Han Li watched with narrowed eyes as one after another rare treasures were presented by the immortal cultivators of the human and elven clans. Those whose exchanges succeeded beamed with joy, while those who failed expressed deep disappointment, returning empty-handed to the stage. Overall, most attendees had secured what they desired. However, it was clearly evident that, compared to other auctions or exchange events, the proportion of finished artifacts on stage—rather than raw materials—was notably higher. It was obvious that everyone was preparing for the impending magical calamity, aiming to swiftly convert items they no longer needed into ready-to-use finished artifacts. After all, no matter how precious the materials, they would remain useless during the calamity unless transformed into tools or magical items. As for the two clans present, ordinary artifacts no longer held much appeal, and the elite artifacts they truly valued typically required dozens—sometimes even hundreds—of rare materials to be crafted. There's no need to speak of the possibility of failure in the refining process—merely the sheer number of materials required would be enough to keep ordinary people busy collecting them for centuries, if not millennia. Otherwise, how could rare materials have remained the most frequently featured items at past auctions? Half a day had passed, and most of the guests in the hall had already presented their prepared offerings and completed their voluntary exchanges. Although Han Li was greatly enamored with many of the precious items on display, he found himself unable to act when most of the guests specifically requested to trade for finished products instead. Yet he was far from completely empty-handed. He successfully exchanged a second rare herb from the Guanghan Realm for several powerful array banners, and with two bottles of Hong Luo Immortal Wine, he secured over a dozen new medicinal seedlings that he had never previously possessed. Moreover, when he stepped up to the podium not long ago, he presented several thousand-year-old medicinal herbs, specifically requesting to trade for several types of rare materials from wild beasts that he had yet to collect. The materials needed were easily secured from several masked immortal cultivators. This gave Han Li a deep breath of relief, finally allowing him to feel at ease. With this, once the Universal Treasures Convention concluded, he could begin attempting to refine his second Jishi Mountain. His strength would thus grow significantly. Just as Han Li thought he had nothing more to do in the matter, a figure whose body shimmered with swirling black qi floated onto the platform and slowly withdrew a dark, round basin from his sleeve. "I possess a vast expanse of Niyun Sea, condensed from the spirits of countless beasts. I can guarantee that all the beast spirits used here are from fierce, powerful creatures, including the spirits of ten thousand lower-tier immortal beasts. In exchange for this Niyun Sea, I wish to obtain a heavenly immortal artifact of attack type listed among the Chaotic Immortal Treasures." As soon as this person spoke, everyone present—including Han Li—was struck dumb, their faces pale with astonishment, their eyes filled with awe and wonder, all fixed upon the figure. Even the golden-faced man who had already retreated to a corner of the golden spell array, calmly observing the others exchanging glances, suddenly had a flash of brilliant light in his eyes, fixing his gaze intently on the figure cloaked in dark mist, his expression one of deep surprise and uncertainty. Despite the sharp, piercing stares of all around, the mysterious figure standing within the dark mist remained steady. With a simple movement of one arm, he lifted the round basin gently. With the other hand, he opened the lid of the basin. Instantly, a chorus of ghostly wails filled the entire void, and a thick, ink-black cloud surged forth like a hurricane from the basin, spreading out to cover an area several acres in size, completely enveloping half of the space beneath it. Han Li's blue glow flashed rapidly, and in an instant, he clearly saw the true nature of the black cloud. It was a substance formed by an endless gathering of black spectral forms, within which not only familiar animal shapes—such as wolves, tigers, and leopards—were present, but also some bizarre, previously unseen, strange creatures. The bodies of all these spectral animals constantly changed and continuously tore at one another; at times their forms dissolved and dispersed, while at others they coalesced into solid, distinct entities. Regardless of their form, they always exhibited an exceptionally fierce demeanor, and even when their bodies were torn into countless fragments, they would quickly reassemble and regain their original form within a short time. These spectral animal forms were the refined essences of specially cultivated animal spirits. While a gathering of dozens or even hundreds of such spirits might form this kind of turbulent cloud at a relatively modest cost, the value of the cloud instantly soared when thousands of spirits were combined. The more spirits contained within the cloud, the greater the synergy and effectiveness of the cloud, and the more difficult it became to achieve. If a cloud of refined souls exceeding ten thousand can captivate practitioners of ghost and demonic cultivation arts, then a cloud of one million such souls would leave even the combined-body stage cultivators of ghost and demonic traditions utterly enchanted and eager to pursue it. As for clouds gathering ten million souls, such occurrences have been rare throughout the histories of both clans. For cultivators practicing related arts—whether for their own cultivation or directly for forging ghost artifacts and divine implements—their utility is almost unimaginable. Yet, not only have the methods for refining such clouds largely vanished, but merely gathering ten million souls has become an almost insurmountable task. After all, the backlash of such intense spiritual devastation would overwhelm even a combined-body cultivator if a million lives were extinguished. Due to the immense toll on the harmony of the cosmos, such clouds have long been strictly prohibited by both clans since ancient times. When the cultivation of the Niyu Clouds exceeds ten thousand souls, celestial phenomena arise. When the Niyu Clouds reach a scale of a million or more, they become nearly invisible to the human eye—almost legendary. Yet this individual, claiming to possess a Niyu Cloud formed from ten million beast souls, leaves everyone stunned. If this were not within the Black Domain, but rather in the outside world, someone would have already stepped forward to seize it forcefully. "Ten million beast souls? Truly? It doesn't quite seem plausible," said a dry voice, as though the speaker had just swallowed a lump of saliva, with a subtle undercurrent of doubt. "I have only released one percent of the beast souls. If I were to release all of them, how could this modest hall possibly contain them? However, any companion wishing to verify the claim is welcome to personally inspect the Yin Hún Bōt—to confirm whether it indeed holds such a vast number of beast souls." The figure in the black mist spoke calmly. "Among the Heavenly Chaos Ten-Thousand-Soul Rankings, the transcendental spiritual treasures are still required to possess offensive capabilities." Your request is rather excessive. How about this—let me offer you two, no, three of my very highest-tier spiritual treasures in exchange for your Niyun Cloud? One of the elders spoke with some urgency. "Beyond the attack-class transcendental spiritual treasures listed on the Universal Immortal Ranking, I will not agree to exchange for anything else," the figure in black mist replied calmly. "My friend, you're speaking too quickly. Allow me to present what I have first, and then we can decide." Suddenly, another elder's voice emerged. A flash of crimson light shot upward and struck the platform, revealing a tall, slender figure enveloped in blood glow, who then raised a hand and tossed a jade vial directly toward the center. The figure in black mist managed to catch the vial with some difficulty, opened it, and glanced inside. At that moment, his form seemed to electrify, as if struck by a surge of energy. "Now, what does this pill signify? I'm certain you are well aware of its importance," he said. "If this孽cloud weren't of greater value to me, I'd never have offered this pill in exchange," the slender figure said, gazing at the vial in the other's hands with deep reluctance. "No! I still need to exchange for the transcendental spiritual treasures," the figure in black mist hesitated for a while, then shook his head firmly and threw the vial back. "Are you not recognizing the worth of this? This vial contains a Pure Bright Pill—one that significantly increases the chances of a cultivator reaching the Consolidation Stage!" The slender figure was first stunned, then exclaimed in disbelief. "A Pure Bright Pill!" "Even such a refined elixir has now come to light!" "Master, would you be willing to exchange your Pure Bright Pill for something else? I'd gladly offer this one to you." Upon hearing the name, the elder cultivators from the human and feline races immediately reacted with excitement. Several of them, disregarding others, rushed forward and spoke loudly. Clearly, this pill was far more sought after than the孽cloud. It's no surprise, for though the condensed wraith-cloud—though truly a marvel as rumored—proves immensely useful primarily to magicians and ghost-path cultivators, the Sheng Yao Dan, a holy medicine recorded only in ancient texts, proves beneficial to all cultivators at the Consolidated Stage. How could the long-still, steady Consolidated-stage elders, who had remained unchanged for years, now fail to keep up? Yet even if there were, the owner might not attend the Black Domain Grand Assembly. Moreover, the spiritual treasures listed on the Chaotic Immortals Ranking are far more valuable than a single Jingming Pill—whether or not they would be willing to exchange it for this pill remains uncertain. Han Li gazed at the tall, slender figure holding the vial of medicine, his expression shifting between uncertain and troubled. Noticing that no one had spoken for such a long time, the figure in the dark aura, sensing that no exchange would likely take place, immediately raised one hand and chanted a spell, drawing the black clouds above into stillness, clearly signaling his intention to depart the stone platform. "Hold on!" The tall, slender figure grew alarmed, stomping his foot and suddenly flashing into motion to intercept the mysterious being in the dark aura. "What do you mean? Do you intend to force me into exchanging this pill?" The figure in the dark aura grew furious, his body suddenly radiating an intense cold.