He waited until the suction beneath his feet had weakened to a certain degree before taking another step, then paused for a while longer. Thus, it took Han Li half a minute to ascend the final dozen stone steps. Almost as soon as his feet touched the summit, the suction beneath him vanished entirely, and his body became remarkably light—so light that he felt as though he could simply leap into the air without any magical effort at all. Han Li exhaled deeply, and the hazy golden armor on his body instantly vanished. Turning his head, he glanced down toward the mountain base. There, Shi Kun was still hundreds of steps away, breathing heavily and gazing at Han Li with a look of evident frustration. Li Shui'er was even farther, barely visible as a small black dot at two thousand steps distant. Fortunately, both of them knew that although Han Li had gained the initial advantage, the palace was vast, and no one knew whether there were any powerful restrictions within—so they were not overly concerned that all the treasures might be completely enveloped by the other party. Han Li gave a slight smile, knowing that these two would still take a while to reach the summit, and without saying anything, turned around and gazed toward the purple palace before him. Standing some thirty paces away, a grand gate nearly twenty paces high stood firmly in place. The gate was tightly closed, with dozens of large, color-varied crystal stones embedded on its surface, and intricate, densely arranged patterns engraved along its edges, neatly sequenced. After carefully scanning the gate several times, Han Li's eyes flashed, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. He realized then that those dozens of crystal stones—each the size of a human fist—were exceptionally rare, of the finest grade, even purer than the top-tier spiritual stones of the spiritual realm. Han Li murmured softly, "Hm, hm," and shifted his gaze downward, settling on the purple palace wall beside the gate. These walls, constructed of an unknown material, stand only a few to five or six zhang high, yet their core radiates an unusual, violet-hued glow, with various淡 silver characters etched across their surface in differing sizes. Upon seeing this, Han Li's lips curled upward, instantly recognizing the characters as the "silver tadpole script"—a form he had grown familiar with and accustomed to. "Indeed, this place was truly built by immortals of the True Immortal Realm!" Han Li's expression appeared calm on the surface, yet his inner thoughts surged with excitement, his gaze toward the palace growing increasingly fervent. Though he possessed numerous extraordinary treasures and had experienced countless remarkable encounters since beginning his cultivation journey, the very thought that this palace might harbor relics left behind by immortals stirred within him a sense of exhilaration that he could hardly contain. It was no wonder that Cai Liuying and Duan Tianren were so confident that this very location would surely yield the pills capable of helping them surpass their Saint-level bottlenecks. For immortals of the True Immortal Realm, crafting pills beneficial to beings from the lower realms was, naturally, a matter of ease. Yet Han Li was no ordinary person. After steadying his composure, he once again calmed himself and glanced upward at the purple palace walls. Suddenly, he raised his hand and pointed a single finger toward the void. Instantly, a crack of thunder followed, and a pale golden arc of electricity emerged, then swiftly surged toward the space above the palace walls. An unusual phenomenon occurred! As the golden arc struck the seemingly empty expanse above the purple palace walls, a pleasant, celestial melody like flowing water suddenly resonated, and with a flash of purple light, the arc vanished as if it had never been there. Han Li furrowed his brows. Even with the brief activation of his Ming-Qing spiritual sight, he could not discern the subtle magic of that purple glow. When he extended his spiritual awareness toward the palace walls, it only reached the vicinity before being gently pushed back by an invisible force—unable to penetrate even a fraction of the palace structure. Taking a deep breath, Han Li abandoned the plan to cross the ramparts and instead refocused his attention on the palace gates. Compared to the mysterious seals on the palace wall, it was still safer to take the main gate. Although he didn't notice any unusual signs on the hall door, he certainly wouldn't simply rush ahead to open it. After a brief thought, Han Li lightly tapped his wrist storage bracelet, and instantly a sphere of emerald light shot out—but immediately plunged to the ground with a heavy thud. There, a colossal ape automaton, standing two zhang tall, lay on its four limbs, appearing to have been knocked down hard by the force that prevented it from floating. Upon seeing this, Han Li raised an eyebrow, then gently pressed a hand seal and lightly tapped the automaton. At once, a series of crisp cracking sounds echoed from its body, and it slowly rose to its feet. Without any expression, it turned and walked steadily toward the distant palace main gate. Han Li remained still in place, his eyes, however, narrowed slightly and fixed unwaveringly on the automaton's every movement. As a result, the giant ape walked steadily toward the entrance of the hall, lifting both hands and pressing them firmly against the sides of the great door. After a series of flashes of bright green light rippled across the puppet's body, the hall door began to move slowly and was gently pushed open. In addition to these, there seemed to be another small, low pavilion or structure behind the main hall, occupying an extensive area. After a brief hesitation, he sent a mental command to his puppet. The giant ape moved with a grand, deliberate stride and stepped first into the hall. Han Li raised his foot and followed slowly. A short while later, he found himself on the other side of the hall door, finally entering the palace and reaching a corner of the courtyard. The courtyard was not small—measuring nearly five or six hundred paces. Under Han Li's mental guidance, the giant ape headed straight toward the center of the courtyard, intending to pass through it and reach the main hall directly. Han Li followed behind, maintaining a distance of twenty paces to ensure safety in case of any unforeseen events. However, after only a short time, Han Li's expression grew serious. The courtyard, though only a few hundred paces across, seemed to take far longer than expected—the giant ape and he had yet to reach its center. "A spatial illusion!" Han Li narrowed his eyes, suddenly halting the puppet ahead, then turned his head to glance back. To his surprise, though he should have walked several hundred paces forward, there stood a clear, translucent white jade railing just ten or fifteen paces behind him—as if he had never strayed far from the corner of the plaza at all. Han Li was quietly astonished. Without further hesitation, a flash of blue light in his eyes swept across the entire plaza. Yet, everywhere his spiritual vision reached, the scene remained empty and unremarkable—no signs of anomaly whatsoever. Han Li's expression grew slightly troubled, and his mind stirred with surprise. With his spiritual sight, he had never before been unable to penetrate such a mere illusion—a feat that seemed almost unprecedented. After all, the one who had likely laid this seal might be a true immortal from the True Immortal Realm, and such a marvel was not surprising at all. Nevertheless, Han Li had no intention of giving up thus. After taking a deep breath, his entire inner magical energy surged and began to flow along a specific meridian, rushing directly toward his brow and forehead. Within mere moments, a dense mass of black qi coalesced at his brow, and then, with a sudden flash, a translucent black eye emerged from the qi. This was the shattered eye of magic—cultivated by Han Li for hundreds of years. Since its inception in the Human Realm, the liquid magic within Han Li's body had continuously nurtured this eye, and over the years, it had naturally developed several extraordinary and unique abilities. Though primarily focused on spatial magic, it also possessed several specialized techniques effective against illusions and phantasmal phenomena. However, its effects were naturally less pure and refined than those of the spiritual eye magic. During one of his periods of meditation and cultivation on the Thunder Roar Continent, Han Li accidentally combined the shattered eye with the clear and bright spiritual eye in a single spell, resulting in a completely new, unified technique whose power surpassed that of either of the two original eye magics individually. Though this divine ability was indeed extremely powerful, each time it was activated, it demanded a substantial expenditure of spiritual energy. Hence, since mastering this technique, Han Li had only just now employed it in actual combat. Yet recalling his initial attempts at wielding this ability, he felt a growing confidence in his ability to dispel the current illusionary array. Immediately, he began murmuring incantations, and his blue-glowing eyes gradually brightened, becoming increasingly vivid. At the same time, the black extinguishing eyes of the black eye power subtly shifted, and a peculiar flow of dark light rippled continuously, as though a dark gemstone were embedded upon his forehead, exuding an air of mystery. Suddenly, two beams of blue light and one column of black light erupted simultaneously from the three luminous eyes, vanishing swiftly before converging into a single point in front of Han Li. After a brief flicker of light, they seamlessly fused into a black-blue orb—crystalline, transparent, about the size of a clenched fist—resembling a giant eyeball. "Break!" Han Li moved without hesitation, sweeping the orb with one sleeve. A streak of azure light surged forth from the sleeve, darted onto the luminous sphere, and instantly vanished into it. The sphere's surface shimmered, revealing symbols of varying sizes in black and blue, spinning rapidly. In an instant, the sphere radiated intense brilliance, launching countless fine threads of black and blue light in all directions. Though the threads appeared delicate and slender, they shot forth with astonishing speed, reaching every corner of the plaza within the span of a single flicker, weaving together into a vast, black-and-blue net that completely enveloped the entire space. At the same moment, a low, resonant hum emanated from various points across the plaza, and where the net settled, clusters of glowing hues burst into splendor. Suddenly, an unusual spatial ripple surged upward, distorting the space beneath the net. As the plaza's central view slightly blurred, a towering, hazy white gate materialized in the center.