“Although our Six United Palaces haven’t entered the ranks of the Four Great Merchant Alliances, we’re still a reputable business in the Chaotic Star Seas. These two spiritual items may be rare, but they’re not beyond our means. Fellow Daoist Qu, please take them as an early congratulatory gift from our Six United Palaces for your upcoming Core Formation.” The bearded man waved his hand dismissively as he spoke.
Hearing this, Han Li did not immediately agree with overwhelming joy. Instead, he secretly frowned.
Giving away such precious gifts for free? Han Li didn’t believe there were such good things in this world. Even if Qu Hun was a False Core cultivator as they said, these two didn’t need to suck up to him like this. Did they have ulterior motives? Thinking this, Han Li became even more cautious.
He made Qu Hun shake his head seriously and say, “This won’t do. I understand the principle of not accepting rewards without merit. These two items should be priced accordingly—I have enough spirit stones. Or do you two have some unspoken difficulties?” After speaking, Qu Hun showed a faint, ambiguous smile.
Seeing Qu Soul so wary of benefits handed to him on a platter, Cao Lu and the bearded man were taken aback and couldn’t help but exchange a glance.
After a brief eye exchange, Cao Lu coughed dryly and said, “We’ve made fools of ourselves in front of you, Fellow Daoist. Since you’re an understanding person, I’ll be frank. We do have a matter that requires your assistance. These two spiritual items are just a preliminary gesture from our Six United Palaces. If the matter is successful, our shop will have additional generous gifts.” This time, Cao Lu spoke quite sincerely, while the bearded man showed a hint of embarrassment.
But Han Li inwardly sneered a few times. He forced a slight smile and politely declined, “To be honest with you both, I’m currently fully focused on Core Formation matters and have no mind for other affairs. My apologies, but please find someone else.”
Qu Hun didn’t even bother to hear what the matter was and cut them off before they could say another word.
Hearing Qu Hun’s response, Cao Lu and the bearded man weren’t angry. Instead, they laughed heartily one after another.
“Haha, since Fellow Daoist Qu is so concerned about Core Formation, then you should help with this matter! Because if it succeeds, the reward from our Six United Palaces is a ‘Dustfall Pill.’ This pill greatly aids in Core Formation, increasing the chances of success!” The bearded man laughed heartily.
“Dustfall Pill?” Qu Hun murmured, slightly stunned.
“Yes, this time our Six United Palaces need six False Core cultivators. We’ve already found five and are just short one. It would be excellent if you agreed to join. Each participating cultivator will receive a Dustfall Pill from our shop.” Cao Lu put away his smile and spoke solemnly.
The “Dustfall Pill” might indeed be famous in the Chaotic Star Seas, but how would Han Li, who had secluded himself immediately after arriving at Kuixing Island, know if this pill was as miraculous as they claimed?
After a moment of contemplation, Qu Hun cautiously inquired, “Fellow Daoists, could you first clarify what exactly you need my assistance with? Then I can make a decision.”
“Of course. It’s actually not complicated. Our shop has discovered a grade-six demon beast and wants to obtain its demon core, so we’re seeking external help to eliminate it.” Cao Lu chuckled lightly, downplaying the matter.
“Grade-six demon beast?” Qu Hun smiled bitterly, while Han Li on the side nearly jumped up and cursed them. Back then, a grade-four giant mantis demon beast had almost killed him. Now, a grade-six one? Were they trying to get a group of cultivators killed?
“Don’t worry, Fellow Daoist. Our shop has made thorough preparations for this operation, so there’s not much danger. Besides our shop’s two Core Formation guest elders, we’ve also set up the ‘Six Water Escape Array.’ We just need six False Core cultivators to oversee the array.” Seeming to notice Qu Hun’s displeasure, the bearded man quickly explained.
“Six Water Escape Array!” Han Li found the name familiar, recalling that among the array insights Xin Ruyin had given him, there was information about this very array.
“Since this matter is significant, please allow me two days to consider, Fellow Daoists. I’ll give you an answer in two days.” Under Han Li’s control, Qu Hun still opted for delaying tactics.
Hearing Qu Hun’s vague words, Cao Lu was initially stunned but quickly agreed with a full smile.
As Han Li and Qu Hun were about to depart, Cao Lu and the bearded man insisted that Han Li take the “Snow Spirit Water” and “Skyfire Liquid” with him. They politely stated that even if Qu Hun did not agree to the matter later, it was of no consequence—they were resolved to befriend him.
Hearing such ingratiating words, Qu Hun smiled slightly and, without refusal, accepted the jade box. After a few polite words, he left the hall with Han Li.
Once outside the White Water Pavilion, Han Li glanced back, shook his head slightly, found a street, and left the square.
Since these six halls actually belonged to the same organization, Han Li naturally couldn’t go to these places to bargain for items anymore, especially after accepting their free gifts. So, he decided to check out the smaller peripheral shops to complete his shopping list.
Besides the “Snow Spirit Water” and “Skyfire Liquid” for Core Formation, Han Li also needed materials for crafting second-level puppets. Although he could cultivate the main material, centuries-old ironwood, himself, he still needed to purchase a large batch of auxiliary materials like iron essence and cloud essence stone.
Additionally, he needed seeds for some medicinal herbs to refine “Spirit Nurturing Pills” to properly train his two white spiders.
With this in mind, Han Li entered a small sundry shop and bought most of what he needed. For the rarer items he couldn’t find, he visited a few more shops and eventually acquired them all.
Feeling relieved, Han Li started browsing other types of shops.
He was most interested in shops selling pills and cultivation manuals. After all, his pill formulas were mostly used up, and he hoped to acquire one or two here.
As for cultivation techniques, although he couldn’t expect top-tier ones here, even ordinary ones would help him understand what kinds of techniques cultivators in the Chaotic Star Seas practiced.
But after looking around, Han Li was astonished!
When he left Soul outside and entered a pill shop himself, asking if they had Foundation Establishment pill formulas for sale, the shop assistant actually tossed him several dozen various pill formulas at once. Han Li was so shocked he nearly bit his tongue.
When he examined all the formulas with an incredulous expression, he was completely dumbfounded.
Regardless of how precious or useful the pills these formulas produced were, their main ingredients weren’t spiritual herbs but various grades of demon beast cores. Particularly for several rare pills, they even required cores from sixth or seventh-grade demon beasts.
Although these pills still required some centuries-old spiritual herbs for refinement, in these formulas, the herbs had become auxiliary materials that could be completely substituted with other spiritual medicines.
Holding this thick stack of pill formulas, Han Li stood stunned for a long time.
Under the shop assistant’s strange gaze, he randomly bought a few applicable formulas at very low prices and walked out in a daze.
Moments later, still unwilling to give up, he visited several more pill shops, but except for low-level Qi Condensation formulas, all high-level formulas were like this.
Finally, unable to resist, Han Li cautiously asked a shopkeeper if they had high-level pill formulas that didn’t require demon beast cores. The shopkeeper looked at Han Li as if he were an idiot for a while before saying, “If high-level pills aren’t refined with demon beast cores, what ingredients should be used?”
Hearing this, Han Li walked out somewhat embarrassedly, completely giving up hope.
Clearly, the pill dao of cultivators in the Chaotic Star Seas followed a completely different path from Tiannan. They actually used sea demon beasts as spiritual medicines!
But upon careful thought, this seemed quite reasonable! After all, given the boundless sea with its countless demon beasts, even ancient people couldn’t have captured them to extinction. This was naturally much better than the situation in Tiannan. Presumably, these pill formulas had been passed down since ancient times!
Thinking this, Han Li stood in a remote corner of a street, found a pill formula also called “Foundation Establishment Pill” among those he bought, and examined it carefully.
This formula was mostly identical to the Foundation Establishment Pill formula Han Li remembered, but the several heaven-and-earth spiritual medicines that could only be gathered in the Bloody Forbidden Land were replaced with several fifth-grade demon beast cores.
Seeing this, Han Li put away these pill formulas, crossed his arms, and fell deep into thought.
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