Over the past two years, Han Li had visited the market several times to replenish materials for crafting puppets. After briefly inquiring with one of the shopkeepers, he obtained the information he sought and then went to a bookstore named "Bai Men Ge." Indeed, the store held all the records of creatures discovered in the Luan Xing Sea so far, which greatly boosted Han Li's spirits. He paid over a hundred灵stones to have copies of these records made. For the records of the creatures from the outer Xing Sea, he found them in a modest, unassuming shop. Since his objective had been achieved, Han Li originally intended to return to his cave immediately. However, as he passed by a shop specializing in storage bags and spirit-animal bags, he felt a sudden impulse and decided to enter. Now, the amount of things he needed to carry was simply overwhelming! Besides the three or four storage bags occupied solely by over two hundred puppet creatures, carrying everything around proved increasingly inconvenient. Moreover, since he intended to sail overseas to hunt divine beasts, the rare materials found on the beasts—besides the divine essences—were also highly valuable and could not be discarded. Thus, he naturally needed to prepare several larger storage bags. Half an hour later, Han Li left the shop feeling somewhat regretful. He had spent over a thousand spiritual stones to purchase two large-capacity storage bags, nearly ten times the capacity of all his previous ones—this should be sufficient for his needs. As he passed by the "Fengle Auction House," which claimed to be the capital of Tianxing City, he found himself glancing at it more than once. The auction catalog displayed before the hall was truly eye-catching! Not only did it feature divine essences from rare beasts ranging from fifth to sixth level, but there were also numerous high-grade materials used in crafting divine artifacts. Even more impressive were the many rare items he had never heard of before. Unfortunately, although the items offered by this premier auction house were excellent, they were beyond the reach of Han Li and other cultivators with only a few thousand spiritual stones in their portfolios. For whatever rare item enters this auction house, its original price is nearly doubled. Given the exceptional rarity of the thousand-year-old elixir, it naturally commands a high selling price. Yet, unfortunately, Han Li didn't wish to create unnecessary complications. Though he felt his spiritual stones were somewhat scarce, they were far from critically short—so, he preferred to keep things simple. Watching the items being auctioned off at sky-high prices, Han Li felt a touch of melancholy and simply returned to his dwelling. For the following month, Han Li did nothing but meticulously study the habits and vulnerabilities of the mythical beasts that had emerged from the extraterrestrial sea, and envisioned the most effective strategies to counter them when encountering these creatures. But one day, after a month had passed, Han Li suddenly burst into laughter, clutched a jade scroll tightly, and danced joyfully, his face beaming with excitement. He then quickly rushed out of his dwelling and once again headed toward the marketplace—just as the half-year mark passed. Han Li and Qu Hun appeared in the 50th zone of Tianxing City. Before them stood a grand hall constructed of white marble, adorned with a massive scroll several zhang long, inscribed in gold powder with the characters "Stellar Hall." There was no one at the entrance of the hall. Han Li and Qu Hun entered calmly. After walking a short corridor, they found themselves in a spacious hall measuring over twenty zhang in both length and width. Inside, five cultivators—four men and one woman—were conversing with a white-robed disciple of the Tianxing Palace. Behind them, several rows of identical teleportation arrays stood side by side. Before each array stood a small stone tablet bearing the name of the destination, clearly visible. Han Li did not pause to examine the arrays, but instead used his spiritual awareness to briefly scan the five cultivators, his heart suddenly filled with astonishment. These six cultivators had three of them at Juàn Dan stage, and the other three were at the late stages of Jiān Jī stage. Upon seeing Han Li and Qu Hun enter, the group looked at them with some surprise. The Juàn Dan cultivator in white robes remained composed, though he initially showed slight bewilderment at seeing only Qu Hun and Han Li, quickly regaining his composure. The other five cultivators, however, appeared pleased upon seeing two more arrive. "Both of you are also heading to the Spirit Beast Island, aren't you? How about joining us for the teleportation? We can split the cost equally among all of us," said a woman in her thirties, who was particularly graceful and suddenly smiled warmly at them. Han Li paused, not immediately responding, but instead turned to the white-robed cultivator managing the teleportation array, expressing his slight confusion: "Master, is that acceptable?" "Of course," the elder replied, "the teleportation array charges per use, not per person." Transmitting one person costs seven hundred spiritual stones; transmitting several people still costs seven hundred. However, only up to seven people can be transported at a time," the white-robed cultivator said coldly. Upon hearing this, Han Li bowed politely and then turned with a smile, asking, "Could you kindly tell me which immortal beast island the friends intend to visit? I and my senior master absolutely wish to go to Qingcui Island!" "Qingcui Island?" The woman at the Foundation Period's late stage first paused, glanced back at the others behind her, and then immediately smiled warmly, saying, "That's fortunate! We several have also planned to visit Qingcui Island. We'll be traveling together!" Han Li's expression remained unchanged, though a quiet smile of amusement formed in his mind. What a coincidence! These people clearly didn't care which beast island they visited. Still, since this would save them many spiritual stones, he naturally welcomed the savings and nodded in agreement. Next, Han Li paid 200 spiritual stones, and the group of women paid 500 spiritual stones, all standing together at the transmission array marked "Ningcui Island." After receiving their spiritual stones, the white-robed cultivator issued each of them a "transmission scroll," which they attached to their bodies. This scroll offered the same protective effect as the "Great Translocation Order," ensuring their safety during long-distance transmission. Although its transmission range was very extensive, it still had a certain distance limit and could only be used once. Thus, compared to the "Great Translocation Order," it was clearly inferior. Nevertheless, such a scroll was a rare item—crafted exclusively by the scroll artisans of the Star Palace and never sold outside. With Han Li feeling a bit tense, the several spiritual stones embedded around the transmission array emitted a brilliant white glow. The transmission proceeded smoothly! After the flash of white light, Han Li and the other seven arrived inside a simple stone cottage. Aside from one star-gate cultivator who sat motionless in one corner, the cottage was otherwise empty. This star-gate cultivator appeared only at the mid-junior foundation stage and was meditating in a lotus position. Though he noticed Han Li and the others arriving via teleportation, he merely glanced at them coldly before closing his eyes without showing any intention to engage. Han Li sensed unusual fluctuations in the spiritual energy, indicating that the cottage was enclosed by some kind of array. The main door of the cottage was slightly ajar, and through the gaps, faint voices could be heard from outside, occasionally interrupted by fleeting silhouettes. As Han Li took in the surroundings with curiosity, the five others had already stepped down from the teleportation platform. Among them, an elderly man with a rosy complexion suddenly turned and said to Qu Hun, "Would this fellow be interested in joining forces? Once we secure the beast's elixirs, we'll sell them for spiritual stones and divide the proceeds equally among all of us." "This elder is one of the Wuxing cultivators among the five." "No thanks—we have our own plans! Please take good care of yourselves," said Qu Hun, whose rather unattractive face showed no surprise, yet firmly declined. Seeing that Qu Hun was unwilling to join, the elder sighed slightly and expressed a touch of disappointment, then added, "It's truly a pity. If even one of you joins us, capturing a sixth-tier beast would certainly be possible." "Noticing your demeanor, I'd guess this is your first visit to the Beast Island. Allow me to offer you a piece of advice: be vigilant not only against high-ranking beasts, but also against the more treacherous individuals and corrupt cultivators who may launch surprise attacks. If possible, it would be wise to coordinate with several companions and act together. I'm always open to welcoming any of you to join us." With that, the elder pushed the door open and walked out, accompanied by the others. Han Li paused in silence for a moment, then smiled lightly, and followed Qu Hun out. "What now?" Han Li stared in astonishment at everything outside the stone cottage. It was indeed accurate to say that the place he now occupied was a small street, as there were not only grocery stores, incantation shops, and talisman shops, but even several merchant houses specializing in acquisitions, each with a lazy掌柜 seated inside. Yet these shops seemed remarkably simple—some built from rough stone blocks, others assembled from wooden planks—so plain and unadorned that Han Li began to wonder whether a single strong wind could keep them standing. Moreover, the so-called street was actually haphazardly constructed around the stone cottage where he had just emerged, with buildings scattered at random in a small area, irregular and disorganized, making the sight quite uncomfortable to behold.