“Let's split these spirit medicines evenly as we agreed on,” Duan Tianren said with undisguised excitement in his eyes as he looked at all of the jade boxes hovering in the air.
Cai Liuying was also very excited, but she shook her head, and countered, "Hold on! We did indeed agree to split these spirit medicines evenly, but the spirit stones and Crystal Moon Liquid at the end were all given by me, so I have to take 10% more than my share."
"10%? Are you planning to go back on your word, Fairy Cai? Fellow Daoist Duan and I will naturally reimburse you for your spirit stones. As for the Crystal Moon Liquid, that is indeed a holy medicine for body refinement, but how can it compare with 10% of all the precious True Immortal Realm spirit medicines here? You can have five or six extra spirit plants at most as compensation," Qian Jizi said in a cold voice as his expression darkened.
"Sure, I'll take five extra spirit plants, then," Cai Liuying eagerly agreed with a smile on her face.
Qian Jizi faltered slightly upon seeing before immediately realizing that he'd fallen for a trap, and an indignant look on his face, but he merely gave a cold harrumph before falling silent.
Meanwhile, Duan Tianren was inspecting the unfolding scenes with his arms crossed and a faint smile on his face.
Thus, the three of them immediately began to allocate the hundreds of spirit medicines between them, and after several rounds of intense bartering, they were finally able to split up all of the spirit medicines.
"Hehe, with these spirit medicines, the bottleneck that has troubled me all these years will surely be broken with ease," Duan Tianren said in a pleased manner as he stowed away his jade boxes.
"I'm sure he didn't bring out all of the spirit medicines, though; aren't you two interested in what he has left?" Qian Jizi suddenly asked as a sinister look flashed through his eyes.
Duan Tianren and Cai Liuying naturally immediately understood what he was implying, but after exchanging a glance with one another, wary looks appeared on both of their faces.
Duan Tianren contemplated the matter for a while before shaking his head in response. "The three of us will naturally be able to take him down with ease, but don't forget the order that Senior Weng issued to us a few days ago. He instructed us to allow that kid to access the teleportation formation, so he must be related to Senior Weng somehow. Also, I've heard my disciple describe the size of that medicine garden, and even if he's kept some spirit medicines in reserve, it definitely wouldn't be a lot. It's not worth risking Senior Weng's wrath to try and secure those remaining spirit medicines. On top of that, that kid is quite powerful in his own right, and he's been very cooperative, so there's no need to do something like this."
"I second Brother Duan's opinion. Even as holy race beings, we definitely don't want to risk incurring Senior Weng's wrath over something like this," Cai Liuying chimed in in a solemn manner.
"In that case, just pretend like I never said anything. It appears I was indeed a little too greedy." Qian Jizi glossed over the matter with a sheepish chuckle.
Without Cai Liuying and Duan Tianren's support, his scheme was naturally laid to rest.
At this point, Han Li had already arrived at the foot of the mountain. His robes were fluttering around him in the wind, and he had a calm and collected look on his face.
However, his mind was racing rapidly as he assessed the exchange that had just taken place.
On the surface, it seemed that he had ended up with the short end of the stick by exchanging so many True Immortal Realm spirit medicines for some materials and spirit pills. However, in his heart, he was well aware that he had actually profited greatly from the exchange.
He had naturally retained one of every type of spirit medicine that he had brought out earlier, and with the assistance of his mysterious small vial, he would be able to mass cultivate them given some time.
As such, all he was sacrificing in this exchange was actually time, and not a lot of it, at that.
With the Red Silk Fruits and Corrosive Poisonweed, he didn't know if his standard nurturing method would work, so he only handed over a few of those plants each and kept most of them for himself.
As for the unique spirit medicines and that mysterious silver lotus seed pod, he naturally hadn't handed them over either.
As such, Han Li had essentially received such immense benefits from Qian Jizi and the others at the cost of virtually nothing, so he was naturally in a very good mood.
After departing from the mountain, Han Li went to an inn on a different nearby mountain and temporarily settled there.
During the next three days, he either stayed in his room or traveled to all types of material shops in Concealed Wyrm City to purchase large amounts of materials.
These materials weren't necessarily all that precious, but they were all unique to the Thunder Continent. He was preparing to return to the Tian Yuan Continent, so he naturally had to purchase a vast quantity of these materials to ensure a sufficient supply.
On the morning of the fourth day, Han Li departed from the inn and left Concealed Wyrm City, traveling to Azure Wyrm Peak, which was a mountain that was close to 100 kilometers to the west of the city.
In this massive mountain range, this mountain was completely nondescript and didn't stand out in size, nor appearance. If it weren't for the fact that the mountain was filled with a type of tree that remained azure all year round and the shape of the mountain resembled an ascending wyrm, it would most likely completely escape one's notice.
Han Li flew over into the air above the mountain as a streak of azure light before the light faded to reveal him, and he cast his gaze downward.
With his immensely powerful spiritual sense, he was naturally able to instantly inspect the entire mountain. As a result, he discovered that the mountain was completely empty, so Xiang Zhili clearly still hadn't arrived yet.
Han Li wore a contemplative expression as he hovered in the air for a while, before suddenly sweeping a sleeve through the air, sending a dozen or so formation flags flying downward. The formation flags then vanished in a flash into the air surrounding the mountain, and only then did he descend onto its summit.
He found a clean mountain rock and sat down on it with his legs crossed and his eyes closed.
Time passed by quickly, and several hours flew by in a flash.
All of a sudden, Han Li's expression stirred slightly, and he abruptly opened his eyes as he cast his gaze toward Concealed Wyrm City.
Spiritual light flashed in the distant sky in that direction, and moments later, a streak of light appeared in the air above the mountain before descending onto it.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Junior Martial Brother Han, I had some things to take care of, which delayed my arrival." The light receded to reveal a yellow-robed elderly man, who cupped his fist in a salute toward Han Li in an apologetic manner.
It was none other than Xiang Zhili.
"That's alright, I only arrived not long ago as well. Can you tell me what you have to say now, Senior Martial Brother Xiang?" Han Li asked in a calm manner.
"Of course. However, before that, I have to show you something first." Xiang Zhili reached one of his hands out of his wide sleeve to reveal a shimmering green jade box before handing it over to Han Li with a smile on his face.
Han Li glanced at the jade box before sweeping his spiritual sense toward it, only for his spiritual sense to be immediately repelled. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes, and he asked, "Is this the item that you want to give me, Senior Martial Brother Xiang? What is it? You're certainly being very secretive about this!"
An extremely profound restriction seemed to have been set up inside the jade box.
"Hehe, you'll know once you open it, Junior Martial Brother Han," Xiang Zhili encouraged with a mysterious smile.
Han Li nodded in response before accepting the green jade box to find that it was as light as air.
He then took another glance at Xiang Zhili with a peculiar look on his face before suddenly tossing the jade box into the air. A streak of azure sword Qi that was around 10 feet in length flew out of his sleeve before striking the box viciously in a flash.
"Argh!"
Xiang Zhili immediately let loose a cry of surprise upon seeing this, but it was too late for him to stop Han Li.
The jade box was sliced open by the sword Qi amid a faint crack, and an item drifted out of it.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly to inspect the item, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
This was a shimmering golden talisman with profound silver patterns all over its surface. On top of that, there were countless golden and silver runes surrounding the talisman, giving it an air of mystery.
A calm expression reappeared on Xiang Zhili's face, and he made no mention of how Han Li had sliced open the box. Instead, he said in an earnest manner, "This is a Giant Spirit Talisman that I obtained by chance in the human world, but it requires someone of the Deity Transformation Stage or above to be able to refine it. It's all thanks to this talisman that I was able to survive my tumultuous trip through the spatial node into this realm. However, my cultivation base has plummeted all the way to the Core Formation Stage, so I have no use for it anymore. As such, I decided to give it to you, but in exchange, I want you to do something for me once you return to the human race. Rest assured, this is something that's well within your capabilities."
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but he didn't immediately respond. Instead, he made a grabbing motion upward, and a burst of invisible force drew the golden talisman into his hand.
His heart stirred slightly as he sensed the pure spiritual power emanating from the Giant Spirit Talisman, and several thin translucent threads suddenly erupted out of his glabella before vanishing into the talisman in a flash.
"Spiritual sense crystallization!" Xiang Zhili couldn't help but exclaim as a hint of shock flashed through his eyes.
Right in the next instant, a startling turn of events suddenly unfolded.
The Giant Spirit Talisman suddenly began to release a faint buzzing sound while its golden color instantly turned black. At the same time, a burst of grey Qi appeared over its surface, and a plume of greyish-white thin threads erupted from the talisman.
The threads reached Han Li in a flash, but Han Li seemed to have anticipated that this would happen, and he remained completely unflustered. Spiritual light flashed, and a dense indestructible-looking golden light barrier appeared in front of him.
At Han Li's current cultivation base, the protective spiritual light formed by his Provenance True Devil Arts was completely impervious to the effects of normal treasures.
However, this proved not to be the case here! The greyish-white threads punctured through the golden light in a flash before vanishing into his body.
A bone-chilling sensation immediately spread through Han Li's body from the greyish-white threads, and within the span of a single breath, his body had become completely numb and immobilized.
At the same time, a sinister look suddenly appeared on Xiang Zhili's face. As soon as the greyish-white threads vanished into Han Li's body, he immediately made a hand seal, upon which his body abruptly exploded.
Blood and flesh flew in all directions, revealing a crimson shadow. Bright crimson light then erupted forth as the crimson shadow hurtled toward Han Li, leaving an overwhelming stench of blood and gore in its wake.