Guardian from the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform

One, two, three...

The number of spirit beasts they encountered grew steadily.

Yet, relying on the experience and coordination they had accumulated within the Spirit Ascension Platform, the trio managed to handle them without any real danger.

Han Li watched all of this from the treetops, his arms crossed and his expression impassive.

He noted that although the three were struggling, they were not facing any genuine crisis.

Consequently, he had no intention of intervening.

As time passed...

Everything remained normal.

Until, at one moment...

A terrifying roar erupted.

The sound came from the depths of the forest, carrying a penetrating force that struck directly at the depths of the soul.

Wherever the roar passed...

All the spirit beasts collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Tang Wulin and his two companions froze, stopping in their tracks in unison as they turned their gazes toward the direction of the sound.

Then, they saw that existence.

A spirit beast radiating a pale purple light drifted slowly out from the forest.

Its body was not massive, only about the size of an ox, and it was entirely translucent, as if carved from purple crystal.

It took the form of a giant butterfly with wings as thin as cicada wings, covered in silver-white patterns that flowed continuously in the dim light of the forest.

With every beat of its wings, fine purple specks of light scattered, vanishing upon touching the vegetation, yet causing the surrounding air to distort slightly.

Upon its appearance, Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, and Xie Xie felt a powerful mental fluctuation radiate from it, surging into their minds like a tidal wave.

Xie Xie's pupils lost focus instantly, and his body swayed involuntarily.

Tang Wulin bit his teeth hard, feeling a sharp pain in his mind.

Gu Yue let out a muffled groan, a brilliant light flaring in her eyes.

Han Li's gaze narrowed instantly.

A mental-attribute spirit beast.

And a ten-thousand-year-level one at that.

On the Douluo Continent, mental-attribute spirit beasts were extremely rare, far scarcer than those of the power, speed, or defense types.

The translucent, butterfly-shaped spirit beast before him emitted mental fluctuations that were thick and profound.

It was clearly an existence of over ten thousand years.

Meanwhile, in the monitoring room of the Spirit Pagoda, an alarm suddenly blared.

A piercing buzzing sound filled the air.

Red warning lights flashed frantically throughout the room.

A staff member bolted from his seat, his face changing drastically as he stared fixedly at the translucent purple butterfly on the screen, shouting in disbelief.

"Oh no!"

"The guardian of the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform has somehow broken into the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform area!"

"It's a Phantom Crystal Butterfly!"

"A ten-thousand-year Phantom Crystal Butterfly!"

His voice echoed through the room, laced with palpable panic and shock.

As one of the most precious guardians of the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform, the Phantom Crystal Butterfly rarely left its territory of its own accord.

Ye Yingluo and Wu Changkong's expressions changed instantly.

Although the Spirit Ascension Platform was divided into primary, intermediate, and advanced levels, they were, in reality, all within the same space.

The Spirit Pagoda simply placed guardians at fixed locations to block spirit masters, preventing them from entering higher-level areas and encountering spirit beasts too powerful for them to survive.

Thus, the guardians acted as a threshold.

Cross it, and one could enter a higher-level area.

Fail to cross it, and one would be blocked outside.

But today, this threshold had collapsed on its own.

The guardian of the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform, that ten-thousand-year-level Phantom Crystal Butterfly, had intruded into the area of the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform, appearing right before Tang Wulin and his companions.

Even though the Spirit Ascension Platform was virtual.

Tang Wulin and his companions would not truly die.

But the sensation of that death was real.

In the instant of dying within the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform...

The brain receives a signal simulating death; that fear, that agony, that feeling of utter despair is almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

Furthermore, the mental attacks of the Phantom Crystal Butterfly are far more lethal than those of ordinary spirit beasts.

It does not tear your body apart, but instead invades your consciousness directly, causing you to collapse within an endless illusion.

The average person cannot withstand such stimulation.

Therefore, many spirit masters, after experiencing death once in the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform, often dare not step foot inside again for several months.

And for the three children, Tang Wulin, Tang Wulin, and Tang Wulin, facing the mental pressure of a ten-thousand-year spirit beast with mental attributes for the first time, that impact would likely be even harder to bear.

At this moment, on the screen...

That Phantom Crystal Butterfly slowly flapped its wings.

A pale purple halo radiated from its body, spreading outward in circles in every direction.

It lowered its head, its gaze, like silver whirlpools, falling upon the three tiny figures before it.

Then, an invisible mental shockwave erupted from its body in an instant!

And just as panic appeared on the faces of Tang Wulin and the others, Han Li appeared in front of them.

He descended from mid-air, landing precisely between the three of them and the Phantom Crystal Butterfly, his figure standing firm.

His back was turned to Tang Wulin and the others, while he faced the ten-thousand-year spirit beast radiating that pale purple light head-on.

The mental shockwave struck Han Li, scattering like waves crashing against a reef.

At this moment, his gaze toward the Phantom Crystal Butterfly was filled with indifference.

Although he did not know why a ten-thousand-year spirit beast had appeared in the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform, since it had appeared, he would naturally keep his promise to protect Tang Wulin and the others.

If you take the benefits, you must do the job.

He had always acknowledged this principle.

Upon seeing Han Li's appearance, a ripple seemed to flash through the Phantom Crystal Butterfly's silver, whirlpool-like eyes.

It slowly flapped its translucent purple wings, and the silver patterns on the wing surfaces began to flow faster, emitting an even brighter light.

The mental energy in the air condensed once more.

It was even more concentrated than before.

Another mental shockwave followed.

But at this moment...

Three spirit rings slowly rose from beneath Han Li's feet.

Two purple, one black!

Purple, purple, black.

The three spirit rings rotated slowly around Han Li's body, emitting a rich and profound glow.

A ten-thousand-year spirit ring.

Pure, heavy, and carrying a suffocating sense of oppression.

Tang Wulin and his companions, as well as Ye Yingluo, Wu Changkong, and the staff in the room, were all struck with horror!

A ten-thousand-year spirit ring.

Ten years old, third spirit ring, ten-thousand-year!

Combined, these three phrases exceeded anyone's understanding of the laws of spirit master cultivation.

At the age of ten, normal spirit masters...

Are mostly still struggling for their first or second ring.

Even for the top geniuses, the third spirit ring is at most at the thousand-year level.

Yet Han Li had actually skipped the entire thousand-year stage, elevating his third spirit ring to the ten-thousand-year level!

At this moment, Han Li's ten-thousand-year spirit ring lit up.

A strange and profound ripple spread out from Han Li's body, covering a radius of fifteen meters.

Spirit Skill: Time Control.

At this moment, the fifteen-meter radius around him was entirely under his control.

And within this area...

The flow of time was determined by his will.