Han Li was pondering at that moment. "Indeed, these are the scales shed by a fully-formed toxic dragon-jelly. They are perfectly suited to me—this will surely enhance the power of my precious artifact. With that said, I am most delighted." With a smile, Wei Wuyi placed the crimson scales back into the box. A flash of light, and the jade box vanished. Then, he raised his gaze and studied Han Li once more before speaking with serious demeanor: "To be honest, I had not expected such a precious offering from you—this truly surprises me. For me, these toxic dragon-jelly scales are of great significance. Though this exchange benefits both of us, you will also represent Tiannan in the wagering competition. I cannot allow you to suffer any undue loss. Thus, I shall offer you my final piece of Jingjing—originally intended as a reserve for my descendants. Since you truly need it, I shall hand it over to you. In this way, I shall not be imposing any advantage upon you." Wei Wuyi flipped his hand, and a second egg-sized piece of Geng Jin material appeared in his grasp, which he then tossed to Han Li. "Indeed, there's still more Geng Jin!" Han Li smiled slightly, pleased, and gladly accepted it. With this additional piece, the thirty-six flying swords could now be refined simultaneously without any shortage. This fulfilled most of his original intention of presenting such a rare material. Otherwise, the materials from the eighth-tier beast would be worth slightly more than these Geng Jin pieces. If he hadn't offered these, and still had to participate in the gambling contest, it would seem rather illogical. Should Wei Wuyi and his companion still have Geng Jin material, they would likely be compelled to offer more due to this move. Of course, this unspoken intent was perfectly clear to Han Li—after all, both were Yuan Ying stage cultivators, neither of whom would be considered easy to manage. Otherwise, Han Li would simply accept the earlier Jing Jing, brush off his coat, and immediately depart, treating it as a mere ordinary transaction, never mentioning the wager competition at all—leaving these two old masters only able to stare helplessly, with nothing to complain about. At that moment, the Upholder of Supreme Yang had also finished examining the items in his hands, and a faint smile appeared on his face. It seemed he was equally satisfied with the turtle shell. However, upon seeing Wei Wuyi pull out another Jing Jing, he hesitated slightly, pondered for a moment, then reached into his sleeve and withdrew a slender yellow object, about the thickness of a thumb and roughly five or six inches long—resembling a section of plant root. "I observe that your body is exceptionally rich in Wood Qi, suggesting you specialize in a Wood-based cultivation technique. At present, I don't have anything suitable to offer you. All I have is this small piece of ancient Immortal Vine root. Whether used to craft Wood-type artifacts or carried to nourish your Wood Qi, it will prove highly useful—enough to compensate for the eight-tiered Divine Turtle shell you've brought." The Upholder of Supreme Yang spoke solemnly. "Hmm, what is this?" Wei Wuyi stared at the object in Zhiyang's hands, his face showing clear astonishment—seemingly surprised. Han Li had initially been a bit disappointed, but upon seeing Wei Wuyi's reaction, he suddenly recalled something. Could this be the ancient immortal vine—the very one that the Celestial and Martial sects had secretly stolen to save? The one they had hoped to revive with the pure elixir? Han Li gazed at the object in Zhiyang's hands, his expression now filled with surprise. Yet Zhiyang, seeing Wei Wuyi recognize the object without any surprise, only calmly added, "Given your standing, I'm sure you're aware of the recent emergence of the Xiantian Immortal Vine. Unfortunately, despite employing various methods, we were unable to revive it. In the end, we had to share it with the Martial Sect, using it as a material for crafting artifacts. This very object is one-quarter of the vine's root stem. My cultivation technique is a fire-based method. Though this material is quite rare, it's of little use to me, so I'm giving it to you." With that, Zhiyang immediately passed the object over. Han Li took the pale yellow object, murmured softly to himself, and felt deeply surprised. Having read numerous classical texts, Han Li naturally knew what the Xuan Tian Immortal Vine was. He also understood why both the Zheng and Mo sects had long and carefully strived to revive this vine. The term "Immortal Vine" was merely a general designation—any valuable vine-like spiritual root or rare plant species in this realm could be called an Immortal Vine. However, the Xuan Tian Immortal Vine was different. Only a few of the oldest and most ancient vine-like spiritual roots were entitled to bear the prefix "Xuan Tian." These vines had emerged as early as the dawn of this realm, during the time of the universe's creation and the initial state of chaos. Whether producing spiritual flowers or bearing spiritual fruits, they possessed extraordinary powers that defied the fundamental laws of this realm's nature—true manifestations of transcending the heavens. Yet, the exact number of such Xuan Tian Immortal Vine varieties and the specific, remarkable powers each one possessed had long since been lost to memory, and no one today could clearly identify them. Yet the cultivators from the Zheng and Mo sects, who recognized this seemingly ordinary, withered vine as the Xuan Tian Immortal Vine, deduced it solely from the words left behind by the ancient cultivators. Initially, both sides treated it as a treasured treasure, even engaging in several fierce battles to vie for possession of it. However, upon the arrival of senior figures from both sects, they decided to first assess whether the Vine could be revived—after all, even if revived, it remained uncertain when it would bloom and bear fruit. Given that the Vine reportedly bloomed and bore fruit only once every ten or twenty thousand years, such a cycle was entirely ordinary for the Xuan Tian Immortal Vine. Thus, they employed every conceivable method—attempting rare cultivation techniques and secret arts to stimulate revival, irrigating it with pure spiritual waters and elixirs, and even focusing their efforts on the sacred sap of the Luo Yun Sect and two other sects. Yet all these efforts proved futile, and the Vine showed no signs of revival whatsoever. The two sects of Zheng and Mo were left with no choice but to settle for it. After a brief discussion, they divided the Xuan Tian Immortal Vine—root, stem, and branches—into several dozen segments, sharing it equally between them. It wasn't exactly wasted effort. As the Grand Elder of the Zheng Dao Alliance, the Celestial Yang cultivator naturally received a small segment from a devoted disciple who wished to please him. Wei Wuyi recognized the vine because he himself possessed a portion of it—though his was only a small piece of the vine's trunk. He had no idea how the cultivator from the Nine Kingdoms Alliance had managed to secure this piece from the Zheng and Mo sects and ended up with it as well. Though the Xuan Tian Immortal Vine, once unable to revive and divided into so many segments, could now only be used as a top-tier material, its value had significantly diminished in the Celestial Yang cultivator's eyes. Despite its impressive reputation, he didn't place much importance on it. Moreover, since the vine's wood-based nature was somewhat underwhelming due to the nature of his cultivation techniques, he simply decided not to prioritize it and passed it on to Han Li. Wei Wuyi now fully grasped the Master of Supreme Yang's intentions, and the surprise on his face quickly faded away. Though he knew the origin of the root stem in his hands, there was no visible joy in Han Li's heart—only a faint sense of disappointment. He did not lack top-tier crafting materials at present, but he truly hoped to obtain more Jingjing (Jing essence). That was why he had brought forth the dragon-scale and turtle-shell from an eighth-rank mythical beast. His own life-support artifact, the Qingzhu Fengyun Sword, had not even been given time for cultivation and nurturing, leaving no extra spiritual energy to refine a new artifact. It would have been more practical to acquire a few more ancient treasures instead. It seemed that the Master of Supreme Yang truly had no Jingjing left—otherwise, he would not have presented such a precious Xiantian Immortal Vine root stem. Thus, Han Li said nothing further and simply retrieved a jade box, placing the vine root stem inside. He had made up his mind to use the small green liquid from the mysterious vial to cultivate and refine this root stem upon his return. The green liquid produced by the vial had always remained enigmatic to him, Who knows—perhaps a miracle might yet occur, saving this Yuxian root stem. Though the chances seem slim, if such a thing truly happened, he would surely reap a tremendous advantage. With this thought, the sense of disappointment in Han Li's heart vanished. Without waiting for the other two to speak further, Han Li cleared his throat and gracefully offered, "Since I have obtained the Geng Jing, I will certainly participate in the wagering contest seven days from now. It's now late enough; I shall therefore return. I still need to make preparations before the great battle." Han Li showed no intention of lingering, and immediately took his leave. "I didn't expect you to be so eager, Han friend. The wagering contest is no ordinary matter—it naturally requires thorough preparations. We shall therefore not keep you any longer." Zhiyang Master smiled politely. Han Li nodded promptly, bowed slightly, and turned to head toward the outer door. Yet, as he was nearing the entrance, Wei Wuyá, who had been standing there watching him go, suddenly frowned, her lips moving slightly with an expression of strange urgency. A soft, barely audible voice drifted into Han Li's ears. "Master Han, considering the favor of the toxic dragon's scales, I shall not pursue the matter of you taking Nan Gong Master. Moreover, a forcibly pressed fruit is often bitter—thus, the matter between Nan Gong Lady and my nephew shall be settled as is!" Upon hearing this, Han Li was first startled, his body momentarily pausing. Yet upon listening further, a great sense of relief and joy filled him. He did not turn around, merely walking out of the hall with a lighter step. ...As Han Li's silhouette faded from the hall doorway, Wei Wuyi and Zhiyang Master exchanged glances, then fell into quiet silence. After a moment, Zhiyang Master slowly remarked: "How do you think? Master Han possesses materials from an eight-tiered mythical beast—this is truly remarkable." Could it really be as we investigated—during the time he vanished through the ancient transmission array, he fully inherited the complete teachings and legacy of an ancient cultivator? Otherwise, how could he have advanced so swiftly to the Yuan Ying stage and accumulated such an abundance of treasures in such a short span? Perhaps that's true! But now it has nothing to do with us. After all, it's not just him who has obtained the ancient cultivation techniques and treasures; the circumstances of such opportunities are inherently unpredictable. What's there to envy? Do you really intend to kill someone and seize their treasures? Wei Wuyi coldly laughed. Killing someone to seize their treasures? Brother Wei, you're truly making a joke! Even now, with the great battle looming, such a thing is impossible. Even in ordinary times, considering the skill with which the other party managed to escape from Mu Lan's master, I would never go to such lengths—wasting my own efforts to gain nothing but trouble. Besides, no matter how precious his treasures may be, could they possibly enable me to transcend to the later stage and reach the Hua Shen stage? Then, what would be the point of making such a troublesome adversary my concern? Moreover, he was from the Heaven's Way Alliance, and the Dragon Huan couple weren't exactly easy to deal with either." The Zhiyang Monastic Master chuckled, shook his head lightly and smiled.