Han Lin raised his hand with an expressionless demeanor, and after a flash of white light, the gesture vanished back into his sleeve. "Now, may we proceed calmly?" Han Lin lowered his hand, his face calm and composed. The strike he delivered earlier had not killed the opponent, but had severely wounded him, leaving the latter momentarily unable to continue fighting. Thus, after a brief moment, Yun Tianxiao managed to rise again, though he was covered in blood. His gaze toward Han Lin was filled with fear. "Indeed, I am outmatched," Yun Tianxiao said, his face pale. "Master Wensimoy, please take her away. However, let me make it clear upfront—there has already been an elder who has taken a liking to this young lady and intends to use her as a furnace vessel. Should you take her, you must not fear any complications." With that, he produced several scrolls and pressed them against his body. After a flash of green light, his wounds disappeared visibly, as if they had never existed. "Furnace vessel?" Hearing this, Han Lin suddenly understood why Wensimoy had been so eager to leave. But the underlying implication in his subsequent words caused his expression to suddenly grow cold. "There are others who have taken a liking to this young lady! That's fine—she's mine, and I will personally bring her away. As for threats, my friend, perhaps you'd better keep them to a minimum. Otherwise, should I be in a bad mood, I might very well cleanse this entire place of its inhabitants." Han Li spoke with steady composure, then casually glanced around the room. His words were not entirely meant as a threat. If there were not so many Dan-stage cultivators present, he would not have been certain of being able to eliminate them all without leaving a single survivor. Indeed, if that were the case, he would have taken decisive action to wipe out every person here and settle the matter once and for all. Yet even thus, the force and sharpness of his tone had already caused a noticeable shift in the expressions of the assembled cultivators. While the earlier display of action had stirred some doubt among them, the current firmness of his demeanor now led most to suspect that Han Li was a seasoned Yuan-Ying stage master. Many now appeared uneasy or bowed their heads, no one daring to meet his gaze directly. Yun Tianxiao naturally also considered this possibility. When he recalled that the other person, though only at the initial stage of Jin Dan cultivation, had nearly taken his life—a Jin Dan mid-stage cultivator—just with a single strike, and still needed to search for the lair of an eighth-rank beast, he felt a deep sense of bitterness, silently cursing his fate. Wen Siyue, who lay within Han Li’s body, stared wide-eyed, equally stunned. She had never before willingly served as a furnace spirit, thus making the desperate effort she had just shown. Yet she had never imagined that this Li surname cultivator possessed such formidable power, capable of commanding all the present cultivators with just his presence. The once-fearful Yun Tianxiao now lay severely wounded, and Lady Fan looked utterly alarmed, remaining silent. This entire scene filled her with both astonishment and joy, as if she were dreaming. Seeing everyone else carefully cautious and speaking little, Han Li gave a quiet laugh and then extended his hand. Suddenly, the copper plate belonging to the dark-skinned man floated upward and shot toward Han Li’s palm with a swift "whoosh." Han Li bowed down without hesitation, studying the object closely. The dark-skinned cultivator's face slightly changed, but after a few moments of hesitation, he still managed to refrain from expressing any dissatisfaction. Though Han Li had already inflicted serious injuries upon a cultivator of comparable rank—Yun Tianxiao—he clearly wasn't his match, and his expression was far from composed. "I'll take this item," Han Li said calmly to the owner, placing the bronze plate down. "How many spirit stones do you require?" The dark-skinned cultivator was somewhat surprised and responded instinctively, "Seven... no, seven thousand spirit stones!" Han Li then gently placed a fifth-tier immortal fruit at the cultivator's feet. "Let's settle for this fruit as the exchange. And please don't let me be accused of forcibly seizing one of your esteemed female cultivators. As for the materials on the table, they shall serve as the price for her freedom." Han Li turned to Lady Fan and said this, then lightly tapped the shoulder of the woman in his arms, releasing her, before standing up and walking out with composed grace. Wen Siyue only realized it after a moment, hurriedly rising and following out with some urgency. "Master Li, please wait!" Lady Fan suddenly spoke, her expression brightening. This caused Han Li to pause, stopping mid-step and turning to face her, his face briefly expressing surprise. It was refreshing to see this young woman have the courage to stop him—Han Li found this quite interesting. Wen Siyue, meanwhile, grew slightly nervous and unconsciously leaned against Han Li's side. "What is it?" Han Li asked calmly, his eyes slightly narrowed. "Master doesn't wish to return to the Inner Sea, does he? Our Miao Yin Sect has a method that will allow all of you to reach the Inner Sea within a short time," Lady Fan said with a graceful smile, her tone now clearly respectful. Facing ten or more cultivators at the Yuan Ying stage, she could not afford the slightest negligence. "What exactly do you mean?" Han Li frowned, clearly unimpressed by this abrupt and vague statement. Fan Fu noticed Han Li's impatience and, without lingering on elaborate explanations, quickly said, "Our Miao Yin Sect is currently preparing a teleportation array to return to the Inner Stellar Sea. However, we still lack several key materials and cannot yet complete it. Therefore, I would like to kindly request assistance from each of you today. As long as you help us finish this array, we will be delighted to send all of you back to the Inner Stellar Sea free of charge." The moment Fan Fu finished speaking, the other Ji Dan cultivators were stirred into action, most of them expressing visible delight. Now that the Outer Stellar Sea has become the domain of beasts, even they find it difficult to remain long-term. Naturally, they have all longed to return home. Yet without a teleportation array, relying solely on their own flight, they would likely need five to six years just to make the journey—let alone the various risks they might encounter along the way. That is why they have remained here thus far. "Merely having the array is not enough—we also need the teleportation seals, isn't that right?" "There's no need for you to tell me that your Miao Yin Sect has also mastered the art of crafting transmission seals," the elderly woman with white hair said, her expression sharpening as she asked coldly. "Seventh Elder, please don't worry about this matter. While our Miao Yin Sect does not specialize in crafting transmission seals, prior to the wave of beasts, we quietly acquired a substantial number of such seals through other channels. The quantity is more than sufficient to send each of the present Daoists back to the Inner Stellar Sea. The key material—'Dream-Phantom Stone'—however, is extremely rare. Over the years, we have identified a single source of this stone, but it lies precisely near the habitat of a group of high-level beast creatures. These beasts range from fifth to sixth level, in numbers quite substantial. They cannot be easily eliminated by a small number of cultivators. Should even a few of them escape during our operations and alert higher-level beasts, the situation would become dire. That is why we have sought to rely on your collective support!" Lady Fan said with earnest determination. After hearing these words, everyone else showed signs of thoughtful consideration. To completely eliminate high-level beast creatures was no easy matter—naturally, they would need to carefully weigh their options. "Why didn't you invite a senior Yuan婴-period cultivator instead, to increase your chances of success?" the dark-skinned cultivator pondered for a moment, then asked slowly. "Have I not already tried?" the Lady Fan said with a wry smile. "Most of the senior cultivators have disappeared since the beast surge. I've only managed to reach out to one elder, Master Miao He. Even with his involvement, I can only handle the seven-tier beast creatures among this group. It is precisely this elder who recommended the Lady Si Yue as the ideal vessel for her cultivation." She then glanced helplessly at Han Li. Upon hearing this, the others exchanged puzzled glances. Han Li, meanwhile, stroked his chin, his expression briefly deepening into thoughtful contemplation. But immediately, he said briefly: "Li has no interest in getting involved in this matter. Please go ahead and handle things yourselves!" After saying that, he simply walked out of the gate without paying any attention to anyone. Wen Siyue dared not fall behind and followed closely behind. No one dared to stop Han Li for even a moment, leaving the hall filled with a group of astonished onlookers, their eyes wide with bewilderment. Fan Lady could not conceal her disappointment. Yet Yun Tianxiao, who had remained silent all along, spoke up again. "Since Li has no intention of assisting us, we won't insist. Now, I'd like to briefly introduce the current situation of the beasts near the Dream-Imagery Stone. Then, each of you may judge for yourselves. As for that area…" As if Han Li's recent severe injury had never happened, Yun Tianxiao spoke with calm confidence and fluency. "...Master, do you really not want to return to the Inner Stellar Sea?" Wen Siyue murmured softly behind Han Li. "Why? Do you want to go back?" Han Li replied calmly, without turning around. "Not exactly. Just..." Wen Siyue's voice softened, and the final words remained unspoken. At that moment, Han Li had already led her out of the stone wall, heading straight for the exit without a word. Since their purpose had been fulfilled, he naturally had no interest in staying any longer. With the elder gatekeeper's surprise, Han Li and Wen Siyue passed through the massive stone entrance of the secret market. Then, with a flash of light, he whisked the young woman away, breaking through the air. Throughout the journey, Wen Siyue remained silent, never asking Han Li where they were headed—seeming to fully entrust everything to him. Han Li, in turn, offered no explanations, simply continuing to fly in silence. After two days, Han Li finally located a remote island with a faint trace of spiritual energy, and landed there.