Chapter 1689: Exchange

"Oh, fellow Daoist, could you elaborate a bit?" Han Li glanced at the respectful young man, a little surprised.

"Of course. Speaking of my descendants, I don't have many. Xiang'er is the only junior I can properly cultivate. It's not me boasting, but this junior's cultivation aptitude is truly exceptional, even within the entire Cloud Race. He should be able to advance to the Upper Race realm in less than a hundred years." Old Monster Xu looked at the young man with great affection, clearly valuing him highly.

"Grandpa, you're exaggerating a bit. My aptitude is just average, nothing to brag about," the young man said, waving his hands repeatedly, seemingly very shy.

"Haha, you've reached this level of cultivation in just over a decade. Your aptitude is much stronger than mine was back then. Why be so modest?" Old Monster Xu laughed heartily.

"Listening to fellow Daoist Xu, Nephew Xu's talent is indeed astonishing," Han Li said, nodding with a smile.

The young man's face flushed crimson, and he remained silent.

"Normally, this descendant's future achievements could surpass mine. But unfortunately, he has another flaw that makes this possibility seem distant," Old Monster Xu said, his triumphant expression fading and his voice becoming somber.

Han Li's eyes flickered. He said nothing, knowing the other party would explain on their own.

Indeed, Old Monster Xu paused for a moment, then continued:

"Although his innate aptitude is excellent, he has encountered an issue with his Life Cloud Beast. The Life Cloud Beast, which he should have cultivated long ago, is stuck at the final step and cannot truly materialize. Based on past experience, the earlier a Life Cloud Beast is cultivated, the better. Otherwise, it will significantly hinder his future advancements and personal strength. The reason I sought out fellow Daoist Han to inquire about the elemental energy of heaven and earth was essentially for this matter."

"What do you mean by that?" Han Li's expression shifted, as if he didn't quite understand.

"This matter is a bit complicated. But simply put, I inadvertently discovered that the elemental energy of heaven and earth collected during the last celestial phenomenon actually helps my descendant's Life Cloud Beast to materialize. However, most of the energy collected last time was inadvertently used up by me, and the remainder is simply not enough for his needs. Therefore, I had no choice but to seek your help, fellow Daoist," Old Monster Xu finally revealed the ultimate purpose of his visit.

"If the elemental energy of heaven and earth is useful to Nephew Xu, then with your divine abilities, gathering some shouldn't be difficult at all. Why specifically seek me out?" Han Li calmly replied.

"I have tried several times, but ordinary elemental energy of heaven and earth is completely useless for my descendant's Life Cloud Beast. It seems that the elemental energy of heaven and earth you gathered during the last celestial phenomenon was special; it must have contained some other undetectable elements. Only these special elements can help Xiang'er," Old Monster Xu said, looking a little dejected.

"I see," Han Li said, appearing thoughtful.

He understood perfectly.

That so-called celestial phenomenon was actually formed by the disintegration of True Qilin Source Particles, so it was not surprising that it differed from ordinary elemental energy of heaven and earth. However, for this substance to be useful to the Cloud Race's Life Cloud Beast truly surprised him.

"This time, I came here hoping that fellow Daoist could once again gather elemental energy of heaven and earth identical to last time. Afterwards, I will certainly express my profound gratitude," Old Monster Xu said, full of expectation.

"It's not that I don't want to help, but this matter is quite difficult to arrange," Han Li said, his lips twitching slightly, appearing very hesitant.

The True Qilin Source was an extremely rare item. Even if he couldn't refine it, it was still a miraculous elixir for the Spirit Beast to advance its cultivation. How could he possibly extract it again for nothing? Even though there were many True Qilin particles within the Soul Cryer, it might ultimately be just one or two particles short, preventing its cultivation from advancing to a higher realm. Han Li was absolutely unwilling to let his spirit beast make such a sacrifice for a foreign race he had just met.

"What, does fellow Daoist Han have some hidden difficulty? This matter concerns the future and fortune of my descendant. As long as you are willing to help, any amount of spirit stones can be discussed," Old Monster Xu's heart sank slightly, but he promised without hesitation.

"This isn't something that can be resolved by how many spirit stones are offered. To be frank, fellow Daoist Xu, the last celestial phenomenon was not something I could conjure from thin air using a secret art or cultivation method. It required the use of a consumable treasure to manifest. I am not at liberty to disclose what specific treasure it was. However, I believe Brother Xu should be well aware of the value of a consumable treasure capable of manifesting such a celestial phenomenon. Moreover, I have very few left in my possession," Han Li said with difficulty after deliberating for a long while.

"Consumable treasure?" Old Monster Xu's expression changed upon hearing this.

"Precisely. Furthermore, this item is incredibly important to me and serves another significant purpose. Even if there were more spirit stones, I would still be unwilling to use it up," Han Li refused with a hint of apology.

"If it truly is a consumable treasure, I wouldn't easily use it up or exchange it for spirit stones either. But then again, no matter how rare a treasure is, it always has a certain value. Though I may be untalented, I believe I still possess some wealth. I can certainly exchange it with fellow Daoist Han for treasures of equivalent value," Old Monster Xu said, clearly having prepared some arguments beforehand, showing no intention of giving up.

"Exchange?" Han Li's expression shifted upon hearing this, seeming genuinely tempted.

Seeing Han Li's expression, Old Monster Xu naturally knew that the other party wasn't truly unwilling to exchange. His heart immediately filled with joy, and without another word, he swept his sleeve across the table in front of him. A swath of red glow unfurled, and suddenly seven or eight jade boxes of various sizes appeared on the table.

"These items are all precious treasures I've collected over the years. Two of them even almost cost me my life. Fellow Daoist Han, please take a look. Whatever catches your eye, just take it. And consider this a significant favor I'm granting you," Old Monster Xu promised with extraordinary generosity.

Han Li smiled gently upon hearing this. After a quick glance at the jade boxes on the table, his thoughts raced.

Old Monster Xu was already a peak Void Refinement stage cultivator, and being a member of the Cloud Race, his divine abilities were presumably not small. The treasures he brought out were unlikely to be inferior. However, he himself possessed great treasures, even two Profound Heaven-grade artifacts that even Body Integration cultivators wouldn't dare to dream of. He genuinely didn't expect the contents of these jade boxes to entice him into an exchange. In any case, if there was nothing he needed, he wouldn't easily relent.

Han Li thought this to himself, but on his lips, he merely smiled ambiguously:

"Since fellow Daoist Xu has put it that way, I shall first examine your collection and broaden my horizons."

As he spoke, he gestured with one hand towards the empty space opposite him. Immediately, a fiery red jade box on the table quivered slightly, then instantly shot with a whoosh into Han Li's hand, conjured from thin air.

Sensing the faint hot aura emanating from the jade box, Han Li's eyebrows raised. Not daring to delay, his palm flashed with a green light, enveloped by a layer of spiritual energy, while another finger flicked the jade box with a backhand motion. With a soft click, the lid opened on its own.

Immediately, a scorching aura surged out from within, and the temperature in the entire hall instantly soared.

A blue light flickered in Han Li's pupils, allowing him to clearly see the contents of the box.

It was an off-white beast egg, about the size of a chicken egg, but its surface was covered in red patterns. It emanated an astonishing red glow and subtly pulsed.

"What is this?" Han Li asked, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

He immediately sensed that the egg's aura was not weak, but he naturally couldn't identify its species out of thin air, which prompted his curious question.

"Fellow Daoist Han truly has sharp eyes! You immediately picked out the only spirit egg among these treasures. This is an insect egg I obtained years ago in the depths of a molten earth, after slaying a rare Savage Blazing Butterfly. This Blazing Butterfly possessed fire-attribute divine abilities no less powerful than my own. I spent a full year setting up traps repeatedly to finally eliminate this demonic beast. I believe that if this egg is carefully cultivated after hatching, it will undoubtedly become the finest spirit beast. If I didn't already have my own Life Beast and couldn't focus on other spirit beasts, I might have hatched this egg long ago," Old Monster Xu said with a smile.

"To possess divine abilities comparable to yours, fellow Daoist Xu, the rank of this Blazing Butterfly must have been truly astonishing. Unfortunately, I also have other spirit beasts, otherwise I would certainly be coveting this," Han Li said, withdrawing his gaze from the egg with a clicking sound of wonder.

Old Monster Xu was momentarily stunned, but then he quickly smiled and said:

"That was thoughtless of me. With Brother Han's current cultivation, how could you not have spirit beasts you've cultivated for many years? No matter, fellow Daoist, please continue to examine the other treasures."

Han Li nodded, closed the jade box in his hand, and lightly tossed it. Immediately, a ball of green light flew out from Han Li's sleeve, enveloped the jade box, and carried it smoothly back to the table opposite him. Then, with a flash, the green light effortlessly wrapped around another jade box nearby and brought it to Han Li.

Han Li raised a hand and took the new jade box.

Time passed bit by bit. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Han Li had examined eight or nine out of ten of the jade boxes Old Monster Xu had brought out.

The remaining jade boxes mostly contained rare materials, along with one or two finished magic treasures whose power was clearly not small, and even a bottle of pills that could slightly enhance the cultivation of Void Refinement stage cultivators. These items were all exceptionally rare; indeed, if taken to a four-race auction, many of them would not be inferior to the auctioned goods.

Unfortunately, Han Li hadn't taken a liking to any of them from beginning to end, merely smiling without speaking.

After he finished examining the contents of the last jade box and returned it silently with a flick of his hand, Old Monster Xu, sitting opposite him, had a somewhat grim expression.

"What? Not a single one of these items catches your eye, fellow Daoist?" Old Monster Xu finally couldn't help but ask.

"To be honest, fellow Daoist Xu, all these items are indeed treasures. Especially that Blazing Butterfly egg—if sold to a fellow Daoist who cultivates fire-attribute techniques, they would probably be willing to pay any price. Even if put up for auction, I believe it could easily fetch tens of millions of spirit stones. However, for me..." Han Li showed a hint of helplessness and shook his head, leaving his sentence unfinished.