Han Li looked at the prescription before him and furrowed his brow, somewhat speechless.
It was already noon on the second day of Han Li's stay at Yanling Fortress.
After a morning of enthusiastic discussion among the newly arrived cultivators, the dozen or so cultivators from various sects in the room began exchanging items they needed. Each person took turns stating what they needed and what they could offer in exchange, checking if any other cultivators present were willing to trade.
Needless to say, even at such a small trading gathering, a few cultivators brought out some good items.
For example, the woman surnamed Fang from Heavenly Fortress brought out a piece of Heavenly Stone to trade. This was the best material for refining top-grade earth-attribute magical artifacts, and even some earth-attribute treasures with lower requirements could use this material.
Another newly arrived cultivator from Spirit Beast Mountain brought out an egg of a first-tier, upper-grade spirit beast - the Wind Screech Eagle. Once hatched, it would be an excellent companion for any cultivator, convenient for both sentry duty and searching for items.
While the others didn't bring anything as dazzling as these two, they still had raw materials that were hard to find in ordinary marketplaces.
Among them, Han Li actually found an herb needed for refining Spirit Gathering Pills, which surprised him. He excitedly paid seven or eight lower-grade talismans to get it. Of course, the herb's age was insufficient, and he would need to cultivate it further after returning. But this still made both parties smile happily.
When it was Han Li's turn to speak, he shamelessly mentioned that he had some upper-grade lower-level talismans available for trade and listed the two other medicinal herbs he still needed for refining pills. After a moment's hesitation, he added that he was also open to various prescriptions.
Since these were materials needed for an ancient prescription, and Han Li hadn't been able to gather them all even at the marketplaces of Yellow Maple Valley and Celestial Star Sect, they were obviously not common items. Most of the cultivators Han Li mentioned had never heard of these materials. Even those who had heard of one or two didn't have them in their possession. As for prescriptions - these cultivators wouldn't trade them for mere talismans. They all knew Han Li was just casually mentioning it.
Han Li saw that after talking for a while, no one came forward to trade, and knew there was no hope. Disappointed, he was about to sit back down. But unexpectedly, someone suddenly spoke up:
"All kinds of prescriptions, you say? I have one here, though it's a bit unusual. How many talismans do you think it's worth?"
Han Li's heart lifted with joy, and without thinking, he blurted out:
"Of course, as long as it's a prescription, I'm willing to trade."
Only after speaking did Han Li notice that the person offering the prescription was Wuyouzi, this rather reclusive Daoist.
Wuyouzi rarely showed a smile upon hearing Han Li's words, then tossed a cyan jade slip to Han Li. The other cultivators, seeing someone actually offering a prescription for talismans, whispered among themselves in disbelief.
Wuyouzi's senior brother Wuzi paid no attention to this and closed his eyes to rest.
After receiving it, Han Li took a quick scan and understood why the other party was willing to trade.
This was also an ancient prescription, specifically for "Spirit-Nurturing Pills" that ancient cultivators used to nurture spirit beasts. According to the prescription, not only did most spirit beasts find these pills extremely appetizing, but after long-term consumption, they actually had the miraculous effect of promoting spirit beasts' advancement in rank. They were absolutely the best pills for cultivating spirit beasts.
Seeing this, Han Li was shocked! Why would this Daoist offer such a valuable prescription for trade? But when Han Li saw the materials required for refining below, he suddenly understood and mocked himself, completely realizing why the other party didn't cherish it.
The materials required for refining these "Spirit-Nurturing Pills" were simply too shocking for ordinary cultivators. They were almost as precious and rare as the materials needed for Han Li's "Qi Refining Powder."
Not to mention the difficulty of gathering these materials, even if one could collect these rare herbs, who would actually use them to make these "Spirit-Nurturing Pills"? Of course, one would keep them for personal use, since advancing one's own spiritual power was much more cost-effective than using them on spirit beasts.
"Benefactor, you did say all kinds of prescriptions were acceptable. You wouldn't go back on your word now, would you?" A cunning look suddenly appeared on the thin Daoist's face. Gone was the simple, honest image he had shown Han Li before, making Han Li smile wryly.
Thus, the opening scene occurred.
However, while this prescription was useless to others, its value to Han Li was obvious, and he certainly wouldn't let it slip away.
Han Li lowered his head to think, then took out ten upper-grade lower-level talismans from his storage pouch one after another and tossed them to the other party. This should satisfy him, after all, this prescription was just a useless document to cultivators, otherwise the Daoist would have traded it long ago instead of keeping it until now.
Sure enough, Wuyouzi took the talismans and fell silent with satisfaction.
Then, after Han Li sat down, the next cultivator immediately stood up and said eagerly:
"I have several hundred-year-old ironwood, but..."
The exchange of items made the atmosphere in the room seem even more heated!
Meanwhile, in the discussion hall of the Flying Cloud Pavilion of the Yan family, an extremely secret clan meeting was being held.
All the stewards and elders with power had gathered here, seated in two rows, listening to the Yan family ancestor speak from the main seat. Standing beside the Yan family ancestor was a stunningly beautiful woman, appearing to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, with delicate features and a beauty comparable to a celestial maiden.
"The conditions proposed by the Ghost Spirit Sect for the Yan family's return are very generous. Not only have they offered to lend us the Yan family a copy of the 'Myriad Spirits True Scripture' to read, but they've also offered the position of Vice Sect Leader to a member of our Yan family. Their only requirement is that we must marry Yan'er to their Young Sect Leader so they can cultivate the Blood Spirit Art together, and the position of Yan family patriarch can only be held by children born of their Young Sect Leader and Yan'er in the future. Of course, the position of Ghost Spirit Sect Leader is the same." The Yan family ancestor spoke slowly with a solemn face. Though his voice wasn't loud, it was crystal clear to everyone, as if speaking right beside their ears.
"Everyone, speak up and let's see what direction our Yan family should take. You should know that our Yan family's ancestors were actually cultivators from the Ghost Spirit Sect. It was only because of disagreements with other sect members that they came to the Kingdom of Yue to establish this foundation. In fact, the current Ghost Spirit Sect Leader is still my martial nephew. So emotionally, we shouldn't have any reservations. The only thing to consider is the gains and losses of our Yan family's interests."
"Additionally, the Ghost Spirit Sect's Young Sect Leader brought another piece of news. The Six Demonic Sects of Heavenly Luo Kingdom will invade the Kingdom of Yue in five days. The Kingdom of Jiang and the Kingdom of Cheqi fell half a month ago. Most of the sects in both kingdoms were destroyed, with a small portion surrendering and becoming vassal sects of the Six Demonic Sects. Therefore, even if our Yan family doesn't agree to the Ghost Spirit Sect's conditions, we must consider how the Yan family can survive and continue after the seven sects of the Kingdom of Yue are destroyed. This is the most important issue for our clan."
Before the Yan family members below could react to the first issue, the Yan family ancestor dropped another even more shocking piece of news, causing everyone below to start discussing animatedly.
"What! The cultivation world of the Kingdom of Jiang and the Kingdom of Cheqi has been conquered? That's impossible!"
"Those two countries weren't weak! Weren't they confronting the Six Demonic Sects for years without issue? How could they fall so suddenly?"
"Being defeated so quickly - could there be some hidden reason behind this?"
Clearly, these powerful figures of the Yan family still found it hard to believe this news. "Enough! If anyone has questions, ask them one by one. All this commotion is unseemly!" the Yan family ancestor said coldly upon seeing this.
As soon as these words were spoken, the previously noisy hall immediately fell silent. But everyone's gaze turned to a middle-aged Confucian scholar sitting third from the right below the red-haired elder.
The Yan family ancestor saw this clearly, frowned slightly, then spoke to the Confucian scholar with a kind expression:
"Xuanye, what do you think about this? You're our Yan family's strategist, and this concerns the life and death of the Yan family. Please give us your careful analysis!"
"Yes, Ancestor!" The Confucian scholar dared not be negligent and quickly stood up.
"However, may your grandson first ask a few questions before discussing other matters?"
"Certainly! You may ask whatever questions you have. I will answer everything I know!" the Yan family ancestor promised solemnly.
After receiving these words from the Yan family ancestor, the Confucian scholar nodded and then asked solemnly:
"First, how powerful is this Blood Spirit Art? After Yan'er niece, with her Heavenly Spiritual Root talent, cultivates with their Young Sect Leader, how much will it affect this technique? Second, how did the other party find our Yan family and know that our ancestors originally came from the Ghost Spirit Sect? Finally, is everything the Ancestor learned about the Kingdom of Jiang and the Kingdom of Cheqi being occupied by the Six Demonic Sects entirely from their mouths? If it's true, what is the Righteous Alliance of Fengdu Kingdom busy with right now?"