Han Li suddenly recalled another young girl he had encountered within the sacred precinct, and glanced toward the direction of the Spirit Beast Mountain. To his relief, Han Yunzhi was sitting calmly on the ground, her expression serene and without any unexpected developments. As the closing of the passage approached, the faces of the members from Yan Yue Sect grew increasingly tense. Meanwhile, although the representatives from the other sects appeared concerned for their disciples, they were secretly delighted—after all, as the leading sect of Yue State, Yan Yue Sect had long been a source of envy, and any opportunity to slightly weaken its strength was naturally welcome. Unbeknownst to them, perhaps their own expectations had begun to take a toll: just one minute before the passage was to close, a flash of white light appeared within the corridor, and a group of over a dozen disciples from Yan Yue Sect emerged in perfect formation, led by Nangong Wan, whose face was radiant and youthful. Upon seeing them emerge, the old master of the sky dome exhaled deeply, visibly relieved. The Nishang Immortal Maiden, however, couldn't help but rush forward, grabbing Nan Gong Wan's arm firmly and asking her with deep concern, her face clearly showing worry. This scene caught the attention of others, who were now filled with bewilderment. After all, although Nan Gong Wan had previously met these several Dan-stage cultivators several times, she had always worn a veil, never revealing her true appearance. Thus, these individuals did not recognize the beautiful young woman before them as the very "Nan Gong Immortal Maiden" they had known before. Han Li was deeply relieved to see this young woman safe and unharmed. After all, she was his first cultivator to reach the Consolidated Stage in his life—though he knew it was unlikely they would eventually form a lasting bond, he still felt an undeniable sense of care and concern. Yet, the faces of Li Shizhu and the Daoist looked somewhat strained with embarrassment. It's no wonder at all. Aside from the exact number of medicinal herbs the Yin Yue Sect has gathered, the very fact that the number of disciples who have survived and emerged from the sealed zone exceeds the combined total of their two sects' numbers leaves them utterly frustrated! "Alright, it seems all the disciples should have now come out. Those still missing..." The leader of Ling Shou Mountain cleared his throat and began speaking. Yet before he finished, another figure tumbled out of the closing passage, gasping and scrambling—none other than the seasoned, smooth-talking old man from Huang Feng Valley, Xiang Zhi-li. The sturdy warrior from Ju Jian Men and the young Taoist who had been accompanying him on the herb-gathering mission were nowhere to be found. As soon as the old man managed to crawl out of the passage, tremors shook the sealed zone, followed by a flash of emerald light—then the passage shattered and vanished entirely. At this point, even those disciples still inside the sealed zone now had no way out. Because no disciple who had not made it out in time ever reappeared during the next opening of the sacred precinct—simply vanishing without any clear reason—this was precisely why everyone else was so eager not to delay. Yet, surprisingly, Old Slippery, a Yellow Maple Valley disciple with only ten layers of cultivation, managed to survive until the very end. This truly exceeded the expectations of the senior masters, who now looked at Xiang Zhilǐ with renewed interest. "Li brother, I never thought your valley could boast such talent! Not only have disciples with eleven layers of cultivation managed to emerge from the sacred precinct, but even those with only ten layers have survived and made it out. Your academy truly excels in training—this I deeply admire!" A cultivator from Ju Jian Gate, seeing only two of his own disciples emerge and the one he had particularly hoped upon—his barefoot disciple—fail to appear, while Yellow Maple Valley managed to save even two junior disciples, felt a growing sense of frustration and remarked with some scorn. Upon hearing this, Li Shizhu's expression darkened. He also thought that Han Li and Xiang Zhilǐ were both merely cunning, hiding in plain sight and unwilling to step forward—so he glared sharply at the ever-practical elder, yet had to maintain his support for them on the surface, saying, "These younger ones have rather shallow techniques. To have survived at all is truly a blessing for them. As for the methods they've chosen, we elders need not criticize them further!" "Hmph!" The senior master of Ju Jianmen, deeply displeased with Li's pretentious manner, intended to say more, but the old oddity interrupted with growing impatience. "What's the point of your two arguing? As long as the people survive, that's what the younger generation has accomplished. Wouldn't you have known it wouldn't work and still insisted on trying? Besides, Li youngster—go check on the results of the bet right away. If you'd known earlier, why should I have to wait here all this time, at my age?" The old man clearly carried himself with the air of someone taking for granted his seniority, yet neither the members of Ju Jian Sect nor Li Master dared to offend him. They exchanged glances, gave a polite chuckle, and simply moved on. Otherwise, if this ancient being took a grudge, they’d surely suffer serious consequences. Under the old master’s invitation, Fu Yunzi from Qing Xu Sect and Li Master had no choice but to tolerate and join him. Then, one by one, the disciples who had emerged from the sacred sanctuary presented their harvests so that the outcome of the wager could be determined. This time, Qing Xu Valley sent only four Daoists out of the sanctuary. Yet, when the middle-aged Daoist who had been the first to emerge revealed his medicinal herbs, everyone’s expressions subtly changed. "Three hundred-year-old blood orchids, three specimens; two hundred-year-old heavenly essence fruits, two specimens; three hundred-year-old jade marrow mushrooms, three specimens..." The priest continued laying out one after another of eleven or twelve rare herbs on the ground, the sheer volume of which left the onlookers in astonishment. Only Fuyunzi, who had placed his bet, smiled with growing satisfaction, clearly pleased by the others' expressions of surprise. The elder from Huangfeng Valley and the male disciple from Yan Yue Sect, who had arrived first, presented far fewer—only a few specimens at most. The second priest from Qingxu Sect's offering was less extravagant, yet still included seven or eight herbs, significantly exceeding the usual harvest. This caused some unease in Li Shizhu, who had initially been confident, and caused the old master, Qiong, to cease his playful demeanor, now adopting a serious expression for the first time. The senior figures from the other four sects, having heard of the bet, naturally stepped forward to observe. Upon seeing this scene, they too were quietly amazed. But eventually, the elixirs brought by Chen's siblings brought some relief to Li's senior, as their combined harvest totaled nearly twenty stems—comparable to that of the two Taoists. The harvest from the junior member of Qingxu Sect finally returned to normal, with only four stems. As for the representatives from Yan Yue Sect, they still maintained a steady, ordinary level—three in a row each yielding five stems or fewer, which eased both the Taoists and Li's senior. However, when the next young delegate from Huang Feng Valley presented his elixirs, he hesitated noticeably and appeared embarrassed, producing only three stems. This nearly made Li's senior lose his temper—he had hardly expected anything substantial from Han Li or the older, more reserved one! According to the order, Han Li should have gone first, but unexpectedly, the older one stepped forward with a swift move, surpassing Han Li, and then respectfully produced two stems of purple monkey flowers. This surprised Li's senior greatly, improving his expression somewhat—but only somewhat! Although the number of precious herbs before him was only a few more than those of Qingxu Sect, as long as the final contestant presented herbs at a standard level, he would surely lose. He had no expectations that Han Li would gather many—believing he would do no better than the old smooth operator, who might just toss in a couple of herbs, and that even if their junior disciples performed diligently, they would fall short. Upon this thought, the Li Senior Master glanced at Fuyunzi, who appeared restless and was now also looking at him. The two exchanged a brief moment of surprise before quickly shifting their gaze, returning to the game. The last priest to step forward was an elderly man with white hair. After reaching the front, he calmly began to pull out the herbs one by one, his slow and hesitant manner drawing constant expressions of impatience from everyone. However, when he arranged five herbs and then reached into his storage bag, the Li Senior Master's expression darkened immediately, while Fuyunzi's face brightened with delight. As for the members of the Yan Yue Sect, they had no time to attend to them at all! Finally, the white-haired Daoist unexpectedly contributed seven rare medicinal herbs in succession, leaving everyone present utterly astonished. Seeing this, Master Li's face had turned as pale as iron, while the Daoist, now excited, turned his gaze to the disciples of the Yan Yue Sect, believing the victory of Huang Feng Valley was now secured. At this moment, Han Li stepped forward. Everyone else merely glanced at him briefly before turning their attention entirely to the Yan Yue Sect, completely overlooking him. Master Li also noticed this, yet he didn't even glance at Han Li, convinced that his chances of recovery were gone. He saw Han Li, a disciple with the eleventh-level cultivation technique, merely as a source of embarrassment—naturally, he would not treat Han Li kindly. Han Li paid no attention to others' actions and held no thoughts of deducting the mature medicinal herbs or compensating for any shortfall. After all, each of the other two officers leading the various sects carried one or two scent-sensitive beasts with them. This peculiar creature, resembling a squirrel, can detect any hidden immortal herb that has been stored for over a century—whether it's kept inside a storage bag or not. Thus, every disciple leaving the sacred sanctuary must first voluntarily submit their herbs and then be thoroughly sniffed by these small creatures to ensure no one has secretly concealed any! Upon reaching the spot, Han Li immediately held up the storage bag he had prepared in advance. Without hesitation, he flipped it over, and a flash of white light revealed a pile of at least twenty different herbs scattered across the ground.