Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 779

With eyes burning with fervor, Elder Xu examined the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Jade chunks before bowing deeply once more. Han Li casually waved his hand and closed his eyes again.

The treasures of Xu Tianzheng, Han Shu, and Extreme Flame were all deeply connected to the Ice White Immortal. He had greatly benefited from this connection, so showing kindness to her descendants would ease his mind when he faced his inner demons in the future.

Elder Xu, having suddenly obtained a great treasure, wisely retreated without disturbing Han Li. From afar, the members of the team, including the blue-eyed giant, were secretly observing Han Li and the woman’s actions.

They couldn’t help but be curious when Han Li handed over the jade box, causing the usually cold woman to beam with joy and bow deeply. Of course, they were not foolish enough to approach her and ask what it was.

They rested for a few hours and then resumed their patrol under Han Li’s orders. Fortunately, they did not encounter any other alien races afterward. Once they had completed their designated route, they waited for the golden boat to come and take them back.

The team returned to the Heavenly Origin City in two trips by boat.

Han Li’s unit received a generous reward for encountering an alien race and capturing a wild beast tamed by a Beastman. According to regulations, they were granted a six-month break after each patrol.

They would have to patrol for ten years before they could change their patrol area. After completing his first patrol, Han Li received and consumed the ‘Extinction Pill,’ which cleansed the lower realm’s energy [a pill that removes the residual energy from lower realms, allowing cultivators to adapt to the higher spiritual energy of the Spirit Realm].

Afterward, the members of the squad bid him farewell and scattered. However, Investigator Xu shared some news that caught Han Li’s attention as he was saying goodbye.

“Senior, in two days, there will be a once-every-three-years auction of wild items at the city’s auction house. Are you planning to attend?”

“Wild items? Is Investigator Xu also interested?”

“No, such auctions are only for cultivators at least at the Deity Transformation stage, like you, Senior. Cultivators at the Core Formation stage like me are not even qualified to participate. Besides, wild items are traded at extremely high prices, so I wouldn’t have the means to afford them. I just thought it would be good for you to go, Senior.”

Investigator Xu explained with a wry smile.

“Thank you for letting me know. If I have the chance, I will go and broaden my horizons.”

Han Li politely acknowledged him and watched Elder Xu leave, his eyes narrowing.

Since arriving in the Spirit Realm, he had not had the opportunity to acquire suitable pill recipes or spiritual herbs. He had been planning to find a suitable place as soon as he finished his patrol. An auction where wild items were traded was certainly tempting.

Han Li slowly left the blue stone tower and flew toward the market. The Heavenly Origin City’s market was enormous, and it was filled with rare materials from the Three Realms and Seven Lands. There was nothing that couldn’t be found there.

Moreover, wild items were constantly flowing in, so it was no wonder that it was always bustling. Not only the local guards of Heavenly Origin City but also visitors from outside were constantly coming and going all day long.

Even more surprising was that a huge hall was built on the border dividing the human and demon races, allowing humans and demons to freely trade materials and wild items there.

This was possible because items that were unnecessary for one side were often of great help to the other. The auction house was located in a side hall of this building.

Han Li landed in an alley in the market and began to browse the nearby shops.

“Senior, are you looking for something? Although our shop is small, we have all kinds of spiritual herbs.”

The pharmacy was not very large, and there was a middle-aged shopkeeper at the Nascent Soul stage and a clerk at the Qi Refining stage. They greeted Han Li with smiles when they saw him, dressed in the uniform of the Azure Guard.

“Do you have any pill recipes or spiritual herbs that would be helpful for a Deity Transformation stage cultivator’s cultivation?”

“We have two types of pill recipes that would be helpful for Deity Transformation stage seniors. However, the necessary materials are so rare that we haven’t been able to stock them all.”

“Oh, then show them to me.”

Han Li calmly raised one eyebrow.

“Yes, please wait a moment! I’ll be right back.”

The shopkeeper replied respectfully.

He instructed the clerk to offer Han Li a seat and tea, then quickly headed to the back of the building.

Sitting on an antique bamboo chair and sipping the spiritual tea brought by the clerk, he looked completely at ease.

After a while, the middle-aged shopkeeper came out from inside, respectfully holding a low table with both hands.

Han Li raised his hand and swept it over the low table. White and navy jade slips appeared, followed by a pile of large and small colorful jade boxes and small bottles on the table.

Han Li first absorbed the two jade slips and infused them with his consciousness.

“True Toad Elixir and Jade Clarity Pill.”

Han Li frowned as he withdrew his consciousness. The necessary materials were mostly rare spiritual herbs that were at least 2,000 to 3,000 years old.

The most important ingredient for the True Toad Elixir was the blood of an ancient wild beast called the Azure-Eyed True Toad. Fortunately, the auxiliary ingredients were relatively common.

Both were spiritual medicines that could be used by Deity Transformation stage cultivators, but the Jade Clarity Pill was used by early-stage Deity Transformation cultivators, and its effectiveness decreased sharply for mid-stage cultivators.

The True Toad Elixir, on the other hand, was too potent and was suitable for late-stage Deity Transformation cultivators. If a mid-stage cultivator consumed it, the overbearing energy could be dangerous.

Han Li closed his eyes and carefully organized the effects, refining methods, and ingredients of the two spiritual medicines before checking the materials in the silk boxes and bottles.

As the shopkeeper had said, more than half of the necessary materials for both spiritual medicines were missing. Not to mention the blood of the Azure-Eyed True Toad.

“I can probably find the rest of the materials at other pharmacies, but the Azure-Eyed True Toad is an ancient wild beast, so it won’t be easy to find, will it?”

“Senior, I must inform you that the Jade Clarity Pill can be made by substituting less mature spiritual herbs, although the efficacy will be reduced. You can also purchase it with spirit stones. However, the blood of the Azure-Eyed True Toad needed for the True Toad Elixir is extremely difficult to obtain. It occasionally appears in the market, but everyone buys it as soon as they see it. It is one of the fastest-selling materials even in large pharmacies, so it won’t be easy to buy it in the market. However, the auction will be held soon, so you might have some luck there.”

“I understand. Then I’ll buy all of these.”

Han Li nodded after considering the shopkeeper’s honest answer.

“Oh, you’ve made a wise decision. Then let me calculate the price. Two pill recipes for 100,000 spirit stones, three thousand-year-old golden mushrooms for…”

The shopkeeper began to list the prices of the items on the table, looking delighted.

After a while, Han Li left the shop and headed to another pharmacy nearby. He visited almost all the shops in the area that dealt with pharmacies and spiritual herbs.

As a result, he was able to purchase seven or eight other pill recipes, but most of them included hard-to-find materials like the blood of the Azure-Eyed True Toad.

He bought any materials needed to refine pills without hesitation, mainly seeds or saplings rather than rare spiritual herbs. Only after making such a large expenditure was he able to obtain the required quantities.

Now, at least for the Jade Clarity Pill, he could return to his residence and immediately make the spiritual pills by maturing the materials with the mysterious liquid.

Refining pills that were effective for Deity Transformation stage cultivators was not easy, and even he, who was skilled in pill refinement, would need several practice runs.

‘But since I have the mysterious bottle, I can practice without worrying about the materials!’

The True Toad Elixir was just as important, so he planned to participate in the upcoming auction to obtain the necessary materials.

However, he had spent quite a bit of his spirit stones, so he needed to dispose of some items to replenish them before the auction. In the Spirit Realm, the quantity of spirit stones was particularly abundant, so the prices of items were several times higher than in the Human Realm.

Of course, even with a lot of spirit stones in the Human Realm, he would not have been able to purchase the pill recipes or materials needed for a Deity Transformation stage cultivator.

He quietly walked through the streets and entered an empty alley.

After checking that no one was around, he heard a series of creaking sounds from his body as his physique and appearance completely changed.

Transformed into a giant with a purple face, Han Li strode out onto the street and entered a shop called the Rejuvenation Hall.

In the Spirit Realm’s market, thousand-year-old spiritual herbs were not as rare as they were in the Human Realm. However, when he presented spiritual herbs that were 7,000 to 8,000 years old, the Rejuvenation Hall readily offered him astronomical amounts of spirit stones.

As soon as Han Li received the spirit stones, he quickly left, fearing that someone might follow him. He wandered through other streets in the market, looking at the magical artifacts, treasures, and various refining materials and talismans that were being traded.

It was truly a different world.

Perhaps because the Spirit Realm was abundant in rare materials, the quality and power of magical artifacts and treasures surpassed those of the Human Realm. Even in large stores, they often sold imitations of spirit treasures.

The talismans were so bizarre and varied that it was dizzying. Many of these talismans were written with silver glyphs, but most of them were auxiliary or defensive talismans, so their prices were astronomical.

‘Hmm.’

Among them, a talisman with a faint human figure engraved on it caught Han Li’s interest.

According to the shop owner, it was an item from the Heavenly Spirit Realm, a silver glyph talisman called a puppet talisman.

The puppet talisman could summon a shadow puppet sealed within the talisman.

The puppet’s abilities and power depended entirely on the skill of the person who refined the talisman and the cultivator who controlled it. A perfect puppet talisman could even perfectly imitate the owner’s cultivation techniques and cultivation.

After looking around, Han Li thought about the remnants of the Golden Jade Book [a book containing various cultivation techniques and knowledge].

Seeing the astonishing prices of silver glyph talismans, he was motivated to properly understand the principles of the puppet talisman refining method recorded there as soon as he returned.

On that thought, Han Li immediately visited a talisman shop and purchased a generous amount of materials needed to refine silver glyph talismans.

Having finished his business, he finally headed to the giant stone hall called the Tai Xuan Hall, located in the middle of the human and demon race areas, which was his destination for this trip.

The auction was in two days, but he wanted to look around the demon market beforehand to see if there were any useful items. The demons did not participate in the human auctions and only traded the items they needed near the Tai Xuan Hall.

To prevent conflicts between demons and humans inside, human cultivators who wanted to trade had to enter the Tai Xuan Hall and receive a palm-sized jade token.

When they carried the jade token, a white aura would surround and conceal their entire body, and their cultivation would be temporarily suppressed.

In addition, with the help of the restrictions installed in the Tai Xuan Hall itself, any cultivator who tried to act rashly and use their magic power would be sent out of the stone hall. Those who did so would not be allowed to enter again for a certain period.

The demons received black flags, and the demonic energy that transformed from them concealed their appearances.

In addition, four Void Refinement stage armored guards and ten Deity Transformation stage blue-armored guards, half human and half demon, resided inside the hall to manage the area. With such a powerful force, they could respond immediately to most incidents.

Han Li also paid a large number of spirit stones to the guards outside the hall to receive a jade token, which he attached to his waist before passing through a long passage and entering a round gate.

Inside, there was a huge hall that was at least several hundred feet wide, and on the opposite side, there was a gate identical to the one he had entered.

And there were over a hundred humans and demons, surrounded by white and black auras, scattered around. Upon closer inspection, there were more humans surrounded by white auras.

About thirty of them were sitting cross-legged on both sides of the hall, displaying some items, while the rest were standing and looking around.

The cultivators would silently communicate with the owners through voice transmission if they liked an item, and some would wander around and talk before moving to a corner to whisper.

‘I’ll go there first.’

Han Li stood in place and looked around before walking to a nearby stall. The stall owner seemed to be a human cultivator surrounded by a white aura, and there were two strange items in front of him.

A faint green plant branch and a fist-sized, blood-red, sparkling crystal stone.