Yuan Sha listened intently to Ao Xiao's words, his expression darkening. As his gaze swept once more toward the giant ape and the massive golden crab formed by Han Li at a distance, his eyes flickered slightly. Suddenly, he chuckled coldly, then with a single hand gesture in the air, the small white mallet briefly materialized—only to vanish again, as if by magic. At the same time, the great wolf shadow above dove down and plunged into the hall, disappearing entirely. Instantly, countless blue runes began to swirl throughout the hall, then trembled violently before coalescing into a brilliant blue light that surged forward. In just a few flashes, the light reached the far edge of the sky. Only then did Yuan Sha's voice emerge from the distance, faint and intermittent: "Ao Xiao, since you have intervened in this matter, I shall now withdraw. But your luck won't always be this favorable. The next time you are alone, I will not hesitate to take you." As soon as the words fell, the blue light flashed wildly once more at the horizon and then vanished completely. Yuan Sha, though a woman in form, proved decisive in her actions. Upon seeing Ao Xiao appear, she immediately realized that today's attempt to eliminate Han Li and the others would likely fail, and that she herself might now be in danger. Without hesitation or delay, she simply departed. Han Li, seeing this, felt a great relief. He called out to Xie Dao Ren, and the two of them resumed their human forms amidst shimmering light. The two towering peaks, originally frozen mid-air, were melted by two streams of silvery flame that Han Li released with a simple hand gesture, causing their surface ice to vanish and allowing them to settle back down. Yet, they were then neatly gathered up and enclosed within a single sweeping motion of a large sleeve. Ao Xiao turned to face Han Li, glanced at him twice, then raised his hand. A beam of white light shot forth, spiraling and brightening, revealing a massive, gleaming ship with five levels, stretching over a hundred zhang in length, with soldiers wielding silver spears stationed upon its decks. "Come up and join us." "Master Ao gave a calm instruction and, with a gentle glide of his form, ascended the pavilion boat, entering the top hall. The armored soldiers silently parted to either side, slightly bowing in respectful greeting. 'Puppets!' Master Han instantly recognized the true nature of these silver-clad soldiers. After a brief thought, he made his decision and, together with Cai Dao-ren and Zhu Guo-er, slowly flew toward them. The silver-armored puppets, evidently having received Master Ao's command, remained still upon seeing Han and his companions board the boat, neither moving nor attempting to obstruct their path. However, upon approaching the hall's main entrance, Han seemed to recall something, turned to send Zhu Guo-er to wait outside, and only brought Cai Dao-ren into the grand hall. 'Respectfully, Master Ao!' As soon as Han entered the hall, he saw Master Ao seated upon a golden chair, and immediately approached, offering a slight bow. Ao Xiao the Elder did not speak immediately, but instead studied Han Li carefully, his expression half-smiling, half-ambiguous. Yin Yue stood behind Ao Xiao, her head bowed low, as though she lacked the courage to look at Han Li. "You are the one who, over more than a thousand years, has progressed from the stage of Perfected Immortal to the stage of Consolidated Body? Now that I have personally witnessed you, I realize the external reports have somewhat underestimated your talent. Are you now at the late stage of Consolidated Body?" Ao Xiao finally spoke, his tone surprisingly kind. "Yes, I have indeed reached the late stage. Did the elder know me before?" Han Li's expression remained calm, yet after speaking, he could not help glancing at Yin Yue. The silver-haired woman still kept her head down, silent. "I first learned of Han Dao's name when Yin Yue returned from the Human World to the Spirit World. But only after you attained the Consolidated Body stage did you truly enter my eyes." After all, each combined cultivator is a top-tier combatant of both the human and the immortal race. Naturally, I must pay close attention to them. Silver Moon, come forward and pay your respects! Had it not been for Mr. Han's timely rescue, you would never have achieved the unification of your two souls and returned to the spiritual realm. "Ao Xiao, the elder ancestor, smiled and then suddenly called out to Silver Moon. "Silver Moon pays her respects to Brother Han. Since our parting in the human realm, I have not seen you again. Yet, I have never forgotten the great kindness you showed me back then." Finally, Silver Moon raised her delicate gaze, her expression remarkably calm—so different from the excited demeanor she displayed upon first meeting Han Li. Han Li's expression subtly shifted, surprised. After gazing at her for a moment, he noticed that Silver Moon's composure was genuine, not feigned. With a swift thought, he then smiled and replied, "At that time, I was unaware of the true nature of the immortal lady. I had indeed made several mistakes and overstepped in my conduct. I hope Master Linglong will not mind." As for the initial assistance, it was merely something I happened to do in accordance with the circumstances—no need for the immortal maiden to dwell on it too much. "Ha ha, you two haven't seen each other for so many years, and yet you're acting so formal. Still, no matter what, Master Han's life-saving grace toward the silver moon maiden is genuine. I will surely repay it generously," said Ao Xiao, his eyes flashing with a subtle expression before he chuckled warmly. "Given that this area is now under the control of the demonic clan, Master, how did you come to arrive here? Are you here to gather intelligence on the demonic clan's current activities?" Han Li, puzzled by his own thoughts, shifted the topic and asked. "Indeed, neither exactly nor entirely!" Unexpectedly, after a brief pause, Elder Ao Xiao offered a somewhat vague response. "Then, what exactly do you mean?" Han Li was momentarily taken aback. "Several months ago, the allied forces received word that the three original founders stationed at the demonic clan's core had undergone a series of consecutive rotations, and furthermore, the demonic clan's occupied territories appear to be expanding their areas of magical transformation." Old Master has been entrusted by other Daoist friends. First, to personally verify whether the news is true, and second, to see if he can successfully destroy several of the magical-magified mother arrays. Ao Xiao said solemnly. "The change of the Magistrate Patriarch of the Magian race—I can understand that. But Master Xiao, what exactly are these magical-magified mother arrays? I recall that in the human race's territory, there were a few places where similar signs of magification appeared, just like what's happening here, correct?" Han Li blinked, expressing his slight confusion. "If the Magian race truly wishes to establish themselves firmly within our spiritual realm, they must transform certain regions into magical zones, fully converting the surrounding spiritual energy into magical energy. This transformation requires a specific magical array capable of turning ordinary trees into magical plants. When the Magians first attempted this in our human and spirit-people realms, we discovered them early on and promptly destroyed most of the arrays, thus the magification effect remained limited." But the Wood Clan's situation was far more complicated. Not only had they installed such magical transformation arrays deep beneath half of their occupied territories, but they had begun constructing a central mother array several years ago. With this mother array, thousands of individual magical transformation arrays could be linked together into a unified network, making it extremely difficult to destroy them. However, if even a few of these central arrays could be successfully dismantled, it would certainly slow down the transformation process across the Wood Clan's territories. As the elder Ao Xiao spoke, he sighed, paused, and then a faintly amused yet slightly skeptical expression passed over his face. Suddenly, he asked a question that startled Han Li deeply. "Han, over the years you've been completely silent—have you and the True Spirit Clan members gone to the Demon Realm?" "How do you know this, Elder? Indeed, together with my colleague, Ye Xian, and several members of the Spirit Clans, I did join forces and enter the Demon Realm a while back!" Han Li's expression shifted between gloom and uncertainty before he finally sighed and replied with a wry smile. "This isn't hard to figure out." The several of you vanished simultaneously, and the matter of the Washing Spirit Pool and the Purifying Spirit Lotus was never particularly secret in our eyes. Each time the realms of demons and spirits connect, various clans send individuals secretly to penetrate the demon realm in search of this opportunity. Yet only a few succeed. Now that only you have returned, it seems others must have perished in the demon realm. "Master Ao Xiao spoke calmly. "Your insight is truly remarkable. We indeed set out specifically for this opportunity. The journey to the demon realm proved exceedingly perilous—our fellow disciples all encountered untimely setbacks, and only I managed to survive and return to the spirit realm." Han Li paused for a moment before gently exhaling. He had not expected that the very actions he had taken in the demon realm were simply repetitions of what the predecessors had done—though those predecessors likely never even reached the Demon Source Sea. "Entering the demon realm with your current attainments truly is a matter of life and death. But your gains on this journey have surely exceeded your expectations. Aside from that, the true form behind your "companion"—shouldn't that be the Golden Holy Crab dwelling in the Magic Source Sea? Yet how has its cultivation level dropped to such a state? Hmph, if this pseudo-immortal crab fully commits its strength, even I would find it difficult to withstand. You managed to bring it out here—how on earth did you accomplish that? After chuckling warmly, Old Master Ao Xiao finally turned his gaze to the Crab Immortal, his eyes now glowing with genuine warmth. "It seems Old Master Ao Xiao has previously encountered Brother Crab. The Crab already possesses wisdom; I certainly couldn't have simply carried it off. I merely struck a mutually beneficial agreement with Brother Crab, and thus it has temporarily followed me." Han Li cleared his throat and replied somewhat hesitantly. "Ah, so that's the case!" Old Master Ao Xiao yawned, yet deep down, he remained profoundly unconvinced. If this golden giant crab were truly so accommodating, it would have been lured away by the stronger beings from other interfaces long ago, and could have remained in the Magic Source Sea for over a million years. Yet, although Ao Xiao admired this pseudo-Immortal crab deeply, he had no intention of seizing it. After all, at his level of cultivation, he knew such matters could not be altered by external forces alone. Moreover, upon first meeting Han Li and discovering that his cultivation had reached the late Consolidation stage—possibly even capable of advancing into the Great Perfection stage—Ao Xiao's mind had been stirred with profound excitement. The matter he had once regretted seemed suddenly to have gained a promising turn. Ao Xiao, the elder master, glanced at the silver moon behind him. Seeing that her expression remained calm and composed, he felt a slight weight settle in his heart. He then straightened his posture and asked solemnly, "Though I may not concern myself with your experiences in the realm of magic, I shall only ask you one thing—please answer truthfully. Friend Han, did you truly enter the purification pool of the Magic Source Sea and ingest the Pure Spirit Lotus?"