As the five-colored light sword moved, the giant toad gasped, "Not good!" A black-and-red wind-fire column at its side roared and surged upward before the sword even reached its peak. Where the wind-fire power passed, the air twisted and vibrated with a deep, resonant hum, as if the very void had been torn apart. In a flash, the five-colored light sword was engulfed within the column. Under the blazing purple glow, an astonishing roar echoed from within—the light screen formed by the sword array trembled violently, as though it might shatter at any moment. The toad relaxed, a gentle smile spreading across its face. To it, this nearly exhausted every potential of the toad's body, drawing upon the luminous power emanating from the pearls at its temples to manifest a grand, synthesized technique. Such a feat could hardly be contained by a single sword formation. Even the toad's own form would likely have to retreat in the face of this attack. Yet, just as the toad's smile began to form, a clear, dragon-like cry suddenly rose from within the wind-fire column, and then the black-and-red column unexpectedly split in two. With the shimmering hues of five colors, a massive sword, stretching a zhang in length, emerged from within. A flash of light caused the sword to tremble, emitting a resonant hum. The wind and fire energies surrounding it, as if encountering an incomprehensible force, began to emit strange hums and scattered away, fully revealing the sword. At that moment, the five-colored sword spun smoothly, then lightly slashed at the giant toad. The movement was silent and seemingly devoid of any force. Yet, the gray orb resting on the toad's brows suddenly burst with a sharp sound. "Impossible!" the toad cried out, her eyes suddenly opening wide despite having been tightly closed. Her irises now glowed bright red, as if with blood, and faint streams of blood began to seep out. Yet, in the next instant, the toad's head and massive body split cleanly in two without any prior sign or warning. A surge of crimson flame erupted from the severed flesh, rapidly expanding into a vast sea of blazing red fire. The colossal toad's corpse seemed to instantly weather, dissolving into two plumes of pale gray smoke within the flames and vanishing completely from sight. This toad, now possessed, could not even withstand a single strike of the Qi-blade, its spirit barely escaping unscathed. A flash of azure light above, and Han Li emerged from within the sword formation, gazing down at the roaring flames below, and sighed lightly. "Indeed, harnessing the power of heaven and earth is no ordinary secret technique. Back then, when facing that demonic ape, I could not have gathered sufficient heavenly and earthly qi simply because I was within the channel of demonic energy. Otherwise, with this Qi-blade alone, I should have been able to slay the beast. And I wouldn't have had to rely on the Heavenly Treasure, thus preserving my spiritual form." After muttering these words, a trace of regret appeared on Han Li's face. Yet, as a blue glow flashed in his eyes, he carefully studied the flames, and suddenly raised one hand with a slight lift of his brow. A sharp "whoosh," and an object shot forth from the midst of the fire. After a few swift movements, it was seized firmly in Yet it was a bag of pale blue hue, inscribed with several distinct runes that shimmered brilliantly, clearly no ordinary item. "Storage bag?" Han Li expressed a moment of surprise, somewhat uncertain. After a brief pause, the palm holding the bag suddenly darkened to a deep, ink-black, while patches of gray mist surged forth from his palm, swiftly enveloping the bag completely. Then, with a single gesture, a streak of green spell energy shot out and vanished instantly into the bag. The blue bag trembled violently, and its opening glowed briefly before slowly unfolding. "Pop!" A sphere of blue light burst forth, appearing as though it were about to break free and vanish into the air. But Han Li had anticipated this, and certainly would not let it escape. With a cold exhalation, the gray mist surged and recoiled sharply, instantly enclosing the blue light sphere within it. As the gray mist and blue glow intertwined, the sphere gradually revealed its true form— a perfectly clear, luminous orb, glowing softly with a gentle blue radiance. The size of a thumb, with a shimmering, flowing luster on its surface, as if made of crystal. "This is...?" Han Li swept his divine awareness over it, somewhat surprised. "An inner elixir? No. Yet it doesn't seem to be a magical artifact either!" Han Li reached out, drew the orb into his hand, and held it between two fingers, examining it closely before his eyes, yet still unable to determine its origin. "Well, we'll study it more thoroughly later. For now, let's prioritize getting out of here." After a brief thought, Han Li flipped his hand once and produced a jade box, placing the orb inside. Then he glanced down at the crimson flames below, his expression shifting slightly. Without any noticeable movement, a sudden flash of silver light appeared within the sky's jade-like veil, and the Spirit-Consuming Fire Bird surged forth, plunging directly into the heart of the flames. The roaring flames were instantly drawn in by the bird, which then raised its neck in joyful trill, spread its wings, and soared upward, merging completely into Han Li's body. And Han Li clenched his palms, folding the vast expanse of azure light into a cascade of azure lotus blossoms. These azure lotuses gently rotated, then transformed once more into seventy-two slender azure swords. As Han Li moved, he became a streak of shimmering azure lightning, dancing through the air. The swords instantly retracted, vanishing into stillness. Then, without pausing, he surged forward, racing toward the horizon with unwavering momentum, vanishing completely after only a few swift movements. "Is this precisely the embodiment forged by Brother Tie using the Spirit Bone Beads?" asked another elder, whose body shimmered with silver light and whose face was refined and composed, his eyes flashing with keen interest. "Ha ha, Brother Duo indeed knows quite a bit about my abilities," replied the man in green robes, who seemed somewhat unconvinced of the elder's demeanor and offered a chuckle. "If the Spirit Bone Beads embodiment is entrusted to a suitable subordinate, it should be able to manifest at least two to three tenths of the original body's power. With such strength, no one in the Magu Mountain Range—except ourselves—should be able to destroy this embodiment," the silver-robed elder continued, unbothered. "Indeed, that's not certain. Didn't Brother Duo forget that, besides ourselves who accompanied the Sage Ancestor to the Spiritual Realm, there was another companion of our own rank? That great monkey's powers were no less than ours." The man in red robes smiled lightly. "Hmph! That monkey dared to steal the Xuan Tian Fragments—precisely the treasures entrusted jointly by the Sage Ancestor to us—and flee without a trace. How could he now dare to appear here?" "The silvery-robed elder chuckled. "That's not certain at all. I suspect it's thinking of seeking a way to repair the Xuan Tian fragment outside, then using this relic to return to the Sacred Realm." The blood-robed figure replied indifferently. "Repairing the Xuan Tian fragment? Does it still think we're in our ancient Demon Realm? The great cultivators here are no less powerful than the Grand Masters of the Sacred Realm. If it weren't for our desperate situation, the Grand Master wouldn't have sacrificed the Xuan Tian relic, breaking the interface to forcibly bring us here." The silvery-robed elder said, his eyes gleaming. "No need to guess! Once I trace back through my secret techniques after my avatar is destroyed, I'll know exactly who it was. Moreover, my last message from my avatar seems to indicate that your daughter, Blood Ying, was also nearby." The green-robed man said calmly. "Blood Ying! Is it really possible that your avatar was destroyed by my daughter?" "The blood-robed figure chuckled, half-smiling. 'On her own, naturally, it would not be enough. But if we add a newly promoted Saint-tier magical crocodile, it would indeed be possible.'" The green-robed man gazed steadily at the scholar, speaking each word with deliberate clarity. "What? Newly promoted to Saint-tier?" "You mean the magical crocodile?" This time, both the blood-robed figure and the silver-robed elder were startled, exclaiming in unison. "There's no need for surprise, my esteemed friends. I'm certain you'll soon receive firsthand confirmation of this news from your own hands. As for the magical crocodile—could it possibly be anyone else? Naturally, it must be the Black Deep Crocodile." The green-robed man sighed with a touch of humor. "Ah, indeed—it must be it!" Upon hearing the crocodile's identity, the silver-robed elder's expression grew more serious. "If it's this one, then matters will certainly grow complicated. This creature was once the mount of the Yin Luo Sage-Founder. My own sage-founder and the Yin Luo Sage-Founder shared a close friendship." Although we have now been carried away from the Sacred Realm, we still cannot directly confront this crocodile. Indeed, this creature has long defied our authority; now that it has ascended to the Saint Realm, it will likely become even more unruly—posing a growing challenge to our management of the entire mountain range." The blood-robed elder frowned, expressing his growing frustration. "This is not difficult at all. Since this magical crocodile has reached the Saint Realm, the Saint Patriarch will no longer be able to ignore it. Once he is informed, we need not worry about anything further." The green-robed elder spoke with confidence. "That makes sense. With the Saint Patriarch on the verge of awakening, it is indeed appropriate to follow his instructions." The silver-robed elder stroked his beard, nodding in agreement. "Agreed. Then I shall follow your suggestions, both of you." After a moment's thought, the blood-robed elder showed no objections. "Yet I would like to hear your thoughts—especially since the Saint Patriarch is about to awaken, you have dispatched one of your disciples to another realm, and the other has sent your daughter away from here." I have no idea what has happened outside, nor what plans the two of you have. At this moment, the elder in the silver robe suddenly narrowed his eyes and asked. Upon hearing this question from the elder in the silver robe, the man in the green robe and the one in the crimson robe exchanged a brief glance. However, the one in the crimson robe quickly turned his eyes and smiled lightly, asking, "You have so many eyes—why pretend not to know? Your subordinates have also left their homes and are now active, haven't they? Don't tell me you don't know anything about Zhixian!" The man in the green robe remained silent, his expression darkening. "Zhixian? What is Zhixian? When I ordered my subordinates to go out, I only hoped to capture the outsider who caused the death of my son and avenge myself." The elder in the silver robe was momentarily taken aback, clearly surprised.