Chapter 381: Dan Formula and Monster Pill

Volume 3, Chapter 4: Winds Rise Overseas

“Although our Six Union Hall is not among the Four Great Merchant Alliances, we are still a reputable business in the Scattered Star Seas. These two spiritual items, though rare, are not that significant to us. Fellow Daoist Qu, please take them; consider them a congratulatory gift from our Six Union Hall, wishing you success in forming your Core,” the burly, bearded man said, waving his hand nonchalantly.

Upon hearing this, Han Li did not joyfully instruct Qu Hun to accept the gifts; instead, he subtly furrowed his brow.

"Giving away such precious gifts for nothing? Han Li didn't believe such good fortune existed in the world. Even if Qu Hun was a cultivator at the False Core stage, as they claimed, there was no need for these two to be so flattering. Could they have other motives?"

Thinking this, Han Li became even more cautious.

So he had Qu Hun shake his head and say seriously:

“This won't do. I, Qu, understand the principle of not accepting unearned rewards. These two items should be priced fairly, and I, Qu, have enough spirit stones for them! Or do the two of you have some unspoken difficulties?” After saying this, Qu Hun revealed a knowing smile.

Noticing Qu Hun's extreme wariness towards the unsolicited benefits, Cao Lu and the bearded man paused, then exchanged glances.

After exchanging a look, Cao Lu cleared his throat and said:

“You've seen through us, fellow Daoist. Since Fellow Daoist Qu is an understanding person, I, Cao, will speak plainly! We do indeed have something that requires your assistance, fellow Daoist. These two spiritual items are merely our Six Union Hall's initial gesture of goodwill. If the matter is successful, our establishment will offer another grand gift.”

This time, Cao Lu spoke quite sincerely, while the bearded man showed a hint of embarrassment.

However, upon hearing this, Han Li sneered inwardly, then had Qu Hun decline with a slight smile:

“To be frank with you two, I, Qu, am currently fully focused on the matter of Core Formation and have no mind to attend to other affairs. My apologies, fellow Daoists, you should seek help elsewhere!”

Qu Hun seemed to have no interest in even hearing what the matter was about. He cut off the other party's words as soon as he spoke.

Hearing Qu Hun's reply, Cao Lu and the bearded man did not get angry; instead, they burst into hearty laughter one after another.

“Haha, since Fellow Daoist Qu is so concerned with Core Formation, then you should definitely help with this matter! Because if the matter is successful, the reward our Six Union Hall will pay is a Dustfall Pill. This pill is extremely beneficial for Core Formation, as it can increase the success rate of Core Formation by a certain chance!” the bearded man said with a hearty laugh.

“Dustfall Pill?” Qu Hun murmured, slightly startled.

“Indeed, this time, our Six Union Hall requires six cultivators at the False Core stage. We've already found five, and now we're just one short. It would be perfect if Fellow Daoist would agree to go. And every cultivator who participates will receive a Dustfall Pill from our establishment,” Cao Lu said solemnly, dropping his smile.

The Dustfall Pill might indeed be very famous in the Scattered Star Seas, but Han Li, who had immediately entered seclusion upon arriving at Kui Star Island, had no way of knowing if the pill was as miraculous as they claimed.

Therefore, Qu Hun pondered for a moment before cautiously asking:

“Fellow Daoists, could you first explain exactly what kind of assistance I need to provide before I, Qu, make my decision?”

“Of course, that's only natural. It's actually not a complicated matter. Our establishment discovered a Level Six demonic beast, and we wish to obtain its demon core, so we're seeking some external help to eliminate it!” Cao Lu chuckled, stating it lightly.

“A Level Six demonic beast?” Qu Hun gave a wry smile. Han Li, standing to the side, nearly jumped up and cursed them both.

He recalled how a Level Four Giant Praying Mantis demonic beast had nearly claimed his life back then. Now they were talking about a Level Six one; weren't they just trying to send a group of cultivators to their deaths?

“Fellow Daoist, please rest assured. Our establishment has already made complete plans for this expedition. There isn't much danger. Because, in addition to our two guest elders at the Core Formation stage who will be participating, we have also set up the 'Six-Escape Water Ripple Great Formation'. Only six cultivators at the False Core stage are needed to simply oversee the formation.” As if sensing Qu Hun's displeasure, the bearded man quickly interjected with an explanation.

"The Six-Escape Water Ripple Formation."

Han Li found this formation somewhat familiar, as if there was information about it in the formation insights Xin Ruoyin had given him.

“Since this matter is of great importance, fellow Daoists, please allow me, Qu, to consider it for two days. How about I give you a reply after two days?” Under Han Li's control, Qu Hun still chose to speak words of delay first.

Hearing Qu Hun's vague words, Cao Lu was initially startled, but he immediately agreed with a smiling face.

However, as Han Li and Qu Hun were about to leave, Cao Lu and the bearded man insisted that Han Li take the Snow Spirit Water and Heavenly Fire Liquid with him. They politely stated that it didn't matter if Qu Hun didn't agree to the matter in the end, as they were determined to befriend Fellow Daoist Qu.

Hearing their attempt to win him over, Qu Hun smiled faintly and accepted the jade box without declining. After exchanging a few polite words, he led Han Li out of the pavilion.

As soon as they left the White Water Tower, Han Li looked back at the building, shaking his head slightly, then found a street and left the plaza.

Since these six pavilions actually belonged to the same entity, Han Li naturally found it awkward to go back to these places to bargain for items, especially since he had already accepted their free gifts.

Thus, he decided to find smaller shops on the outskirts to gather the remaining items he wanted to buy.

Speaking of which, besides purchasing the Snow Spirit Water and Heavenly Fire Liquid for Core Formation, Han Li also needed to buy some raw materials for manufacturing Level Two puppets during this outing.

Although he could cultivate the main material, centuries-old Ironwood, himself, he still needed to purchase a large quantity of other auxiliary materials like Iron Mother and Cloud Essence Stone.

Additionally, he needed some medicinal plant seeds to refine Spirit-Feeding Pills so he could refine a batch of pills back home to formally train his two white spiders.

With this in mind, Han Li entered a small general store and bought most of the items he needed. For the remaining, rarer items he couldn't find, he simply visited a few more shops until he had everything.

Feeling relieved, Han Li began to browse other types of shops.

However, his primary focus remained on shops selling pills and cultivation technique manuals.

After all, most of his pill recipes had already been used up, and he desperately hoped to acquire one or two more here.

As for cultivation techniques, while he wouldn't be able to buy any top-tier ones here, even general ones would allow him to understand what types of techniques cultivators in the Scattered Star Seas practiced.

However, after a round of browsing, Han Li was astonished!

When he had Qu Hun wait outside and he himself entered a pill shop, asking if there were any Foundation Establishment stage pill recipes for sale, the shop assistant casually tossed him dozens of different types of pill recipes, which nearly made Han Li bite his tongue in shock.

As he examined all the pill recipes with an incredulous expression, he was utterly dumbfounded.

Regardless of whether the pills refined from these recipes were valuable or useful, the main ingredients required were surprisingly not spiritual herbs or other medicinal plants, but demon cores of various levels. Especially for some rare and uncommon pills, they even required demon cores of Level Six or Seven to refine.

Although these pills also required some centuries-old spiritual herbs for refining, in these recipes, these spiritual herbs had completely become auxiliary materials and could be entirely replaced by other spiritual medicines.

Thus, Han Li stood there, clutching the thick stack of pill recipes, in a daze for a good half-day.

As a result, under the odd gaze of the shop assistant, he casually bought a few suitable recipes at extremely low prices and walked out in a daze.

A moment later, still somewhat unwilling to give up, he visited several more pill shops, but he found that except for low-level Qi Condensation stage pill recipes, which did not require demon cores, all high-level recipes were the same.

Finally, unable to hold back, Han Li cautiously asked the owner of one shop if there were any high-level pill recipes that didn't require demon cores. The owner stared at Han Li for a long while with a look that was almost like staring at an idiot, before finally saying, "If high-level pills aren't refined with demon cores, what raw materials would they use?"

Hearing this, Han Li walked out feeling somewhat embarrassed, completely giving up hope.

Clearly, the path of alchemy among cultivators in the Scattered Star Seas was completely different from that in Tiannan; they actually used sea demonic beasts as spiritual medicines.

However, upon closer thought, this seemed quite reasonable!

After all, with the boundless ocean, the demonic beasts inhabiting it were countless. Even ancient sages couldn't have completely captured and exterminated them. This was naturally much better than the situation in Tiannan. Presumably, these pill recipes were also ancient formulas passed down since antiquity!

Thinking this, Han Li stood in a secluded corner of a street, and from the few pill recipes he had bought, he found one also called "Foundation Establishment Pill" and examined it carefully.

Most of this pill recipe was identical to the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe in Han Li's memory, but the celestial spiritual medicines that could only be found in the Bloody Forbidden Land were replaced by the demon cores of several Level Five demonic beasts.

Seeing this, Han Li put away the pill recipes, crossed his arms, and fell into deep thought.