Han Li and the man sat on opposite sides of an eight-immortal table, exchanging several glances with an intent to strike up a conversation.
No cultivator who came here to buy things would try to get close to strangers; it would only invite hostility.
But the man sitting opposite still curiously glanced several times at Qu Hun, who stood at the staircase entrance without entering the main hall.
With his sharp eyesight, he had long discerned Qu Hun's identity as a refined corpse, yet the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from him filled his mind with great confusion.
After all, the iron-armored corpses and similar living corpses refined by cultivators were generally nothing more than laborers of immense strength; they would not possess any magical power.
The man suppressed the impulse to ask the question that arose in his heart. Han Li's cultivation at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, the same as his own, still made him quite wary.
By the time Han Li had nearly finished savoring a cup of clear tea, the woman finally walked back into the main hall.
However, this time, two burly men of imposing stature followed behind her. They had not a trace of magical power in their bodies, their faces utterly expressionless—they turned out to be two lifelike puppets.
But each of them held a large tray in their hands. The trays were bulging with items, lightly covered with red silk cloth. These must be the treasures the proprietress had mentioned.
A flash of surprise crossed Han Li's eyes. He had just used his spiritual sense to try to penetrate through the red silk covering the tray to see what lay beneath, but unexpectedly, the unassuming silk cloth had blocked him out. This was somewhat surprising. He couldn't help but glance sideways at the man sitting opposite.
He saw that a look of astonishment had also appeared on the man's face; clearly, he had done the same thing.
The middle-aged woman walked up to Han Li and the other man in a few steps. She smiled before speaking:
"I have already made the acquaintance of Fellow Daoist Fan here, but I still do not know how to address this Fellow Daoist? My surname is Lan; both of you may call me Madam Lan." The woman introduced herself with an air of familiarity.
Seeing this, Han Li naturally felt it would be impolite not to speak, so he said somewhat reluctantly:
"My surname is Han!"
Then he fell silent again, adopting an aloof demeanor that made it clear he had no desire for further conversation.
Madam Lan saw this but was not at all bothered by it.
After all, among the cultivators who came here, eight or nine out of ten wore the same deliberately cold and distant expression as Han Li. She had long grown accustomed to it.
So the woman smiled faintly, then beckoned to one of the puppet men behind her. The burly puppet immediately walked forward.
Then Madam Lan extended her slender, jade-like fingers and pulled away the red silk cloth in one motion, revealing several items on the tray.
Both Han Li and the man surnamed Fan opposite had their eyes gleam simultaneously as they focused intently on the items in the tray.
In the tray, there were long swords, short blades, throwing darts, and ring-type magical tools, and even a jet-black piece of armor. Every item sparkled and gleamed. A single glance was enough to tell they were no ordinary goods.
Having seen the several magical tools in the tray clearly, Han Li and the man had different reactions.
The cultivator surnamed Fan stared intently at the tray, a somewhat entranced look in his eyes. Han Li, after a single glance, immediately looked away, showing an expression of utter disinterest. This greatly surprised Madam Lan, and she gave Han Li an extra look.
"This is called the Cold Crystal Blade. It is forged from the world-rare Xuan crystal and Ice jade. Not only is its attack powerful, but it also carries a rare yin-cold energy. In a drawn-out fight, it can weaken an enemy's strength without them even realizing it. It is truly a masterpiece among top-grade magical tools." The woman reached out with her wrist, picked up a crystal-clear, translucent short blade from the tray, and held it up, introducing it calmly and unhurriedly.
She then lightly waved the magical tool in her hand, and immediately a chill of icy cold suddenly appeared in the room, causing the several maids whose cultivation was only at the Qi Refining stage to shiver uncontrollably.
"May this humble one take a look at this blade?" The man surnamed Fan said, looking at the magical tool with a trace of excitement on his face.
This request made Madam Lan smile faintly. Without the slightest hesitation, she handed the blade over to him, then cast an almost imperceptible glance toward Han Li.
But Han Li, as seen from her gaze, looked perfectly normal, merely looking down at the empty teacup in his hand, not showing the slightest hint of being moved by this magical tool. This made Madam Lan somewhat disappointed.
"Alright, I'll take this Cold Crystal Blade. How many spirit stones does it cost?" Just then, the man surnamed Fan, who had been examining the short blade, spoke up in a loud voice.
Hearing this, Madam Lan was somewhat surprised.
"Does Fellow Daoist not intend to look at the other items?" Madam Lan asked without revealing any emotion.
"No need. Of course I know that the items further along are definitely better, but my purse is rather thin, and I'm afraid I can only afford this blade. Even if the other items are excellent, I have the desire but not the means. Better not to look at all, so as not to covet them!" This cultivator surnamed Fan spoke with great candor and even a touch of humor, which drew a light laugh from the beautiful woman as she covered her small mouth.
"This Cold Crystal Blade costs eight hundred spirit stones. Fellow Daoist Fan need only hand over the spirit stones, and it is yours." After the laughter, the woman spoke in an orderly manner.
"Very well. Please check these spirit stones, Madam, to see if the amount is correct."
The man surnamed Fan took out his storage pouch with great readiness, poured its contents onto the table, and in the blink of an eye, a pile of spirit stones of various colors appeared on the tabletop.
Madam Lan cast a light sweep of her gaze over the table, the corners of her mouth curving upward slightly as she smiled and said:
"How could I not trust Fellow Daoist? There is no need to check."
After saying this, the woman took out a storage pouch and drew all the spirit stones into it.
Madam Lan's actions greatly pleased the cultivator surnamed Fan. With a kindly look on his face, he bid his farewell and left.
But Han Li, watching this scene from the side, showed no expression on his face and gave several cold laughs in his heart.
"'No need to check'! What was that faint spiritual sense that had just covered the spirit stones? Clearly, this Madam Lan's spiritual sense was far more powerful than that of ordinary cultivators. She could instantly verify the number of spirit stones without being detected, which was why she deliberately said something like that to ingratiate herself." Han Li mocked inwardly.
Madam Lan did not realize that her little trick had been seen through by Han Li. After watching the man surnamed Fan descend the stairs with a smile on her face, she turned her gaze back to Han Li.
"Fellow Daoist Han seems rather uninterested in these items! Could it be that these magical tools do not catch Fellow Daoist's eye?" Madam Lan said with a light smile.
Strangely enough, although she knew full well that the cultivation of the person before her was somewhat lower than her own, for some reason she sensed a trace of eerie danger from Han Li. This made her unconsciously speak to Han Li in a much more tactful manner, not daring to offend him.
"The quality of these magical tools is indeed quite good, but the magical tools I want are somewhat special and must be compatible with my cultivation technique! Moreover, what I seek is not just magical tools and talismans, but also some uncommon items." Han Li replied with perfect calm.
"Oh! If Fellow Daoist Han has such requirements, you should have said so earlier! I assumed Fellow Daoist was like that Fellow Daoist Fan, accepting any kind of magical tool?" Madam Lan said with a look of amused laughter.
"As long as Fellow Daoist can afford the price, our Star Dust Pavilion can produce everything you desire." The woman said with great confidence.
Hearing this, Han Li gave a few dry chuckles but did not respond to her words. Instead, he asked directly:
"Since Madam has said so, I shall make my request directly. I would like to ask whether your esteemed pavilion has any pill recipes for the Foundation Establishment stage for sale? Or perhaps some set of magical tools would also do. Of course, the more magical tools a set contains, the better."
After hearing Han Li's request, the woman's expression changed slightly, but it quickly returned to normal.
"Fellow Daoist's request is indeed somewhat unusual! If this were half a month ago, I fear I would truly have been stumped. But recently, our pavilion has indeed received two pill recipes and one set of top-grade magical tools. However, the prices of these two items are truly exorbitant, and they are not something I have the authority to decide upon. Fellow Daoist will need to go to the sixth floor to discuss the matter!" Madam Lan fixed her beautiful eyes on Han Li, speaking slowly.
"Then may I go to the sixth floor?" Han Li asked with his usual expression, as if he had long anticipated this from the woman.
"Of course you may go, but according to regulations, I must first verify your qualifications." Madam Lan smiled lightly as she gently tucked a strand of hair behind her forehead.
"What qualifications?" Han Li asked, sounding unconcerned.
"Very simple! If Fellow Daoist has over a thousand spirit stones or equivalent exchange items on your person, that will suffice." The woman said with a suddenly serious expression.
"Are these enough?" Without another word, Han Li pulled out the storage pouch containing his spirit stones and tossed it to the woman.
The spirit stones Han Li carried had long exceeded a thousand; there should have been nearly two thousand low-grade spirit stones.
Madam Lan took the storage pouch, swept her spiritual sense briefly through it, nodded, and tossed it back to him.
"Fellow Daoist Han, follow me. I will personally escort you to the sixth floor." With these words, the woman walked toward the staircase entrance without looking back.
Seeing this, Han Li naturally followed closely behind in silence.
The red-clad attendant guarding the staircase entrance, seeing Madam Lan approaching, immediately and silently made way. Han Li and the woman ascended one after the other to the sixth floor of the Star Dust Pavilion.