"What do you mean by that, Fellow Daoist Gu?" Du Yu asked in a perplexed manner.

"Neither of you is willing to comply with the other, so why don't you each compromise a little. Seeing as Fellow Daoist Du is determined to take Brother Han's disciple back to the holy island, then why don't you accompany them as well, Brother Han? If you feel that they're doing anything inappropriate, then you can immediately intervene. With your powers and reputation, I'm sure the elders of the holy island would be inclined to heed your advice, Brother Han," Elder Gu proposed in a cautious manner.

"That's a good idea; you can accompany us to the holy island if you wish to do so, Fellow Daoist Han," Du Yu agreed after a brief moment of contemplation.

"There's no need for that. Seeing as Brother Gu would like me to make a compromise, then that's what I'll do. If one of you three envoys can withstand a single attack from me, then I'll let you take my disciple. If not, hehe..." Han Li chuckled coldly as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"What? How dare you belittle us like this, Fellow Daoist Han?" Even with Du Yu's steadfast nature, he couldn't help but flare up with fury.

The hideous woman and yellow-haired man were also enraged to hear this.

"Do you not trust me? Would you like me to swear an inner demon vow as well?" Han Li asked.

Du Yu's rage quickly subsided, and he immediately began to consider exactly what Han Li was intending to do here. "There's no need for that; I'm sure you're a man of your word, Fellow Daoist Han."

He certainly didn't believe that Han Li was doing this as a compromise, but he was even more unconvinced that the three of them wouldn't even be able to withstand a single attack from Han Li.

The elders of Deep Heaven City also exchanged a few bewildered glances upon hearing this.

They were aware that Han Li was virtually the most powerful being in the entire Spirit Realm below the Grand Ascension Stage, but they also didn't believe that Du Yu's trio wouldn't even be able to withstand a single attack from him.

Elder Gu and Buddhist Monk Jin Yue quickly exchanged a glance, and just as the former was about to say something, Fairy Silver Light suddenly transmitted her voice to them.

Elder Gu's expression changed slightly upon hearing what she had to say, and he cast a quick glance toward Silvermoon, who was sitting beside Han Li, and decided to remain silent in the end.

Meanwhile, Du Yu was appraising Han Li with a dark expression, and only after a long while did he finally reply, "Seeing as you insist on settling this with violence, then I'll be one to face your attack. I want to see just how you plan to defeat me with just a single attack."

After discovering that the elders of Deep Heaven City were determined to adopt a neutral stance, Du Yu decided to accept Han Li's proposal in the end.

Even though he was rather suspicious of Han Li's conceited display, he was even more confident in his own powers.

With the powerful Buddhist cultivation art that he had mastered and the treasures in his possession, he was confident that he would be able to withstand an attack from a cultivator of the same caliber.

The yellow-haired man and hideous woman were clearly also very confident in Du Yu's powers, and they offered no objections to this, but they were displaying even greater animosity toward Han Li.

As holy island envoys, they were always treated with respect everywhere they went. Occasionally, they would encounter some rather cold and aloof Body Integration cultivators, but no one had ever been as openly hostile as Han Li had been toward them.

Upon receiving agreement from Du Yu, Han Li immediately burst into laughter.

"You're a straightforward man, Fellow Daoist Du. I'll be waiting for you in the sparring hall on the lower level."

As soon as his voice trailed off, Han Li stood up, then vanished into thin air amid a burst of spatial fluctuations, leaving only his laughter still resounding throughout the hall.

Han Li's display of nonchalance and spatial abilities immediately brought a hint of wariness to Du Yu's eyes.

He was also able to teleport away by tearing through space, but he couldn't do it as easily and casually as Han Li could.

This made him a little more cautious, but he was still quite confident in his own abilities.

Right at this moment, Daoist Xie also rose to his feet before sweeping a sleeve toward Silvermoon and Zhu Guo'er releasing a burst of silver light to envelop both of them.

Immediately thereafter, the three of them also vanished amid a flash of silver lightning, and Du Yu's heart jolted again upon seeing this.

He immediately turned to Elder Gu, and asked, "Who was that fellow daoist, Brother Gu? He seems to be quite powerful as well."

Their attention had been entirely focused on Han Li before, and Daoist Xie had intentionally repressed his own aura, so no one had paid him much heed.

However, Elder Gu was just as shocked as Du Yu was, and after exchanging a glance with the other elders, he shook his head, and replied, "This is the first time I've seen that fellow daoist as well."

After a brief moment of hesitation, Du Yu's expression returned to normal, and he said, "I guess we'll find out who he is soon enough. Besides, I'll be facing Fellow Daoist Han anyway, so it doesn't matter how powerful he is. Let's go, Brother Gu."

Elder Gu could only repress his own astonishment as well upon hearing this, and nodded in response.

Thus, everyone also departed from the hall one after another.

Around 15 minutes later, a giant light barrier was activated within a massive hall with an area of several thousand feet, encompassing virtually the entire hall beneath it.

High up in the air within the light barrier, Han Li and Du Yu were facing one another from afar.

Du Yu was wearing a rather wary expression, while Han Li was relaxed as ever and had his hands clasped behind his back.

"Let me just ascertain one final time that you'll allow me to take your disciple as long as I can withstand an attack from you," Du Yu suddenly said.

"That's right. As long as you can withstand a single attack from me, I won't oppose you even if you intend to take all of my disciples to the holy island. However, if you can't, then you'll have to go back to the holy island empty-handed," Han Li replied in an uncompromising manner.

"Alright, then go ahead," Du Yu prompted with a dark expression.

Han Li chuckled coldly upon hearing this, and all of a sudden, his Provenance True Devil Projection appeared behind him amid a flash of golden light.

Immediately thereafter, a gust of fierce winds erupted from the projection's body, and it made a hand seal with each of its six hands in unison, upon which it swelled to around 800 feet in size with countless arcs of golden lightning coursing all over its body.

The projection opened all six of its eyes at once, then slowly reached out with a giant hand before making a grabbing motion.

The massive hand seemed to be moving very slowly, but it was exerting a terrifying aura that threatened to crush the entire space.

Du Yu's expression changed drastically upon sensing this fearsome aura, and he immediately laid a hand onto the back of his own head, then opened his mouth to release a jade book that was enshrouded in a ball of white light.

At the same time, he swept his other sleeve through the air, summoning a pristine white inkstone amid a burst of white mist.

The inkstone contained a type of unknown silver liquid, and as soon as the two items emerged, they began to revolve above Du Yu's head, with one treasure releasing a burst of five-colored light, and countless golden and silver runes surging out of the other in a frenzy.

Among these two items, one was a powerful Divine Spirit Treasure, while the other was an even rarer treasure refined from a fragment of a Profound Heavenly Treasure.

A hint of surprise flashed through Han Li's eyes at the sight of these two treasures, but he then immediately harrumphed coldly, and a series of silver patterns surfaced on the descending giant palm, forming around a dozen silver formations of different sizes at once.

In the next instant, the massive golden hand swelled slightly in size, then instantly turned a purplish-golden color.

The spiritual pressure it was releasing immediately became four times more powerful, and it continued to descend with astonishing might.

In the face of this burst of terrifying spiritual pressure, Du Yu shuddered slightly and took several involuntary steps backward, following which a hint of fear surfaced in his eyes.

Even though he was at the pinnacle of the late-Body Integration Stage, he felt like this burst of spiritual pressure could crush him to a pulp in an instant.

"No, this definitely isn't late-Body Integration Stage power; only a Grand Ascension Stage being could unleash such fearsome power!" Du Yu almost instantly realized exactly what he had gotten himself into, and he immediately tried to call for help, but the terrifying spiritual pressure weighing down upon him prevented him from being able to utter so much as a single sound.