Han Li, along with his puppet and the fire crow, shot out from the crevice. In a flash, he appeared atop the altar in the Void Spirit Hall.
Without turning his head, he flicked his hand backward, summoning the Qianlan Cauldron, which swiftly shrank and flew into his sleeve, disappearing from sight.
With another loud rumble, the Profound Jade Cave resealed its fissure.
Han Li swept his gaze around.
The surroundings were eerily silent, devoid of any figures, exactly as they had been when he first entered the cave.
He exhaled in relief, but his brows furrowed as he looked at the dense forest of towering ice pillars before the altar.
This Ice Soul Extreme Cold Formation was quite troublesome!
Though he was confident the cold energy within the formation posed little threat to him, dismantling it was no simple task. After all, this was no temporary barrier but a genuine ancient formation, its power undiminished.
Moreover, Han Li’s greater concern wasn’t just the formation itself—it was how to open the main gate of the Void Spirit Hall.
When he first entered, Frost Li the Transcendent had insisted that opening the gate from the inside would be effortless. But Han Li suspected this claim was almost certainly false. Even if it were easier from within, there had to be a specific incantation or method.
With this in mind, he didn’t immediately engage the Ice Soul Extreme Cold Formation. Instead, he patted his storage pouch, and a stack of formation flags shimmering with various spiritual lights appeared in his hand. He flicked them downward.
Seven or eight streaks of multicolored light vanished in an instant, sinking into an empty space on the altar. A thick white mist soon billowed forth, spreading over an area of more than ten zhang.
Seeing this, Han Li flipped his palm, revealing the enchanted bottle containing Frost Li the Transcendent’s Nascent Soul.
Before deciding his next move, he intended to use soul-searching techniques to thoroughly examine the memories of this elder of the Small Extreme Palace, gaining more insight into the Void Spirit Hall to avoid any hidden traps. Naturally, he wouldn’t overlook any information about the Sun Essence Fire either.
Holding the bottle aloft, Han Li drifted down and disappeared into the mist.
The Void Spirit Hall fell into silence, with only the faint churning of the mist within the formation visible.
After a full hour, the white mist suddenly churned violently before rapidly thinning.
As most of the mist dissipated, Han Li’s figure reappeared in the center.
He sat cross-legged, deep in thought, his brows tightly knit as if wrestling with a difficult decision. The jade bottle beside him lay open, its contents—Frost Li the Transcendent’s Nascent Soul—nowhere to be seen.
“So the Sun Essence Fire is in such a place. It seems I can’t recklessly seek it out until I reach late-stage Nascent Soul cultivation. As for the Void Spirit Hall, there are three entrances but only one exit—the main hall. It seems Frost Li never intended to let me leave alive. Had I not searched his soul, I might have suffered greatly.” Finally, Han Li relaxed his brows and murmured to himself.
He stood up, and a sweep of azure light collected the formation flags and the empty bottle.
Then, with a hand seal, he transformed into a streak of azure light and shot toward a side door.
The light faded as Han Li halted before the door, examining the aged sealing talismans pasted on it. He glanced at the Lunar Fire Crow perched on his shoulder and sent a mental command.
The spirit, formed from Lunar True Fire, let out a low cry and flapped its wings, sending two crimson flames shooting forth.
With two soft *pops*, the talismans ignited upon contact with the flames, bursting into multicolored spiritual light.
But the light flickered briefly before dimming entirely, leaving the talismans utterly ordinary.
In the next instant, a layer of crystalline ice encased them.
Han Li smiled faintly and flicked his fingers, sending several golden streaks piercing through.
*Bang! Bang!*
The talismans and their icy coating shattered into nothingness.
Han Li stroked his chin and casually waved his sleeve, sending a gust of wind at the stone door. With a creak, the side door slowly swung open.
Without hesitation, Han Li strode inside, his humanoid puppet shadowing him closely.
Beyond the unassuming door lay a courtyard spanning over a hundred zhang.
A winding white stone path ran through the center, flanked by statues of various beasts, all carved from profound ice—lifelike and exquisitely detailed.
Han Li swept his gaze over the ice sculptures, a glint of interest flashing in his eyes, before stepping onto the path and leisurely walking toward the gate at the far end.
At first, all was normal. But when he reached the midpoint of the path, the dozens of ice statues on either side suddenly came to life, their eyes glowing red as they bared claws and fangs, spewing frigid air as they lunged at him.
Han Li, seemingly prepared, remained calm. With a flip of his hand, a small crimson cauldron appeared.
He pointed at it and calmly formed a hand seal.
The cauldron hummed, its lid flying open before a towering column of fire erupted with a deafening *boom*, reaching over ten zhang high.
The space instantly became unbearably hot, and the charging ice beasts hesitated, their movements sluggish.
While they faltered, Han Li acted swiftly. With another incantation, the towering pillar of fire dispersed into a swarm of fist-sized fire crows, each trailing flames as they swooped down on the ice beasts.
In an instant, the temperature soared further, engulfing the courtyard in a sea of crimson fire.
Though the ice beasts were made of profound ice, the fire crows were the essence of flames refined over countless years within the cauldron. Despite the beasts’ desperate resistance, spewing frigid air, they gradually melted under the relentless assault.
Within moments, the courtyard was cleared of all ice beasts.
Han Li nodded in satisfaction and flicked a finger toward the cauldron.
With a soft *clang*, the fire crows obediently circled once before diving back into the vessel.
The lid resealed, and the cauldron fell silent.
Simultaneously, the fiery sea in the courtyard vanished without a trace, as if it had all been an illusion.
The Lunar Fire Crow on Han Li’s shoulder, having watched its fiery kin, showed no curiosity, merely preening its feathers as if disdainful of them.
Stowing the cauldron, Han Li stepped through the courtyard gate and disappeared.
Soon, he emerged in a modest hall.
At its center sat a small teleportation formation.
Han Li showed no surprise, as if he had expected it. Hands clasped behind his back, he moved to examine it.
But just then, the formation shimmered with white light, activating as if something—or someone—was about to arrive.
“Oh?” Han Li’s expression shifted in surprise.
Yet, given his current power, even if the Small Extreme Palace’s late-stage Nascent Soul master—the palace lord herself—were to arrive, he had nothing to fear. He halted and calmly observed.
As a precaution, his humanoid puppet vanished from sight, concealing itself.
The formation was small, capable of transporting only two or three people at most. In a flash of white light, three slender figures stumbled out.
Han Li narrowed his eyes.
They were three young women in Small Extreme Palace attire, all at Foundation Establishment cultivation. The eldest among them was even at the False Core stage.
But their expressions were panicked, their robes disheveled. One bore a bloody wound on her shoulder, clearly fresh from battle.
“Who are—? Ah, Senior Han!” The three women recoiled at the sight of a man not in palace robes. Two immediately summoned crystalline flying swords, but the injured one, after a closer look, cried out in recognition.
Han Li paused, then recognized her—the Hua-surnamed maid who had attended him in the guest pavilion.
“So it’s you. What’s happened?” he asked coolly.
The other two, though unfamiliar with this “Senior Han,” relaxed upon seeing their companion’s reaction. A quick scan of his cultivation left them both shocked and relieved.
But before they could bow, the teleportation formation flared again, this time accompanied by a foul stench. A towering beast emerged—a bipedal, horned creature with a horse-like face, wielding a pale green trident, its back covered in long black bristles.
“Senior, be careful! These are the monsters attacking our palace! It was chasing us!” The three women scrambled back, the Hua maid urgently warning Han Li.
The beast, spotting its prey, grinned savagely and raised its trident to charge.
But then—*boom!*
A red flash erupted behind it, followed by a blur of azure.
The beast shrieked as a fist-sized hole, ringed by burns, appeared in its chest.
It swayed, dropped its trident, and collapsed onto the formation.
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