Chapter 961: Talismans and Magic Arrays

Volume Six: Heavenly Spirit Treasures.

Ge Tianhao, a cultivator from the Ye family, slowly spoke.

“The Ye family, the Imperial Ye family?” Lin Yinping asked, her face showing surprise.

“Fellow Daoist Lin, do you know who sent him? It turns out to be an Elder Han from the Ye family, and this Elder Han's appearance is seventy to eighty percent similar to the person we are currently pursuing.” Ge Tianhao’s face showed a strange expression.

“Such a thing happened? Are they the same person? How could that person be involved with the Ye family?” Lin Yinping asked, stunned.

“That's not entirely clear yet. The person whose soul I searched was just a rogue cultivator recruited by the Ye family. But whether they are the same person or not, they must be closely related. Otherwise, why would they send someone to track us without reason? That person is an Elder of the Ye family, which could be quite tricky.” Ge Tianhao’s expression became somewhat solemn.

“What, is the Imperial family’s power that great? I remember the Ye family was just a noble family propped up by sects like yours, wasn’t it? Brother Ge, why are you so wary?” Lin Yinping chuckled.

“The Ye family is no ordinary cultivation family. Not only are they the Imperial family of the Great Jin, known as the foremost noble family, but they also have six or seven Nascent Soul stage elders within their clan alone. Not to mention the large number of rogue cultivators they secretly recruited and the unknown forces they cultivated. Their true strength should be no less than any major cultivation sect. Take this cultivator who was tracking us, for instance. Although his cultivation wasn't high, the banner he wielded was remarkably mystical. If Fellow Daoist Lin hadn't possessed the Wondrous Sound Treasure Mirror, we would have found it difficult to detect him stealthily following us.” Ge Tianhao said with a sigh.

“It’s nothing; my cultivation method focuses on training divine senses. As soon as we left the market, I had a subtle feeling that something was amiss. Naturally, I had to use my treasure mirror to investigate. You could say this person had bad luck, running into me with the Wondrous Sound Treasure Mirror in hand. Brother Ge, how do you plan to handle this matter? Does your sect still intend to honor the agreement with our Hall?” The Saintess of Tianlan stared at Ge Tianhao and asked calmly.

“Heh heh! Although the Ye family's influence is considerable, our sect will not fear anyone. Furthermore, this matter involves our sect's most treasured artifact and the life of an enforcement elder. Even if this person truly is a Ye family elder, our sect will make the Ye family hand him over. Fellow Daoist Lin, please rest assured. It’s getting late now, let’s go attend the trade fair first.” Ge Tianhao gazed into the distance and spoke indifferently.

“Since Brother Ge says so, this humble one is at ease.” Lin Yinping nodded in satisfaction.

Immediately, the three of them transformed into three streaks of light and shot away from the area.

However, the three of them did not know that shortly after they had left the spot, black light suddenly flickered in a nearby space. Then a figure flickered, and a young man in a green robe eerily appeared there. He stared in the direction where the three had disappeared and sneered repeatedly.

“So the Yinluo Sect and the Tianlan Sacred Hall have gotten involved together, that's fine. I’ll temporarily spare your lives. Let you help me find that Han fellow first. This Venerable One has never forgotten the revenge for that pursuit back then.” After muttering these words, the young man’s figure flickered, and he vanished again.

Han Li was currently bathed in a green glow. He surveyed his surroundings and couldn't help but smile wryly.

He was now in a somewhat dim, massive hall, which contained four or five hundred seats evenly distributed around a circular open space in the center.

To his great surprise, upon entering, a masked cultivator guarding the entrance had placed a special talisman on their bodies. As a result, as soon as they were teleported here through a simple teleportation array, both their figures were immediately enveloped by a green glow, making them appear ethereal.

Han Li was naturally startled. He looked around and saw that dozens of cultivators were sparsely scattered, some standing, some sitting. These individuals were also enveloped in various colored glows, making their true appearances indistinguishable.

Han Li's curiosity was piqued. After casually sitting down in a corner, he quietly released his spiritual sense towards a nearby person to see if he could penetrate their glow.

To his astonishment, these glows seemed tangible. No matter how strong the spiritual sense he projected, it was easily blocked. Although he hadn't released his spiritual sense at maximum strength, he estimated that further strengthening it wouldn't have much effect.

Han Li's mind turned. He subconsciously swept his spiritual sense across the entire hall and found that the entire hall seemed to be under the influence of a peculiar formation. While this formation didn't display powerful restrictions, the spiritual energy it emitted subtly resonated with the glows on everyone's bodies.

Han Li himself was proficient in talismans and formations. With a little thought, he understood the underlying principle and couldn't help but secretly marvel.

Evidently, these talismans were specifically designed to work with this peculiar formation. Once these talismans were attached, as soon as one entered the formation's range, their concealing effects would automatically activate. This way, no matter how powerful a cultivator's spiritual sense was, it naturally couldn't contend with the entire formation.

This allowed the old monsters attending the exchange fair to set aside their doubts. They could boldly exchange items without fear of encountering enemies at the event or being targeted by someone because of their traded items.

Han Li also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His previous concern about Yinluo Sect cultivators also attending the trade fair completely vanished. He placed his hand disk on the table in front of him and sat on the chair, closing his eyes to rest.

Time passed gradually, and more and more cultivators were teleported into the hall.

When Han Li opened his eyes again, not only were there nearly two hundred cultivators in the entire hall, but a white jade table, several zhang wide, had also appeared in the circular open space in the center.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and stared silently ahead.

Before long, a spiritual light flashed near the white jade table, and a figure enveloped in white glow suddenly appeared behind the table.

“It’s almost time. All fellow Daoists who are coming have arrived. The exchange will now commence.” The figure in white light swept their gaze around and said indifferently.

Then, with a flick of their sleeve, three or four bulging storage bags appeared on the tabletop.

The cultivators in the hall instantly had their gazes drawn, their eyes filled with eagerness.

“This exchange fair will proceed as before. It will mainly feature various rare materials. Ancient treasures, magical artifacts, and other items, if truly rare, can also be traded here. As per custom, we will first offer a batch of materials for direct auction with spirit stones, and the highest bidder wins. Following that, fellow Daoists may engage in bartering among yourselves. However, there’s one difference from previous years: this time, we have been entrusted by a major client to exchange a highly valuable treasure as the grand finale. This treasure will only be exchanged for a few items that are incredibly rare in the world. Only if no one possesses these materials will it be put up for auction with spirit stones. Whether any of you fellow Daoists have the fortune to acquire this treasure will depend on your individual luck.” The figure in white light slowly said.

“A highly valuable treasure? What exactly is it? Is it a material, a pill, or a magical artifact? Fellow Daoist, could you tell us what it is first? Otherwise, what if someone trades away the very things needed for this treasure beforehand? Wouldn’t that lead to regret?” Someone, whose identity was unknown, suddenly spoke up and asked.

“Heh heh! I can only describe this item as 'peerless in the world'. As for its exact nature, you will naturally find out at the very end. And regarding this fellow Daoist's concern, there is no need for it. The items this treasure requires for exchange are things that, if an ordinary cultivator obtained them, they would cling to them tightly and never trade them away.” The figure said with a faint smile.

These words, spoken with such confidence, naturally caused a stir among the cultivators in the hall. Their curiosity was involuntarily piqued, but no one asked any more questions.

At this moment, the figure behind the jade table casually reached into a storage bag in front of them, then black light flickered in their hand, and a fruit, resembling a jujube but dark and lustrous, appeared in their palm.

“A Yin Jujube. It occasionally emerges from the graves of those born in Yin years, Yin months, and Yin days. It takes three hundred years to ripen, and is then refined for forty-nine days with secret arts using the grievances of wronged souls. This jujube can be consumed directly or used as an ingredient in alchemy. Starting bid is 100,000 spirit stones, with increments of 5,000.”

As soon as the figure spoke, Han Li's heart was startled.

“120,000!”

“140,000!”

“145,000 spirit stones!”

In the blink of an eye, this Yin Jujube, which Han Li had never even heard of, fetched an astonishingly high price. Almost all the bidders were cultivators enveloped in black and grey glows, suggesting it was something highly valued by those in the Demonic Dao.

Ultimately, this Yin Jujube was sold for 190,000 spirit stones.

“Blood Sun Iron. It's Red Sun Iron refined by merging the primordial spirits of three cultivators at the Core Formation stage or above, who cultivate fire-attributed techniques. It is a rare material for refining Yin Fire magical artifacts. Starting bid is 150,000 spirit stones, with increments of 10,000.” After the person who acquired the Yin Jujube paid the spirit stones and took their auctioned item, the figure in white light, in the blink of an eye, produced another rectangular object, half a chi in size, completely blood-red, radiating a scorching aura.

“180,000 spirit stones!”

“200,000!”

Although not many people bid on this rare material, which Han Li had vaguely heard of, the few who did seemed to be very wealthy and unwilling to give up easily. It was ultimately sold for an astonishing price of 250,000.

“Ghost Bane Grass…”

One after another, items with names that sounded sinister appeared. Almost every item was immediately bought by those who needed it, with large sums of spirit stones. Compared to a major auction, this was truly on a different level.

Han Li touched the storage bag at his waist and couldn't help but smile wryly.

For the first time, he felt a little worried that he might have exchanged for too few spirit stones in his bag. Although he knew that a batch of materials would first be auctioned for spirit stones before the bartering began, he hadn't expected the items to be so extraordinarily valuable, with the spirit stone prices climbing higher and higher. Any auctioned amount here surpassed even the finale items at a major auction.

“Jade Rubber. A substance produced only once every thousand years by the Jade Oak, a spiritual tree of heaven and earth. It is the best material for creating unique magical artifacts and mechanical puppets. Starting bid is 120,000 spirit stones, with increments of no less than 5,000…”

“150,000!”

When the figure in white light produced a white, gelatinous object, Han Li, who had been absent-minded until then, suddenly perked up and bid without hesitation.