The True Harvest

Chapter 132: The True Harvest

Han Li was greatly disappointed by the answer, though not terribly surprised. After all, the “Yellow Dragon Pill” and “Golden Marrow Pill” were merely sacred medicines of the mortal world. To ordinary people, they might be miraculous, but to a cultivator, they were indeed inferior.

Since the other party wasn’t interested, Han Li didn’t plan to waste any more words. He reached out to retrieve the porcelain bottle.

“But even if the medicine is a bit weak, if you had a few more bottles, I might still be willing to trade!” the young man suddenly spoke, his face showing a look of regret.

Han Li’s outstretched arm froze. He pulled it back and let out a light laugh.

“Did I say these two bottles were all I had?” Han Li’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the young man, speaking slowly.

“You have more?” The young man was slightly startled, then immediately revealed a look of delight.

“Of course. But if you want too many, I’ll have to reconsider whether this trade is worth making,” Han Li said noncommittally, afraid the other party would try to fleece him.

“Excellent! No need for too many. Just three more bottles will be enough to let me break through my bottleneck in a short time.” The young man grew excited, his manner suddenly warm and enthusiastic, a stark contrast to his earlier cold demeanor.

This was hardly surprising. Any medicine that strengthened the foundation and nourished the origin to help advance one’s cultivation technique was something no one would willingly trade away. They wouldn’t even have enough for their own use! This was the main reason the young man hadn’t been able to trade away his “Flight Talisman” in the past few days.

Even though Han Li’s “Yellow Dragon Pill” and “Golden Marrow Pill” were not high-grade immortal medicines by a cultivator’s standards, their sheer quantity would be more than enough to push this man, who had been stuck at the peak of the ninth layer for a long time, into the tenth layer, granting him a significant boost in power.

But only someone like Han Li, who ate such medicines like snacks, could afford to trade them away. However, Han Li knew the principle of not revealing one’s wealth. He didn’t want to give the other party the impression that he could casually produce large quantities of medicine without the slightest concern.

So, he rubbed his chin and put on a pained and reluctant expression.

“I see… That’s quite a lot, isn’t it? You want me to trade away all the medicine on me?” Han Li deliberately muttered under his breath, just loud enough to be heard.

“That’s not a lot at all! This is a high-grade spirit talisman, after all! Just think—with this talisman on your person, if you ever run into danger, you can immediately soar into the sky and travel far away. It’s much faster than ordinary birds! That’s like having an extra life! And as long as the talisman’s spiritual energy isn’t depleted, it can be used over and over again. It’s a very practical spirit talisman!” The young man’s smile grew even wider when he saw that Han Li genuinely seemed able to produce the needed medicine. He energetically promoted the virtues of his Flight Talisman, afraid that Han Li would change his mind and refuse the trade.

“Alright, I’ll trade. But throw in that stack of talisman paper as a sweetener. And that book,” Han Li said, pointing at a stack of blank talisman paper and a worn, tattered copy of A Fragmentary Manual of Basic Incantations.

The young man was momentarily stunned, but when he saw that Han Li was only pointing at some low-grade talisman paper and a book of incantations that hadn’t sold at all, he was overjoyed and immediately agreed.

And so, the “Flight Talisman” became Han Li’s possession, along with a stack of talisman paper and a book of spells he had already set his sights on long ago.

Han Li casually flipped through the old book. It contained the most basic of basic incantations—seven or eight low-grade spells and one early mid-grade spell called “Earth Spike Technique.”

To any other cultivator, such a book would be utterly worthless. But Han Li was greatly satisfied with it.

What he currently lacked was exactly this type of foundational spell method. Although earlier stalls had also sold such books, which were even better and more complete, their prices were ridiculously high.

A single copy of The Complete Compendium of Five Elements Basic Incantations was priced at ninety low-grade spirit stones, and another titled Fundamentals of Water Talisman Spellcraft cost sixty low-grade spirit stones. These books were indeed thicker and contained more spell methods, but there was no way Han Li could afford them right now.

Having obtained these items, Han Li felt a bit tired and had no heart to continue browsing. He left the square directly and headed toward the cluster of pavilions.

When he was a short distance away from the square, Han Li turned back to take another look. It seemed even more people had crowded inside. It appeared there were quite a few night-owl cultivators who preferred to be active in the dark.

As he drew closer to these palace-like buildings, Han Li noticed that they were constructed from extremely rare tongmu wood and large blocks of greenstone. Not only was every building exquisitely built, adorned with carved dragons and painted phoenixes, but there were also faint fluctuations of spiritual power detectable near each structure. This must be the restrictive spell Azure Pattern had mentioned.

Han Li circled around until he found the pavilion he was looking for, then walked up to it.

But when he was still several zhang away from his target, he suddenly felt himself hit something, and a powerful, invisible force abruptly pushed him back, forcing him to stumble several steps backward.

Han Li was both surprised and a little excited. It seemed there was still so much about the cultivation world that he didn’t know. He truly wished he could learn all of it.

As he thought this, Han Li’s mind stirred. He activated his Celestial Eye Technique and looked toward the small building again.

This time, he saw a faint layer of green light blocking his path up ahead. The entire pavilion was covered by this green light, as if trapped under a giant inverted bowl.

Han Li approached again and extended a finger, gently poking the green light. It gave a soft, highly elastic feeling. When he pressed a little harder, an invisible force rebounded against him. It seemed the defensive power of this green light was quite effective.

Having figured out what the green light did, Han Li stopped investigating and instead took out the talisman Azure Pattern had given him. He pressed it against the light barrier. The green surface immediately rippled with circles, and a hole appeared, just large enough for Han Li to pass through.

Han Li didn’t stand on ceremony. He put the talisman away and stepped through the opening, walking toward the building. The hole slowly shrank and finally sealed itself completely, the light barrier returning to its original state.

The pavilion before him wasn’t very large. At two stories, it stood perhaps a little over ten zhang tall, but judging by the floor space, it could comfortably house a dozen people.

Han Li smiled slightly and stepped into the building, entering the main hall on the first floor. The hall was furnished simply and elegantly, with only two octagonal tables and a dozen wooden chairs. It had a hint of a reclusive cultivator’s austere purity.

A young monk named Ku Sang was sitting quietly in a corner of the hall, his eyes closed as he recited sutras, looking every bit a virtuous, enlightened monk. Han Li didn’t see any of the others.

“Reverend Ku Sang, has Daoist Azure Pattern returned yet?” Han Li walked over to the monk and asked politely.

The young monk didn’t acknowledge him. He continued his murmuring until Han Li was just about to lose patience. Only then did the monk open his eyes and speak to him with an apologetic expression.

“Please forgive me, Benefactor Han. This humble monk was just reciting the Diamond Sutra at a critical passage and could not stop. Please do not take offense.”

Hearing this, Han Li let out a dry laugh. “Of course not! I have the greatest respect for people who can focus so completely.”

Hearing Han Li’s reply, the young monk smiled and then spoke in a leisurely tone. “Daoist Azure Pattern and the others are waiting for Benefactor Han on the second floor. They instructed me to tell you to go up immediately. It seems they have something to discuss with you.”

Han Li felt a little annoyed.

This little monk… If someone was looking for me, why didn’t he just tell me right away? Why all this dragging it out? Note to self: stay far away from monks from now on.

Grumbling internally, Han Li hid his displeasure behind an impassive face. He nodded and made his way to the staircase near the hall, climbing steadily to the second floor.

As soon as he reached the top, he saw the two brothers, Blackwood and Blackgold, whispering about something at the top of the stairs. Seeing Han Li coming up, they immediately stopped their conversation and came forward to greet him.

“Brother Han, Daoist Azure Pattern is waiting for you in the room. Follow us,” one of them said.

Han Li’s expression remained indifferent. Without a word, he followed them through the winding corridor until they entered a room.

There were many people inside. Aside from the monk, everyone else was present, plus two unfamiliar faces.

One was a grinning young man of about sixteen or seventeen. The other was a plump, fair-skinned man in his early twenties. It seemed these two were the troublemakers that even Azure Pattern had found somewhat difficult to deal with.

“Brother Han has arrived! Please, sit.” Azure Pattern the Daoist gestured politely to a chair beside him.

Han Li nodded and sat down.

“These two are Wu Jiuzhi of Cloud Gate Ravine and Huang Xiaotian from Stone Break Valley,” Azure Pattern said, gesturing toward the young man and the fat man in turn, making the introductions.