The Hidden Trade

Han Li stared at the elixir formula the senior had given him, frowning with a touch of speechlessness.

It was now midday on his second day at Yanling Fort.

After a morning of heated discussion among the new arrivals, the dozen or so cultivators from various sects in the room began to exchange the items they needed. Each person took turns stating what they required and what they had to offer, testing whether anyone present was willing to trade.

This small-scale trading meet actually produced several fine items.

For example, the woman surnamed Fang from Tianque Fortress brought out a piece of Skyflower Stone—the best material for refining top-grade earth-element magic tools. It could even be used for certain undemanding earth-element treasures.

Another newly arrived cultivator from Spirit Beast Mountain produced the egg of a first-tier upper-grade Wind-Shriek Eagle. Once hatched, it would make an excellent assistant, whether for scouting or tracking.

The items the others brought were not as dazzling as these two, but they were still the kind of raw materials rarely found in ordinary market towns.

Among them, Han Li actually found a medicinal herb needed to refine the Focused Qi Pill. This caught him by surprise. Delighted, he traded seven or eight low-grade superior talismans for it. Naturally, the herb’s age was insufficient—he would need to accelerate its growth back home—but even so, both he and the seller walked away pleased.

When it was Han Li’s turn to speak, he did not hesitate to state that he had some low-grade superior talismans to trade. He listed the two other medicinal ingredients he still lacked, then, after a brief pause, added that he would also accept various elixir formulas.

Since these were ingredients from an ancient formula—and ones Han Li had not been able to procure even in the Yellow Maple Valley and Heavenly Star Sect markets—they were naturally not common items. Most of the other cultivators had never heard of the materials he named; those who had heard of one or two did not have them on hand. As for elixir formulas, none of these cultivators were willing to trade theirs for talismans. They knew Han Li had only mentioned them casually.

Seeing that no one responded after his long list, Han Li realized there was no hope. Disappointed, he was about to sit back down when someone unexpectedly spoke up:

“Would you take any formula? I have one here, but it’s a bit unusual. How many talismans would it be worth?”

Han Li’s heart lifted. Without thinking, he replied:

“Of course—as long as it’s a formula, I’m willing to trade.”

Only after speaking did he notice that the one offering a formula was the somewhat cold and eccentric Daoist, Wuyouzi.

At Han Li’s words, Wuyouzi’s face showed a rare hint of a smile. He tossed a green jade slip over to Han Li. The other cultivators murmured among themselves, finding it hard to believe that someone would actually trade an elixir formula for talismans.

Wuyouzi’s senior brother, Wufazi, remained impassive, sitting with his eyes closed in meditation.

Han Li caught the jade slip and scanned it briefly. He immediately understood why the other party was willing to part with it.

It was also an ancient formula—the “Spirit Nourishing Pill,” specifically designed by ancient cultivators for raising spirit beasts. According to the formula, not only did most demonic beasts love eating these pills, but long-term use could even promote a beast’s advancement in rank. It was absolutely the best pill for nurturing spirit beasts.

Han Li’s heart sank. Why would a formula this valuable be put up for trade? But when he saw the list of required ingredients, he laughed bitterly at himself. He now knew exactly why the Daoist held it so cheap.

The materials needed to refine the Spirit Nourishing Pill were so extravagant that they were almost as rare and precious as the ingredients for the Qi Gathering Powder Han Li himself had been refining.

Even if one could gather the materials, who would actually use them to make “Spirit Nourishing Pills”? They would naturally keep such precious herbs for their own cultivation—improving one’s own magic power was far more cost-effective than wasting them on a beast.

“Benefactor, you did say you’d accept any formula. You won’t go back on your word now, will you?” The gaunt Daoist’s face suddenly showed a shrewd expression, completely at odds with the dull, honest image he had projected before. Han Li could only smile wryly.

And so, this was how the chapter began.

But useless to others, the formula was obviously of great value to Han Li. There was no way he would let it slip through his fingers.

Han Li thought for a moment, then pulled ten low-grade superior talismans from his storage pouch and tossed them to the other party. This should be enough to satisfy him. After all, to an ordinary cultivator, the formula was worthless. If it had any real value, the Daoist would have already traded it to the Spirit Beast Mountain cultivators long ago.

And indeed, Wuyouzi accepted the talismans, nodded in satisfaction, and said nothing more.

As Han Li sat back down, the next cultivator immediately stood up, a hint of eagerness in his voice:

“I have several hundred-year-old Ironwood. I’d like to trade for…”

The room’s atmosphere grew livelier as the item exchange continued.

Meanwhile, in the Flying Cloud Pavilion of the Yan Clan, an extremely secret clan council was being held.

All the stewards and elders who held real power had gathered, seated in two rows, listening to the Yan Family Ancestor speak from the main seat. By his side stood a stunningly beautiful woman, seemingly seventeen or eighteen years old, with a face that could charm the moon and an ethereal grace.

“The Ghost Spirit Sect’s terms for our Yan Clan’s return are very generous. They are willing to lend us a secondary volume of the Myriad Spirit True Scripture and to grant the position of Vice Sect Leader of the Ghost Spirit Sect to a member of our family. Their only demand is that we marry Yan’er to their Young Sect Leader, that they cultivate the Blood Spirit Art together, and that the future clan leader of the Yan Clan shall be the child of their Young Sect Leader and Yan’er. Naturally, the same applies to the position of Ghost Spirit Sect Leader.” The Yan Family Ancestor spoke calmly, his voice low but clear as a bell in every ear.

“Let us all speak. Where should our Yan Clan go from here? Our ancestors were originally cultivators of the Ghost Spirit Sect, after all. We only left because of a falling out with other sect members and came to Yue to build this foundation. By seniority, the current Ghost Spirit Sect Leader is still my junior disciple. So let there be no emotional reservations. The only thing to consider is the gain or loss to our clan’s interests.”

“Furthermore, the Young Sect Leader of the Ghost Spirit Sect has brought a piece of news. The Six Demonic Sects of Tianluo Nation will invade Yue in five days. The nations of Jiang and Juche fell half a month ago. Most of their sects were destroyed; a small portion surrendered and became vassals of the Six Demonic Sects. Therefore, even if our Yan Clan refuses the Ghost Spirit Sect’s terms, we must consider how the clan will survive and continue after Yue’s seven great sects are destroyed. This is our most pressing concern.”

Before the gathered Yan Clan members could react to the first piece of news, the Ancestor dropped another bombshell, sending them into a flurry of discussion.

“What? The cultivation world of Jiang and Juche has been conquered? Impossible!”

“Their strength isn’t weak! Haven’t they been stalemating the Six Demonic Sects for all these years? How could they fall so suddenly?”

“Taken down so fast… Could there be some hidden agenda at play?”

Clearly, these clan power-holders found the news hard to accept.

“Enough. If you have questions, raise them one at a time. This clamor is a disgrace to proper conduct.” The Ancestor’s face turned cold.

The hall fell silent instantly. All eyes turned to a middle-aged Confucian scholar seated third from the right of the red-haired elder.

The Ancestor noted this, frowned briefly, then spoke warmly to the scholar:

“Xuanye, what is your view? You are our clan’s strategist. This concerns our very survival. Do analyze it carefully.”

“Yes, Ancestor!” The scholar did not dare to delay. He rose quickly.

“But before I speak of other matters, may I first ask a few questions?”

“Go ahead, of course! Ask whatever puzzles you. I will hold nothing back.” The Ancestor’s expression was solemn.

Receiving this assurance, the scholar nodded, then asked gravely:

“First, how powerful is the Blood Spirit Art? If Yan’er, with her Heavenly Spiritual Root, cultivates it with the Young Sect Leader, how greatly will it affect the technique’s power? Second, how did they find our Yan Clan, and how did they know our ancestors were originally from the Ghost Spirit Sect? Finally, did you learn of the fall of Jiang and Juche solely from their words? If the news is true, what is the Righteous Alliance of Fengdu Nation currently occupied with?”

The scholar fired off three questions in one breath.