The green spirit族 members instantly turned to ash amidst the roaring sound. In a matter of moments, nearly a thousand outsiders were left with only a few dozen survivors. The remaining green spirit族 members, witnessing this, were naturally terrified, realizing that the enemies aboard the great vessel far surpassed their capabilities. They all turned around and fled in panic. Han Li watched this scene coldly, with no intention of pursuing further. As he prepared to turn and return to the ship's cabin, a sudden crackling sound echoed from the rear sky, and three brilliant streaks of light, like celestial rainbows, shot in from beyond. Han Li narrowed his eyes, remaining motionless at the ship's prow, facing the direction of the arrival. In a short while, the three streaks of light faded, revealing three powerful green spirit族 warriors—a woman and two men. Upon seeing the heavy casualties among their elite forces, all three displayed a mixture of shock and anger. Though they had anticipated the other party's great capabilities and expected the clan members to be unable to halt their advance, the scale of casualties—especially when aided by the power of the Green Sea—still came as a surprise. After only a brief consultation and a swift dash to reach them, the entire process had taken no more than a cup of tea's time. Once the three representatives of the Green Green Spirit Clan turned their gaze upon Han Li, they exchanged startled glances, each seeing a look of astonishment in their companions' eyes. "A True Stage Master—truly, a cultivator of the Human Clan!" Han Li calmly glanced at the three, instantly recognizing that they were merely at the mid-to-late Consolidation stage, and thus deemed them insignificant. "Indeed, the Human Clan has finally produced a True Stage Master. Might I inquire, esteemed elder, your name and title? Does it not seem somewhat unfair to treat younger cultivators with such severity, given your own lofty attainment?" The Green Spirit Clan member took a deep breath and spoke with growing indignation. "To treat the younger ones with such harshness—does it not seem like overstepping?" They dare to obstruct my journey and not eliminate a few—otherwise, other peers of the same stage might learn of it and suffer great embarrassment. As for my name, you needn't know it either. Han Li replied with a neutral tone. "Are you from outside this realm?" The broad-shouldered man immediately sensed something significant in Han Li's words and his face turned pale. "Whether or not you're from outside—what's the difference?" Han Li said calmly. "Should you indeed be from outside, to secure the future of the Xiaoling Tian clans, we may have to request that you remain temporarily within the Green Sea for a while." The slender-faced man flashed a cold gaze. "Three combined stage cultivators daring to speak such bold words before me—can it be merely due to the ancient tree's ancestral spirit that can be attached?" Han Li chuckled, smiling slightly. "If you're aware of the ancient tree's ancestral spirit, then clearly you're not a mere accidental visitor." The broad-shouldered man's eyes narrowed, thinking deeply. Han Li chuckled, but showed no intention of speaking further. "Ladies and gentlemen, it seems other methods have fallen short—only the summoning of our ancestral spirits can now serve. For the future of our entire lineage, we must capture this individual. Though we face three against one, the odds clearly favor us." The female member of the Green Spirit Clan said with a sharp expression. The other two men nodded in agreement. Based on their previous victories, the three had nearly come to revere the power of the ancient tree spirits—so much so that even when confronting a powerful, fully established cultivator of the Small Spirit Realm, they remained confident. Then, simultaneously lifting their left arms, the long sleeves covering them cracked and parted, revealing vivid, lifelike ancient tree imprints on each forearm. The three tree imprints varied in appearance: one tree was lush and verdant, with dense, flourishing foliage; another stood tall and straight, radiating a brilliant silver glow, its branches resembling sharp blades. The final ancient tree shimmered in vibrant hues, exquisitely splendid, its branches bursting with flowers of varying sizes and shapes. Three Green Spirit beings, chanting the phrase "Ancestral Spirit Appears," simultaneously pressed their palms together, each emitting a low cry. Instantly, a soft, misty glow surged up from the tips of their arms, revealing three translucent, tree-like silhouettes each about a foot tall. At once, the earth's vital energy within the dense forest surged, and countless green threads sprang forth from the trees, flowing like a tide toward the tree silhouettes hovering on the Green Spirit beings' arms. In a flash, the surfaces of the three tree silhouettes flashed with intense green light, swelling rapidly in waves, until they had grown into towering trees reaching over a hundred paces in height. The three Green Spirit beings vanished completely from their original positions. On the trunks of the three colossal trees, a faint, blurred image emerged, gradually taking form—each trunk now bearing a distinct face. Upon closer inspection, the features of the three faces were clearly recognizable: they belonged to the two male and one female Green Spirit beings who had just disappeared. "Indeed, this is the Han Li sensed the powerful aura emanating from the three massive trees, a flicker of astonishment passing across his face. At that moment, the three trees blurred and twisted, then transformed into three distinct giants. One giant had a full head of flowing green hair, wearing a green wooden armor, with both hands bare. Another was more slender, with a pair of vibrant, radiant wings growing from his back, holding a massive green-bladed sword in his hands. The third, the tallest of the three, wore a silver armor studded with sharp spines, each hand gripping a massive silver hammer. As soon as these three giants had manifested, the bearded giant immediately buzzed, saying, "Should you now choose to surrender, it would still be timely. We merely wish to have your presence for a few days, to clarify the location of the entry points into this realm, after which you may depart freely. Should our ancestral spirits become active, however, we shall no longer be able to control them—should you fall victim to them, it will be too late." "Such bold words." "You may say you're merely relying on external forces—yet even true Mahayana cultivators, in my eyes, aren't much to write home about. But this dependence on secret techniques is quite interesting. Once I've subdued you, I'll study it thoroughly." "What need do we have for further words? The human race has always been our rivals, the Green Spirit clan. Since you claim to be Mahayana cultivators, you dare to look down upon us—then let him witness the terrifying power of the ancient tree elders!" A more slender giant immediately roared in anger. As soon as these words left his lips, the three giants fell silent, took a firm step forward, and strode steadily toward the Black Spirit's great vessel. Standing atop the giant's head, Han Li watched the massive figures walking steadily through the void, and smiled. With a simple flick of his sleeve, a thunderclap erupted, and a silver arc of lightning shot forth from his sleeve. When the light faded, a young Daoist appeared calmly beside him. "Brother Crab, your cultivation technique perfectly counters the three ancient tree spirit guardians. Assign them to you alone—ideally, capture one of them alive." Han Li instructed. They could never have imagined that the being summoned by their opponent would act so decisively, especially one they most feared—the Thunder-elemental technique. At once, they all stiffened and summoned their own powers to meet the assault. The tall giant moved his arm, and with a single gesture, the two silver great hammers he held transformed into countless hammer-images, crashing down upon the spectral giant turtle form. The bearded giant pressed his palms together in a seal, and as a flash of luminous light rippled across his body’s jade-like armor, countless massive vines surged forth, interweaving and shimmering, then coalescing into a vast net that enveloped the towering giant turtle above. As for the slender giant, facing the silver lightning pillar now approaching closely, he maintained a serious expression, raising his great blade across his chest. Instantly, the blade’s surface twisted and transformed into a massive, green-tinged shield, etched with countless spiritual patterns, standing straight and firm before him. From the three giants, thunderous and continuous impacts echoed, giving rise to sweeping arcs of silver light that burst into brilliant flashes of electric energy. At that moment, the colossal golden crab roared, and suddenly countless silver lightning sprites emerged from its dorsal carapace, swiftly gathering to form a vast thunder array. This array merely spun once before vanishing into the void with a single thunderous boom. Han Li watched everything unfold, smiled slightly, and without hesitation turned toward the ship's cabin. With the divine abilities of Crab Daoren, who even held some regard for the three primordial founders of the Demon Realm, how could three mere pseudo-Stage Three cultivators possibly withstand him for long? Not to mention the mutual advantages and disadvantages of their cultivation techniques. Thus, he only glanced at the beginning of the battle and then confidently returned to the cabin. Indeed, just after a cup of tea's worth of time, as footsteps echoed outside the cabin hall, Crab Daoren entered with his usual composure. Han Li, who had been silently meditating on the technique while seated on a chair in the hall, raised his head and smiled, asking, "Have you defeated them all?" "Of course not," replied Crab Daoren calmly, raising his sleeve as a small silver vial flew out. Han Li extended his hand, catching the vial in his palm. With his spiritual awareness piercing through the vial's wall, he scanned inside and saw a faint image of a shrunken, barely a few inches tall Yuan Spirit curled up within. The figure before them was a slender, green-spirit male. Han Li nodded, smiled contentedly, and without further inquiry into the fates of the other two green-spirit strongholds, swiftly flashed a beam of light in his hand, sealing the small vial into his storage bracelet. Outside, after a slight tremor, the magical spirit vessel surged forward once more. This time, no one from the green-spirit clan dared to appear and obstruct its course.