"Indeed, though that late-stage Lord of Evil proved quite formidable, he has been vanquished by me." Han Li had no need to conceal this matter, merely offering a calm smile and nodding. "Friend Han has truly achieved something unparalleled—this battle is now certain to be ours." Upon hearing this, the silver-haired elder finally set aside his last lingering concern, beaming with joy. Without hesitation, he took a deep breath and then suddenly roared out with thunderous force: "The Holy Ancestor of the Demon Race has fallen at our hands! What glory can your young demon pup remain to boast of? Your only fate shall be to vanish in spirit!" The elder's voice reverberated across the battlefield like a thunderclap, clear and resonant enough for both human and demon forces to hear distinctly. The human forces erupted into cheers, their morale soaring dramatically, while the demon forces reacted with a wave of agitation. After the senior Magus Lords glanced toward the elder, they were startled to find neither the young blood-robed disciple nor the great Magus of the demonic race present—surprised and momentarily bewildered. Meanwhile, the silver-haired elder and Jin Yue Zen Master swiftly chanted incantations, instantly gathering several treasures and rushing toward the nearest combat group. There, two senior elders of Tianyuan City and two esteemed demonic lords were locked in a fierce, indecisive struggle. Upon seeing the sudden surge of these two figures, they exchanged alarmed glances. "Retreat!" cried the elder clad in green demonic armor. The other, enveloped entirely in black aura, merely coldly exhaled and then, with a simple gesture of his hands, swept them forward. A thunderous roar erupted—countless waves of black lightning surged forth, sweeping across the battlefield and momentarily pushing back the two human elders. Then, with a single hand motion, a dark wooden boat materialized in the air. With a sudden flash, he materialized above. The wooden boat roared and then vanished into a streak of black light, racing swiftly into the distance. As for the elder in green armor, he had already unfurled a banner of jade green, shaking it fiercely. A wave of shimmering green light burst forth, engulfing his form completely. In a flash, he disappeared entirely—without a trace. Then, as a ripple of space waves surged hundreds of zhang away, a faint figure emerged, only to vanish again as the green light expanded once more. These two magistrates had fled without hesitation. The two senior elders from Tianyuan City, seeing this, naturally felt deeply dissatisfied. After dispersing the black lightning and flame with a combined strike, they immediately set out to pursue the retreating magistrates on their means of flight. But at that very moment, the silver-haired elder and Jin Yue the Zen master appeared suddenly nearby, and promptly stopped them. "My esteemed friends, do not concern yourselves with these retreating magistrates just now. First, assist the other colleagues!" The silver-haired elder murmured a few words through a subtle transmission, then instantly transformed into a streak of light, darting toward another combat group. The two senior monks were momentarily puzzled and promptly abandoned their pursuit, joining the support efforts of other groups. In a matter of moments, the entire demonic army was thrown into complete chaos! Seeing the situation deteriorate, many demonic elders immediately began retreating. Those who remained resolute and intended to lead their forces in battle were suddenly surrounded and overwhelmed by the combined contingents of human and fairy cultivators, either killed on the spot or severely wounded and forced to flee. As for the lower-ranked demonic warriors lacking the leadership of their elders, they grew increasingly anxious and, lacking motivation, began to withdraw from the city attacks—soon turning the tide completely. Though the human and fairy forces also suffered significant losses, their morale soared, and they surged forward to pursue and engage the retreating enemy forces. At once, the battlefield echoed with continuous cries of battle, as countless demonic beings fled in panic toward the distance. Behind them, brilliant radiance surged forth, sweeping relentlessly, occasionally reducing mid-to-lower ranked demons to jelly-like forms, sending them crashing down lifeless. Han Li did not join Jin Yue, the Buddhist master, or the others in engaging the noble demonic leaders directly. Instead, he remained quietly in place, observing the entire process of the demonic army's collapse. Only when he saw all the demons fleeing from near Tianyuan City, being pursued by the human and fenghuang tribes as if herding ducks, vanish from the surrounding void within moments, did he finally exhale in relief. Under such circumstances, the fate of the demonic army had truly been sealed. Even if a divine sage of the demonic lineage descended at that very moment, no significant reversal would be possible. Han Li remained in place for a moment, observing as most of the guards gradually fell behind. Then, with a flash of emerald light, he launched himself and the Leopard-Mane Beast toward the city at high speed. By this time, the ordinary members of both human and spirit clans, as well as the independent cultivators, had already learned of the Magistrate Clan's decisive defeat. The great city erupted into cheers, with numerous lower-tier cultivators rushing out of their homes to express their joy. The streets and the lower airspace soon became bustling with people, lively and vibrant. Though Han Li had always been calm and composed, he could not help but feel deeply satisfied by the scene. Yet he showed no intention of stopping, continuing his swift journey toward his residence. Not long afterward, he spotted his stone tower in the distance. With a swift flash of light, he immediately entered it without hesitation. He did not return to his uppermost dwelling, but instead cast a spell to open the sealed chamber deep within the tower, over a hundred zhang below. After setting a few instructions for the Leopard-Maine Beast, Han Li promptly entered meditation and began to regulate his vital energy. He now feels greatly depleted, with various medicinal forces interacting and clashing within his body, making his condition naturally rather grim. Early treatment is therefore essential. Thus, he even returned to his residence before the silver-haired elder and others had returned victorious, to enter closed meditation immediately. While韩立 was meditating, the cultivators from the human and spirit-creature clans, under the leadership of numerous fusion-stage cultivators, pursued the retreating demonic army for three consecutive days and nights. Although only a few demonic elders were slain during this pursuit, they managed to eliminate at least five to six out of every ten mid- and lower-tier demonic cultivators. The Tianyuan City forces thus achieved a decisive victory, and all the participants were filled with enthusiasm as they began their return journey. Of course, to prevent any resurgence of the demonic army, the silver-haired elder and others still assigned personnel to continuously monitor the remaining demonic forces. Upon their return to the city, the combatants were warmly welcomed by the residents, and a grand celebration banquet was held throughout the city to commemorate their achievements. Nearly the entire city had gathered for this grand celebration. Yet many were unaware that the senior elders of Tianyuan City had not joined the festivities at all, but instead had convened in secret within a hidden grand hall, alongside other combined-tier cultivators who had gone into battle. Among them were several combined-tier messengers who had secretly arrived from the Sacred Island, as well as a few long-undistinguished cultivators from Tianyuan City who had devoted themselves to rigorous practice. At that moment, having just heard the silver-haired elder recount how the luminous-gold-bodied incarnation had been devoured by countless insects, the combined-tier cultivators all expressed astonishment. "The Golden-Feeding Insects—mature-bodied ones. It's truly astonishing that so many of them have been cultivated to this extent. So, both the luminous-gold-bodied Saint Ancestor incarnation and the even more formidable late-stage Demon Sovereign, both perished at the hands of this Han cultivator. A yellow-faced man with dark, stiff facial hair murmured. "To be honest, I feel rather ashamed." In this battle, I was not able to make a significant contribution—my only contribution was to hold off that old demon’s avatar for a while during the early stages. Ultimately, it was thanks to my friend Han’s Golden-Feeding Insects that we managed to defeat him. Prior to that, Han had already independently defeated another late-stage Demon Sovereign.” The silver-haired elder smiled wistfully. “Master Yan, there’s no need for such humility. Had it not been for the sacred treasures wielded by you and Master Jin, I daresay even if Han could summon his Golden-Feeding Insects, he would have found it impossible to truly catch up with the Saint Ancestor’s avatar.” The other elder, with slender, long eyes and green hair, replied thoughtfully. “Master Cui, the Taiji Sacred Treasure was a gift bestowed upon me by Master Mo Jianli just before he departed. I truly cannot claim this achievement!” The silver-haired elder shook his head vigorously. “As for the Xuan Tian Sacred Treasure—it is no easy matter to summon. You and Master Jin had to sacrifice your very essence and vital energy to achieve this. How could there be no merit? If we are to say there’s no contribution at all "The elder smiled warmly. The silver-haired elder and Jin Yue Zen Master naturally exchanged further modest bows. At that moment, a woman dressed in a light blue gown smiled gently and spoke: 'As for the contributions of Guo Brother and Master, they are beyond doubt. Simply the careful preparations made before the great battle have already secured their top honors. However, hearing Brother's words, I believe Han Brother's extraordinary abilities are truly no ordinary matter—perhaps he ranks among the top five among our two clans. Such a person I must certainly meet. But where is Brother Han now?' "Indeed, I must admit my words were rather hasty. Then, I shall wait until Master Han has returned to his realm before I personally pay my visit." The blue-dressed lady sighed, her expression tinged with regret. A few of the others also showed a touch of disappointment, though they naturally found themselves at a loss for further words. "Though we have achieved victory in this great battle, we must by no means grow complacent. After all, the noble magistrates and nearly half of the magical army remain unscathed. Should that Blood-Flame Sage-Founder decide to be resolute and send another avatar to the Spirit Realm, we may well face yet another grueling campaign. To prevent such a scenario, our city must no longer remain passive and confined to a single location. We must seize this decisive victory to launch a proactive offensive, relentlessly pursuing and eliminating the remaining magical forces. We must ensure that these remnants of the enemy have no opportunity whatsoever to regroup and rebuild." The silver-haired elder spoke, his expression growing noticeably more serious.