"If I don't get to choose, then I'd rather keep this spirit herb for the next round of exchanges," Han Li replied with furrowed brows.
"You're naturally well within your right to do that, but I must caution you that different materials will be required to exchange for the next few treasures we'll be offering. These treasures have all been contributed by different elders of our Black Realm, and all of them have different needs. Hence, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to exchange for two treasures even with this spirit herb of yours if you pass up this Heavenmatch Bell," the golden-masked figure said.
"Are you saying the next few treasures will be even more precious than this Heavenmatch Bell?" Han Li's heart stirred upon hearing this.
"Hehe, that'll depend on what you perceive to be of value," the golden-masked man replied in an ambiguous manner, not disclosing any further information to Han Li.
Han Li's lips twitched slightly upon hearing this.
The golden-masked man thought that he was interested in the Heavenmatch Bell, when in reality, he only wanted the accompanying foreign body refinement art; as for whether he could secure the bell or not, that was completely inconsequential to him.
With that in mind, Han Li asked, "How will I know that this second treasure is one of the most precious treasures on offer for exchange as you proclaim? What if you find a random treasure to swindle me with?"
The golden-masked man was clearly very confident in this second treasure, and he replied in a proud manner, "Hehe, you don't have to worry about that, Fellow Daoist; I'm sure that a cultivator of your caliber will be able to identify a precious treasure from a dud. If you're not satisfied with the second treasure, you can always refuse to make the exchange."
After a brief pause for contemplation, Han Li agreed to this arrangement. "In that case, you have to let me see the second treasure first, right? If it's indeed useful to me, then I'll accept the exchange."
The golden-masked man's confident display made him quite curious about just what this second treasure was.
"Sure, please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist." The golden-masked figure smiled as spiritual light flashed from his hand, and a golden cloth pouch appeared before being tossed into the air.
White light flashed, and the white snake sprang forth like lightning, swallowing the pouch before flying out of the light barrier and heading back to Han Li.
Han Li extended a hand, and the golden pouch fell into his grasp.
He raised an eyebrow as he immediately loosened the opening of the pouch, then swept his spiritual sense into it, following which a stunned look abruptly appeared on his face.
As soon as he opened the pouch, bright azure light erupted forth, accompanied by a burst of buzzing. Immediately thereafter, something attempted to fly out of the pouch, and Han Li immediately placed a hand over the pouch's opening, sealing it amid a flash of golden spiritual light.
The azure light and the strange buzzing sound both vanished after that flash of golden light.
"What is the meaning of this?" Han Li stared blankly at the pouch for a long while before abruptly turning to the golden-masked man and transmitting his voice toward him again.
"I'm offering that item and the Heavenmatch Bell for your Yin Phoenix Herb," the golden-masked figure replied with a confident smile.
"Hmph, if this item were completely refined, then it would naturally be an extraordinary treasure, but you're trying to exchange for my Yin Phoenix Herb with just an embryo? You sure are a shrewd businessman!" Han Li harrumphed coldly.
"Do you think we'd be offering this item if it were completely refined? In that case, even without the Heavenmatch Bell, just this item alone would be worth seven or eight Yin Phoenix Herbs of the same age," the golden-masked figure replied in an unyielding manner.
"That's true. This item would indeed be indispensable to any cultivator after being fully refined. However, an embryo is still an embryo; it's still far from being completely refined. Who knows if it'll be worth exchanging such a precious spirit herb for something that'll be completely useless during the upcoming devilish tribulation?" Han Li sighed after a brief pause.
"Hehe, that'll be up to your luck, Fellow Daoist. If you can survive the devilish tribulation, then find a way to refine this item, then you'll have earned yourself an extraordinary asset. Truth be told, this is something that one of our Black Realm elders was refining, and he only decided to offer it for exchange as he knew that he wouldn't be able to completely refine it," the golden-masked man revealed in a truthful manner.
Han Li stroked his chin and fell into silent contemplation.
The item in the pouch was a legendary treasure among the human and demon races, and once successfully refined, it could assist a cultivator significantly in their cultivation. It was said that only a tiny handful of people possessed this type of treasure in the entirety of the two races. At present, it was only a semi-finished product, but if it weren't for the imminent devilish tribulation, Han Li would exchange it for his Yin Phoenix Herb almost without any hesitation, let alone the fact that the Heavenmatch Bell was also being thrown into the deal. However, this treasure was a spirit item that was born from heaven and earth. Not only was it extremely difficult to form its embryo, completing its refinement was virtually an impossible task. Otherwise, such a valuable treasure wouldn't be so exceedingly rare among the two races.
Even so, the miraculous effects of this treasure in its fully refined form still posed quite a tempting prospect to Han Li, and it was no wonder that the golden-masked man was so confident that he would agree to this exchange.
At the same time, it also showed just how determined he was to secure this Yin Phoenix Herb.
Through the interaction between Han Li and the golden-masked man, the other people in the nearby stone pavilions had also deduced that there was a good chance that this exchange would be a successful one.
As such, many people were naturally curious about just what was in the jade box that Han Li had offered, and what was in the cloth pouch that the golden-masked man had offered in exchange. However, with the powerful spiritual sense restrictions in this place, they were naturally unable to ascertain any of those details.
"Alright, I agree to this exchange!" Han Li officially agreed after just a brief moment of contemplation.
"You've definitely made the right decision, Fellow Daoist!" the golden-masked man said with an elated look in his eyes.
He then swept his sleeve toward the Heavenmatch Bell to send a burst of golden light surging toward it, and the giant bell rapidly shrank down to around the size of a human palm in the blink of an eye, then hovered in mid-air within the golden light.
The purple club had also shrunk down to around the thickness of a finger, and was drawn into his hand as a streak of purple light.
The rest of the process was very simple. The golden-masked man placed these two items into a wooden box before making a hand seal, and a giant black crow abruptly appeared in the air above the platform. The crow caught the black box between its beak before delivering it to Han Li, while the golden-masked figure carefully stowed away the jade box containing the Yin Phoenix Herb.
Han Li also stowed away the Heavenmatch Bell and golden pouch before laying back in his seat and closing his eyes again. Thus, the exchange had been completed.
Number 11 immediately resumed her gentle massage.
"Alright, the first treasure has been successfully exchanged. I'll now be bringing out some tool and pill refinement materials that are extremely rare in the outside world; I'm sure they'll pique the interest of many of the fellow Daoists present. These materials aren't extremely precious, but they're all very pragmatic items that are in severe shortage. Due to the vast amount of these materials, we'll be exchanging them in three separate batches. Please pay attention, I'll now be displaying a new list of items that we're looking for in exchange for these materials. If more than one person sets their eyes on a single batch of materials, then I'll be the one to decide which exchange is more favorable for our Black Realm," the golden-masked man announced.
At the same time, two jade slips appeared in his hands, and he waved them through the air in unison.
The ancient characters hovering in the air began to change, with some of the original items vanishing, while many new items were added to the list, as well.
At the same time, another light screen appeared beside the existing one, and that screen displayed the three batches of materials that the Black Realm was offering for exchange, of which there was an absolutely staggering amount.
It was quite clear that these materials were extremely popular, and as soon as they were displayed, many people immediately began to offer exchanges, and the silent atmosphere in the hall was immediately set alight.
As for Han Li, he merely looked on and displayed no intention of making any offers.
The three batches of materials were quickly exchanged, and the next "item" that the golden-masked man presented came as quite a surprise to Han Li.
This was a group of seven exquisitely beautiful human women, each of which were at the Foundation Establishment Stage or above, and they all had special constitutions that made them extremely viable dual cultivation partners.
They were all quite young, and only minimal nurturing would be required to develop them into exceptional concubines or dual cultivation partners, so there was naturally a lot of interest displayed toward them as well.
After much competition, a mysterious purple-robed man secured this "item" with a piece of Profound Light Iron in exchange.
After that, the Black Realm brought out their second major treasure for exchange, which was a peculiar antiquated yellow flag.
It was an extremely powerful treasure left behind by a mighty figure back when the human race first established itself in the Spirit Realm. Even to this day, that mighty figure was still vastly renowned, and it was said that this treasure possessed extraordinary powers. On top of that, it was very versatile and could be used as the core of a super formation, or simply used as a weapon against enemies in battle.
Even Han Li was tempted by these treasures, but unfortunately, the golden-masked man presented a list of only three other treasures in exchange for this item, each of which was no less precious than this flag, and that naturally proved to be a significant hurdle for those who were interested in the treasure.
Coincidentally, one of the people present really did have one of the three stipulated treasures, and not only did he secure the yellow flag, after some bartering, they also secured an additional large sum of spirit stones in exchange as well.
This was a mysterious individual enshrouded under a cloud of blood mist, and Han Li couldn't help but turn toward them with an intrigued expression.