The Long Family patriarch contemplated the situation for only a brief moment before flying toward Han Li with a dark expression.

The woman from the Ye Family also flapped her wings and vanished into thin air following a brief hesitation.

Moments later, spatial fluctuations erupted beside Han Li, and the woman re-emerged.

As for Bai Qi, he continued to distance himself from Han Li and the others, completely unswayed by his words.

"I'll be counting on you, Brother Han. I hope you still have some trump cards up your sleeve. Otherwise, we'll only be delaying our deaths," the woman from the Ye Family said with a wry smile.

"I'm sure the two of you have some trump cards up your sleeves as well, right? Also, have you noticed that this Sacred Ancestor is relying solely on that Black Devil Dagger to attack and hasn't unleashed any other abilities?" Han Li asked in a calm voice.

The Long Family patriarch's heart jolted slightly upon hearing this. "Are you saying..."

"Don't forget that we are currently in the place with the most abundant spiritual Qi in the entire Elder Devil Realm; any devilish being, even a Sacred Ancestor, will surely be restricted by the spiritual Qi during battle," Han Li harrumphed coldly.

The Long Family patriarch's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this, and he analyzed, "You're right, Brother Han! He's only able to unleash attacks with that Black Devil Dagger of his after breaking through the spiritual Qi cage here to absorb devilish Qi from the outside world? If I'm not mistaken, I'm guessing he's unable to directly replenish his magic power here, which means that it's a limited resource for him; the same thing most likely applies to his Profound Heavenly Treasure as well. As long as we don't allow that thing to continue to absorb devilish Qi from the outside world, it should be a lot more manageable."

The woman from the Ye Family also felt this to be quite plausible, and her horror was significantly assuaged.

A faint smile appeared on the black-robed young man's face upon hearing this. "It's truly impressive that you were able to figure out all this in such a short time; even among Body Integration Stage human beings, the three of you must be extremely prominent figures. I am indeed somewhat restricted on this Bitter Spirit Island and unable to unleash some treasures and abilities, but what do you take a Profound Heavenly Treasure for? How are you going to stop it from absorbing devilish Qi from the outside world. Also, that Spirit brat over there, I haven't attacked you yet as I can sense the aura of an acquaintance within your body; why has the Spirit Monarch sent you here? Surely it's not just to offer that Faux Immortal Puppet to me."

The black-robed young man turned toward Bai Qi with a cold expression as he spoke, and Han Li's trio also turned their attention toward Bai Qi upon hearing this.

From the very beginning, Bai Qi had been behaving in a very strange manner. Seeing as Han Li and the others had decided to face the black-robed young man together, they naturally had to figure out Bai Qi's true intentions.

Bai Qi's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and after a brief pause, he finally replied, "The Spirit Monarch did indeed give us some instructions before we left the Spirit Realm. On top of that, he's planted a Spirit Fragment Talisman within my body, so why don't you speak to him in person?"

As soon as Bai Qi's voice trailed off, the white light around him faded to reveal his true appearance as a brocade-robed middle-aged man.

His appearance was quite ordinary, but he had a pair of shimmering silver eyes and a faint purple mark on his glabella.

On top of that, there were countless silver spiritual patterns embroidered on his brocade robes, indicating that this was clearly not just an ordinary item of clothing.

"Hmph, that old monster from your Spirit Race has lived even longer than I have; let me hear what he has to say," the black-robed young man harrumphed coldly.

A faint smile appeared on Bai Qi's face as he laid a hand onto the top of his own head, following which a silver talisman emerged, then transformed into a projection that was around 10 feet tall.

Han Li focused his gaze on the projection to find that it depicted a white-robed elderly man with white hair, but a set of youthful facial features, creating a rather peculiar contrast.

The Long Family patriarch and the woman from the Ye Family exchanged a bewildered glance upon seeing this, but neither of them did anything.

After all, the situation couldn't get any worse, so they were naturally eager to see if some type of change could arise.

The projection hovered in front of Bai Qi and inspected its surroundings briefly before settling a calm gaze on the black-robed young man.

The projection was clearly imbued with a wisp of someone's soul, and it cupped its fist in a salute toward the young man. "Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Yuan Yan; I didn't expect to see one of the three patriarchs here. Weren't Fellow Daoist Mie Qing and Fellow Daoist Wu Chang responsible for overseeing the island? Where have they gone?"

This Grand Ascension Stage Spirit being seemed to be familiar with this Sacred Ancestor Yuan Yan.

Even the steadfast Han Li couldn't help but be alarmed upon hearing the term "patriarch", and the woman from the Ye Family and the Long Family patriarch's hearts sank even further.

The black-robed young man's pupils contracted slightly at the sight of the projection, and he said in a cold voice, "Mie Qing and Wu Chang have some other matters to attend to, so I've been looking after this island for the past 1,000 years. Looks like you still haven't given up on the two treasures on this island, but you should be well aware that sending some Body Integration Stage beings to this place is completely futile. Having said that, if you're here in person, then that would be an entirely different matter."

"Our Spirit Race is currently dealing with an invasion from you devilish beings. Otherwise, perhaps I really would've made a trip here in person. It's been many years since we last met; have you achieved any breakthroughs in your Nightmare Devilish Arts? I'm preoccupied with other matters, so I could only send these juniors into your Elder Devil Realm in my stead. Looking at the situation now, everyone seems to have perished aside from Bai Qi; aren't you being a little too hasty, Fellow Daoist?" The Spirit Monarch said in a calm manner.

"You should be glad I've left one of your juniors alive; if you keep spouting useless nonsense, don't blame me for killing him as well!" the black-robed young man said in an impatient manner.

"Your temper hasn't changed at all compared to when we last met tens of thousands of years ago. Alright, let me keep this short then; I would like to exchange something for an opportunity for this junior of mine to obtain a Clean Spirit Lotus and enter the Spirit Cleansing Pond, would you be open to this, Fellow Daoist? I had originally planned to propose this exchange to Mie Qing and Wu Chang, but I didn't expect you to have replaced them," the Spirit Monarch projection sighed in a resigned manner.

"Haha, do you think I would believe something like this? Even if Mie Qing and Wu Chang were here, they wouldn't engage in any exchange with Spirit Realm beings. Alright, if that's all you have to say, then I'll send this junior of yours on his way; I'll be taking this wisp of your soul as well." The black-robed young man was completely unconvinced, and he raised the giant sword in his hand again as a cold smile appeared on his face.

The Long Family patriarch and the woman from the Ye Family immediately prepared for battle, and a wary look also appeared on Han Li's face.

However, the Spirit Monarch projection then suddenly said something that made the black-robed young man stop cold in his tracks.

"So I take it that you're not interested in a Realmfall Stone, Fellow Daoist?"

"What? A Realmfall Stone? You possess such a thing? Hold on, what do you know about this?" the black-robed young man exclaimed before a thought suddenly occurred to him, and a ferocious look appeared in his eyes.

"Hehe, I know far more than you imagine, Fellow Daoist. I've lived for far longer than the Grand Ascension Stage beings from the other races of the Spirit Realm, so isn't it only normal that I know some things that are beyond their knowledge? With a Realmfall Stone, you'll be able to delay the tribulation of your Elder Devil Realm for at least 10,000 years, but I'm sure you're aware of that already. Have a good think about this before you give me your verdict," the Spirit Monarch said in a confident manner.

The black-robed young man began to ponder the proposal with a contemplative expression while Han Li's trio looked on in bewilderment, trying to decipher what their conversation entailed.

"I had speculated since a very long time ago that you're definitely not originally a being from the Spirit Realm; seeing as you're aware of such an important secret of our holy realm, it looks like my suspicions have been confirmed. It's just a pity..." The black-robed young man shook his head gently as he spoke.

"A pity? Are you not aware of how important a Realmfall Stone is to your Elder Devil Realm?" the Spirit Monarch asked as his brows furrowed slightly with befuddlement.

"It's a pity that you encountered me, and you definitely shouldn't have disclosed this to me!" A peculiar smile appeared on the black-robed young man's face as he slashed his black sword toward Bai Qi while making a grabbing motion toward the Spirit Monarch projection with his other hand.