"Both of you are familiar with the power of time and space. That's fortunate—then I need not explain further as to why I will halt my actions." Han Li glanced at Xue Ran and Xue Lin, his expression remaining unchanged. Xue Lin's black-scaled face grew unusually serious; after exchanging a glance, Xue Lin continued, "This young lady has truly grasped the power of the laws of time and space—indeed, she is no easy opponent. For now, let us hear her out. But should our objectives remain unmet, my brother and I will by no means easily withdraw." "Black scales rippled as her eyes flickered, and she sneered, saying, 'Esteemed guest, Mother, there's no need for further debate. As I heard from all of you earlier, your purpose in entering this realm was to obtain the crystalline cores of our clan. Yet—have any of you truly considered that once you secure these cores, you would willingly step back and leave?' The blood-draped maiden raised a hand, silencing the arguments, and calmly asked Han Li. 'Indeed. But we only seek mature-bodied cores; the others are of little use. Earlier, you mentioned that you could meet this condition. Has the noble house finally come to terms, and are they now willing to voluntarily offer their own cores?' Han Li narrowed his eyes, calmly probing with his question. Upon hearing this, both the woman and the present members of the Shrouded Spider Clan exchanged subtle expressions of concern. For them, losing their cores, though not immediately fatal, would either severely weaken them or bring long-term complications. 'To ask our younger sister and other members to surrender their cores—this is certainly not something that can be easily agreed upon.' "But our clan has stood firmly in this realm for some time now, and we do still hold onto a few crystal cores from other mature clan members—by no means impossible to share with you." The young lady with crimson robes smiled warmly and replied. "What? That won't do! Those crystal cores are essential and must be retained for future use." Upon hearing this, neither Han Li nor the others could yet express their delight; the mother of the Shriek Spider Clan suddenly cried out in protest. The young lady frowned slightly, then transmitted her words softly. "Mother, I have now fully grasped the power of time and space. Once I master the rule of force, I will be able to pass it on to you as well. These crystal cores are no longer absolutely necessary. Besides, I never said I would give them away for nothing." "Ying, what exactly do you mean?" The woman's expression brightened, as though suddenly remembering something. "Mother, haven't you forgotten about the sacred artifact of the Empty Fish Clan? It has always remained unrecovered due to manpower shortages! If we can finally retrieve it, wouldn't that be far more valuable than simply keeping those crystal cores on hand?" Do not forget that the spatial power enshrined in the two principles is what our clan truly needs to deeply comprehend." The blood-robed maiden transmitted her words once again. "Should you obtain this item, do you feel confident in further mastering the subtleties of spatial power?" After several shifts in expression, the woman finally asked with a touch of hesitation. "Mother, please rest assured. I have already been stuck at a bottleneck in the principles of space and time. Once I fully absorb and nourish my spirit by refining that old man's immortal embryo, and with this sacred artifact, my breakthrough will be certain." The maiden replied without hesitation. "Very well. Since you are confident, I shall no longer obstruct you." The mother of the Shriek Spider clan finally made up her mind. The blood-robed maiden smiled softly, clearly anticipating the woman's decision. As for the others across the table, they naturally observed the subtle exchanges of transmission between the maiden and the Shriek Spider clan mother. Therefore, once it seemed they had reached a consensus, Xuan Yan hurried to ask, "If we can present crystal cores, there would naturally be no need for further disputes among us. But how many can be offered? If the number is too small, then there would be no point in continuing the discussion." "How many would the esteemed guests like to have?" the young lady asked, remaining neutral. "With so many of us entering this realm, we would need at least thirty or forty cores to make it sufficient." Xuan Yan replied without hesitation. "Thirty or forty? That's quite an asking price! Not only have some of the cores already been consumed by our clan, but even previously, we never had such a large quantity." The young lady with the crimson skirt chuckled lightly. "Then, how many can your clan offer?" Xuan Yan remained calm and composed, not showing any irritation. "At most eight—should be enough for you." After a slight pause, the young lady with the crimson skirt said with a composed tone. "Eight? Absolutely not." "It's still not enough for all of us four," Blood-Ren said, his face darkening as he spoke in a stiff tone. "Eight crystal cores should be sufficient for each of you to receive two, so how can it still fall short? Don't push yourselves too far. Moreover, even if we offer these eight cores, we're not giving them away for nothing. You must help us with a small favor of our clan—after all, there's no such thing as a free lunch in the world." The blood-draped maiden's eyes flashed gently as she said this. "What kind of favor do you need? Please just tell us, and we'll listen." Han Li had remained calm throughout, but when she spoke, his brow slightly furrowed. "It's quite simple," she added. "We need your help in retrieving a certain treasure. Once we secure it, my younger sister will immediately hand over the crystal cores to each of you." The maiden smiled slightly, her lips curving. "What treasure exactly? Where is it located? With your clan's capabilities, how is it still beyond your reach?" Han Li's gaze flickered, a mixture of amusement and seriousness in her tone. At this, Xue Ran and Hei Lin exchanged a glance, each somewhat surprised. "As for the nature of this treasure, there's no need for any of you to know the specifics—only that it holds great significance for our own clan. Currently, it lies submerged in a particularly cold spring, where the temperature is so frigid that even a fully matured cultivator cannot reach its depths. Yet, you need not worry—our clan has long devised a method to recover it. All we'll need is a little assistance from each of you, and the process will be entirely safe and risk-free," said the graceful young woman in red silk, sensing the concerns of Xue Ran and the others. "What do you think, my two esteemed friends?" After a moment's thoughtful pause, Han Li turned to the other two. "If the journey proves safe, then we might as well proceed. However, we still lack eight crystal cores—dividing them among us may be a challenge. Hehe, this matter shall rest entirely with Brother Han. I'm confident you won't let us down." "Xue Ran and Hei Lin exchanged a few words, then chuckled and replied. "Then, as the matter stands, I shall take the initiative and make a decision. Daojun Yin, you've heard our discussion. Here's the arrangement: twelve crystal cores, none to be less than that, and we will assist you in retrieving the treasure. However, the full amount of these cores must be paid upfront. Should any unforeseen dangers arise during the retrieval process, we may not continue. Nevertheless, we will still collect the remaining cores without fail. Moreover, we have no intention of staying in this realm for an extended period—thus, the sooner we begin the retrieval, the better." After a moment's thought, Han Li spoke calmly to the young woman. Upon hearing the number of crystal cores, Xue Ran and Hei Lin's expressions slightly changed, yet neither interrupted. "Twelve crystal cores—then that's settled. If any of you wish for more, our clan simply cannot provide additional numbers. Then it is agreed." As for when to begin the recovery operation, if none of you have any objections, shall we set off shortly? The girl in the crimson skirt merely considered briefly and immediately agreed, appearing even more eager than Han Li and the others. "Very well," Han Li nodded. "You prepare yourselves first, and I'll summon the last companion right away." With a flick of his sleeve, a jade pendant rolled out into his hand. With a series of swift single taps, delicate silver characters shimmered into view and then vanished into the pendant. The girl across from him smiled gently and transmitted a message to the woman, instructing her to use the same secret technique to connect with the four adult Robo-Spiders. In the sky, the purple peacock summoned by the Yi family elder gradually shrank under the support of his magical power, until it finally gave a mournful cry and was completely swallowed by the silver giant bird. With a loud "thud," the ancient lamp plummeted from the sky. Han Li didn't hesitate—just a single hand gesture, and he effortlessly captured the treasure within his sleeve. Others, though aware that the ancient lamp was a rare treasure, naturally also sought to intervene. For a while, peace settled both inside and outside the stone city's light shield, with both parties quietly waiting for something to unfold. After a cup of tea's worth of time, a ripple spread across the distant sky, and a streak of white light surged toward Han Li. After several flashes, the light faded, revealing Mo Jianli standing near him. At that moment, Mo Jianli's complexion was slightly pale, her once-pristine blue battle armor streaked with numerous cracks, and her aura was noticeably weaker—nearly half of what it had been earlier—giving her a somewhat disheveled appearance. "Master Han, the Shouluo Spider clan truly agrees to surrender their crystal cores. How could they possibly have agreed to such terms? Hm, who is this young lady?" As the elder stepped forward, he immediately turned to Han Li with eager questions, only to pause and gaze at the blood-streaked maiden, his expression momentarily puzzled. "Indeed, things have changed here—there's no longer any need to fight them." This goddess is no ordinary figure—she is precisely the catalyst that triggered this transformation. Does Brother Mo not find this satisfactory? By the way, what about the mature Shurah spiders?" Han Li smiled and replied briefly, then glanced in the direction from which they had come. Seeing no further streaks of light, he was slightly surprised and asked. "It's already a great advantage that we don't have to struggle hard to obtain the crystal cores. The four Shurah spiders have been temporarily held in a carefully arranged magical array that I set up. On my own, I find it quite difficult to hold them off. Not only have both of my spiritual companions sustained serious injuries, but the array itself cannot contain them for long." Mo Jianli heard this, beamed with satisfaction and quickly explained. "So Brother Mo has indeed relied on the power of the array—this is indeed a commendable strategy." Han Li nodded, somewhat surprised by this.