Chapter 1338. First Steps in the Spirit World — Silver Core Stone and Celestial Heart Pills

"One is a material called Silver Core Stone, and the other I myself am unfamiliar with — you'll have to see for yourself," the old man said mildly. He casually opened one of the brocade boxes, revealing a pale silver stone roughly the size of a fist.

Then he snapped the lid shut, flicked his wrist, and sent both brocade boxes hurtling through the air.

"Silver Core Stone! Wait — we'll take this!" The elegant woman standing nearby had gone visibly startled and delighted at the name, while the young man, though equally taken aback for a heartbeat, reacted almost immediately, reaching out with one hand toward the box containing the crystal.

A stream of azure light surged forward, rolling straight toward the brocade box.

When Han Li heard the name Silver Core Stone, his expression shifted slightly as well. But when the young man moved to snatch the box, his face darkened.

One arm twitched — a soft crack echoed out — and his arm shot forward several feet, snatching both brocade boxes into his grip in a single motion.

By that point, the azure light had just arrived, and it showed not the slightest intention of stopping, sweeping directly toward Han Li's body in an attempt to wrest the boxes back by force.

Han Li gave a cold snort. His shoulders swayed, and his body slid backward a zhang or so as if launched by a spring. At the same time, a golden palm faced the oncoming azure light, and he threw a single punch.

With a muffled thump, the azure light was pierced clean through by the golden palm, as fragile as paper, and collapsed into nothing.

"A high-ranking cultivator!" The young man, whose hands had already begun forming seals, saw his expression falter slightly after witnessing Han Li's display. His resolve wavered.

"Senior Brother Qian, wait. There's no need for force — we can discuss this properly. Shopkeeper, this Silver Core Stone hasn't actually been sold to this fellow Daoist yet, has it? Whatever the price, I'm willing to pay double. Would you let us have it first?" The woman, whose surname was Lü, stopped the young man and then turned to the old man with a remarkably perceptive question.

"Impossible. Even if Fairy Lü is a descendant of Senior Huangliang, that doesn't permit breaking the rules of my Firmament Pavilion. This shop is not an auction house — we don't sell to the highest bidder. It's first come, first served. Unless this fellow Daoist truly no longer wishes to have it, only then may you purchase the Silver Core Stone." Whether this was genuinely the shop's rule or simply the old man deliberately making things difficult, he delivered this statement with the same detached tone.

Lü's eyebrows drew together, and she couldn't help but turn her gaze toward Han Li.

But Han Li didn't so much as lift his head. He was busy opening the second brocade box, which revealed a rectangular gray mineral stone. Its surface was remarkably smooth, like fine jade, yet its color was so drab as to seem almost uncanny.

"My master is Venerable Qiu Long. This Silver Core Stone is something Junior Sister Lü must have. I'll pay double for it — hand it over," the young man surnamed Qian said, fixing Han Li with a steady stare. Though his words were superficially courteous, his tone was stiff and hard, as if Han Li were already being given an extraordinary favor.

"No." Han Li kept his eyes on the gray stone strip in his hands, running one finger lightly along its surface, not even bothering to look up.

"What did you say?" Qian's face turned thoroughly ugly. He had never expected Han Li to refuse outright, without so much as a moment's hesitation.

"Perhaps this item really is exceptionally precious to your companion, but how do you know I don't need it myself?" Han Li glanced at the young man and said calmly.

"I already told you — I'm willing to pay double!" The young man's gaze turned icy, a thread of menace weaving through his words.

The woman named Lü frowned, but this time she made no move to intervene.

"I'm not short on spirit stones. If you'd simply turn around and leave, I'd gladly pay you a sum of spirit stones for the trouble," Han Li said with a faint sigh.

Although the man and woman before him clearly had formidable backgrounds and powerful backers, Han Li was alone and unattached. Moreover, he was about to enter the Tomb of the Setting Sun — if he didn't break through his bottleneck and restore his Magical Power, he likely wouldn't be coming back out. He had no reason to care much about two Core Formation cultivators. With his Magical Power restored, the gap in their cultivation levels was simply too vast. Even if their backers truly intervened, he might not be able to beat them, but he was quite confident he could escape.

His uncompromising reply left not only Tian Xing's face drained of color, but even the old man, who had maintained an expressionless demeanor throughout, couldn't help betraying a flicker of surprise.

Could it be that this person also had a distinguished background? To face the personal disciples of Venerable Qiu Long and Perfected Sovereign Huangliang without showing the slightest deference…

The old man surnamed Xu's mind had jumped to a rather different conclusion.

Having heard Han Li's response, Qian's expression turned thoroughly gloomy.

But the woman named Lü seemed to have arrived at the same assessment as the old man. After studying Han Li several times over, she suddenly opened her graceful lips:

"Might I ask your honorable name and which venerable master you study under? Perhaps my master knows your esteemed ancestor!"

"I'm a mere wandering cultivator — no master to speak of. As for my name, I'd rather not mention it." Han Li smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

"Is that so? If you won't say, then I won't insist. However — how about I trade you a bottle of 'Celestial Heart Pills' for the Silver Core Stone? This pill can temporarily strengthen one's spiritual sense, compensating for the spiritual deficiency that body cultivators typically suffer from. It's extremely useful when attempting to break through a bottleneck." After a brief moment of hesitation, the woman named Lü flipped her slender hand and produced a green porcelain vial, speaking with remarkable composure.

"Celestial Heart Pills? Junior Sister Lü, those are Senior Huangliang's own unique secret pills — trading them for a mere piece of Silver Core Stone is far too wasteful!" Qian blurted in alarm when he saw this.

Even old Xu, who had been standing off to the side without uttering a single word, showed a measure of emotion upon hearing this.

As for Tian Xing, he appeared to have never even heard the name of this pill before, and wore a somewhat blank expression.