"What is this, Master Daxian? Have you ever seen something like this?" After a moment of deep concentration, Han Li asked. "Do you really think I'm unaware of everything that happens, ignorant of all that unfolds? I've never heard of this item before. However, since it resists your spiritual perception, it certainly qualifies as a rare treasure. Ask the owner in detail how he obtained it. As for whether to accept it, that's entirely up to you." Master Daxian replied with a sigh of impatience. Upon hearing this, Han Li smiled quietly, without showing any irritation. With a flicker of his gaze, he drew back his spiritual awareness, restoring the bubbles to normal and placing the jade box back on the table. "Now, do you recognize this item, friend?" he asked, speaking with the tone of a mid-Jin Yuan stage cultivator. "I'm sorry, Master Han. My experience is limited, and I'm truly unable to identify this object." Han Li said with a touch of apology. "Even I don't recognize it. In fact, just now I noticed something unusual about it— I thought you would know its purpose!" The elder looked visibly disheartened, with a subtle hint of Han Li smiled lightly, speaking with indifference: "The anomaly that just occurred was simply due to the large amount of spiritual awareness enveloping it. Though I don't know what it is exactly, calling it an extraordinary treasure seems to be acceptable." "Oh! Such a thing indeed!" The elder seemed somewhat doubtful, his gaze fixed on the golden bubbles within the box, then extending his own spiritual awareness outward. Han Li remained calm, observing the elder's actions without changing his expression. A while later, the bubbles indeed began to glow with golden light and gently expanded and contracted. The elder exhaled deeply, his face showing a hint of weariness; after closing his eyes to recover, he opened them again. "Gold's not as capable as I thought, and I've certainly embarrassed my friend with this. But Han brother's spiritual awareness—truly exceptional!" said the elder, his face now filled with admiration. In his estimation, the other’s cultivation level was comparable to his own, yet the manner in which they had just acted was so effortless—while he himself had struggled so visibly. This clearly indicated that the other was a natural with an inherently powerful consciousness, a rare talent that would undoubtedly be a key focus of any sect’s training. Such a disciple’s future prospects were certainly boundless. "After all, it's hard to imagine its origins just from a single inanimate object." Han Li smiled calmly. From the tone, it seemed this item indeed had a rich history. "In truth, there's nothing to conceal about its origins. In fact, several close friends I've made have all perished because of this very item—so I've simply chosen not to speak of it." Jin Yuan sighed and said this. Han Li was momentarily stunned. Noticing the elder's thoughtful expression, he realized more was to come, and thus remained silent. "I'm sure you can already guess," Jin Yuan continued, "that I am a freelance cultivator, one who specializes in earth-based cultivation techniques. While my other abilities are rather ordinary, I naturally possess a body endowed with earth essence. I have some skill in earth-walking technique. Had my spiritual root not been so weak, I believe many major sects would have eagerly sought me out as a disciple." As he spoke, the elder's face was filled with a sense of regret. "So, after achieving a certain level of cultivation, Mr. Jin often liked to seek out remote mountain ranges, searching for ancient cultivators' abodes, hoping to stumble upon some ancient spiritual site and achieve sudden fortune. Yet how easily one could find such ancient dwellings and relics! While I can't claim to have come away completely empty-handed, the time spent in pursuit of such discoveries doesn't really seem to have yielded much. It wasn't until three years ago..." Jin Yuan's voice paused slightly, then he spoke more deliberately: "Three years ago, I was invited by a close friend to join an expedition to investigate what appeared to be an ancient, massive tomb from the prehistoric era. The friend hoped to leverage my earth-transcendence technique to explore it together. Should any treasures be uncovered, a share would naturally be allotted to me. Upon hearing this, I was naturally delighted and immediately accepted the invitation. In fact, several of my close friends also joined us. At that time, I already sensed that this ancient tomb must be far from ordinary." Indeed, upon entering the ancient tomb, we realized—our voices grew slightly trembling— that the tomb itself housed the burial site of a renowned emperor from the ancient times. This king, Xuan Ye, was famed in antiquity for his cruelty and was, indeed, a legendary figure. When we first saw this, we were deeply disappointed, even considering that our journey had been in vain. After all, though he might have been illustrious among mortals, what could he possibly offer us—those who practiced immortality? Yet, once we entered the main chamber, we discovered that the burial goods included many rare materials and magical artifacts used exclusively by cultivators. We were overjoyed and prepared to collect them. But just as we began to gather, the numerous mummified bodies in the chamber suddenly came to life, transforming into immovable, flesh-and-blood wraiths. No matter what spells or magical instruments we used, they proved entirely ineffective—striking them only caused them to remain unharmed. As a result, most of our companions, unprepared, were torn apart into fragments. And strange things were happening within the main coffin—the legendary XuanYe King seemed to be rising from the dead as well. Fortunately, I am skilled in earth-bending techniques; otherwise, I would have perished in that dreadful tomb. But the others didn’t have such luck. Jin Yuan spoke these words with a slightly pale complexion, clearly deeply shaken by the scene at the beginning. "As for this item..." Han Li was slightly surprised, yet still pointed to the jade box. "This was an object placed upon the main coffin, which I took with me when I left. I assumed, given its unusual nature, it must be a rare treasure. Yet, after asking people in various markets and towns, no one could name what it was. Though they all acknowledged it was special, none were willing to pay a high price to acquire it. So it has remained in my hands ever since." Jin Yuan did not hesitate to be candid, though his evident sense of disappointment was clear on his face. "Since it's an object from the time of ancient emperors buried with them, it's not surprising that no one knows about it. After all, during the ancient times, many things have long since vanished from the current immortal realm. However, an ordinary mortal emperor possessing items from immortal beings—yet having turned into a corpse—seems to be a serious matter. Didn't you send anyone else to investigate this tomb?" asked Han Li, his face displaying a puzzled expression. "I naturally went back to that ancient tomb and even brought a large group of high-level cultivators with me. But what happened? When I arrived at the original site, the tomb had simply vanished without a trace—only a vast expanse of wilderness remained. I find it utterly unbelievable. Yet I am certain about the location of the tomb. In fact, I deliberately left subtle marks at the entrance, and they are still clearly visible." As Jin Yuan spoke, his face suddenly darkened. Han Li furrowed his brows. If all this were true. Only one elder survived among the group, and since he failed to locate the ancient tomb, the events that followed were certain to be dire. "Master, could you kindly tell me where you first encountered the tomb? I would be most grateful if you could share the details," said Han Li, calmly after a brief pause. "It's still there—naturally, deep within the Snow Peak Mountain range." The elder spoke with some grit in his voice. "Snow Peak Mountain Range. I believe I mentioned before that, on occasion, cultivators have gone missing in the mountains. Could this be related?" Han Li's eyes flashed with a moment of surprise before he continued smoothly. "Possibly. I'm not entirely certain myself. However, if Master is interested, I can show you the exact location of the tomb. Perhaps Brother Han might have the opportunity to visit and make some discoveries!" After a moment's hesitation, the elder said this with evident sincerity. Then he produced a jade scroll from his sleeve, inscribed a few words upon it before casually handing it to Han Li. "Very well. If I have the chance, I'll go and take a look myself!" After a moment of silence, Han Li reached out to take the scroll, speaking quietly and without showing any emotion. "Heh! It seems we truly hit it off right away—this long-standing unease of mine, which I've never shared with anyone else, finally finds a listener. Allow me to suggest: I notice that you're also quite interested in this item. Then, how about I offer it to you at a reduced price? Just one hundred spirit stones, and you'll have it. How does that sound?" the elder smiled warmly. "One hundred spirit stones? That is indeed quite reasonable. But I cannot let Jin brother come out behind. Then, how about I offer two hundred spirit stones in exchange for this?" Han Li smiled, slightly embarrassed, and said so. Then he reached into his waist satchel and produced two mid-tier spiritual stones, offering them to the elder across from him. Seeing that they were mid-tier stones, Jin Yuan smiled warmly and politely accepted them. As for the golden bubbles inside the jade box, they were naturally passed over to Han Li. In front of the elder, Han Li casually slipped the jade box into his own storage satchel. The elder, seeing this, beamed with satisfaction, as though he were genuinely reluctant to part with it. At that moment, however, the spiritual beast satchel at Han Li’s waist gave a slight movement and emitted a soft, melodic cry. "Ah—what is this?" the elder stared at the satchel, his expression filled with curiosity. "Nothing special," Han Li said, looking down at the satchel with a composed, indifferent air. "It's merely a low-tier spiritual beast I've been raising. Probably, it simply enjoys the sight of new things and finds this one particularly interesting."