Han Li smiled slightly, merely pointing his finger at the dark clouds above the Lightning Sea, and then said nothing further. As the others still harbored some confusion, Bai Qi used his spiritual sight to sweep across the clouds, instantly gasping: "What kind of creature is that? So large!" The others were taken aback, turning their eyes to the clouds as well, yet all they could see were flashes of lightning—nothing clearly visible. Then, Han Li took a deep breath, raised his hand into the air, and in a single motion, a long, misty green sword materialized in his palm. With a gentle flick, he slashed it toward the empty space above. A clear, resonant sound followed, and a beam of green light surged forth, expanding in a single flash to a hundred paces in length, then thundering down upon the dark clouds ahead. This single strike required great power—its magnitude left everyone in awe. Where the green light passed, the surrounding space warped, and a long, extraordinary fissure was cleaved open in the clouds above the Lightning Sea, as if carved by a divine blade. Through this crack, the elders of the Long family could only vaguely make out a colossal golden beast, silently hovering in the sky. This creature was immense, its entire body shimmering with brilliant golden light, adorned with countless thick, strange electric arcs swirling around it—stunning and radiant beyond measure. The Long family elders could only see a solid golden exoskeleton and numerous sharp spines rising upright, yet they were momentarily unable to determine what kind of mythical beast it was. Even a single breath of the beast emanating from the crack caused the assembled cultivators at the Consolidated stage to instantly pale. As their spiritual senses touched upon the aura, it was silently drawn in without a sound, leaving them unable to gauge its depth or strength at all. The subtle yet palpable pressure embedded within the aura sent the Long family elders and other late-stage Consolidated cultivators into a state of shock and alarm. Such a formidable presence immediately caused their hearts to race, and the word "True Spirit" flashed vividly in their minds. More strangely, despite the grand gestures韩立 had made, the golden giant beast remained motionless at its original spot, as if plunged into a deep sleep. Fortunately, this was so—otherwise, the crew on the great vessel would have fled without hesitation, long before now. Yet even thus, the elders, including Hui, grew pale, their eyes darting nervously around, as though at the slightest movement from the beast, they would immediately take flight. For a time, the group fell utterly silent on the vessel. After a while, Bai Qi suddenly spoke a remark that eased the others' minds: "Ladies and gentlemen, please don't be concerned—the beast shows absolutely no signs of life; it appears to be merely a corpse." "Only a corpse? Surely you're not mistaken, Bai brother," the feathered maiden still expressed her doubt. "I have cultivated a specific divine ability that allows me to sense the life signs of all living beings." White was unable to detect the corpse floating in the sky earlier precisely because this divine ability failed to respond. "White brother, with your explanation, I now feel at ease," said the young lady in a composed tone. "The corpse still radiates such a powerful residual energy—this truly appears to be a genuine true-spirit corpse." With complete reassurance, she once again gazed upward at the sky over the Thunder Sea, her eyes shining with renewed interest. How invaluable a true-spirit corpse must be! Beyond doubt, even the mere presence of some refined qi and true energy within it would be of immense benefit to the group of cultivators who had reached the Consolidated Stage. Not to mention that a true-spirit body itself is one of the rarest materials available for crafting artifacts and elixirs—just a small section of it could make countless master artisans and alchemists go wild with excitement. The others, too, were now deeply stirred. Han Li stroked his chin, his lips curling into a look of profound insight. At that moment, the vast gap created by the swordlight gradually closed and smoothed out again, as the surrounding clouds rolled and surged, once more concealing the golden giant's form. The onlookers then turned their gazes back, each with a different expression. "White Brother, have you clearly identified the true spirit whose remains this golden giant is?" asked the Thousand-Seasons Princess, her eyes flickering slightly. Among the numerous cultivators present, only Han Li and White Qi could directly perceive the full form of the golden giant with their spiritual sight—hence her question. "It's a golden giant crab, though it has four claws at the front!" White Qi replied after gazing at the clouds above for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly, but with some hesitation. "A giant crab? A golden giant crab? Is there such a true spirit in the world?" Everyone was momentarily stunned, and the feathered maiden asked this aloud. "I've never heard of such a spirit! Among the many true spirits recorded in the spiritual realm, none match this description." Yet this is not surprising at all—since true spirits emerge among numerous interfaces, it is entirely normal that some true spirits remain unknown to us." The elder of the Long family paused, then spoke with solemnity. "Agreed, Long brother, this creature might indeed be a type of true spirit we have never encountered before. Still, since it has already perished, this is precisely our moment of fortune." Elder Hui said, her eyes flashing with excitement. "Exactly. Once we have encountered such an opportunity, we must surely not let it pass." "Such a magnificent true spirit body—even if we divide it equally among ourselves, the rewards we receive will far exceed our expectations. Even if we fail to locate the spirit-cleansing pool or the pure spirit lotus, this journey will have been most worthwhile." "...The others nodded in agreement, one after another." Clearly, most of them were now stirred by this unexpected discovery. But at that very moment, Han Li suddenly uttered a question that left everyone momentarily stunned: "In your opinion, how long has this remains body been resting here?" "Though not entirely clear, it should still be quite long, wouldn't you say?" The young queen of the thousand years furrowed her brows, as if suddenly remembering something. "While this place may be difficult to locate for us, it should not be a challenge for higher-ranked magical beings. Wouldn't you agree that, if these remains were indeed so easily retrievable, the higher-ranked magical beings would have left them here specifically for us?" Han Li asked calmly. "If Han hasn't guessed wrong, this golden giant isn't a true spiritual relic at all, but merely a magical crystal automaton." Han sighed, his face showing a touch of苦笑 as he uttered words that surprised everyone else. "What? An automaton? Impossible! How could there exist such a formidable automaton in the world? What exactly is a magical crystal automaton?" Huai Elder shook his head repeatedly, clearly unconvinced. Both the elder of Long family and the Saint Maiden Qianqiu exchanged glances and also looked utterly astonished. Only Bai Qi, after a moment of surprise, quickly used his spiritual sight to scan once more toward the sky above the Thunder Sea. As for the spiritual elder from the Elven clan, though his facial expression remained unchanged, his heart suddenly leaped several times upon hearing the term "magical crystal automaton." "Magical crystal automata are a special type of automaton from the realm of the demons. Our spiritual realm does not possess such a secret technique. When I was in the city of Huanye, I specifically studied this technique. Allow my fellow cultivators to examine the automaton I have replicated—then you will see that my statement is indeed true." Han Li sighed, not bothering to clarify much, and with a shake of his sleeve, a cluster of green light burst forth. In a flash, a massive green wolf appeared on the bow of the ship—precisely the low-tier magical crystal automaton he had personally crafted not long ago. The elders of the Long family, naturally, were immediately drawn to the giant automaton and examined it carefully from head to tail. "I believe Han brother is correct," said Bai Qi, "I've closely observed the patterns on the golden crab's body and found them remarkably similar to those on this magical crystal automaton. There seems to be a genuine connection between the two. I previously thought I couldn't detect any life signs in it—thus, mistaking it for a mere automaton—so I must admit I was somewhat negligent." With a slight smile of regret, he said this to the group. "Indeed, this is true!" "Yet, if it is merely an automaton, how could it have been left here abandoned? Simply by observing the aura it emits, one can clearly perceive its formidable nature." "Could it truly be that there exist true spiritual-grade puppets?" Hearing this, others couldn't help but remain skeptical, and soon began to speak up. At that moment, Bai Qi simply opened his mouth and expelled a deep-blue bronze mirror without further words. As the mirror spun smoothly in front of him, it eventually came to rest steadily about a zhang away from his body. A flash of light appeared on Bai Qi's forehead, and then a bright white glow silently entered the ancient mirror. Instantly, the previously blank surface of the mirror became hazy before suddenly resolving into a remarkably clear image. Radiant golden light shimmered, with streaks of electricity weaving through it—revealing clearly the true form of the golden crab hidden within the clouds. "Is this none other than the renowned spiritual luminance recall technique of the noble family? I've heard that this technique can perfectly reproduce everything—every sight and every sound—the practitioner witnessed or heard long ago." Liang family elder, witnessing the scene, was deeply moved. "Several of you may take a closer look at this great creature—does it truly bear any resemblance to the magical crystal automaton that Brother Han has described?" Bai Qi simply nodded, then gently tapped the bronze mirror with his finger. Without needing further explanation, even the young lady in the feathered robe and Elder Hui had clearly heard of the name "Ling Guang Huizhu" technique, so they both stiffened and focused intently on the giant crab reflected in the mirror. After a cup of tea's worth of time, when the secret technique was fully revealed and the image in the mirror faded away, the elder of the Long family sighed and said, "It seems Brother Han's words are indeed accurate—the giant crab is truly just an automaton. Then, we have no need to risk retrieving it. This automaton radiates such powerful energy, yet it has been abandoned here. It must have been damaged beyond repair. Otherwise, even if there were great dangers, the higher-ranked magical races would never have allowed it to remain in such a state." "Indeed, we've come empty-handed. Now, let us focus on how to navigate through this current storm and reach the island within. That is truly our purpose for this journey," said the Princess Qianchou, her expression serious.