Just as Han Li activated the white shield, erecting a white light screen, the Thunder God puppet's purple-black staff descended with overwhelming force!

"Boom!" A deafening sound erupted!

The white light screen trembled violently as a torrent of white lightning poured from the staff, creating a continuous roar.

Countless bolts of electricity ricocheted off the screen, striking the surrounding ground and showering sparks.

The electrical discharge subsided after several breaths, but the light screen on the shield's surface was nearly depleted, shrinking to its original size and leaving Han Li exposed.

At that moment, the Thunder God puppet suddenly flicked its staff, deflecting the white shield. It then took a step forward, closing the distance and delivering a heavy kick to Han Li.

Han Li felt as if he had been struck by a mountain. A surge of immense power swept through him, causing his internal organs to churn. He tumbled backward, smashing through the remnants of the stone arch bridge and slamming into the pool wall, creating a deep indentation.

Immediately after, he thrust his hands against the wall, propelling himself forward. He was met by the Thunder God puppet, its wings flapping, hurtling towards him.

Just as they were about to collide, the Xuan acupoints on Han Li's feet blazed with light. He stepped on empty air, abruptly increasing his height by several feet, soaring over the Thunder God puppet's head and stomping downwards.

"Boom..."

Simultaneously, a thunderous sound seemed to erupt from Han Li's body!

The Xuan acupoints all over his body shone with white light, and a boundless white aura emanated from him, crushing down upon the Thunder God puppet below. Its power surpassed even the force he had used against Gu Qianxun.

The other two Halberd Warrior puppets attempted to approach but were instantly shattered by the white aura.

The Thunder God puppet's physique was extraordinarily strong. Even under this immense pressure, it did not lower its head. However, its wings, seemingly weaker than the rest of its body, were torn apart inch by inch by the onslaught of white light.

Han Li's feet landed heavily on the Thunder God puppet's shoulders, like Mount Tai pressing down. The impact caused the puppet to sink slightly, and the ground beneath it cracked into a network of fissures.

Seizing the opportunity, Han Li did not pause. He circulated the Heavenly Fiend Incarceration Art frantically within his body, and the dense Xuan acupoints on both his arms ignited simultaneously. A layer of hazy starlight enveloped his hands, and he slammed them down upon the Thunder God puppet's head.

"Bang!" A deafening crash resonated.

A massive explosion of white starlight erupted. The Thunder God puppet's face, already sharp-mouthed and monkey-cheeked, was instantly deformed. Its entire body went limp, and the light faded from its eyes, dimming into lifelessness.

Seeing this, Han Li finally breathed a sigh of relief. He hopped off the puppet's shoulders and glanced toward Shi Chuan Kong.

The two Halberd Warrior puppets that had been battling Shi Chuan Kong were now reduced to one. Shi Chuan Kong was chasing it toward the entrance of the palace, and it was no longer a threat.

Han Li withdrew his gaze and looked toward the sole remaining female statue on the stone platform, musing to himself, "At least there's one that's behaving like a statue..."

His eyes fixed on the blood-red key in the female statue's hand. After a moment of hesitation, he leaped toward the stone platform.

However, before he could reach the platform, a layer of white light restriction suddenly appeared in the void before him, isolating the female statue.

Han Li immediately halted, landing back on the ground. He examined the area carefully and saw that a white light pillar restriction had risen around the stone platform, surrounding the female statue.

"Oh, this is interesting..." After a moment, Han Li's lips curled into a smile.

Just then, a booming sound came from behind him as Shi Chuan Kong finally defeated the last Halberd Warrior.

Shi Chuan Kong exhaled a long breath of air and slowly walked toward Han Li, picking up the white curved blade and the purple-black staff that Han Li had discarded earlier.

"What's wrong, Brother Li? Did you find something?" Shi Chuan Kong asked as he approached.

"Look at the formation patterns beneath this restriction. Do they seem familiar?" Han Li said without turning around.

Shi Chuan Kong followed his gaze and saw a dense and complex network of star patterns beneath the light pillar. Some areas did indeed look familiar.

"This looks like Flying Star runes..." Shi Chuan Kong said hesitantly.

"Indeed. These formation patterns seem complex, but traces of Flying Star runes can still be seen in some of the details," Han Li nodded.

"Does that mean you can break this formation?" Shi Chuan Kong asked, his eyebrows rising with joy.

"I don't have complete certainty, but it's worth a try," Han Li smiled.

With that, he reached into his robe and took out the Star Ripple Brush, which he had used to inscribe runes on the Star Falcon Flying Boat. He began to inscribe on the outside of the formation.

He worked slowly, pausing to examine his work after each stroke. It took him over half an hour to complete the entire formation.

"Is it done?" Shi Chuan Kong asked when he was finished.

Han Li did not answer. Instead, he put away the Star Ripple Brush, closed his eyes, and began to chant softly.

After a moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, channeled the power of the stars within his body, and pointed forward. A beam of white light shot from his fingertip and struck the star rune formation on the ground.

Immediately, the formation he had inscribed shone with white light and began to vibrate with a buzzing sound.

Streams of white light shot out from it and merged into the white light pillar on the stone platform. The light in the pillar immediately melted and dissipated like snow encountering the scorching sun.

A smile finally appeared on Han Li's lips. He stepped forward and took the blood-red key from the female statue's hand.

To his surprise, the key felt warm to the touch, as if it had just been taken from someone else's hand. Other than that, it seemed unremarkable.

"After all that effort, there's only one key here. I wonder what it's for," Shi Chuan Kong said with a wry smile.

"Judging by the way it was guarded, it must be something special. I just don't know if it has anything to do with the Sacred Remains you mentioned," Han Li said, handing the key to Shi Chuan Kong.

"Other than the texture being a little unusual, I can't really see anything special about it. You should hold onto it for now. It's safer that way," Shi Chuan Kong said, examining the key for a few moments before returning it to Han Li.

Han Li didn't say much, putting the key into his robe. Then, he paused.

"Thump, thump, thump."

He felt a series of powerful heartbeats coming from within him. The blood-red key seemed to sense something, and its surface was emitting traces of blood-colored light, pulsating gently like a heart.

Along with this pulsation, a surge of heat seeped from the blood-red key into his body.

The heat enveloped Han Li, making him feel as if he were soaking in a hot spring. Every pore on his body opened up, and the circulation of qi and blood within him accelerated.

Moreover, the Xuan acupoint that was about to activate trembled slightly, seeming to open a bit more.

"Brother Li, are you alright?" Shi Chuan Kong asked, noticing the strange expression on Han Li's face.

"It's nothing..." Han Li shook his head, about to say something.

At that moment, the entire building suddenly began to shake violently, growing more and more intense, and accompanied by a thunderous roar, like an earthquake.

"What's going on!" Han Li and Shi Chuan Kong exclaimed in shock.

The shaking of the ground grew stronger. Cracks appeared on the walls, growing larger and larger before collapsing with a crash, sending countless large and small stones crashing down on the two of them.

"This place is collapsing! Let's go!" Han Li grabbed Shi Chuan Kong.

In the next moment, all the Xuan acupoints on his body lit up, especially those on his legs, which shone brightly, echoing the many star acupoints on his Starmoon Boots.

Han Li stomped on the ground and, without a word, pulled Shi Chuan Kong as he flew upwards into the sky.

As he soared upwards, he suddenly glanced at the cracking ground.

Through the huge fissures in the ground, faint traces of blue light emanated from the depths, suggesting that something lay beneath.

However, Han Li quickly withdrew his gaze. This was not the time to investigate the depths. He stepped on the air with his feet, changing his position nimbly, trying his best to dodge the falling rocks.

Shi Chuan Kong, being pulled by Han Li, did not remain idle. He wielded the purple-black staff in his hand, creating a web of shadows that deflected or shattered the rocks falling from above.

On the surface, the ground within a radius of ten miles, centered on the black altar, shook violently. Huge, crisscrossing cracks appeared, and then, with a deafening roar, the ground collapsed, forming a huge sinkhole.

Just as the ground collapsed, two figures shot out from within with a "boom". They spun around in the air and landed on a building nearby that had not been affected by the collapse.

The two of them were covered in dust and looked quite disheveled.

However, they paid no attention to their appearance. They looked at the huge sinkhole before them, their faces filled with surprise.

"Why did the ground suddenly collapse?" Shi Chuan Kong said, frowning.

Han Li looked at the sinkhole before him, his eyes flashing, but he did not speak.

The blue light he had seen underground earlier flashed through his mind. He didn't know what it was.

"Brother Li, do you have any ideas?" Shi Chuan Kong asked, looking over.

"This ground transformation is probably related to us taking the blood-red key. Otherwise, the timing is too coincidental," Han Li said, touching the blood-red key in his chest.

"If that's the case, this blood-red key probably has a great origin," Shi Chuan Kong said, startled, then nodding.

"Let's leave this place as soon as possible. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling," Han Li said, suddenly raising his head, his tone serious.

"Alright, let's go..." Shi Chuan Kong nodded in agreement, but stopped halfway through his sentence, his expression changing.

Han Li's expression also darkened. He immediately grabbed Shi Chuan Kong again and shot away into the distance.