One month later, the entire magical realm was abuzz over Yuan Yan's Edict of Annihilation against the Immortal Immortals. The substantial rewards offered in the edict even stirred a measure of enthusiasm among some of the magical race's sage ancestors. Moreover, since the edict targeted merely one combined-stage cultivator from the Spirit Realm, these sage ancestors naturally did not take it seriously—despite the fact that most had not even summoned their true forms, they still dispatched numerous incarnations to respond. However, a few sage ancestors particularly close to Yuan Yan received more confidential updates from him. After careful consideration, they chose to remain passive. Yet even thus, the combined efforts of these sage ancestors' incarnations and several combined-stage magi were sufficient to stir up half of the magical realm. Two months later, near the outskirts of the Emerald Magical City—one of the major cities in the magical realm—someone finally spotted Han Li and reported his whereabouts to the four sage elders stationed in the city. As a result, near the teleportation array in the city, the Four Magi Lords unexpectedly blocked Han Li and his party, but suddenly, the Crab Daoist struck with a single blow, effortlessly defeating the Four Magi Lords and firmly impressing the surrounding ten-thousand-magical race members, allowing Han Li and his companions to pass through the teleportation array unimpeded and leave the Emerald City with ease. Three and a half months later, Han Li's presence was again discovered in the famed, perilous region of the "Shuojin River Valley" in the Magic Realm. In response, the renowned Sky-Hawk Elder of the Magic Realm dispatched a physical avatar, accompanied by three other Magi Lords, who hurried over and once again blocked Han Li's path. After an unseen and intense battle, the Sky-Hawk Elder's avatar and two other Magi Lords perished on the spot, while only one Magi Lord, skilled in teleportation, managed to fight his way out and escape the Shuojin River Valley. News of this spread swiftly, causing widespread astonishment and lively debate among the various magical clans throughout the realm. Half a year later, the true form of the Bloodlight Patriarch, accompanied by two incarnations and a number of subordinates, suddenly appeared in a small town named Chenshui Town, instantly revealing the true identities of Han Li and the others, who had been concealing their faces, and then unleashed his celestial magic to capture them all alive. Han Li and the Crab Monk immediately engaged in combat. After six months of recuperation, Han Li's vital energy had nearly fully recovered, and the profound benefits gained from his previous battle against the Nirvana Incarnation—particularly from the purification pool and the Pure Spirit Lotus—had now fully manifested, significantly advancing his practice of the Buddhist Saint's True Magic. Thus, upon his first move, Han Li summoned his dual Nirvana-bodied forms, wielding a power so extraordinary that he held his own against the Bloodlight Patriarch's true form, not falling behind at all. As a result, after a fierce battle lasting all through one full day and night, the entire town was nearly destroyed, and numerous magical beings from the surrounding area were either injured or driven to the brink of unconsciousness. Yet it proved horrifying that the final outcome of the battle saw the Holy Ancestor of Blood Light severely wounded and barely escaping, with both of his two incarnations and his entire retinue utterly annihilated. If the previous two battles had only just made the various demonic clans recognize the terrifying power of Xie Dao-ren, then after this engagement, they finally came to truly grasp the magnitude of Han Li’s prowess, comparing him side by side with Xie Dao-ren. What was even more astonishing, however, was that several days after the battle’s conclusion, a high-ranking demonic lord discovered the corpse of the Holy Ancestor of Blood Light in a mountain range some hundred thousand miles away from Chenshui Town. The body lay in a state of dreadful desolation—the skull had been split open, its interior completely empty, as though not only had the Ancestor’s physical form been completely destroyed, but even his true essence, his immortal embryo, had been forcibly extracted by some unknown force. Once this discovery was confirmed by other high-ranking demonic lords, the news spread rapidly and caused an even greater stir. Several Holy Ancestors of the demonic clans, who had previously been hesitant to act, were now deeply shaken and dispatched their own incarnations to investigate the true cause of To be sure, although the magical realm has long encouraged fierce competition among the various clans, even the fall of the Supreme Sovereign has occasionally occurred, a case of a Supreme Sovereign being victimized—such as by assassination—has never happened in over ten thousand years. Moreover, while some of the Supreme Sovereigns harbored suspicions that it might have been Han Li and the Crab Daoist who orchestrated the attack, most believed it was instead the result of other Supreme Sovereigns harboring grudges against the Blood-illumined Sovereign, who took the opportunity to strike. As a result, although the Supreme Sovereigns—especially those of the highest rank, equal to or above the Primordial Stage—had not feared Han Li or the Crab Daoist before, they now found themselves deeply cautious and abandoned any intention of taking action. After all, with Han Li and the Crab Daoist's formidable strength, sending their avatars would be like throwing a steamed bun into the wind—certainly futile—while having their physical bodies personally appear would risk being closely watched and targeted by their rivals. As for the ordinary Magi Sovereigns, without the leadership of a Magi Sovereign, they were even less inclined to voluntarily seek out confrontation Of course, the surface-level investigations and pursuits still exist, yet they merely appear as a show of outward rigidity with inner ease. Han Li's reputation has now fully spread among the various races of the magical realm, to the point that even ordinary magical beings find him intimidating! It was a cauldron of solid crimson, about a foot high, with a square upper section, each of its four corners bearing a terrifying ghost-faced relief. The cauldron trembled continuously, and from the mouths of the ghost faces, it emitted piercing, agonizing cries—as though something monstrous were trapped within, suffering intense torment. Hearing the Han's words, it seemed that the Yuan-En kind imprisoned within the furnace was indeed the Yuan-En of the Blood-Flame Sage. "Indeed. If you return to us everything you took from us two on that day—doubled—then perhaps, with a sudden burst of goodwill, I might allow you to be reborn without suffering. You should know well that I, Che Qi Gong, speak what I say, and Feng Xie, even more so, is never one to break his word." The elder raised his eyebrows, speaking with a firm and stern tone. The two of them were precisely those who had been trapped within the Magic Lock that day. Through some method unknown to them, they had finally managed to escape from the Magic Lock and, after lingering in the demonic realm for some time, seized the opportune moment when the Blood-Flame Sage was severely wounded, destroying his physical form and capturing his Yuan-En, which they now held securely within the magic furnace before them. From the tone of their conversation, it was clear that the two demons and the Blood-Flame Sage carried deep-seated grievances, making it difficult to determine who had done what. "Heh... Don't bother dreaming about it This seat... once it has come into your hands, I have never thought... that I could... merely survive by chance. I would rather see the treasures hidden deep within the secret caverns, buried forever, than hand them over to you—even as my own burial offerings. Without these items, you... would find it difficult to truly restore your former powers, at the very least delaying it for several thousand years. Now, precisely during the great crisis of the Sacred Realm, with your current attainments, even a single misstep could see you fall. Such a unique opportunity to avenge yourselves—I could not possibly let it pass. Lu Ding's cries paused slightly, yet from within came intermittent male groans, laced with deep resentment toward Che Qi Gong and Feng Xie. "Hmph. You've been served wine, yet refuse to drink—it's now penalty wine! Let me tell you the truth: the current power of the Soul-Refining Cauldron, though activated, has only just begun to unfold—less than one-tenth of its full potential. After I perform my next spell, the agony of soul-fragmentation you endure will immediately intensify a hundredfold. That will truly be a life of suffering beyond endurance. Upon hearing this, Che Qi Gong was instantly furious. Then, the old demon raised both hands, reciting incantations with rhythmic precision, and with a swift motion, launched a series of spells that vanished instantly into the magic cauldron. At once, the demon cauldron radiated a surge of blood-like light, and the four carved ghost faces simultaneously twisted and distorted, expressing intense agony. The cries emanating from within the cauldron grew even more piercing and haunting—merely listening to them was enough to send shivers down one's spine. Yet Che Qi Gong remained fiercely resolute, his face contorted with rage, tirelessly urging the magic cauldron. To the side, Feng Xie shook his head slightly, as though he had not heard a word, and closed his eyes, settling into meditation. The couple besieged stood there—the woman in a white robe, quietly floating in midair, her beauty unparalleled. The man clad in black armor, his face grim and grotesque, held a wolf-toothed mace across the woman’s chest. It was Bao Hua and Hei Yue! Yet now, Bao Hua’s brow was slightly furrowed, her gaze sweeping over the entire group of demonic warriors. Her expression grew dark. Though they all appeared identical, clearly belonging to the same race, each one was utterly expressionless, their breaths cold and lifeless—like statues. Hei Yue’s armor, however, was nearly stained crimson with blood, his aura of fierce energy radiating outward. A glance at the scattered corpses beneath revealed they were all his work. "Hmph! You’re truly fearless," Hei Yue said, licking the blood from his lips with a fierce laugh. "With so many of you already fallen, you still persist!" One of the demonic warriors merely uttered the word "Up," expressionlessly. At once, all the double-horned magical beings raised one hand each, causing black seals to appear before them. As the black glow flashed across their surfaces, black luminous spheres emerged and shot toward Baohua and his companion from all four directions.