A short while later, countless streams of floating light and numerous beast-carried flying vessels suddenly rose from the sea of clouds. Among them, one slender streak of jade-green light seemed unremarkable; after a few flickers, it vanished completely without a trace near the Flying Immortal Peak. Standing in thoughtful silence, Han Li activated his flight spell and moved steadily through the air. Behind him, Hai Dashi and the Spirit Artifact Master remained quietly in place. The final two auctions of the precious items had been truly dramatic! After fierce competition among dozens of cultivators at the Consolidated Stage, the Wàn Sēn Compass ended up in the hands of Black Phoenix King Xiao Guan. Meanwhile, the Iron-Heaven War Vessel Map was acquired by the Long Family, renowned as the foremost noble lineage of True Spirit cultivators. As soon as Han Li thought of the Long Family, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a middle-aged cultivator with a pale golden complexion immediately came to mind. The final elder of the Long family to step onto the stage and directly engage in the bidding for the War-Boat Map is actually a cultivator who has reached the late stage of consolidation, with profound and seemingly inexhaustible inner power, and radiating an unnaturally cold aura that wraps around him. Simply gazing at him from a distance evokes a sudden sense of awe and apprehension. This Long family elder appears to possess a cultivation level no weaker than that of the Three Emperors or the Seven Great Demigods, which explains why the Long family has maintained its position as the leading true-essence family. Now, with the Long family leveraging its family resources to outbid the top-tier representatives of the Tianyuan Holy Emperor and the other two great clans in the War-Boat Map bidding, it is evident that while the Long family's financial strength may not absolutely surpass those of these powerful factions, it at least comes close—only slightly behind. Thinking about having incurred the displeasure of such a formidable force, Han Li finds himself somewhat troubled. Fortunately, through prior interactions with the Ye family of the Gu family, he has learned that the other true-essence families are generally on good terms with the Long family. He now has ties with both of them and has himself reached the stage of a fully integrated cultivator, so he needn't truly fear either of them. Could the elder of the Long family really dare to gather his guest elders and launch a coordinated assault against him alone? With these thoughts running through his mind, Han Li's concerns eased considerably. At that moment, however, a somewhat familiar voice suddenly came from behind him. "Master Han, please pause a moment." Han Li's expression shifted, and as he drew back his azure aura, he indeed stopped and turned to bow slightly. "I didn't expect to see you, Brother Wanbu! I wonder if you've made any significant gains at the auction just now?" A gray cloud sped toward them from hundreds of paces away, with an elderly cultivator standing upon it—none other than Wanbu, the True Master of the White Bone Sect. "How many truly valuable items are there in such an auction? Even the final two treasures are beyond reach for most." The elder monk arrived at Han Li's side in a matter of moments, and upon hearing what was said, couldn't help but chuckle. "Heh, your words truly resonate with me. Whether it's the Wanshen Wheel Disc or the Heaven-Supporting War Vessel Map—neither of these can be secured by ordinary independent practitioners like us. Especially the latter, which is truly a烫手 (hot and difficult) affair." Han Li also smiled lightly. "Hah, I knew from the start that Brother Han was a wise man. Unlike some people who spend their entire lives in seclusion, their minds so thoroughly refined that they've even lost their sharpness, they go out of their way to struggle with such pressing matters." Upon hearing this, the elder monk burst into hearty laughter. "Nevertheless, since Master has summoned me now, there must be another matter at hand." Han Li blinked his eyes, smiling and inquiring, "Indeed. Do you know that the Black Domain Assembly has already decided to take place three days from now? Upon receiving the news, I've also arranged for Master to secure a summoning credential for you. When the time comes, you may simply present this credential to attend the exchange session directly, without needing Wan Gu Bone True Person's smile faded slightly as he withdrew an object from his sleeve and said, "With a flick of my wrist, I've thrown it directly toward you." Han Li received it gracefully without a word, then glanced at it carefully. It was a dark, triangular token, with only simple patterns etched upon it—no other markings at all, quite unremarkable. If it hadn't been mentioned beforehand, Han Li would have thought he was holding merely a piece of black iron. "This is the Binding Token!" Han Li's eyes flashed with a hint of doubt. "Friend, there's no need to doubt this item. The Binding Token from the last Black Domain Assembly was even just a wooden stick. Though I don't know how the organizers managed to achieve this, these tokens are indeed the only credentials required to enter the Black Domain. Please, don't lose it, Han True Person." "Ah, so it is. It seems the behind-the-scenes organizers of this exchange gathering truly have something special. I'm truly grateful to the True Person for presenting me with this token." Han Li was slightly surprised and immediately thanked the elder monk. "Heh, this is merely a minor matter—nothing to speak of! To be honest, among my peers of the same stage, I may not excel in many areas, but I do stay quite informed about smaller updates. I've heard, haven't I, that the human and spirit-creature clans may face a significant crisis within the next thousand years—something we may both be unable to avoid." As the elder spoke, his expression suddenly grew serious. "A crisis! You're referring to the demonic calamity, aren't you?" Han Li's face brightened, and he replied slowly. "Indeed, you're right—I'm aware of this matter. How much do you know about it, Master?" The elder didn't seem particularly surprised. Following the exchanges among peers before the Great Treasure Gathering, it was now quite rare—perhaps even unprecedented—that a combined stage cultivator didn't have some knowledge of the demonic crisis. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people at this auction, disregarding their own financial stability, desperately striving to secure that celestial war vessel painting. Not merely to be like them, but to prepare in advance before the magical calamity strikes. "There aren't many combined independent cultivators among our human clan, so what could there be to discuss? Not to mention, the ones we're hoping to meet this time are mostly from the eldritch race." Wan Gu Bone, initially surprised, quickly defended. "Master need not explain further. I hold no particular bias against the eldritch race. I simply wish to gain a better understanding of the current gathering's circumstances. Since representatives from the eldritch race are participating, it seems worthwhile to make the trip. After the Black Domain Exchange Meeting concludes, I'll join you." It wasn't clear what Han Li had been thinking, yet he simply agreed without hesitation. "Your decision is truly wise!" The old monk was delighted by how smoothly the invitation had progressed. Naturally, after a brief conversation, the two couldn't continue their talk in the sky any longer. With only a few words exchanged, Wan Gu Bone excused himself and took his leave. He then summoned a swirling gray cloud beneath his feet, transforming into a streak of gray light and swiftly departed. In an instant, the old master had vanished completely. Han Li gazed at the room where the glow of his teleportation had disappeared, his eyes flickering with hesitation. "Master, shouldn't we be heading back now?" the Spirit of the Artifact asked, noticing that Han Li remained motionless for so long. "Spirit of the Artifact, Yue Tian—don't move yet. Stay with me. You two go find someone for me. She's a female from the妖 clan." Han Li spoke without turning around. "Yes, Master!" Both the Spirit of the Artifact and Hai Dashi were slightly surprised, yet promptly agreed. "This is a token. Listen carefully to the instructions—I'll transmit the details directly to you..." Han Li flipped his palm, tossing out a half-section of jade plaque, then softly spoke the rest of the words in a private transmission. The two disciples focused intently, nodding and responding continuously. "Alright. That's all. Once you've found the person, come back and report to me." As soon as Han Li finished the last sentence, he gave his sleeve a sudden shake, and the floating green light near the three of them immediately split off a portion, wrapping Sea Daoshi and the spirit of the artifact together and slowly descending toward the ground. Han Li himself then transformed once more into a streak of green light, heading straight for his residence. Upon returning to Yingxian Palace, Han Li did not enter the inner chamber to continue his meditation. Instead, he sat on the main throne, taking out the newly captured Qi-Ling Blood Tree he had just captured, gently handling it in his hands, his face reflecting thoughtful contemplation. The name of the "Transformed into a Guardian of the Cataclysm" was indeed well-known among the human clans, but precisely because of this, the method of crafting such a guardian was not a unique secret technique—many markets offered it for sale. When Han Li had collected various texts in the past, he had recorded this method of crafting the artifact, and now it was finally proving useful. The only inconvenience was that this transformation-from-jinxiu puppet not only required a significant amount of refined blood to be seeped during its creation, but even after successfully crafted, it needed periodic cultivation with fresh blood to maintain its intended jinxiu-enhancing functions; otherwise, it might lose those benefits. Of course, compared to the puppet's inherent ability to absorb and replace the jinxiu, this minor inconvenience and the blood loss were negligible. In his mind, Han Li had already begun quietly considering which additional materials were necessary for the puppet's creation. After a brief internal reflection, a look of quiet satisfaction appeared on his face. The other materials required for this transformation-from-jinxiu puppet had already been gathered. This fortunate coincidence was made possible by the numerous materials he had collected over the past period. Once Han Li had settled on the plan to craft the puppet soon, a sudden flash of inspiration passed through his mind, and the bloodwood vanished without a trace. From then on, he closed his eyes and sat in his seat, carefully contemplating each step of the process for refining the Immortal-Perilous Puppet, to ensure no mistakes would occur during the actual refinement. This state of concentration lasted for one full day and one full night. The next morning, Hai Dashi finally returned to the hall from outside, but as soon as he saw Han Li, he suddenly cried out in urgency: "Master, it's bad news! My junior brother, the Spirit of the Artifact, has encountered an issue!"