"Time Spirit Domain!"

Dongfang Bai scanned his surroundings, his heart tightening.

The next moment, without another word, he retracted his azure spirit domain, grabbed Tao Ji and Lü Yun, and shot upward into the sky.

The lake water, freed from the spirit domain's confinement, immediately surged back toward the center.

A dazzling azure light enveloped the three of them, violently rubbing against the golden spirit domain, managing to negate most of the power of the time law, allowing them to flee with undiminished speed.

"Today, none of you will escape!"

Han Li roared, his True Wheel instantly reversing, and with a flash, he appeared above the three.

Seeing this, Dongfang Bai's eyes flashed with ruthlessness. He struck Tao Ji and Lü Yun on their backs, sending them flying toward Han Li above and the Soul-Devouring Beast below.

Tao Ji and Lü Yun were shocked. They realized they were completely immobilized and unable to even cry out.

Seeing Tao Ji hurtling toward him, Han Li raised a palm and thrust it forward.

But Tao Ji was horrified to discover that his abdomen was suddenly bulging rapidly. At his navel, a small, vibrant green sprout had grown unnoticed.

Before Han Li's palm could touch him, a violent explosion erupted.

Tao Ji's abdomen expanded to its limit and burst open with a roar.

Because it was the Nascent Soul exploding from within the dantian, the power was unimaginable. Even Han Li, caught off guard, was blasted backward, his outstretched palm turning bloody and mangled.

But he couldn't worry about that now, because Lü Yun was flying toward the Soul-Devouring Beast.

He frantically reversed his True Wheel, and the power of the Thunder Roc surged through him. Like lightning, he shot into the lake, scooped up the exhausted Soul-Devouring Beast, and before he could fly away, he heard a roar from behind.

A deafening crash.

A sky-shaking boom echoed through Three Rivers Lake. All the peaks and underwater mansions at the bottom of the lake exploded, sending waves thousands of feet high surging toward the adjacent Comb Mountain, flooding over it.

After a long while, two figures shot out of the lake and hovered in the air.

"Master, that Dongfang Bai is truly cunning and vicious, sacrificing his companions to escape!" The Soul-Devouring Beast said, pale-faced and furious.

"For such an unscrupulous person to hold sway over a region shows the extent of the Heavenly Court's decay. But it doesn't matter. He can run for now, but not forever. He will pay his debts," Han Li said slowly, shaking his head.

"Master, do you mean we should…" the Soul-Devouring Beast asked, looking at Han Li.

"I have plans. You should rest and recover first." With a wave of his hand, Han Li opened the Flowerbranch Grotto Heaven, letting the Soul-Devouring Beast return to rest.

Then, with a flash of light, his figure vanished into the sky.

…

Somewhere in the western end of the Gold Source Mountain Range, palaces were nestled in valleys, on peaks, and even suspended in mid-air, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Rainbow-like light bridges connected the palaces. Auspicious clouds floated in the sky, and cranes danced, creating a scene of pure paradise.

This was the location of the Gold Source Immortal Palace.

A green streak of light appeared in the distance, flying toward them with terrifying speed. In an instant, it was close. As the light faded, Dongfang Bai's figure appeared, continuing to fly into the depths of the Immortal Palace.

His expression was gloomy, like the clouds before a storm, unspeakably ugly. The Immortal Palace staff he passed merely bowed respectfully, daring not to say anything else.

Dongfang Bai soon arrived at the depths of the Immortal Palace, the hall where the golden communication disk array was placed. He took out the purple token and, after hesitating for a long time, placed it on the golden disk, performing a series of hand seals.

Dazzling purple light emanated from the token, dyeing the surrounding golden array purple.

After a moment, a figure flashed within the array, revealing a woman with green hair.

She looked like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, her face slightly pale, like a delicate young lady raised in a secluded chamber, but her eyes revealed boundless authority.

"Dongfang Bai, what urgent matter has made you use the Nine Yuan Token to activate the Sky Net Array to contact me? If those people from the Astrological Bureau find out, it will be another troublesome matter," the green-haired girl said calmly.

"Greetings, Immortal Venerable Miaofa. This subordinate has just received news about a Creation Crystal Grain. I dare not delay for even a moment and need to report this to you immediately. In my urgency, I used the Nine Yuan Token. Please forgive me, Immortal Venerable," Dongfang Bai said respectfully.

"What? You have found a clue to the Creation Crystal Grain! Quickly tell me everything in detail, without missing a single word!" Immortal Venerable Miaofa's face changed upon hearing this, and she spoke immediately. An immense pressure emanated from the array, even across the distance.

"Yes!"

Dongfang Bai's robes stirred without wind, and his heart tightened. He steeled himself and quickly recounted the story of Han Li and the Palm Heaven Bottle, adding embellishments.

The incident originated with the Tao Ji and Tao Yu, but in his version, he had noticed a hint of something and proactively sent them to investigate. In any case, the two were now long dead, with no proof to contradict him.

"That crystal grain is indeed very likely the Creation Crystal Grain! Good, excellent, the Palm Heaven Bottle has finally reappeared in the True Immortal World!" Immortal Venerable Miaofa said, her face filled with joy.

Before Dongfang Bai could breathe a sigh of relief, Immortal Venerable Miaofa's eyes flashed with a cold light, and she said coldly:

"Since you have already investigated this matter, why did you not report it sooner?"

"This subordinate is guilty! It was this subordinate's eagerness for credit. I originally wanted to capture Han Li and present the Palm Heaven Bottle to the Immortal Venerable, but I never expected his strength to be so great. Even with all the power of my Gold Source Immortal Palace, we were no match. Please punish me, Immortal Venerable!" Dongfang Bai fell to his knees, his face filled with panic, but a flicker of calm flashed in the depths of his eyes.

He did not try to cover up his mistake. News about Han Li had likely spread, making concealment impossible. It was better to admit his mistake readily.

Then, he exaggerated Han Li's disregard for the Heavenly Court Immortal Palace, how arrogant and overbearing he was, angering Immortal Venerable Miaofa.

After all, in her view, Han Li was still within the Gold Source Immortal Domain, and he was still useful in capturing him. She thought that Immortal Venerable Miaofa would not issue too severe a punishment.

"Where is that Han Li now?" Immortal Venerable Miaofa asked, her eyes flashing, her expression softening.

"This subordinate has been sending people to investigate the whereabouts of this thief these past few days, but I have not yet received any news. However, this subordinate has already ordered the closure of all the teleportation arrays in the Gold Source Immortal Domain. This thief must still be near the Gold Source Mountain Range," Dongfang Bai said quickly, feeling relieved.

"Hmm, well done. You discovered the news of the Creation Crystal Grain, a great contribution. But you concealed this matter and did not report it in a timely manner, and you acted rashly to capture him, causing him to be wary. The offenses balance each other out. How I deal with you depends on your future performance. If you can capture that Han Li and retrieve the Palm Heaven Bottle, your previous mistakes will naturally be forgiven, and I will personally ask the Guardian for a reward for you. But if you let him escape the Gold Source Immortal Domain, you don't need me to tell you what awaits you," Immortal Venerable Miaofa nodded and then said grimly.

"Yes, this subordinate will definitely follow the Immortal Venerable's instructions and capture that Han Li. But with the other party's strength, relying solely on my Gold Source Immortal Palace may not be enough…" Dongfang Bai said immediately, his expression tightening.

"Don't worry, I will have the Lan siblings of the Gold Plume Immortal Palace lead people to assist you. Immediately send people to investigate the whereabouts of that Han Li. Remember, be more careful this time, and don't stir up a hornet's nest," Immortal Venerable Miaofa said solemnly.

"Yes! This subordinate understands," Dongfang Bai said, his face filled with joy.

He had long heard of the Lan siblings of the Gold Plume Immortal Palace, who were famous.

Although they were only in the Late Grand Zenith Heaven, they had a secret combined attack technique that allowed them to temporarily merge their cultivation into one, reaching the Great Luo realm. The two had once fought a Great Luo from the Samsara Hall for three days and three nights without defeat, making them famous.

No matter how powerful Han Li was, with the help of these two, equivalent to fighting two Great Luo cultivators, even if he had three heads and six arms, he would definitely not be a match.

Thinking of this, Dongfang Bai felt much more confident.

The green-haired girl gave a few more instructions before ending the conversation, her figure vanishing from the array in a flash.

Dongfang Bai's expression relaxed, and he exhaled a long breath. Then, he made a hand seal to stop the array, retrieved the purple token, and the array immediately returned to its original state.

…

Inside a pink palace somewhere in the Heavenly Court.

The palace was filled with a soft pink light, giving off the sweet, intimate atmosphere of a woman's boudoir.

In the depths of the palace, a beautiful ivory bed was shrouded in pink gauze curtains. A girl sat on the bed, the very same Immortal Venerable Miaofa who had just finished talking to Dongfang Bai.

Next to the ivory bed was a squatting toad, a giant one with rough, bumpy, dirt-yellow skin, bigger than the bed. Peculiarly, it had six copper bell sized eyes on its face, arranged on both sides. It looked rather ferocious.

Although the yellow toad was quietly resting there, the aura it exuded was unusually large. While it could not compare to Immortal Venerable Miaofa, it was not too inferior.

"Congratulations, Master, for finding clues to the Creation Crystal Grain. As long as you can retrieve the Palm Heaven Bottle, Ancestor Nine Yuan will definitely look at you in a new light. The long-vacant position of Vice-Guardian will not escape your grasp," the yellow toad said, its six eyes narrowed, and its large mouth splitting open as if it was smiling.

"I don't care about the position of Vice-Guardian. I only hope that I can rely on this achievement to receive guidance from the Guardian, so that I can successfully cut off my second corpse," Immortal Venerable Miaofa said indifferently.

"Master is right. Strength is the most important thing at all times," the yellow toad said, stunned by this.

"She Chan, pass my orders to the Gold Plume Immortal Palace. At the same time, you should take a trip to the Gold Source Immortal Domain as well," Immortal Venerable Miaofa said after a moment of silence.