Chapter 788 An Unexpected Transaction

As he pondered, Han Li flipped his hand, and three pieces of Purple Sun Warm Jade appeared in his palm.

Following the method he had previously obtained from Shi Chuankong, he carefully placed them on the Soul-Devouring Woman's forehead, heart, and lower abdomen, and then lightly infused a spell seal into each.

The hazy purple light emanating from the surfaces of the three purple crystals brightened momentarily, but then returned to normal.

Seeing this, Han Li frowned slightly. After a moment's deliberation, he sat down cross-legged on the spot, fixing his gaze unwaveringly on the Soul-Devouring Woman.

Time passed little by little. After a full half quarter of an hour, neither the three pieces of Purple Sun Warm Jade nor the Soul-Devouring Woman showed any further change.

At this sight, Han Li's expression darkened.

He had personally tried it before; although these Purple Sun Warm Jades were of low grade, they were indeed quite beneficial to the soul. Even if they couldn't completely cure the Soul-Devouring Woman, they should have had some effect.

However, he had anticipated this. He then stood up and began to set up an arrangement on the floor of the pavilion.

After more than an hour, a hexagonal formation about a zhang in size appeared on the pavilion floor, with a circular empty space in the center and sixteen grooves at various points of the formation.

Han Li glanced around to confirm there were no mistakes, then waved his hand to emit a stream of green light, lifting the Soul-Devouring Woman's body and gently placing her in the center of the formation.

Then he took out another sixteen pieces of Purple Sun Warm Jade, inserting them one by one into the grooves within the formation. After that, he waved his hand to send a spell seal into the formation.

Buzz!

The hexagonal formation immediately began to operate. The sixteen pieces of Purple Sun Warm Jade emitted a brilliant purple light, and streams of purple light surged out, converging along the formation lines onto the Soul-Devouring Woman.

A layer of purple light immediately appeared on the Soul-Devouring Woman's body, enveloping her.

Shrouded by the purple light, the aura on the Soul-Devouring Woman's body stabilized, and the rate at which her vitality dissipated greatly decreased, but it did not stop completely.

Seeing this, Han Li frowned.

The energy contained within the Purple Sun Warm Jade was extremely special in nature, and it was not easy to drive it. This formation appeared simple, but it was actually very profound. It was based on a formation with soul-gathering effects, and he had painstakingly modified it using his past understanding of formations and restrictions, enough to enhance the efficacy of the low-grade Purple Sun Warm Jade placed within it to about medium grade.

But as it turned out, it still wasn't enough.

That is to say, to increase the formation's effect on the Soul-Devouring Woman, he would have to replace all the low-grade Purple Sun Warm Jade in it with medium-grade ones.

But he currently didn't have a single piece of medium-grade Purple Sun Warm Jade, let alone sixteen pieces.

Han Li's brows were tightly knit, and then he let out a long sigh.

It seemed that for now, he could only place his hopes on the method Shi Chuankong had mentioned, and wait until they returned to Brightsun City to find that so-called High Priest.

Fortunately, the rate at which the Soul-Devouring Woman's vitality dissipated had greatly decreased, which should be enough to sustain her until they reached Brightsun City.

But he currently had only a little over two hundred pieces of low-grade Purple Sun Warm Jade, and he didn't know how long they could sustain the formation's operation. He needed to acquire as many more as possible.

"Soul-Devouring Woman, rest assured, no matter how difficult it is, I will wake you up," Han Li murmured to himself as he looked at the Soul-Devouring Woman.

Having said this, he quickly left the Flower Branch Space and returned to the inn room.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Han Li and Shi Chuankong settled their room charges and walked toward the inn's entrance.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, since we've decided to stay here only one more day, time is limited. I think it's better if we split up. What do you think?" Han Li said.

"That works too. This way we can visit more shops. But we must be cautious and stay in touch at all times," Shi Chuankong replied, startled for a moment before responding.

"Of course. But Fellow Daoist Shi, you may not need low-grade Purple Sun Warm Jade, but this item is of great use to me. If you see any, please buy them for me, and I'll reimburse you later," Han Li added.

"No problem. As for the cost, there's no need. Back in the dungeon of Rakshasa City, if Fellow Daoist Soul-Devouring hadn't saved me, I would probably be dead by now. Consider these Purple Sun Warm Jades a gift to Fellow Daoist Soul-Devouring, a small token of gratitude for saving my life," Shi Chuankong assured.

"Thank you," Han Li said without insisting, expressing his thanks.

As they spoke, they walked out of the inn. Lu Xie was already waiting at the door. Seeing them come out, he immediately greeted them with a beaming smile.

"Fellow Daoist Li, take Lu Xie's beast cart. I'll rent another one," Shi Chuankong said, then turned and walked away, hailing another beast cart by the roadside.

"Senior Shi, is this...?" Lu Xie asked, puzzled.

"He has other matters. Don't mind him. We'll continue to other shops today," Han Li said with a wave of his hand.

"Yes," Lu Xie tactfully didn't ask further, and drove Han Li toward the trading district.

...

In the blink of an eye, another half day passed.

Led by Lu Xie, Han Li visited another five or six shops, but the harvest was much poorer than yesterday. So far, he had only bought fewer than a hundred pieces of low-grade Purple Sun Warm Jade.

He walked out of a shop, his brows tightly furrowed, and waved to call over Lu Xie, who was waiting outside, ready to head to the next shop.

"Senior Li, shortly after you entered this shop, someone stopped me and asked me to give this to you." Lu Crab walked over, holding a black sound-transmission talisman in his hand, his face showing unease.

Han Li raised an eyebrow, took the talisman, and immersed his divine sense into it. His pupils immediately contracted.

"Where is that person?" he asked at once, looking around.

People came and went around him, but there was nothing unusual.

"That person... after giving me the talisman... left immediately. Before leaving, he said that if Senior Li wanted to find him, he would be waiting at... the Plum Forest Teahouse ahead." Lu Crab grew even more unsettled at Han Li's reaction, his speech becoming halting.

"It's fine, don't be nervous. Take me to the Plum Forest Teahouse." Han Li's eyes flickered a few times as he gave the order.

Lu Crab assented and drove the carriage forward.

Seated in the carriage, Han Li looked at the talisman in his hand, a contemplative expression on his face.

The talisman contained only one sentence: I have news of Purple Sun Warm Jade.

After a long moment, a trace of determination flickered in his eyes. He turned his hand over to put away the talisman, then took out a purple jade disc. Forming hand seals, he activated it and whispered a few words into it before putting the disc away again.

The carriage sped forward and soon arrived at a quiet teahouse.

"Wait for me outside." Han Li said and entered the teahouse.

There were few customers inside the teahouse; only four or five people sat scattered about.

A teahouse attendant came up to greet him, but Han Li ignored him and looked over the tea drinkers.

At that moment, a black-robed young man with a square face sitting at the edge stood up and nodded to Han Li in greeting.

"Fellow Daoist, thank you for coming. But this is not a good place to talk. Let us go upstairs for a detailed discussion." A clear voice sounded in Han Li's ear, and then the black-robed young man turned and walked upstairs.

Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly. After a brief hesitation, he followed.

The two entered a private room one after the other and sat down.

"Was this sound-transmission talisman left by you?" Han Li took out the black talisman and asked, his eyes flickering.

"Yes, I am Black Wolf. Since this matter is of great importance, I used this method to invite you here. Please forgive me." The black-robed young man nodded in acknowledgment and at the same time flicked his sleeve.

Several beams of black light flew from his hand—several small black flags. They spun around and formed a black light barrier that enveloped the entire room.

Han Li's gaze flickered slightly, and he immediately judged Black Wolf's cultivation level to be that of a True Immortal realm cultivator.

Moreover, this person was not of the ferocious beast race, but a demon like Shi Chuankong.

He was not particularly surprised by this. Over the past two days, he had walked around the city and seen many demons, even some ordinary demon commoners. Their clothing varied, suggesting they came from different mortal nations.

According to Shi Chuankong, the various ferocious beasts in the Ten Plagues Mountain Range were hostile to the demons outside, but Black Weasel City was an exception, where people of all races could coexist peacefully.

However, as a result, the entire city was a mix of races, like a hodgepodge, somewhat incongruous.

That this situation had arisen was, without question, largely due to the eccentric Black Weasel King.

"That's fine. Do you really have news of Purple Sun Warm Jade?" Han Li set aside some stray thoughts, looked directly at Black Wolf, and asked bluntly.

"Naturally. Otherwise, I wouldn't have invited you here." Black Wolf said with a smile.

"How much Purple Sun Warm Jade do you have? If it's only a small amount, I'm not interested." Han Li was inwardly pleased, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. The Purple Sun Warm Jade I have will satisfy you in both quantity and quality. Here is a list. Take a look first. If you are satisfied, we can discuss the specifics." Black Wolf chuckled, took out a jade slip, and handed it over.

Han Li gave Black Wolf a deep look, took the jade slip, and immersed his divine sense into it. His expression changed slightly, and his eyes showed intense surprise.

The amount of Purple Sun Warm Jade listed in the jade slip was indeed considerable: not only were there over five hundred pieces of lower grade, but also nearly forty to fifty pieces of middle grade, and even two pieces of upper grade Purple Sun Warm Jade.

"As far as I know, Purple Sun Warm Jade is extremely scarce. The best shops in the city can only sell a few pieces of lower grade. Can you really produce so much?" Han Li was silent for a moment, then spoke with a gleam in his eyes.

"I am not a person with nothing better to do. Since I said it, it is naturally not false. You can rest assured." Black Wolf smiled faintly and said confidently, stroking his palm.

"Very well. Then how do you intend to sell this Purple Sun Warm Jade?" Han Li nodded, his expression relaxing, and asked.

Black Wolf showed a hesitant expression. After thinking for a moment, he quoted a price.

Han Li's eyes flickered. The price was not high; in fact, it was even a bit lower than the market price he knew.

It seemed there was likely some hidden circumstance—for instance, that this batch of Purple Sun Warm Jade had an illicit origin and was not easy to dispose of, hence the low price.

However, he naturally did not care much about that. If he could complete this transaction and obtain the Purple Sun Warm Jade, he would leave Black Weasel City immediately and not fear any trouble.

"No problem. I'll take all the goods. Do you have the Purple Sun Warm Jade on you? If so, let's begin the transaction now." After a moment's thought, Han Li said.

"Not so fast. Before we do business, I have a few things to clarify." Black Wolf waved his hand and said.

"Please speak." Han Li thought to himself, "Just as I expected," while speaking with an unchanged expression.