Chapter 348: Questions
"Truth be told, I'm a little short on funds at the moment as well, and I only have 10 Immortal Origin Stones. Can I substitute the remaining five Immortal Origin Stones with these?"
Han Li swept a sleeve over the table once again as he spoke, and five fist-sized white crystals appeared, all of which were giving off wisps of glacial qi.
Of course, he didn't care about a mere five Immortal Origin Stones. Instead, the problem was that he was posing as a Body Integration cultivator at the moment, and it would've been far too eye-catching for him to easily produce 15 Immortal Origin Stones.
In the Black Wind Sea, even an early-True Immortal Stage Earthly Immortal wasn't guaranteed to have 15 Immortal Origin Stones in their possession.
"These are Frost Soul Crystals!"
Xue Luo was ecstatic at the sight of the white crystals, and she immediately picked one up fro a closer inspection.
Qin Zhong was about to raise some objections, but he immediately decided to hold his tongue upon seeing Xue Luo's reaction.
"I would like to substitute these five Frost Soul Crystals for five Immortal Origin Stones. Will that be alright?" Han Li asked.
"That's perfectly fine," Xue Luo immediately replied with a nod, then immediately stowed the crystals away as if she were afraid that Han Li would change his mind.
A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face as he also stowed the badge away in an unhurried manner.
"Fellow Daoist Liu, I'll have to trouble you to come with me to my clan to finalize the vouching proceedings," Xue Luo said.
"That's fine. Thank you, Celestial Maiden Xue," Han Li replied with a nod.
Xue Luo hesitated momentarily, then cast a hopeful gaze toward Han Li as she asked, "Also, would you happen to have more of these Frost Soul Crystals?"
"Why do you ask? Would you like to buy some?" Han Li asked.
Xue Luo exchanged a glance with Qin Zhong, then replied, "These crystals are very useful to me, so if you do have some more, I'm willing to purchase them from you."
"If you have any Frost Soul Crystals to spare, you'll be doing us a huge favor, and if you need any help from me, I'll be sure to heed your call," Qin Zhong immediately chimed in.
Han Li took a glance at the duo, then swept a sleeve over the table to produce a pair of white crystals as he said, "I do actually have two more Frost Soul Crystals."
Each of these two Frost Soul Crystals was around twice the size of each of the previous five, and Xue Luo was ecstatic to see this, but she refrained from immediately reaching out for the crystals.
Instead, she took a deep breath, then asked, "Would you be able to sell them to me, Fellow Daoist Liu? I'll be sure to give you satisfactory compensation."
"I came across these Frost Soul Crystals by chance anyway, so if you want them, I can give them to you free of charge," Han Li said as he pushed the two Frost Soul Crystals toward Xue Luo.
A hint of surprise flashed through Xue Luo's eyes upon hearing this, and she shook her head as she replied, "I can't just accept such a precious gift free of charge! Please state a price, Fellow Daoist."
"In that case, how about this? Seeing as you come from a prominent clan in Wave View City, I'm sure you must have many information sources. Has anything major happened in the Black Wind Sea recently? Also, why has the Black Wind Sea suddenly become so much stricter in its examination of people seeking to enter the region? If you can answer those two questions, I'll give you these two Frost Soul Crystals," Han Li said.
A hint of elation flashed through the eyes of Xue Luo and Qin Zhong upon hearing this, and the former asked, "Is that a serious offer?"
"Most certainly so," Han Li replied without any hesitation.
Xue Luo took a moment to gather her thoughts, then said, "While Wave View City and the Black Wind City are only separated by a single teleportation array, there's not much flow of information between the two places, so we don't know much ourselves.
“When it comes to major events taking place in the Black Wind Sea, all we've heard of is the battle between Black Wind Island and Azure Feather Island. Recently, the battle has gradually risen to the fore, and it's becoming more and more intense."
"Do you know if other more secluded parts of the Black Wind Sea have also gotten swept up in this conflict?" Han Li asked.
"I'm not sure about that, but I've heard from some people who came from the Black Wind Sea that the battle is still limited to only the central region, while the areas outside of that are still relatively peaceful. That's all I know about the situation," Xue Luo replied.
Han Li nodded in response. Given what he had just heard, Dark Veil Island was most likely still untouched.
"By the way, I heard from a fellow daoist who came from the Black Wind Sea about a decade ago mentioned an event that took place there that had apparently caused quite a stir," Qin Zhong suddenly said.
"Oh? What exactly was this event?" Han Li asked with a hint of intrigue in his eyes.
"I'm not sure about the exact details, but apparently, the Castaway Gale around some parts of the Black Wind Sea had suddenly converged inward, destroying several islands in the process," Qin Zhong replied.
"I heard about that as well. The Castaway Gale is a natural barrier that isolates the Black Wind Sea from the rest of the immortal region, and it's already existed for countless years, but never had anything like that happened before that point," Xue Luo chimed in.
"I see. Would either of you be able to provide an answer to my second question?" Han Li asked.
Xue Luo and Qin Zhong exchanged a glance before both of them shook their heads in response. "Many people in Wave View City have actually been trying to find out why the regulations have suddenly become so strict, but no one has been able to get to the bottom of things so far."
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly in contemplation as he replied, "I see. In any case, you've managed to answer one of my questions, so you can have one of these Frost Soul Crystals."
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Liu."
Xue Luo picked up one of the crystals before stowing it away, then cast her gaze toward the other crystal as she asked, "Would you be willing to sell this Frost Soul Crystal for two Immortal Origin Stones?"
Han Li didn't refuse this offer, and the three of them remained in the booth for a while longer before departing.
Han Li made a trip to the Xue Clan with the duo, and it was a large trading house situated in the eastern part of Wave View City.
Xue Luo proved to be quite trustworthy, quickly finalizing the vouching proceedings for Han Li.
With that, both sides had gotten what they wanted, and it was a win-win situation.
Han Li tactfully turned down Xue Luo's offer to stay and enjoy the Xue Clan's hospitality, then promptly departed.
"That went quite smoothly," Daoist Xie remarked in Han Li's mind.
"Indeed," Han Li replied as he flipped a hand over to produce a white badge.
One one side of the badge was engraved the image of a strange white bird with a flat head and an eagle beak, while on the other side was inscribed the character for "Xue".
This was the Xue Clan's token, and it had been given to him by Xue Luo.
A contemplative look appeared in Han Li's eyes as he inspected the white badge.
"Is there something wrong with the badge?" Daoist Xie asked.
"No, I just feel like the bird engraved on it is rather interesting," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.
He had seen this design in the Black Wind Sea before, and if he recalled correctly, it was the symbol of a large island near Dark Veil Island, an island by the name of Snow Kite Island.
According to the records on Dark Veil Island, everyone on the entirety of Snow Kite Island suddenly vanished tens of thousands of years ago, and that was still an unsolved mystery to date.
Han Li was wondering whether the Xue Clan was somehow tied to Snow Kite Island, but he quickly rid himself of that trivial train of thought and stowed the badge away as a hint of concern appeared on his face.
"Are you still concerned about the changes that have taken place in the Black Wind Sea? Didn't you say that the most formidable cultivator there is the master of Black Wind Sea, and he's only a late-True Immortal Stage Earthly Immortal? If that's the case, surely you have nothing to fear," Daoist Xie said.
"That may be true, but for some reason, I can't shake off this feeling of unease," Han Li replied.
"I think you're getting a little paranoid from constantly having to worry about being apprehended by the Heavenly Court," Daoist Xie said.
"Perhaps so," Han Li replied in a self-deprecating manner, but the concern on his face wasn't eased in the slightest.
As they were speaking with one another, Han Li arrived on a street in the eastern part of the city.
It was noon at the moment, and the street was teeming with people, most of whom possessed lofty cultivation bases.
There was no lack of Spatial Tempering and Body Integration cultivators among them, and they were most likely itinerant cultivators who had come here to purchase different things.
Most of the shops that lined the street were material shops, and all of the spirit plants and demon beast materials sold inside were quite fresh, clearly indicating that they had been recently acquired.
Han Li wanted to take his mind off his current concerns, so he began wandering aimlessly through the shops.
Wave View City wasn't very large, and it didn't have many shops, but there was a high degree of diversity in the wares on offer, and he was able to find some things that he needed, thereby improving his mood.
Shortly thereafter, he drew to a halt in front of one of the larger material shops, then cast his gaze into the shop to find that it was selling a large range of products, all of which had been placed on around a dozen shelves.
A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face as he made his way inside, and right at this moment, a white-robed young man just so happened to come out of the shop.
The two of them passed each other by, and Han Li stopped in his tracks before turning to look at the white-robed young man's departing figure with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
The white-robed young man was displaying a late-Body Integration Stage cultivation, but Han Li was immediately able to identify him as an early-True Immortal cultivator.
The aura concealment method that he was using was quite advanced, and Han Li may not have been able to see through his cover had it not been for his immense spiritual sense.
The white-robed young man didn't notice Han Li's gaze, and he quickly vanished into the crowd, while Han Li withdrew his gaze and stepped into the shop.
It was a very normal occurrence for cultivators to conceal their cultivation base. After all, he was doing the exact same thing.
As soon as Han Li entered the shop, he was immediately greeted by the hospitable shopkeeper. "What can I help you with today?"
……
Close to a day later, Han Li had already visited all of the shops in the city, and he had found several good materials, as well as two types of rare spirit plant seeds.
Perhaps it was because this was a newly constructed city in a rather secluded location, but there was no Immortal Outlet here, and that put Han Li slightly more at ease.
At this moment, he was standing in the central area of the city, not far away from the white pagoda.
Under the night sky, the pagoda was giving off a faint white glow that matched the luster of the moon, presenting a marvelous spectacle to behold.
At this moment, the gates of the pagoda were tightly shut, making it impossible for anyone to see inside.
Han Li didn't use his spiritual sense to forcibly inspect the interior of the pagoda, and after staying there for a while longer, he turned to depart, renting a room in a secluded inn to the west of the city before going into seclusion.
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