The Treasure of the Brocade Box

Tian Zhanggui began introducing the contents of the brocade boxes to Han Li.

"This is a set of Golden Fleece Mother-Son Blades," he said, pointing to a set of strange, pale-golden blades in one box. "One mother blade and eight son blades, forged from refined iron and essence gold by a Foundation Establishment expert over three days and nights. Holding the mother blade allows you to control all eight son blades simultaneously to attack your enemy, making them impossible to defend against. Extremely sharp."

Han Li said nothing. He reached out, picked up one of the son blades, examined it closely for a moment, then nodded and set it back down.

"Here we have the Mysterious Iron Floating Shield," Tian Zhanggui continued, picking up a palm-sized miniature iron shield. "A very rare defensive magical tool, refined from massive pieces of Mysterious Iron from a cold yin land. Not only is it incredibly sturdy and unbreakable, but once activated with magical power, it will automatically orbit you and provide defense." He handed the shield to Han Li for inspection.

Han Li took the shield, lightly stroked the patterns on its surface, pondered for a moment, then asked a question:

"May I activate it to test it?"

"Of course, Brother Li, please go ahead!" Tian Zhanggui replied generously.

Since the other party had agreed, Han Li did not stand on ceremony. He slowly infused his spiritual power into the object in his hand.

The iron shield immediately lit up with a dark light, expanding several times in the blink of an eye. It flew from his palm, hovered in the air, and began to slowly orbit him. Judging by its size, it was perfectly capable of covering certain vital points on his body.

A flicker of joy passed through Han Li's heart. He slightly diverted his concentration to manipulate it, and indeed, the shield could fly up and down freely as he wished, proving to be very nimble and flexible.

After the test, Han Li was very satisfied with this magical tool. What he currently lacked most were precisely these life-saving devices. With this shield, his chances of survival in the Blood Forbidden Trial would surely increase considerably.

However, Han Li did not immediately express anything. He silently placed the iron shield back into its box, then continued to look forward to the introductions that followed.

Tian Zhanggui did not show any dissatisfaction with Han Li's behavior. He enthusiastically recommended the next item: a blue pearl the size of a marble.

"This is the Heaven Thunder Seed. Hundreds of years ago, a mysterious cultivator accidentally condensed it by capturing the thunder and lightning of heaven and earth. Each one possesses immense power. It is said that even a Foundation Establishment cultivator who faces this thunder head-on will be utterly destroyed. Originally there were seventy-three in total, but only a few remain after all these years. This one was obtained by our building through great effort."

After saying this, Tian Zhanggui could not help but reveal a hint of pride, showing just how rare and precious this thunder pearl was.

Han Li's expression changed upon hearing this. Something that could even kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator! Such a powerful item was truly something one could only hope to encounter by luck. If he could acquire it, it would serve as a trump card for his trip to the forbidden land. However, its price was likely terrifyingly high; otherwise, it would not have remained unsold until now.

After introducing the blue thunder pearl, Tian Zhanggui stopped speaking. Instead, he gave Han Li a meaningful glance, then picked up a cup of fragrant tea and began to savor it slowly. Although there was still one tightly sealed brocade box on the table that had not been introduced, he did not mention a single word about it.

Han Li gave a faint smile, fully understanding Tian Zhanggui's intention. He knew it was time to show the other party his own financial strength; otherwise, he would not be allowed to see the treasure in that final box easily.

Coming this time, just in case, Han Li had brought not only the two thousand-year-old spirit herbs but also all of his spirit stones, including two mid-grade spirit stones and nearly a hundred low-grade ones.

However, Han Li was not planning to use these spirit stones lightly. What he was relying on were merely those two spirit herbs.

To be honest, although Han Li knew that spirit herbs over a thousand years old were extremely rare in the current cultivation world and should be quite valuable, he really had no clear idea of exactly how many spirit stones they were worth or what kind of magical tools he could exchange them for.

But he believed that using them to exchange for that small shield and the Golden Fleece Mother-Son Blades would be more than enough. As for the Heaven Thunder Seed, which he wanted even more, Han Li had no confidence at all.

He did not simply pull out both spirit herbs at once. Instead, he first took out an unusually exquisite-looking small wooden box from his storage pouch, inside which one of the herbs was placed.

The reason Han Li did this was also because he deeply understood the principle that 'clothes make the man, and the Buddha needs a golden coating.' He knew that good packaging could increase the value of the herbs by another thirty percent, ensuring he wouldn't be taken advantage of.

Han Li did not open the box lid. Instead, he directly handed the entire box to the other party.

Tian Zhanggui had been secretly watching Han Li's actions. Seeing this, he said nothing, took the box, examined it, and unhurriedly lifted the lid.

"Oh?"

After seeing the item clearly inside the box, Tian Zhanggui was a little startled, but then his expression turned displeased.

"Brother Li plans to exchange this Huangjingzhi for our building's treasures? This is not a rare item. Unless it is an extreme grade of two or three hundred years old, it is essentially worthless," Tian Zhanggui said coldly.

Han Li gave a few cold chuckles. Without explaining or saying a word, he imitated the other's earlier gesture, poured himself a cup of fragrant tea, and began to drink it with great relish.

Seeing Han Li's confident demeanor, Tian Zhanggui grew suspicious. He concentrated with full energy, lowered his head again, and once more carefully examined the spirit herb in the box.

"Hiss—"

As he looked, Tian Zhanggui suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air. He excitedly stood up from his chair, carried the box to the brightest spot in the room, and examined it over and over again, muttering to himself, "Impossible... could it really be over a thousand years old? Or does it just look similar?"

Han Li, seeing the other's expression and hearing these words, finally relaxed. Only then was he certain that the value of a thousand-year spirit herb was higher, not lower, than his initial estimate. It seemed his chances of getting that thunder pearl were greatly improved.

After examining it for a while, Tian Zhanggui suddenly realized his loss of composure, which had revealed quite a bit of his hand to the other party.

But at this moment, he could no longer care about such things. The item before him had already captured his entire mind. If this herb truly was the thousand-year extreme grade he imagined, then he would pay any price to keep it in the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. This would bring him and the pavilion countless benefits.

However, the only thing troubling him now was that he had only heard of thousand-year spirit herbs but had never seen a real one, so he absolutely could not be certain of the exact age of the herb in the box. But even if this Huangjingzhi was not truly over a thousand years old, it was definitely at least seven or eight hundred years old, which was also an extremely precious item—of this, he was certain.

"Someone!"

After examining it for some time, Tian Zhanggui still called out. He summoned a servant from downstairs.

"Go and invite Elder Ding. Tell him there is a treasure here that requires his appraisal," he commanded solemnly.

Seizing this interval, Tian Zhanggui and Han Li began to chat amiably with great tacit understanding, but both avoided the topic of the herb, as if the item in the box had been forgotten by them both.

But it wasn't long before a gray-haired old man, supported by a servant, slowly made his way upstairs.

Seeing this, Tian Zhanggui immediately greeted him respectfully and vacated his seat for the elder, while he himself stood by the side. It seemed this Elder Ding was truly venerable.

However, Han Li also noticed that this man, like Tian Zhanggui, was an ordinary old man with no trace of a cultivator's aura.

"Manager Tian, you called this old man, who is almost in the grave, out. Is there something that even you cannot appraise?" the old man said, panting slightly, his voice trembling.