Chapter 2057: Thousand Beasts Pill, Nine Thunder Bamboo

"Fellow Daoist Long, if you want to trade for good items, you might consider offering something more valuable, such as a Myriad Beast Pill," Wang Changsheng said meaningfully. He knew the Long family's ancestors came from the Myriad Spirit Sect, and their relationship with the sect was good, so they should possess Myriad Beast Pills.

"We don't have Myriad Beast Pills, but we do have Thousand Beast Pellets," Long Yunxin said with a smile, holding up a golden porcelain bottle and looking at Wang Changsheng. "These are pills refined by our Long family, and they offer some benefit to spirit beasts advancing to the fifth rank. Of course, they are inferior to Myriad Beast Pills." All miraculous elixirs have substitutes, though their effects vary in strength.

"Thousand Beast Pellets?" Dongfang Wu's face showed interest. She took out a golden jade box, handed it to Long Yunxin, and spoke with slightly parted lips. After a brief moment of thought, Wang Changsheng took out a golden jade box and handed it to Long Yunxin, transmitting his voice, "This is a Merman's Tear. How about exchanging it for a Thousand Beast Pellet?" Merman's Tear is a rare and special fifth-tier refining material produced only by the Merman race. Wang Changsheng had collected a few; in human territories, Merman's Tears were quite uncommon.

Long Yunxin took the golden jade box, opened it, and glanced inside, seeing an oval blue object resembling a blue tear. He put away the jade box, unstoppered the bottle, and poured out two light-gold pills. He then placed them into two separate porcelain bottles and handed them to Wang Changsheng and Dongfang Wu respectively. Wang Changsheng felt exceptionally pleased. With this Thousand Beast Pellet, along with the Azure Thunder Fruit and a mid-grade fifth-tier demonic core, his Qilin Tortoise's chances of advancing to the fifth rank significantly increased.

After Long Yunxin completed her trade, Long Yunzhen took out dozens of materials for exchange, mostly spirit insect eggs and spirit beast eggs. The spirit beast and insect eggs she offered for exchange were naturally not overly precious. The Long family specialized in controlling insects and beasts, so Long Yunzhen's spirit insect and beast eggs sparked interest among other Nascent Soul cultivators. Several of them communicated with her via spiritual transmission and traded for over a dozen types of spirit insect eggs.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, it's your turn," Long Yunzhen stepped aside, smiling as she watched Wang Changsheng. The other Nascent Soul cultivators also looked at Wang Changsheng, eager to see what he would offer.

Wang Changsheng flicked his sleeve, and three streams of spiritual light flew out: a misty blue orb, a constantly shimmering green feather fan, and a palm-sized golden ring with a lifelike miniature flood dragon carved on its surface.

"Heavenly Spirit Treasure! Fellow Daoist Wang, are you a refiner?" Yang Hao asked in surprise. A Nascent Soul stage body cultivator was already astonishing enough; the Taiyang Sect, with a history of over four millennia, only had one such cultivator. He hadn't expected Wang Changsheng to also be a refiner.

"I learned a bit from Martial Uncle Song and refined a few Heavenly Spirit Treasures," Wang Changsheng slowly stated, looking towards Yang Hao and the others. "The Heavenly Merman Pearl, a water-attribute treasure, is made primarily from Merman's Tears. The Soul Quelling Fan is crafted mainly from the feathers of a fifth-tier Golden-Eyed Azure-Winged Falcon. The Golden Flood Dragon Fiend-Trapping Ring, a treasure for entrapping enemies, is made from Golden Lapis Essence and various other materials. I'm looking to exchange them for materials of equal value, with priority given to refining materials."

These three low-grade Heavenly Spirit Treasures were worth over thirty million spirit stones. While not a huge sum for the elites of major powers, most of the other Nascent Soul cultivators present, apart from Long Yunxin, Long Yunzhen, and Lu Shisan who had slightly stronger backgrounds, belonged to forces primarily overseen by Void Refinement cultivators. They weren't wealthy enough to consider thirty million spirit stones a small amount. If these three treasures were put up for auction, each would fetch no less than ten million spirit stones, and the price could be even higher with some bidding. When exchanged, they were naturally valued at over ten million. This was also why finished products like magical artifacts, elixirs, talismans, or arrays rarely appeared at exchange gatherings; they commanded higher prices at auctions. Before this, Yang Hao and the others had only exchanged materials, with very few elixirs or talismans appearing.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, I'll exchange a lightning-attribute fifth-tier demonic core, three five-thousand-year Nine-Yang Golden Lotuses, a section of ten-thousand-year Snow Wind Wood, three Azure Flame Crystals, two beast hides of the Sea-Turning Whale, and a section of ten-thousand-year Golden Lizard Wood for your Golden Flood Dragon Fiend-Trapping Ring," Dongfang Wu transmitted her voice, her face full of anticipation. Golden Ape Valley had three Void Refinement cultivators, but resources were scarce. Dongfang Wu primarily relied on purchasing Heavenly Spirit Treasures. In terms of benefits, Golden Ape Valley was far inferior to Zhenhai Palace.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, I am willing to exchange a thousand catties of Profound Sun Jade, the beast hide of a fifth-tier Azure Jade Silkworm, and five water-attribute fifth-tier demonic cores for your Soul Quelling Fan."

"This old man wishes to exchange a bottle of Golden Sun Jade Dew Pills for advancing magic power, a section of ten-thousand-year Heavenly Thunderwood, a Blood Flame Crystal, and a beast hide of a fifth-tier Blazing Fire Shark for your Heavenly Merman Pearl."

Several Nascent Soul cultivators transmitted their voices to Wang Changsheng, offering many valuable items. Long Yunxin, Long Yunzhen, and Lu Shisan remained unmoved; they were not lacking in one or two low-grade Heavenly Spirit Treasures.

Wang Changsheng looked thoughtful. Many good items were presented, with the more precious ones being Deng Yibo's Four Seas Spirit Quelling Array, Xia Yunyuan's ten-thousand-year Sky-Burning Bamboo, and Dongfang Wu's Azure Flame Crystal and lightning-attribute fifth-tier demonic core. The Four Seas Spirit Quelling Array was a fifth-tier array primarily used to kill fifth-tier demonic beasts; two Nascent Soul cultivators could unleash its full power. As for Sky-Burning Bamboo, it was one of the Ten Great Spirit Bamboos of the Profound Yang Realm, an excellent material for refining fire-attribute treasures. Azure Flame Crystal was slightly inferior to Fire Rock Divine Crystal, but the lightning-attribute fifth-tier demonic core was indeed more valuable. Wang Changsheng could trade, but he was hoping for extremely rare refining materials or treasures that had significantly lost their spiritual essence.

"Rare materials or damaged powerful treasures are also acceptable," Wang Changsheng added, looking at the cultivators. "If the item is good enough, three of my treasures can be exchanged for one."

Yang Hao hesitated slightly, then took out an exquisite green brocade box and handed it to Wang Changsheng. "Fellow Daoist Wang, this is a Heavenly Spirit Treasure contaminated by Blood Filth Qi. Its original grade was at least mid-tier, but it's severely damaged. I've used Taiyang True Flame to temper it for over a hundred years, but only a small amount of the Blood Filth Qi has been removed. This treasure was crafted from Nine Thunder Bamboo. With more time spent tempering, it can still be used in combat, but restoring it to its original grade is almost impossible."

"Blood Filth Qi? Nine Thunder Bamboo!" Wang Changsheng's expression shifted. When a Heavenly Spirit Treasure is touched by Blood Filth Qi, its spiritual essence is immediately greatly diminished. Blood Filth Qi corrodes a treasure's spiritual essence, rendering it useless; its ability to contaminate treasures is second only to Blood Filth Divine Light.

Wang Changsheng opened the brocade box. Inside was a dimly glowing arrow, its surface imbued with flickering blue and red electrical arcs. Upon closer inspection, two small cracks were visible, and the characters "Demon Queller" were engraved on the arrow's tail. Nine Thunder Bamboo is one of the Ten Great Spirit Bamboos of the Profound Yang Realm, ranking even higher than Sky-Burning Bamboo. It can unleash nine types of lightning power, and treasures refined from it restrain most demons and monsters, their specific power depending on the treasure's grade.

Wang Changsheng's brow furrowed. This arrow was too severely damaged; any other treasure would have been long discarded. Only due to it being made of Nine Thunder Bamboo had it lasted this long. "I'll take this item, but this alone isn't enough to exchange for one of my treasures," Wang Changsheng transmitted. "This item is severely damaged, having been corroded by Blood Filth Qi for many years. It's essentially irreparable and can, at best, be used as a low-grade Heavenly Spirit Treasure, with its power greatly diminished, far from its former glory." Yang Hao was also aware of the item's flaws; otherwise, he wouldn't have offered it for exchange. To completely restore the treasure's spiritual essence and power, it would require tempering with supreme Yang and rigid flames, then being re-forged with other lightning-attribute materials. The cost would be too high. It's worth noting that the Taiyang Sect's foundational cultivation methods are all fire-attribute, capable of cultivating powerful flames, yet they were still unable to deal with the Blood Filth Qi, mainly because the Qi had been corroding the arrow for many years.

"How about this then! Add three Azure Thunder Fruits and a Heavenly Sea Jade, and I'll take the Golden Flood Dragon Fiend-Trapping Ring," Yang Hao suggested after some thought. Wang Changsheng nodded in agreement and handed the Golden Flood Dragon Fiend-Trapping Ring to Yang Hao. He exchanged the Heavenly Merman Pearl and the Soul Quelling Fan with Deng Yibo and Xia Yunyuan. Dongfang Wu's offerings were also good, and he had both the Azure Flame Crystal and the lightning-attribute demonic core he was interested in.

After Wang Changsheng finished his trades, Wang Ruyan stepped forward and took out seven shimmering talismans, all of them fifth-tier. Wang Changsheng refined and sold Heavenly Spirit Treasures, using the proceeds to buy materials for Wang Ruyan to craft talismans. Wang Ruyan's success rate in crafting fifth-tier talismans soared, and her skill improved rapidly.

"I'm looking for fifth-tier spirit water or materials related to music, or even fifth-tier miraculous elixirs that aid spirit insects in advancing," Wang Ruyan said softly. Fifth-tier talismans were incredibly powerful and convenient to use, especially escape talismans and auxiliary talismans, which could save a life in critical moments. Several cultivators communicated with Wang Ruyan via spiritual transmission, exchanging for some fifth-tier spirit water. Dongfang Wu used Azure Flame Crystal and a lightning-attribute demonic core to trade for a Seven-Star Jade Wei Talisman, which could seal off a large area, making it difficult even for a fifth-tier demonic beast to escape quickly once trapped.

After the exchange concluded, everyone continued to enjoy tea and conversation.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, Madam Wang, you two are truly enviable," Yang Hao said with a hint of admiration in his voice. "One of you is a refiner, and the other is a talisman master. Supporting each other, it's only a matter of time before you advance to the Void Refinement stage." High-level cultivators usually learned some crafts, like refining artifacts or elixirs, but most were only halfway proficient, far from masters. Judging by the Heavenly Spirit Treasures and fifth-tier talismans displayed by Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan, they were clearly skilled in artifact refining and talisman crafting. With the couple supporting each other, their chances of entering the Void Refinement stage were very high. 'Wealth, companion, technique, and land' are crucial for cultivation. Some Nascent Soul cultivators could never break through in their lifetime, largely due to a lack of sufficient cultivation resources. While cultivation resources in the Profound Spirit Continent were abundant, and rare treasures needed to attempt Void Refinement could be bought if one had enough spirit stones, they were simply uncommon.

"Advancing to the Void Refinement stage is hardly easy," Wang Changsheng said with a wry smile. "Just cultivating another cultivation method alone takes considerable time." To advance to the Void Refinement stage, one must achieve the unity of the Five Elements. Generally, Nascent Soul cultivators can find special refining materials to forge treasures that substitute for their missing spiritual roots, thereby achieving Five-Element unity. However, such treasures are exceedingly rare. Alternatively, one can cultivate another method. For instance, a cultivator with Water, Fire, and Earth spiritual roots who has painstakingly reached the Nascent Soul stage would need to find and cultivate a Wood and Metal dual-attribute method to advance to Void Refinement, significantly slowing down their cultivation speed. Besides these, there are other methods, varying among different races or factions, and depending on the individual. However, cultivating an additional method is a relatively common approach. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan were only at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, so they didn't need to consider cultivating another method just yet. It wouldn't be too late to think about it once they reached the late Nascent Soul stage.

"Most Void Refinement cultivators have come through this path; it's nothing significant," Long Yunxin said with a light chuckle, a look of longing on his face. "It's said that those with spiritual physiques don't need to cultivate an additional method, and their bottlenecks aren't as severe." For the cultivators present, reaching Void Refinement was their greatest aspiration.

"That's true. My cultivation is low, so I don't need to consider this yet," Dongfang Wu said with a chuckle, a hint of flattery in her tone. "However, Fellow Daoist Long and Immortal Long, you will likely need to consider these matters, and even start collecting materials for tempering your Dharma Idols."

"Madam Dongfang, you jest," Long Yunxin said, shaking his head. "Materials for tempering Dharma Idols are not easily collected. They occasionally appear on the market but are quickly bought by powerful Void Refinement cultivators; they are treasures one can only hope to stumble upon."

After chatting for over three hours, they finally dispersed and returned to their respective residences.

Upon returning to Listening Wave Palace, Wang Changsheng found that Wang Qingcheng and Wang Qingfeng had not yet returned. They were probably with other cultivators.