"Jin brother, you've quietly followed me all the way here—does that mean I've done anything to offend you?" The one speaking was the man who had previously contested the spiritual land with Han Li, the one now facing off against the plump Jin who had also appeared at the Jade Terrace Pavilion. Despite their earlier apparent familiarity, the two now seemed ready to engage in a heated confrontation at the slightest provocation. "How could I possibly be guilty of anything, Jin brother? I merely happened upon this place by chance, saw you lingering here, and thought it only proper to come and say hello." The Jin brother looked completely innocent. "By chance? Saying hello? Jin brother, are you suggesting I'm a fool? Who would simply show up at such a remote location without any reason, and then, in order to make a simple greeting, would need to employ concealment techniques, following me for over ten thousand miles?" The man with the arched eyebrows said coldly. "Ah, that's a most curious point, Jin brother," the plump Jin replied, "You've left your own dwelling to come here—what could possibly be the reason?" As I recall, this is precisely the spiritual site Brother Xian originally fought to secure. The golden-bodied, round-eyed man narrowed his gaze, revealing a hint of cunning. "Hmph! Where else should I go that I need to explain to Brother Jin?" The man with a furrowed brow frowned, his expression darkening completely. "Brother Wang, there's no need for your anger. This spiritual site already belongs to someone else. I merely followed you out of concern that you might be too hasty and inadvertently cause a mess. If Brother Wang has any specific object in mind to find here, why not let me assist with what I can?" The golden-bodied man chuckled, clearly intent on pressing for more details. The man with the furrowed brow grunted, said nothing, but his eyes flashed with growing intensity. Suddenly, a green glow flashed briefly behind the golden-bodied man, and a slender green thread materialized in midair, trembling slightly before expanding into a broad, emerald-colored net that descended silently. The entire process unfolded without a single ripple of wind, as if by the grace of a ghostly presence. The Fat Gold-clad man seemed entirely unaware, still smiling politely but without any real warmth, facing the man who was frowning. The man’s face showed no change, yet within his heart he was filled with delight. He subtly shifted his hand within his sleeve, and at that moment, a clear blue flying dagger suddenly materialized, poised to be launched the instant the net restrained the opponent—ready to strike and dispatch him with a single cut. Yet, as the net drew near the Fat Gold-clad man’s head, within mere feet, an unexpected scene unfolded. At once, the golden hands and green silk net in the air split and shot backward, their light fading to reveal, respectively, a slender jade young dragon and a small figure barely half a foot tall. The young dragon was no surprise—indeed, it was the avatar created and cultivated by the master of the man with the arched brows. But the small figure, dressed in a pale golden robe, with a miniature wooden sword strapped to his back and a face glowing softly, remained indistinct, its features barely discernible. One could only sense that the figure seemed to be of a more mature age. "Split-soul technique! Master Míng, you've even dispatched your degree-of-journey split-soul—your very soul fragment used to evade the celestial calamity—so why not fear a mishap, especially that the next great calamity might not be surmounted?" the jade dragon fixed its gaze steadily upon the small figure, speaking coldly. "Ah, quite right—no need for Master Míng to worry about that. Back then, Master Qiānbǎo was renowned throughout both clans, his personal treasures commanding awe for tens of thousands of years. With just a few of these items, the next journey through "How do you know about the matter of the 'Thousand-宝 Master'?" the Jade Dragon was startled, his voice sharp and urgent. At that moment, the Fat Golden man and the man with a furrowed brow stood still, respectfully silent, not daring to interrupt. When we finally locate the treasure, we can divide it equally between us without straining our relations—what a splendid arrangement! The small man shook his head and waved his hands vigorously. "You... Ah! Someone has arrived!" Enraged, the emerald dragon was about to speak again when suddenly his expression changed, and he lifted his head sharply toward a certain point in the sky. Not only the emerald dragon—the golden figure also glanced in the same direction with a quick flash of his eyes, his face darkening. "It appears the land's master has returned; the timing is about right. My friend, you must make your decision on cooperation soon. Otherwise, if things escalate and disturb the ancient beings of Tianyuan City, we may both end up with nothing—just like water poured into a basket. According to Tianyuan City's regulations, any treasure discovered by a land's master on their respective lands belongs exclusively to the master." The golden figure, who had previously spoken with casual confidence, now adopted a tone of serious urgency. The Jade Dragon's eyes flashed several times before he exhaled a long, weary breath and said, "Very well, I'll agree to cooperate for now. But equal shares? Absolutely not. As for the specific terms, we should find a suitable place to discuss them in detail. We can't stay here any longer. According to my disciple, this person may only be a Shen Shen cultivator, but his awareness is quite strong. We mustn't let him detect our presence." "Ha! That's all I needed to hear! Then let's go." The golden figure nodded contentedly and, with a single hand gesture in the air, suddenly produced a small purple parasol in his hands. With a gentle flick, the parasol instantly expanded into a luminous purple aura, enveloping both himself and the golden-bodied elder below. Then, with a swift motion, the two vanished into thin air. "The Purple Maple Parasol! The Golden Old Demon has even brought out such a divine artifact—clearly well-prepared! Let's go as well." The Jade Young Dragon was startled upon seeing the small purple umbrella, and with a deep sense of disappointment, called out to the man with a furrowed brow. As soon as he opened his mouth, he also expelled a slender, five-colored, hazy banner. This banner spun swiftly, transforming into a cascade of colorful clouds that enveloped both of them and then vanished beneath the ground. The scene instantly became utterly quiet, as if no one had ever arrived. After a meal's time, a streak of green light flashed briefly from the distant sky, carrying with it a young man of ordinary appearance—none other than Han Li. As the green light reached the hollow, it circled the surrounding void several times before fading, and Han Li materialized, floating effortlessly just above the ground. He scanned the surroundings with a gaze, his face briefly revealing a hint of surprise. He had just sensed a faint ripple of combat energy here—though extremely subtle and fleeting—it had certainly not been mistaken. The small figure and the Jade Dragon who had been facing off earlier were both cultivators at the Lingxu stage. Yet, one was a fragment of soul-body, the other a manifested physical form. Han Li had cultivated the Da-Yan Sect's technique, whose spiritual awareness was even stronger than that of early-stage Dao-Body cultivators, only slightly inferior to early Ling-Xu cultivators. Thus, though they moved swiftly, they still managed to be detected by Han Li as an anomaly in this location, prompting him to instantly accelerate his flight speed several-fold—though it seemed they had still arrived too late. Han Li then expanded his spiritual awareness, thoroughly scanning the entire region within hundreds of miles, yet found no trace of anything. His expression darkened immediately. After silently pondering in the air for a long time, Han Li suddenly chuckled, his body radiating a vibrant jade-green glow, and then suddenly transformed into a streak of jade-green light, rushing straight toward his abode. At that moment, the emerald dragon and the golden figure, who had already fled to a distance of ten thousand miles, were completely unaware that their movements had been exposed, and were instead gathering on a quiet, remote mountain, discussing their joint plan to claim the treasure. Upon returning to his cave residence, Han Li immediately opened the protective seals around the dwelling, arranged his belongings, and then entered the alchemy workshop within the cave. He remained there for three days and three nights. When he emerged again, he now held an unusual octagonal magical disk, shimmering with silver light, and his storage bracelet contained countless jade beads, each the size of a soybean. The beads were smooth and lustrous, bearing one or several silver characters engraved upon their surfaces—exactly the silver kōtō characters, a type of celestial script. These jade beads were a creation of Han Li’s during his time on the mortal realm. After deeply studying the script and symbols on the fragmented pages of the Golden Hall Jade Book, he refined and evolved one of the incantations into a unique artifact known as the "Ten Lóng Beads." Though the crafting of this artifact was not particularly difficult and it possessed neither offensive nor defensive capabilities, when combined with the principles of the script from the Jade Book, it enabled continuous monitoring of a broad area—spanning dozens of miles—centered at each bead. As long as there is any fluctuation of spiritual energy within the monitored range, even if the location is a million miles away, Han Li can instantly determine the general position of that point through his spiritual disk. Of course, merely burying the beads randomly in the ground does not guarantee continuous monitoring. The disk must be installed within a special spiritual array, and the positions where the Wanlong beads are buried must be arranged symmetrically around the disk, forming a complex and intricate super-array. The size of this array naturally depends on the number of mountain-and-river beads Han Li has buried. Generally, if the entire spiritual land is to be brought under control, the consumption of spiritual stones alone would be beyond the reach of most people. Even with Han Li's financial standing, once such a monitoring array is activated, it would not cease, and within a few years, all his spiritual stones would be completely depleted.