Apart from two female Core Formation cultivators that were sitting alone, the male Core Formation cultivators were each nestled together with a gorgeous and alluring female cultivator. These female cultivators were either at peak Qi Condensation or early Foundation Establishment, and each of them were all young exceptional beauties.
While Han Li looked at this in a daze, he suddenly smelled a sweet fragrance, and a soft, trembling body stood close by his side. Han Li’s body tensed up and he slowly turned around to see a stiff, beautiful face. Wen Siyue had taken the initiative to draw closer to him, allowing him to catch a whiff of her intoxicating scent.
Han Li frowned, but he didn’t push away the woman in an act of false sophistry. Instead, he again glanced at the female cultivators at the male Core Formation cultivator’s sides with a gaze of understanding.
After some thought, he wrapped his arm around the woman’s waist and headed towards an empty armchair before sitting down.
Wen Siyue did the same as the other female cultivators, and reluctantly sat alongside him while leaning into Han Li’s chest.
For the moment, Han Li’s chest had the warm company of a beautiful woman.
Just as Wen Siyue silently pressed her stiffened body against Han Li, Han Li relaxed the arm he had wrapped around her waist. Wen Siyue was stunned for a moment. She then unconsciously glanced at Han with a trace of bewilderment.
At that moment, Han Li was calmly examining the others in the room.
The eight other Core Formation cultivators had naturally gazed in Han Li’s direction as well.
Although they found Han Li’s appearance strange, they didn’t reveal it on their faces. Instead, most of the people looked at Han Li with a kind smile. Han Li’s expression relaxed and he returned the gesture.
A short momenter later, six more Core Formation cultivators entered the hall, each with a young, beautiful female cultivator at their side.
Han Li watched this with an ordinary expression, but his heart felt amazement.
Yun Tianxiao must’ve possessed significant skill to have found so many young and beautiful female cultivators. All of their cultivations weren’t shallow either but they were still at varying levels.
Just as Han Li pondered this, Yun Tianxiao finally entered the hall with a graceful and elegant beauty wrapped around his arm. The woman was at late Foundation Establishment Stage.
‘Lady Fan!’ Han Li heart was shaken upon seeing her.
‘She is the Exquisite Sound Sect’s Envoy of the Right, Lady Fan. It seems she has a somewhat deep relationship with the city master. This trade gathering should prove to be quite interesting.’ Despite his excitement and the expectations in his heart, Han Li was able to maintain his calm expression.
“Ah!” Wen Siyue faintly trembled next to Han Li. A faint, painful groan left her dainty mouth. It sounded as if it contained flustered embarrassment.
Han Li was stunned for a moment and couldn’t help but puzzlingly glance at her. He found her face to be flushed red and bashful.
He also discovered that his arm had unknowingly grasped onto her chest. He even felt his fingers pinching onto something stiff and round.
This soft, overwhelming sensation shook the depths of Han Li’s soul. He immediately withdrew his hand out of instinct.
Wen Siyue’s smooth, delicate neck was now flushed red. She hesitantly raised her head and gazed at Han Li’s face with a trace of astonishment.
A trace of discomfort faintly appeared on Han Li’s face, but he pretended not to notice, relaxing the arm he had around her.
Although he had never thought of himself as a man of honor, this woman could be considered an acquaintance, causing Han Li to be somewhat embarrassed.
Han Li discovered that this strange display wasn’t noticed by anybody else in the room. Their attention had been captured by Yun Tianxiao who had already sat in the main chair with Lady Fan gracefully poised at his side.
Yun Tianxiao widely smile and said, “I am truly honored to have you thirteen Fellow Daoists participate in this trade meeting. Although there were two Fellow Daoists that had to leave early, this trade meeting is already the largest one yet. That is about all I have to say. Everyone can now take out their items. Give your items a brief introduction, and then, everyone can start bidding or offer an exchange. Accept whatever offer pleases you.”
He then turned his head to the fat, blue-robed old man and smiled. He was clearly indicating for him to start.
As of current, the fat old man was closely embracing the body of a dainty female cultivator. Upon seeing Yun Tianxiao’s smile, he reluctantly relaxed his grip on her waist and leisurely said, “Since this is the case, I will start. I’ve brought quite a few good items this time around. I am more than willing to exchange them for any of the materials that I require.” After that was said, the old man stood up and placed a storage pouch from his waist onto the table.
Numerous items suddenly appeared on the table in a vortex of spinning red light. The spiritual Qi that the items emitted appeared significant.
“Three Heavenly Spirit Beads, an Ambusher Shark demon core, the hide of an Oceanform Beast...” The old man gave a proud introduction for each of his items, impressing no small number of the cultivators at the table. It was clear that each of these items were quite rare.
Han Li couldn’t help but coldly smile at the items. While these items could be considered truly valuable to ordinary Core formation cultivators, they were completely unremarkable to him. The rarest item amongst them, the Ambusher Sharp demon core, was only a grade six demon core. Han Li had personally exterminated at least eight demon beasts of that specific type.
When the fat old man finished giving an introduction to his items, he sat back down and once again embraced the dainty woman at his side. He had a face full of arrogance.
The Qi Condensation woman was originally somewhat unwilling to be held by him, but now, her eyes unconsciously glowed with a soft light.
After the old man sat down, the person who sat next to him, an eccentric with a red embroidered headband, dryly coughed and unsteadily stood. This person was rather shriveled and appeared as if a stiff breeze would blow him over.
“I’ve only brought one item. The beast egg of the grade five Darkcoil Worm.” He spoke unhurriedly and took out a yellow beast egg from his robes shortly after he finished speaking. It was the size of a chicken egg.
“Darkcoil Worm!”
Once the eccentric had finished speaking, the eyes of the other cultivators brightened, and they rigidly stared at the demon beast egg with fervent gazes.
Chapter 537: Information
Each of the other cultivators took out their items, and as expected, they were each noteworthy and proved valuable to Core Formation cultivators. It was no wonder that this secret market had such a special meeting.
Han Li indifferently glanced at the items being presented. Although the items didn’t interest him, they greatly provoked the interest of the other cultivators, heating up the atmosphere in the room. When Han Li’s turn came, he casually took out a few rare grade six and seven demon beast materials. Of course, this naturally aroused quite some surprise.
Soon, it became the last cultivator’s turn, a dark-skinned, middle-aged man. He was among the three mid Core Formation cultivators at the table. The others gazed at him with a trace of additional respect.
At that moment, the person unhurriedly took out two items from his storage pouch and casually placed them onto the table with an unchanged expression. There was a palm-sized, pitch-black copper plate, and a half-foot-long piece of grey bone. It appeared to have come from the spine of some animal.
The majority of cultivators present blankly stared at the items, unable to make out anything exceptional about them. They all waited for him to give an explanation.
But after he took out the items, he astonishingly said, “I will only sell these two items to those that recognize them. If you aren’t destined for them, do not seek them!” He the
n leaned back against his chair without a care and narrowed his eyes, paying no heed to the beautiful woman close to him, leaving her slightly embarrassed. When the others heard this, they silently looked at each other in dismay.
Only Han Li and Yun Tianxiao revealed a slight change in expression when they gazed at the items.
An odd expression flickered across Han Li’s face. Although he was somewhat far from the items, when he swept his immense spiritual sense past them, he was able to clearly tell what they were.
Although the bone didn’t belong to an ordinary demon beast, it simply didn’t catch his interest. However, he was somewhat interested in the copper plate, as there were a few bewildering, ancient characters inscribed onto it. The ancient characters were nearly the same as those contained inside the aged hide book of the nameless Qi concealment technique. Could it have something to do with it? Even now, Han Li was incapable of completely understanding the ancient book’s contents.
Just as Han Li inwardly mulled this over, Yun Tianxiao smiled and laughed.
After sweeping his gaze over the bones, Yun Tianxiao jokingly said, “Haha! I didn’t expect Brother Sun to be so magnanimous as to bring out the spirit bone of a grade eight demon beast. I am truly tempted.”
These words startled everyone present and caused an uproar. The item could be considered the most precious one being displayed. The spirit bone of an existence on the level of a grade eight demon beast was definitely a bizarre treasure seldom seen by Core Formation cultivators.
When Han Li heard this, his heart stirred. Could this person have any information on grade eight demon beasts?
The cultivator surnamed Sun chuckled upon hearing that Yun Tianxiao was able to to make out the origins of the bone. After deeply glancing at him, he spoke no further.
At that point, the trade meeting became a rather fervent event. Everyone wore an expression of unconcealed excitement. The female cultivator companions also gazed at the items on the table with passionate expressions.
When Han Li saw this, he unconsciously turned his head to Wen Siyue to find that she also wore a passionate expression. It seemed that these items held an undeniable allure regardless of one’s status.
At that moment, the fat old man started to list out the conditions by which he would trade his items.
“The Heavenly Spirit Beads can be exchanged for several stalks of medicine herbs aged five hundred years and higher. The demon core requires the tendon of a grade seven demon beast. Of course, I am also willing to trade them for enough spirit stones. And...” Seeing that everyone managed to bring out precious treasures, the arrogance of the fat old man had mostly dissolved. When he spoke of the tendon, he unconsciously glanced in Han Li’s direction as Han Li happened to have one on his side of the table.
Unfortunately, Han Li had no interest in a grade six demon beast core. He merely continued to sit with Wen Siyue in his loose embrace.
“I do want that grade six demon core, but I don’t have any spirit tendons. How many spirit stones do you want for it?” A white haired old man said with much interested.
“As Fellow Daoist knows, demon beasts are far more difficult to come by than they had been in the past. As such, its price will be higher. I will require fifteen thousand spirit stones for it.” The fat old man appeared unwilling to part with it and responded with an obviously high price.
When the white-haired old man heard this, he bitterly smiled and said little else. It was clear the high price had dissuaded him.
“I want that demon core!” A white-haired old woman expressionlessly said. Soon after she spoke, a storage pouch flew in the direction of the fat old man.
The fat old man received the storage pouch and wore a satisfied expression after inspecting it.
“Only Lady Qing can be so bold. Us poor cultivators cannot hope to compare.” The old man seemed to recognize the woman and tossed the demon beast core over to her with a chuckle.
The white-haired old woman coldly snorted and caught the demon beast core. After wordlessly examining it, she placed it into her storage pouch and said nothing further.
The other cultivators began to ask about the fat old man’s other items, resulting in most of them being traded for. He then put away the remaining items.
The following bidding for the red banded eccentric’s Darkcoil Worm egg created a huge contest.
Because his conditions were quite lax and he also accepted spirit stones, the demon beast egg was open to everyone. In the end, the beast egg was exchanged for several bottles of precious medicine pills by a red-clothed cultivator with an unremarkable appearance.
After another six people, it was finally Han Li’s turn.
Han Li looked at the pile of valuable materials in front of him and felt several burning gazes fall onto him. Among them was the fat old man who particularly desired the spirit tendon.
Han Li gently smiled. Without standing, he leaned back into his chair with Wen Siyue in his arm and calmly said, “I don’t want any items for these materials. I am only willing to exchange them for information. So long as your information is to my satisfaction, I will give all of these materials to you.”
“Information!?”
Han Li’s words were cause for surprise. Although they were somewhat shocked, nobody stirred up a fuss. Rather, they all glanced at Han Li with curiosity, calmly waiting to hear what he would say next.
Yun Tianxiao’s eyes stirred and suspicion flickered across his face.
Han Li leisurely asked, “Might any of you Fellow Daoists know the location of a grade eight demon beast nest? I wish to use these materials to acquire such information.”
“Grade eight demon beast!” Each person took in a breath of alarm with an expression of great shock.
“Could it be that Fellow Daoist is joking? Do you intend on fighting a grade eight demon beast?” The fat old man wore an incredulous expression.
As Han Li tapped the table, he unhurriedly said, “Of course not. I am using the information for something else. But I’m not interested in saying what specifically.” At the same time, he swept his gaze past the other cultivators without a trace of politeness. They revealed amazement and shock, much to Han Li’s disappointment. Han Li’s gaze then fell onto the dark-skinned cultivator surnamed Sun.
When Cultivator Sun saw Han Li look at him, he was startled, but soon came to an understanding. He smiled and asked, “Could it be that Fellow Daoist believes that I have information on a grade eight demon beast? Unfortunately, Fellow Daoist Li is mistaken.” He then shook his head.
Han Li revealed unconcealed disappointment and deeply sighed.
But at that a moment, Han Li heard a sweet voice say, “I know the location of a grade eight demon beast, but I don’t want the materials. I have a different condition for Fellow Daoist Li.”
Han Li was greatly startled by who had spoken.
Han Li incredulously said, “You have information on a grade eight demon beast?”
The person who had spoken was the woman in his embrace, Wen Siyue.
Faintly leaning onto Han Li, Wen Siyue appeared extremely calm as she looked into Han Li’s face and said, “That’s right. I know the approximate location of a grade eight demon beast nest.”
Lady Fan wore a look of amazement, but she soon rebuked Wen Siyue with a cold expression, “Siyue, what nonsense are you spouting? How could you have information on a grade eight demon beast? Don’t speak without thinking!”
While Han Li was in doubt, he suddenly felt the woman draw closer to him. She firmly said, “Marital Aunt Fan! Siyue truly knows the whereabouts of a grade eight demon beast. I have no intention of deceiving Senior Li. Please, be at ease!”
Chapter 538: The Might of New Swords
“You...”
Lady Fan frowned and thought to say something when Han Li interrupted her with a serious expression, “Wait, I want to hear what she has to say. I will determine whether or not she is telling the truth.”
Yun Tianxiao’s eyes cold
ly glinted. After muttering to himself for a moment, he smiled, saying, “Since Martial Niece Wen knows something, let Fellow Daoist Li ask.”
With a moment’s pause, Lady Fan reluctantly agreed, “Fine!”
“Many thanks.” Without any further niceties, Han Li nodded his head and expressed his thanks.
Han Li’s casual mannerisms caused a faint trace of irritation to appear on Yun Tianxiao’s face, but it was quickly concealed.
At that moment, Han Li stared at Wen Siyue and asked, “You said you know about the nest of a grade eight demon beast.”
Han Li’s voice was tranquil, absent of either anger or happiness. This aroused a trace of hesitation in Wen Siyue who was only a hair's breadth away. But she soon thought of something terrifying and became resolute. She nodded and gave a sincere recollection, “When I first arrived at the Outer Star Seas, I unintentionally acquired a sea map detailing a certain area. I originally believed it to be the location of hidden treasures and stealthily slipped away to take a look. I ended up discovering a young Windbreaker Beast. Fortunately, the beast was only at grade three and was unable to discover me so I immediately left the location out of fear. Senior should know that Windbreaker Beasts only give birth once they reach grade eight, and they won’t leave their offspring until they reach about grade five. As such, it is certain that there is a grade eight demon beast lurking nearby. If Senior is willing to agree to my conditions, I am willing to lead the way.”
Han Li’s expression changed and he revealed a trace of excitement. A fully grown Windbreaker Beast was a genuine grade eight demon beast. If this woman spoke the truth, the nest was certain to have the Demon Echo Grass he required.
Han Li stared at the woman for a long while before letting out a long breath. With a deep voice, he asked, “What does Fellow Daoist desire for the information on the demon beast nest?”
Wen Siyue blushed for a moment before unhesitantly saying, “I wish for Senior to take this young woman away from here and take her as your concubine.”
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 290