To be honest, Han Li was quite curious about the shopkeeper of the sixth floor. Since Lady Lan of the fifth floor was already at the late Foundation Establishment stage, could the sixth-floor shopkeeper possibly be a Core Formation senior?
Han Li felt a flicker of anticipation!
Standing behind Lady Lan, Han Li stared blankly at the girl before him, who appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen years old.
She was dressed plainly and had delicate, pleasant features—at best, she could be considered above average in appearance. But the fact that the sixth-floor shopkeeper was an ordinary mortal girl without a trace of spiritual power was completely unexpected for Han Li.
What surprised him even more was that as soon as the girl saw Lady Lan, she happily rushed over, grabbed her arm, and affectionately called her “Aunt Lan” over and over again. She didn’t even spare Han Li a glance, which left him feeling somewhat annoyed.
“Alright, Xiu’er! We have a guest here!” Although Lady Lan said this, the doting tone in her voice was unmistakable to anyone listening.
“A guest?” The girl finally glanced casually at Han Li, her expression full of indifference.
“Yes, Fellow Daoist Han is here to buy a pill formula and that set of magic tools we received earlier. So, I brought him up to the sixth floor for you to assist. I need to go back down now—there might be other guests on the fifth floor,” the woman said with evident affection.
“In that case, when Aunt Lan has some free time, you must come up and keep me company,” the girl said reluctantly.
Lady Lan smiled kindly and, under the girl’s gaze, descended the stairs.
“What kind of pill formula are you looking for? I have seven or eight here, but only two are suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators. And they’re terrifyingly expensive—definitely not something a few hundred spirit stones can cover,” the girl finally turned to Han Li and spoke coldly.
Hearing her tone, Han Li wasn’t angered but instead smiled.
“As long as the pill formulas are genuine, price won’t be an issue,” Han Li replied with unusual confidence, which made the girl pause and study him more seriously.
“Wait a moment, then. I’ll have someone bring the pill formulas and that set of magic tools,” the girl said, her expression softening slightly. After all, a customer who seemed generous was always welcome.
She took out a small bronze bell from her person, shook it rhythmically a few times, and then casually sat down on a wooden chair, showing no intention of entertaining Han Li further.
Han Li was slightly taken aback but calmly pulled over another chair and sat down opposite her, with only a wooden table between them.
His action caused the girl to frown slightly. Though she seemed displeased, she ultimately said nothing.
A moment later, a young female cultivator entered, carrying two jade boxes—one large and one small.
“Just leave them here,” the girl said emotionlessly, pointing to the nearby table.
“Yes, Miss!” the female cultivator replied respectfully, placed the jade boxes on the table, and withdrew.
Seeing the cultivator show such deference to a mortal girl, Han Li’s eyes flickered with surprise.
“The pill formulas and magic tools are here. Take a look yourself. If you’re satisfied, I’ll tell you the price,” the girl said calmly, pushing the jade boxes toward Han Li.
Since she had said so, Han Li didn’t stand on ceremony. He picked up the smaller jade box, opened the lid, and revealed two jade slips—one red and one white.
He took out both jade slips, closed his eyes slightly, and slowly channeled his spiritual sense into them.
While Han Li examined the pill formulas inside the jade slips, the girl took out a pristine silk book and began reading it intently, completely ignoring his presence.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense, a contemplative expression on his face.
One of the pill formulas turned out to be the ancient “Spirit Gathering Pill” formula that Lei Wanhe had already provided him—useless to him now. The other was not an ancient formula but one called “True Essence Pill.” The ingredients required, aside from needing longer maturation, were relatively easy to gather, making it quite suitable for him.
However, the price of this formula was likely several times that of the ancient “Spirit Gathering Pill” formula. After all, Han Li was well aware of the difference in value between ancient and ordinary pill formulas in the cultivation world.
With this in mind, Han Li calmly returned the two jade slips to the box and picked up the larger jade box, opening its lid.
What he saw inside gave him pause—thirteen gleaming red needles, each about an inch long, glowing faintly with a fiery red luminescence.
“Flying needle magic tools?” Han Li couldn’t help muttering in surprise.
Though Han Li considered himself well-versed in magic tools, flying needle types were something he had never encountered before, nor had he ever seen anyone use them. His interest was immediately piqued.
Hearing Han Li’s murmur, the girl glanced up at him, a flicker of displeasure crossing her face before she resumed reading her silk book expressionlessly.
At that moment, Han Li was carefully examining one of the red needles between two fingers, completely oblivious to the girl’s reaction. Even if he had noticed, he wouldn’t have paid any mind to her spoiled demeanor.
His eyes were half-closed, his expression extremely serious.
Although Han Li had never seen other needle-type magic tools, he had often heard rumors about the vicious and insidious nature of flying needles.
It was said that while flying needle magic tools had slightly lower attack power compared to ordinary magic tools, their small size and incredible speed made them ideal for ambushes and sneak attacks. Many cultivators even referred to them as “shadow tools,” and their reputation in the cultivation world was considerable!
Naturally, due to their small size, flying needle magic tools required special materials for crafting and were several times more difficult to produce than other magic tools. They were exceedingly rare in the cultivation world. Those who possessed them often treated them as trump cards, rarely revealing them to others.
And now, Han Li was looking at thirteen of them at once—how could he not be astonished?
“Miss, does this set of flying needles have a name?” Han Li asked calmly, though inwardly he was thrilled.
“Red Thread Escape Light Needles,” the girl replied indifferently, setting down her book.
“Good. I’ll take this set of flying needles and the True Essence Pill formula,” Han Li said without hesitation.
“Oh? You really want this set of magic tools?” The girl’s expression turned peculiar, as if she couldn’t believe it.
“What? Is there something wrong with them, or does your pavilion not actually intend to sell them?” Han Li raised an eyebrow, slightly annoyed.
“You misunderstand. Although these Red Thread Escape Light Needles are extremely precious, they’re not something our Star Dust Pavilion would withhold. The reason I asked is that I must inform you beforehand: this set of flying needles is quite different from ordinary magic tools. They have no primary or secondary needles—to use them, you must control all thirteen needles simultaneously. Otherwise, they won’t activate,” the girl explained coldly, her gaze icy.
“Control all at once?” Han Li suddenly understood. No wonder such a rare set of flying needle magic tools remained unsold—the spiritual sense requirement was exceptionally high.
“Exactly. Aunt Lan also fancied this set initially, but she could only control eight or nine needles at most, so she gave up,” the girl added without a trace of a smile.
“Thirteen needles?” Han Li chuckled lightly. Suddenly, he raised a hand and beckoned toward the remaining needles in the box. In a flash of red light, all the needles floated up simultaneously. They then transformed into over a dozen barely visible red threads, weaving rapidly around Han Li and forming a delicate red net in the blink of an eye.
Witnessing this, the girl’s mouth slightly agape, her face showing astonishment for the first time.
Han Li waved his hand, and the red threads flew back into the jade box, reverting to their needle forms.
“I suppose I can purchase these magic tools now?” Han Li said calmly, his expression unchanged.
“Since you can use them, of course! Together with the True Essence Pill formula, that will be four thousand spirit stones,” the girl replied, her face back to its emotionless state.
“Four thousand spirit stones!” Han Li rubbed his nose, the price surprisingly higher than he had expected.
“The formula is fifteen hundred, and the needles are twenty-five hundred,” the girl stated without hesitation.
To be honest, in her view, four thousand spirit stones wasn’t expensive at all. Both items were rare treasures in the cultivation world. If not for the recent defeat of the Three Nations Alliance by the Devil Dao, they would never have been put up for sale.
Just then, Han Li straightened up, his expression turning serious as he asked, “Might I ask how your pavilion acquires thousand-year spiritual medicines?”
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