"Please rest assured, Lord Long. As long as the Magus Sovereign of the Zhao family remains absent, we will naturally keep our Composure Form techniques hidden. We'll simply seize the Magi-Lizard and depart without doing any unnecessary things." The Thousand-Seasons Princess smiled warmly, speaking with great confidence. Both Han Li and the feathered maiden naturally agreed. Seeing this, the elder of the Long family nodded in approval. Thus, the group began to carefully discuss the details of their plan and solidify each step of the strategy. Several hours later, the elder of the Long family and Han Li and the others departed the pavilion, returning to the City of Phantom Night separately. Over the following two months, Han Li continued to remain in his study, meditating quietly, waiting for the appointed time. During this period, he received several messages from the elder of the Long family, indicating that everything was progressing exceptionally smoothly. Not only had the Zhao family's members begun to harbor ill intentions, but under the elder's careful arrangements, even two of the Zhao family's Magus Sovereigns had decided to take personal action. Yet during this time, the elder of the Long family had remained in the City of Phantom Night, offering the Zhao family no opportunity to strike. One day, while meditating in the study room, Han Li suddenly heard a low hum from his waist. A beam of white light shot out and instantly transformed into several blurry white characters, spreading out before him. Han Li glanced at the characters for a moment, smiled slightly, and then rose to walk down to the lower level. When he reached the main hall on the first floor, Zhu Guo'er was sitting quietly on a chair near the main door, her hand resting on her chin, gazing off into space. As soon as Han Li descended, the young girl snapped back to awareness and hurried to greet him. "This time, you need not stay here anymore. Come with me," Han Li said calmly, then continued walking toward the main door on his own. Zhu Guo'er was momentarily startled, but quickly brightened up, nodded in agreement, and hurried to follow Han Li. After all, although Han Li had not treated her harshly during this period, being confined to such a small space in the attic had left her feeling suffocated, as though imprisoned. Now that she could finally leave and go out together, she was overjoyed. Once out of the attic, Han Li took Zhu Guo'er and departed from the Huanye City in a beast-drawn carriage. After passing through the city gates, Han Li activated his light-speed flight, swiftly carrying Zhu Guo'er toward a nearby unnamed mountain peak. A short while later, as Han Li landed his light-speed flight. At the base of a large tree on the mountain's summit, a bearded man from the Lin family had already been waiting. Upon seeing Han Li arrive, he immediately smiled warmly and greeted him. This combined cultivator, though still appearing somewhat aged, now had his previously gray hair restored to black, and his complexion had taken on a healthy glow. Clearly, this was the result of Han Li's refined essence pill administered the day before. "Brother Han, you truly arrived on time. Is this the young disciple you mentioned?" The man with flowing hair glanced at Zhu Guo'er beside him, his eyes flashing as he asked, "Indeed, this girl has some connection with me. I'd kindly ask you to bring her back to the Immortal Realm. Once the affairs in the Demon Realm are settled, I'll immediately retrieve her myself." Han Li replied calmly. "Rest assured, once I've taken the elixir, I'll ensure her safety. My colleagues, Long and the others, are about to launch their plan within the next two days. The sooner, the better—I must set off today." The man with flowing hair said seriously. "Yes, it would be wise if Lin Daojun departs a bit earlier. Should she become entangled, it might cause complications," Han Li nodded in agreement, then turned to Zhu Guo'er and said, "Your meeting with me here has already brought us a measure of fortune. I'll assist you in returning to your clan. Lin Daojun is the Grand Elder of one of the foremost human families. With him, you'll have no worries along the way. As for the rest, I'll explain everything in detail when we meet again." Zhu Guo'er had already been listening quietly by the side, wide-eyed and slightly stunned, her mouth moving slightly as if ready to ask something in shock. But at that moment, Han Li merely waved his sleeve, and a swirl of emerald light surged forth, carrying him upward like a streak of jade-green light, vanishing from the scene in an instant. On the mountain peak, only the bearded man and Zhu Guo'er remained alone, two solitary figures. Zhu Guo'er was excited for a while, then suddenly remembered something and asked. "Actually, I don't know. Hasn't Brother Han mentioned this to you?" the man with flowing hair inquired, slightly surprised. "Even the fact that Master Han is not of the magical race—I only learned that just now. How could I possibly know about any unexpected connection between Master Han and myself?" Zhu Guo'er shook her head repeatedly, her face showing clear confusion. Yet in her heart, she suddenly recalled that when Han Li had first met him, he had inquired about the *Cycle Power*, and at that moment, a faint sense of uncertainty had quietly arisen in his mind. Although the man with flowing hair was somewhat interested in the relationship between Zhu Guo'er and Han Li, he did not press for further details at this moment. After calmly speaking a few more words, he raised his hand and released a dark, sleek flying vehicle ahead of which several humanoid creatures resembling dragons but not quite dragons were stationed, crouching in front. With a single gesture, the two boarded the vehicle, which then broke through the air, propelled forward by the creatures, heading steadily toward the wilderness. …because he was wary of the actions of the old masters of the Long family soon after, he nearly exerted his full strength to drive the puppet beast as soon as he left the vicinity of Huanye City. Half a day later, the flying chariot had already reached a distance of millions of li. At that moment, the terrain beneath the chariot was a series of rolling hills, and in the distance, a continuous range of small mountains loomed faintly—soon to be passed. Suddenly, a soft, feminine voice resonated in the ear of the bearded man: “Since you’ve arrived here, why not step down?” As soon as the words were spoken, a ripple spread through the space above the chariot, and countless pink petals cascaded down, forming a colossal hand over a hundred li in length. This hand, full of vigor, pressed down forcefully upon the chariot. The fragrance of flowers surged in all directions, and the sky seemed to collapse entirely—leaving no room to escape. “Not good!” The bearded man gasped in alarm, instantly shouting out, while simultaneously pressing hand signs with one hand and suddenly raising the other toward the sky. In an instant, the several puppet beasts originally pulling the vehicle simultaneously lifted their heads skyward, unleashing one after another massive beams of vibrant, multicolored light. At the same time, the flying carriage shimmered, and a translucent, milky-white light shield instantly materialized, enveloping all those on board. Meanwhile, a bone-blade wrapped in black mist shot forth from the man's hands with sudden brilliance, instantly expanding into a towering, gleaming white blade several dozen zhang long, which then charged straight toward the pink giant hand. As the blade passed through, the surrounding space grew hazy and subtly distorted, as if truly tearing through the void. Undoubtedly a fully integrated being, the man, though his cultivation had diminished significantly, still managed a truly astonishing and earth-shattering display of power under the surge of shock and anger. The next moment, both the light beams and the massive blade struck the enormous palm simultaneously. A thunderous roar echoed through the heavens, causing the space within a hundred li to vibrate continuously. The luminous column was snatched and extinguished by the rosy glow emitted from the giant's hand, while the massive bone blade cracked and shattered under the immense, incomprehensible pressure. Lin family's condensed cultivator, his pupils dilating and his face turning pale as paper, had just intended to summon another divine technique to counter the giant's hand when he found himself too late. Suddenly, the rosy light surged downward, instantly tearing the light shield on the flying carriage. The man with flowing hair felt a deluge of strange pink flowers rushing into his vision, his inner cultivation energy momentarily stagnating and becoming sluggish, then gradually fading into drowsiness amid a unique fragrance. Yet, in the very last moments before he lost consciousness, he faintly heard Zhu Guo'er's sharp, terrified cry. A wry smile tugged at the man's lips. Just half a day ago, he had boasted to Han Li about his capabilities—now, he found himself barely able to protect his own body. But if it weren't for the fact that nearly half of his cultivation energy had been lost, he would surely have fared much better. At the very moment this thought flashed through the man's mind, he collapsed senseless, rolling off the flying chariot. ...An hour later, in a dense, shadowed forest, the bearded man awoke slowly. As soon as his eyes opened, he immediately sensed something unusual and hurriedly scanned his body. He found himself nestled among a cluster of pink-flowered trees, enveloped by a myriad of strange blooms—visually pleasing, yet utterly powerless throughout his body, with his dantian completely empty, as though all his inner energy had vanished. His heart sank. Only then did he shift his gaze to survey his surroundings. Before he could fully see anything, a deep, rough voice suddenly called out from one side: "Lord Bao Hua, the human youth has awakened." The man stiffened, and without hesitation, turned to look in the direction of the voice. There, standing on a mound to one side, was a black-armored man with a disfigured face, hands crossed over his waist, gazing at him with a fierce expression. "It's the Demon Lord!" The man with long hair had anticipated this development and did not show much surprise; instead, his eyes briefly shifted toward another tree not far away. Beneath that tree, a shimmering silhouette of a pink-flowered tree danced continuously. As the black-armored man spoke, all the light halos faded, revealing a graceful, ethereal woman dressed in a white gown—her beauty unrivaled throughout the realm. The woman had been softly closed-eyed until the long-haired man looked at her, at which moment her eyes opened, her starlit gaze meeting his directly. In that instant, the long-haired man was struck dumb; he felt as though the woman's gaze carried an indescribable purity and warmth, and a sudden warmth surged in his chest, stirring within him a resolve to sacrifice himself for her.