When the vast cloud of fiery smoke, together with the blazing flames, vanished, clearing the sky, the colossal toad transformed into a strange, crimson-hot entity—like a suspended, blazing sun—emitting such intense heat that everything within several miles seemed enveloped in a furnace. At the very center, Han Li experienced an astonishingly high temperature, so intense that the very air around him began to hum and blur faintly. For most mid-to-lower level cultivators, such heat would likely sear through their bodies, turning them into ashes, even their immortal essences vulnerable to combustion. Yet Han Li, though immersed in this scorching heat, merely furrowed his brow slightly and then sharply struck his celestial crown. A surge of silvery flame erupted from his head, cascading down to his feet, fully enveloping his form. The surrounding intense heat, as if drawn by a powerful magnetic force, flowed into this silvery flame. Within a radius of十余丈, the air instantly became remarkably cool and refreshing. Han Li floated motionless, arms folded, gazing steadily upward at the massive crimson frog in the air, his eyes never blinking, his expression utterly calm. In reality, he did have a few thoughts running through his mind. Fire-based spiritual energy inherently possesses protective and demonic-eliminating properties, making high-level beasts with such pure elemental prowess exceptionally rare. Even more remarkable was this advanced beast's mastery of controlling fire energy to such an extraordinary degree. Yet, could this creature truly believe that such abilities would be enough to defeat him? Han Li let out another quiet chuckle, then suddenly rubbed his palms together and separated them. A thunderous roar erupted, and a golden electric arc instantly materialized, swirling around his body, gradually thickening and expanding outward in all directions. Amidst the brilliant lightning, a vast circular electric grid took shape, fully enclosing him. At the same time, Han Li flipped both palms upward, and one after another, strange, glowing runes surged forth from his hands, vanishing into the surrounding electric arcs. Han Li smiled softly and, with a gentle shake of his five fingers holding the golden sphere, the ball spun smoothly in his palm, as if about to be launched. The giant toad, who had been expending great effort to prepare a powerful secret technique, suddenly grew pale, barely pausing to think—his body surged forward instantly, transforming into a roaring column of flame that shot downward. Seeing this, Han Li slightly drew his lips, then lifted the golden sphere, which leapt and vanished in an instant. He himself stepped back suddenly. The space behind him, which had seemed empty, suddenly burst into bright emerald light, and blossoms of jade lotus emerged. With a seemingly casual step, Han Li disappeared into the midst of the lotus blooms. The fiery column crashed onto the lotuses below. Yet the lotuses, like paper lanterns, instantly scattered into scattered points of emerald light. However, as the crimson flames plunged into the emerald glow, they merely flashed once and vanished without a trace. The fiery column suddenly exploded, spreading out into a vast sea of flames stretching over an acre. A flash of red light then revealed the colossal body of the giant toad, still with its eyes closed, yet filled with astonishment as it gazed at the scattered points of green light ahead. A crimson glow unfurled from the魔兽's forelimbs, then solidified into a massive, glowing red claw, which surged forward and slammed down upon the frontal light screen. This claw indeed exhibited extraordinary mastery of internal cultivation techniques—before it had fully made contact, a sudden burst of rushing sound erupted, and several streaks of red light, each a few cun long, flashed forth from the claw's surface. "Crack!" The red claw instantly tore through a vast expanse of the jade-green light screen. Yet beyond the screen, a deep, dark void emerged, appearing profoundly boundless. Undeterred, the red claw immediately swung again, and several streaks of light flashed out, cutting through the void. Radiant green light surged forth, and suddenly, countless green lotus blossoms bloomed in the previously empty space, densely packed and rapidly spreading across the entire void. The red streaks, upon striking, were instantly absorbed and submerged within the blossoms. Upon witnessing this scene, the giant toad was momentarily startled, but promptly accelerated his spell-casting. At once, the massive crimson claw swelled to several times its original size. A low hum resonated, and then it split open, revealing a brilliant, radiant glow that burst forth with thunderous roars, spreading out rapidly and instantly expanding to over ten zhang in diameter. The nearby Qinglian stems, upon touching this glow, instantly turned into wisps of green smoke and vanished without a trace. This crimson glow proved remarkably forceful, spinning steadily and then rushing forward, as if poised to completely obliterate the Qinglian. Yet, at that very moment, a flash of silver flame appeared above the glow, and a silver phoenix of about a foot in size surged forth, spreading its wings and plunging headlong into the crimson light. The entire glow trembled, and an odd "crackling" sound emanated from its center. Then, the glow began to shrink at an astonishing pace, becoming progressively smaller. Within a short while, it had shrunk to just a few feet in size, and finally dispersed completely, revealing once again the silver phoenix. This fire bird absorbed the remaining red glow with a graceful arch of its neck and a clear trill, only to vanish in a sudden "pop," transforming into scattered silver flames. Below, the colossal toad grew furious, roaring lowly once more, then suddenly flared its pair of jet-black wings behind it, sweeping them powerfully. Instantly, a surge of black magical wind erupted around the creature, spiraling rapidly and intensifying into a fierce gale. At the same time, the toad began chanting softly, and flames surged up from its body. Wind fed the fire, and fire gained strength from the wind—miraculously, the two elements fused into a towering column of black-and-red wind and flame, rising skyward. The toad did not stop there. When its chanting abruptly ceased, it suddenly opened its mouth and expelled a purple-hued flying sword. This sword shimmered and instantly fragmented into numerous palm-sized, thin blades, each flashing in and embedding themselves into the wind column. Suddenly, the wind column roared with sharp cries, and countless streaks of purple light surged to the surface, rapidly thickening at an astonishing pace—seeming to grow one circle thicker every second. The momentum was truly overwhelming! When it first appeared, it was only a few inches long, but in a short while it swelled rapidly to a length of several zhang, its vines bending swiftly and blossoming, bearing fruit that coalesced into a small, jade-green gourd, glistening with moisture. At that moment, a surge of luminous streaks rippled across the surrounding light screens, transforming into countless lotus blossoms. As the lotuses bloomed simultaneously, each trembled and projected slender sword-like shadows, each about an inch long; upon a single flash, these shadows vanished, absorbed into the gourd. Suddenly, a delicate green sword-mark emerged on the gourd's surface, faint and subtle, yet immediately, a cascade of vibrant hues—five colors of light—rose from the screens and spiraled down the vines, flowing into the gourd. The sword-mark instantly became vivid and shimmered with the five-toned radiance. This was precisely the spring-lotus sword array's signature technique—the "Essence Sword." Such a grand ability required a substantial supply of celestial and terrestrial vital energy to be maintained. Thus, at first, he did not activate the array's hallmark illusion, but instead focused solely on channeling and drawing upon the surrounding celestial He had already anticipated that his control over a portion of the celestial and terrestrial vital energies would be taken away by the other party. Yet he hadn't expected that the other party would remain entirely focused on perfecting their own divine techniques, making no move at all. As a result, the sword of vital energy formed smoothly and continued to draw upon the surrounding celestial and terrestrial vital energies, steadily enhancing its power. The colossal toad sensed the thick concentration of vital energies outside the sword array and witnessed the strange phenomenon unfolding in the sky, which left it somewhat astonished. Seizing this opportunity, it also completed its secret technique. With a low exhalation, it stepped forward and solidified its presence in the sky. However, at that very moment, a faint voice from the heavens spoke: "Cut." The gourd inverted, and as light flowed through its mouth, a flash of radiant sword emerged—about a foot long, shimmering with five colors of ethereal light.