Upon closer inspection, it became evident that these chimes exuded a strong essence of wood, vivid and lifelike, as if forged entirely of pure red gold. "Indeed, there are so many Wood Chime Flowers—many of them over a thousand years old," the giant ape exclaimed, his voice resonating with astonishment. "The Wood Chime Flowers, you've already seen. What about the Golden Mucus Crystals and the Golden Mother Coral Sand?" asked Han Li, smiling softly. "Even these may not be enough. These are only a hundred such flowers, and according to our agreement, they are to exchange for only ten pairs of spirit insects." The small creature's eyes sparkled with delight, yet his tone remained calm and composed. Han Li smiled gently, then tossed a jade box forward, which floated gracefully in midair, while simultaneously flipping his hand to reveal another long, slender jade box. Opening the lid, a full box of Wood Chime Flowers emerged. This sight truly left the several creatures in awe. "These should be sufficient," Han Li said. "Now, bring forth all the golden mucus crystals and the golden mother coral sand." Han Li stared at the several beasts before him, speaking calmly. After being surprised, the beasts exchanged a few low murmurs. Eventually, the smaller one produced a crystalline mineral the size of a clenched fist, while the others each brought forth a black gourd about the size of a palm. In a matter of moments, the hall was filled with fifteen crystal formations and three black gourds. Han Li's eyes brightened; he said nothing, simply extending his hand downward. Instantly, one of the crystals leapt into the air and came into his grasp. He lowered his head and examined it closely. Within the transparent crystal, a pair of small, milky-white insects—each about two inches long—were clearly visible, motionless as if fossilized. With his powerful spiritual awareness instantly manifesting as countless threads of true silk, he penetrated the crystal and focused on one of the insects. Immediately, the insect's body glowed with a milky light. As it moved, it exhaled a golden droplet, which then seeped into the crystal. The entire crystal transformed, radiating a brilliant golden glow. Han Li saw this, his expression stirred, and with a firm grip, he pressed his five fingers against the crystal. At once, a tremendous force surged onto the crystal. Yet the crystal merely flashed with golden light a few times before remaining undamaged. "Indeed, it is the Golden Essence Crystal Insect!" Han Li murmured to himself. "Senior, rest assured—we, even with the courage of a bear's heart and a leopard's胆, would never deceive you." The ox-headed creature smiled faintly. "Is that so?" Han Li replied simply, without further comment, setting the crystal down. Then, with a movement of his other arm, he grasped another black gourd in his hand. As he inverted it, a stream of purple-golden sand poured out, quickly piling up to three feet high on the ground. With a simple hand gesture, he caught a small handful of the sand and placed it at his current position. He gazed at it for a long while, then poured out a heap of purple-golden sand from each of the other two black gourds as well. "Indeed, these Golden Mother Coral Sands are truly of the finest quality." "As for the weight, combined with those fifteen crystal insects, it may not quite match the two caskets of wooden lingshua, but it's quite acceptable. Let's go with this arrangement," Han Li said casually after glancing over the ground. Upon hearing his words, the four creatures beamed with satisfaction and nodded in agreement. Han Li tossed the two jade caskets, which were caught by the small beast and the golden-hair giant ape, who then carefully stored them. At the same time, as Han Li swept the ground with his sleeve, a soft, misty glow surged forth and swept over everything, vanishing the crystal stones and gourds completely. "I'm very satisfied with this exchange. Should you ever have any surplus crystal insects, coral, or other rare items in the future, feel free to come to me—there will be more than just wooden lingshua available. I won't let you come out empty-handed. You may now leave," Han Li said calmly, without showing any intention of staying longer, and then issued his formal farewell. Under the overwhelming presence of Han Li, several of the smaller creatures and spirits could not speak much and respectfully withdrew from Han Li's abode, taking flight on their own magical winds. Only after they had soared over a thousand miles did they finally ease their breath, halting and gathering once again in the sky. "Excellent! I never expected to collect so many Wood Lings Flowers in one go—especially all of them over a thousand years old. If we present all of them, the other attendants might be spared entirely, and the celestial Pheasant Clan members won't hold us accountable." The large wild boar exclaimed with great enthusiasm. "Hmm, I hadn't expected him to have so many such flowers. If my memory serves me right, the number of Wood Lings Flowers growing on that great mountain wasn't this abundant. Perhaps we overlooked some hidden areas during our earlier explorations. From his tone, it seems he still holds many more of these flowers." The giant ape said, frowning slightly. "Most likely. Either he has accumulated such a large quantity himself, or there were previously undiscovered hidden groves on this mountain." This seems utterly impossible. The Tianshang people hold this flower in such high regard—it must be exceedingly rare. Likely, it is a specialty of our Black Hidden Mountain. Yet the three giant pythons exchanged a glance and remarked, "Well, no matter how rare the Wood Ling flower is, it has no bearing on us. As long as we survive this century, we can erase our servant marks and set off for distant lands. However, the senior spiritual stones requested by that noble must be supplied as much as possible. Otherwise, all our years of patience would be wasted." After some thoughtful consideration, the small creature spoke thus. "With the Wood Ling flower, we can certainly endure another century without any issue. The real challenge lies in the fact that our reserves of spiritual stones are quite depleted. We hardly use any of the lower-grade stones, and even the mid-grade stones have become obsolete for that noble. As for the high-grade stones—the very mines have long since been exhausted." Moreover, that elder has requested that we provide four premium spiritual stones of different properties. Such exquisite stones—never even seen in our Black Hidden Mountain, and scarcely found among the other cultivators in the surrounding islands, who typically possess only water-element stones—would be utterly unexchangeable, even if we tried to trade them. Huangma, the giant baboon, buzzed excitedly. "But according to the elder, these premium stones are essential for him to break through his current limitations; without them, his powers would hardly develop significantly." The large wild boar murmured. The four spirits fell silent momentarily. "Back in the past, this might not have been such a pressing matter. But the one we just encountered displays extraordinary abilities and has come from elsewhere. Perhaps there are spiritual stones of other properties available." The giant python, with its three heads swaying, slowly opened its central head. "We have certainly considered this. Yet, with our current levels of cultivation, how could we possibly utilize premium stones? Should we exchange them now, we would immediately raise suspicion in the other party's eyes." "Let us first try other means; only when absolutely no alternatives remain should we exchange with this one," said the small beast cautiously. "That makes sense. Perhaps we should wait until we have handled the mess with the Tianpeng Clan's envoys, then discuss further," suggested the giant ape. The other beasts, having no better ideas, likewise nodded in agreement. Thus, the four immortals once again transformed into four swirling masses of spirit energy and flew off in different directions. At that moment, Han Li was already within the inner chamber, holding a crystal in one hand, which encased a shimmering crystal insect, his eyes flashing as he pondered. Though the Golden-Marrow Crystal Insect was renowned among both human and immortal clans and had been passed down for generations, it was rare indeed to find and successfully capture such specimens. Even when discovered, only a few pairs were reported, and each pair was so valuable that it could seriously deplete the resources of a high-level cultivator. Thus, when Han Li heard that these six- or seven-tiered beasts could offer such crystal insects, his astonishment and delight were truly beyond measure. The crystal insect serves multiple functions—it can serve as the primary ingredient in several elixirs that enhance cultivation, and it proves especially effective in body refinement. By applying the golden essence exuded by the insect to the body and then absorbing it through the practice of the Yijing Washing of the Marrow, cultivators can immediately experience a significant enhancement in physical strength. However, given Han Li’s already formidable physical constitution, the effect is likely to be considerably diminished. Compared to the first two applications, Han Li prefers to utilize the insect in the third, more obscure method—namely, to forge and solidify his own Buddha-Saint True Magic Form, giving it true physical substance. This ability, when combined with the Buddha-Saint True Magic Technique, possesses such immense power that it can even move mountains and calm seas, representing a particularly unique form of external embodiment. While such a technique—similar to the Buddhist sects’ practice of cultivating a Diamond Body—is not an exceedingly complex secret art and is known to many, it requires additional rare materials beyond the golden essence of the crystal insect, including several other legendary herbs. The rarity of these elixirs is no less than that of the Jin Hui crystal insects. To gather them all would depend entirely on a fortunate opportunity—an expectation absolutely beyond the near future. Han Li stared at the crystal in his hands, silently pondering for a while. Suddenly, his wrist trembled, and four additional crystal pieces appeared before him. By refining the Buddha-Saint's true magical form and retaining ten pairs of crystal insects, he would be well covered. However, the remaining five pairs he intended to use without hesitation—to strengthen his physical body and to further break through the mid-Stage of Transcendence. Even if everything went smoothly, this process would likely last five to six years. With these thoughts in mind, Han Li felt no hesitation at all. He immediately took one of the crystal pieces into his hands, where an exceptionally pure azure glow emanated, and then closed his eyes. The two small insects, previously motionless within the crystal, suddenly shook and swayed in unison, each then spitting out a drop of golden liquid. Two droplets of liquid treated the crystalline block as if it were nothing, flowing directly through it without obstruction and landing upon Han Li's palm, where they were instantly enveloped by green spiritual energy. At that instant, the golden liquid within the glow seemed stimulated, bursting forth with a bright golden radiance. Then, as the golden light intertwined and shimmered with the green spiritual energy, it flowed smoothly down Han Li's arm, swiftly enveloping the entire limb in golden light within moments. When all the glimmers subsided, the skin of the arm had been completely transformed into a radiant golden hue. Han Li held the golden arm in one hand, murmuring softly to himself. The golden light on the arm flickered intermittently, while a layer of translucent, milky radiance emerged upon the golden arm, pulsing and flowing steadily. Han Li's breathing remained calm and steady, his expression composed, as his inner spiritual energy entered a remarkable cycle of circulation.