The Art of the Deal

By this stage of cultivation, ordinary pills had long ceased to have any effect on a Core Formation cultivator.

Only elixirs refined from herbs several centuries old, or certain naturally-occurring spirit medicines born of Heaven and Earth, could still accelerate their cultivation speed. Consequently, whenever a Core Formation cultivator embarked on a long journey, most of their time was spent scouting for extremely rare medicinal ingredients.

This was precisely why Li Huayuan, upon seeing Han Li emerge from the forbidden land with such a trove of spiritual herbs, had immediately tried every means to take him as a disciple. The sight of those Heaven-and-Earth spirit medicines had simply been too tempting to bear!

In truth, even if the expedition leader had not been Li Huayuan, but Lei Wanhe or some other Core Formation cultivator, none of them would have let Han Li’s share of herbs slip through their fingers. Nine times out of ten, they would have employed the same tactic. The only difference was that Li Huayuan had been a bit too stingy, only accepting Han Li as a Disciple on Probation.

That said, consuming pills was merely an auxiliary method for refining one’s magical power—it only shortened the time needed for meditation and absorbing spiritual qi. Diligent practice was the true path toward transforming external qi into one’s own internal magical power.

Otherwise, no matter how many pills one swallowed, if one did not take the time to slowly refine their contained qi, they would remain utterly useless and add not a single shred of magical power. After all, external qi and one’s own internal power were fundamentally different things.

There had even been cases where someone took a Heaven-defying pill found in an ancient ruin, only to have too much qi accumulate in their body and explode to death! Consuming pills far beyond one’s own cultivation level was an extremely dangerous affair.

On the other hand, when encountering a bottleneck, using a pill’s medicinal power to force a breakthrough was a common method employed by many cultivators, and one proven to be quite effective.

Cultivators who could break through a bottleneck entirely on their own, without any medicinal aid, were far too rare in the entire cultivation world. Without exception, they were once-in-a-century prodigies of the highest order!

Those with a Heavenly Spiritual Root were acknowledged as having this supreme talent. Even cultivators with Mutated Spiritual Roots could not avoid relying on pills to break through such bottlenecks—in this respect, they were no different from ordinary spiritual root holders.

And this cultivator, Lei Wanhe, had encountered exactly such a bottleneck. He had only just returned from a trip to gather herbs for the purpose of refining an auxiliary pill.

Unfortunately, his luck this time had been truly poor. Aside from two four-hundred-year-old herbs, he had found nothing else of value, leaving him with a belly full of frustration!

That was the primary reason he had struck down the Thousand Bamboo School cultivators the moment he saw them. If he had not vented some of his anger, it would likely have taken a long time for his mood to improve. One could only say that Huang Long and his companions had been terribly unlucky to cross paths with this ill-tempered slayer.

Now, Lei Wanhe’s thoughts were churning.

In his three-hundred-plus years of cultivation, what sort of herbs had he not seen? The moment these two spirit grasses fell into his hands, he had immediately judged their precise age. He could hardly contain his joy.

The pill he was preparing to refine, the Augmented Origin Pill, was desperately in need of herbs over five hundred years old. That was why he had embarked on this year-long journey. Yet, after scouring every market, large and small, in the entire Yue Kingdom, along with all the major mortal-world pharmacies, he had not found a single ingredient that satisfied him.

He had only managed to acquire two four-hundred-year-old inferior products, which he planned to use as a stopgap.

He knew full well that using herbs of insufficient age to refine the Augmented Origin Pill would drastically reduce its potency, offering him little real help. But he had no suitable main ingredients left—what other choice did he have?

Continuing to search would only be a waste of time.

If truly fine herbs had appeared anywhere, they would have already been snapped up by local sects or cultivation clans long before he could arrive. By the time he got there, he would not even be able to scavenge a single leaf. As for seeking them in the cultivation world of neighboring countries, where he was unfamiliar with the lay of the land, the hope was even more remote.

So, when he heard outside his cave that this junior disciple had some herbs of a certain age, his interest was piqued. With the thought of taking a look, he had entered this utterly crude cave dwelling.

In truth, in Lei Wanhe’s mind, what good herbs could a Foundation Establishment disciple possibly possess? At best, they would be two- or three-hundred-year-old grasses!

After all, even he, after traveling such a long time, had only obtained four-hundred-year-old herbs. And that was only because others, seeing that he was a Core Formation master, dared not compete with him in purchasing.

And now, these two spirit herbs, a full six to seven hundred years old, had suddenly appeared before his eyes. In addition to being almost unable to believe it, he was overjoyed!

Thus, even as he appeared to be staring intently at the herbs in his hands, judging their age, he was actually already considering how he might get them from this junior disciple.

After all, keeping such a rare treasure in the hands of the other party seemed like such a waste! Only by having him, the great cultivator Lei, use them for pill refining could their efficacy be fully realized.

But he was an old fox who had lived for many years. In the blink of an eye, he had already thought of an excuse.

So, he coughed twice, reluctantly returned the herbs to their box, and then twisted his nearly invisible neck to speak to Han Li with a kindly expression:

“These two herbs of yours, junior nephew, are truly rare treasures. They have a full six to seven hundred years of age! It must have cost you no small effort to acquire them!”

“Indeed, Uncle-Master. I exerted a tremendous amount of effort to win them at an auction in a certain private establishment. At the time, there was also a thousand-year-old spirit herb for sale, but I simply could not afford it, so I had to watch helplessly as someone else bought it. I was quite regretful about that.” Han Li spoke with a mix of truth and falsehood.

“A private establishment? And a thousand-year spirit herb!”

The fat man nearly leaped from his stone stool!

To him, this was far more than mere regret—it felt like a piece of his own heart had been gouged out.

He, a Core Formation cultivator, had searched high and low for spirit herbs with such effort, even visiting seven or eight private establishments across various regions. How had he never encountered such good fortune? If he had been there at the time, he would never have let such a rare treasure slip through his fingers! He would have gladly paid any number of spirit stones to acquire it!

The thought that such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had been let go by this brat made him want to grab the fellow by the neck and demand an explanation! Although he knew perfectly well that, given the other’s status as a Foundation Establishment disciple, not being able to afford such a priceless item was perfectly normal.

“Enough, what’s done is done! Perhaps there will be another such chance in the future!”

Lei Wanhe finally forced himself to calm down and even had to offer a few consoling words he did not mean to Han Li. After all, he still had designs on the other’s two spirit herbs. This was something he absolutely could not let slip away now.

“Junior Nephew Han, what do you plan to do with these two spirit herbs? Are you planning to hand them over to one of the sect’s alchemists? But, as your uncle-master, I should warn you: the skill of the alchemists here in Yellow Maple Valley is honestly quite lacking! If you entrust such precious materials to them, it would be an utter waste of Heaven’s bounty. Your loss would be truly great!” The fat man admonished in the tone of an elder speaking from experience.

“How could I possibly give them to be refined! I actually planned to use these herbs to exchange for something more useful! You see, Uncle-Master, buying these herbs nearly bankrupted me! I would not waste them so easily.” Han Li shook his head vigorously, saying something that took Lei Wanhe completely by surprise. The prepared speech he had carefully rehearsed was immediately stuck in his throat.

But then the fat man thought it over: this junior nephew wanted to trade the herbs for something. Did that not suit his purposes even better? With his status as a Core Formation cultivator, aside from a few extremely rare alchemy and artifact-refining materials, was there anything he could not provide? This was the perfect opportunity to acquire the herbs openly and fairly!

Thinking this, Lei Wanhe’s eyes narrowed even more with his smile, making him seem all the more friendly.

“Junior Nephew Han, what is it you need? Your uncle has amassed quite a collection over the centuries! I might just have something you are looking for.” The fat man blinked his small eyes and suddenly spoke cheerfully.

“Ah! Uncle-Master, do you need these herbs as well? If so, your disciple can give one of them to you, as a token of respect for your seniority!” Han Li seemed to suddenly realize the situation and hastily spoke with an air of deference.

When Lei Wanhe saw how quick-witted Han Li was—not even mentioning an exchange, but immediately offering to gift one of the herbs—he was greatly pleased and found himself looking at Han Li with increasing favor.

But the fat man’s goal was to acquire both herbs! He was equally unwilling to let go of the remaining one.

So, Lei Wanhe waved his hand and said with an air of magnanimity:

“What kind of talk is that, Junior Nephew Han? Do you take me, Lei Wanhe, for someone who would covet a junior’s possessions?! If there is something you need, just say the word. Your uncle will immediately find it and trade you fairly. I will not let you suffer a loss! Are you looking to exchange for a top-grade magic tool? Or perhaps some pills that would be of immediate use to you?”

Han Li’s heart leaped with joy upon hearing this bold declaration. All his circuitous talk had been leading up to this very moment. But on the surface, he scratched his head and put on a troubled expression:

“To be honest with you, Uncle-Master Lei, your disciple has always been very interested in the Dao of alchemy. However, in the collection hall at Yuelu Hall, there are almost no practical pill formulas to be found. I later learned that most of the ancient alchemy methods have been lost to time. The formulas used by my fellow brothers and uncles nowadays are either the hard-won fruits of dozens of generations of research within their own clans, or occasionally discovered in ancient ruins. Every single one is guarded as a treasure, and they are not easily shared. That is why your disciple wished to use these two spirit herbs to exchange for a pill formula suitable for my own use!”