"Alas, two of the puppets that Brother Han provided were destroyed during the maneuver to lure the enemy. I will certainly make good the compensation afterward." Mo Jianli added with a touch of regret. "The puppets were originally given as a gift to you. Even if all of them were lost, it would not matter at all. Brother Mo need not worry about it." Han Li smiled faintly, showing no concern at all. Seeing this, Mo Jianli naturally expressed his gratitude repeatedly. A short while later, a thunderous sound rose from the horizon, and the four adult Kshatriya spiders emerged, riding upon a strange gust of wind. However, among these four beings at the Consolidation stage, two had fully revealed their massive spider forms, while the other two, though still retaining their human shapes, were dressed in tattered garments, appearing much more disheveled. Clearly, although the four Kshatriya spiders had managed to break through Mo Jianli's spell array, they had endured considerable hardships in the process. But as soon as they had settled within the stone city, Han Li spoke calmly: "Ying, the people are now gathered. It's time to retrieve the treasure. Where are your crystal cores?" "Please rest assured, Han Daojun," said the young lady in the crimson skirt, standing gracefully in the air. "They are all within me. Here are six—ready to connect." With a smile, she lifted her hand, and a white jade box shot out from her palm. Upon seeing the box, Mo Jianli and the others all showed slight interest, yet none dared reach out to grasp it immediately. Han Li, however, remained composed. With a simple roll of his sleeve, he seized the box in his hand. After opening the lid and scanning the contents with several divine senses at once, everyone's faces brightened. Indeed, the box contained six crystal cores, each about the size of a thumb, glowing like snow and radiating a distinct, mysterious aura. Han Li merely thought for a moment, then his palm holding the box suddenly trembled. At once, three of the crystal cores shot out from the jade box, rushing toward the blood-river brothers. Two of them spiraled before settling upon Mo Jianli. A flash of insight passed through him. The last crystal core remaining inside the jade box was then personally taken by Han Li and stored in his storage bracelet. "Thank you, Master Han!" Blood-Ren and Black-Scaly could no longer conceal their joy. Blood-Ren extended his hand into the air, and the two incoming crystal cores gently settled into his grasp. Black-Scaly, after a brief hesitation, did not offer any further words and raised his hand to capture the third crystal core in his sleeve. "Master Han, you only take one—this seems rather inappropriate," Mo Jianli grasped the two crystal cores that had fallen, yet hesitated slightly. "Brother Mo, please rest assured. The remaining cores will simply arrive a little later; what difference does it make?" Han Li replied with ease. "Then, with your words, I shall gladly accept this." Mo Jianli's expression changed several times, then, after a firm bite of his teeth, gently and carefully accepted the two crystal cores without hesitation. "My younger sister has already settled the payment. Shall we then set off?" the young woman said calmly. "No problem. Please lead the way, noble sir," Han Li replied naturally, with no hesitation. The young woman smiled gracefully and immediately descended toward the stone city. At the sound of her command, a mid-stage immortal creature from the Shou Luo Spider Clan rolled onto the ground, and a strong wind surged forth, transforming into a massive black eagle several dozen zhang long. With a swift movement, the young woman and the Shou Luo Spider Clan mother, along with others, swiftly leapt onto the eagle's back. After a long cry, the giant eagle spread its wings and shot off toward the horizon. "Let's join them," said Han Li. "We hope the crystal stones we seek will also come into our hands smoothly. Han Li said it calmly, raised his hand, and a streak of green light shot forth. After a brief shimmer, it transformed into a massive green triangular vehicle, which gently floated and boarded first. Mo Jian, Li Xuan, and the others did not hesitate, swiftly ascending onto the flying vehicle as well. Han Li pressed a hand seal, and the vehicle trembled before bursting into a surge of green light, swiftly following the black giant eagle ahead. With one leading and one trailing, the two soon reached the horizon and vanished without a trace. "Wait a moment—hasn't that place already arrived?" After the jade glow faded, a massive vehicle hummed into view, carrying a soft male voice from within. "Friend Han, there's no need to rush. The cold pool lies on a nearby island just ahead. At that point, everyone will have to give their full strength." At the same time, an悦耳 voice from the giant eagle in front chimed in, clear and melodic. "That's good. If we had to wait any longer, I suspect we'd start to have some concerns." Han Li stood at the front of the vehicle, calmly responding. "Now, are you still not convinced of my abilities, Friend?" the young lady in red silk laughed lightly. "Heh, that's hard to say. As long as I haven't secured all the remaining crystal nuclei, I can't quite feel at ease." Han Li yawned, offering no further comment. After a gentle laugh, the young lady said nothing more. At that moment, numerous dark silhouettes suddenly appeared on the sea ahead. As they drew closer, it became evident that they were a dense cluster of island groups. These islands varied in size, some lush and densely forested, others remarkably barren—each displaying a distinctly different landscape. "Interesting," said Mo Jianli, his eyes flashing with amazement as he approached the islands. "The distribution of fundamental earth and sky energies here seems entirely unique at every location." "Indeed, there's a noticeable fluctuation in the energy flow—several magical seals and array circuits appear to be in place, which explains the unusual nature of the qi. Xing, what exactly is this place?" Blood Ran's divine awareness swept across the group of islands, and his expression instantly grew serious. Han Li furrowed his brows slightly, glancing at the Shurou Spiders aboard the great eagle, before deciding not to ask any immediate questions. "You all are overthinking it," he said. "This is merely a remnant battlefield from the ancient times." Therefore, although there are numerous residual spells and seals here, they are all incomplete and pose no real threat to us. If you still doubt it, simply take a closer look and you'll see. The mother of the Shura Spider Clan coldly replied. "Indeed, they are merely fragmented seals—only a fraction of their original effectiveness." Mo Jianli quickly used his divine awareness to inspect them and then felt reassured. "Heh, we must have been overthinking it all." Xue Ran also scanned the scene with his divine awareness, and his expression eased accordingly. Thus, the giant eagle and the war chariot did not linger in the void, but instead moved forward and backward, seamlessly entering the archipelago. The Shura Spider Clan clearly knew this region well. The giant eagle, flying ahead in the otherwise empty sky, skillfully maneuvered here and there, easily bypassing the numerous scattered seals, and entered the heart of the island group with almost no obstruction. One hour later, as a sudden cold flame surged in the void, a massive island covered in ice and snow appeared before them. From a distance, the island stretched for ten thousand li, entirely shrouded in thick snow, appearing blurry and indistinct, with several towering peaks subtly rising among its expanse. "This is it," the young lady in red robes said, her eyes blazing with enthusiasm. "The cold pool lies within a valley. My friends, let us all proceed down." She immediately summoned the giant eagle and descended toward the island. The others exchanged glances and followed without hesitation. "Black-scaled companion, although the treasures within the cold pool cannot be removed by outsiders, this location being so remote, our clan naturally wouldn't leave them exposed without any protection—our ancient array has long concealed them. Attendants, remove the illusionary array." The mother of the Shriekspider clan spoke with a composed expression, then issued a further command. A tremendous roar echoed, and at once, Bai Hu opened his mouth, expelling a beam of pure, transparent light that vanished in a flash into the corner of the valley. The multicolored runes, swirling amidst the wind and snow, also converged toward the same spot. Instantly, the space in the valley's corner flashed wildly, then stabilized, revealing a large, intricate magical array. The array appeared remarkably sophisticated, its edges adorned with numerous colorful, fist-sized crystalline stones, standing out vividly. At its center, layers of crystalline, icy formations spread out, subtly forming a cylindrical platform, with faint streaks of white light shimmering through. "This is the 'Cold Pool' you've spoken of," Blood Ran said, glancing at the columnar platform, his brow furrowed. "Honestly, it doesn't look all that impressive, does it? Well, if only it were that simple. Had I not stabilized the cold pool's aura with this array and several pure yang artifacts, the entire archipelago's sea would have been completely frozen the moment the seal was broken." "The Shura spider clan mother hummed, glanced at Xue Ran, and said, 'The entire sea basin has been frozen solid—truly astonishing.' Upon hearing this, Mo Jianli also grew pale. 'Everything will become clear soon. Luo, please open the cold pool—we'll take a look first.' Han Li, however, remained calm and composed, speaking as usual."