Below, the monks in turn presented their items, and indeed, they were no ordinary offerings—no wonder the secret market has organized such a special exchange gathering. Han Li observed quietly from the side, though he found little appeal in most of them. Still, these items stirred the emotions of the others, and the atmosphere gradually warmed. When it came to Han Li's turn, he casually selected several rare materials from sixth and seventh-level beast creatures and placed them before the others, naturally drawing surprised glances. In a short while, it was finally the turn of the last monk—a middle-aged man with dark, weathered skin—who was one of only three among the present who had reached the mid-Jiadian stage. The others now regarded him with a touch more reverence. This man remained composed, slowly drawing out two items from his person and placing them gently upon the table: a copper plate about the size of a palm, dull and unremarkable, and a bone rod half a foot long, gray-white in color, resembling a vertebral column of some animal. These two items left most of the cultivators momentarily stunned, not noticing any remarkable qualities in them, and thus eager to hear this one's explanation. Yet, when the middle-aged cultivator produced the items, he spoke slowly and deliberately: "These two items, I only sell to those who know what they're worth. If you don't have the right opportunity, there's no need to press for them!" Then, without a care, he leaned back slightly, narrowed his eyes, and gave no glance to the beautiful young woman standing closely beside him, leaving her somewhat embarrassed. The others, upon hearing this, exchanged puzzled glances, speechless. Only Han Li and Yun Tian Xiao noticed the two items and their expressions changed subtly in sequence. Han Li's face briefly showed a strange expression. Though the items were somewhat distant, his powerful spiritual awareness allowed him to clearly perceive them with a single glance. The bone rod was unimpressive—though not made of ordinary beast material, he still didn't find it noteworthy. But the copper plate stirred a faint interest in him. There were some strange, ancient characters inscribed upon it. These characters were remarkably similar to the ancient script found on the unnamed cultivation technique scroll written on deerskin. Could there be some connection between them? The man had always been unable to decipher the content of those ancient manuscripts. While Han Li pondered this, Yun Tianxiao suddenly burst into laughter. "Hah! I never expected Brother Sun to achieve such a remarkable feat—bringing forth the spiritual bone of an eighth-rank beast! Even I am genuinely impressed." He glanced at the bone rod with a tone that sounded more like a jest. This remark caused a sudden wave of surprise throughout the gathering, followed by a ripple of excitement. This item had indeed proven to be the most precious offering presented so far. An eighth-rank beast was no ordinary creature—such a spiritual bone was truly a rare treasure for cultivators at the Jiadian stage. Upon hearing this, Han Li felt a spark of inspiration. Could it be that this man was already aware of the latest developments concerning eighth-rank beasts? The Master Sun, upon hearing Yun Tian's revelation about the origin of the bone staff, only smiled gently, with a look full of deep meaning, and said nothing further after that. The atmosphere at the exchange gathering now truly heated up. Everyone's faces radiated unmistakable excitement. The female cultivators accompanying them, in turn, all stared intently at the items on the round table, their faces glowing with eager anticipation. Han Li, observing this scene, looked down at Wen Si Yue in his arms and noticed a subtle sense of admiration in her eyes. It seemed clear that such items were equally irresistible to both male and female cultivators. At that moment, the stout elder began to speak, outlining the items and conditions for his exchange. "Master Tianling will trade several herbs that are over five hundred years old. For the spirit dan, one needs a spirit sinew from a seventh-tier beast—though if someone offers sufficient spirit stones, I'll also be willing to sell. As for..." After seeing the rare items presented by the others, the elder's earlier pride had largely faded. However, when he spoke of wanting to exchange for a new spirit sinew, his gaze unconsciously swept toward Han Li. Among the materials on Han Li's table, there happened to be exactly one that met the required condition. Unfortunately, Han Li showed no interest in the sixth-rank spirit jade, nor did he rise to make the exchange. He simply held Wen Siyue in his arms, sitting calmly as before. "I do wish for a sixth-rank spirit jade, though I currently have no spirit sinew. I'm not sure how many spirit stones I'd need to part with," the other elder, with gray hair, said with evident interest. "As you all know, things have changed from a few years ago. Spirit jades are now harder to obtain. Naturally, a sixth-rank one commands a higher price. Should you be willing to pay fifteen thousand spirit stones, please take it." The plump elder seemed reluctant to sell the spirit jade for money, and even quoted a clearly elevated price. Upon hearing this, the gray-haired elder merely snorted and fell silent. Clearly found it too expensive and dropped their original intention. "Phoenix essence, I'll take it!" A white-haired elderly woman spoke coldly, expressionlessly. As she spoke, a storage sack shot toward the plump elder. The plump elder was momentarily startled, but after receiving and briefly inspecting the sack, he smiled with satisfaction. "Only Lady Qing has such determination—no way we, the humble cultivators, can match her." It seemed he knew the woman well, and with a cheerful gesture, he tossed the phoenix essence to her. The white-haired woman snorted, grasped the essence firmly, glanced at it briefly, and without a word, neatly stored it, showing no intention to speak further. The other items the plump elder had also attracted interest from several cultivators, most of whom ended up exchanging them. The materials that remained unsold were then collected back by him. When it came to the "Panli Worm" egg from the red sash monster below, a fierce bidding war erupted. Since this person's conditions were quite lenient—whichever item was more valuable or required more spirit stones would be claimed by the one who offered it—the rare egg was eventually acquired by a plain red-robed cultivator who exchanged several bottles of rare elixirs for it. After a few more exchanges, it came to韩立's turn. Upon glancing at the pile of materials before him,韩立 remained silent, sensing several warm, attentive glances upon his face, including that of the stout elder who had specifically expressed interest in spirit sinews.韓立 offered a gentle smile. He did not rise, but instead leaned slightly back, with 文思月 resting against him, before speaking calmly: "I do not wish to take any of these materials. I only seek information. Should the information satisfy Li, I shall offer all of them." "Information?" "Information!" ...The words surprised others, yet given that they were no ordinary individuals, they only expressed mild astonishment rather than being greatly startled. Instead, everyone was stirred with a quiet curiosity, attentively waiting for what韩立 had to say next. Cloud Tianxiao's eyes flickered, and a hint of doubt passed over his face. "I wonder if any of my fellow cultivators could provide the location of a Level Eight beast's lair. I would like to exchange these materials for this information," said Han Li calmly and deliberately. "A Level Eight beast!" Upon hearing this, everyone gasped, their expressions turning pale with astonishment. "Are you jesting, Master? Do you really intend to target Level Eight beasts?" the plump elder exclaimed, his face filled with disbelief. "Of course not. I have another matter that requires this information. The specifics, however, I shall not disclose at this time," Han Li said, gently tapping the edge of the round table with a single finger, remaining composed and unhurried. At the same time, his gaze swept unceremoniously over the faces of the other cultivators. All of them stared at him in open astonishment, which left Han Li feeling somewhat disheartened. Finally, his eyes settled on the dark-skinned, Sun-family cultivator. At once struck by this gaze from Han Li, the man paused, then suddenly understood, and smiled: "My friend, perhaps you think I know the whereabouts of the eight-tiered beast? Alas, Master Li has mistaken me for someone else." He shook his head in clear denial. "Si Yue, what are you talking about? How can you possibly know about the whereabouts of an eight-tier beast? Don't just make things up!" Lady Fan was first stunned, then her expression turned cold as she sharply rebuked. "Master Fan! Si Yue indeed knows the location of one eight-tier beast and has not deceived Master Li in any way. Please, rest assured!" Just as Han Li was puzzled, he suddenly felt the woman tightly embracing him, then, with a determined tone, gently bit her lower lip and spoke firmly.