley. Following closely behind, a red, giant creature, magnified a hundredfold and resembling a colossal dragonfly, held a disc in one hand and murmured something incoherent. "Lord, I have indeed detected unusual fluctuations in that valley, but it is the old crocodile's lair there. It is exceptionally fierce; I'm not sure I could stand against it. I shall merely report to you and request that you come personally to handle it." "Hmph. Not merely uncertain—once you go there, you'll certainly be swallowed whole." The magical crocodile was only a step away from reaching the Sacred Rank—something even the three elders would not lightly encounter. You're certain you haven't mistaken it, that the human artifact's response is indeed specifically directed at that valley? Should you be wrong, don't expect me to be gentle afterward." The giant salamander emitted a low hum, his expression seemingly unconvinced. "Rest assured, Elder. I've examined the situation thoroughly, multiple times—ten times over—I can confirm with absolute certainty that the human artifact's response is indeed specifically targeted at that valley." The dragon-like creature with compound eyes flashed them several times, nearly puffing out his chest in assurance. "Very well. If you can indeed find that celestial fairy within the valley, your reward will be most generous." The giant salamander clearly didn't place much hope in the words of the young creature behind him, merely offering a casual remark. That's quite understandable! After bursting forth from the Mountain of Magic with a group of mid-to-high-tier beasts, it swiftly eliminated half of the spiritual realm beings who had arrived from outside and searched extensively for the Zhixian using the stolen legal disk. Yet, it found no useful leads. Despite the disk's repeated responses, it consistently missed the mark, failing to detect any trace of the Zhixian. Consequently, the creature began to harbor little hope for this mission. It even started contemplating where to proceed next should this valley expedition yield no results. As for the other several high-tier beasts trailing behind, having suffered a series of empty pursuits over the past few days, they now appeared listless and sluggish. The great toad and its companions journeyed on with distracted minds, unaware that a thin veil of blood mist trailed behind them, some dozen miles away, following their group. Within that mist, a slender silhouette—almost faintly imperceptible—rose and fell, subtly appearing and disappearing. ...Han Li and the crystalline female companion departed the mountain range where the magical ape resided. The journey below unfolded remarkably smoothly, with no further obstacles encountered. In just five days, they covered half the remaining distance and arrived at the misty expanse where the face-heron had been slain that day. Upon seeing this mist, even though they were eager to press on, they naturally slowed their flight speed, discussed briefly, and then cautiously entered the mist. Yet whenever his divine awareness briefly passed over one black spiritual beast ring embedded in the sleeve, a touch of frustration stirred within him. The Spirit-Whispering Beast—a creature that had suddenly displayed great prowess—remained unconscious to this day. When his awareness swept over it, the vitality and spiritual energy that the beast had depleted the day before had already recovered by half, indicating an astonishing recuperative capacity. Yet when he directly attempted to connect with its spirit consciousness, hoping to awaken it, there was absolutely no response. Had it not been for his clear sense of the unbroken bond between himself and the beast, he would have almost thought it a lifeless object. Of course, this did not mean that Han Li truly had no means at all to awaken the beast. After considering several times, he ultimately abandoned the idea. Based on his experience, when a spiritual beast enters a state of self-induced slumber, it typically does so as a means of self-evolution or self-protection, and generally resists any forced intervention to awaken it. Han Li had always placed great trust in the Spirit-Whispering Beast, and that trust had only deepened following the unusual changes that occurred several days prior. It was better to let it unfold naturally and awaken on its own. With this thought in mind, Han Li temporarily set the matter of the beast aside, drew back his divine awareness, and turned his attention inward to examine his own internal condition. It was truly astonishing to see how far this situation could develop, and Han Li was genuinely eager to find out. Seeing that the Shisi Ling Fire was gradually refining the Golden Orpheus Fire without any issues, Han Li withdrew his divine awareness and maintained constant vigilance around him. Although the area shrouded in mist was quite extensive, Han Li and Xian Xian had flown through it without encountering any attacks from wild beasts. It seemed that the earlier humanoid eagles were the only high-level creatures within this misty region. Due to the suddenness of their demise, no other high-level beasts had migrated into the area within just a few days. Thus, their return journey would now proceed smoothly and unimpeded. With no incidents along the way and having traversed the path once again, they naturally made good progress compared to their previous visit. After half a day, they successfully crossed the entire misty expanse and reached its edge. However, as Qinghong had just soared out of the mist, she suddenly halted mid-air, her trailing light fading. Han Li stepped into view, but upon seeing the scene ahead, his face had turned slightly pale.