Inside a cyan mountain range cave dwelling, Han Li was still in seclusion, striving to reach the Da Luo realm.

Time flew by like an arrow, and three years passed in the blink of an eye.

The golden light within Han Li's secret chamber grew increasingly intense, even penetrating the outside despite the restrictions in place.

Waves of powerful temporal law fluctuations rippled through every corner of the cave dwelling.

Lan Yan, disturbed by the power of the temporal laws, had long ceased her cultivation and quietly awaited Han Li's emergence.

She had vaguely guessed the purpose of Han Li's seclusion and felt a complex mix of emotions.

If Han Li succeeded in advancing to the Da Luo realm, his strength would greatly increase. Although she didn't know what he was plotting, it would certainly be detrimental to the Nine Yuan Sect.

However, with his increased strength, his personal safety would be greatly enhanced, and Lan Yan herself would be much safer as a result.

Moreover, if Han Li advanced to the Da Luo realm, her usefulness to him would diminish significantly. Given Han Li's nature, he might release her soon.

If Han Li failed to advance to the Da Luo realm, she would have to continue living this precarious life, constantly risking danger, and her time by Han Li's side would be greatly extended, with no telling when she would be free.

Lan Yan's feelings were mixed, and she couldn't say whether she hoped Han Li would succeed or fail.

Just as she was caught in this dilemma, a loud crash echoed from Han Li's secret chamber.

Immediately afterward, a massive wave of law fluctuations rumbled outward, sweeping through the entire cave dwelling like a raging tide. The restrictions throughout the cave dwelling trembled and shattered, with nearly half of them collapsing.

Lan Yan was also pushed back by the force of the temporal law fluctuations, only stopping when she crashed into the wall of the cave dwelling.

She looked toward Han Li's secret chamber, where all the golden light had vanished. Knowing that Han Li's attempt to advance to the Da Luo realm had failed, she couldn't help but sigh, seemingly a little regretful.

"It seems I still hoped he would succeed..." Lan Yan raised an eyebrow and murmured to herself.

Inside the secret chamber, Han Li frowned, his expression grave.

Just as Lan Yan had guessed, his attempt to break through to the Da Luo realm had ended in failure.

The failure itself wasn't a major issue; his own cultivation hadn't been damaged. However, he couldn't find the reason for the failure.

Han Li currently possessed over two hundred temporal law crystal threads within his body. Ordinary Da Luo realm cultivators only comprehended and refined this many law crystal threads. The power of the laws should have been sufficient. He had also opened 359 immortal apertures, his physical body was incredibly strong, and his spiritual sense was much stronger than that of a typical Tai Yi realm peak cultivator due to practicing the Refinement God Arts. The mastery of the Great Five Elements Illusory World Divine Art was also sufficient.

All of his conditions should have been met; there was no reason for him to fail.

Han Li pondered, carefully recalling the process of attempting to advance to the Da Luo realm. He gradually concluded that the problem was likely still with the law crystal threads.

When he first started attempting to advance to the Da Luo realm, everything had been fine, but then those two hundred-odd law crystal threads suddenly became chaotic, causing the immortal spiritual power within his body to become greatly disturbed, and everything fell apart.

"Could it still be because there are too few law crystal threads?" Han Li speculated to himself.

If the problem was with the law crystal threads, he couldn't think of any other reason besides having too few.

This problem wasn't unsolvable. He could find some treasures containing the power of temporal laws and refine them using the Great Five Elements Illusory World Divine Art.

However, items containing the power of temporal laws were precious and hard to find on short notice.

Moreover, he already had two hundred temporal law crystal threads within his body, and it still wasn't enough. To reach the requirements for breaking through to the Da Luo realm, he didn't know how many more he would need, and the number of temporal law items required would definitely be significant.

"That's right, how could I have forgotten the Years God Lamp? This treasure contains a great deal of temporal law power. As long as I extract a small portion, it should be enough." Han Li suddenly slapped his forehead and retrieved the Years God Lamp he had obtained not long ago.

The lamp's flame was still extinguished.

Along the way, Han Li had tried many times to reignite the flame, but he had been unable to succeed.

Although the Years God Lamp hadn't been lit, it still emitted waves of powerful temporal law fluctuations.

Han Li immediately activated the Great Five Elements Illusory World Divine Art, and the Mantra Treasure Wheel and other items reappeared.

He quickly performed hand seals, and five strands of temporal law power intertwined, compressing together to form a thick golden halo.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and pressed down with both hands in the void.

With a "boom," the thick golden halo shrank again, turning into a golden ring. As it spun rapidly, it exuded a powerful devouring force.

Han Li's expression showed a hint of joy, which he quickly concealed. He flicked a finger.

The golden ring shot out, enveloping the Years God Lamp and spinning rapidly.

A powerful devouring force enveloped the Years God Lamp, attempting to extract the temporal law power within it.

However, the previously invincible Great Five Elements Illusory World Divine Art failed this time. No matter how the golden ring spun and extracted, the temporal law power within the Years God Lamp remained unmoved.

"Could it be because the Years God Lamp is too high grade?"

Han Li pondered and continued to activate the golden ring for a while, but it was still in vain. He stopped, speculating in his heart, but he wasn't too surprised.

This situation had happened before, with the golden disc he had obtained from the ruins of the Mantra Gate.

Han Li had previously tried to use the Great Five Elements Illusory World Divine Art to extract the temporal law power from that golden disc, but he had failed.

Now that the Years God Lamp had also failed, it seemed that this lamp was a treasure of roughly the same level as that golden disc.

That golden disc might be even higher, because Han Li could barely control the Years God Lamp, but he couldn't budge that golden disc at all.

Han Li played with the Years God Lamp, chuckled inwardly, and put it away.

He then paused silently for a moment and retrieved the Reincarnation Temple mask, posting a high-priced trading task to purchase items containing temporal law power.

Han Li had been killing and looting treasures everywhere in recent years, and he had a large number of immortal essence stones, so he didn't have to worry about that.

Now, besides the Reincarnation Temple, he couldn't find any other way to collect treasures containing temporal law power for the time being, so he could only wait slowly.

After doing these things, Han Li closed his eyes and sat quietly for a moment, once again activating the Great Five Elements Illusory World Divine Art, trying to find other problems. A dazzling golden light enveloped his body.

Time passed, and another half year flew by.

Inside the secret chamber, Han Li was sitting cross-legged, surrounded by a layer of golden light. The five tangible objects of temporal law hovered in the void around him, floating up and down. The entire secret chamber was filled with waves of temporal law fluctuations.

Just then, Han Li suddenly opened his eyes, his brows furrowing.

He stood up, and the five tangible objects of temporal law flashed and disappeared into his body. His figure vanished from the spot in an instant.

The next moment, Han Li had already arrived outside the secret chamber, standing behind Lan Yan.

Just as Lan Yan was surprised, Han Li grabbed her neck. A golden rune, like a spiritual snake, crawled up and wrapped around her body, instantly freezing her in place, unable to move.

"Forgive me, Fellow Daoist Lan..."

As Han Li's voice faded, a violent roar rang out from all around.

The mountain where his cave dwelling was located was directly blasted open by a vast force. Half of the mountain peak was overturned, and the entire cave dwelling was exposed under the bright sunlight.

Han Li still held Lan Yan's neck in one hand, looking up at the sky.

In the sky, a huge crystal throne was suspended, shaped like a lotus flower, crystal clear. On it sat a green-skirted woman with skin like creamy jade and a graceful figure. It was naturally the Myo Fa Celestial Sovereign who had come in pursuit.

She rested her left cheek on her hand, looking at Han Li with a slight frown and a hint of disgust in her eyes.

When Han Li sensed the aura of a mid Da Luo realm cultivator emanating from her, his pupils couldn't help but shrink slightly. Although this person seemed lazy and high-seated, the pressure she brought to him was even more terrifying than Qi Mozi and his ilk.

Behind her stood two twin maids dressed in cyan gauze skirts, both around sixteen years old, with delicate features. One held a jeweled parasol, and the other held a peacock feather fan. Their auras were not weak either, comparable to early Tai Yi realm cultivators.

"Hehe, I thought the guy who made She Chan stumble would be a formidable character, but I didn't expect him to be a despicable fellow who only uses weak women as shields. How disappointing..." Myo Fa Celestial Sovereign sneered.

"Senior, speaking like this is a bit unfair. This Fellow Daoist Lan is not a weak woman. No matter how I forced her, she refused to surrender, and she even tried to commit suicide several times. I had no choice but to impose restrictions. As for shields, isn't that also because of Senior's coercive power, forcing me to do so?" Han Li said, feigning helplessness.

When Lan Yan heard Han Li's nonsense, she understood that he was trying to absolve her of the suspicion of betrayal, and she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

"What's the point of living when captured by the enemy?" Myo Fa Celestial Sovereign sat up slightly, glancing at Lan Yan without expression.

The next moment, a layer of white frost appeared on Lan Yan's fair cheeks, and her whole body was encased in a layer of light blue ice crystals amidst a series of "crackling" sounds.

A silver light flashed on Han Li's fingertips, and a surge of silver flames erupted, barely resisting the icy frost that was spreading from Lan Yan's body. His figure flashed back.

However, as soon as his figure retreated a hundred feet, he noticed the sky above him darken. The jeweled parasol had flown above him at some point, and it was covering him from above.

Han Li tapped the void with the tips of his toes, and a "bang" resounded under his feet. His figure flashed to dodge.

The umbrella-holding maid stood on one foot on the surface of the parasol, her posture swaying and dancing like a light whirling dance, moving erratically.

The jeweled parasol changed position with her footsteps, constantly changing direction, always covering Han Li's head.

The other fan-holding maid flashed to Lan Yan's side, raised her hand and wiped over her body, dissolving the layer of ice crystals that encased her. She grabbed Lan Yan with one hand, tossed her away, and she floated back to Myo Fa Celestial Sovereign's side.

"Disciple greets Myo Fa Celestial Sovereign." Lan Yan stabilized her figure slightly and immediately bowed, saying.

"Lan Yuanzi? Is he dead or alive?" Myo Fa Celestial Sovereign didn't look at her, asking casually.

"Brother..." Lan Yan's nose felt a little sore when she mentioned Lan Yuanzi.