Chapter 142: You Can't Have Both

After leaving Qianyao Hall, Han Li was not in a hurry to return to his temporary cave dwelling on Youyang Mountain. Instead, he wandered around nearby, looking for some larger shops to browse.

The high-grade pills he had purchased earlier had almost emptied the spirit stones he had accumulated.

And in the coming period, he would inevitably need to spend money in many places, so he thought of selling some materials and treasures that he had no immediate use for, to exchange for some top-grade spirit stones.

After walking about two streets, he came to a main thoroughfare bustling with people, where he saw a single tall building occupying the best location on the entire street.

The building was three stories high, all built with fire-clay red bricks. In front of the door stood two gold-painted pillars supporting a hexagonal eaves roof covered with glazed green tiles and adorned with golden ridge beasts, looking extremely magnificent.

Above the lintel hung a wide plaque with a gold border and red background, on which three imposing characters were written in gold paint: "Youbao Zhai."

"Youbao Zhai, Youbao Zhai..." Han Li muttered the name of the shop to himself, finding it somewhat amusing. He stepped up the stone steps, crossed the threshold, and entered the main hall.

There were quite a few customers in the hall, gathered in small groups in front of rosewood counters, pointing at various treasures and artifacts displayed on shelves behind the counters.

Beside each of them stood a green-robed attendant, either explaining something with a smile or taking down an artifact from the shelf for them to examine.

Han Li glanced around and noticed that the artifacts on the shelves were not of high grade—at most suitable for cultivators at the Deity Transformation stage—but within their grade, their quality was considered top-notch.

At that moment, a green-robed attendant also noticed him. Quickly excusing himself to a regular customer, he came over with a smile and said:

"Esteemed guest, what would you like to see? Would you like me to introduce something for you?"

"I'm not here to buy; I'm here to sell something," Han Li said with a smile.

"I see. Then please follow me, honored guest. The acquisition matters at Youbao Zhai are always handled by Master Hai and Master Hu. I'll take you to see them now." The green-robed attendant was taken aback for a moment, then said.

Han Li said nothing, merely nodding slightly.

Led by the green-robed attendant, Han Li wound his way up a wooden staircase from the back hall, straight to the third floor.

The layout on the third floor was completely different from the main hall on the first floor. It didn't look like a shop but rather like an inn or tea house, divided into separate rooms.

"Master Hai, Master Hu, a guest has arrived," the green-robed attendant called out in a loud voice before a door.

With a soft creak, the door opened.

Han Li saw two people sitting facing each other inside. On the square low table in front of them was a chessboard scattered with dozens of black and white pieces.

The two looked up at Han Li as he stepped through the door. Sensing that his aura was not weak, they immediately stood up and gave him a slight bow.

The middle-aged man in a green scholar's robe waved his hand, signaling the green-robed attendant to withdraw, and then said:

"I am Hai Wuliang, and this is my colleague Hu Dayou. May I ask how you are called, fellow Daoist?"

The short-bearded old man beside him was still somewhat preoccupied with the unfinished chess game, his eyes not yet fully moved away from the board. He merely smiled faintly and nodded absently at Han Li.

"I am Liu Shi," Han Li replied.

"In Youbao Zhai, the two of us have some discernment and are usually responsible for appraisal and acquisition. Since Fellow Daoist Liu has come here, you must have a treasure to sell, right?" The middle-aged scholar asked with a gentle smile.

"Indeed, I have a Water Spirit Bell in my possession. I'd trouble you two to appraise it," Han Li said with a smile.

As he spoke, he turned his wrist, and a small blue bell the size of a sea bowl appeared in his palm. It was crystal clear all over, densely inscribed with runes, and faintly, several dragon-shaped flowing lights swam across its surface.

Hai Wuliang's eyes lit up at the sight, and the short-bearded old man's gaze finally shifted completely from the chessboard.

The two carefully took the Water Spirit Bell, examined it closely for a while, exchanged glances, and then one of them spoke:

"This item is of no low grade; it is at least a treasure that can only be used by cultivators at the Mahayana stage. However, it seems not intended for attack or defense, but rather for sealing off the spiritual energy in an area."

This treasure was something Han Li had obtained from Hanqiu's storage bracelet after killing him. Its function, as the short-bearded old man said, was very singular.

Therefore, this was the first item Han Li intended to sell this time.

"What you said is correct, fellow Daoist. Its function is indeed limited to that. However, for cultivators who specialize in water-attributed techniques or wish to isolate water-attributed spiritual objects in an area, this item is a rare and excellent find. I believe your esteemed shop can offer a reasonable price." Han Li paused, then said with a smile.

"Three top-grade spirit stones. What do you think of this price, fellow Daoist?" Hu Dayou said after a moment's deliberation.

Han Li thought it over, found it fair, and nodded.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, a white orb suddenly appeared in his palm, exuding wisps of visible yin-cold aura.

As soon as this object appeared, the temperature in the entire room plummeted. The teacups beside the chessboard belonging to Hai Wuliang and the other man immediately emitted faint cracking sounds, and the tea inside instantly froze into ice.

Seeing this, a glint of joy flashed in both their eyes as they scrutinized the orb more closely...

After about half an hour, Han Li slowly walked out of Youbao Zhai. Hai Wuliang and the other man insisted on seeing him down from the third floor all the way to the shop entrance.

At parting, they repeatedly urged him to come directly here if he had any more treasures in the future, promising to offer the most satisfactory price.

Han Li smiled and agreed, then turned and walked toward the street.

The two men watched until his figure disappeared before turning back into Youbao Zhai, causing no small surprise among the customers and green-clad attendants inside.

They had acquired five magic treasures and one spiritual material from Han Li, believing they had made a great profit, and were overjoyed.

In truth, what they bought was merely a tenth or a fifth of the treasures Han Li intended to sell.

Afterward, Han Li visited several of the city's largest shops one after another. Only when dusk approached did he leave Black Wind City and return to his temporary cave dwelling on Youyang Mountain.

After activating all the restrictions—both the original ones and those he had later set up—he went straight into the secret chamber.

Inside the secret chamber, Han Li flicked his wrist, produced the green ox-head mask, and put it on.

As he touched his brow with two fingers and silently chanted an incantation, a green light immediately flew out from the mask, transforming into a huge formation plate on the wall.

After scanning the right side of the formation plate for a moment, he began waving his wrist repeatedly.

Beams of light shot out one after another as several magic treasures rose into the air and landed on the green light formation plate.

Although Han Li had previously sold off his treasures and spiritual materials in several batches under different guises, he had still kept the rarest items, including Jiao Shiliu's black iron awl.

These treasures were mostly collected from the remains of other Wuchang Alliance members during his trip to Red Moon Island; they were often their personal magic treasures. If they were to circulate here, they might cause unnecessary trouble.

Thus, he planned to consign them all for sale through the Wuchang Alliance.

Then, suddenly remembering something, Han Li shifted his gaze to the left side of the formation plate and raised a finger to write in the void.

As green-light characters flew into the formation plate, a task seeking information on a Dao Pillow pill formula soon appeared on the right side.

After doing all this, he put away the mask, closed his eyes, and began to regulate his breathing.

...

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

Han Li had originally thought that news about the Dao Pillow pill formula would take a long time to come, but unexpectedly, the first response he received was about this very item.

However, what he obtained was not the specific Dao Pillow pill formula. Instead, he was told that because this item was so precious, it would generally not appear in ordinary transactions.

Only by becoming a core member of the Wuchang Alliance with a higher status could one occasionally encounter someone voluntarily offering the pill formula for exchange, and the conditions demanded were usually extremely harsh, almost impossible to meet.

Additionally, the person said that if one could obtain the title of Heavenly Alchemist and provide collateral, obtaining the pill formula would become much easier.

In fact, by then, there would be no need to actively search; members would voluntarily offer pill formulas and materials for help in refining Dao Pills.

Afterward, Han Li inquired about the three supreme laws, but was told that although there were many texts in the immortal realm claiming to cultivate supreme laws, most were held by major powers and would not easily circulate.

As for those that had leaked out, they were either incomplete or flawed, utterly unreliable, so no one would dare to practice them lightly.

In addition, over the past few days, the few magic treasures Han Li had consigned for sale in the Wuchang Alliance were gradually sold out.

Combined with the treasures and spiritual materials sold earlier in Black Wind City, Han Li had made a small fortune, accumulating over six hundred high-grade spirit stones.

However, in Han Li's view, this wealth—astronomical for ordinary cultivators—was still insufficient whether for the auction three years later or for paying the high costs of leaving the Black Wind Sea region.

He was not overly worried about this, though, and simply added a task seeking Danhua flower seeds to the Wuchang Alliance's task list.

According to his estimation, as long as he had the small bottle's spiritual liquid, he would surely be able to cultivate a Danhua flower over ten thousand years old before the Black Wind Sea auction.

With this item as a trump card, he would likely be able to exchange for what he needed.

However, if he used the spiritual liquid to accelerate the growth of the Danhua flower, the refinement of heavy water by his Earthly Deity avatar would inevitably be affected.

But this was unavoidable, after all, one cannot have both fish and bear's paw.