Upon hearing Ao Xiao's words, Yuan Cha's expression darkened. Her gaze swept once more toward the massive ape Han Li had transformed into and the enormous golden crab in the distance. Her eyes darted back and forth a few times before she let out a cold snort. With one hand she grasped at the empty air, and the small white hammer flickered into existence — only to vanish again with an eerie flash of golden light.
The enormous wolf projection above her head plunged downward, sinking into the great hall and disappearing without a trace.
The next instant, countless blue rune scripts fluttered out from the entire structure. After a violent tremor, the whole hall transformed into a ball of blue light and tore through the sky. In just a few flickers, it had reached the far horizon.
Only then did Yuan Cha's voice drift faintly from the distance: "Ao Xiao, since you've chosen to intervene, I'll withdraw this time. But your luck won't last forever. The next time one of you is alone, I won't let you off so easily."
As soon as her words faded, the blue light at the horizon flashed wildly a few more times before truly vanishing without a trace.
Though Yuan Cha was a woman, she was decisive in her actions. The moment she saw Ao Xiao appear, she knew she could not achieve her goal of killing Han Li and the others today — and might even put herself in danger. She left forthwith, without the slightest hesitation or vacillation.
Seeing this, Han Li inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He called out to Daoist Xie, and the two of them shimmered with light before reverting to their human forms.
The two supreme mountains that had been frozen in midair were likewise freed — Han Li raised his hand and released two streams of silver flame that melted the ice coating their surfaces. The mountains dropped back down, only to be swept up and stored away in a single sweep of his great sleeve.
Ao Xiao turned around, glanced twice toward Han Li, then raised one hand. A beam of white light shot forth, circled once, and blazed brilliantly to reveal an enormous silver-gleaming tower ship. It was divided into five tiers and measured over a hundred zhang in length. Armored warriors clutching silver halberds stood upon its decks.
"Come aboard as well." Ancestor Ao Xiao gave this simple command, then floated onto the tower ship with Yin Yue and proceeded into the top-level hall.
The warriors silently parted to either side and bowed their heads slightly in a gesture of respectful welcome.
"Puppets!"
Han Li recognized the true nature of these silver-armored warriors at a glance. After a brief moment's thought, he made his decision and floated over with Daoist Xie and Zhu Guo'er.
Those silver puppet warriors had clearly received Ancestor Ao Xiao's orders. Upon seeing the three board the ship, they simply stood in place, making no move whatsoever to bar their path.
But when they reached the entrance to the great hall, Han Li seemed to recall something. He turned his head and told Zhu Guo'er to remain outside for the time being, entering the top-level hall with only Daoist Xie.
"Greetings, Senior Ao Xiao!"
The moment Han Li stepped through the entrance, he saw Ancestor Ao Xiao seated in a golden folding chair. He promptly walked over and offered a slight bow as he spoke.
Ancestor Ao Xiao did not immediately respond. Instead, he looked Han Li up and down before revealing an ambiguous expression — somewhere between a smile and something else entirely.
Yin Yue stood behind Ancestor Ao Xiao with her head lowered, seemingly lacking the courage to look at Han Li again.
"So you are that 'Han Li' who advanced from the Deity Transformation stage to the Body Integration stage in little over a thousand years? Now that I've seen you with my own eyes, I realize the rumors have actually underestimated your talent. You're already at the late Body Integration stage, aren't you?" Ancestor Ao Xiao finally spoke, his tone surprisingly amiable.
"I have indeed reached the late stage. Did Senior know of me before?" Han Li's expression remained calm, but after speaking, he couldn't help glancing at Yin Yue once more.
The silver-haired woman kept her head lowered in silence.
"I learned of Fellow Daoist Han's name when this girl Yin Yue returned from the human world to the Spirit World. However, it was only after Fellow Daoist reached the Body Integration stage that you truly caught my attention. After all, every Body Integration cultivator represents the pinnacle of combat power for the human and demon races — naturally I make it a point to take note. Yin Yue, come over and pay your respects. Were it not for Fellow Daoist Han's intervention back then, how would you ever have merged your two souls and returned to the Spirit World?" Ancestor Ao Xiao replied with a smile, then suddenly called out to Yin Yue behind him.
"Yin Yue greets Brother Han. Since we parted in the human world, this servant has never seen you again. But I have always kept that great kindness deep in my heart." Yin Yue finally raised her head, her expression remarkably composed — a stark contrast to the excitement she had shown upon first seeing Han Li, as if she were an entirely different person.