The person Han Li had in mind—his friend, Qi Yunxiao, the master of array techniques—being well-versed in the "Inverted Five Elements Array," must surely be knowledgeable about other types of magical arrays as well. After all, the ancient transmission array is also a form of array technique. Thus, his friend might very well be able to repair this one. Han Li thought this over, and felt greatly encouraged. He calculated the time and found that the day of their agreed-upon reunion was drawing near. However, with tasks constantly coming in from within the gate, he simply couldn't make the trip right away. It would have to wait until later. Han Li pondered further and then felt a bit disheartened, losing interest in going through the array texts once more. He then left the Tianzhi Pavilion and returned to his dwelling. Once the spell array took effect, the two white eggs absorbed all the vital essence and were then returned to the spiritual spring. After completing this, Han Li received a flying scroll message summoning him to gather urgently at the Hall of Council. His heart stirred with anticipation—he knew the mission had finally arrived. By tradition, the Yuan Dan cultivators from the Magic Sect and the Seven Sects should have stepped forth to engage in combat. What if, by some chance, it reached them? Then wouldn't they be utterly unjustly slain? Whenever Han Li thought back on the past battles he had witnessed between Yuan Dan cultivators, he felt deeply apprehensive. The entire region had been thrown into chaos during that clash between the Huadao and Yuling Sect cultivators—so intense was the battle that even he, who had been hiding some seven or eight li away, nearly got drawn into it. Since then, as soon as the sky grew a little darker, Han Li would return home early, regardless of whether he had achieved anything or not. A year ago, he had been assigned to escort a batch of spiritual stones to this location and had remained here, becoming a senior, though often overlooked, expendable asset of the Seven Sects. He had continuously participated in numerous large-scale clashes involving thousands of cultivators, and incidents like the one just now—deeply penetrating into Jin Gu Yuan and fighting scattered enemies—had occurred repeatedly. Indeed, it was rather strange that, since the second wave of battles between the Magic Sect and the Seven Sects had ended in a Facing each other across the Jin Gu Plain, the two parties gradually established a pattern of one major engagement per month, with daily skirmishes of varying intensity. A "major engagement" involved each side dispatching thousands of troops to clash in full-scale combat. In contrast, a "skirmish" saw both sides sending a certain number of cultivators—either in small groups or individually—to hunt and eliminate one another in the central area of the Jin Gu Plain. After all, a True Dan cultivator fleeing with full force is truly astonishingly fast! As a result, over the course of a year, hundreds of Foundation-level cultivators from both sides have been injured or lost, while not a single True Dan cultivator has been depleted—leaving both sides' leading figures deeply distressed and somewhat frustrated. As for the Qi-level cultivators, due to their relatively weak spiritual energy, they could only serve as reserve forces and have thus remained largely intact. Nevertheless, the relentless large-scale battles and continuous raids over the past year have left the cultivators of the Six Sects and Seven Clans feeling increasingly strained! Both sides are simultaneously weakening the other while gathering their own strength. They are all well aware that the decisive battle is drawing near. Han Li arrived at his own camp aboard the Divine Wind Boat after one hour. Amid the large and small wooden and stone dwellings, scattered and appearing and disappearing within the grand spell array, the structures were arranged haphazardly, lacking any clear order. These are the cultivators who have arrived, having built temporary dwellings with simple wooden or earth-based spells. Of course, the areas are organized according to their respective sects. Han Li first went to his residence, a modest stone cottage. After closing the door, he temporarily sealed the cottage with a small set of restriction array flags. Then, Han Li poured out the contents of the storage bags he had acquired today and began selecting and sorting through them. "Another pile of skeletons and small banners! Aside from the spirits of the Ghost Spirit Sect, who else would use these? They'll only be worth some material costs! Hmm, this sword is quite good—keep it for later use. This one..." After murmuring to himself for a moment, Han Li quickly set aside useful items and artifacts, placing the less valuable or unused ones into a separate storage bag. With the bag in hand, he removed the array flags and stepped out of his cottage. After turning several corners, he made his way toward the most prominent dwelling in the group of houses. The wooden pavilion spanned an area of fifty to sixty zhang, its entire surface painted a golden yellow, shimmering under the setting sun as if crafted entirely of pure gold. Han Li pushed open the door without ceremony, and inside he found the scene bustling and lively—dozens of cultivators were setting up stalls and trading goods, while many others were haggling with stall owners or selecting items from the displays. Han Li, seasoned and familiar with the terrain, quickly made his way to several stalls. The items in his storage bags swiftly transformed into individual spiritual stones, and when he had finished distributing them, he now held nearly a hundred. He paid no further attention to the others and strode toward the largest stall in the pavilion. This stall stretched nearly seven to eight zhang in length—almost three or four times the size of the others—and was operated by a plump cultivator at the Foundation Stage mid-level. Han Li said nothing at all, simply tossed the storage bag containing the spiritual stones to the fat man, and then frankly stated, "Chen brother, let's swap for the Long-Song Grass. I've now gathered five hundred spiritual stones." "Ah, it's Han brother! Truly impressive—how quickly you've managed to gather the stones! Let me check!" Upon seeing Han Li, the fat man immediately beamed and, with his plump hands, grasped the storage bag, immersing his mind into it to sense the number of stones. "Excellent! Indeed, exactly five hundred spiritual stones! Here's the Long-Song Grass—please take good care of it!" Chen, beaming, pulled out a jade box from his robes and handed it to Han Li. Han Li accepted the small box, opened the lid briefly, nodded in approval, and then closed it. With a touch of anticipation, he continued, "Still no word on the prescription I asked for last time? As long as I have the prescription, I'm willing to give you a little more on the price!" "Brother, this recipe is truly rare. Although we foundation-stage cultivators may have some, they're all highly prized and seldom sold. And now you're asking for one that's useful specifically to foundation-stage cultivators—how much harder that is! I've done my best, but I simply can't find any more!" Hearing this, Chen, the stout man, grew visibly troubled, pouring out his frustrations to him. "Chen, as he spoke, grew somewhat reflective. Han Li smiled slightly and said nothing. Since he had settled here and discovered this temporary exchange hall within the camp, he had been astonished to find that there were many rare items—rare even in the official markets—available here, ranging from medicinal herbs to magical artifacts and cultivation techniques. The herbs missing for the Gathering Spirit Pills were easily sourced at the exchange hall. Once he returned and stimulated the cultivation process, his spiritual power would surely surge again. Even more exciting, he had only spent nearly a thousand spiritual stones to acquire the two ancient formulas he had long dreamed of—this brought Han Li immense delight! (Hehe! Weng Yu, wish everyone a joyful Mid-Autumn Festival!)