Fame Shakes a Region: Soul Stones

Chapter 0690: Fame Shakes a Region: Soul Stones

“Oh, I have some interest in these puppets. They would make fine life-saving tools for my disciple. I wonder, what price does True Person Tianjing seek?” Another cultivator, appearing quite advanced in years, spoke while stroking his long beard.

“Hehe, what I seek in exchange is rather rare. It is something known as a ‘Soul Stone’ from the ancient era. One Soul Stone for one puppet beast of mine. These puppets were all personally crafted by ancient cultivators. I suspect that no puppets of such high grade exist anywhere else in this realm.” True Person Tianjing spoke calmly.

“Soul Stones?”

At this unfamiliar name, all the cultivators present wore expressions of confusion.

None of them had ever heard of such a thing. It was utterly foreign.

True Person Tianjing, appearing to have anticipated this reaction, reached into his storage pouch and withdrew a thumb-sized piece of brilliant green crystal.

At a glance, the crystal resembled a wood-attribute spirit stone. But a sweep of their spiritual senses revealed that what it emitted was not the wood-attributed spiritual energy they were familiar with, but an intensely yin-cold, nameless fluctuation.

“Perhaps some fellow Daoists possess these items without recognizing them. I happen to have one here. Please, take a look.” The old Daoist held the crystal aloft as he spoke slowly.

“Heh! Strange. It has some resemblance to nether-soul force, but it is far more pure.” A demonic cultivator, wreathed in black Qi, questioned in surprise.

“I do not know what substance is contained within this crystal. But it is definitely no ordinary soul Qi. Otherwise, why would I part with so many of my puppets for just one such stone?” True Person Tianjing replied with surprising candor.

“Oh, that is true.” The demonic cultivator wisely did not press further.

But the moment Han Li clearly saw the crystal, his expression beneath his mask underwent a drastic change. His eyes flickered unsteadily.

If he was not mistaken, this ‘Soul Stone’ was precisely the ‘Nether Beast Crystals’ he had collected from the Netherworld Domain. Of course, ‘Beast Crystal’ was merely the name used by the natives of that domain. The true name among ancient cultivators was apparently this ‘Soul Stone.’

‘This True Person Tianjing has not only brought out so many puppets but is also seeking these ‘Soul Stones.’ Thinking back to the many puppets I saw in the Void Heaven Palace, which all seemed to contain these stones hidden within them… it seems this man…’ Han Li began to ponder, lost in thought.

However, these ‘Soul Stones’ were clearly extremely rare. After a long pause, only one cultivator hesitantly produced one, stepping forward to exchange it for a single puppet beast.

True Person Tianjing asked a few more times. Seeing no one else step forward, he was inevitably disappointed, though he had somewhat anticipated this outcome.

Just as he was about to put away the remaining puppet beasts, another person suddenly rose and walked over. The old Daoist’s spirits lifted, and he looked at the newcomer with some surprise.

“Fellow Daoist, do you also possess a Soul Stone?”

The one who had stepped forward was Han Li, who had finally made his decision. Without a word, he flipped his palm over, and a brilliant green crystal appeared in his hand.

However, this crystal was a full fist-sized piece. An almost visible mass of yin-cold Qi emanated from it, far surpassing the one the old Daoist had shown.

True Person Tianjing was startled at first, then ecstatic. His face broke into a broad smile as he spoke:

“A Soul Stone of this size is truly rare. Very well. From among these puppets, please choose two to take. I will not let you suffer a loss.”

“Two?” Han Li lightly chuckled and shook his head.

“What, Fellow Daoist finds that too few? How many would you like to exchange for it?” True Person Tianjing was not angered, but asked amiably.

“This Soul Stone shall be exchanged for all the remaining puppets.” Han Li stated calmly.

“All six! Fellow Daoist, do you not think that a bit too greedy?” The old Daoist was stunned for a moment, then frowned, somewhat displeased.

“Hehe! Greedy or not, True Person should know full well. A Soul Stone is not simply judged by its size. Furthermore, for a Soul Stone of this size, to you, True Person…” Han Li stared at Tianjing, trailing off deliberately.

Upon hearing this, True Person Tianjing’s expression changed slightly. He scrutinized Han Li closely for a few moments before falling silent for a while. Finally, he said:

“Very well. A Soul Stone of this size is indeed rare. And I am in urgent need of this item. I accept the exchange as you proposed.”

Hearing the old Daoist say this, the other cultivators in the pavilion were astonished. They all stared a few extra moments at the fist-sized crystal in Han Li’s hand.

Anything that could be exchanged for several rare puppets was certainly worth noting.

Han Li’s expression remained unchanged. He directly handed over the crystal. Then, lowering his head slightly, he swept his sleeve across the table. In an instant, all six puppet beasts vanished without a trace.

What the other cultivators did not notice was that, in the moment he lowered his head, Han Li’s lips moved slightly. A flash of sharp light shot through True Person Tianjing’s eyes, and a flicker of doubt passed over his face.

By then, Han Li had already taken his puppets and returned to his seat.

Shortly after, True Person Tianjing declared the exchange meeting concluded. Many cultivators got up and left the building. Han Li and his two companions were among them, mingling with the crowd as they left the Crystal Dragon Pavilion.

As the three left the building, none of them spoke. But after crossing two streets and putting some distance between themselves and the pavilion, the Fire Dragon Boy spoke up in his old-soul voice.

“My two fellow Daoists, I have another appointment, so I won’t be joining you.”

“If Brother Lan has matters to attend to, by all means, go ahead. Our lodgings are not far apart. There will be plenty of opportunities to meet again.” Lü Luo said with a smile.

“Mm. Then, Brother Lan takes his leave!” The Fire Dragon Boy made no polite refusals. He exchanged a greeting with Han Li as well, then headed down another street.

“This Fellow Daoist Fire Dragon is quite an interesting character.” Han Li watched the boy’s retreating figure and suddenly remarked with a faint smile.

“Brother Lan accidentally consumed a strange herb in his youth, which left his appearance and stature perpetually child-like. But he is a straightforward and hearty man. Among the external sect elders, he is one of the few who is genuinely friendly with our Falling Cloud Sect.”

Hearing this, Han Li raised an eyebrow but thought to himself: ‘From the sound of it, the other elders of the Ancient Sword Sect are not particularly well-disposed towards the Falling Cloud Sect.’

“By the way, what are Junior Han’s plans now? Shall we return to the lodging to rest a while, or take a look around elsewhere?” Lü Luo asked, glancing around.

“I need to purchase some special materials. I plan to take a look at a few nearby market towns alone. Perhaps I will stumble upon something unexpected.” Han Li did not conceal his intentions, stating them directly.

“Perfect. I also intend to go to the auction house to consign an item for auction. Then, Junior Han and I shall part ways for now.” Lü Luo understood that Han Li intended to act alone and readily agreed.

And so, Han Li and Lü Luo parted ways right there, each going about their own business.

…

The various market towns of Tiantian City were immense—far larger than the market town on the three sects’ Yunmeng Mountain by an order of magnitude.

Han Li walked down a street in the western market district of Tiantian City, his eyes constantly scanning the shops on either side.

His words to Lü Luo about purchasing materials had not been a lie.

He genuinely intended to buy some rarer talisman-making materials to prepare for crafting a few high-grade talismans.

Although he still possessed a large stock of spirit beast hides and blood from his earlier years, crafting high-grade talisman paper and premium cinnabar required other auxiliary materials.

This would also serve as preparation for the ‘Spirit Infusion Talisman’ he had long planned to make. He wanted to improve his talisman-making skill to a new level first.

Although he had not yet thoroughly studied the Spirit Infusion Talisman, the power attributed to it on the bone fragment was extraordinary. It could potentially save his life in a critical moment. Naturally, Han Li was unwilling to let such an opportunity slip by.

However, the difficulty of crafting this talisman was far beyond ordinary, surpassing even the most complex of the standard Five Elements talismans.

Thus, to increase his success rate, aside from improving his talisman-making ability, he would also need to replace his old talisman brush. His current one had long been due for an upgrade.

Unfortunately, while talisman-making materials were easy to buy, finding a satisfactory talisman brush was not.

The first two market town shops he visited had some talisman brushes for sale. One even had a rare, top-grade brush. But after inspecting them, he simply shook his head and left.

These talisman brushes might be serviceable for crafting ordinary high-grade talismans, but they were clearly insufficient for drawing a secret talisman like the Spirit Infusion Talisman.

A talisman brush is a magical tool used only by talisman masters, and as such, is not commonly seen. Even when available, most were of low or middle grade.

For a talisman master, if their magic power is insufficient, forcibly using a high-grade talisman brush will not improve their success rate; rather, it will increase the likelihood of failure.

Furthermore, talisman masters often neglect their cultivation in favor of their art, leaving most of them at a relatively low cultivation level. Nine out of ten are still below the Foundation Establishment stage.

Throughout the entire Heavenly South cultivation world, there are only a handful of Core Formation-level professional talisman masters.

As for Nascent Soul talisman masters, as far as Han Li knew, none had ever appeared. Such a freak would be unheard of.

Most Nascent Soul cultivators were old monsters who dabbled in talisman-making on the side. They were not professional talisman masters.

The talisman-making skills of these Nascent Soul cultivators varied wildly. They would typically focus on mastering one or two high-grade talismans that were of particular use to them. But due to the scarcity of high-grade beast hides and blood, they had few opportunities to practice, and their success rate was predictable.

This led to the peculiar phenomenon in the cultivation world where high-grade talismans were sometimes more expensive than top-grade magic tools.