The grand hall was situated on a high level of a stone tower. After a series of flashes, Qinghong said, "What has the Yilin Disk responded to?" Upon seeing Han Li's glow fade into the distance, the thin, elderly man's expression suddenly darkened. "Report, sir," replied one of the Qingming Guards, "there has been no response. Master Han is indeed a pure human-born!" "No pass token has been issued, and even the expired Qingming Guards' tokens have not been reclaimed. For so many years, how has this person remained in the wilderness? Clearly, he must have obtained considerable fortune—otherwise, it would be impossible for him to advance from the stage of Huashen to the late Liangxi stage within three centuries. Yet, since he is of human origin, I believe there should be no issue. What then, would I have to do?" The thin Tianwei Guard paused, his gaze flickering, before finally shaking his head. Though such a rapid progression over several centuries was exceedingly rare, the wilderness region was rich with opportunities, and such occurrences were not unheard of. If the individual had not previously joined the Tianyuan Guards, he might still attempt to bring him into the fold. Now that the other party has already passed by Tianyuan City once, he naturally won't seek further interest in it. Thus, the lean Tian Wei soldiers soon set this matter aside and turned their gaze to the four scholars who had just stepped out of the same hall. After further refining his essence and gathering strength, he will be ready to launch an assault on his current limitations. With the array of great powers he possesses, even at the initial stage of the Consolidated Phase, he should be able to stand firmly against a late-stage Consolidated cultivator, effectively dominating both human and spirit races. Therefore, his next step will simply be to select a secluded location near the Tianyuan City region, where he will enter a period of seclusion to begin breaking through his current limitations. For now, all other matters must be temporarily set aside and deferred. However, after over a century of continuous consumption, he will need to replenish a substantial supply of auxiliary materials in Tianyuan City. Although he has been able to gather some materials from the various ethnic groups over the years, his visits have mostly been to their peripheral regions, thus limiting the extent of replenishment. Had he not prepared a sufficient stock when he initially left the Leiming Continent, many of his studies and insights would have had to be paused midway. Given the scale of Tianyuan City, these materials should be fully available. With these materials, he could then craft some artifacts and pills to assist him during his breakthrough phases. Han Li had visited the market district of Tianyuan City countless times in the past, so half an hour later, he landed on the streets of the architectural complex split in two by a vast light curtain. On the other side of the curtain lay the gathering place for the demonic races' trade within Tianyuan City. At the central hall situated between the two curtains, however, was the only venue where humans and demons could exchange rare items. Han Li glanced at the distant grand hall and was momentarily struck—his mind briefly flashed with a faint image of a female demon. Back then, he had conducted several transactions with this unnamed demon woman at the hall, exchanging them for rare medicinal seedlings held by the demons. Without this channel, he would have had to spend countless efforts gathering such materials himself. However, this woman seemed to have some background—she had known in advance that the foreign forces would launch a large-scale assault on Tianyuan City, and thus had left the city earlier than others. Han Li gathered his gaze, glanced around briefly, and then composed himself as he entered a larger materials shop nearby. "Our shop specializes in various crafting and alchemical materials—whatever you need, just let us know." There were several attendants in the shop, and a neatly dressed young man immediately approached with a warm smile. "You go on down. This elder will be personally attended by me." Before Han Li could speak, the shopkeeper, who had been seated on a bamboo chair, suddenly leaped up in surprise after his hand-held object flashed with brilliant light several times, and exclaimed loudly. Then, the storekeeper who appeared to be a Jin Dan stage cultivator suddenly hurried over to Han Li, bowing with great respect and saying, "We didn't expect you to come, so I didn't go out to welcome you personally. I hope you will forgive me." Han Li was somewhat surprised. Although, after entering the city, he had not deliberately concealed his cultivation level using any secret techniques, it was still far from something a Jin Dan cultivator could directly perceive. However, upon glancing at the disk-shaped artifact held by the elder, Han Li felt a sudden clarity and nodded, saying, "Ah, I see—you have the Ling Ya Pan. That explains how you could discern my cultivation level. Then, let's move on. I need a large quantity of materials. Please gather them for me." With a single hand motion, Han Li flipped the artifact, and a white jade scroll appeared in his palm, which he then tossed to the storekeeper. The storekeeper took the scroll in both hands, repeatedly nodding in agreement, yet upon scanning it with his consciousness, his face revealed a mixture of delight and astonishment. "Master needs so many materials—our shop can certainly contribute a significant portion, but for the rest, we'll have to borrow from other stores. Would you kindly wait a moment?" "Agreed. I'll give you fifteen minutes." Han Li said calmly. Upon hearing this, the elder was overjoyed. He personally invited Han Li to sit at a chair by the side, then sent a servant to serve him a spiritual tea, while instructing several others to immediately fetch the materials from the store's warehouse. After that, he left the shop and went to nearby familiar establishments to gather the remaining materials for Han Li. Seeing the掌柜's respectful and earnest actions, the servants gradually realized that Han Li, known as "Master," must be someone truly remarkable, and all of them now looked at him with growing admiration. Han Li simply sipped his spiritual tea leisurely and remained silent, his expression calm and composed. Just a short while later, the elder returned with a bright and enthusiastic expression, now holding a storage bracelet in his hands. At that moment, the other staff members in the shop also produced a large number of boxes and bottles of varying sizes. To today's Han Li, these materials might merely be ordinary auxiliary items, yet they were exceptionally rare and precious within the shop itself. With a subtle mental sweep over his storage bracelet and these containers, Han Li simply asked for the prices. The elder smiled warmly and quoted a figure that, for an ordinary cultivator, would undoubtedly be astronomical. Han Li, however, didn't even blink—simply swept his hand across his wrist, and instantly a small leather pouch was thrown over. The elder received it, mentally scanned it, and found it contained even more than what he had requested; he was immediately delighted and thanked him repeatedly. Han Li, remaining composed, collected all the items and then drifted silently toward the door. As soon as the light faded, Han Li departed the marketplace, flying directly toward the opposite side of Tianyuan City. After several hours, he departed from Tianyuan City with great dignity, transforming into a streak of emerald light and soaring through the endless, rolling mountain ranges. Half a month later, Han Li had left the territory of Tianyuan City, yet showed no intention of stopping, continuing to rush steadily toward the distant horizon. Two months later, the emerald light finally settled upon a lush, verdant mountain peak. As he withdrew his luminous aura, Han Li materialized on a massive stone at the summit. Surveying his surroundings, he closed his eyes and extended his powerful spiritual awareness. After a brief moment, he nodded contentedly. The area hosted a good spiritual vein, though not particularly large—yet the air was rich with qi within a few hundred miles, making it ideally suited for his needs. Naturally, such a vein could not be unclaimed. Upon scanning the region with his spiritual senses, he discovered no fewer than several dozen dwelling halls and abodes of cultivators, ranging from groups of ten or more gathered together to individual practitioners occupying isolated peaks. Yet the highest attainments were no more than two Yuan婴 stage practitioners, with the rest mostly at Jiadian or Zhuji stage. This makes perfect sense—how would any practitioner of slightly higher rank settle and establish a dwelling in such a remote location? Practitioners at Hua Shen stage and above typically claim territories spanning tens of thousands of miles. Though the qi here is quite good, it simply cannot accommodate higher-tier beings. Nevertheless, Han Li had no intention of staying here long to cultivate, so he naturally didn't care about this matter. He immediately pressed a hand seal, and as a golden glow flashed over his body, he moved his lips slightly without emitting a single sound, as though transmitting a message. At a mountain peak about a hundred li away from Han Li's location, within a sealed chamber deep in the mountain's core, an elderly man dressed in a gray robe and with silver hair was performing a hand seal before a cauldron standing nearly a zhang high, his expression tense and focused. Below the cauldron, spiraling blue flames danced around it, while a rich, medicinal fragrance gradually rose and spread throughout the chamber. Suddenly, an overwhelmingly powerful divine awareness pierced through the myriad seals outside the chamber, manifesting like a great deity. The elderly scholar in white robes had no chance to resist—crushed by the sheer force carried by this divine presence, he was thrown to the ground with a loud crash, his fingers and limbs completely immobile. "Ah!" he gasped, naturally filled with awe and alarm. Yet before he could react further, a cold, composed male voice resonated suddenly throughout the chamber: "This seat has urgent matters requiring this very location. I wish to remain undisturbed. All who hear this message must immediately vacate. Should anyone still remain within this vicinity within the next twenty-four hours, they shall be permanently removed." As soon as these words were finished, the powerful divine awareness dissolved completely. The elder felt a sudden lightness, instantly regaining his mobility. When he finally stood up again, trembling, his eyes were wide with sheer astonishment. After pondering for a moment, the elder suddenly stomped his foot and, at the very instant his body moved, burst forth from the chamber, completely ignoring the鼎 furnace he had previously cherished so highly. One hour later, a beam of white light rose from the mountain peak, spiraling upward before breaking through the sky and heading toward the horizon. The same scene unfolded simultaneously across numerous locations within hundreds of miles. Streams of ethereal light surged from each site, fleeing in haste from the sacred spiritual veins of the land. Half a day later, not a single human cultivator remained in the mountain range—only empty, abandoned abodes stood behind.