After listening to Qingyuanzi's words, Jin Yan's gaze flickered, as though subtly convinced. Upon hearing the name "Jin Gang Mi Mo Shen Lei," Han Li's face briefly revealed a sense of recognition. It now made sense—he had always felt a familiar resonance with these three artifacts. Their primary materials were precisely the leaves of Jin Lei Bamboo that he had previously sent. These leaves shared the same origin as the bamboo stems, so even after post-natural refinement, their essence remained remarkably similar. While the Jin Gang Mi Mo Shen Lei was an excellent weapon against extraterrestrial heavenly demons, such demons only emerged when they reached the peak of their cultivation or during their post-peak celestial trials—thus, not something he needed to prepare for at this moment. As for the crafting method of this artifact, Han Li had, in fact, discovered it incidentally in a foreign ethnic market long ago. However, he had been startled upon learning that the creation process required a substantial quantity of lightning-element materials. He had long felt that, with the means available at the time, it would be utterly impossible to gather all the materials, let alone refine them into the desired form, and thus regretfully set the matter aside. Now, upon hearing that even Qingyuan Zi, at the peak of his cultivation, required several centuries to refine seven or eight divine thunder bolts, he could only shake his head in quiet amusement. It seemed that, until he himself reached the late Consolidation stage, the Jin Gang Mi Mo Thunder Bolts would remain a mere dream. "Qingyuan Zi spoke slowly. "It's truly remarkable that Jiang Dao-yuan has even agreed to offer his own milk from the Yinhe River. This indeed seems to be no ordinary favor!" Jin Yan, surprised, murmured in admiration and then glanced again at Han Li. Han Li slightly bowed, displaying respectful demeanor, yet remained silent throughout, faithfully adhering to Qingyuan Zi's earlier instructions without offering any remarks. "Indeed, this is a substantial favor. Well, I've already conveyed all that I wished to say. Should Jin brother still hesitate, I may have to seek out others to make this exchange. Others may not know, but I'm certain that the old master Yan, who faces the same thunderous ordeal, would be delighted to enter into this agreement with me." Qingyuan Zi tapped the table with a finger, speaking with evident intention. "Qing brother is being overly generous. When did I ever express any reluctance? Since you have shown such sincerity, and considering that I once received a favor from you in the past, I am pleased to accept this arrangement." "Jin Yan paused slightly, then finally smiled lightly and agreed. "Then it's just as good as you've made it. This exchange benefits us both absolutely!" Hearing this, Qing Yuan replied with great delight. The man in the golden crown chuckled, then suddenly opened his mouth and expelled four clusters of luminous light. Three white, one yellow! Clearly, three small white jade bottles and one yellow jade box. With a swift motion of his sleeve, these four items shot straight toward Qing Yuan, while at the same time, his other hand reached out to seize the jade box on the table and the two additional Jin Gang Mie Mo Lightning orbs. A sharp rushing sound echoed—immediately, the items on the table trembled and were captured in Jin Yan's hands. At the same time, Qing Yuan also caught the flying bottles and box and promptly examined them carefully with his spiritual awareness. After only a brief moment, the elder smiled with satisfaction. "Everything is in perfect condition. This time, truly, I must thank Jin Brother most sincerely!" Han Xiaoyou, here are these three vials of Yinhe's nectar—take them. Qingyuanzi, after inspecting them, nodded with satisfaction. Then, turning his head slightly and giving a flick of his wrist, three small vials of Yinhe's nectar flew toward Han Li. Han Li was momentarily surprised, but quickly beamed with joy and caught the vials, thanking him repeatedly. Originally, they had agreed upon only two vials, yet Qingyuanzi now presented all three. Clearly, this was a token of appreciation for Han Li's diligent gathering of materials. It seemed his decision to bring forth all the collected materials had indeed been wise. Though these nectars were exceedingly rare, they held little value for Qingyuanzi himself—indeed, he showed no trace of petty hesitation. Jin Yao Hou, too, appeared deeply satisfied with this exchange, and soon engaged in cheerful conversation with Qingyuanzi. Among these were some rare, little-known secrets from the spiritual realm, as well as certain matters directly related to the cultivation techniques, which also made Han Li listen with growing interest. Time flew by, and soon half the hour had passed. It seemed to Qingyuan Zi that he had said enough, so he finally stood up and spoke his parting words. Jin Yan, though not particularly eager to prolong the visit, also rose to accompany Qingyuan Zi to the entrance of the hall. At that very moment, however, a tremendous roar echoed suddenly across the sky of the island, causing the entire palace to tremble as if struck by something powerful that had broken through the atmosphere, seemingly shattering the barrier hovering above the island. Both of the people who had just stood up were startled, exchanging surprised glances. Who dared to make such a bold move and openly challenge them? After all, although Qingyuan Zi had used sword energy to strike at the barrier enveloping the island, the attack, though impressive in appearance, had actually proven to be only moderately effective. Yet the commotion just now clearly indicated that the seal at this level had been forcibly shattered by external force. Upon regaining his composure, Jin Yan was naturally filled with shock and fury, immediately locking his hands in a gesture, as if ready to summon a divine power right away. But then, a deep, resonant voice suddenly echoed through the hall. "Jin Yan, Qingyuan, come out here—both of you! I need to see you!" The tone was rough and blunt, full of impatience, yet both of them instantly stiffened, exchanged glances, and then exchanged a wry, helpless smile. "What now? Still not stepping out to face me? Jin Yan, are you really going to have me tear down your entire establishment?" The man seemed increasingly impatient as he spoke, and as soon as his words fell, the thunderous sounds from outside the palace grew continuous, waves of spatial tremors rippling out, soon enveloping the entire island. At that moment, a flash of golden light erupted outside the hall, and a streak of light materialized before Jin Yan Hou. As the glow subsided, a golden-armored guard, visibly startled, stepped into view. "Reporting to the master, there's someone outside..." "I know," said Jin Yan Hou. "They must be a distinguished guest. You may go now. Jiang brother, it seems you're stuck here for now. We should go meet this old monster ourselves—otherwise, I'm afraid my island might actually be dismantled by him." With a wave of his hand, Jin Yan Hou turned to Qing Yuan Zi and offered a wry smile. "Since this old monster has come here, he must be seen. But every time I meet him, I end up with a headache for several days." Qing Yuan Zi chuckled slightly, clearly equally helpless. Jin Yan Hou sighed, then pressed his fingers together, and as a flash of golden light rippled over his body, a layer of golden flame surged forth, completely engulfing him. A deep rumble followed, and the flame burst and dispersed. And with it, Jin Yan Hou vanished entirely. It was an exceptionally rare technique of Fire Release! Qingyuan Zi's method was even simpler—he merely shook his sleeve, and instantly transformed into a beam of golden light, rushing toward the hall's entrance. After a single flash, he vanished mysteriously into the air. The entire hall was now left with only Han Li standing alone. "Old giant! It's hard to imagine someone worthy of being called this way by both of them. Though I'd rather avoid it, I can't simply stay away." Han Li sighed, murmuring softly in a barely audible tone. Then, a flash of lightning behind him revealed a pair of translucent, shimmering wings, which shimmered and then dissolved into a streak of silvery-white electric arcs. High above the island, at a height of over a thousand zhang, Qingyuan Zi and Jinyan Hou faced a colossal creature, measuring over a hundred zhang in length, and both of them displayed a most respectful demeanor. The creature itself was a massive black, lustrous beetle, with an elderly, slender man standing gracefully in the wind atop its head. He appeared to be around sixty years old, with deeply sunken eyes, his nostrils flared, and clad in a vibrant, multicolored robe. A chain of gleaming silver beads hung at his neck, each bead as large as an egg, standing out strikingly. What was astonishing was that not only had the white luminous veil that once enveloped the entire island vanished entirely, but also the three golden-armored guards were each tightly ensnared by white filaments spewing from the mouths of the insects, spinning helplessly in the air like tops, unable to stop. When Han Li materialized as a streak of pale blue-white electricity behind Qingyuan's back, Jin Yan Hou paid no attention to the guards' predicament and instead offered the elder on the insect a warm smile, saying, "Brother Xuling, your visit is truly a rare pleasure. How fortunate you've found time to come to our place. Then, why not take a seat below and rest a while?" "Hehe, you say this, but in your heart, you actually hope I'll never come back here again," the elder chuckled, his tone surprisingly unceremonious. "How could I possibly think such a thing? It's actually you who know that Brother Jiang has also been visiting my abode." When Jin Yan's face turned pale and then brightened, he quickly redirected the conversation to Qingyuanzi. Upon hearing this, Qingyuanzi naturally scolded the young man in his mind, though he could only勉强 offer a smile and speak: "I do indeed have some doubts—why did Brother Xuling know that I've been staying with Jin? Might it be that you've already visited my cave?" "Hah! I've not only visited your cave—I've gone to every single residence in this region. Only you two hadn't yet made the trip. Two of the others even wanted to retreat and stay hidden, but I ended up tearing down their entire homes, and now they've come out, quite reluctantly. If I had known that back then, why didn't I do it sooner?" The elder, whose spirit was ethereal, laughed heartily and then said with a air of pride.