The swordlight flashed wildly! As the silver lightning stretched over a thousand zhang brightened, several towering wind pillars, severed into fragments by the strike, burst apart into roaring gusts. The wind pressure remained silent—within the core of some of these pillars, golden light flickered, revealing massive whirlpools, each about an acre in size, spinning swiftly. As the pillars trembled and were pulled apart, these golden whirlpools, born within their own bodies, drew them in forcefully, dissolving them into无形 forces and extinguishing them. Even under the combined might of two beings at the Great Ascension stage, such astonishing power was shattered and driven back. After leaving this stormy sea of wind, the Mo Ling sacred vessel immediately accelerated, swiftly departing the valley. On their journey thereafter, the group encountered no further major perils, and finally, after six months, entered the spiritual realm of the Spirit Clan. Standing high on the great vessel, Han Li and his companions had already spotted a natural rampart formed by a series of low, continuous mountain ranges. Beyond these colossal city walls, a towering peak stretching tens of thousands of li into the heavens can be faintly seen. Along the misty mountain slopes, numerous triangular, angular towers rise in dense clusters, seemingly scattered throughout the entire mountain. "There it is—the famed Ling Clan stronghold! To be precise, calling it a fortress might be a bit off. It's more accurately a city. Its function is quite similar to our two clans' Tianyuan City—specifically designed to block invasions from other clans into the Ling Clan's territory. Unlike us, who employ super-powered magical arrays to encircle our entire domain, leaving only Tianyuan as a single access point, the Ling Clan's territory is surrounded by rugged, rugged terrain that is simply unsuitable for large armies to march through. As long as key strategic points are well guarded, the Ling Clan remains secure. Therefore, the Ling Clan doesn't just have one such stronghold—they have seven in total." Mo Jianli, aboard the great vessel, was explaining to Han Li as if narrating a story. "Though this fortress may be defended with unparalleled vigilance, shouldn't it be a straightforward matter for us to simply bypass it with our current capabilities? Or do you, Brother Mo, think it better to enter the Lingtian Fortress openly and formally?" "We had no prior appointment with the Ling King, and the Lei Xiao Seal is indeed no ordinary matter—thus, we shouldn't make a grand display. A quiet, unobtrusive approach would suffice, and we can simply seek out the Ling King directly." Mo Jianli clearly had this matter well considered, and upon hearing this, replied without hesitation. "Your reasoning is sound. Then we shall proceed to bypass this fortress and quietly infiltrate the Ling clan." Han Li nodded, expressing no dissent. The others, following these two, naturally saw no objection. Thus, the giant vessel changed course and sailed off toward the side. At nearly the same time, within a stepped structure on the great mountain behind the "Monumental Wall," a beautiful woman in her thirties stood before a white wall inscribed with an astonishing number of character arrays, her dark brows slightly furrowed. As she observed, a subtle anomaly had just flashed through one of the patterns on the wall—though faint, it clearly indicated that an object emitting an extraordinary spiritual pressure had appeared at the area in front of the fortress. Otherwise, it would not have manifested at all on this very "Broltu" array. With this realization, the woman immediately issued a command to the door. Instantly, a Li-ethnic guard clad in full armor entered and bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Grand Overseer!" "Go to the Fire-Li Region Three and investigate—there are some unusual fluctuations," the woman ordered without hesitation. "Understood!" The Li-ethnic soldier promptly responded with due respect and then bowed, stepping out of the room. After a brief moment, a contingent of over a hundred Ling race guards departed from Lingtian Fort, heading directly toward the area where the Mo Ling Holy Vessel had previously been located to investigate. By then, the Mo Ling Holy Vessel had already transported Han Li and his companions to a distance of a million li, so these guards naturally returned empty-handed. Upon hearing the final report, the beautiful woman furrowed her delicate brows once again. For some reason, though the detected fluctuations were not particularly significant—possibly merely a result of a mistaken exploration—the sense of unease that settled in her heart remained persistent, and her inner composure could not settle. Perhaps it was truly time for her to take a well-deserved rest. After careful consideration, she ultimately attributed the matter to the cumulative fatigue of her long-standing monitoring duties, a touch of self-mockery accompanying her decision to set it aside. Meanwhile, Han Li and his companions were quietly flying over a vast, dark expanse of water. For some reason, Han Li had decided to retract the Mo Ling Sacred Vessel and instead activated his protective spiritual light to its fullest, expanding it into a vast luminous screen that fully enclosed Yin Yue and the others. Mo Jianli, on the other hand, maintained his own smaller luminous screen and flew independently. Outside the screens, delicate strands of pale yellow mist swirled and hovered, while faint, eerie sounds emanated directly from the black water surface and resonated upon the screens. Amid these strange sounds, the two screens occasionally distorted or trembled violently, as though continuously resisting the influence of an immense, persistent force. Suddenly, a sharp cry erupted from below, and as the black water parted, a dark figure surged upward at an astonishing speed, racing straight toward the screen Han Li had established. Han Li's brow slightly furrowed, but he remained expressionless, lifting a single finger and gently striking it downward. A loud "thud" echoed through the air. That shadow seemed struck hard by the massive hammer-like head, halting momentarily before retreating backward at a speed three parts faster than before. It was a small creature, neither fully a turtle nor fully a frog—its back adorned with sharp plates, its neck short and thick, its body a blend of black and yellow. What appeared to be a mere flick of Han Li’s hand carried an astonishing force—so powerful that even a top-tier treasure struck directly would likely shatter and splinter upon impact. The creature plunged heavily into the black water, then rolled over swiftly to regain its footing, seemingly unharmed, though it emitted a sharp cry of pain before leaping directly into the water and vanishing without attempting to challenge the aerial light shield any further. In this black water, such creatures were not rare—several would emerge at regular intervals to attack the light shield in the sky—but each was consistently driven back by the firm, decisive blows of Han Li and Mo Jian, who each wielded their own divine powers. Yet, the speed at which Han Li and his companions were traveling was not particularly slow. After three or four hours, they finally broke free from this expanse of black waters and emerged into a continuous range of lush green mountains. "At last, we have truly entered the spiritual realm," said Yin Yue, breathing out a long sigh and smiling gently. "The natural toxins from that black lake were rather troublesome, but fortunately, some of the precious treasures could effectively shield themselves from them. Still, the玄蜍 (Xuan Chu) beasts were truly a nuisance! Their attacks weren't particularly powerful, yet each one was remarkably tough, with exceptional endurance. Once caught, even a fully consolidated cultivator would find it difficult to dislodge them." "Should Han Master's sacred vessel still be able to operate effectively over the black water, then we would indeed have little concern for the disturbances caused by these Xuan Chu beasts. Unfortunately, this vessel is currently constrained by the black water's seal—when it is used at all, it operates with great sluggishness, making it slower than simply flying through the air with their bodies." Mo Jianli replied lightly. "Not only my Ink Spirit Boat—few flying treasures in the world could maintain their speed once they reached this black water. With the constant disturbances from the toads, it truly lives up to its reputation as a perilous region. It's no wonder the Spirit race has not established any monitoring posts in this direction. Simply head to the central region of the Ling clan and find the Ling King. The journey below must remain discreet; unless absolutely necessary, one should avoid exposing their identity too soon. Han Li spoke with confidence and clarity. The elder Flower Shi and others respectfully nodded in agreement, while Mo Jianli also gave a firm affirmation with a nod. Thereafter, Han Li once again summoned the Magic Ling Holy Boat, but first performed a series of hand seals, reducing its size by several dozen times—now stretching only about fifteen to twenty zhang in length—and transforming its appearance to resemble a typical flying vessel. Then, with a simple flick of his sleeve, several magic crystal automatons of the Ling Realm's Shengxu stage appeared before him. After a brief circulation of crystalline light across their surfaces, their aura instantly became indistinguishable from that of the Ling Clan's spiritual beings. "As long as we don't encounter any major difficulties on the way, everything can be handled by my several puppets, and I'll simply rest and recover within the Sacred Vessel!" Han Li smiled gently at the others. "Excellent! This plan is truly sound. The spirit-entities of the instrument race originally became sentient through their vessels. Han, by having your puppets assume the forms of these beings, the transition appears seamless and without flaw." Mo Jianli, pleased with this, clapped his hands and then swiftly drifted into the Sacred Vessel. The others—Yin Yue, Zhu Guo'er, and the rest—expressed their delight and followed suit, entering the vessel one by one. Finally, Han Li himself blurred slightly, dissolving into a translucent form and vanishing into the vessel. A moment later, the black flying vessel shuddered and then broke into a roar, swiftly gliding into the distance. At nearly the same time, in a certain location within the central region of the Elan race, two beings of distinct ethnicity, with slightly darker skin and remarkably similar appearances, were engaged in an intensely mysterious conversation within a sealed pavilion. From time to time, their words revealed several striking terms—such as "King of the Elan" and "Lei Xiao Fu"—that sent a shiver through the listeners. Meanwhile, deep within the Elan race's highly guarded sacred sanctuary, a towering spire of pure white jade stood prominently. At the very summit of this spire, upon a ceremonial table, five translucent jade tablets of about a foot in length floated silently in mid-air, their surfaces adorned with golden filaments that spiraled in intricate patterns, occasionally emitting deep, resonant crackling sounds.