Han Li stood beside the broken armor and weapons, lowered his head to examine them carefully, then suddenly furrowed his brows, reaching out with one hand in the air. "Whoosh!" A bright, shimmering fragment of sword blade shot into his hand. Han Li lifted his gaze and scanned the scene carefully. To his astonishment, on the surface of the seemingly impossibly hard fragment, there was a clearly defined, deeply embedded claw imprint, as if meticulously carved into the material. After a moment's thought, Han Li pressed his two fingers firmly against the fragment, and suddenly a strange golden glow flashed at his fingertips—then, directly, they sank into the fragment. To his surprise, a shadow of his fingertip, nearly as deep as the claw imprint, appeared on the surface of the fragment. "What is it, Han friend? Have you noticed something?" Xie Lian, observing this, asked with genuine interest. "Just try it yourself," Han Li replied calmly, then tossed the fragment aside. Xie Lian smiled lightly, lifted her slender hand, and caught the object in one motion. She glanced down at it, then gasped: "Ethereal White Gold—this blade is forged from Ethereal White Gold!" "Ethereal White Gold! It's a renowned material across all realms. While there may be materials harder than it, such cases are truly rare. To possess such a substantial piece of it, the blade's master must surely have exceptional fortune." The Green Stone Elder, hearing this, could not help but be astonished. "Hmph. Even with great fortune, what good is it if it still becomes mere food for these fierce creatures? Yet, the deep impression left directly upon this material—your physical strength must be truly formidable. I wonder, Brother Han, how much of your true power did you channel just now?" Xie Lian murmured in admiration, her fingers flashing with a bright white light, leaving a slightly shallower impression on the fragment. Then, she shook her head and asked. As for Lüshi, he was first startled, then could only shake his head with a wry smile. "Of course, I've exerted considerable effort—otherwise how could I have truly left such deep imprints upon it. But have either of you considered how strong the creature must have been that, in its very first attack, shattered this too-yet-ethereal white-gold blade into fragments? Surely it couldn't have been the kind of human-faced insect we saw earlier." Han Li spoke with serious demeanor. "Those human-faced insects were weaker than even us; naturally, they couldn't have accomplished such a feat. Could it have been the mother of that maguee insect who personally carried out the action?" Lüshi's elder master's face turned pale. "Unlikely. With the mother of that maguee insect possessing such vast powers, how could she have personally fought off mere guards of the underground palace?" Xielian immediately shook her head in denial. "Then it seems there exists another kind of even more formidable monster within this underground palace, beyond the human-faced insects we just witnessed." Han Li murmured. "Perhaps it truly is so," said Xie Lian, with a look of resignation. "You two needn't worry too much. Even if such fierce creatures exist, their numbers are likely not very large. And there are already over thirty of us who have entered the inner sanctum this time—enough to handle all of them," said Lü Shi, who seemed to have grown more composed and offered reassurance. "Indeed, the second type of creature is quite rare. Otherwise, the others—Bao Hua and Yuan Yan—would have gathered some information. Perhaps there are only a few of them at most," Xie Lian mused, and agreed. "Since their numbers are small, we needn't be overly concerned. Let us first inspect the damaged seals," said Han Li, his expression relaxing. Then he and the Crab Monk proceeded toward the deeper parts of the hall. Xie Lian and Lü Shi exchanged glances and followed suit. A short while later, in a grand hall at the center of the pavilion, Han Li and the others gathered around a vast magical array that spanned the entire hall, quietly discussing matters. The enormous array appeared extremely intricate, with dense, elegant runes weaving throughout it. However, parts of it had clearly been forcibly altered recently, while others had been completely erased and destroyed, leaving the array looking somewhat disheveled and unfamiliar. "Xie Lian, do you not feel confident in restoring this array?" asked Lü Shi, her brows furrowed. "I brought the original blueprint of the local seal when I departed, but I hadn't expected such extensive modifications to have been made here. If we're to restore it exactly as it originally was, and if I have sufficient time, I'm certain I can accomplish it. Yet the time left by Bao Hua is far more limited. That is precisely what makes me feel so concerned." Xie Lian replied with a wry smile. "If that's the case, then indeed, things have become quite troublesome. "My mastery in the art of array formations is not particularly high—I fear I am heartily eager but lacking in strength." The Elder Green Stone sighed. "Should we have the original blueprint of the array, I believe I could assist somewhat. Master Baohua only asked that we activate and utilize the current seals as much as possible; she did not insist on fully restoring the original array. I shall first examine the blueprint to see if there's a way to achieve temporary activation of the seals without having to completely restore the array." After a moment of thoughtful reflection, Han Li spoke slowly. "Master Han has also made significant study in the art of array formations! If we can indeed achieve what Master Baohua suggested, that would be truly ideal." Upon hearing this, the Lotus of Evil was overjoyed. With a single hand motion, she tossed a translucent jade tablet toward Han Li. Han Li caught it and directed his divine awareness into the tablet. Inside, he found a highly intricate array diagram, which, upon close inspection, clearly matched the array of this very location. From that point on, Han Li and the Lotus of Evil began studying the methods for restoring the array. The Green-Slate Elder and the Crab Monk stepped out of the hall to carry out watch duties outside. With Han Li's mastery of array techniques and the presence of the array blueprint, he had only needed a short half-day to figure out the restoration method. After listening carefully to Han Li's explanation and reflecting several times, the female disciple felt confident and nodded with evident delight. She immediately retrieved materials from her storage bracelet and, together with Han Li, began repairing the massive array within the hall. Throughout the entire process, both of them worked with great care, as if walking on thin ice. For even a single mistake during the repair could potentially trigger the entire underground palace's seal, instantly awakening the mother of the great moth creature deep within. Thus, the two worked diligently in the hall for a full day and night before finally completing the restoration of the array. When Xie Lian, his face serious, cast a spell into the array, an immediate hum resonated throughout the hall, gradually rippling with layers of gentle white light. At the same time, a profoundly subtle ripple spread out from the hall, silently dissolving into the void without a trace. "Excellent—no issues at all. Brother Han's plan truly works." Xie Lian waited a moment, seeing no anomalies, then exhaled deeply, smiling warmly at Han Li. "Since everything is settled, all we now need to do is patiently await word from the Sacred Blossom, and then fully unseal this site's restrictions. We shall see, however, whether the other colleagues can also complete their tasks on schedule!" Han Li glanced around the hall's array, his own expression brightening with a smile. According to the Sacred Blossom's plan, word should arrive no later than half a day from now. In the meantime, we shall focus on restoring our strength. We shall soon face a battle of unknown intensity. "Xie Lian nodded, raised her hand, and sent a signal scroll to notify the Crab Daoist and the Green Stone Elder outside. Then she walked to a corner of the hall and settled into a meditative posture. Han Li naturally had no objections and sat in the same place. A moment later, two streaks of azure and silver light burst in from outside, materializing in the corners of the hall with a single flash, both of them also settling into meditative poses. The four of them now sat motionless, like carved statues, closing their eyes and entering deep meditation. Time flew by swiftly, and within a few hours, the five or six hours passed without anyone noticing. Suddenly, Han Li's expression changed, and he opened his eyes. Not only he, but Xie Lian, the Green Stone Elder, and the others also startled and opened their eyes simultaneously. 'Boom!' The ground showed no prior signs of disturbance, yet it trembled suddenly. The entire hall then shook violently. The ground spell flashed with brilliant hues of light, and then, from the center, a column of pale, misty light erupted, vanishing instantly into the hall's ceiling. At that moment, the entire underground realm began to tremble. Deep within a secluded corner of the palace, ancient, towering stone pillars surged upward from the ground, densely clustering to form a strangely imposing stone forest. From above, these stone forests clearly arranged themselves into a square, mysterious array. At the center of the array stood eight bronze pillars—distinct from the ordinary stone ones. These bronze pillars were covered in rust, bearing inscriptions of unknown, enigmatic ancient characters. At the top of each pillar, a spherical light screen shimmered continuously. Within each screen, a crimson ancient lamp was placed. Of these lamps, only one still flickered with a faint yellow flame; the other seven were cold and lifeless, having extinguished their light for countless years. More strangely, at the center enclosed by the eight bronze pillars stood a sacrificial platform several dozen feet high, glowing a deep crimson. Upon it rested a bowl dark as ink, its surface wrapped in swirling black mist, exuding an atmosphere of profound solemnity and eeriness. Yet from within the bowl, a low, resonant, eerie laughter echoed forth! The crab-shaped figure also remained silent, vanishing together with the others in a beam of light, and swiftly followed behind as a streak of silver.