Han Li reached this point. Although he knew that breaking through his limits within the Cold Moon Realm would significantly increase his chances, the fact that one member from each team had already advanced to the Consolidated stage was still remarkably impressive when compared to the situation in the Spirit Realm. Fortunately, the Cold Moon Realm only opens once every ten thousand years. Otherwise, the number of Consolidated-stage practitioners on the Thunderstorm Continent would likely far surpass those on the other two continents. Nevertheless, Han Li remained somewhat puzzled about his own early transmission—would it merely be a coincidence? He found himself wondering. Han Li naturally did not know that all this was directly linked to the immortal fruit sealed within his arm. As a treasure embodying the laws of another realm, even while in a state of seal, the fruit's resistance to the strong repulsion of the Cold Moon Realm's laws exerted a stronger influence on its host than on ordinary alien beings. Thus, among all the participants, Han Li was the very first to be sent away from the Cold Moon Realm. And now, the chaos unfolding before them leaves these newly returned Tianyun people utterly stunned, nearly unable to believe what they are witnessing. They had only just left the Guanghan Realm a year ago, yet the two great fires have suddenly erupted all the way to their rear stronghold, Yun City. However, these people had managed to survive the journey back from Guanghan—no ordinary individuals. They knew that now was not the time to question the details, so several of them, growing impatient, instantly summoned their treasures and prepared to join the battle in the skies. Yet at that very moment, a flash of red light suddenly appeared in the heavens, swiftly descending and settling into the lower airspace between the two arrays—there, standing out, was an elderly man they recognized from before. He wore a light blue battle armor, with his eyes slightly yellowed. "Finally, all of you have returned," he said. "The elders have remained here to face the high-ranking beings of the Jiaochi Clan." However, when the elder, Master Weng, departed, he had given instructions: "If any of you return by teleportation, immediately proceed to the Spirit-Command War Fort of the Wangu Clan." The elderly man, whose origin clan was unknown, rushed to Master Han and the others, shouting urgently, then threw down a token-like object before vanishing into the sky with a flash of light. Raising both hands, he unleashed a dense stream of crimson lightning and fire, which surged toward a Jiaochi clan warrior who had charged him. The Jiaochi warrior roared and instantly erupted with clusters of white glowing flames. The two engaged in fierce combat, thundering in unison. Below, Han and the others exchanged puzzled glances. The token was then caught by the middle-aged man who had advanced to the Consolidated stage, who raised his hand to absorb it, examined it carefully with his spiritual awareness, and upon seeing something noteworthy, passed it on to the Moon Immortal within the opposing array. "Indeed, it is genuine. I also know this messenger. He is from the Qing Clan—Master Yu. He serves as a judicial guard in the Council of Elders." The Moon Immortal reviewed the token in her hands and confidently addressed the others. "Then, we shall follow the command. I suspect Elder Wang's order must carry deeper significance." The middle-aged man paused slightly before speaking, his tone subtly carrying a hint of authority. After all, he had now attained the rank of Saint Clan, and those once of the same level, such as Shi Kun, could no longer be compared to him. The others found the tone somewhat uncomfortable, though they offered no objections and merely nodded in silence. Immediately, the individuals within the spell array rose into the air and flew off toward another direction of the cloud city. Along the way, although they encountered several intercepting Jiao Chi warriors, they were easily defeated by a single strike—given that no Saint-level figures were present, how could they possibly stand against two early Consolidation-stage and numerous Late Transcendence-stage opponents? After moving just a short distance away from the magical array, although the city of Yuncheng remained chaotic, the number of Jiaochi people had clearly increased. Various sizes of Jiaochi war vessels, war beasts, and armored troops were densely scattered throughout the city. Han Li even spotted, on his way, a colossal automaton nearly ten thousand feet tall lying motionless on the ground below. Originally supposed to be as pure and flawless as jade, its body now resembled a crumbling mountain peak, with hardly any intact sections remaining. Seeing such a massive automaton, Han Li was momentarily startled, but immediately recalled the twelve enormous spherical formations stationed around the city's perimeter—the guardians of Yuncheng. Undoubtedly, this was one of the twelve automata formed by the city's defenders. The fact that such a being, reportedly possessing power comparable to a late Consolidation-stage cultivator, had been destroyed here so completely demonstrated the overwhelming strength of the Jiaochi army. Han Li estimated that the chances of saving Yuncheng were now only about one in ten. What troubled him more was that, throughout their journey, they had not encountered a single Saint-stage being. It seemed as though all the top-tier beings from both sides had vanished completely from the city. Perhaps both parties' highest-ranked figures had gone out to battle beyond the city walls. Han Li silently flew ahead, pondering these developments. Neither Liu Shui'er nor Shi Kun spoke to him along the way, behaving as though they were complete strangers to him. As for Yue Xianzi, aside from saying a few words when initially verifying the token, she said nothing else. She occasionally glanced at Han Li, offering only a smile—never transmitting any special messages. Han Li paid no particular attention to these gestures, but rather, the growing chaos in Yun City weighed heavily on his mind. The Angle-Chi army had breached Yun City—would this disruption affect the matter of their shared use of the super teleportation array in unforeseen ways? Thus, without encountering any resistance from beings at the Saint Stage or above, they steadily advanced all the way to Baoyun Mountain, even together destroying several war vessels and over a hundred war chariots along the way. Upon arrival, the traces of the Jiaochi people vanished, replaced instead by numerous lines of Tianyun infantry. Among the eight sacred mountains, a radiant aura surged forth, with successive layers of defensive spells radiating outwards. In the surrounding mist, bronze-colored war chariots and towering, intricately colored automata could be seen scattered throughout. The site was astonishingly well guarded. "This black-faced man exuded an unusually peculiar aura; even Han Li momentarily found it difficult to determine his cultivation level, only sensing that he seemed to possess some special divine technique of extraordinary power." "Ah, Master Bing! How could we possibly trouble you to wait again?" Upon seeing the black-faced man, the Moon Lady and the middle-aged man who had advanced to the Consolidated Stage were both startled, and hurriedly approached to pay their respects. The other regular residents of Yun City, including Liu Shui'er, also reacted with surprise and came forward to bow. Han Li subtly furrowed his brow, yet remained composed and merely bowed slightly in return. "Master Moon and Master Ning have both reached the Saint Stage now. From this point on, we shall be peers. There's no need for such formality. Please all follow me to meet Elder Wang!" The man smiled warmly and waved his hand to the two who had already advanced. "Wait—Elder Wang is even still within the fortress!" Master Ning was first startled, then quickly beamed with joy. Everyone else breathed a collective sigh of relief. Since the senior master of the Mahayana period, Tian Yun, is here, the situation must not be any worse than it already is. The man with a stern face nodded gently, smiled, and said nothing further, simply taking off toward a mountain peak. Han Li and the others naturally followed close behind, while the hundred or so armored soldiers formed two flanking columns, guarding them on either side. After a short while, as they climbed over the towering mountain, a fortress several miles in size came into view. The fortress was enclosed by a series of high walls, upon which stood numerous silver-white statues—varied in form, some in the shape of beasts, others in human form. Some stood over a hundred paces tall, others several tens of paces, all motionless yet exuding an inexplicable aura of ominous power. On the fortress walls, a row of young soldiers clad in green armor held long spears, moving in orderly fashion to patrol the perimeter. Yet they showed no signs of life or vitality—each one appeared to be a perfectly still humanoid automaton. Near the castle, there stood several metal automata, each towering hundreds of zhang high, holding swords and spears, standing firmly in place. In the lower reaches of the castle, five or six strange luminous arrays, each spanning over ten zhang in width, shimmered with an eerie glow, their purpose still unclear. This was precisely the ancient mansion of the Wan Gu Clan that Han Li had visited once before. It served as the headquarters of the Wan Gu Clan in Yun City, yet the numerous floating lights now emerging and entering the castle from various directions clearly indicated that it had become a temporary command center, with representatives from multiple clans converging here. Under the guidance of the bearded man, Han Li and his companions landed directly before the Hall of Spiritual Communion. After being scanned by two white-robed guards at the entrance, they all entered the hall. Inside, the hall was not crowded—only three people were present. One sat calmly on a chair, his expression composed and serene, the young man from the Tian Yun Clan who had attained the stage of Great Mastery. The two standing beside him were merely cultivators at the stage of Transcendent, both respectfully listening to the young man’s instructions. "See here, the Supreme Elder!" As soon as the Moon Immortal and the middle-aged man entered the hall, they immediately led the others forward to pay their respects. "Ah, you've returned. Good—very good. Two of you have now reached the rank of Saint Clan. All rise, please." Upon seeing the Moon Immortal and the middle-aged figure who had solidified his form, the young man's eyes brightened slightly, and a gentle smile played at the corners of his mouth. The Moon Immortal and the others naturally rose to their feet. The young man named Wang then glanced over the rest of the attendees. Han Li found it hard to shake off the impression that, upon seeing him, the young man's smile in his eyes seemed to carry an extra touch—more than when he had first seen the Moon Immortal or the middle-aged figure of the Cong surname achieve their advancement. Recalling the young man's unexpected gift of the "Heavenly Qi Seal" earlier, Han Li felt a slight sense of unease. Fortunately, after glancing at Han Li, the young man shifted his gaze and then waved his hand toward the two beings at his side. Instantly, the two beings at the炼虚 stage promptly withdrew and