(Today I was rushing to deal with the dead, two groups of guests came to my house, I didn't even have time to eat dinner, but I finally finished this chapter!)
As for those several techniques, the "Concealment Technique" and the "Sound Transmission Technique" are auxiliary arts similar to the "Heavenly Eye Technique"; as long as one has a basic grasp of magical power, anyone can learn them, so Han Li picked them up easily.
The Sound Transmission Technique, in particular, is the one Han Li has seen several times that requires the use of a "Sound Transmission Talisman" to be employed.
The Concealment Technique is a plain ordinary art: it makes spiritual power cling to the whole body, turning the body into a protective hue similar to the surroundings, making it hard to notice. This technique is somewhat useless because the Heavenly Eye Technique can easily break it, so it cannot serve to hide from other cultivators' senses.
The "Quicksand Technique" and the "Freezing Technique" are location-based arts: one can turn the area where magical power reaches into sand, the other can freeze any place with water into ice.
The magnitude of their power depends entirely on the depth of the caster's magical power. If a great divine ability user were to perform them, they could turn thousands of miles of fertile land into desert and freeze the great rivers into glaciers—it is not impossible.
They are listed as elementary lower-tier techniques only because these two arts are relatively easy to learn; even low-level Qi Refining cultivators can master them easily, the only limitation being the small area affected due to limited magical power.
Han Li originally found studying these two techniques difficult, but after his sudden breakthrough to the ninth layer of magical power, which doubled his previous strength, these techniques became second nature to him; he could now turn an area the size of a tabletop into sand or ice at will, leaving him exhilarated.
As for the remaining techniques, Han Li could not grasp them at first, and with no choice he had to postpone further study and research. Because the Tai Nan Assembly was about to end, the young cultivators who had come to trade finally reached their peak in the last two days of the assembly.
At this moment, in the Grand Trading Plaza where Han Li was, over two thousand cultivators crowded the area, and the number of vendors had increased several times compared to before. They all wanted to seize the last opportunity to sell off the items they had not yet exchanged. Moreover, many high-level cultivators who had been hiding somewhere also appeared, wanting to take advantage of this good opportunity to observe those peers who might become formidable rivals.
Han Li gave a wry smile, realizing that even though he had reached the ninth layer, among so many cultivators he could only rank as middling, and there were still many above the ninth layer!
Han Li now had no spirit stones and hardly any elixirs, so he had no thought of treasure hunting; he simply walked with the crowd from stall to stall, going wherever there were more people, just to listen to cultivators' comments and opinions on the goods for sale, thereby broadening his horizons.
Indeed, listening along the way truly opened Han Li's eyes; he learned much about various magical artifacts and materials. For example: flying dart artifacts that can automatically pursue enemies, gourds that can spew fire outward, long blades that can cut a person and freeze them, the eggs of silver-winged ants can be used to make medicine, the scales of a hundred-year-old iron-thread snake can be cast into weapons, and so on.
The more Han Li listened, the more interesting he found it, and without realizing it he arrived at the middle section of the plaza.
"No, I don't want this thing; take other items in exchange!"
"This is a fragment of a magical treasure! With this material you could easily exchange for my bowl!"
"What use is this fragment to me? Could you even find a Core Formation cultivator to refine it? Don't even think about trading my Revolving Wind Bowl!"
A heated argument rang out from a stall ahead.
"Fragment of a magical treasure?" This astonishing voice that shocked everyone made the nearby cultivators erupt in an uproar, instantly surrounding the stall so tightly that not even water could leak through.
Everyone knows that a magical treasure is something low-level cultivators dare not even dream of in their daydreams, yet here it appears in the Tai Nan Valley; even if it is only a fragment, it is a miracle, making these cultivators feel like cats that have smelled fish—itchy and restless.
"Where is it?"
"Let me take a look!"
"Is this really a magical treasure?"
"Tsk tsk! It's truly beautiful!"
"Just this ragged cloth?"
……