At once, the short sword emitted a resonant hum, and the strange insect patterns on its surface began to move dynamically, as if coming to life. The elder named Yu swept his arm, and the sword instantly transformed into a beam of crimson light, rushing straight toward the iron cage and striking it. A loud "thud" echoed as the beam of light first touched the cage, instantly triggering a thunderous roar and countless golden arcs materializing around it. The light then emitted a mournful sigh, rebounding and, after a brief flicker, reformed into the short sword, returning to the elder's hands. "Divine Thunder of Exorcising Evil," the elder exclaimed, visibly startled, and quickly placed the sword at his level. To his astonishment, he noticed several fine cracks forming on the blade, clearly indicating significant damage. Had Han Li witnessed this scene again, he would surely have been equally amazed. At first glance, the golden arcs that had bounced off the cage appeared similar to the divine thunder he had cultivated; upon closer inspection, however, subtle differences became evident. Though these golden arcs were equally radiant, each time they flashed and burst, faint purple-gold runes emerged and faded, their power far exceeding the divinely protective thunder lightning that Han Li currently commanded. "Indeed, it's protective thunder lightning—no, not exactly ordinary protective thunder lightning. Ah, I recall hearing long ago that Tian Ding True Man, besides mastering several forms of thunder-based abilities, also possessed a divine technique capable of refining and purifying thunder energy, amplifying ordinary thunder power by more than tenfold." Even the last elder, witnessing this spectacle, was startled, but soon furrowed his brow and remarked, "This is quite troublesome. Protective thunder lightning has always been particularly effective against our Wulín lineage. Now, with this refined, pure form of the divine lightning, how shall we possibly counter it?" After drawing his short sword, the elder named Yu said, his voice filled with frustration. This sword may appear unremarkable, yet it possesses several astonishing powers. Now, having been unexpectedly damaged, it naturally fills the sword's heart with deep regret. "Rest assured," said the elder with the surname Wu, gazing intently at the strange spines adorning the iron cage and the blood-red chain coiled around the entire corpse. "Though the Bixie Divine Thunder may be formidable, it remains merely a lifeless force unless personally directed. It will merely take a bit more time to counteract. What I truly fear, however, is that the seals upon this iron cage are not limited to just one—those that follow may prove even more difficult to unravel." The last elder stirred with renewed spirit, and as he opened his mouth, expelled a grayish gourd. With a single gesture, he pointed the gourd toward the air, and instantly, the gourd reversed itself, flashing with a shimmer of light before a surge of dark water erupted forth from its surface. This water seemed astonishingly cold. At the very moment it broke free from the gourd, the temperature of the surrounding void dropped sharply, and a fine mist of gray vapor began to seep out, carrying with it a strange, musty odor. With the old man chanting a few more incantations, the black water immediately spiraled through the air and suddenly coalesced into a blurry, serpentine black dragon, its jaws agape and limbs outstretched, charging straight toward the iron cage. A thunderous rumble echoed from the surface of the cage, and as countless golden characters emerged, a shimmering network of golden wires instantly formed. A tremendous roar erupted! The black water and the golden arcs intertwined, radiating an intense, brilliant light. ...Han Li stood within a towering hall, gazing at the lifelike statue standing tall on the altar across from him, his eyes flickering with contemplation. The statue was nearly life-sized, depicting a middle-aged Taoist wearing a white robe, slanting his back against a long, blood-red sword. The statue gazes slightly forward, serene and composed, exuding a sense of ethereal detachment unlike that of ordinary mortals. Beside the Daoist statue, on either side, stand lifelike spirit creatures—a massive green eagle and a gleaming silver mantis—each vivid and strikingly fierce. "Perhaps this is Tian Ding Zhiren," Han Li murmured after gazing at them for a while, then glanced toward both sides. On the ground beside the statues, four blood-armored puppets, each two zhang tall, lay tilted and scattered, along with two unidentified skeletal remains. Though the four armored puppets remain still, their armor gleams smoothly and flawlessly, untouched by a single scratch; their great hammers and swords are perfectly preserved, as if they could rise at any moment. As for the two skeletons, one has only a half-formed body left, and its four black flying swords have broken into numerous fragments, scattered around it. Another corpse had its head entirely missing, leaving behind a largely shattered purple shield and a silver short staff twisted into a spiral. The two skeletons lay between two blood-armored automata, their postures suggesting they had fought fiercely against them and perished together. Judging from the faint traces of spiritual energy still lingering on the skeletons, it appeared that two of them had engaged in combat against the great beasts within the lower hall. However, after carefully examining the two corpses several times and finding no other remnants of magical artifacts or treasures, Han Li suddenly flashed into motion, vanishing completely from his original spot and materializing behind the statue of Tian Ding True Person. There, a small, partially ruined magical array stood, centered around a lactiferous stone platform about one zhang in diameter. The platform featured several distinct recesses, each of which once held something, now empty—clearly removed by someone earlier. At the edge of the spell array, two additional corpses lay side by side, their heads raised slightly. One wore a silver armor that had crumbled into fragments, and its ribs were pierced directly through the dantian by a single bone hand. The other wore a green robe, but the bones beneath it had turned black as ink, clearly succumbing to some strange toxin and dying instantly. Upon seeing only these two skeletons, Han Li raised a single hand, and with a mere gesture, four storage bracelets of different colors shot off the two bodies and landed precisely in his hands. After briefly scanning the contents of the bracelets with his divine awareness, Han Li maintained his composure, gathered them into his hands, and then turned his attention to the damaged spell array. The "Transportation Array" – Han Li inspected it carefully and immediately noticed that the original transportation function was present, though it was one-time only. Unfortunately, the entire array had been completely destroyed. Even with his profound expertise in array construction, restoring it would not be something he could accomplish in a short span of time. After circling the array several times, Han Li suddenly paused at a dark red mark on the array, raising one hand and gently reaching out toward it. Instantly, a small, extremely faint glow of blood surged forth, dim and fragile, as if it might vanish at any moment. Han Li then performed a single hand motion, and the small vial containing the ice-soul essence reappeared. With a soft "pffft," before even activating any specific spell, the blood glow, as soon as it appeared, darted over and instantly disappeared into the vial. The glow within the vial immediately grew noticeably brighter than before. "Indeed, it is the refined essence left behind by Master Bingpo from before. It seems he must have stayed here and transmitted through this array." After murmuring these words, Han Li's gaze settled once more on the damaged array, and a faint smile appeared on his face. With a slight shake of his sleeve, a series of array flags and disk components, along with several crystalline stones of varying colors and sizes—each about the size of a clenched fist—flew out and floated effortlessly around the array. Han Li then focused intently, and with a mere gesture of his hand, a slender, silvery glow sprang from his fingertip, extending several feet, and swiftly began repairing the missing spiritual patterns at the site of the array's damage. Though it could not restore the array to its original, flawless state, Han Li's mastery of array techniques was sufficient to restore it to about seven or eight parts of its former condition—enough to reestablish its transmission capabilities. ...One day later, an astonishing surge of energy erupted in the sky above the Blood Lake. Suddenly, a black monster with a deer's head and human body, clad in dark scales and wielding a massive silver blade, materialized within the surge, then delivered a resounding downward slash. A piercing, high-pitched cry rang out throughout the realm! Gray mist curled up from the surface of the silver blade, forming glowing, pale green orbs that materialized spontaneously beneath the blade's edge. The surrounding void instantly warped and blurred, as if about to be cleaved open by the strike. Another thunderous roar followed. A radiant green sun burst forth at the point of the blade's descent, growing brighter and more vibrant with each passing moment. A powerful wave of destructive energy surged outward in all directions, compressing the Blood Lake beneath it and carving out a vast, circular clearing—revealing countless white, skeletal remains at the lake's bottom. "Boom!" A massive silver arc, as thick as a water cistern, flashed through the sky, and suddenly dark clouds rolled in, followed by a dense downpour of blood rain that poured down relentlessly, completely enveloping the entire blood lake. Only after the green, radiant light gradually faded and the swirling aura finally vanished did the scene below become clearly visible within the rain. There, the Three Sacred Witches of the Spirit and Magic stood suspended in the air, each positioned at a distinct point, each holding a statue of a creature resembling a deer-headed, human-bodied monster, about a foot tall. The great iron cage, once encircling them, had now cracked open at the top, revealing a breach several dozen feet long. "Hah! Excellent! All this effort has not gone to waste—we've finally broken through the cage. What are you two waiting for? Let's go in together," the elder with the surname Yu exclaimed, laughing heartily. He then retrieved the statue from his hands and instantly transformed into a green streak, rushing straight toward the opening of the cage. The other two elders also looked thrilled, their light trails forming as they swiftly vanished into the iron cage. There was even the鹿首人身 monster, which, after delivering a strike, remained quietly suspended above the cage, motionless. When the three elders settled their light trails and reappeared in physical form, they were already positioned some dozen feet above the half-human, half-horse skeleton, their faces beaming with delight as they carefully examined the still blood-bound form, tightly chained into a tangle.