Black Rain Master was suddenly confronted with this scene and naturally gasped in astonishment, yet remained calm. With a swift hand gesture, he muttered a series of incantations. "Clang!" Immediately, the small bell expanded into a towering silver phantom, reaching over a hundred zhang in height and completely enveloping the elder. Waves of silver light surged outward in concentric circles, and upon contact with the falling stones, they instantly turned to fine powder. At the same time, the gray-white glow on the surfaces of the two mountains flickered, then suddenly, two massive hands—formed from countless stones—pierced through the mountain bodies and emerged. With fingers spread wide, each hand measured several hundred zhang in span, as though brimming with boundless power. "Boom! Boom!" Two thunderous impacts resounded—like a mighty blow—each giant hand striking the silver phantom with the force of a fly. Though the small bell was itself a remarkable rare artifact, it could only emit a mournful cry before crumbling and vanishing under the overwhelming force. The Black Rain Master, who had been immersed in the scene, finally showed signs of alarm. With a loud cry, he swept his sleeve outward, and a sphere of silver light shot forth. A thunderclap followed, and instantly, a network composed of countless threads of silver electricity gradually emerged and unfolded. It was precisely the Silver Sky Thunder Net—famed even on the List of Chaotic Immortals! With its extraordinary powers, once summoned, it would surely be sufficient to counter the sudden assault. The elder breathed a sigh of relief, murmuring incantations to himself, and with one hand extended into the air, several orbs of luminous energy materialized in his palm. He was preparing to summon additional treasures and launch a counterattack. Yet, at this crucial moment, an utterly unexpected scene unfolded. As a ripple of energy surged through the surrounding space, a delicate, jade-like hand suddenly extended, seemingly casually reaching out—and with a simple grasp, it caught the still-unfolding thunder net right in mid-air. Then, with a gentle grasp of her five fingers, the elder felt a searing pain tearing through his spirit, abruptly severing his connection to the Silver Sky Lightning Network. He gasped in surprise, his form wavering and nearly collapsing in midair. In that brief moment of delay, the two massive stone palms, like small mountains, slammed together with tremendous force. Though the elder was startled and furious, hastily drawing upon all his inner power and instantly summoning a green battle armor to form over his body, the sheer strength of the stone palms proved overwhelming! A thunderous roar shook the very ground. Under the immense force, his protective aura and the green armor cracked and shattered piece by piece, and his physical form burst into a cloud of blood mist. A streak of black light shot forth from the mist, swiftly vanishing into the void with a single flicker. A pleasant, clear laugh followed. The jade hand that had grasped the silver lightning net gave a single twist, then extended a finger and gently flicked it toward the direction where the black light was fading. "Pffft!" A cluster of silver light shot out, vanished instantly, and then disappeared into the void. A column of dark, misty light erupted, and in a single flash, instantly enveloped the distant Yuan'ing. The Yuan'ing, which had been flying ahead, immediately felt the surrounding air grow rigid, followed by an irresistible powerful suction that seized its flight and pulled it backward. This time, Black Rain Master was truly stunned—panicking, he roared, expelling a triangular seal plate from his body, then blew out several clots of pure blood that merged into a mist and absorbed into the plate. Since this triangular seal had served as Black Rain Master's means of protecting his Yuan'ing, it was naturally a rare and precious artifact. Upon a clear chime, it transformed into a swirl of azure light and surged toward the Yuan'ing. At the very instant the azure glow touched the Yuan'ing, the body that had been retreating suddenly halted, and even as a brief flash of light passed, it reversed direction and resumed forward flight. "Ah! This is promising—indeed a human-seal, the Qingming Seal! With only a slight effort, it seems this young one has managed to escape." The pleasant female voice resonated once more, this time with a touch of unexpected surprise. As the space rippled, the Lady of the Jade Hand— a graceful woman dressed in blue imperial robes—materialized silently from the void. She was slender and elegant, with a complexion as pure as jade, and her face radiantly beautiful; yet her eyes shimmered with a subtle azure glow, conveying an indescribable aura of dignity. At the moment she appeared, she glanced toward the Yuan婴, her expression momentarily deepening. Then, she raised one of her jade hands before her, forming an intricate and profound seal. A soft "puff" sound echoed. Instantly, a three-headed, six-armed, dark and misty shadow emerged behind her. As the crystalline light rippled across its surface, it suddenly flashed and solidified into a fierce, armored demon, clad in black plate armor. The armor was exquisitely crafted, bearing complex and intricate patterns of seals and symbols, while the faces of the three heads were completely concealed beneath black visors, leaving no glimpse of their true forms. And as the monster appeared behind the woman, the three heads lifted simultaneously, emitting a long, piercing cry that split the sky. As the six eyes flashed, six patches of emerald flame shimmered and danced. Then, all six arms reached out simultaneously, grasping the space where the infant spirit resided. The Yuan-Infant had barely time to emit a cry before she was seized by the demon's claws, along with her protective emerald glow, and instantly drawn back into the vortex. In a flash, the vortex flashed several times before fading completely, as though it had never existed at all. Meanwhile, on the other side, the blue-dressed woman before her remained unchanged, slowly rotating without ceasing. With a warm smile, she lifted one jade hand and reached into the vortex, palm outstretched. A soft "pffft" sound, and a shadow emerged—none other than the Yuan-Infant of Hei Yu. Yet now, it lay motionless, eyes closed, face pale, completely enveloped in a dense network of black filaments, as if captured and held alive. The woman glanced at the Yuan-Infant, then, without expression, rolled her sleeve downward. A thick, dark radiance surged downward and, in a single motion, lifted something from the ground into her hands. It turned out to be a storage bracelet emitting a gentle yellow glow. The woman immediately extended a finger, lightly touching it to the bracelet, then closed her eyes. "Yellow Rice Stone Spirit—this is indeed it. That's quite interesting. It seems this person has come specifically for this item. That explains why Six-Ji invited me to make the journey personally. It appears the human cultivators are indeed planning something significant—something we cannot afford to overlook." After a brief moment, she opened her eyes again, smiled slightly, and murmured a few words to herself. "To understand what's going on, I'll have to investigate this person's spiritual essence. However, human high-level cultivators usually practice specialized techniques to lock their spiritual awareness. While one can forcibly break through these with magical prowess or sheer strength, such efforts only allow access to a limited portion. I'm not sure whether we'll be fortunate enough to find what we're seeking." After pausing thoughtfully, the lady sighed and murmured again. Yet, once she had made up her mind, she immediately acted without hesitation, raising her single hand toward the vortex. The three-headed, six-armed monster and the black vortex vanished simultaneously, leaving only the Yuan Ying of Kuro-ame floating silently in place. The woman flipped her hand once, and the ancient black mirror reappeared, swaying gently before the Yuan Ying. At once, a surge of black mist erupted, pulling the Yuan Ying in a spiraling motion toward the mirror, where it vanished with a strange flicker. "Let's go to a quiet spot. I'll thoroughly extract the soul of this human cultivator. With my current duplicate energy, it will likely take several days to complete." After casually folding the mirror with a sweep of her silk sleeve, the court-dressed woman added another remark as if giving instructions to someone else. "Understood, Master Yuansha!" Two murmuring voices suddenly emerged from the two partially collapsed mountain peaks. Then, the massive stone palms embedded within the peaks slowly retracted with a thunderous sound, and the mountain debris began to move, shimmering with a pale luminous glow. In the span of a few breaths, two giants towering over a thousand zhang appeared before the woman. These two beings were covered in gray stone, each possessing four arms and standing a thousand zhang tall—terrifying in appearance! "Thank you, both senior elders, for your timely assistance in destroying this person's physical form. Otherwise, even if I were able to capture him, it would have required considerable effort." The dressed-in-imperial-robes woman addressed the two massive stone figures with a certain courtesy, offering her thanks. "Please, it is our honor to be of any assistance to Yuansha Master!" One of the stone giants said, smiling slightly despite the rigidity of his features.