"Immortal Tianjing is too kind, but I truly have lost patience as well. Why don't we start with me?" a cultivator in a brocade robe sitting to one side of Immortal Tianjing said with a faint smile.
"Heh heh. Since Fellow Daoist is so eager, then let us begin with you."
Immortal Tianjing chuckled lightly and stepped back a few paces, genuinely gesturing for the brocade-robed cultivator to go first.
As for the rules of the exchange fair, which of the cultivators present had not been through countless such events? There was naturally no need for any lengthy explanation.
"Heh heh, since Brother Tianjing has said so, I won't stand on ceremony." The brocade-robed cultivator started slightly, then rose to his feet with easy confidence, cupping his fists briefly to those on either side before giving a light pat to the storage pouch beneath his robe with one hand.
A flash of red light, and a palm-sized wooden box appeared in his hand.
The box was crafted from some unknown, extraordinary wood, entirely jade-green in color, with flickering flame-like red light shimmering faintly within. Two restriction talismans — one gold, one silver — were crossed over the lid, making the box appear all the more mysterious.
At this sight, every gaze in the room was drawn to it, everyone staring at the box with varying expressions.
None of these cultivators were people of limited experience. They naturally knew that whatever lay inside was no ordinary thing. To encounter such a treasure right at the start of the exchange fair put them all on their alert.
The brocade-robed cultivator's eyes swept across the crowd from behind his mask, a trace of smugness showing in them. Then he tapped his finger lightly on the two talismans, and they drifted away on their own as the lid opened by itself.
Instantly, a crimson object rose slowly from within — a strange spirit lingzhi wreathed in red mist.
The lingzhi was only a few inches in size, but it blazed with a fiery red heat throughout, its surface smooth and crystalline, with wisps of red clouds coiling and spiraling about it as though immortal qi swirled around it — the very image of a treasure from the Immortal realm!
Han Li was still gaping when someone had already called out its name.
"Scarlet Essence Lingzhi! A Scarlet Essence Lingzhi with at least three thousand years of growth! This thing only grows within subterranean lava fires — ordinary people couldn't even hope to see it, let alone obtain it. Fellow Daoist truly has impressive means." A cultivator cloaked in black sighed deeply, murmuring whether from envy or admiration.
"Scarlet Essence Lingzhi? So this is the Scarlet Essence among the Ice-Fire Essence Lingzhi. It truly lives up to its reputation — just from the fire-attribute spiritual energy it radiates, one can tell it's extraordinary." A stir passed through the other cultivators. Several who had come together even began whispering among themselves without any particular discretion.
The brocade-robed cultivator's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise when the black-robed cultivator named his treasure at a glance, but he quickly recovered and said: "Since this Fellow Daoist has already recognized my offering, I won't say more. One stalk of three-thousand-year Scarlet Essence Lingzhi — a top-grade alchemy ingredient for fire-attribute spiritual pills. One hundred thousand spirit stones, or an exchange for earth-attribute alchemy or artifact-refining materials of equivalent grade."
"One hundred thousand spirit stones?" Han Li blinked in surprise when he heard this, a peculiar look crossing his eyes.
It wasn't that the price was too high — it was far lower than he had expected.
In the Scattered Star Seas, a single high-grade demon core cost upwards of ten thousand spirit stones. And this exceedingly rare lingzhi — apart from that already spirit-transformed "Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng" — no other medicinal herb could compare to it. This made Han Li's heart pound with sudden interest.
To say the truth, setting aside other rare treasures, Han Li possessed several hundred thousand spirit stones on his own, all plundered from the storage pouches of cultivators who had perished at his hands. That disciple of the Six Paths in particular had actually had two or three thousand mid-grade spirit stones stuffed inside his pouch, which had been an enormous windfall for Han Li, far beyond what an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator could boast.
Of course, no matter how many spirit stones one had, they could never compare to spirit artifacts, magic treasures, or even several ancient treasures. After all, some treasures simply could not be bought with spirit stones.
If he were willing to sell the basket, the small bell, and other ancient treasures in his possession, casually swapping them for several hundred thousand spirit stones would pose absolutely no problem.
While Han Li was mulling this over silently, quite a few other cultivators had also taken an interest in the item.
Several cultivators rose in succession and went up to the brocade-robed cultivator, exchanging whispered words through voice transmission, then producing various items for him to examine.
Others couldn't see clearly, but the brocade-robed cultivator merely lowered his head for a glance before bluntly refusing each one, sending those cultivators slinking back to their seats in disgruntlement.
"Is there anyone else? This three-thousand-year Scarlet Essence Lingzhi cost me tremendous effort — five or six years of painstaking work before I finally obtained it. Selling it for only a hundred thousand spirit stones really isn't expensive. However, I would still prefer to exchange it for earth-attribute materials of equivalent value. I'd even accept something slightly inferior. But if someone is hoping to take advantage and the difference is too great, don't waste my time." The brocade-robed cultivator seemed genuinely eager to trade away his item, and seeing that no one else was stepping forward, he called out in a somewhat anxious voice.
Han Li's gaze swept across the others. Quite a few had naked greed flickering in their eyes, but none rose from their seats.
It seemed they either still felt the price was too steep, or they simply didn't have the right materials on hand at the moment.