What puzzled Han Li even more was that, aside from these shops, he paused slightly, then smiled faintly. How could he have forgotten! This wasn't some tranquil inner-star sea island where only cautious cultivators would come. Those daring enough to reach here were at least Jin Dan stage cultivators, or at the very least, mid-to-late Zhuo Ji stage practitioners. Plus, those scattered across other beast-islands meant the numbers wouldn't be large. Surely, the cultivators on Ningcui Island had all gone out to sea to hunt beasts by now! With this thought, Han Li raised his head and glanced around. He realized then that the place was nestled against a small hillock, built along its slopes. He then walked toward the cluttered shop made of scattered stones. "Do you have any recent maps of the nearby sea areas?" Han Li asked calmly. He had known before his arrival that the sea maps of all the beast-islands were constantly being updated, so he naturally wanted the latest edition. "Yes! We have both rough and detailed versions. Which one would you prefer?" The master of the general store was a middle-aged man at the Qi Stage. Upon seeing Han Li and Qu Hun approach to inquire, he immediately brightened and explained enthusiastically. "Fine," Han Li said without hesitation. "Fine sea charts, one hundred spiritual stones!" The man opened his purse wide, setting a high price. "One hundred?" Han Li felt as though he had a problem with his ears—had he heard the price wrong. But then his expression darkened, and he grew angry. Though he didn't intend to create any disputes, he certainly wouldn't be bullied by a junior cultivator. "Master, please don't misunderstand! This price wasn't set by me—it was directly determined by the upper management, and we merely follow their instructions. Moreover, when other senior cultivators sold us new sea area maps, the prices were also quite substantial!" Seeing Han Li's demeanor grow stern, the store master didn't show any fear; instead, he poured out his grievances. "By the way, which merchant alliance are you from?" Han Li's expression softened slightly, and he furrowed his brows, asking. He was well aware that merchants who could secure a business foothold on the Spirit Beast Island were certainly no small trading houses—perhaps even branches of one of the Four Great Merchant Alliances! "Ah, Senior, you truly understand. I've been working my way through the Fengle Merchant Alliance for a living," the middle-aged man replied, slightly taken aback before smiling warmly. "The Fengle Alliance, one of the Four Great Merchant Alliances, established the Fengle Auction House in Tianxing City?" "That's correct, Senior!" Upon hearing this, Han Li didn't hesitate and tossed a mid-tier spiritual stone into the air. Immediately, the general merchandise storekeeper smiled and handed him a jade scroll. "Are the other stores also operated by your Fengle Alliance?" Han Li glanced at the other several shops, then folded the jade scroll and asked with a touch of irritation. "How could that be? Aside from the one on the west side, which is a procurement house, all the others are operated by other merchant alliances—none of them belong to our Fengle Alliance," the middle-aged man said, glancing at the other shops with a hint of resentment. Hearing this, Han Li said nothing further, simply took Qu Hun's hand and turned to walk away. As he stepped several paces ahead and was about to summon his divine wind boat to fly off, a green streak suddenly descended from the sky, landing precisely in front of a merchant acquisition house on the opposite side. After the light faded, a sturdy Dan-stage cultivator emerged, broad-shouldered and imposing. "Young Fan! Your business has arrived!" the man exclaimed loudly to the merchants inside the acquisition house, then pulled out a storage sack from his sleeve and dumped it onto the ground. A wave of shimmering light rolled out, revealing a strange fish corpse several feet long. Though it resembled a fish due to its surface covered in green scales, it bore a serpentine head and two massive, sharp claws on its belly. Moreover, a gushing wound, bleeding profusely, opened near its front back section—clearly indicating the removal of its spirit essence. "Ah! It's Master Hao who has arrived! This blue-phosphorescent fish spirit was quite difficult to defeat!" "Only a master of such great prowess could defeat them." A young cultivator at the Qi stage burst out of the acquisition hall swiftly, his eyes sharp and alert. As he went to inspect the bodies of the beast creatures, he continuously flattered the man, speaking so enthusiastically that the elder laughed heartily, clearly a bold and generous person. Suddenly, he turned to face Han Li and Qu Hun, glanced at them briefly, and then warmly greeted, "Both of you seem rather new to this island—just arrived, haven't you? Would either of you like to join me in hunting these beasts together?" Seeing the elder's enthusiasm, Han Li smiled silently, but under a subtle mental instruction, Qu Hun gently shook his head to decline. The elder, though slightly disappointed, remained highly enthusiastic and continued, "My name is Hao Yuantian—I have a certain reputation on this island. Should either of you change your minds later, feel free to come back to me." After saying this, the tall man took a bag of spiritual stones from the young clerk at the acquisition hall, glanced at it briefly, and then hurried away once again, transforming into a green light streak. Han Li stood in place, silent. From the warm hospitality shown by the red-faced elder and the Han named Hao, it was clear that there were not many Jin Dan stage cultivators arriving at Ningcui Island, and they had already formed their own small groups. It seemed as if, just as the documents indicated, even Jin Dan cultivators needed to travel in groups to ensure safety when hunting monsters in this alien sea. If it weren't for his own plans, Han Li would likely have accepted one of the invitations. While thinking this, he also boarded the Shenfeng boat with Qu Hun and took off, flying toward the island's outskirts from a different direction. On the artifact, Han Li carefully studied the newly acquired sea map scroll before placing it away. The island itself was not very large, and within just a short while, the Shenfeng boat had already reached its edge. Standing by the edge of the Shenfeng Boat, Han Li scanned the surroundings, his eyes flashing with brilliance before he adjusted his course and took off toward the endless depths of the sea. Han Li was careful not to fly too close to the water surface. For some highly evolved beast creatures, even when concealed beneath the ocean, they could draw sustenance from living beings passing overhead, effortlessly absorbing them through waters hundreds of feet deep. Should any immortal traveler disturb these creatures, he too would face certain death. Han Li naturally took every precaution. Yet, even in the extraterrestrial seas, he could not fly too high—beyond the water, numerous beast creatures of avian kind continuously circled the skies. Should they notice him, he would face equally grave danger. Of course, this was not an absolute rule, as conditions varied from one sea region to another, and no sea was entirely safe. Each year, numerous cultivators are dispatched to various monster-islands, pursuing the dream of slaying beasts and harvesting their essences. Yet many never return once they leave the islands. Incidents where mid-stage cultivators fail to capture monsters and are instead devoured by higher-tier beasts are not uncommon. It is evident that while the rewards of hunting monsters in the outer stellar seas are highly desirable, they also come with significant risks. Consequently, cultivators who venture out to hunt monsters typically form stable, pre-existing groups with close companions and travel together—thus enhancing their safety. However, gathering large numbers of people to hunt monsters collectively is itself a matter of concern, as there was once a precedent when an entire island's cultivators were consolidated to conduct a group hunt. The result was that these cultivators only enjoyed temporary success, as they soon faced coordinated assaults from several seven-tier deep-sea monsters and a large contingent of other beasts. Not only did the cultivators suffer heavy casualties, but the very island itself was ultimately completely destroyed. After this incident occurred twice more, no one dared to gather a large group of cultivators for a single action—only small groups of a few or several dozen would venture out. This resulted in numerous small clusters on the various beast-islands, with accomplished, independent cultivators being actively sought after and attracted. Based on the information gathered, as soon as韩立 emerged from the Qingcui Island, he immediately adopted a serious demeanor. He not only expanded his powerful consciousness to cover a radius of several dozen zhang around him, but also fully activated his Divine Wind Boat, transforming into a streak of white light and swiftly breaking through the air. Every few hours, after flying for some time,韩立 would pause to check his course, deeply concerned that he might have taken a wrong direction and thus fail to reach his intended destination. Indeed,韩立's luck was quite good! Along the way, aside from noticing a five-tier beast playing on the sea surface and making a slight detour, he encountered no significant difficulties. After three days of flying and hovering, they finally spotted a small island of fiery red color. Only upon approaching closely could one see that the island was composed of numerous clusters of fresh red coral, shimmering brilliantly under the sunlight—truly beautiful and enchanting! Han Li hovered above the island, a look of delight on his face.