Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 378

“It hasn’t recognized an owner yet, so I can’t unleash its full potential. But everyone here is discerning enough to know what it is, right? I’m looking to trade it for a bottle of elixir effective for Nascent Soul cultivators. If you’re interested, please step forward.”

The woman reduced the Binding Immortal Ring [a magic item that can be bound to a user] back to the size of her palm and held it in her hand.

Those gathered here all had their own natal magic treasures [magic items personally bound to the user], but having more magic treasures was always a good thing. Moreover, if the magic treasure hadn’t recognized an owner yet, it could be given to a disciple to use.

A magic treasure personally refined by a Nascent Soul cultivator would be far superior to one refined by a Core Formation cultivator. Furthermore, most cultivators weren’t skilled in refining magic tools or treasures, so finding a Nascent Soul cultivator proficient in refining techniques wasn’t easy.

Therefore, many were eager to trade for this magic treasure. The woman received an elixir offered by one of them and smoothly completed the transaction.

Following that, another cultivator rose from his seat even before True Person Tian Jing called on him.

“This time, I want to trade for Star Steel Sand. I’m looking to trade…”

After that, the exchange meeting proceeded smoothly. The items brought out by the Nascent Soul cultivators were all rare and precious, unlike the items found in the markets. They were treasures that even a Core Formation cultivator couldn’t afford with their entire fortune.

Of course, not everyone succeeded in trading. Some brought out rare but unfamiliar items that they didn’t know how to handle, while others didn’t find the items they wanted and couldn’t trade.

Also, the Nascent Soul old monsters were all well-versed in the ways of the world, making it impossible for anyone to suffer a significant loss or deceive others about the value of an item.

Hua Long and Lǚ Luo also brought out items they wanted to trade.

The bowl-sized, three-colored, strange medicinal herb that Hua Long brought out was also a material for refining elixirs. Although it wasn’t as good as Red Essence Grass, it was still a rare item.

However, he wanted to trade for a material called Poison Talisman Wood, but unfortunately, no one had it. Hua Long had no choice but to sit back down with a disappointed look.

In contrast, Lǚ Luo’s trade was successful. Han Li had never heard of the spiritual herb juice that Lǚ Luo exchanged for a small, red sword magic treasure. It seemed like he had exchanged it with someone else.

After Lǚ Luo finished his trade, it was now Han Li’s turn.

Seeing him exchange Red Essence Grass with the golden-robed cultivator, many were looking forward to the item he would bring out.

Calmly standing up, Han Li held two white jade boxes in his hands.

“I want to trade for one Level 6 Fire-attribute and one Water-attribute demon core, along with two Heavenly Spirit Grasses, for Geng Essence. If you don’t have Geng Essence, I’ll give you one of these for information about its whereabouts.”

As Han Li finished speaking, he waved his hands, and a blue light flashed as the two jade boxes opened. Red and blue demon cores, along with vibrant green spiritual grasses, came into view.

“Geng Essence?”

Han Li’s trade conditions caused the cultivators to look at him with strange expressions.

Although demon cores and Heavenly Spirit Grasses were precious items, they were far less valuable than Geng Essence. Yet, exchanging a Level 6 demon core or Heavenly Spirit Grass just for information about Geng Essence was too much.

Knowing the whereabouts of Geng Essence and actually obtaining it were worlds apart. It was like how many treasures and the ruins of ancient cultivators were known, but they were too dangerous to approach.

Among them was the Demonfall Valley, located in the middle of the Tiannan Continent.

According to legends, it was a battlefield from ancient times. During the Desolate Era, numerous demonic cultivators laid down bizarre restrictions and fought each other for unknown reasons. In the end, their power was so great that spatial rifts appeared, and the entire valley became unstable.

The cultivators who had fought like mad were also buried there. With layers of spatial rifts, ancient formations, and restrictions, Demonfall Valley became an extremely dangerous place.

Moreover, in the long years that followed, none of the cultivators who had entered Demonfall Valley to test their luck and search for treasures and ancient techniques had ever returned alive.

It was estimated that over 800 high-level cultivators had died there, and their various treasures were still piled up inside.

For nearly ten thousand years, no one had tested their luck there, and it had become known as the most dangerous place in Tiannan.

However, the people at the exchange meeting seemed to know nothing about the whereabouts of Geng Essence. They were all looking at him, but no one was stepping forward to trade or sending him voice transmissions.

Han Li was a little disappointed.

The reason he hadn’t brought out better treasures was because he didn’t expect to obtain Geng Essence at the first exchange meeting.

There was no reason to flaunt his wealth to others. But the fact that not even one cultivator knew the information was disheartening.

As he sighed inwardly, he glanced at the other cultivators without much thought, and his expression soon changed. Just like that, with no one stepping forward, the turn passed to the next cultivator.

Instead of listening to the next cultivator, Han Li closed his eyes and pondered. Just now, when no one had stepped forward, he had noticed that True Person Tian Jing’s gaze was strange.

His expression remained the same, but his eyes had wavered. He might not have Geng Essence, but he definitely knew something about it. However, he wasn’t the impatient type, so instead of immediately sending a voice transmission, he remained in his seat as if he knew nothing.

Now that he had a clue, he was confident that he could make the other party speak. Waiting for the right moment was all he had to do now.

After a long time, it was finally the last person’s turn. True Person Tian Jing stood up again and walked forward, speaking with a smile.

“It seems that most of you have made the trades you wanted! Even if you haven’t succeeded in trading yet, the people gathered here are only a fraction of the Nascent Soul cultivators in the entire city, so there will be other opportunities soon. I, Tian Jing, am planning to hold a larger exchange meeting soon, so I would be grateful if you could attend then as well. But before that, I also have some items I would like to trade.”

As the old Taoist finished speaking, white light flashed from his hands, and he instantly placed about seven or eight items on the table.

Han Li and the other cultivators’ expressions changed when they saw the items. They were all puppet demon beasts of varying sizes. There was a white wolf, a blue serpent, and a red calf, among others.

They looked like mere puppets, but they were emitting tremendous spiritual energy. It was a much stronger aura than the giant monkey puppet in Han Li’s storage pouch.

They seemed to possess the power of early Core Formation cultivators, but they weren’t the type recorded in the puppet techniques scriptures he possessed. This was what surprised him the most.

‘Could he be a cultivator from the Thousand Bamboo Sect? But the Thousand Bamboo Sect shouldn’t have any Nascent Soul cultivators?’

Moreover, these weren’t the type of puppets they made.

Han Li quickly searched his memories and carefully examined the puppets before him with a cautious gaze. But before he could figure anything out, the chubby cultivator from the Joyful Union Sect across from him was already grinning and speaking.

“Oh my, True Person Tian Jing! Since when did you master puppetry? Did you give up on the Bright Light Art you were originally practicing?”

“Brother Guo, how could that be? How could I change the cultivation technique I’ve been practicing at my age! These puppets were found in ancient ruins with some other cultivators.

I’m not doing so well financially these days, so I’m trying to trade these out. They might not be much to cultivators like us, but they’ll be quite useful to have.”

Tian Jing replied with a smile.

“Oh ho, puppets, how interesting. It would be good to give them to my disciples for self-defense. True Person Tian Jing, what do you want to trade them for?”

Another cultivator asked, stroking his long beard.

“Hehe, the item I want to trade for is quite rare. It’s called Soul Stone in ancient times. I’ll trade one of my puppet demon beasts for each one. These puppets were personally refined by ancient cultivators, so you won’t find anything like them anywhere else.”

Tian Jing replied gently.

“Soul Stone?”

The cultivators sitting there looked puzzled at the unfamiliar term.

They had never heard of it, so naturally, they didn’t have it.

As if expecting this, Tian Jing’s hand reached towards his storage pouch, and he soon took out a thumb-sized cyan gemstone.

At first glance, it looked similar to a wood-attribute spirit stone, but cultivators who examined it closely with their spiritual sense immediately felt an eerie, unknown fluctuation from the Soul Stone.

“I’m showing it to you because you might have it without knowing its name. I obtained it by chance, so take a look.”

“Huh! How strange. It’s similar to ghost energy, but it’s much purer.”

A cultivator clad in black robes from head to toe asked with a puzzled expression.

“I also don’t know what kind of energy is contained in the Soul Stone. But it’s definitely not ordinary ghost energy! Otherwise, I wouldn’t be trading it for these precious puppets.”

“I suppose so.”

When Tian Jing answered readily, the black-robed demonic cultivator didn’t ask further. However, Han Li’s expression changed greatly under his mask when he saw the gemstone, and his gaze wavered.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the Soul Stone was definitely the Yin-Ming Crystal he had collected in the Yin-Ming Land! Of course, this was the name used by the natives of the Yin-Ming Land, and ancient cultivators would have called it ‘Soul Stone’.

‘The fact that this True Person Tian Jing is looking for Soul Stones while bringing out so many puppets… It might be related to the puppets I saw in the Void Sky Hall that were carrying Soul Stones. It seems like this person is…’

Han Li began to grasp the situation.

However, it seemed that no one really knew about this Soul Stone. One of the cultivators hesitated for a moment before taking out a piece and choosing one of the puppets.

Tian Jing asked a few more times, but no one else stepped forward. He had expected it, but he was still disappointed.

Just as he was about to retrieve the puppets, someone suddenly stood up and approached him. The old Taoist was surprised and raised his head.

“Does this cultivator have a Soul Stone?”

The one who stepped forward was Han Li, who had finally made up his mind. He silently flipped his palm, and a cyan crystal appeared.

However, this crystal was almost the size of an egg, and its eerie aura could be felt even with the naked eye. It was incomparable to the one the cultivator who had just traded for a puppet had.

Tian Jing was overjoyed inside, but he maintained a smile on the outside and said,

“Such a large Soul Stone is truly rare! How about this? I can’t let this cultivator suffer a loss, so choose two puppets from the ones I have.”

“Two?”

Han Li chuckled lightly and shook his head.

“Oh, do you think that’s too little? Then how many would you like?”

“How about trading all the rest with this?”

“All six? Aren’t you being too greedy?”

This time, the Taoist frowned and showed his displeasure.

“Haha, whether it’s greedy or not, True Person Tian Jing knows better. The size of a Soul Stone isn’t everything, and such a large Soul Stone would be truly…”

Han Li stared at Tian Jing as he spoke, but he suddenly stopped without finishing his sentence. Tian Jing’s expression changed slightly, and he looked at Han Li meaningfully. After a moment, he replied,

“So be it! Such a large Soul Stone is hard to find, and I have an urgent need for it, so I’ll trade as this cultivator wishes.”

At his answer, the cultivators gathered in the pavilion carefully examined Han Li and the egg-sized Soul Stone in his hand for a while. How could they not carefully examine an item that was worth trading for so many high-level puppets?

Han Li handed over the crystal as if it were natural and then waved his sleeve over the table. The six puppets instantly disappeared without a trace.

However, no one knew that Han Li’s lips had moved slightly as he lowered his head for a moment. Only Tian Jing’s eyes flashed with a strange light before he immediately returned to his usual gentle expression.

Han Li also retrieved the puppets and returned to his seat.
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