"Qing Yuanzi, is this truly the case?" The old man blinked, asking Qing Yuanzi with some surprise.
"That is correct. All of Golden Flame Marquis's Nether River Milk has been exchanged away by me for other things. Brother Xuling, this spiritual milk seems to have no effect on you, does it? Besides, doesn't your clan already possess large quantities of it? Others may be unable to access them, but with your status, it should be a trivial matter?" Qing Yuanzi replied with equal surprise.
"First of all, I am not seeking this spiritual milk for my own consumption — it serves an entirely different purpose. Second, the reserves of spiritual milk that our Mayfly Clan has stored away are not as vast as you might imagine, having been heavily depleted over time. The little that remained has already been taken out and used up by me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come all the way here to seek it out. I've managed to exchange for some from a few others, but it still isn't enough. So, Qing Yuanzi — I don't care what you intended to use this spiritual milk for, but I am willing to trade for it at twice its value." The old man's tone turned solemn.
Hearing this, Qing Yuanzi's expression shifted slightly, and he fell into contemplation.
Han Li stood off to the side, his face betraying nothing, though his heart suddenly pounded several times faster.
Golden Flame Marquis, meanwhile, simply folded his arms and watched Qing Yuanzi and the old man with a mild smile, looking as though the matter had nothing to do with him.
"Brother Xuling, normally, having received such a generous offer, I would not be so tactless as to refuse. But this spiritual milk has already been gifted to Young Friend Han. Even if I wished to agree, I'm afraid I couldn't do so." Qing Yuanzi ultimately shook his head.
"Gifted? To this brat?" The old man furrowed his brow, revealing a hint of displeasure.
"That is correct. I once owed Young Friend Han an enormous debt of gratitude, and these portions of spiritual milk are my way of repaying him. If you were to try to take them by force, I'm afraid I could not stand by and do nothing." Qing Yuanzi let out a sigh.
"Oh? It seems the favor you owe this brat is truly considerable, if you would even say something like that. How rare indeed! But even though my temper is admittedly somewhat poor, I would never stoop to snatching things from a junior. However, if he is willing to give them to me of his own accord — you wouldn't still interfere, would you?" A flicker of yellow light passed through the old man's eyes as he let out a yawn.
"If Young Friend Han is willing of his own volition, I will naturally not meddle." This time, Qing Yuanzi's answer was decisive.
"Good!" The old man nodded with satisfaction, then turned his head and sized Han Li up and down once more, his expression returning to that cheerful grin.
"Senior, those portions of spiritual milk…" Seeing the old man's expression, Han Li's heart tightened. He clasped his hands in a hasty salute, intending to offer a few words of explanation.
"There's no need to say anything! Although I can be overbearing, I would never bully someone younger and weaker. Even if I need the spiritual milk in your possession, I would only accept it if you were to offer it with your own two hands." The old man waved his hand with the confidence of someone holding all the cards, cutting Han Li off mid-sentence.
Then he flicked his sleeve, and a flash of black light flickered across the table before him, upon which over a dozen jade bottles of varying sizes instantly appeared.
"The pills contained in these bottles are all spirit medicines I have gathered over the years — pills capable of advancing one's cultivation in the Body Integration stage. Such a quantity is more than sufficient to surpass the value of a single bottle of Nether River Milk. However many bottles of spiritual milk you have, I will offer you that many times over in pills." The old man chuckled.
Even though Qing Yuanzi and Golden Flame Marquis had little use for these pills themselves, they were still visibly startled at the sight.
Any single one of these pills brought to the outside world would send countless Body Integration cultivators fighting over it. Gathered together in such a number, their value to an ordinary cultivator truly did exceed that of those few bottles of Nether River Milk.
The fact that Elder Xuling had produced dozens of bottles without so much as blinking caused both Qing Yuanzi and Golden Flame Marquis to exchange a glance at him, and they couldn't help but look toward Han Li.
Han Li stared at the pills, momentarily stunned, but showed no expression of delight. Instead, his features took on a somewhat peculiar look.
After a brief hesitation, he raised his arm and reached out with an open palm toward the space across the table.
One of the smaller bottles instantly flew into his grasp with a soft whoosh. He uncorked it and tipped a single green pill into his palm.
Holding the pill, Han Li examined it carefully.
"That is the Azure Shadow Pill, a sacred medicine of the Qinghai Clan. Taking a single one is enough to spare you the equivalent of a month of bitter cultivation. And among all the pills I've presented, it ranks merely in the upper middle tier." The old man watched Han Li's actions, stroking the sparse few whiskers on his chin and nodding with an air of self-satisfaction.
He was clearly quite proud of his ability to gather so many Body Integration–stage pills.
"Senior's pills are all exceedingly rare treasures, but I'm afraid I cannot exchange the spiritual milk for them." Han Li glanced at the green pill in his hand, then swept his gaze across the other bottles on the table opposite him, and let out a bitter laugh.
"What — are you suggesting that the pills I've given you might be counterfeit?" The old man's face went blank for an instant before fury erupted across it.
Qing Yuanzi and Golden Flame Marquis exchanged a glance, their expressions markedly different.