Time passed slowly, and after several hours, the intangible pressure diffusing through the void gradually grew heavy—reaching the weight of hundreds of catties. The layer of ice that had just formed atop the mountain began to emit crisp cracking sounds, followed by a sudden, thunderous boom! As the black vortex in the sky stabilized, a luminous arc, resembling a water barrel, descended straight from its center. Where it passed, a wave of intense heat spread out, and it struck with a sharp flash upon the second vortex within the massive crater. The thick silver arc vanished instantly. A violent surge of mist rippled around the vortex, and suddenly, a deep, resonant roar rose from the depths—seeming to echo with endless anguish. Then, another tremendous roar erupted from beneath the ground, sending out a wave of shock that spread rapidly through the crater. The entire mountain began to tremble! The thick, translucent ice layer spreading across the ground, under the intense vibrations, cracked into countless fine fissures and shattered piece by piece. But at that moment, a flash of lightning erupted within the black vortex in the sky, and a thick, broad arc of silver coalesced, then descended with unwavering force. As this silver arc headed straight for the massive crater, a roar erupted from within the mist below, and a surge of creamy-yellow flame erupted, precisely intercepting the arc. The two forces instantly intertwined. Though the yellow flame burned vigorously, it radiated an astonishing coldness, and as it flickered, it occasionally took on the forms of ghostly faces—terrible and terrifying in appearance. A deep rumble followed, and both the silver arc and the flame simultaneously dissolved and vanished. "Yellow Springs Earth Fire?" Han Li murmured, narrowing his eyes, his mind swiftly processing the scene. "That doesn't seem right. A single earth fire of this magnitude should not possess such power!" But at this very moment, a sudden transmission from Tianchan's voice filled his ears, marveling at the extraordinary: "This Huangliang Stone Spirit truly deserves its reputation as a spiritual being nurtured for tens of thousands of years within the earth's fiery depths of the Yellow Springs. It has already skillfully fused the earth's heat with its own ethereal aura, transforming it into a powerful technique. When Master Han faces off against this spirit shortly, he must be especially cautious of this demonic flame." "Thank you, Master, I shall certainly be vigilant," replied Han Li, his heart stirred by the reminder, and he responded with a courteous transmission. But at the next moment, a roar erupted within the vortex, and one by one, silver lightning orbs the size of human heads emerged, crackling and flashing in the black clouds. The electric filaments danced and shimmered, forming a dense, seemingly endless array that it was impossible to count. Such a remarkable sight clearly disturbed the Stone Spirit below, who could no longer remain calmly concealed within the mist. A strange cry rang out, and the yellow mist surged violently. Suddenly, a creature about a foot in length burst forth from the depths of the massive crater, then swiftly rose into the air, hovering at a height of over a hundred paces above the crater floor. Its eyes were wide open, fixed upon the lightning orbs above, and it emitted low, continuous gurgling sounds, as if facing a great threat. Han Li, naturally, carefully observed from outside the mountain peak. He noticed that the creature had an unusually large mouth, long limbs, and a short, thick neck that fused almost seamlessly with its body—resembling a frog or toad to about seven-eighths of its appearance. Yet, nestled within its head was a blood-red eye, and its entire body shimmered with golden light. The limbs at the front of its head were not the usual webbed pads of a common frog, but rather four sharp, claw-like appendages. "This is indeed the Yellow Rice Stone Spirit! It truly possesses quite a unique appearance!" Han Li murmured to himself in admiration. At the very moment the Stone Spirit manifested, the sky-bound lightning spheres seemed suddenly stirred, roaring loudly and then flashing downward, plummeting simultaneously. In an instant, the entire mountain was enveloped in a dense network of lightning flashes, as if countless bolts of lightning had fallen like hail from the heavens. Witnessing this spectacle, the Stone Spirit blinked its two eyes, paused its low hum, and then opened its mouth to exhale—spitting out a small yellow flower. This bloom radiated a soft golden glow, adorned with colorful runes across its surface. As the wind gently blew, it expanded, growing to a size of several feet, completely shielding the body of the Spirit. This strange, magnificent bloom clearly was no ordinary flower! At the very moment the colossal yellow flower unleashed its power, the sky's lightning orbs converged precisely on the Shilings, striking several or even dozens simultaneously upon its surface. The great flower slowly rotated, and as its five-colored runes glowed, all the lightning orbs vanished in a flash of electric light—silent, as if sinking into the sea without a trace. Even more astonishing was that each time the flower absorbed a wave of lightning orbs, its petals visibly expanded in size. After several waves, the yellow flower had grown nearly twice as large as before. Consequently, the rate at which it consumed the lightning orbs accelerated dramatically. In a short while, the sky's countless orbs were completely drawn into the flower. Remarkably, the yellow Shiling sheltered beneath the flower seemed unharmed, and upon witnessing the flower's transformed state, it even emitted a clear, joyful trill. And behold, the stone spirit's belly swelled, then suddenly drew in a strong breath toward the heavens, transforming the great flower atop its head into a swirl of shimmering light and drawing it back into its abdomen. A thunderclap! A flash of electric light rippled across the stone spirit's body, and dozens of thick silver arcs surged forth from within, intertwining to form a crackling silver grid across its surface. The spirit expanded rapidly in the midst of the lightning, growing within mere breaths to the size of a calf, its breath deepening and its three eyes opening wide, emitting a strange, resonant cry—seeming to have made significant progress in cultivation. In the black vortex above, the thunder roared once more, with countless silver serpents dancing, and several silver lightning dragons emerging and fading in and out, poised to surge forward in the next wave. "This is becoming quite troublesome. I didn't expect the yellow rice stone spirit to possess such a divine ability to transform heavenly thunder. It appears that it will need to endure its lightning trial, and upon completion, its cultivation may even advance. Then, there's no point in waiting any longer, Friend Han! Master Tianchan!" "Go!" the Hei Yu Shangren suddenly said, his voice carrying a clear sense of frustration. Han Li naturally had no objections, instantly agreeing by voice transmission. The Tian Chan monk on the other side also nodded seriously. At that moment, the several dozen lightning eels within the black clouds finally roared and surged downward in unison. "Go!" the elder, witnessing this, simply exclaimed without hesitation, then raised his hand and pressed a seal with full force. "Pffft!" His figure swayed and instantly dissolved into a stream of black smoke, vanishing at the spot. Moments later, a ripple surged from the sky above the mountain peak, and the elder reappeared, his form flashing into view. He revealed a grim expression toward the ground, then suddenly raised his hand. A beam of silver light shot forth, shimmering and transforming into a massive silver bell several dozen feet high, which he then swept down firmly over the giant, seemingly magical, toad below. At the same time, countless threads of blackness materialized spontaneously in the void near the mountain peak, rushing toward the Ling objects with a hissing sound of rushing air. In the void behind the Huangliang Stone Ling, a white lotus bloomed silently, and as its light flashed, a faint human figure appeared mysteriously. It was Master Tianchan! The monk bowed his head, his face expressionless, yet a series of translucent Buddhist beads shot forth from his sleeve. As the beads swayed, they instantly transformed into dozens of luminous orbs of five colors, shooting forth. Before they even struck the Stone Ling, they emitted a deep rumbling sound of wind and thunder. As the orbs expanded rapidly in the wind, each grew to the size of a human head. Faced with this sudden barrage of attacks, the Huangliang Stone Ling was first startled, then erupted into sharp cries of rage. As it opened its mouth, the yellow giant flower it had previously displayed burst forth once more, precisely meeting the descending silver giant bell. Then its form slightly blurred, and it began to spin rapidly in place! A flash of golden light revealed countless golden streaks bursting forth from within, which, upon a second flicker, shot out like a torrent of wind and rain in every direction. As the golden streaks interwove with dark threads, a sharp, cracking sound erupted, and countless luminous orbs bloomed around the spiritual objects. Two hues of light illuminated the entire mountain. The dark threads, however, could not approach the Stone Spirit even an inch! The five-colored orbs, under the onslaught of the golden streaks, were also momentarily unable to reach the Stone Spirit's core. On the other side, as the silver bell and the great flower collided, the massive bell trembled and suddenly began to emit clear, resonant tones—“ding,” “ding,” “ding”—each tone rising in pitch and penetrating deeper into the soul. A strange phenomenon unfolded: the once-vigorous yellow great flower, facing the bell, suddenly crumbled piece by piece without any prior sign, dissolving into countless specks of light after the third bell tone. Then, with a further blur, the silver bell surged even more—expanding several times over—until it thundered down like a small mountain, completely enclosing the yellow rice spirit within. Witnessing this, both the elder and the monk were momentarily stunned, their faces bright with surprise, their hand seals momentarily paused. At that moment, the black clouds crackled with lightning, and a dozen silver eel-jaguars descended with fierce energy, only to be met by a shimmering silver net that instantly spread across the entire mountain peak as they approached. The eel-jaguars plunged headlong into the net, bursting into countless threads of electricity that were instantly absorbed by the net. This silver sky-lightning net, pre-deployed by the black-rain person, had even successfully blocked the heavenly thunder—truly a renowned spiritual artifact on the Universal Spirit List. The elder chanted continuously, swiftly launching several hand seals with his ten fingers, each seal vanishing instantly into the great bell. With a single resonant boom, the surface of the silver great bell began to shimmer erratically, about to be drawn upward by the Black Rain Master. Yet in that brief moment of hesitation, a thunderous roar erupted suddenly within the bell. A wave of strange cold radiated out, and the great bell shattered piece by piece. Immediately, a surge of golden-yellow flames burst forth, and a beam of radiant light shot out from the flames like a meteor, only to blur and then suddenly turn, streaking downward toward the vast crater below. It seemed the yellow grain spirit, sensing the strength of its opponent, had decided to flee downward.