The three figures from Shi Lun looked gloomy. Yet as soon as a green glow flashed behind the tree, three unfamiliar cultivators suddenly materialized. One wore a yellow scholar's robe and was a handsome man in his thirties. Another carried a black wooden sword, a young Taoist of about seventeen or eighteen. The third was a young man in a green robe, unremarkable in appearance, yet he held a silver scroll in one hand and a small, delicate child in the other—none other than Bai Guo'er. These were naturally the very three who had journeyed with Han Li. It happened to be that after a long and arduous journey, they had just arrived at this very location. Having reached the vicinity of Jiuxian Mountain and having traveled nonstop for some time, they had decided to rest here overnight and explore the nearby market town the next day. But even before they had settled in, Shi Lun and the others arrived at this remote spot and, right under their very eyes, orchestrated a dramatic scene of murder and treasure seizure. Such incidents were, in fact, quite commonplace in the spiritual realm. Yet Shi Lun not only broke his word but also held a young girl hostage to pressure them, which was truly beneath him. The two young men from Hai's righteous heart could no longer bear it, and thus a quiet yet decisive act of rescue naturally unfolded. Of course, this was also because they were aware of the deeply formidable "Brother Han" standing behind them. Even in the worst case, they would surely be safe. When the two grew furious and stepped forward on their own, Han could only sigh and join them. "Who are you people to interfere with our three brothers' affairs?" Seeing that the two were merely Jianji-level cultivators and that the other one was a mere ordinary mortal without any magical abilities, Shi Lun's heart lightened, though he immediately resumed his gloomy tone and renewed his threats. "Master of the Instrument Spirit, your 'Peach-Stubborn, Plum-Substitute Seal' is indeed quite ingenious—it allows you to directly replace the young girl with a mere puppet. Yet, during our previous peril, how come we never saw you, the esteemed abbot, using this seal before?" "Are you really planning to hold back until I'm dead?" Hai the Young gave the spirit of the artifact a withering look, as if ready to start accounting for everything. "Hmph! What does 'holding back' mean? You never easily cultivate or summon this Peach-Dead-Plum-Substitute Seal. Back when I first crafted it, I nearly wiped out my entire fortune—only to end up with this single one. And now, when I finally need it, I find my own magical energy insufficient, unable to even activate it! If not for handing this scroll over to Brother Han just now, we wouldn't have been able to save this little girl at all." The spirit of the artifact looked deeply crestfallen, nearly jumping up in protest. "And that's not all!" Hai the Young was momentarily stunned, clearly surprised. The two exchanged their remarks, completely ignoring Shi Lun's questions, which left the latter's face turning as pale as paper. The other two black-robed cultivators also flashed sharp glares. As for Han, he merely moved his arm and casually set the young celestial girl down on the ground beside him, his expression one of quiet, half-smiling amusement. Yet Bai Guo was still shaken from having narrowly escaped death, standing in stunned silence, gazing at Han Li and the others, unsure of what to do. "Seize them—kill these three thieves!" Stone Lun's face grew stern, finally spilling forth words charged with determination. By his experience, though the number of opponents had increased by three, the only one worth particular attention was the young man who had remained silent—the one at the late stage of Foundation Stage. The other two— one at the early Foundation Stage and one a common mortal—plus the middle-aged man previously encountered, were no more than an additional Foundation Stage Mid-level cultivator. These three, however, were all cultivators who had reached the peak of late Foundation Stage. Simply by comparing their cultivation levels, they were clearly superior to their adversaries. Moreover, the fact that he could command such strong respect from two of his companions—indicating he possessed several powerful, decisive moves—meant that even for Dan Stage cultivators, he posed a serious threat. With this, he felt confident beyond doubt in defeating the current group. The only difficulty was that if he wanted to eliminate all of them, it might not be entirely feasible. After all, if the others truly intended to escape, it would be unlikely that he could completely wipe them out. This was precisely why he had initially chosen not to act, but instead relied on words to steady the three of them. However, stone-robbery and life-taking were not new to Shi Lun. Once he realized that his words wouldn't persuade them, he immediately abandoned any illusions and surged with renewed determination to strike. In his mind, even if one or two managed to escape, they could simply depart from Jiuxian Mountain and temporarily evade the storm. Could any high-level cultivator really pursue them specifically for such a matter? Thus, as soon as he uttered the words "we must act," the stack of black incantation flags in his hand instantly transformed into dozens of black streaks, shooting out like usual—but their targets were not the three of Han Li, but rather the middle-aged man nearby. Two more black-robed monks, wielding silver spears and a black pike, transformed into two streaks of silver light and a patch of black mist, charging directly at the middle-aged man. These three often fought together, acting in perfect synchrony without needing to coordinate—each striking at the right moment. Their intent was clear: first eliminate the middle-aged man, then gradually tackle the Han Li group. Witnessing this, the middle-aged man paled instantly, then, without hesitation, gave a sharp flick of his wrist, releasing his yellow small sword. A swirling blade curtain immediately formed around him, dancing and spiraling in all directions. Then, he swept his other sleeve, sending a cascade of yellow sand spiraling out, which instantly enveloped his figure in a shimmering constellation of starlight. A tremendous roar of explosion erupted! The blade curtain was easily shattered by the combined power of the three magical artifacts, yet it was halted when it struck the scattered specks of yellow sand, which absorbed the impact. This development surprised the Shi Lun group momentarily. However, they quickly activated their artifacts again, aiming to strike once more at the now dimming starlight. But at this moment, Hai Dashi roared aloud, suddenly stamping the ground with his single foot. With a thunderous "boom," the earth trembled slightly, and Hai Dashi shot forth like a launched arrow, appearing in a flash directly above the black-robed cultivator wielding the silver spear. He raised both arms, and by now, golden gloves had appeared on his hands. As he swung them, a dense barrage of golden fist-images surged downward, crashing like a storm of wind and rain. Before these fist-images even reached their destination, a surge of overwhelming power radiated through them, enveloping the lower cultivator. Startled, the black-robed man could no longer focus on attacking the middle-aged man and hastily changed his hand seals. Two streaks of silver light flashed back from afar, converging to form a shimmering shield around him. At that very instant, a continuous series of thunderous clashes erupted between the two, golden and silver light intertwining, engulfing both figures. Yet amid Hai Dashi's booming laughter, the golden fist-images suddenly burst into brilliant radiance, glowing like clusters of golden suns, pressing the silver light back, one after another. "The spiritual artifact, the body-refiner!" Seeing this, another black-robed cultivator by the side suddenly frowned, his expression shifting sharply. He swiftly pointed at the black spear-like shield, clearly intent on launching a combined assault on Hai Da Shao. Yet at that very moment, the distant spiritual artifact cultivator shook his head, sighed deeply, and murmured with a look of mild concern, "How can two face one? This is truly rather unbecoming. Though as the head of this temple, I have some claim to your favor, I must make an exception this time for Hai Da Shao's sake." As he finished speaking, the young Taoist raised his hand and cast a blue scroll onto his own body. The blue glow flashed briefly, and then—without a trace—the form of the spiritual artifact cultivator vanished instantly. Yet immediately, the same blue glow flashed again above the black-robed monk who was wielding the shield. This black-robed monk, a man with extensive experience in combat, promptly sensed the anomaly in the air and, instead of rushing to summon the shield to aid his companions, directly transformed into a black cloud and hurled a surge of blue light downward. With a sharp "thud," the blue light seemed to shatter like a cluster of water droplets, dispersing into countless scattered blue points and vanishing. Yet the interior was empty—no trace of the spirit of the artifact remained. "Unfortunate," the monk murmured, though it was already too late. Suddenly, a faint blue mist emerged behind him. Then, a series of sharp crackling sounds followed, as dozens of blue ice spears, each about a foot long, shot forth. At this distance, even though the black-robed monk's magical prowess far surpassed that of the artifact's spirit, he was utterly unable to defend himself. The spears struck his back as they flashed past. Then, with a sudden flash of light, a form resembling a black tiger's head materialized instantly. The ice spear struck, and surprisingly blocked ten out of every ten impacts—only a few truly struck the black-robed monk, sending him staggering as fresh streams of blood gushed from his body. "Filthy youngster! I'm going to kill you!" The black-robed monk, wounded by the sudden assault from the spirit of the artifact, erupted into furious rage. With a sharp gesture of his hands and a vigorous flap of his sleeves, several black ghost-headed spheres shot forth from him, each exhaling yellow toxic flames and charging fiercely toward the young Taoist. The spirit of the artifact was startled by this development, quickly grasping his back-mounted black wooden sword with one hand, then swiftly forming gestures while continuously pointing it forward with the other. A series of blue beams erupted from the sword's tip, striking precisely at the black skeletons, momentarily halting them—but failing to inflict any real damage. Yet the spirit-being within the artifact was unfamiliar with the specific elusiveness technique he was employing. As blue light flickered across his body, his form shimmered and appeared and vanished like a fish in water, making it difficult for his opponent—no matter how superior in both weapon mastery and cultivation level—to mount a decisive attack. Shi Lun's expression had grown even more strained than before. Though only two opponents had emerged, the challenge they posed seemed far greater than anticipated. Although he was confident his two companions would eventually secure victory, he no longer had the patience to wait any longer. With a determined resolve, he disregarded the dozen or so black streaks relentlessly assaulting the middle-aged man, and with a single hand motion, produced a blood-red leather pouch, within which a faint hum could be heard. At that very moment, however, a cold voice suddenly echoed from behind him: "Ah, a spirit creature—seems to be of a high rank. A Foundation-level cultivator possessing such a spirit being is no small feat. You're certainly showing some skill."