The other was a far more common method, using a substance called "Spirit Stones" as currency among cultivators for buying and selling goods.
Spirit Stones, as the name implied, were stones saturated with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. For cultivators, the spiritual essence they contained was an enormously nourishing resource.
When meditating and practicing one's art, absorbing the spiritual energy within Spirit Stones could accelerate a cultivator's cultivation at a staggering pace. After all, there was a world of difference between laboriously drawing in and refining scattered ambient energy, and having pure, concentrated spiritual essence right beside you, freely available to absorb at will.
But the greatest utility of Spirit Stones lay not here. Their primary purpose was in the powering of formations and the casting of spells.
Whether a high-level formation succeeded or failed — and how potent its effects might be — often depended entirely on the grade of Spirit Stones employed. Quality Spirit Stones could not only guarantee a formation's activation but dramatically amplify its power as well.
The consumption of Spirit Stones in spellcasting far exceeded even their use in formations. A cultivator's ability to cast a given spell was normally limited by his own magic power. It was rarely possible to unleash a spell beyond one's level using personal reserves alone, and so Spirit Stones became the ultimate channeling medium.
If a cultivator held a Spirit Stone while casting a powerful spell, the stone's spiritual energy would flow continuously into the caster, replenishing the magic power expended during the incantation. This could sustain the casting of spells that would otherwise be entirely beyond the caster's capacity.
For this reason, Spirit Stones had become the prized choice for cultivators seeking to dominate in combat — to overcome stronger opponents with weaker means. They were also the finest restorative for rapidly recovering one's strength after significant depletion of magic power, greatly improving one's chances of survival in battle.
Given such practical and almost miraculous applications, Spirit Stones' value had soared steadily over time.
Yet with massive consumption, over-mining, and the progressive depletion of Spirit Stone veins, they had gradually become rare luxuries in the modern cultivation world. Spirit Stones had become the ultimate medium of exchange among cultivators — a universal currency whose grades and classifications had been jointly codified.
By the amount of spiritual energy they contained, Spirit Stones were divided into four tiers: low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and superior-grade. By the elemental attribute of their spiritual energy, they were further classified as Metal Spirit Stones, Wood Spirit Stones, Water Spirit Stones, Earth Spirit Stones, and Fire Spirit Stones — the five elemental types. Rarer still were Wind Spirit Stones and Thunder Spirit Stones, among other exotic attributes, and these were scarcer yet.
Han Li did not possess so much as half a Spirit Stone.
He believed he had nothing of value to trade, so from the very start he had resolved to treat this as an opportunity simply to broaden his horizons — strolling about in leisurely fashion, looking here and there.
Though Han Li maintained a calm and unhurried exterior, the goods on display at these stalls truly made his eyes greedy and his heart stir with longing.
Setting everything else aside, consider the stacks of blank talisman paper at every stall. Though these items were quite ordinary, they happened to be one of the things Han Li needed most at present.
He did not yet understand what the grades and tiers of talisman paper signified, or what concrete differences they entailed. But he knew that given his current level of cultivation, the lowest-grade paper would be more than sufficient for his Spirit-Pinning Art.
If he could acquire some talisman paper, he would immediately gain access to an additional spell, boosting his strength right away.
Beyond talisman paper, the dazzling variety of ready-made talismans — the Thunderfire Talisman, the Fire Dragon Talisman, the Titan Strength Talisman, and countless others — also captivated Han Li's interest.
He even spotted, at an inconspicuous stall, a talisman identical to the one he carried — the one that could project a golden barrier. The price tag beside it was perfectly clear: Golden Barrier Talisman, metal-attributed, intermediate-grade, first-tier defensive talisman. Price: nine low-grade Spirit Stones.
Having browsed so many stalls, Han Li had developed a rough sense of talisman pricing. One dozen blank first-tier, lowest-grade talisman papers could be purchased for a single low-grade Spirit Stone. A completed first-tier, lowest-grade talisman sold for one to two low-grade Spirit Stones, depending on the type of spell.
As for intermediate-grade, first-tier talismans, the price immediately leapt several times over — fetching six to ten Spirit Stones — with defensive talismans commanding slightly higher prices than offensive ones.
Since he owned the same item, Han Li naturally paid close attention.
After carefully studying the Golden Barrier Talisman at the stall, he discovered that its spiritual energy was far more abundant than that of the worn piece tucked in his robe — clearly a pristine, unused specimen. He estimated his own battered copy was worth at most a third of the asking price.
Reaching this conclusion, Han Li could only smile ruefully. Among these cultivators, he was truly a pauper. He absently patted the items on his person, when a sudden thought struck him — the talisman in his robe bearing the image of a small sword.
Though he still did not know its name, Han Li felt certain it must be worth more than even the Golden Barrier Talisman.
With this in mind, Han Li began paying closer attention to each stall, watching for any talisman resembling the one with the small sword inscribed upon it.
Unfortunately, after visiting stall after stall, he found nothing similar. He did, however, come upon a spot where five or six cultivators had gathered, all watching someone selling a first-tier, upper-grade talisman.
The sign beside the talisman read: "Flying Talisman — wind-attributed, first-tier, upper-grade flight talisman. Price: thirty low-grade Spirit Stones, or barter for essence-nourishing pills of equivalent value."
Han Li's heart skipped when he read the sign.
This was the first upper-grade, first-tier talisman he had encountered after visiting so many stalls. He looked closely and saw that the spiritual energy concentrated within the talisman was astonishingly dense — far beyond the lower and intermediate specimens he had seen before.
"Twenty Spirit Stones. Take it or leave it?" A barefoot, long-faced man among the onlookers could not help but speak up.
The stall owner was a lean, sharp-featured young man wearing a straw hat. He simply pointed a finger at the sign without further acknowledgment.
"It's only a Flying Talisman — not an attack or defensive talisman. Twenty is generous enough!" the long-faced bidder protested unwillingly.
"Hmph! If it were an offensive or defensive talisman, would I sell it for only thirty? Without fifty, you wouldn't even get a look! If you want a bargain, try somewhere else. You're not welcome here." The young man finally spoke in an icy tone, and his opening remark flushed the man's face crimson with anger.
"Fine, brat! I am Ye Bao of Qinye Ridge, and I'll remember you. If you've got the nerve, let's spar after the assembly ends!" the long-faced man blustered in fury.
"Qinye Ridge." Han Li, who had been watching from the sidelines with quiet amusement, felt his heart lurch at the name.
Was that not the place the dwarf he had killed had claimed as his origin? He did not know if the dwarf had spoken the truth, but since this man identified himself as a member of the Ye family, caution was warranted.
Without hesitation, Han Li took a few steps back and quietly withdrew to the next stall. However, the sign's mention of bartering for essence-nourishing pills had lodged firmly in his mind.
He recalled that he still had a supply of Yellow Dragon Pills and Golden Marrow Pellets left over from before. He wondered whether they might meet the young man's requirements. He would approach when the crowd thinned. If the exchange succeeded, he would finally have some capital to obtain the items he needed.
With this thought, Han Li glanced back toward the young man's stall — only to find that Ye Bao was no longer there, having departed to parts unknown. Of the remaining onlookers, one produced a small bottle and handed it to the stall owner.
The young man uncorked the bottle, sniffed its contents, then gave a slight shake of his head and returned it. The bottle's owner departed with a look of disappointment. The others, apparently companions of his, followed shortly after, leaving the stall deserted.
Han Li's spirits lifted. He strolled back to the young man's stall at a leisurely pace. The young man recognized him and showed a flicker of surprise — clearly remembering him from an earlier visit.
Han Li simply smiled at the youth.
"I have two types of medicine. See if they meet your requirements?"
Without further preamble, he produced a small blue porcelain bottle and a small cyan porcelain bottle, placing them before the young man.
The youth wasted no words. He reached out, took both bottles, and uncapped them one by one. Bringing each to his nose, he inhaled deeply, his expression turning thoughtful.
After a long pause, he did not immediately respond. Instead, he set the porcelain bottles gently back in front of Han Li.
"Well?" Han Li asked, blinking.
"To tell you the truth, the pills in these two bottles are slightly better than what the others showed me earlier. But for my purposes, they're still not quite enough." The young man hesitated briefly, then shook his head in refusal.