By evening, Xiang Zhi-li indeed arrived. From Xiang Zhi-li, Han Li learned many previously unknown details concerning Yun City and the Thirteen Clans of Tianyun. Only when the dawn light began to break did Xiang Zhi-li finally rise to depart, fully satisfied. However, as Han Li was escorting him to the door, Xiang Zhi-li suddenly turned around, hesitating slightly and said, "Han junior, I shall never be able to return to the Human Clan. Yet you may still achieve that one day. Should you ever wish to leave Yun City and journey to other places, please come to my abode first. I have some things to leave you, as well as one matter to entrust. Rest assured, junior—should you be able to return to the Human Clan, this matter will be no great effort for you, and it will surely prove beneficial." "Ah, could you tell me what the matter is now? I'm not certain yet. Should unforeseen circumstances arise, I may not be able to make it to your place in time." Han Li was taken aback by this statement, and after a moment's pause, asked, "Not to be too blunt with you, this matter is currently a bit difficult to explain clearly. Moreover, I still need some time to prepare certain things. You would do well to come by at the right time—otherwise, should we miss this opportunity, both of us might regret it." Xiang Zhi-li shook his head, speaking with evident intention. Upon hearing Xiang Zhi-li's words, Han Li naturally offered a promise: "I'll do my best." Xiang Zhi-li nodded and then turned to leave the room. Han Li watched as Xiang Zhi-li swiftly disappeared through the doorway, his face now showing a subtle expression of surprise. Suddenly, he extended his hand and grasped the doorframe with a single motion, and instantly a powerful force drew it inward, causing the wooden door to sway and then close seamlessly. At the same time, a shimmer of white mist rippled across the walls of the room, and a spell automatically activated, fully enclosing the entire chamber within its protective aura. Han Li walked calmly to a corner of the room, settled himself once more onto a mat in a meditative posture, and a faint, gentle smile appeared on his face—though his eyes gleamed with a subtle cold light, as if pondering something deep within. On the second day, Han Li remained in the room, resting quietly, showing no intention to leave. It wasn't until the third morning that the door to the room opened gently, and he stepped out slowly. He did not go down to the main hall to seek Xiang Zhi's greetings, but instead moved directly through an exit on the same floor, drifting gently down to the street of the foreign inn. Han Li had clearly planned his destination in advance; he casually stopped a carriage and mentioned a place name, after which the carriage sped off along the street. Through the carriage window, Han Li observed everything on the street with clear focus. When his gaze once again fell upon the massive sphere beyond the distant city walls, a subtle stir of thought passed through his mind. After conversing with Xiang Zhi-li last night, he now clearly understood the true nature of these massive entities—these enormous spheres were actually thirteen colossal war puppets, each possessing power equivalent to that of a fully fused early-stage being. Precisely, the thirteen puppets were each overseen by one of the Tianyun's thirteen clans. With such formidable war puppets, the defensive strength of Tianyun City was truly remarkable. It was no surprise, then, that the Tianyun clans regarded this city as the central stronghold against the Jiao Chi clan—there was little concern that the Jiao Chi might launch a sudden surprise attack. Yet the shops along the streets were modest in size, yet the number of people coming and going was equally substantial, suggesting a thriving business. Han Li nodded, glanced at a nearby shop right before him, and took a moment to study the plaque above its door. Then, without expression, he stepped inside. The shop was nearly thirty zhang in size, with rows of shelves stretching all around, each densely packed with a variety of scrolls—stone tablets, jade discs, silver plaques, and other diverse textual materials. However, all these items were enclosed within luminous, shimmering light screens. It appeared to be a specialized shop for books and scrolls. As mentioned by Xiang Zhi-li, although Yun City boasted countless shops, the more renowned ones of particular interest to Han Li were largely concentrated along this very street. Now, it proved to be true. Though the shop was not large, the variety of texts seemed abundant. Moreover, there were several other members of different ethnicities within the shop, each of them quietly browsing the shelves, all at the Dan stage of cultivation. These foreign clanspeople seemed to be carefully selecting items, paying no attention to the arrival of Han Li, a high-ranking member of the upper clans. The shopkeeper, however, was a young female from a different clan. She appeared to be only about seventeen or eighteen years old, yet her skin was as clear and snowy as ice, with pointed ears and a lustrous, pearl-white crystal the size of a soybean embedded in her forehead. Her eyes sparkled with deep, intelligent glances, conveying a strong sense of wisdom. Han Li was struck by the young woman's appearance. At this point, he had gained considerable familiarity with the various clans of Tianyun. The "Crystal Clan" was one of the thirteen major clans of Tianyun. Yet this clan was particularly unique—its population was remarkably small, reportedly numbering no more than a few hundred thousand, and the individual strengths of its members were comparatively weaker than those of the other clans. Yet this race lived exceptionally long—nearly three to four times longer than the human race—and each member of the crystal race was strikingly handsome and intellectually gifted, with nearly every individual achieving exceptional mastery in areas such as alchemy, array techniques, and incantation scripts. Consequently, the crystal race was highly favored by other races, even though they showed little interest in power struggles, and their standing among the thirteen celestial clans was notably high. The crystal maiden noticed Han Li immediately; after a single glance at him, her dark, beautiful eyes revealed a look of surprise, as though she had discerned his cultivation level. She promptly rose and approached, bowing gracefully: "It is a pleasure to have the esteemed elder from your clan visit our shop. What may I do to assist you?" Her speech was refined and composed, with no apparent awkwardness in her movements—yet every gesture and action exuded an unparalleled elegance. Indeed, this was precisely as described—this race truly stood out from the other foreign clans she had encountered before. Han Li nodded slightly in admiration, yet his expression remained unchanged. He merely said, "No need to go to such lengths. I'll take a look myself first, and then you go about your own matters." "Then please, Master, take your time to review!" The crystal-people woman bowed gracefully, neither humble nor overly formal, and then withdrew without further words. However, this simple gesture immediately caught the attention of the players who were browsing through the scrolls. With a swift movement, they turned to gaze at Han Li, their eyes filled with astonishment. All of them gasped in unison. Though they could not perceive Han Li's cultivation level at all, the profound depth of his mastery clearly surpassed their imagination. One by one, the foreign guests grew uneasy. Some turned and quietly departed, while others selected a few scrolls at random and hurried off. In no time at all, only Han Li and the crystal-people woman remained in the entire shop. Han Li paid no attention to what was unfolding, simply walking over to a nearby shelf and examining the various scrolls displayed there. At first glance, nothing stood out, but as he moved his divine awareness, it instantly flowed into the luminous screens and scanned one of the stone slabs. These screens proved quite unique—his divine awareness could only perceive basic introductory information inscribed on the stone, while attempting to access the official details, he subtly sensed the presence of magical restrictions. Of course, with his powerful divine awareness, he could easily force his way through these subtle barriers if he so chose. Yet, such an action would inevitably draw the attention of the shop owner. How many people of any standing would willingly undertake such a task? After glancing at several scrolls on the shelf, Han Li found that most dealt with the customs and traditions of various clans, and thus, he found them largely uninteresting. Immediately, he took a few extra steps, positioning himself in front of another shelf and once again scanned the items with his divine awareness. This time, it seemed he had found the right targets; after glancing at just two, a faint smile of satisfaction appeared on Han Li's face. He then extended his hand toward a single blue jade disc inside, and the disc shot out, landing in his grasp. Thus, Han Li continued searching through the store, gathering over twenty scrolls in quick succession. Only then did he feel content and walked over to the crystal-people woman, placing all the items neatly on the table before her. With a calm tone, he asked, "How many spirit stones do you charge for these? I'd like to take them all." Han Li was first taken aback, but then his expression darkened and his tone grew colder. "Of course, my junior does not mean that. Rather, my junior has another item that perhaps would interest the elder. Should the elder be interested, these scrolls shall be presented as a gift." The crystal-kin woman smiled gracefully, saying it so. "Ah, what is it? Please show it to me then." Han Li was momentarily stunned, his expression softening. "My junior will return shortly—this item is rather valuable and has been placed inside the house." Upon hearing Han Li's reply, the crystal-kin woman smiled slightly and immediately turned to walk toward the inner chamber of the shop. Han Li did not mind, simply standing there patiently. A short while later, the woman emerged with a black metal box in her hands. On the surface of the box, two green seals were cross-attached, giving it a most solemn appearance. "Please examine the contents of the box, elder," she said. "My junior believes this item will be of great use to you." "Otherwise, I wouldn't have taken the initiative to offer it." The crystal-kin woman smiled gently at Han Li, as if she knew something.