With a loud "crack," the golden light burst open, spewing out streams of silver seals. Under the flashing silver glow, the characters on the seals gradually sank into the mountain stone and then swiftly darted and swayed through the mountain's interior. Han Li remained quietly suspended in the air, expression neutral, making no further movements. After a cup of tea's worth of time, the circular disc floating in the void beneath suddenly emitted a low hum, followed by a surge of brilliant golden light. Seeing this, Han Li's brow lifted slightly, and with a single hand gesture toward the lower area, the disc trembled and shot upward, vanishing in a flash before mysteriously appearing in his palm. He glanced down. A brilliant, radiant orb now shimmered on the disc's surface. Drawing a brief, slightly strained smile, Han Li's body flashed with a yellow glow, and he immediately launched himself downward toward the mountain peak. Silent and seamless, he vanished into the mountain, moving through its core at an astonishing speed. Within just a moment, his vision brightened, and a vast cave appeared mysteriously beneath him. A luminous silver orb, the size of a human head, floated motionless in the center of the cave, formed by the silver runes that had previously emerged from the disk. As Duan Guang withdrew his energy, Han Li materialized within the cave and swiftly scanned the surroundings, immediately spotting several winding passageways extending from the space. His expression shifted slightly, and he strode purposefully toward one of them. The passage was pitch black, almost devoid of light. Yet, with a simple gesture, Han Li summoned several translucent crystal stones from his sleeve, which spiraled upward and remained suspended above his head. Instantly, the passage became as bright as day. After walking only a short distance, Han Li extended his divine awareness and swept it across the uneven stone walls. Then, after a brief pause, he opened his mouth and expelled a beam of jade-green light, which flashed and struck the wall. Under the sharp sword-like light, the stone wall crumbled as if it were tofu, splitting cleanly in two. In a moment, a stone cave of a foot in diameter appeared on the stone wall. A strange, resonant sound, "ding," echoed mysteriously from within the black hole, standing out clearly in the narrow passage. Upon hearing it, Han Li's face brightened with a touch of joy. With one hand, he chanted a spell and pointed at the void within the cave. A moment later, a small green sword shot back from inside, its blade pierced through a chunk of black-purple, unidentified mineral stone. "Indeed, it's here. The reserves are quite substantial—should we wish to carry them all away, it would take several days of work." Han Li raised his hand to retrieve the sword, took the stone in his hands, and examined it carefully before murmuring to himself. Naturally, he did not intend to stay here as a miner. With a simple gesture, he brushed his hand over his storage bracelet, and several beams of luminous light shot out, forming several differently shaped automatons before him. Though these automatons were of very low rank, they were more than sufficient as laborers for a mining operation. Han Li struck his head once more, releasing his second immaterial embryo to remain within the cave and oversee the activities of the puppets. He then activated his earth-soaring technique and arrived at the summit. At that moment, Qu, accompanied by tens of thousands of flying-harbor fish-ghost pills, flew in from the lake surface and handed over her storage bracelet containing the pills to Han Li. After inspecting them, he was highly satisfied, praised them a few times, and carefully stored the bracelet. "Master, Qu has sensed that there are quite a few medicinal herbs on this island. I shall go and collect them." After a moment's hesitation, Qu suddenly said this to Han Li. "Medicinal herbs? As you yourself are a celestial and terrestrial spirit-being, your sense of awareness is indeed promising. Well, there aren't any particularly powerful beasts here, and we have ample time. Go and gather a few then." Han Li was somewhat surprised by this, yet he did not hesitate to object. After thinking it over, he nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Master. Then I shall go." The young girl beamed with delight. With a flash of white light, she transformed into a radiant glow, rising into the air, then spiraling once before shooting toward another nearby green mountain peak. Han Li smiled and immediately found a large boulder nearby, settling himself casually in a meditative posture. He shook his sleeve, and several array flags of varying colors shot out, flickering briefly before vanishing into the surrounding void. A soft "puff" sound, and a five-colored luminous curtain materialized, enveloping the entire mountain—yet, upon a single flash, it mysteriously dissolved. From above, the scene appeared almost unchanged from before, as if nothing had happened—except that the figure who should have been seated on the boulder was now completely gone. Only after setting up the seal did Han Li feel at ease, raising one hand and chanting a spell, his body radiating golden light, and a golden silhouette emerging behind him—none other than the Buddha's sacred form. He then touched the form with his finger. At once, the triple-headed, six-armed form shimmered with purple runes, transforming into a golden body that stood motionless before him. Han Li narrowed his eyes, studying the golden form for a long while, before suddenly raised one hand in a gesture. One of the three heads of the golden body opened its mouth and emitted a sphere of silver light, within which a distinct object was faintly enclosed. It was precisely the silver ruler that Han Li had captured when he had slain the young man with the golden horns. Though not a heavenly treasure, the ruler had displayed extraordinary wonders on that day, its power undeniable—likely a celestial treasure of the rank of a heavenly immortal. Though Han Li had never been certain about it, he now had the opportunity to examine it closely. As the silver ruler flashed and was drawn into his hands, Han Li gently traced his fingers over its surface while slowly closing his eyes, sending his divine awareness deep into the ruler. His expression remained calm and composed throughout, and only after an indeterminate length of time did he suddenly open his eyes. The "Hun Yuan Scale" turned out to be a celestial treasure; once one practices the treasure technique inscribed within it, one can command the artifact. He murmured softly, then his palm, holding the silver scale, flashed with a vibrant blue light, channeling streams of pure spiritual energy into the treasure. At that moment, the silver scale emitted a resonant hum, trembling and suddenly spewing forth a shimmering silver aura. Within this aura, ancient characters appeared in neat, orderly rows. Han Li's eyes flashed as he silently absorbed the treasure technique into his memory. With a simple flick of his wrist, the aura dispersed, and the artifact vanished in an instant. Then, he retracted his golden form, raised both hands, and began to practice the treasure technique inscribed on the Hun Yuan Scale. Time flew by swiftly—three days passed in the blink of an eye. With Han Li now at the peak of his Liang Xu stage, he naturally did not need to train as long as he had back when he first cultivated the Xutian Ding. In just three days, he had fully mastered the Treasury Technique of this treasure, absorbing the scroll into his body to eliminate the need for further income from his surroundings. During this period, the puppets stationed below had nearly exhausted the unknown mineral deposits hidden deep within the mountain. It's expected that within another day or so, the mission would be completed. Meanwhile, the young girl, Qu, had gathered a substantial amount of medicinal herbs from the island, some of which were truly rare and precious in the spiritual realm—quite an unexpected bonus. Though there had been no incidents for two consecutive days, Qu had grown bolder, beginning to search for particularly elusive spiritual herbs growing deep beneath the nearby lakes. Han Li, focused on refining the Treasury Technique at a crucial stage, only offered brief verbal instructions, saying little else. Of course, he naturally maintained a subtle divine awareness anchored within the girl, ready to respond should any unforeseen event arise. Whether this was foresight or simply the beginning of an inevitable trouble, remained to be seen. Half a day after he had completed the cultivation of the Tongbao Technique, while meditating and restoring his spirit atop the mountain peak, he suddenly felt something—an intense chill swept over his face. With a cold voice, he exclaimed, "You're dead," and instantly transformed into a streak of jade-green light, bursting through the seal and speeding off toward a certain direction. After a few flashes, the brilliant streak vanished at the horizon. Almost simultaneously, above the lake surface hundreds of miles away from the island, three beams of flight light raced urgently toward the island. Among the white glow stood a small figure—none other than Qu'er. Several miles behind them, four strange triangular war chariots pursued relentlessly. Though each chariot was no more than several dozen feet in size, its surface was covered in green rust, dimly glowing, and even showing signs of wear and tear. Yet their speed was astonishing—within a single flick, they glided silently, covering dozens of feet. Even though Qu'er, a master of flight techniques, could only gradually be drawn closer by the steadily advancing chariots. As for the other two figures among the preceding streaks of light, their flight speed even surpassed that of Qu'er, and they managed to maintain a steady distance from the trailing vehicle, as if barely keeping pace. "Gah! Moon Brother, you've already depleted a great deal of your vital energy in the first battle. Even if you now draw upon your full potential, where will you go? If you wish to preserve your position, hand over the Nine-Flame Grasses you're holding. I can allow you to dissolve into spirit form and begin your next life." A hoarse, somewhat impatient male voice issued from the vehicle behind, clearly growing irritated. "Hmph. Even if I completely destroy this precious herb, you'll never manage to claim even a single portion of it." A cool, clear voice resonated from the blue-hazy streak of light ahead. "Moon Sister, there's no need to waste words with them. After all, they seized the treasure and then turned on us right away—now we can't trust them at all." Another voice, firm and deeply agitated, echoed from the gray-hued streak. "Xu Lao, please don't worry. After all that has happened, I now find it truly ridiculous that I should still doubt their words." The woman said, her voice softening slightly.