Just as Han Li was astounded by the marvel before him, the golden jade relique within his body, which had transformed into a golden jade dome, also responded to the emergence of the great lotus. Han Li was startled, quickly concentrating his inner qi to stabilize the unusual phenomenon, then took a deep look at the colorful lotus in the distance before silently flicking his silver wings behind him—vanishing from his original spot. The next moment, he appeared near the North Polar Yuan Guang, entering it as a streak of jade-green light. For Han Li, having secured two precious treasures, it was clearly wise to now make a swift retreat and distance himself from the chaos. The suddenly appearing jade ruler had demonstrated such formidable power that it was truly astonishing—though its abilities leaned toward trapping and illusion, its power was undoubtedly not inferior to the Three Flame Fan, and it was likely a replica of a true celestial treasure. Though he was deeply resentful about the surprise attack by the ruler's host, he would not choose to engage in direct confrontation at this moment. After all, neither the Qian Elder Demon nor the silver-winged yaksha was particularly aligned with him. Should he be surrounded by these three, no matter how great his powers, he would surely perish right here. On the great golden and silver loom, the graceful maiden of Huaxian Sect was pressing hand seals to accelerate the white jade ruler, her face showing evident strain. Thus, though she saw Han Li retreat momentarily, she had no time to attend to him. As long as Han Li had not taken the most crucial Huadong Seal, she would simply regard him as if he were invisible. At that moment, the woman who had briefly withdrawn before Han Li's single fan blow, now saw her sister successfully ensnare the old Qian Magistrate and others beneath her, and could only glare resentfully toward the direction where Han Li had vanished, then vanish herself in a flash of brilliant light, merging seamlessly into the vast, colorful lotus. Whether due to the maiden's control or the woman's own inherent prowess that made her immune to the lotus's power, she remained unaffected by the lotus's magical influence and effortlessly seized the Huadong Seal in her hands. But as the young woman rolled her sleeve and took the small purple sword into her hand, a flash of seven-colored Buddha light illuminated the lotus blossoms covering everyone—gradually, they began to crumble, inch by inch. The old Dry Magician and the two demons, who had been under strong pressure, instantly broke free, steadying themselves, and then all six beams of fierce light turned directly upon the woman. It seemed that the young woman’s inner power had finally reached its limit, causing the might of the "Four-Aspect Ruler" to wane. The woman’s face changed instantly! Han Li had just plunged into the Northern Primordial Light when he encountered this ugly woman transformed from a pyroclastic turtle. This creature now wore a strange, iron-gray armor covering her entire body. The once-unbreakable silver filaments that struck it were momentarily halted and even rebounded off it, allowing her to remain undisturbed within the Northern Primordial Light. Yet strangely, the woman in the armor now moved forward step by step, steadily, as though unable to summon her flight abilities. This explained why the silver-winged night guard and the lion-beast had easily shaken her off and moved ahead. Han Li appeared before this spirit, and the plain woman naturally noticed him at once. Upon seeing him, she immediately displayed a look of alertness, a staff-like artifact floating before her, while her eyes darted continuously over Han Li's form. Han Li remained calm and, with a flash of light, swiftly slipped to the side. He had no particular grievances with this spirit and harbored no intention of vanquishing it; moreover, the spirit was constrained within the Northern Primordial Light, and likely wouldn't make a proactive move. Yet Han Li had miscalculated. As he swiftly passed by the woman, she suddenly stiffened, turned her head abruptly, and fixed her face with a look of shock, staring intently at Han Li. This startled Han Li, who momentarily paused in his flight, instinctively grasping an object in his hand, and turning to gaze at the spirit with curiosity. "You took that item!" she suddenly cried out, her voice sharp and piercing. "Give it back to me!" At once, it seized the black staff before it, shook it vigorously toward Han Li, and the staff instantly expanded to several zhang in length. With a single flick, countless black, viscous staff shadows surged forth like mountains, pressing down upon Han Li with overwhelming force. The hag's face had now turned wild with frenzy. Though the mountain-like shadows of staffs sent Han Li's heart racing, he remained puzzled by the hag's expression and words, yet showed no sign of fear. He raised his hand, and a dark, ring-shaped artifact materialized and flew directly toward the staff shadows above. At a distance, the hag was filled with delight. The staff she held had been refined from the five precious metals she gathered deep underground during her imprisonment, and after countless years of continuous cultivation, it had become an extraordinary treasure. Though these staff shadows appeared unimpressive, each one carried the weight of a thousand catties—she was certain that the seemingly ordinary ring would shatter instantly upon impact. With this thought, her inner rage surged. At once, unwilling to sacrifice even his reserves, he fully unleashed his potential and poured an additional surge of spiritual power into the staff, causing the staff's shadow to expand another half, aiming to strike down Han Li right there and then, thus eliminating the threat permanently! Observing the fierce expression of the woman, Han Li immediately sensed several of her intentions. Though he did not understand why she had shown such determination from the very beginning of their meeting, he too felt a strong resolve to fight. He then calmly pointed his finger at the dark-colored ring. As the ring approached the staff's shadow, it suddenly emitted a resonant hum. Immediately, an astonishing phenomenon unfolded: the surrounding silver filaments, upon hearing the hum, instantly trembled and shot toward the point with remarkable speed. The dense streams of northern elemental light converged rapidly, piercing through all the staff shadows in an instant. Within a blink, the once-impressive staff shadows were riddled with holes and vanished completely. "You can control the northern elemental light!" the woman cried out, her voice sharp and strained, as if caught in a vice, her face filled with astonishment. The Two-Principles Ring is divided into two rings—yin and yang. The yin ring, when worn on the body, protects against damage from the primordial light; the yang ring, when held in the hand, enables one to manipulate the primordial light to attack enemies. This black ring is precisely the yang ring. Han Li sneered. Outside the Primordial Light of the North Pole, he naturally held the creature—a beast at the level of late stage Yuan Ying—deeply in awe, with little chance of defeating it. But now that the creature was trapped within the Primordial Light of the North Pole, and Han Li himself possessed the Two-Principles Ring, the situation had changed entirely. Since the creature had chosen to meet its end willingly, Han Li was not unwilling to expend extra effort to eliminate it. Though he had not yet determined the creature's true form, its physical body and spiritual essence were undoubtedly among the rarest and highest-grade materials available at this level. With these thoughts in mind, Han Li had no intention of explaining anything further to the beast, and simply raised his hand, casting a spell upon the ring. As the ring spun, the hum grew louder. Under the dark, mysterious glow, silver filaments stretching dozens of zhang in radius came fully under the ring's control. With a mere thought from Han Li's divine awareness, waves of northern yuan light surged outward, rippling in succession toward the central woman of ill fortune. The woman gasped in surprise, too preoccupied to summon her treasures to fight Han Li, and instead urgently spat out a globule of dark-red, refined blood. With a quick gesture of her hands, the blood instantly transformed into a mist that enveloped her armor. The armor swiftly shifted from green to a deep crimson hue. At that moment, the powerful waves of northern yuan light, shimmering with silver, poured in continuously, sweeping the woman completely into their midst. The greenish-red glow emanating from her armor fiercely resisted the steady erosion of the silver threads, emitting a sharp, metallic scraping sound. Though the ugly woman had summoned her utmost secret arts, the creature that previously relied solely on its armor to barely withstand the Northern Primordial Light now faced attacks from silvery threads that were several times greater in number than before. Almost instantly, countless small dents began to appear on the armor's surface, overwhelming its structural integrity. The ugly woman's face grew pale as she suddenly emitted a sharp cry, then swiftly rubbed her hands together and pressed them against the armor. Waves of gray-white, unusual light rippled outward in concentric circles, gradually forming a rocky-like substance on the armor's surface, which then generated an additional protective layer, allowing it to momentarily withstand the silvery threads and slow down the Northern Primordial Light's erosion of the armor. These gray-white formations, however, were themselves progressively shattered and dispersed by the silvery threads, requiring the ugly woman to continuously expend her vital energy and cast spells to replenish them. Anyone observing the scene could plainly see that their eventual destruction was merely a matter of time. Yet within this brief span, Han Li, now fiercely determined, would not grant the creature the slightest respite. He immediately cast a series of spells with both hands, directing the Yang Huan Ring to spin continuously in the air. At the same time, the Bei Ji Yuan Guang responded instantly, emitting a brilliant silver glow that surged forth in waves. From a distance, the shimmering light rose and fell in a rhythmic, tidal pattern, creating an impressive and overwhelming spectacle. "As the corner of the armor crumbled, dozens of silver threads pierced through, turning the ugly woman's arm into a mist of blood. Desperate, she could no longer care for anything else and screamed out loud. To the ancient pyro-giant turtle spirit, who had lived for countless tens of thousands of years, how could it willingly accept death right here? 'Be my spiritual companion!' Hearing this, Han Li's expression brightened, and he momentarily eased the assault of the Northern Primordial Light by using his Yang Ring. 'Do you think I'm a child? Your divine techniques have little effect on a being of your rank. How can I trust you? How can I make you my spiritual companion?' Han Li gazed steadily at the woman, encircled by countless silver threads, and spoke calmly. Should this creature fail to explain itself promptly, he would immediately summon the Northern Primordial Light to extinguish her—there would be no hesitation at all. He would not allow her any time to delay. 'In fact, I needn't say much more. Has your friend received a wooden plaque in the Kunwu Hall? Simply present it and examine it closely, and everything will become clear." "That was my true destiny card, sealed by a restriction even before my great path was fully established." The plain woman also sensed that Han Li's determination had not waned, and thus said, her voice filled with sorrow, without the slightest hesitation.