Chapter 139
Procurement, Enemies Meet on a Narrow Road
Chapter 139 Procurement, Enemies Meet on a Narrow Road
After paying seven hundred spirit stones, Han Li returned to Tianxing City in the Inner Star Sea using the long-distance teleportation array on Silver Shark Island.
His figure appeared in the Starry Sky Palace.
This time, the one guarding the teleportation hall was no longer the Core Formation cultivator from back then, but another person, an old man.
Upon catching sight of this person, he tossed out another seven hundred spirit stones:
"Go to Qiyuan Island."
Although it's unclear whether Blackrock City has been built yet, it won't take much time to go and take a look.
Or rather, his purpose in going there was to harvest the high-yield, high-level demon cores produced there.
But at that moment, a cold snort came from the side:
"Hmph, fellow Daoist, don't you understand the principle of first come, first served?"
On a teleportation array, seven cultivators appeared to have been waiting for some time.
These seven people were about to be teleported to another monster island when Han Li suddenly appeared and interrupted them. No wonder they were not happy.
just.
The people present immediately fell silent after they realized that Han Li's previously feigned early Core Formation aura had suddenly transformed into mid-Core Formation aura.
Especially the middle-aged man in the early stage of Core Formation who had spoken earlier, his forehead was already covered in cold sweat. Meeting Han Li's calm gaze, his heart was in turmoil, and he couldn't calm down at all.
A mid-stage Core Formation cultivator would undoubtedly be considered a master in the still chaotic Star Sea, and he didn't want to provoke such a person over a trivial matter.
"Cough cough..."
The displeasure of a middle-aged person is transformed into the flexibility and adaptability of the next moment.
Not only can they bend down, but they can also justify their actions:
"Um, fellow Daoist, you look unfamiliar. I didn't recognize you at first. Please forgive my clumsiness. Fellow Daoist, you must have important business to attend to when you're rushing from one monster island to another. In that case, please go first."
With just a simple set of questions and answers, he brushed the matter aside, showing no unhappiness at being cut in line, but rather as if he were proud of it.
Even though he noticed the strange looks in the eyes of the six disciples behind him, he didn't pay much attention to it.
"Thank you very much."
Han Li narrowed his eyes, then smiled and nodded.
After receiving the teleportation talisman from the Core Formation cultivator in the Star Palace, he immediately went to Qiyuan Island.
After the teleportation light dissipated, the middle-aged man in the early stage of Core Formation finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The group of seven followed suit and were teleported to another monster island.
Upon arriving at the destination, before his six disciples could even ask, he immediately began to teach them by example:
"Aren't you ashamed of my past behavior?"
“Master, we have no such thoughts.”
All six shook their heads in unison, their heads bobbing like rattles.
joke.
The six of them were only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Even the eldest brother, who had the highest cultivation level, was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage. How could they dare to question a Core Formation cultivator?
"Heh, it seems you all really underestimate your master."
The middle-aged man sighed.
"Master, we don't have it."
The six disciples vehemently denied it.
Each of them had a determined look on their face and in their eyes.
But deep down, he was quite guilty.
The middle-aged see this very clearly and thoroughly:
“I understand how you feel, but I still have a few words of advice for you.”
"If you encounter a cultivator of similar strength in the future, it is best not to back down or tolerate their unreasonable behavior. The more you tolerate, the more the other party will think you are easy to bully, and the more they will take advantage of you."
"Therefore, we must be tough."
"We must dare to speak out."
We cannot disgrace our sect.
"Of course, if the other party has a higher cultivation level and stronger strength, then the other party is definitely not wrong. The fault lies with our attitude, and we must lower our stance."
"Remember, survival is the foundation of everything."
What good is it to be right if you can't survive?
Previously, he had assumed that Han Li was just a stranger who had reached the early stage of Core Formation.
But he was a Core Formation stage elder of a Nascent Soul level sect. Could the other party possibly make things difficult for him?
Comparing the two, he naturally couldn't afford to be at a disadvantage.
To avoid being looked down upon.
result.
The initial stage of Core Formation cultivation is merely a facade displayed by the other party.
The opponent's true cultivation level was actually that of a mid-stage Core Formation expert.
Then we shouldn't provoke them.
To avoid being targeted by others.
"Master, you had that person teleport away first, and then we teleported to another monster island. You were actually trying to avoid that person as much as possible, right?"
Of the six, only one female disciple spoke up.
They observed quite carefully.
“That’s good. We can all feel much more at ease once he’s teleported away. After all, even a Core Formation cultivator shouldn’t use a teleportation array to chase after us over such a trivial matter.”
Spirit stones aren't burned like that.
Therefore, if he's sensible enough to admit defeat and save face, the matter will be over. Turning a big problem into a small one, and a small one into nothing, isn't shameful.
"Master is indeed very thoughtful."
The other disciples suddenly realized what was going on.
The look in his eyes when he looked at him again was filled with respect and admiration once more.
The middle-aged man in the Core Formation stage found this very helpful.
Nod with satisfaction.
...
the other side.
Han Li appeared in the central area of a city.
The Star Palace's teleportation array was built here.
This city is the only one among all the monster islands in the outer sea: Blackrock City.
There are two main reasons why a city could be built in this place.
Firstly, major powers not only discovered high-quality spiritual veins on this island, but also associated spiritual mineral veins capable of producing mid-grade spirit stones. Furthermore, many of the smaller islands nearby also possess spiritual veins and mineral veins, enabling the region to be self-sufficient in spirit stone currency. This also allowed many Nascent Soul level forces to establish branch bases of their sects on nearby islands.
The discovery of superior spiritual veins and spiritual mineral veins is one of the main sources of confidence for building the city.
Secondly, the sea area not far from Qiyuan Island is the deep-sea Qiyuan, which is richest in monster resources.
Its interior is unfathomably deep.
It stretches for tens of millions of miles.
It is said that there are level 8 transformed demon cultivators in that deep sea abyss. The inner core and essence of level 8 demon beasts are precious medicines for Nascent Soul cultivators.
If used for alchemy, the finished pills can help Nascent Soul cultivators increase their magical power and improve their cultivation.
That's why.
Several Nascent Soul level forces in the Chaotic Star Sea formed an alliance and built Black Stone City here. Because it was an alliance of interests formed by a dozen or twenty Nascent Soul elders, Black Stone City became a special neutral force that neither the Star Palace nor the righteous and demonic paths wanted to provoke.
Star Palace will not make things difficult for this alliance.
The righteous and the demonic factions are secretly trying to win each other over.
Unfortunately, this neutral alliance did not want to get involved in the power struggle within the Inner Star Sea, and its main forces had already moved from the Inner Star Sea to this Outer Star Sea.
Thanks to the abundance of high-level demonic beasts in this area, each Nascent Soul level power within the Blackrock City Alliance has no fewer than fifty or sixty Core Formation stage cultivators. Including their Core Formation guest elders, the number of Core Formation cultivators can even reach seventy or eighty.
Moreover, there are not only cultivators here, but also a large number of mortals.
Over the years, the number of mortals in Blackrock City has grown from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands.
Given more time to develop, the Outer Sea could very well present a cultivation scene as magnificent as the Inner Sea.
"This place should have some 'agate horns,' right?"
After touring Blackstone City, Han Li entered one of the larger pavilions in the city: Mingzhu Pavilion.
This building is operated by one of the largest powers in Blackrock City.
They specialize in acquiring various gains made by monks in the outer seas.
He came here to find the agate beast horn, one of the three main ingredients of the ancient elixir, the Nine-Bend Elixir.
Simultaneously.
I'll also try my luck and see if I can be fortunate enough to collect another main ingredient, the level 8 companion herb.
While we're at it, we'll also plunder some high-quality and even rare finished pills, as well as some high-level inner cores and various monster materials, and so on.
Gathering materials on Monster Island is cheaper than in Tianxing City. The more you collect, the better the value for money.
then.
He first went to the Cun Jin Pavilion in Blackrock City, where he spent more than 5,000 spirit stones to obtain a level 7 agate beast's horn.
Then, he kept changing his appearance, and in a very short time, he appeared in dozens of shops of all sizes in Blackrock City under thirty or forty different identities. He obtained more than a dozen high-level demon cores of level five or six, a level seven demon core, several bottles of pills suitable for the early and middle stages of Core Formation, and a lot of mid-to-high-level demon beast materials.
The total consumption was over 100,000 spirit stones.
This wealth represents a safety net for purchasing power for someone in the mid-stage of Core Formation.
In addition, he always changes his appearance when making purchases. Unless a Nascent Soul cultivator personally investigates him, even a late-stage Core Formation cultivator would find it difficult to track him, let alone see through his disguise.
The location of the teleportation array in the center of Blackrock City.
Han Li arrives again.
"Return to Tianxing City."
He handed over seven hundred spirit stones to the Foundation Establishment cultivator who was controlling the formation in the Star Palace.
After receiving the spirit stone, the cultivator from the Star Palace was about to hand over a teleportation talisman.
Seeing this, Han Li immediately spoke:
Give me seven.
"Seven sheets? Senior is only one person, you don't need seven sheets."
The white-robed cultivator from the Star Palace was taken aback.
"But I paid for the teleportation cost for seven people, so what's wrong with you giving me seven teleportation talismans?"
Han Li remained calm.
He wasn't deliberately making things difficult, but the Star Palace charged 700 spirit stones for both solo and group teleportation. The difference was that with seven people, each person received a teleportation talisman, while solo teleportation usually only provided one.
In the past, many cultivators didn't pay attention to this small detail, allowing the Star Palace cultivators responsible for teleportation to reap a small advantage. But today, Han Li came specifically for the Star Palace's unique teleportation talisman.
Affixing a teleportation talisman to one's body has the same effect as carrying a Great Teleportation Token, preventing cultivators from encountering accidents during long-distance teleportation.
This thing is different from the Great Teleportation Order, which can be used repeatedly.
A teleportation talisman can only be used once and only affects a single person. Unlike the Great Teleportation Token, it cannot be used on an area. Furthermore, the teleportation distance protected by the talisman is limited, seemingly not exceeding one billion miles…
As a technology unique to the Star Palace, even the righteous and demonic paths can only accumulate finished products through similar underhanded means.
Here, he could only hoard the goods by having one person send them and keeping six copies.
Chaos is imminent in the Star Sea, and the Star Palace will close the Starry Sky Hall's external and internal teleportation. I remember in the original timeline, the original owner was almost killed by two Core Formation stage cultivators from the Star Palace who provided counterfeit teleportation talismans. Those two wanted to use an accident during long-distance teleportation to silence the original owner. After all, fake teleportation talismans wouldn't provide protection for cultivators during the teleportation process.
Therefore, the more of these teleportation tokens you hoard, the better.
To avoid being hampered and restricted by teleportation talismans when secretly developing power in the future.
Talk about it.
He had already done the same thing—procuring supplies and casually acquiring a few teleportation scrolls—on Silver Shark Island a day earlier.
At that time, he also acquired supplies worth 20,000 to 30,000 spirit stones.
Then they asked for seven teleportation scrolls.
"Senior, this..."
"Young friend, are you perhaps trying to pocket the cost of this teleportation talisman?"
Han Li asked with a smile.
The voice was gentle, yet it sent a chill down the spine of the Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Star Palace.
"Fellow Daoist, don't frighten him." An aged voice came from inside the teleportation hall. It belonged to one of the few Star Palace Core Formation stage cultivators who remained here, and was also a senior member of the Star Palace Foundation Establishment stage clan: "Feng'er, why don't you give this fellow Daoist the seven teleportation talismans?"
"Yes, Fourth Grandfather."
With the seven teleportation talismans in hand, Han Li smiled and clasped his hands in a gesture of respect towards a direction in the hall where no one could be seen.
There, a formation concealed a Core Formation stage cultivator.
Soon, the teleportation light shone, and Han Li's figure disappeared.
...
After an unknown amount of time, Han Li, now with a changed appearance, reappeared in the Starry Sky Hall of the Star Palace.
He went to Blackstone City on Qiyuan Island that same day and returned the same day.
The main focus is efficiency.
"Fellow Daoist, please take me to Ningcui Island."
He handed over seven hundred spirit stones, but did not ask for seven teleportation talismans.
Different people, different attitudes.
just.
An unexpected event occurred that even Han Li himself could not have anticipated.
"Huh? It's you?"
Just as he appeared in one of the shops of the four major merchant alliances on Ningcui Island to purchase supplies, with his current appearance and early-stage Core Formation cultivation, two cultivators walked in from outside the shop carrying the corpse of a level 5 demon beast and its demon core.
Both of them were at the mid-stage of Core Formation.
(End of this chapter)