Two holy ancestors from the magical race immediately stepped forward. The remaining senior cultivators, along with their disciples, began advancing toward the center of the site under the guidance of the precious flower. Clearly, the site was protected by an exceptionally powerful restriction that prevented even the senior cultivators from soaring freely—though they could only glide at a slow pace through the lower air. Of course, compared to their usual swift movements, this was still remarkably fast for ordinary mortals. Within less than half an hour, the group had traveled over ten thousand li. Suddenly, a long, unusual gulf appeared on the ground ahead, from which thin, purple mist began to rise in waves, surging upward all the way to the heavens. More strangely, these mists emitted a faint fishy odor, causing those who inhaled them to feel dizzy and disoriented, their awareness becoming notably sluggish. "This is..." several senior cultivators, after briefly scanning the purple mist with their spiritual senses, exchanged slightly concerned glances. "All of you should be cautious—don't let these things get too close. The mist is the malevolent qi seeping out from the mother of that great locust pest. It's precisely this kind of qi that has transformed all our holy realm's maggot-like creatures into locusts," Bo Hua warned. At this, the great cultivators' hearts stirred with alarm—some of them immediately strengthened their protective light aura, making it denser and more robust than before, while others even summoned one or two protective artifacts. Yet many of the great cultivators, confident in their own powers, remained composed and unmoved. When the group finally reached the sky above the canyon and looked down, all the interdimensional elders gasped in astonishment. Amid the swirling purple mist, the canyon's depths appeared profoundly deep, with gusts of foul wind periodically surging forth, causing a sudden chill upon contact—so intense that it felt like bone-deep cold. "Is this where the ancient seal lies?" Han Li narrowed his eyes, murmuring to himself. At a distance, Bao Hua turned slightly, smiling lightly, and said: "Friend Han, the ancient seal indeed lies deep underground. In ancient times, our holy clans excavated the entire underground region spanning ten thousand li, constructing a vast subterranean palace and setting up one after another intricate and magical restrictions. The mother of the aphid dwelled at the very heart of this palace. Because she had partially mastered the power of the ancient seal, we originally could not easily enter the palace. However, over the past few days, the celestial and terrestrial vital energies have been experiencing their periodic great surges—this is precisely when the ancient seal's power is unstable. Now we have taken advantage of this moment to infiltrate. Otherwise, even if we could forcibly breach the palace with our divine powers, we would surely awaken the mother of the aphid." "How vigilant that mother of the aphid truly is! As I understand, when powerful creatures suffer damage to their vital energy and enter a state of deep slumber to recover, they are extremely difficult to awaken." "Unless one approaches it extremely close and takes actions that threaten its very life, this would be the only exception," remarked an elder with triangular eyes, dressed in a silver-threaded robe, nearby, frowning slightly. "Ah, it's Brother Gu, no wonder you know so much about insect and beast creatures. But, Brother, don't forget—this mother of the rice stem borers is no ordinary fierce creature; some of your deductions may not quite apply to her." The Bao Hua glanced calmly at the elder, replied softly. "Hmph. I hope so," the Gu Daoist murmured, clearly unconvinced. "If you don't believe me, why not test it right now?" Bao Hua seemed unimpressed with the Gu Daoist as well, her expression darkening before she turned and said this, then simply resumed gazing steadily into the depths of the gully, as if patiently awaiting something. Upon hearing this, the gushe cultivator's face darkened, a flash of fierce light flashing in his triangular eyes, yet he remained solemn and said nothing—certainly not rushing to venture deep into the valley. Han Li, observing this, found himself particularly interested in studying the gushe cultivator more closely. Knowing that the precious flower was no ordinary great cultivator, the fact that this gushe cultivator dared to speak to it with such a tone revealed that he himself was no ordinary figure. "Master Han, the gushe cultivator is notoriously sharp and critical, yet his mastery of gushe techniques is such that even I find it deeply challenging. I would advise you not to become entangled with him!" came the direct transmission from the precious flower. Han Li maintained his composed expression, merely giving a slight nod, showing no intention to speak. The other great cultivators also rose and hovered steadily in the sky above the valley, waiting quietly. It was either the influence of that purple mist or the power of the underground seal that caused everyone’s spiritual awareness, once they had entered the valley’s depths beyond a hundred paces, to naturally disperse—unable to detect any movement below. Gazing at the dark, deep valley, even some of the senior cultivators of the Great Stage level felt a growing sense of apprehension. At that moment, however, a silver array disc appeared in the hands of Bao Hua without anyone noticing, and with a single hand, she pressed a seal and continuously cast a series of gestures upon it. The silver disc beneath her palm flickered between dim and bright, as if imbued with life. After a full meal’s worth of time, the disc suddenly emitted a resonant hum, and then a brilliant surge of silver light burst forth, with countless silver characters rushing out and swirling erratically. "Now is the time," Bao Hua beamed with joy, shouting excitedly. With a single hand gesture, she lifted the disc, which instantly transformed into a soft pink glow and shot forward toward the heart of the valley. Other great masters of the Mahayana tradition, seeing this, could not afford to be slow, and likewise vanished into beams of light, joining the procession behind. Han Li's form shimmered with a steady, faint golden glow, effortlessly pushing back the purple mist beyond a few zhang, and followed the others downward. Lo and behold, purple mist rises gradually from all around, flowing upward toward the valley's sky, making the surroundings of the plaza appear somewhat dim and hazy. "Good. Since we have safely arrived here, it follows that the fierce creature should still be in slumber. Now, let us proceed according to our original plan. I shall lead a group to communicate with the ancient seal spirit. Master Copper Crow shall take several colleagues from the Sky Crane Realm to reach the deepest part of the underground palace and make contact with the trapped disciples. The two Masters from the Night Sky Realm—first, go to the very heart of the palace, locate the resting place of the mother of the mire-beetle, and observe her movements closely. Yet, do not disturb her prematurely. With the Night Sky Realm's renowned techniques of concealment, this task should prove quite feasible. The other disciples shall be divided into several groups to restore key seals at several vital points within the palace. Proceed with caution—these locations may well be guarded by descendants of the mother mire-beetle herself." Otherwise, even with just this one fierce creature, it would be impossible to control the ancient seal—let alone just a portion of its power. The true descendants of the moth queen were far beyond the ordinary moths of the outside world, and even for us, the great transcendents, they posed a significant threat." After glancing around, Baohua immediately grew serious and began issuing her instructions one by one. "Hehe, no problem." "I'll take my leave first." "And please take good care of yourself, Baohua." The other great transcendents showed no hesitation, simply formed their own groups and calmly began to depart from the plaza. Han Li, Xie Dao Ren, and the other two transcendents vanished into a nearby road. Among the two transcendents, one was Xie Lian, and the other was the interdimensional transcendents whose body was enveloped in a green aura—"Green Stone." Like the others, these four were tasked with repairing the seal at a specific array point within the underground palace. Xie Lian walked at the forefront, gently handling a jade scroll in her hands. Han Li and Xie Dao Ren proceeded in the middle, while Lü Shi quietly trailed behind. None of the four spoke, merely gliding smoothly several feet above the ground. Yet their spiritual awareness encompassed everything within a hundred paces, making it impossible for anyone with a cultivation level or divine skill not significantly surpassing theirs to remain unnoticed. Han Li's expression remained calm, yet his gaze continuously scanned the surroundings on either side. The path they took to the left passed through a vast cluster of tower-like structures—tall, four-sided towers standing one after another along both sides of the road, extending as far as the eye could see. These towers were ancient in style, adorned with simple, elegant inscriptions from the ancient era, evoking a profound sense of timelessness and weathered grandeur, clearly having stood for countless thousands of years. The entire cluster was remarkably expansive; even after flying for a full cup of tea's worth of time, Han Li and his companions still hadn't reached its end. Suddenly, Han Li's brow furrowed, and his body halted mid-motion. "Has Han Brother noticed something?" The Bao Hua naturally sensed Han Li's unusual state and turned to ask. Liu Shi, the Elder of the Green Stone, also slowed his steps, gazing at Han Li with a look of astonishment. "There seems to be something interesting over there. Would either of you like to go and take a look?" Han Li glanced toward the deeper part of the cluster of towers and smiled suddenly. "Your spiritual awareness reaches such a distant place?" Xie Lian also scanned the area, but found nothing, and her expression subtly changed. "Since Brother Han has mentioned this, then I shall join you and go to see for myself," Liu Shi said, after a similar scan yielded no results, and her tone grew more serious. Clearly, Han Li's spiritual prowess surpassed theirs. Upon hearing this, Han Li smiled gently and drifted forward, taking the lead as he flew toward the cluster of towers. The crab-shaped man naturally followed without a word. After exchanging a glance, the evil lotus and the green stone both stepped forward with a sense of gravity.