"Hmph! Do you think we can go or not is entirely up to you? If we don't go, really believe that with the two elder figures from the Star Palace's prior words, our Ji Yin Island will dare to take any action?" said Wu Chou, his small eyes blazing with fierce intensity. Though Wu Chou had been acting as a hindrance to Han Li, merely due to the prior instructions from Master Ji Yin, he genuinely held no favor for Han Li. This sense of ill will was innate, unreasonably so. Han Li, in turn, held no particularly favorable impression of Wu Chou either. Upon hearing this, Han Li merely glanced at him coldly and then turned to Master Ji Yin, saying: "Though I don't yet understand what use you have for my spiritual beasts, I am well aware that once the master of a spiritual beast passes away, no one else can claim or control that beast. Furthermore, in times of crisis, I can command the Blood Jade Spider to self-explosion at any moment. Surely, Master, you would not wish to witness such a scene?" His tone carried a touch of threat, causing the middle-aged man across the table to pale slightly and display a hint of surprise. Han Li was well aware that Wu Chu was merely playing the part of leveraging his senior's authority—after all, it was the Grand Master of Extreme Yin who truly held the reins. Therefore, he had no intention of getting entangled in any further discussions with Wu Chu. However, Han Li's firm stance only served to inflame Wu Chu, who, after a flash of sternness on his face, immediately opened his mouth to deliver some harsh remarks. Yet, these words were promptly silenced by a simple gesture from the Grand Master of Extreme Yin standing beside him. The voice of Jiyin Master was sharp and piercing, brimming with murderous intent, clearly indicating great annoyance. Han Li was startled! Subconsciously, he assumed that Xuan Gu was discovered. He immediately began to think rapidly, trying to figure out how to respond in such a situation. But then, a deeper, more composed voice spoke, and Han Li was taken aback. "Why are you so upset, Wu brother? I merely happened to encounter you by chance—I certainly don't intend to take any action," said the figure. A shimmer of jade-green light flashed, and suddenly, at a distance of several dozen zhang, a venerable elder in a scholar's robe appeared in the void, smiling calmly at Jiyin Master and the others. It was none other than the well-known "Jing Yi Resident"! "Jing friend, you've been following me!" Upon seeing this man, Jiyin Master's murderous aura momentarily wavered, and his expression turned deeply displeased. "What on earth is this following?" Qing was merely strolling around, casually glancing at Wu and this young disciple when he saw them conversing, and then flying over to offer a simple greeting. He never expected to provoke such displeasure. Ah! If he had known that, Qing would have absolutely never been so impetuous. The Confucian-dressed elder chuckled dryly and explained with a carefree air. Undeterred by the explanation, the pale-faced, deeply serious Master Jiyin turned his gaze toward the blood-jade spider below, murmuring in admiration. "This blood-jade spider—what a rare spiritual creature! According to earlier generations of cultivators, it appears to be one of the top candidates for successfully extracting the essence from the Virtual Heaven Cauldron, with a much higher success rate than your fire serpent or Wan Tianming's golden-silk silkworm." Qing said, nodding thoughtfully. Strolling, casually browsing? Then why remain hidden? Upon hearing the elder's rather stiff excuse, Master Jiyin was furious. And now, as he looked down at the blood-jade spider, revealing the secret he had been trying to conceal, his expression grew even more somber. "This is the young disciple that Wu has been longing for, hasn't he? I too have always favored young talents with bold spirits. How about joining my discipleship? I must confess, I've never taken on any disciples before." After glancing away from the Blood Jade Spider, the elder in scholar's robes circled around Han Li several times, then said with a glance that made Ji Yin's face turn as pale as iron, and left Han Li utterly astonished. "Taking you as a disciple?" Han Li blinked, unsure whether he should be delighted or merely chuckling at his own predicament. "What does this mean, Qing Daojun?" Ji Yin's face was flushed with coldness, black energy rising in gentle waves from his body as he stared at the elder, word by word. "Heh! Just a jest, Ji Yin, there's no need to be so tense. If I truly take this young man under my wing, I suspect you'll have to fight me to the death. But if the bearded man hears that there's a Blood Jade Spider here—wouldn't he have the same reaction?" The elder chuckled softly, his eyes flashing with an odd expression before he spoke calmly. Qing Yi's words eased the elder master's demeanor slightly. Yet upon hearing the elder mention the bearded man, he immediately felt troubled. After all, there are still several orthodox cultivators like Wan Tianming to contend with, so he couldn't afford to weaken his own strength too much. Now, upon the elder's mention of the bearded barbarian, even the Master of Extreme Yin's facial muscles twitched slightly. He had personally experienced the power of the Bearded Barbarian's Tuo Tianmo功 back then. Even now, despite the "Tiandu Shī Huǒ" having diminished somewhat, he still lacked confidence in facing him directly. Should the bearded barbarian genuinely use the same excuse to take the young disciple under his wing and then demand a substantial share of the treasure during the treasure collection, he would be utterly at a loss. Unless... The Master of Extreme Yin proved quite pragmatic—he immediately realized that he couldn't safeguard the secret of the Blood Jade Spider, and thus began thinking of ways to avoid suffering major losses during the treasure collection. At that moment, a thought struck him, and he glanced at the elder with a distinct expression, sensing the likely intent behind the elder's words. The elderly scholar in the Confucian robe, seeing the Master of Extreme Yin's shifting demeanor, smiled gently and then whispered his words. The Master of Extreme Yin's expression now became "How do you think of this suggestion?" The elder's transmission was brief, and soon he resumed his normal speech, asking. "Fine, I agree." Master Jiyin hardly paused, simply agreeing with a stern expression. "Good. Now, between us two, who do you think would be more suitable to take this young man as a disciple?" The elder beamed with satisfaction, glanced at Han Li, and then said slowly. "Let him choose his own master. That would be fairer." After a moment's thought, Master Jiyin replied. The elder was momentarily taken aback, his expression slightly puzzled, but after a moment's reflection, he nodded and agreed. Seeing this, Master Jiyin's face finally broke into a rare smile. Then, turning to Han Li, who was on the ground, he said calmly: "You must have heard our conversation! Your Blood Jade Spiders are one of the key treasures we're collecting this time. We absolutely won't let them go. "As for what you think you're safe because you're the master of this spiritual beast—well, that's entirely mistaken. I possess a convenient method of crafting spiritual corpses. Should I need to, I could simply kill the Blood Jade Spider and transmute it into a spirit corpse. In that case, however, the Spider's cultivation would significantly diminish. Unless absolutely compelled, I would never resort to such a measure. If you're afraid that after the matter is settled, things might turn against you, both of us can take you as a junior disciple—then we'd be like family. And should the treasure be successfully obtained, you'd certainly receive your share as well. You're clearly a wise man—shouldn't know what choice to make, then?" He had still held out a slim hope that the two elderly masters might clash with each other, allowing him to slip away unnoticed amidst the chaos. Yet he was surprised by their remarkable shrewdness—just a few brief exchanges had already solidified a clear agreement between them. Even if the Xuan Gu Bone were to step forward and lend their support, it would likely amount to little more than a mere formality. The threat of using the Blood Jade Spider to pressure the other party now seemed to have lost much of its potency. Even if the spider were to self-explosion, the opposing party would probably counteract and secure the upper hand. As long as he had any chance of survival, he wouldn’t be inclined to provoke a Yuan婴-period cultivator into choosing a path of certain doom. Thus, without a compromise, it would seem, there was truly no alternative.