(The group has voted—please help lift the book up! It hasn't been listed yet!) Upon seeing this "flying scroll," both the dark-clad man and the vendor were moved, and their gaze toward Han Li grew more serious, for it was unlikely that someone possessing a high-rank scroll would be anything ordinary. "Agreed—I'll take it!" The dark-clad man was decisive; such a clear win seemed too good to pass up. "But before that, I'd like to test the claim you mentioned—that this fragment does not hinder the covered object from drawing spiritual energy from the outside. If that's true, I'll gladly exchange. Should it prove false, however, I won't be able to exchange without incurring a loss!" Han Li spoke calmly. The dark-clad man listened, initially surprised, but then smiled upon fully understanding. "Every point I've mentioned is accurate. Please go ahead and test it!" The man spoke with full confidence. Huan Li, upon hearing this, did not hesitate. He reached into his robes and produced a vessel resembling a wine cup, placing it on the ground. Then he took up the "cloth" and covered it over the cup. When the wine cup vanished, Huan Li extended a finger, gathering a small white spiritual orb at the tip of his finger, and gently touched it to the surface below. To his delight, the orb gradually faded and seemed to be absorbed. Han Li gave a slight smile, said nothing, and turned to push through the crowd. But before he had taken just a few steps, he heard a chorus of murmurs rising from behind. "这个人傻啊! How could he trade a high-level seal for something so mediocre!" "Exactly. This fragment is so small—what could it possibly be useful for? Such a trade is simply not worth it!" "Now, don't say that. Maybe there's some hidden value he hasn't revealed yet!" ... Han Li listened quietly, letting out a few cold laughs to himself. "How could these cultivators possibly know just how essential this item is to me?" "Excuse me, sir—please wait a moment!" As Han Li hadn't gone far, a voice suddenly broke through from behind, followed by a series of hurried footsteps approaching. Han Li was momentarily startled—was this calling for him? He turned around. There, a man approaching from a distance, drenched in sweat, was running toward him, shouting all the while—none other than the round-faced young man who had nearly caused a major incident earlier. Han Li blinked, stopping in his tracks with mild curiosity. He wondered what it was about this lively fellow that had him pursuing him so vigorously. "Finally caught you!" the young man exclaimed as he approached, breathing heavily. "Brother, is there something I can help you with?" Han Li glanced at him, expressing his bewilderment. "Here's something for you—thank you, brother, for your timely rescue." Without further words, the young man reached out, handed Han Li a small booklet, and then hurried off, slightly bashful. Han Li was momentarily taken aback, but soon smiled. It was truly surprising to find such a simple and sincere person among the cultivators. He didn't pursue him further, but instead looked down at the item in his hands. The book was titled *The Records of Qingxi*, which didn't appear to be a spell or a technique at first glance. Han Li turned the pages with mild interest. Originally, Qingxi Zhenren, an elder immortal from the Yue state who preferred wandering and did not particularly care for cultivation, had meticulously recorded various anecdotes and legends in this miscellaneous journal, some pages even featuring vividly drawn illustrations. Although Han Li had not read through it extensively, he found it quite engaging and thus kept the book in his inner pocket. After that, Han Li encountered no particularly remarkable events and found the days rather dull, so he returned to his residence. Inside his room, he lay on the bed and carefully turned the pages of the "Qingxi Bi Lu." The stories recounted in the book were either personal experiences of Qingxi Zhenren himself or secondhand accounts, yet all of them were unusual and rare—full of strange and uncommon happenings. Indeed, some of them were secrets never previously shared by the immortal families, and Han Li was curious as to how Qingxi Zhenren had come by such knowledge. Han Li watched with great interest, but when he turned to the final few pages, he found seven distinct, token-like illustrations. At the bottom of each illustration, a few lines of text were inscribed: “The Ascension Mandate,” crafted by the seven great immortal sects of Yue State. It is awarded to immortal families that have rendered exceptional service to the sects. As long as someone holds the mandate and approaches the originating sect, its effect is equivalent to that of the final winner of the Ascension Assembly—entitling the recipient to the same privileges, including the grant of Foundation Pills and entry qualification into the sect. However, this mandate has traditionally circulated only within the families of immortal practitioners and has remained largely unknown to ordinary ones. Thus, the current depiction is based solely on the oral traditions of its form. Finally, Qingxi the Elder added a smaller, more concise note: This mandate may be transferred or traded among the various immortal families, and its origin dates back to a very long time ago. Therefore, the issuing sects recognize the mandate itself, not the individual holder. As long as someone presents the mandate, they may instantly ascend to a higher rank—making it an extraordinary boon for lower-tier immortal practitioners! After reading the text below and glancing at the seven illustrations, Han Li felt his mouth dry and his heart pounding vigorously. When he first heard the words "Ascension Festival," he had vaguely linked them to the strange token he had received from the dwarves—the token itself bore the characters "Ascension" on one side, making him wonder if there might be some connection between the two. However, when others described the Ascension Festival in detail, they mentioned nothing about the Ascension Token, so he had assumed it was merely a coincidence and had let it go. Unbeknownst to him, this small booklet now revealed the origin and true purpose of the token—its role was even more significant than he had imagined. Han Li grew increasingly excited, quickly pulling out the dark, murky token from his clothes and then comparing it with the illustrations to find the one matching its pattern. "This Ascension Token was issued by Huangfeng Valley!" Han Li touched the token, murmuring to himself. "How could something so precious end up in the hands of Jin Guang, a rather ordinary immortal cultivator?" As he calmed down, he found himself puzzled. In fact, the dwarf was actually the original owner of this token! Originally, the renowned Qin Ye Ling not only hosted the Ye family but also another powerful immortal clan, the Qin family, which held equal prestige. Due to their marital ties, the two families had maintained a harmonious relationship. This Ascension Mandate had been passed down through generations within the Qin family. They had never used it, simply because they could never find an immortal cultivator worthy enough to match its splendor. Thus, they preferred to keep it in circulation, rather than let it go to waste. However, over several generations, as the male lineage of the Qin family dwindled, the family gradually declined. Yet the Ye family grew increasingly prosperous and flourishing, to the point that people in the immortal cultivation world knew only of the Ye family under Qin Ye Ling, and had completely forgotten about the Qin family! By the time of Jin Guang, the only male descendant of the Qin family remained—himself—and his cultivation potential was exceptionally poor, making it utterly hopeless for him to achieve the foundational stage. Thus, the disparity in strength between the two families was vast, and their marital ties had long since faded into mere history. Eventually, the Ye family turned their attention to the several rare treasures passed down through generations of the Qin family, with the Immortal Mandate being the one they absolutely had to secure! Though Jin Guang lacked outstanding cultivation talent, he possessed remarkable observational skills and was notably timid. As a result, whenever the Ye family began to take action, the dwarf who had been quietly observing them swiftly gathered the Immortal Mandate and the scroll inscribed with a small sword, then fled without a trace. As for the remaining treasures, sealed within protective barriers, Jin Guang could not retrieve them in the short term and thus had to reluctantly surrender them to the Ye family. As a result, Jin Guang, who had managed to escape, remained hidden in a certain temple within the territory of the barbarian people for over a decade, relying on his meager magical abilities to secure food and drink, living a carefree life. Over time, his initial ambition to use the Immortal Ascension Mandate gradually faded. He reasoned that even after taking the Foundation Pill, he would likely never reach the Foundation Stage. If that were the case, then why bother joining a grand immortal sect as a junior disciple and enduring hardships? Thus, during the later incident involving the siege of the Qi Xuan Sect, the Immortal Ascension Mandate ended up falling into the hands of Han Li.