Within the silver flames, a faint, wispy gray thread writhed ceaselessly, yet no matter how it struggled, it could not escape from the palm of his hand.
"What is this..." Silvermoon was startled upon seeing this.
"This is Yin Filth Qi. Although it appears alive, its true form is formless and void-like — it can infiltrate a physical body without being detected, making it an exceptionally vicious weapon against enemies. Even a being at the Body Integration stage would generally be unable to sense its presence upon encountering it. They would only realize it existed once it had accumulated to a critical mass within the body and erupted." Han Li said calmly.
"What? Such a thing exists? Then my body might already—" Silvermoon was terrified and hurriedly swept her spiritual sense through her own body.
"Relax. Since I knew about this substance's existence, how could I have allowed it to get anywhere near us? I already used my spiritual sense to seal them off." Han Li said with an amused laugh.
"That's a relief — you gave me quite a fright! Brother Han, you weren't deliberately keeping this from me, were you?" Hearing this, Silvermoon finally calmed down, though she couldn't help casting a glance at Han Li, revealing a trace of stunning allure.
Han Li's gaze swept briefly across Silvermoon's exquisite face. Despite having long cultivated his mind to a state unaffected by external influences, a subtle stirring still arose within him, but he quickly looked away.
"I didn't withhold this on purpose. While this substance is vicious, its real danger lies in being invisible and undetectable. Now that it's been exposed, it poses no threat whatsoever. As long as you shield yourself with spiritual sense, even a Void Refining cultivator could easily keep it at bay."
"So it's that easy to deal with? Then I'm relieved!" Delighted, Silvermoon quickly released her own spiritual sense as well.
"If this thing is so fearsome, then once we leave this labyrinth hall, we should reach Patriarch Qiling's treasure vault, right? The first two treasure pavilions did contain some items, but they were only enough to fool ordinary demons — they couldn't catch our eyes." Silvermoon's eyes darted about for a moment before she suddenly said with a grin.
"If it were an ordinary Demon Realm Holy Ancestor, their remaining traps would likely be nothing more than this. But Patriarch Qiling's reputation was nearly on par with the progenitors of the Demon Realm in his time. Beyond this labyrinth hall, there should be even more formidable measures left behind." Han Li replied after a moment's thought.
"Even more formidable measures? What could they be? Most likely just some powerful restriction formations or the like." Silvermoon said with a coy smile.
"Perhaps." Han Li replied noncommittally.
As the two talked, they each dispatched another wave of phantom beast projections with single strikes, annihilating them completely.
By then, the dense forest of pillars ahead had finally reached its end, revealing at the edge a towering crimson gate dozens of zhang high. Its surface was covered in pitch-black demonic runes, and it appeared impossibly heavy.
After Han Li swept his spiritual sense across the massive crimson gate, a flash of blue light flickered through his pupils, and he said with some surprise: "Fire Element Crystal — this gate was actually forged from such material. It seems Patriarch Qiling's wealth is even greater than I initially imagined." As he spoke, Han Li abruptly pointed a finger at the crimson gate.
With a soft "pfft," a wisp of silver flame shot from his fingertip and vanished into the gate in a flash.
The previously silent gate erupted with a thunderous boom as countless crimson flames surged forth, instantly transforming it into a colossal gate of fire.
However, the tightly shut double doors also began to slowly open amid a rumbling roar.
A wave of scorching heat swept out from behind the gate in an instant. Silvermoon, standing a dozen zhang away, had her complexion change dramatically upon contact — the spiritual light across her body flickered wildly, and she hastily retreated several steps to barely avoid the searing heatwave.
Behind the gate stretched an expanse of brilliant red light — nothing less than a world of rolling crimson flames.
These flames were clearly no ordinary fire. Their temperature was so extreme that even Silvermoon, a cultivator at the Body Integration stage, dared not let her physical body come into direct contact, and had to fully activate her protective spiritual light to mount some defense.
Upon seeing this, Han Li's brows furrowed slightly, but his body remained rooted in place without so much as a tremor.
With the Spirit Devouring True Fire he had cultivated, this amount of flame naturally could not harm him in the slightest.
However, within the sea of flames before him, waves of restriction energy flickered in and out of visibility — clearly, things were not as simple as they appeared.
After his thoughts raced for a moment, Han Li formed a hand seal without hesitation while simultaneously opening his mouth and exhaling.
With a "poof," a ball of silver fire shot forth, expanding in the wind before suddenly transforming into a silver firebird roughly a zhang in size.
The firebird, wreathed in rolling silver flames, spread its wings, raised its head to let out a clear cry, and plunged headfirst into the sea of fire.
A bizarre scene unfolded!
Wherever the firebird passed, the rolling crimson flames inexplicably parted, leaving behind a path roughly a zhang wide.
"Silvermoon, if not now, when!" Han Li called out to her. His figure swayed, and he appeared on the path in an uncanny flicker.
Seeing this, Silvermoon smiled radiantly and followed with a graceful movement.
Thus, the two followed behind the firebird, striding boldly through the sea of fire.
Beneath the parted flames lay fist-sized crimson crystals, covering the ground entirely.
Each crystal glowed with red light, from which thin tongues of crimson flame danced and flickered.