Han Li was struck by this development. The two mountain peaks shimmered and instantly rose to a height of a hundred zhang, then pressed down with overwhelming force. "Boom! Boom!" The surface of the light shield twisted and buckled, yet the two peaks rebounded and separated, while the shield remained undamaged. The thirteen clusters of purple light formed by the thirteen purple-patterned spiritual insects struck the shield one after another. The space near the shield trembled, as if attempting to push the insects away. Yet, at once, the thirteen insects emitted sharp cries, their bodies swelling rapidly to several zhang in height, and as their limbs extended, a layer of silvery glow suddenly emerged, with steel-like spines piercing the space near the shield. Despite the continuous trembling and distortion of the space around the shield, the purple-patterned insects remained firmly rooted in place, motionless. Moreover, the spiritual insects suddenly opened their mouths and each expelled a golden thread of thickness equal to a thumb, vanishing in a flash—directly bypassing the strange defensive capability of the luminous shield and penetrating into it. The originally thick and resolute seven-colored shield immediately trembled with light, and waves of vibrant, radiant hues surged along the thirteen golden threads, rushing toward the insects. Within barely a breath, the shield grew dim, its humming sound significantly reduced, as though its spiritual energy was being drained at an astonishingly rapid pace. The two jade automata appeared momentarily stunned, but soon re-erupted with seven-colored light from their hands, channeling an impressive surge of spiritual power outward. The shield flashed and immediately regained its brilliance, its humming sound rising once more. Yet the rate at which the thirteen insects were siphoning the shield’s spiritual energy was equally remarkable, compelling the two automata—despite their other formidable abilities—to remain firmly joined, unable to separate their hands even for a moment. To their surprise, the two parties momentarily stalled there! Han Li was initially stunned, but soon grew delighted. With a single hand gesture of his sword seal, seventy-two small, misty green swords shot forth from his body, flashing swiftly into hundreds of sword shadows that converged above the light shield, eventually forming a massive green sword ten zhang long. "Cut!" Han Li murmured, pointing his fingers repeatedly at the green sword. The great sword emitted a resonant hum and instantly surged forward as a streak of bright green light, sweeping down in a powerful slash. While the Qingzhu Fengyun Sword might still fall slightly short of the silver staff in terms of subtlety and transformation, its combined cutting power when all seventy-two swords worked together was far superior to that of the staff. Moreover, as a core artifact of Han Li's, this set of flying swords had been carefully nurtured within him over the years, and had thus developed a subtle sense of spirit, as well as an emerging ability to cut through the air. Though the seven-colored light shield now proved remarkably subtle, its intrinsic spiritual energy was largely restrained by the thirteen purple-striped, gold-devouring insects. Thus, Han Li felt confident—nearly eight or nine out of ten—that his single strike with the sword would achieve decisive success. Yet he had not anticipated an unexpected development at this crucial moment. As the distant green great sword descended, a sudden ripple of energy surged from Han Li's head, instantly forming a swirling mass of black light that shimmered and transformed into five large, side-by-side characters: "Press." A deep, resonant thud echoed through the air, and a tremendous force pressed down upon him, as though five great mountains had simultaneously descended and settled upon his body. Had it not been for his exceptionally robust physical constitution, any ordinary human cultivator of the same level would have suffered immediate bodily collapse—even if their lives were barely preserved. At the same time, a small purple cauldron appeared silently at Han Li's feet. A surge of dark light rolled down, and three ordinary black characters—“Ding”—materialized in a flash. Han Li instantly felt his body tightened, as though his limbs were simultaneously encased by an invisible steel band, and his inner spiritual power momentarily stilled. Moreover, on one side of Han Li’s body, a blue glow flashed, and a translucent, ice-crafted puppet materialized instantly. With a single arm movement, a massive transparent sword several dozen feet long swept across in a gust of wind. On the other side, a faint golden glow dispersed, revealing the beautiful woman from the Yin-Yang Sect, her face grim, both hands raised. A cluster of green flames and a blood-red flying sword shot forth simultaneously. The green flames spun once and suddenly transformed into the head of a green-faced, toothy carriage ghost, its sharp teeth exposed, charging directly toward Han Li. The blood-red flying sword, after a brief flick, emitted a piercing, unsettling roar, and with a thick wave of blood, descended in a powerful, decisive strike. This woman, leveraging the subtle seals of this locale and the control disk in her hands, had successfully concealed herself from the probing of韩立's divine awareness and spiritual senses. As soon as she sensed the two most formidable peaks—her greatest concerns—and the spiritual insects departing from韩立, she swiftly allied with another fully-merged puppet, launching an exceptionally cunning and close-range ambush. From the outset, her assault was thunderous and relentless, deploying multiple techniques simultaneously, with the clear intent of delivering a decisive blow that would instantly claim韩立's life. Faced with this sudden and perilous attack, even韩立 could not help but have his pupils contract in surprise, yet he instinctively responded immediately. He released a golden glow from his body, causing his form to swell several times in size, and long golden fur sprouting across his entire frame, transforming once more into a colossal mountain-great ape. In this form, a surge of divine power emanated from within him, now completely unimpeded by the pressure upon his body or the overwhelming force emanating from below. His internal spiritual energy instantly stabilized and returned to normal. With a mighty roar, the giant ape's upper body surged with swirling black energy, and the celestial magic armor from beyond the heavens momentarily emerged, countless black runes bursting forth from the armor to form a protective shield. At the same time, a golden flash revealed a three-headed, six-armed form behind it; as the six arms moved in unison, six massive golden blades instantly appeared, interweaving and delivering a powerful strike toward the transparent giant sword on one side. Concurrently, a green figure surged forth from within Han Li's body, shimmering and transforming into another green-skinned Han Li. Without hesitation, this new Han Li charged across to the opposite side, and with a simple gesture of his hands, countless dense green fist-images erupted, swiftly converging to strike the ghostly head and the crimson swordlight. As for the giant ape's main body, it opened its mouth wide, launching a surge of silver flame. Immediately, brilliant flashes of light erupted around the ape, followed by a series of massive, radiant orbs appearing one after another, dazzling and brilliant in their intensity. A series of concentric shockwaves surged outward, rolling with the force of gales, as if devouring everything in their path. Suddenly, a piercing cry rang out, and a figure staggered, collapsing from the center of the wave, bloodied and clutching one arm that had been severed at the shoulder. It was the very woman who had just stormed in with fierce determination—now her face bore a look of utter disbelief. After a sharp exhalation, the light from afar dimmed, revealing the towering giant ape and the other green-skinned figure, Han Li, standing side by side. The giant ape held one hand, fingers tightly clenched around a cluster of green flame; the other hand firmly grasped a short purple blade. Within the flame, a greenish skeletal head exhaled black vapor, struggling violently, as though desperately trying to escape. Yet Han Li’s transformation into the giant ape was no ordinary feat—his fingers pressed firmly against the skull, preventing it from even inching away. The purple blade itself radiated a shimmering array of five colors, and subtly emanated a faint essence of the fundamental laws of the cosmos. The ethereal body beside him remained expressionless, one arm melting down to a single translucent white bone, while the other was scorched and blackened, as though consumed by some magical flame. Meanwhile, at a distance where neither of them wished to be, a radiant golden figure was engaged in lively combat with a translucent automaton that flickered in and out of visibility, the two locked in a fierce, evenly matched struggle. The column of black light vanished almost simultaneously with the disappearance of the beautiful woman's figure, yet a dull thud followed, and a flash of black light appeared dozens of zhangs away—then the woman was suddenly propelled out from the nearby void, her face filled with alarm. Before she could steady herself, the golden-mantled giant ape suddenly emitted a sharp, cold exhalation. At the sound, the woman shivered violently, her body swaying and then instinctively falling downward. A light crack echoed from the giant claw, and a surge of silver flame erupted, engulfing the beautiful woman completely. The silver flame surged upward, reducing her to ash in an instant, even her immortal embryo failing to escape. At that moment, another thunderclap roared. The silver great phoenix spread its four wings once more, then rapidly shrunk, regaining his human form. He turned his head, surveying the transparent automaton whose sacred black-van gold body had been shattered into fragments, and immediately raised his eyebrows. With a flex of his fingers, he launched a series of swift, precise strikes toward the distant figure. A dense stream of pale green sword energies burst forth, each one striking precisely where the automaton had intended to retreat. Clearly, the automaton was not adept at withstanding such relentless attacks, but rather skilled at stealth and sudden assassinations. Under this sustained assault, it was soon forced to retreat step by step. A single lapse in concentration, and it was cut into pieces by a storm of golden blades, flashing and relentless. Farther on, two sets of lustrous puppets, each facing an equally dire situation, had their original seven-colored light shields nearly overwhelmed. Although the jade sword, which had been poised to descend, failed to land due to the surprise attack on Han Li and instead vanished mid-swing, emitting a mournful cry, the puppets still could not withstand the intense absorption of spiritual energy by the thirteen purple-striped spiritual insects, ultimately rupturing on their own.