"What does Daoist Han mean by that?" The white-robed elder was taken aback by these words, a note of surprise creeping into his voice.
"If you had no intention of slighting us, then why send nothing but a mere clone to fob us off?" Han Li replied, his expression unchanged.
"A clone?" This time it was Mo Jianli who was startled. He hastily swept his spiritual sense toward the old man, but all he could perceive was an unfathomably deep aura — nothing abnormal whatsoever. His expression shifted between dark and light.
A flicker of surprise crossed the white-robed elder's face. After staring at Han Li for a moment, he let out a soft chuckle: "Daoist Han truly has exceptional eyesight — to see through this heart-linked clone at a single glance. I must say I'm impressed. But to use that as grounds for claiming I harbored any intent to slight you would be a genuine injustice. Before Brother Mo and Daoist Han arrived, you must have heard about my seclusion. I'll be perfectly honest — that was no fabrication. My true body is indeed in seclusion somewhere at this moment and cannot easily emerge to receive guests, so I could only dispatch this clone in its place. And it's not just the two of you — I had planned to use this very clone to meet even Daoists Bloodflame and Blackscale."
The white-robed elder owned up to it with perfect candor.
Hearing this, Mo Jianli's expression stirred. He opened his mouth to say something, when suddenly a cold snort echoed from beyond the great doors, followed by an unfamiliar male voice that boomed forth like rolling thunder: "Brother Ling actually intends to receive us brothers with a mere clone — how utterly lacking in sincerity! Could it be that your true body is locked in some life-or-death seclusion? Otherwise, given our standing, shouldn't your true self at least merit emerging once!"
The words had barely faded when a figure flickered past the gates, and two aliens strode abruptly inside — their skin rough and dark, their faces strikingly similar, with a faint layer of keratinous scales covering half their bodies.
Of these two, one had baleful energy roiling about his body, forming a layer of blood-red radiance that shrouded him from head to toe.
The other exuded a cold, yin-drenched aura, with what appeared to be countless faint black qi-balls rolling ceaselessly across his skin, coalescing into innumerable tiny vortexes that continuously drew the surrounding heaven-and-earth essence qi into their depths.
From a distance, the pair looked thoroughly bizarre!
"So the two Daoist friends, Xue Ran and Hei Lin, have already arrived. I, Ling, failed to come out and greet you properly — my apologies. But while I wasn't in a life-or-death seclusion, this closed cultivation was still of great importance. Had I emerged, all my previous efforts would have been wasted. I can only ask all you Daoist friends to be understanding." The white-robed elder's eyes brightened as he faced the two newly arrived Mahayana-stage aliens, though he offered the explanation with an easy smile.
"Hmph, if not for this transaction—" One of the dark-skinned men narrowed his eyes and was about to deliver some cutting remark, but the other man cut him off before he could get a word out.
"Forget it, Brother Hei. We didn't come here to make friends and idle chat. Whether it's a clone or the real thing makes no difference — as long as he can produce the item, that's all that matters. We should get down to business. Oh, and Brother Ling — who are these two Daoist friends? You never mentioned that this transaction would involve other people."
As the second dark-skinned man spoke these last two sentences, his cold gaze swept over Han Li and Mo Jianli.
Despite Mo Jianli's Mahayana-stage cultivation, the moment that gaze met his own, a chill crept across every inch of his skin, and his expression shifted involuntarily.
The other had clearly cultivated some form of divine-sense art that posed a genuine threat even to Mahayana-stage cultivators — otherwise, a mere glance would never have produced such a terrifying effect.
As for Han Li, after meeting that gaze for just a moment, his pupils contracted ever so slightly — and then nothing. He betrayed not the slightest hint of disturbance.
The two dark-skinned men were startled by Han Li's reaction. They exchanged a glance, and the contempt on their faces visibly diminished.
"Fellow Daoist Bloodfiend, you've misunderstood this king. As it happens, the first person I sought out for this exchange was not the two of you, but Fellow Daoist Stoneheart. Now, although Fellow Daoist Stoneheart has fallen, Fellow Daoist Mo and Fellow Daoist Han have brought along his original token of agreement. How could this king turn them away? Fortunately, the item in my possession is not the only one of its kind — there are enough to go around among all the fellow daoists present. The real question is whether any of you can produce what I want!" The white-robed elder spoke unhurriedly.
"Old Freak Ling, my brother and I are determined to obtain that Thunder Seal. The moment we heard you intended to trade it, we rushed here and nearly emptied the entire treasury on the island. So just name what you want. As long as we have it, we won't hold back even a fraction." Bloodfiend said solemnly.
"Brother Mo and Fellow Daoist Han feel the same. Brother Ling need only say the word, and I will gladly trade everything I have for that Three Pure Thunder Seal." Mo Jianli cleared his throat lightly and spoke with equal earnestness.
"Heh, there's no rush. Why don't the fellow daoists first sample some of the spirit tea I've brewed myself? We can discuss matters afterward." The elder waved his hand casually, his manner calm and relaxed.
The two Mahayana-stage foreign cultivators frowned at these words, but after exchanging a few whispered transmissions, Bloodfiend nodded and said: