Time flew by, and several days had passed.

In the eastern part of Zhulong Path, there was a remote snow valley. Because it was near the Melting Snow Forest, the site of the sect's trials, it was usually deserted.

The valley was filled with snow pines that reached hundreds of feet in height. After each snowfall, they would be completely covered by thick snow, resembling smooth, white snow pagodas from afar.

At this moment, rumbling thunder could be heard from within the snow valley, interspersed with the sound of tree branches breaking.

The sound vibrations caused the ice and snow that had accumulated for countless years on both sides of the valley to slide down the mountain slopes towards the center, swirling and surging together. Eventually, they converged into a massive avalanche, rushing out of the valley.

Because there was too much accumulated snow, the continuously colliding and piling snow blocks pushed all the way out of the valley before gradually losing momentum and stopping. However, the air was still filled with a misty drizzle of crystalline snowflakes.

Just then, a streak of rainbow light flew down from the sky above the valley entrance and landed at the edge of the accumulated snow. Han Li, dressed in the robes of an inner sect elder, appeared from within.

"Boom!"

Another peal of thunder echoed.

Han Li's eyes flickered slightly as he looked towards the depths of the snow valley, where a huge silver pillar of lightning rose, shooting straight into the sky.

"So, it really is here," he muttered. He pinched two fingers together, and a Taiyi Transformation Talisman with a purple glow emerged.

Accompanied by a burst of purple light, his figure gradually blurred and eventually disappeared from the spot.

Inside the snow valley, under the impact of a large amount of accumulated snow, countless snow pines shattered and broke, being buried by the snow flow. Everywhere was littered with bare tree limbs and broken remnants.

At the deepest part of the snow valley, on top of a high, protruding stone cliff, sat a thin, dark-skinned youth with his legs crossed. He looked straight ahead, his eyes gleaming with burning light. It was Ye Feng, who had clashed with Han Li in the Beast Taming Garden a few days ago.

At this moment, light was flashing on his body, and strands of silver lightning were constantly floating on his surface. He was clearly cultivating a powerful lightning secret technique.

Within a radius of several hundred feet around him, whether it was accumulated snow, trees, or exposed rocks and soil, everything was charred black, with wisps of white smoke still rising from it.

"Hahaha..." Realizing that the power of his lightning had increased again, the dark-skinned youth couldn't help but laugh heartily.

However, his laughter had just begun, and his mouth hadn't even closed when his entire body suddenly froze, as if he had been subjected to a Body Immobilization Spell. He stood there motionless, and the electric light around him disappeared with a "snap."

At this moment, a strange wave suddenly rippled in the void in front of him. Han Li's figure emerged from within, his two fingers pressed against the center of his eyebrows.

At the same time, two soul-stirring, deep blue lights were shining in Han Li's eyes. He was actually using a secret soul technique to search his soul directly.

He had planted a soul imprint on Ye Feng back in the Beast Taming Garden.

However, in the past few days, he had been busy comprehending the *Wu Xiang Zhen Lun Jing*, and Ye Feng had remained in his own cave without any movement. Therefore, it wasn't until today, when Ye Feng came out to test his lightning techniques, that he found an opportunity to track him down here.

As the soul search progressed, Han Li's expression changed slightly. First, he was cautious, then he became somewhat surprised, and finally, a slightly helpless smile appeared on his face.

After a moment, the blue light in his eyes gradually faded, and he withdrew his finger from Ye Feng's brow, muttering to himself:

"You really have been lucky, haven't you? Since the past has nothing to do with you, I won't bother with it. But today, what belongs to me should be returned."

With that, he reached out and took the storage bracelet from Ye Feng's wrist. After examining it briefly, he casually put it into his pocket.

Then, the light on his body suddenly brightened, transforming into a streak of rainbow light that shot into the sky and disappeared in a flash.

Ye Feng, who woke up in a daze, finally closed his mouth after gaping for a long time. He raised his hand and rubbed his slightly sore cheeks, a look of confusion flashing in his eyes. He naturally had no recollection of what had just happened.

But when he saw his empty wrist, he immediately panicked. He quickly stood up and frantically touched and searched his body, then hurriedly released his spiritual sense to scan the surroundings.

"No..."

Soon, a hysterical cry of despair echoed in the snow valley.

...

Meanwhile, Han Li returned to his residence without stopping. He went directly into the secret chamber in his cave, not even noticing Meng Qianqian, who greeted him with a happy face along the way, causing the little girl to mutter to herself for a long time.

After sitting cross-legged in the center of the secret chamber, he immediately took out the storage bracelet. After refining it slightly, he flipped his hand and took out a golden ball the size of an egg.

At first glance, the ball didn't seem to have anything special about it. But when Han Li observed it with his Bright Sight Spirit Eyes, he discovered that it was covered with extremely exquisite, shallow lines, interconnected to form a series of natural, mysterious patterns.

Moreover, waves of familiar aura emanated from the ball.

He held the golden ball in his palm, and the blue light in his eyes suddenly brightened. A strand of crystalline spiritual sense snaked out from between his eyebrows and probed towards the golden ball, slowly merging into it.

With a "buzzing" sound, the runes on the golden ball suddenly lit up, reflecting a dazzling golden light that illuminated the entire secret chamber.

The golden ball split open like a machine, revealing several deep grooves. From within, metallic limbs protruded. After a series of metallic collisions, it actually transformed into a golden crab the size of a palm.

"Fellow Daoist Crab..." Seeing the golden crab appear, Han Li hurriedly called out tentatively.

Silence reigned in the secret chamber.

However, after a moment, a familiar voice echoed in his sea of consciousness.

"Fellow Daoist Han, it's you... You've finally found me..."

Even with divine sense communication, the Crab Daoren's voice was still very weak, sounding as if it were about to break off at any moment.

Hearing these words, Han Li felt an indescribable emotion welling up in his heart.

"Fellow Daoist Crab, do you still remember what happened three hundred years ago? Why did you fall to such a state?" Han Li suppressed the chaos in his heart and asked directly.

"Oh, has... three hundred years passed?" Crab Daoren hesitated slightly, speaking somewhat woodenly.

After a moment, his voice became noticeably more stable.

After a long silence, he began to tell Han Li about what had happened back then, bit by bit.

At first, Han Li was able to remain calm, but the more he heard, the more gloomy his expression became. The other fist hanging by his side clenched tighter and tighter, the veins in his arm bulging out, each one clearly visible.

It turned out that before he was ambushed by Fang Pan and the other two, he had already encountered another powerful enemy.

That person's cultivation level was far higher than his, and his immortal essence power was far superior to his. Not long after the fight began, Crab Daoren and his seventy-two Green Bamboo Cloud-Flying Swords were easily sealed by that person.

And he himself, after suffering serious injuries, left the Gold Devouring Bug King and Devilish Light to desperately hold off the pursuer, so that he could barely escape.

Afterwards, taking advantage of the Devilish Light and the Gold Devouring Bug King joining forces to briefly entangle that person, Crab Daoren didn't hesitate to self-detonate his immortal puppet body in order to break the seal, leaving only a puppet core carrying the Green Bamboo Cloud-Flying Swords to flee in a panic.

"...During the escape, after my core spiritual power was exhausted, I couldn't control the flying swords. I could only watch them break through the air and leave on their own. After that, I lost consciousness and fell into a deep sleep, until you awakened me today. I don't know what happened afterwards?" Crab Daoren narrated slowly.

"Later, the core that you transformed into was picked up by someone and taken to a market near Zhulong Path to be sold. As a result, it was sold as an ordinary refining material to a mediocre inner sect disciple of Zhulong Path. By chance, this person discovered some hidden spiritual patterns engraved on the core through his divine sense. He actually comprehended a set of lightning secret techniques with considerable power, thus turning the tables and becoming a rising star in the inner sect. It was also by chance that I discovered clues in his lightning techniques, and that's how I tracked you down," Han Li sighed and explained.

"So that's how it is..." Crab Daoren was filled with emotion after hearing this.

"I was originally worried that that person was related to the powerful enemy you mentioned. But after searching his soul, I discovered that that kid just had incredible luck. Before this, I had already killed two of the enemies who ambushed me back then, and I learned that there was a big shot behind them. I guess that's probably the person you're talking about, but unfortunately, I couldn't figure out that person's identity. Do you still remember that person's appearance, or do you know that person's identity?" Han Li asked tentatively.

Hearing this, the golden crab standing in Han Li's palm held its head with its two crab pincers, shaking slowly, appearing somewhat painful.

After a long silence, Crab Daoren's voice echoed in Han Li's sea of consciousness again:

"I don't know why, but there seems to be something wrong with my memory. I vaguely have a rough outline, but I can't remember that person's face at all... The only thing I can remember is that person's immortal spiritual power was far superior to yours, and he seemed to possess an inkstone-like immortal artifact that could control the power of shadows..."

"Indeed... Actually, it's not just you. Even Devilish Light and I are the same. Not only do we have no impression of that person, but we've even forgotten what happened three hundred years ago," Han Li said, as if he had expected this.

"If that's the case, then things are really not good..." Crab Daoren said with some concern.

"According to my speculation, the Green Bamboo Cloud-Flying Swords are also in the Zhongming Mountains now, but I can't find them for the time being. However, fortunately, I've already found you, Fellow Daoist Crab. Later, I will also find a way to refine a new body for you, but it's hard to say whether it will be able to reach your previous level," Han Li said with a thoughtful expression.

"Then I thank you, Fellow Daoist Han. In addition to that, I hope Fellow Daoist Han doesn't forget the agreement we made back in the Spirit World," Crab Daoren reminded again.

"Of course. After my cultivation level has improved slightly in the future, I will fulfill the agreement," Han Li said, nodding.

Hearing this, Crab Daoren didn't say anything more. The light around him flashed, and he transformed back into a spherical shape from a crab, and was put away by Han Li.