A thunderous roar! The luminous screen suddenly indented, revealing fine white streaks across its surface, poised to shatter with a crisp crack. At that moment, the palm of the Tianding True Person statue, which had been cradling the small tower, suddenly glowed with faint white radiance, swiftly sinking into the screen and instantly healing the newly formed cracks as if nothing had happened. "Pop!" The indented area of the screen instantly returned to its original state, forcefully pushing the jade-green mountain aside. Han Li frowned slightly, then extended his hand and gently drew the miniature mountain back into his sleeve. "Han brother, this statue of the Tianding True Person is no ordinary entity—it works in perfect harmony with the tower. When I employed every means possible, I was unable to break through the combined seal between them." Observing Han Li's effortless yet powerful strike that had nearly shattered the screen, the Bingpo beside him was internally startled, yet quickly explained. "Then, let us destroy this statue first," Han Li said, his gaze sharp, yet his voice calm and composed. A low roar. Han Li's body shimmered with golden light, swelling rapidly in size until, in the span of a moment, he transformed into a colossal golden-furred ape towering over ten zhang. At the same time, a terrifying wave of energy surged from his back, revealing a fierce, three-headed, six-armed celestial form. A series of sharp hissing sounds echoed! Two streams of ethereal sword energy unfurled from the statue, flashing instantly and cutting through the oncoming small hills with the suddenness of a thunderclap. Two thunderous booms resonated. The hills merely trembled slightly before being crushed under the immense force, scattering and extinguishing the two sword streams—though their momentum was significantly dampened. When the impacts reached the light barrier, the statue emitted a brilliant surge of white light, causing the barrier to slightly indent before rebounding. The figure's fist attacks began to fade as soon as they flickered, vanishing into the light screen. However, as more strikes landed upon it, the screen's absorption grew sluggish, and for the majority of subsequent attacks, it could only rely on its own resilience to withstand them. Suddenly, loud bursts of cracking sounds erupted across the screen, clusters of purple-gold fist images exploding outward, and the screen itself began to flash erratically. At that moment, a flash of white light suddenly appeared at the eyes of the statue of Tianding True Person, followed by two jets of crystalline light rushing straight toward the vortex in the sky. However, only a tremendous roar echoed from within the golden vortex, and a massive force surged forth, crashing hard against the already wavering light screen. "Pfft!" A series of sharp sounds resonated. Suddenly, a series of white patterns emerged across the surface of the statue, radiating an even more brilliant white glow, which caused the light screen to tremble violently yet still managed to withstand the immense force. Yet the golden vortex continued to spin wildly, its powerful pressure pressing down like waves, showing no sign of abating. Such an overwhelming assault—no matter how refined and powerful the statue might be—could it truly endure it? Within just a few breaths, the white light on the statue's body gradually faded, and all the patterns blurred and vanished. Then, with a sharp "crack," countless cracks appeared across its surface, spreading rapidly until the entire statue shattered into fragments. With no support from the statue, and relying solely on the incantation emanating from the golden spire itself, it would have been impossible to withstand the immense force transmitted from above. Almost immediately after the statue of Tian Ding Zhenren fell, the golden spire emitted a deep resonance and then collapsed, its luminous screen shattering and vanishing. At that moment, the giant ape formed by Han Li roared with laughter, extending his thick, fur-covered hand downward and gesturing into the air. The golden vortex and the two small mountains instantly disappeared, and the golden spire was drawn in by a steady suction, settling firmly into the giant ape's grasp. The precious artifact that the Ice Spirit Maiden had struggled to extract for so long now arrived effortlessly in Han Li's hands. A flash of golden light, and the golden-mantled giant ape appeared near the Ice Spirit Maiden, swiftly shrinking in size with a single hand gesture, and in moments, transformed back into human form. "I have fulfilled my mission. The items are secured," Han Li said, as he briefly scanned the object with his divine awareness before calmly offering it to the Ice Spirit Maiden. "This breakthrough of the seal is entirely due to my friend's effort. How could I possibly take any of the treasures first? It would be better if Brother Han selects three items first, and then I pick what I need from the remainder." Ice-Purity was still stunned, and upon seeing Han's action, hurriedly shook her head, politely declining. "I've examined the items inside. Besides the jade scroll containing a secret technique, which I can draw upon to some extent, the rest are of little use to me. Once I copy the contents of that scroll, I'll be all set. My friend, there's no need to worry about this." Han smiled lightly, then with a flick of his wrist, tossed the golden tower directly into her hands. "Thank you so much, Brother Han, for this generous gift. I will never forget this kindness, and I will repay you generously in the future." Upon seeing Han's gesture, Ice-Purity felt a sense of relief and expressed deep gratitude. Then, with a mere thought, she inspected several treasures within the golden tower, and at once summoned a crimson jade scroll from the air, grasping it firmly and immediately offering it to Han Li. "Since this jade scroll proves useful to Brother Han, there's no need to duplicate it—just take it as is." The young lady spoke with such ease. "Given that my friend has said so, I shall not be able to refuse," Han Li replied, his gaze flickering slightly. Without further hesitation, he rolled up his sleeve and took the crimson scroll. "If that's the case, once the blood essence and my spirit merge, my younger sister will be able to close the Heavenly Ding Palace at any time and easily transport us all out." Ice Spirit replied with a smile. "That's indeed a splendid plan. Go ahead and carry it out, friend." There was no way for Han Li to refuse, so he nodded immediately. Thus, the two of them instantly activated their light trails and returned along the original path outside the hall. After just one meal's time, they reappeared once again at the teleportation array where Han Li had first arrived. Han Li raised one hand, chanted a spell, and gently pointed at the void. As soon as the sound of the array's hum intensified and a steady, vibrant light shimmered forth, a smile appeared on his face. As soon as the two stepped into the array, their forms vanished completely. Outside the massive blood-colored stone stele, three figures were gathered around several large silver inscriptions on the stele, speaking seriously to one another. Indeed, these were Xiao Ming and the other two—three senior cultivators from the Blood Sky Continent—who had finally managed to enter this space after enduring a series of hardships outside. "Qingping, friend, can you be certain this is indeed the entrance to the Central Core? Or have we made a mistake in location—otherwise, after trying so many methods, we still cannot open it." Xiao Ming asked the Daoist solemnly. Thus, Qingping Daoren deeply inhaled, swiftly moving his hands and fingers as if pressing a series of rapid seals, while murmuring incantations continuously. The four large silver characters on the stone stele began to glow brightly and, following the rhythm of the chants, moved along an eerie, winding path—yet with an immeasurably slow pace, crawling inch by inch.