Han Li's eyes flickered, fixed on the green chair atop the dais. "Could it be that we truly must journey into the Star Palace Map, sit upon this chair, and only then proceed? If so, the outcome remains uncertain—either blessing or misfortune. The secrecy in which this place has been preserved suggests something truly remarkable. What could be of such profound significance that even the immortals would value it so highly? If I do not fully investigate, how could I possibly be content to leave without knowing? Yet just now, the terrifying vision within the Star Palace Map had made me deeply apprehensive about summoning my golden body to sit upon this very chair at the heart of the map." Though he was usually extremely cautious, the overwhelming allure of the immortal sage's treasure prompted him to make a decisive stand. At the same moment, the golden form of the Buddhist saint's body had its dark eyes flashing with unusual brilliance, and immediately began to stride toward the chair. A moment later, the tall golden form halted before the chair, which shimmered with lush green vitality. Its gaze flickered, as if assessing the mismatch between the chair's size and its own towering stature—seeming difficult to fit comfortably. At once, the saint's body performed a single hand gesture, pressing a seal with its fingers. Golden light rippled across its surface, and the form rapidly shrunk, until it had reduced to a height of one zhang. Only then did it move to sit down, instinctively extending its hands to either side of the chair, and began to chant again. This time, as the incantations echoed, immediate changes appeared around the golden form. Suddenly, a flash of green light surged from the chair. One after another, silver characters emerged from the surface of the chair, spiraling and dancing above and below the golden form. As the incantation grew stronger, delicate points of five-colored spiritual light gradually appeared in the void above the dais, becoming denser and denser, as if countless five-colored snowflakes were drifting endlessly through the space—radiant and splendid. Han Li's heart tightened; he fixed his gaze on everything above the dais, his eyes never blinking. Almost at the moment the five-colored light points emerged, the vast celestial map on the platform suddenly burst forth with glimmers of gold, silver, and white. As the light from the sun, moon, and stars danced and shimmered, they fragmented into streaks of three-colored spiritual radiance. The luminous aura then rolled and surged, instantly forming a magnificent light array composed of silver kōwén characters, golden zhuànwen characters, and an entirely new, previously unseen white script, completely enveloping the entire platform. The nine silver-armored puppets and the golden-bodied bodhisattva figures seated on the chairs precisely occupied the core and vital points of the array, forming an unexpectedly profound and intricate connection between them. Han Li observed this with flashes of unusual brilliance in his eyes, yet took no immediate action. The second Yuan-Embryo was reciting the final lines of the scripture. A flash of green light passed through the eyes of the nine puppets, and they finally took action. Suddenly, all the puppets shifted their steps—either forward or backward—each stepping half a step away from their original positions. Though only a half-step change, a new surge of restriction immediately emerged on the platform, resonating with the light array and transforming the scene within. The originally suspended five-colored light points trembled and fell like raindrops into the array. At the same time, the nine puppets grasped their silver spears tightly, and a golden-yellow flame surged forth from their bodies. The golden flame contrasting with the silver armor gave the puppets a majestic, heavenly aura, like celestial generals. Yet these puppets were no mere decorative figures; as the golden flames rose, powerful streams of spiritual pressure surged upward from each one. This spiritual pressure was so powerful that it instantly caused the primordial qi around the platform to surge and swirl, eventually forming a golden gust hurricane that roared violently. At a distance of thirty paces, Han Li was only lightly brushed by the outer edge of the hurricane, yet his face instantly paled as if struck by an immense force. A flash of golden light rippled across his body, and he shot backward like a powerful bowstring. In a moment, he reappeared at a distance of over twenty paces, staggering several times before finally steadying himself. The strength of the spiritual pressure emitted by these puppets was truly astonishing—despite his body, which surpassed that of an ordinary Saint-stage cultivator, he could barely withstand it for a moment. Han Li was both startled and alarmed, yet he could not pause to attend to this matter, so he quickly raised his head toward the platform. There, the nine armored warriors, glowing with golden light, had their silver spears tremble, each then projecting a golden beam upward toward the golden luminous orb floating in the sky. Vanishing instantly, it merged into the midst. Suddenly, a deep, resonant rumble echoed within the luminous sphere, and the radiance spun rapidly, gradually taking shape into a vast vortex. "Pffft!" A swift circulation of tri-color light surged through the immense glow, and a tri-color symbol, nearly as large as the light array itself, rose gently from the center and shot upward, vanishing almost immediately. A short while later, the giant symbol sank into the golden vortex. The golden radiance surged violently, and a thunderclap rang out, followed by a cool, resonant spatial ripple emanating from the vortex. "Boom, boom!" The golden light columns erupting from the silver halberd thickened significantly—now more than double in diameter, reaching the thickness of a large bowl. Meanwhile, the light array on the platform flared brilliantly, solidifying into a tangible, three-color light curtain that enveloped the entire stage. Within the luminous screen, countless golden and silver characters surged forth wildly, carrying off the resonant mantras, spiraling toward the Buddha's golden form seated on the chair. The entire light array was pushed to its absolute limits, emitting a hum so powerful it thundered like a storm! At the same time, Han Li suddenly felt the surrounding scenery dim. Upon focusing his attention, he was startled to find himself once again standing within the vast starry expanse he had previously witnessed. This time, however, the scene appeared from a strangely elevated, panoramic perspective, gazing down upon everything with an eerie grace. Floating beside him were large, bright white stars, each one glowing intensely. The golden form, the chair, the tri-color light array beneath his feet, the armored soldiers, and the golden vortices—all were now embedded within the celestial realm. Han Li, without hesitation, merely shook his sleeve, launching a sword of a cun's length straight into the air. The blade spun once, transforming into a streak of jade-green light. A flash of cold brilliance! Where the green light passed, several stars were instantly scattered and broken apart. But a moment later, these scattered stars flashed with a brilliant white light and instantly restored themselves to their original state. Seeing this, Han Li raised a brow, yet his heart unexpectedly grew a little lighter. This starry expanse seemed not to be a complete illusion. This time, his consciousness remained remarkably clear, and he had not instantly lost himself. However, just as this thought passed through Han Li's mind, the spatial vibrations within the golden-yellow vortex intensified dramatically—by several times over. The vibrations now took on a tangible form, manifesting as visible waves that surged out from the vortex like ripples, spreading rapidly in all directions. Wherever they passed, the void grew momentarily hazy and disoriented, as if the entire cosmos had suddenly inverted, unable to maintain its balance. Suddenly, a tremendous roar, as though the heavens had been torn asunder, echoed through the space. From the golden-yellow vortex, a colossal, creamy-white light beam erupted, vanished in an instant, and precisely struck the luminous array on the platform, fully enveloping the golden bodhisattva seated on the chair. The light column subtly echoed with thunder and lightning, and was densely woven with intricate, five-colored runes. Even from as far away as dozens of zhang, Han Li could sense the exceptionally pure spiritual energy within the column. Yet upon closer inspection, he realized that the energy contained within was not merely spiritual—it also carried an infinite, celestial aura, reminiscent of stars. The second immortal embryo, who had been seated calmly on the chair, had not yet reacted when the light column first touched him. At that very instant, the space surrounding his golden body tightened abruptly, and an irresistible force pressed down upon him with overwhelming strength. Despite the resilience of his golden body, he could not move even a single finger. The pure spiritual energy and the five-colored runes within the column surged forth like a tidal wave, pouring into his golden form with relentless force, and could not be halted for a moment. Witnessing this scene from the distance in the void, Han Li's face grew pale with concern. At such close proximity, the secondary Yuan婴 and the primary Yuan婴 naturally maintained an intimate connection, so that the secondary Yuan婴 experienced nearly identical sensations to those perceived by the physical form. Under the intense infusion of pure spiritual energy and the vibrant five-colored seals, the玄阴 magic energy of the secondary Yuan婴, which had previously reached the peak of the mid-Yuan婴 stage, suddenly advanced into the late Yuan婴 stage within an instant—seeming as though the original bottleneck had never existed at all. Moreover, under the miraculous force of the luminous light column, the secondary Yuan婴's cultivation continued to surge rapidly. In just a brief moment, it forged its way all the way to the peak of the late Yuan婴 stage, only to encounter a major hurdle characteristic of the Hua Shen stage—a threshold that had once posed an immense challenge, requiring extensive preparation and trembling caution from Han Li himself. Yet, the secondary Yuan婴 merely felt the luminous light column subtly tremble a few times, with the sutra tones within it slightly rising in pitch, and effortlessly passed through this once seemingly insurmountable barrier, smoothly entering the early Hua Shen stage. The cultivation level was still surging upward... and all of this had unfolded within no more than ten breaths. Han Li was utterly stunned, nearly unable to believe the information flowing from the second Yuan婴! Even more astonishing was that, under his own eyes, the three-headed, six-armed Buddha-body, which had been so solid, began to crumble and dissolve piece by piece within the milky-white light column, eventually transforming into thousands of drops of crimson-golden liquid that floated mysteriously suspended within the column. The second Yuan婴, its body swirling with black qi, was now fully exposed to the light. Yet before Han Li could even pause and ponder whether this development was favorable or not, certain five-colored characters suddenly shrunk into rice-grain-sized dots and then rushed in densely, pouring into the golden liquid drops, vanishing into them completely. These golden drops seemed to undergo an inexplicable cleansing, being washed over and over again. Suddenly, both Han Li's physical form and his second immaterial body emitted a piercing cry that reached deep into their very essences. One's black aura surged violently, rolling and trembling throughout the body, while the other suddenly "gurgle"了一声, its golden light flashing briefly, before plummeting downward from the sky.