"Bestowing this gift upon Han?" "Indeed! Though the Eternally Vital Nectar is exceedingly precious, it still cannot compare to Han brother's life-saving grace. Do you not think Yuan Yao, as a woman of refined nature, would be ungrateful?" Yuan Yao gently twisted a strand of her dark green hair at her forehead and lightly bit her lower lip. "Not at all—only that Yuan friend..." Han Li hesitated slightly. Noticing this, Yuan Yao's eyes sparkled with a gentle smile. "We have shared hardships together in the Virtual Sky Hall, and now we have also received this life-saving kindness. From now on, Han brother may call me Yuan Yao directly. There's no need to remain so formal, always addressing me as 'Master' or 'Friend'." With these words, Yuan Yao's face warmed up slightly, her beauty glowing even more vividly. Han Li, captivated by her graceful, youthful demeanor, found himself momentarily stunned, his gaze lingering on her face for a longer time. With Han Li's steady gaze upon her, Yuan Yao's blush deepened, and she slightly tilted her head, gently averting her eyes. "Since Master Yuan has stated this clearly, I shall no longer hesitate or be overly formal. From now on, I shall simply address you by your given name." After a moment's pause, Han Li took a deep breath and spoke. Then, he picked up a small vial from the table at hand, opened the lid, and glanced inside. Indeed, it contained genuine, thousand-year-old spiritual nectar. Han Li smiled slightly, placed the vial into his storage pouch, and then, after a brief hesitation, produced two small jade vials and offered them to Yuan Yuan. "These?" Yuan Yuan blinked her beautiful eyes, slightly puzzled. "These are two pills specially formulated to enhance one's spiritual power. I believe they will prove useful in your future cultivation journey. They are my small token of appreciation." Han Li spoke calmly. "Master Yuan mentioned that the nectar is a gift. Now, if Master Han offers these two pill vials as well, wouldn't that leave me rather embarrassed?" Yuan Yuan paused, then smiled gently upon seeing the jade vials. "Master Yuan, please do not regret this!" These two pills were crafted using sixth-rank beast spores as the primary ingredient. With Yuan Yao's current peak stage of initial Condensation Realm cultivation, consuming them will smoothly advance her into the mid-Condensation stage. "Han Li glanced at the young lady and smiled gently. "Pills made from sixth-rank beast spores!" Yuan Yao's originally cheerful expression suddenly turned to astonishment. She immediately picked up a small white jade bottle and swiftly opened the lid. A pure stream of spiritual energy diffused out from within. Yuan Yao's face lit up with genuine delight. "If it were merely something ordinary, I might have been content. But these two pills—indeed, Yuan Yao truly needs them. I shall be deeply grateful." The young lady clutched the bottle tightly, slightly embarrassed to change her words. These two pills would save her at least ten years of rigorous cultivation efforts. Though a bit awkward, she was overjoyed. "Please accept them, Miss Yuan. As for me, I actually have another matter to request." Seeing that this lady accepted the medicine, Han Li felt a little more at ease. Otherwise, he would have truly found it difficult to open his mouth again. "With your current powers, Han brother, what could there possibly be that you'd need from a humble lady like me? Please go ahead and share it with me—I will do everything I can to assist." After carefully placing the two vials of elixirs, Yuan Yao felt even more confident in Han Li, her face glowing with grace and charm. "Just outside, I observed the Quelling Spirit Array technique of Qingyang Sect, which can conceal the ambient qi near the dwelling—remarkably effective. Would you kindly allow me to replicate the layout of this array for your use? I would be deeply grateful." Han Li said slowly. "The Quelling Spirit Array? No problem—this is nothing at all." Perhaps wishing to repay Han Li for his earlier kindness, Yuan Yao immediately agreed without hesitation. From her storage pouch, she produced a black jade scroll and handed it directly to Han Li. "This jade scroll contains the array manuals of Qingyang Sect. Besides the Juling Array, there are several other powerful arrays as well. I'm pleased to present them to Brother Han." Yuan Yao smiled gracefully, her beauty radiating charm. A strange expression flashed across Han Li's face, though he didn't know why the other had brought up the matter. Still, he nodded calmly. "Indeed. When I infiltrated those individuals, I heard a member from Qingyang Sect mention something. He said Yuan had nearly become the deputy master's concubine, only to later secretly undermine the deputy master and flee with the treasures. I'm not sure if this is true or not," Han Li said in a steady tone. Met with nothing but fairness, Yuan's initial actions were indeed justified. Many female cultivators with a certain charm willingly became attendants or concubines to senior cultivators, hoping to be given some opportunities for advancement. As for those who had completely lost interest in the cultivation path, some even willingly served as furnaces for others' cultivation, seeking only temporary peace and prosperity. Han Li shook his head, speaking calmly and steadily. His words seemed to ease Yuan Yao's mind somewhat. She offered Han Li a weak, polite smile and continued, "Back then, I and my elder sister, Yanli, came from a small cultivation sect. Neither of us possessed exceptional talent, and our cultivation techniques were quite ordinary. We knew that if we continued as we were, even reaching the Foundation Stage would be out of reach, let alone the Condensation Stage. Thus, we decided to leave the sect and seek out senior unmarried male cultivators, hoping to become their complementary partners in dual cultivation practice. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, we never encountered any suitable candidates—neither among the Condensation-level cultivators nor even among the late Foundation-level senior cultivators." Instead, many unscrupulous men came to gaze upon our beauty. These monks and nuns, how could their cultivation surpass that of my sisters? Naturally, neither I nor my elder sister was willing to offer ourselves. Then a series of minor events unfolded. I parted ways with my graceful sister, and journeyed on alone for some time. Years passed, and when I finally met her again, I found she had become the host vessel for the young master of Qingyang Sect. I was naturally astonished and indignant, eager to inquire about what had transpired. Yet at that moment, the young master of Qingyang Sect suddenly appeared, persistently declaring that he had taken a strong interest in me and wished to make me his concubine. Should I agree to his request, he would spare my graceful sister and also take her as his concubine. It was then that I, with my limited insight, saw this man's lofty status and profound cultivation, as well as his pleasing appearance. Though my sister had strongly opposed, I had scarcely given it much thought and readily agreed. I thus accompanied him back to Qingyang Sect. "At this point, Yuan Yao looked momentarily stunned, as though recalling the scene from back then. Han Li slightly furrowed his brows, realizing that the preceding remarks were merely a lead-in, and the real substance of what she had to say lay ahead. Indeed, after gathering her thoughts, Yuan Yao continued with a suddenly cold voice: "On the way back to Qingyang Sect, my beautiful sister unexpectedly found an opportunity to secretly inform me that she too had been deceived by the young master of Qingyang Sect. He had promised to make her a concubine, but within a few months, after bringing her back, he suddenly transformed her into a furnace vessel, freely drawing from her essence. The same fate befell many other female cultivators in similar circumstances—almost all of them had been tricked into joining the sect using the very same method. Once inside Qingyang Sect, whether they became concubines or furnace vessels, they were completely at the mercy of the young master. When I heard this, I was naturally deeply alarmed. After discussing it with my sister, we decided to secretly slip away together, taking advantage of the young master's unexpected absence." Who could have thought that this young master was such a man obsessed with beauty? He even insisted on having me share a room with him halfway through the journey. With no choice, I and my sister-in-training had to risk our lives, setting a trap and secretly defeating this rogue when his attendants were away. Though our plan succeeded, our beautiful sister-in-training was ultimately struck down by his final counterattack, suffering severe bodily damage. As a result, she now relies on her spirit to temporarily reside within a magical artifact. However, ordinary spirit-containing artifacts gradually weaken the soul over time. Despite employing every method I could think of, I've only managed to slow this decline. Soon, her spirit will lose much of its vitality, and even with a suitable physical body, she will no longer be able to reclaim it." As she spoke, the woman paused, her bright eyes glistening with deep emotion. "Could it be that Miss Yuan Yao's acquisition of the Soul-Nourishing Tree was specifically intended to house her sister-in-training's spirit?" Hearing this, Han Li recalled the matter of the Soul-Nourishing Tree and nodded, his expression suddenly brightening with understanding.