Han Li and the man sat on opposite sides of a square table, exchanging a few glances but neither showing any intention to initiate conversation. Cultivators who came here to purchase items rarely tried to get friendly with strangers, as it would only invite hostility.
However, the man across from him couldn’t help but glance curiously at Qu Hun, who stood by the staircase entrance without entering the main hall. With his discerning eyes, he had long recognized Qu Hun’s identity as a refined corpse, yet the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from it left him deeply puzzled.
After all, iron-armored corpses or similar undead creatures refined by cultivators were typically nothing more than immensely strong laborers and shouldn’t possess any magical power.
Suppressing the urge to ask, the man remained wary—Han Li was at the same mid-stage Foundation Establishment level as him, which made him quite cautious.
Just as Han Li finished sipping his tea, the woman finally returned to the main hall. This time, she was followed by two burly men who showed no trace of magical power and had stiff, expressionless faces—they turned out to be two remarkably lifelike puppets.
Each held a large tray, piled high and covered with a red silk cloth. Clearly, these were the treasures the shopkeeper had mentioned.
A flicker of surprise passed through Han Li’s eyes. He had just attempted to probe through the red silk with his spiritual sense to see what lay beneath, only to find it blocked by the seemingly ordinary cloth. This unexpected turn made him glance sideways at the man opposite him.
The man also wore a look of astonishment, clearly having tried the same thing.
The middle-aged woman walked over to Han Li and the other man. Before speaking, she smiled and said, “I already know Fellow Daoist Fan here, but I haven’t had the pleasure of learning your name, sir. I am surnamed Lan—you may address me as Madame Lan.” She introduced herself with an air of familiarity.
Seeing this, Han Li felt obliged to respond and reluctantly said, “My surname is Han.” Then he fell silent, adopting an aloof demeanor as if unwilling to engage further.
Madame Lan didn’t take it to heart. After all, among the cultivators who came here, eight or nine out of ten acted cold and distant like Han Li. She was long accustomed to it.
With a slight smile, she beckoned to one of the puppet attendants, which immediately stepped forward. Madame Lan then reached out with slender fingers, pulled away the red silk, and revealed the items on the tray.
Both Han Li and the man surnamed Fan fixed their gazes intently on the objects in the tray.
There were long swords, short blades, throwing darts, ring-shaped magical instruments, and even a suit of jet-black armor. Each item gleamed brilliantly, clearly far from ordinary.
Upon closer inspection, Han Li and the man reacted differently.
Fan stared intently at the tray, his eyes showing a hint of fascination, while Han Li glanced briefly before looking away, appearing utterly uninterested. This surprised Madame Lan, who gave Han Li an extra glance.
“This is called the Frost Crystal Blade,” Madame Lan said, picking up a translucent short blade from the tray. “It’s forged from rare profound crystal and ice jade. Not only is it incredibly powerful in attack, but it also carries a rare Yin cold energy that can subtly weaken an opponent’s strength during combat. It’s truly a masterpiece among top-grade magical instruments.”
As she lightly brandished the weapon, a chilling coldness suddenly filled the room, causing the maids with only Qi Refinement cultivation to shiver uncontrollably.
“Madame, may I take a closer look at this blade?” Fan asked, a trace of excitement in his voice.
With a faint smile, Madame Lan handed him the blade without hesitation, then glanced subtly at Han Li.
But Han Li’s expression remained unchanged; he simply stared down at his empty teacup, showing no interest in the magical instrument, which disappointed Madame Lan somewhat.
“Alright, I’ll take this Frost Crystal Blade. How many spirit stones will it cost?” Fan declared loudly while examining the short blade.
Madame Lan seemed slightly taken aback. “Aren’t you interested in seeing the other items?” she asked calmly.
“No need. I’m sure the other items are even better, but my funds are limited. I probably can only afford this blade. Even if the others are superior, I wouldn’t be able to buy them anyway—better not look and tempt myself!” Fan replied frankly and with a touch of humor, making the beautiful Madame Lan cover her mouth with a light laugh.
“The Frost Crystal Blade costs eight hundred spirit stones. Once you pay, it’s yours,” she said composedly after her laughter subsided.
“Good. Please check if the amount is correct,” Fan said readily, taking out a storage bag and pouring its contents onto the table. In an instant, a pile of multicolored spirit stones appeared.
Madame Lan’s eyes swept lightly over the table, and she smiled. “Why wouldn’t I trust you, Fellow Daoist? There’s no need to count.” With that, she produced a storage bag and collected all the spirit stones.
Her gesture left Fan with a favorable impression, and he bid farewell with a friendly expression.
Witnessing this, Han Li showed no emotion on his face but inwardly sneered.
“What do you mean, ‘no need to count’? What was that faint spiritual sense scanning the spirit stones just now? Clearly, this Madame Lan possesses a far stronger spiritual sense than ordinary cultivators. She can instantly verify the amount without being detected and deliberately says such ingratiating words,” Han Li thought mockingly.
Unaware that her trick had been seen through, Madame Lan watched Fan descend the stairs with a smile before turning her attention back to Han Li.
“Fellow Daoist Han doesn’t seem very interested in these items. Could it be that these magical instruments aren’t to your liking?” she asked lightly.
Strangely, even though she knew the person before her had a lower cultivation level than her, she sensed a peculiar danger from Han Li, which made her speak more cautiously and avoid offending him.
“The quality of these instruments is indeed good, but the magical device I need is rather special—it must complement my cultivation technique. Moreover, I’m not just looking for magical instruments or talismans; I also need some less common items,” Han Li replied calmly.
“Oh? If Fellow Daoist Han has such requirements, you should have said so earlier! I assumed you were like Fellow Daoist Fan, open to any type of magical instrument,” Madame Lan said with a light, surprised laugh.
“As long as you can afford the price, our Stardust Pavilion can provide you with anything you desire,” she declared with great confidence.
Han Li responded with a dry chuckle but didn’t comment further. Instead, he asked directly, “Since you say so, I’ll be straightforward. Does your esteemed pavilion have any pill recipes for Foundation Establishment cultivators? Or perhaps a set of magical instruments—the more pieces in the set, the better.”
Upon hearing his request, Madame Lan’s expression shifted slightly before quickly returning to normal.
“Your request is indeed unusual. Had it been half a month ago, I might have been stumped. But recently, our pavilion acquired two pill recipes and a set of top-grade magical instruments. However, these items are quite expensive and beyond my authority to handle. You’ll need to discuss this on the sixth floor,” she said slowly, her beautiful eyes fixed on Han Li.
“May I go to the sixth floor, then?” Han Li asked, his expression unchanged as if he had expected this.
“Of course, but according to regulations, I must verify your eligibility first,” Madame Lan said with a light laugh, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“What eligibility?” Han Li asked indifferently.
“It’s simple. You need to possess at least a thousand spirit stones or items of equivalent value,” she replied seriously.
“Are these enough?” Without another word, Han Li took out his spirit stone storage bag and tossed it to her. He had well over a thousand spirit stones—close to two thousand low-grade ones.
Madame Lan took the bag, scanned it briefly with her spiritual sense, nodded, and tossed it back.
“Follow me, Fellow Daoist Han. I’ll personally escort you to the sixth floor.” With that, she turned and walked toward the staircase without looking back.
Han Li followed silently behind.
The red-clad attendant guarding the staircase silently stepped aside as Madame Lan approached. Han Li followed her up to the sixth floor of the Stardust Pavilion.
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