Han Li's return journey had been remarkably smooth. With full force of flight, he reappeared at the yellow desert spot just one day later and once again spotted the modest magical "node." From a distance, the floating "exit" high above remained unchanged—those数十 magical guards still faithfully patrolled within the lower structures, showing no signs of alteration. Han Li found this scene entirely unsurprising. As his black aura dispersed, he rolled once more into the form of the Celestial Phoenix, spreading his wings and transforming into a faint glow of霞 light that surged directly toward the "node." After a few flashes, the streak of light blurred and eventually faded into nothingness. The process of entering the spatial node was equally seamless, with no disturbances or disruptions occurring during his entry. Not long afterward, the Celestial Phoenix materialized as a vibrant orb of five-colored light at the exit on the Spirit Realm side. Yet, at the very instant he emerged from the node, Han Li's spiritual awareness extended forth first. To his surprise, the result proved truly remarkable, and he could not help but chuckle inwardly. Under the blazing light of the Tian Feng霞, he flashed forth and vanished completely from the passage. At the very next moment, a ripple of energy surged in the void outside the exit, and a faintly green figure materialized silently. Han Li had directly manifested himself in human form right there. Almost as soon as he appeared, a loud cry of "Attack!" rang out nearby. Immediately, a series of sharp hissing sounds erupted, with countless black streaks shooting forth from all around, while a fierce gale rose above, sending dozens of two-headed magical birds plunging straight down. Meanwhile, two long green war vessels, each stretching dozens of zhangs, appeared below, trembling slightly as they emitted two streaks of dark, shimmering light that flashed into view. Surprisingly, hundreds of magical guards had gathered around the exit without any prior notice, and at the very instant Han Li stepped into view, they launched a relentless, all-out assault. Han Li, however, seemed entirely prepared for this situation. Amidst such a fierce assault, his lips curled into a faint, serene smile. Suddenly, he swept one sleeve forward, and a surge of gray light erupted from the void, instantly solidifying into a shimmering, translucent shield that fully encased his form. Unperturbed by the beams of light descending below and the surrounding streaks of dark luminescence, he raised his other hand and casually flicked his fingers at the massive magical birds plummeting toward him. A series of sharp crackling sounds echoed through the air. Several dozen streaks of jade-green swordlight burst forth from his fingertips. The birds, caught by a sudden flash of brilliant light, felt an instant chill and were severed in two. A deluge of blood and fragmented bodies cascaded down from the sky. Several high-ranking magical beings observing from a distance were instantly stunned. After all, these two-headed birds were renowned for their steel-like bodies, usually impervious to ordinary magical attacks—yet now, they had been effortlessly cut down. It's truly astonishing. Even more astonishing, the dense clusters of black glimmers, together with the two extraordinary beams of light, struck the gray luminous shield covering the three-dimensional surface of the Korean formation—only to vanish instantly, dissolving completely without any further reaction. As if completely swallowed by the gray shield. "That's bad! It's a combined-tier ancient monster! We must retreat quickly!" one of the high-tier magical beings exclaimed. These high-tier magical beings were precisely the four Transcendent-tier magical commanders and the Dual-Horned Immortal-tier magical leader who had just led their armies to repel the Wood Clan's assault a few days prior. After their decisive victory over the Wood Clan, they naturally noticed the guards stationed at this "node" had mysteriously disappeared—leaving them deeply alarmed. Though they didn't yet understand what had happened, if anything unforeseen had occurred at this node, their own responsibilities would surely be significant. Thus, after some discussion, they not only sent messages to the recently established magian camps but also personally led their elite forces to reseal the exit on this side. This move bore a clear sense of making amends after the fact—something they had never anticipated would actually result in capturing anyone. Yet, they were utterly surprised when Han Li returned to the magical realm just two or three days after his arrival, straight into the very trap they had just laid. Initially, the group was both astonished and delighted, but as the double-horned magians observed Han Li's true cultivation level, they immediately grew utterly terrified. The several senior magians exchanged a cold glance, then simultaneously released waves of dark magic, transforming into streaks of black light and swiftly retreating backward. Even their subordinates were not informed of this sudden departure. However, Han Li's divine awareness was so powerful that, having detected the ambush earlier, he had already identified and kept a close watch on these leading magians. At the very instant the light of these three demonic beings began to fade, his gaze also flashed cold and sharp. "You want to escape? Dream on!" As soon as the words left his lips,韩立 moved his arm, and a palm as pure and white as jade shot out toward the void. The three demonic beings felt the air tremble above them, and suddenly a massive, five-colored hand—over ten zhang long—materialized, plunging down with a firm grip. They were instantly startled, speeding up their flight as fast as they could, and simultaneously launching flying knives, swords, and various treasures at the giant hand, aiming to pierce it. They didn't expect their weapons to completely shatter the hand, but even a slight obstruction would give them a better chance of escape. Yet none of them could have imagined that, at the very moment their weapons struck the massive palm, a loud *crack* echoed. The five-colored hand burst apart, flashing with brilliant light, and transformed into a vast expanse of five-colored cold flame, stretching over an acre. A cascade of five-colored cold light rolled downward, instantly turning five high-ranking magical beings into blocks of floating ice. At this moment, the surrounding ordinary magical troops who had been attacking Han Li finally realized what had happened, and immediately fell into a state of stunned chaos. But before they could retreat, Han Li merely shook his sleeves, sending forth a dense stream of small, jade-green blades that swiftly coalesced into a series of shimmering green blade beams. With a low cry, he pressed a hand seal, and the blade beams surged forth in all directions, covering the entire area. Eight or nine days later, the magical fortress was forcibly seized by the swelling tide of the wooden race, who began setting up a mysterious and intricate array at the "node" exit—clearly intending to seal it completely. Yet all of this had little to do with Han Li. At this moment, he was quietly refining the chaotic dual energies within his body while swiftly fleeing toward the human race's territory. The chaotic dual energies, indeed a celestial treasure, had already significantly enhanced his spiritual power—even though only a small portion had been absorbed so far. By the time he reached the human race, he would have nearly fully refined them, thereby attaining a state of near-perfection in his mid-combined stage cultivation. This would allow him to proceed with his later-stage breakthrough. Unfortunately, this breakthrough would still require the assistance of the ice phoenix. Otherwise, according to Han Li's original intention, he would have preferred to achieve the breakthrough somewhere in the wild, remote regions of the barbarian world. After all, the human race's current situation was plagued by constant magical threats—far from being a stable or secure place. Thinking thus, Han Li could only helplessly keep flying and fleeing. Meanwhile, in the central city of the Human race, Tianyuan City, a line of human cultivators stood in orderly rows atop the city walls, desperately activating their treasures and relentlessly launching attacks against the demonic army outside the city's defensive spells. A fiercely intense battle was unfolding. A similar scene was unfolding across other human settlements, and even further, in the cities of the elven race. In recent times, the demonic army had grown remarkably fierce, launching sustained and heavy assaults on the two races' key strongholds, often inflicting significant damage. This had caused substantial losses among both human and elven forces, with many mid- and lower-tier cultivators falling in battle. Even among the higher-tier cultivators, such as those who had reached the stage of Spiritual Transformation and beyond, large numbers were now being lost. As a result, the nerves of both races were now under intense strain. According to the established pattern of the previous Magi Cataclysm, if these cities had withstood the relentless assaults of the demonic armies for several years, they should have been safe thereafter. Therefore, these cities naturally mobilized all their resources, clinging on desperately, hoping for that glimmer of hope to arrive soon. Yet no one knew that on a mysterious island at the border between the human and spirit clans, a group of fifteen combined human-spirit beings sat within a hall encircled by numerous seals, solemnly discussing an extremely secret matter. "So it is, then—the ancient demons truly intend to seize our several clans' territories and establish their forces there, never to leave again," said an elder with snow-white hair yet eyes as clear as water, frowning slightly. "Moreover, our spies dispatched to the demonic realm have discovered that a large number of lower-tier ancient demons have also been mobilized and are expected to forcibly breach the boundary and enter the spiritual realm shortly. Another middle-aged man, with a tuft of red plumes on his head, spoke with a gloomy expression. "How many low-tier ancient dragons, roughly?" Someone sighed and added the question. "It's hard to be precise, but there are certainly at least ten billion—possibly much more." After a moment's thought, the man with the plumes replied. "Ten billion!" Hearing this, most of the people present gasped, their faces filled with astonishment. "Is that accurate? There aren't many pure ancient dragons even in the Dragon Realm. Ten billion—that's nearly one-tenth of the entire Dragon Realm's population. How could the ancient dragon elders have taken such a risk?" A white-leather-robed elder, her eyes flashing, asked. "It's definitely correct. Many ancient dragon towns across the Dragon Realm have already been abandoned. This number is actually quite conservative." The man with the plumes spoke with great confidence. "Hmm, it seems the magical race has truly come to make a serious move this time. Unfortunately, despite sending numerous agents deep into the realm of the demons to investigate, we still haven't uncovered the true cause behind this latest transformation of the demon forces. If only we could identify the root cause and respond accordingly, our efforts would have been far more efficient." The elder with snow-white hair chuckled softly.