Chapter 2197: Carefree Gentleman Li Qinghuan, Exchanging Treasures

Upon returning to Qingli Tower, Lin Zilin and Lin Ziqi were no longer there. Instead, over a dozen Void Refinement cultivators had gathered, and Seven Gourd Cultivator had also arrived.

Wang Changsheng's gaze fell upon a burly young man. The youth wore a blue python robe, a golden jade belt around his waist, and auspicious golden clouds embroidered on his wide sleeves. He had on a pair of white jade boots, and a delicate white jade pendant hung from his waist, exuding immense wealth.

The blue-robed youth had slender willow eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and eyes like stars. He was broad-shouldered and well-built, with a hint of arrogance in his expression. Judging by his spiritual power fluctuations, he was clearly a mid-stage Void Refinement cultivator.

"Fellow Daoist Han, I heard two fellow daoists went to spar. Who won?" the blue-robed youth asked, his voice resonant, his gaze scanning Wang Changsheng and the others.

"It was merely a sparring session; winning or losing isn't important. Let me introduce you: this is Fellow Daoist Li from Golden Crow Island," Han Changfeng said, changing the subject. Lin Zilin had effectively lost the match, so there was no need to publicize it.

"I am Li Qinghuan. It's a pleasure to meet you all, fellow daoists," the blue-robed youth said courteously, cupping his hands.

"The Li family of Golden Crow Island? Is that the Li family where Golden Crow True Man resides?" Leng Qingfeng asked, somewhat puzzled.

"The Golden Crow True Man you speak of is my seventh grand-uncle," Li Qinghuan replied proudly.

Leng Qingfeng nodded. "In that case, you must be Young Master Xiaoyao." The Li family of Golden Crow Island was a cultivation clan in the Qingli Sea Region, with numerous masters within the clan. While their overall strength couldn't compare to the Han family, the Li family possessed a seventh-tier Golden-Eyed Golden Crow, said to be a descendant of the Golden Crow, possessing immense divine abilities.

Li Qinghuan smiled proudly and nodded. "Indeed, that is I. I didn't expect you to know of me, fellow daoist."

"When one mentions the Li family of Golden Crow Island, who doesn't know of Fellow Daoist Li?" Leng Qingfeng said with a smile.

"Please, everyone, have a seat and let's chat! Let's introduce ourselves to each other," Han Changfeng urged them to sit down, and the cultivators in turn reported their names to reacquaint themselves.

They exchanged insights on cultivation techniques and discussed interesting anecdotes from the cultivation world.

"Fellow Daoist Li, I've heard that your family's protective spirit beast is a seventh-tier Golden-Eyed Golden Crow?" Leng Qingfeng asked curiously.

"Indeed. Our ancestor brought it out from a Cave Abode where a Mahayana cultivator had passed away," Li Qinghuan said with pride. The Li family ancestor was a Void Refinement cultivator. Tens of thousands of years ago, a suspected Daoist site of Xuanling Heavenly Venerate appeared, leading to many Mahayana cultivators fighting over it. The Li family ancestor entered to seek treasures, using this opportunity to rise to prominence and establish the Li family. Whenever major events occurred, power structures were often reshuffled, and the Li family seized an opportune moment, developing over tens of thousands of years to achieve their current status.

"Speaking of which, Xuanling Heavenly Venerate's legacy still hasn't been obtained after all these years," Li Qinghuan mused, puzzled.

"Perhaps Xuanling Heavenly Venerate's Daoist site has already been occupied, but his reputation is simply too immense, so some unknown sites or small worlds are attributed to him. It's not uncommon. Throughout history, how many brilliant talents have emerged? Yet, very few are able to ascend to the Mahayana stage. For cultivators above the Void Refinement stage, the Grand Heavenly Tribulation is the greatest enemy," Seven Gourd Cultivator said indifferently after taking a sip of spirit wine.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, you've been in the Void Refinement stage for many years; you must have undergone the Grand Heavenly Tribulation, right? Would you mind telling us about your experience?" Long Yunxin asked curiously. While the Long family ancestors had left behind insights on enduring the Grand Heavenly Tribulation, there was no harm in listening to others' experiences, just in case they could learn something useful.

"Unlike you, I don't hail from a major power. Enduring one Grand Heavenly Tribulation requires hundreds, even thousands, of years of recuperation, and a slight misstep could lead to complete annihilation," Seven Gourd Cultivator sighed softly, briefly recounting his experience with the Grand Heavenly Tribulation. He explained that it was merely a matter of utilizing formations, talismans, and treasures; ordinary items were utterly incapable of withstanding it. Treasures, formations, and talismans capable of weakening lightning tribulation were exceedingly rare. Furthermore, the power of the Grand Heavenly Tribulation increased with each subsequent occurrence, so even the finest treasures could only be used a few times before eventually being destroyed by it. Cultivators from prominent backgrounds, with high-tier formations, treasures, and talismans to aid them, had a relatively higher chance of passing the Grand Heavenly Tribulation, but this depended on their realm; the higher the cultivation level, the greater the tribulation's power. In this regard, it was quite fair: regardless of one's background, the Grand Heavenly Tribulation showed no favoritism. It was a process of sifting out the weak, which is why cultivators above the Void Refinement stage often ventured out to seek fortuitous encounters.

Wang Changsheng fully agreed. The Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation had already damaged his Two-Sided Umbrella, and he had heard that the Grand Heavenly Tribulation was even more powerful.

"Even a sixth-tier defensive formation can't withstand it?" Wang Changsheng frowned. If Seven Gourd Cultivator's sixth-tier defensive formation couldn't even block a few rounds of lightning tribulation, it showed the immense power of the Grand Heavenly Tribulation. It seemed his next Grand Heavenly Tribulation would be even harder to overcome.

"If it were that easy to overcome, the number of Void Refinement cultivators in major sects or cultivation clans would multiply several times over," Seven Gourd Cultivator chuckled softly.

"Since we all come from different places, let's exchange items and share what we have," Han Changfeng suggested. Cultivation resources needed by cultivators above the Void Refinement stage were mostly acquired through bartering, unless one attended a large-scale auction held by a major trade alliance, where there might be a chance to bid on valuable items.

The other cultivators had no objections; they had all attended this gathering hoping to exchange for items they needed.

Han Changfeng took out dozens of materials: demon cores, beast bones, animal hides, spirit medicines, ores, formation arrays, and more, all of them sixth-tier. Among them were three misty, crystal-clear jade stones—precisely Flowing Cloud Jade, which could be used to condense Dharma Idols.

"I'm looking to exchange these for Heavenly Lightning Crystals, treasures or materials that can weaken lightning-attribute Dao techniques, or items of equivalent value," Han Changfeng stated, his voice serious.

Upon seeing the Flowing Cloud Jade, the cultivators' eyes glowed with fervor. Flowing Cloud Jade was ideal for Void Refinement cultivators practicing water-attribute cultivation methods to condense Dharma Idols. Even if they didn't need it themselves, acquiring it meant they could exchange it with others.

Wang Changsheng had only managed to acquire a piece of Flowing Cloud Jade by offering a section of ten-thousand-year Azure Luan Divine Wood, a Snow Glaze Crystal, and a Verdant Moon Peaches, which highlighted just how precious materials for condensing Dharma Idols were. Of course, Wang Changsheng had many refining materials on hand, but given Han Changfeng's status and position, ordinary materials wouldn't catch his eye.

Leng Qingfeng and Long Yunxin each exchanged for a piece of Flowing Cloud Jade, though what they offered in return was unknown to outsiders.

After Han Changfeng finished his exchanges, Leng Qingfeng stepped forward and took out dozens of materials for exchange. Most were ice-attribute materials: spirit herbs, spirit woods, spirit water, and so on. This was not surprising, as the main stronghold of the Cold Flame Sect was built on a hundred-thousand-year-old glacier, providing abundant ice-attribute materials.

The cultivators took turns making exchanges, and many valuable items were presented. Wang Changsheng felt a slight pull, but as he didn't have many sixth-tier materials himself, he could only exchange for items he urgently needed.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Seven Gourd Cultivator stepped forward to make his exchanges. He produced dozens of materials of various kinds.

A piece of jet-black beast hide caught Wang Changsheng's attention. The hide had silvery patterns on its surface, shimmering with spiritual light, making it quite extraordinary.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, what kind of demon beast does this hide belong to?" Wang Changsheng asked, pointing at the hide.

"That is the hide of a sixth-tier low-grade Silver-Horned Sea-Swallowing Whale," Seven Gourd Cultivator explained. "It cultivates by absorbing the lightning of heaven and earth. If refined into a Sky-Reaching Spirit Treasure, it would be excellent for resisting lightning tribulations. If used against the Grand Heavenly Tribulation for the first time, it could withstand a few rounds of lightning, but it would be rendered useless once the tribulation is over."

Wang Changsheng felt a surge of secret delight. If this hide were refined into a treasure, its defensive capabilities would certainly be far superior to his Two-Sided Umbrella. However, this hide was quite large, and it was likely that ordinary sixth-tier materials wouldn't be enough to acquire it.