Han Li heard Tian Fu Men carefully propose this condition, and his mouth twitched slightly. "Call me a guest senior elder for your three clans? Do you think I'll agree?" "We understand, with our small sects, we simply lack the dignity to honor a master of your stature. But all we ask is that you resolve the current crisis for us—after that, we'll merely keep your name on record, and never burden you again." The elderly gentleman named Wen, initially anxious, felt a sense of relief upon seeing Han Li remain calm. He quickly added, "As I understand it, once you intervene once, then Han Li will no longer need to be involved afterward." Han Li nodded, his gaze sharp. "That's exactly what we mean. Of course, we won't let you go without something in return. Since you've expressed interest in seal-making, Tian Fu Men is pleased to offer you our secret technique of the Huo Ling Seal Art. Jin Xia Mountain and Ming Yang Valley each also have their own inherited secret arts, which we are happy to share with you." In addition, we have prepared tens of thousands of spiritual stones, hoping that you will accept them with a smile." By now, the elderly man with the surname Wen had simply laid out all his conditions at once. He was well aware that any further maneuvering might only serve to offend the other party; it was better to be straightforward. "Tens of thousands of spiritual stones?" Han Li offered a gentle smile. "These stones are indeed a modest offering. However, our three sects will continue to send additional spiritual stones annually as a form of tribute. Furthermore, our sect is willing to present the spiritual seal personally crafted by our founding patriarch to you. I am certain, with your extraordinary abilities, you will be able to refine and transform this artifact." Wen clenched his teeth and pushed out his final condition. "The founding patriarch—does that refer to Tian Fu True Person?" Han Li's expression finally shifted slightly. "Indeed, that is the very seal. I must confess, although this spiritual seal has previously demonstrated great power in the hands of our founding patriarch, we have been unable to achieve any success among our younger disciples. Not a single one has ever succeeded in refining or transforming it." Therefore, this spiritual scroll has been passed down in our sect for countless years, and we can only watch helplessly as its spiritual essence gradually fades. If our esteemed elder could take it under his own care, it would be a win-win situation. This time, it was Yue Zhen who took the initiative to speak. "Your sect still possesses such treasures—I would like to see them firsthand!" Han Li expressed growing interest. "Yue junior, please present the scroll to the elder for his inspection," the elder with the warm surname said, delighted that Han Li seemed genuinely engaged. Though he was the most accomplished in terms of cultivation within the Tian Fu Sect, the scroll used by the original Tian Fu Master had remained in the hands of successive abbots. Hence, his words were spoken with such emphasis. "Yes, uncles," Yue Zhen proved himself thoughtful and promptly pressed his palm against the storage pouch. A flash of green light, and a pale yellow wooden box appeared in his hands, which he then offered to Han Li. Han Li raised an eyebrow, showing no hesitation. With a simple gesture, he drew the box into his hands and glanced at it attentively. The wooden box appeared unremarkable, remarkably simple and ancient, with a golden talisman affixed to its lid. Han Li raised one hand and brushed gently against the lid; with a flash of luminous energy, the talisman drifted silently down. The other cultivators nearby noticed nothing unusual, but three senior Conduit-stage elders, all of them seasoned, were simultaneously startled. Such a skill—using refined spiritual energy to effortlessly remove a sealed talisman—was no ordinary feat. It required not only a strong cultivation level but also an extraordinary, almost subtle mastery of spiritual force. They had only heard of such abilities in stories. Now, witnessing Han Li achieve it with calm composure, they felt even greater respect. As soon as the lid was lifted, a soft, misty glow appeared within the box, followed by a pure, refreshing flow of wooden spiritual energy rushing toward Han Li. Han Li was momentarily astonished. As the old Wen family elder had mentioned, after so many years, this spiritual scroll should have greatly diminished in its spiritual potency—yet it still exhibits such remarkable strength, truly no ordinary item. Even more pleasing to Han Li, however, was the fact that this was a wooden-element spiritual scroll, which perfectly complemented his cultivation technique, making the training process significantly smoother and more effortless. With these thoughts in mind, Han Li clearly observed the scroll glowing in the jade light. The other cultivators had not yet had time to exclaim as the glowing hands dissolved and vanished, while the spirit seal was directly drawn into Han Li's hands. "This is indeed the Spirit-Refinement Seal. There's clearly some depth to it. I've heard that the Heavenly Seal Master, back in the day, was a senior cultivator at the Yuan-Ying Late stage. It's likely that the inner essence of the Heavenly Seal Master encoded within this seal is exceptionally potent, making it difficult for ordinary cultivators to refine it. Even if they succeed, the seal's power will significantly diminish, requiring them to retrain and nourish it with their own inner essence. This process isn't something that can be achieved within just a few decades—indeed, it may well take over a hundred years. "Han Li smiled warmly, gazing at the spirit seal, which now writhed and twisted like a living fish between his fingers. "Then, Master, what do you think of this seal?" Upon hearing Han Li's explanation, the elderly gentleman with the warm surname Wen and the others exchanged glances, then, with a growing sense of gravity, asked. "Of course, this is true for a Yuan-Ying Initial cultivator. I "This thing proves quite useful to me," Han Li said, smoothly shifting his tone without showing any urgency. In truth, there was another point he hadn't voiced—though this second-refined scroll required an extremely long time to prepare, once successfully cultivated, its power would surely surpass its former strength. "Then, Senior, you mean to agree," Wen, the elder, replied with genuine delight. The other cultivators in the hall also looked full of hopeful anticipation. "Whether or not I agree isn't urgent just yet. Let me first hear what troubles you wish me to resolve. If the matter isn't too demanding, I'd be more than willing to step in once." Han Li said this with a measured tone, while gently shaking his wrist, sending a sphere of spiritual energy enveloping the scroll into the wooden box, then extending his hand to close the lid once more. "Indeed, for the elder, this matter is merely a matter of a simple gesture. The key lies primarily with the three families' shared market district, as events unfolded recently..." Seeing that Han Li appeared to be seriously considering an agreement, the elderly man with the surname Wen was overjoyed and promptly began to recount in full detail the matters concerning the market district and the Shaya Sect. Han Li listened quietly. After one full hour, Han Li transformed into a streak of jade-green light and departed from Bai Zhu Mountain, flying steadily toward the north. Several days later, a notable yet not overwhelming event spread throughout the cultivation world of Hua Yun Province. A Daoist cultivator named Han, who claimed to be a Senior Councilor of the Tian Fu Sect, suddenly arrived at the Shaya Sect's mountain gate. With astonishing powers at the Metamorphic Immortal stage, he easily defeated the sect's sole Metamorphic Immortal elder during a formal sparring session before vanishing gracefully. The very next day, the Lingfeng Sect—long receiving full backing from the Shaya Sect—unexpectedly relocated its market district, hastily shifting it from its original location near Kaijiang Town to a site thousands of miles away. Moreover, other smaller sects also grew alarmed upon hearing the news. After gaining a clear understanding of the details, they gradually withdrew their forces from a vast region centered on Kaijiang Town, voluntarily ceding this expansive territory to the Tianfu Sect and the other three smaller sects. In the short term, the Tianfu Sect, Jinxia Mountain, and the other affiliated sects naturally felt proud, with all their cultivators delighted. The heads of these three sects particularly felt reassured that their previous commitments had not been in vain—having a senior guest cultivator at the mid-Immortal stage on record would surely enable their three sects to see significant growth within the next century. At this very moment, the renowned Sea Dragon-Slaying Festival, convened by the leading sect of Huayun Prefecture—the Nanhai Sect—finally commenced. Within just a few days, the gathering had assembled over two hundred cultivators at the Jie Dan stage and nearly ten at the Yuan Ying stage. Under the organization of the Nanhai Sect, these cultivators were then divided into groups to systematically sweep across the surrounding sea areas, searching for the hiding places of the several toxic dragons. From time to time, lower-tier beast creatures were discovered and subsequently eliminated. At once, the human cultivators surged with confidence, determined to achieve a complete victory. Yet those several malevolent jiao proved exceptionally cunning—once they sensed things were amiss, they remained hidden, refusing to surface. The cultivators labored for several months without success in locating the traces of these monster jiao. Eventually, some of them grew weary and decided to disband on their own. After another month of searching, only about one hundred cultivators remained actively patrolling the sea surface. Even among the Yuan Ying stage cultivators, several had departed, leaving only seven—primarily from the southern sea gate. Under these circumstances, the manpower in each group began to dwindle significantly. Seizing the opportunity, the malevolent jiao grew restless, launching frequent attacks on isolated cultivators. Most notably, the eight-tier blue jiao launched an assault directly on a group that had dwindled in strength. Although these teams were led by Yuan Ying cultivators, the eight-level blue dragon truly displayed remarkable prowess, mastering the art of water traversal so perfectly that after each attack, it immediately dove back into the depths and vanished without lingering. As a result, not only did it fail to injure the dragon, but it even consumed several Ji Dan cultivators. This development left the remaining human cultivators deeply anxious, and the Nanyan Sect found itself in a precarious position—trapped, unable to advance. In desperation, they had to consolidate several groups before daring to send out more personnel. On this particular day, another group of over a dozen cultivators, led by a Yuan Ying cultivator, was slowly flying over a stretch of sea surface, each one carefully extending their awareness to scan the surroundings, with particular attention focused on the sea surface itself. Among this group, Han Li had transformed himself into a composed middle-aged cultivator with a pale complexion, calmly flying at the very end of the formation. Though his demeanor appeared serene, his mind was far from at ease. When the Tiger-Jao Assembly was first convened, Han Li had entered it as a Ju Dan stage cultivator, intending to blend in and make his move quietly. Yet he had utterly failed to achieve anything up to this point. The lack of progress over the past several months was understandable. However, since the reappearance of the malevolent Jao, other teams had either suffered one or more attacks from it. Yet the team that Han Li had joined had yet to face even a single such assault. This left Han Li genuinely puzzled—whether his luck was truly exceptional or simply poor.