Chapter 1697

"Oh, could Fellow Daoist elaborate?" Han Li looked at the respectful youth and was somewhat surprised.

"Naturally. Speaking of which, I do not have many descendants; Xiang'er is the only junior I have worth cultivating. It is not that I am boasting, but my junior's cultivation aptitude can be considered outstanding even within the entire Cloud Clan; he should be able to advance to the Upper Clan realm in less than a hundred years." Old Monster Xu looked at the youth with great affection, clearly regarding him highly.

"Grandfather's words are a bit much; Xiang'er's aptitude is only average and not worth boasting about." The youth waved his hands repeatedly, appearing extremely shy.

"Haha, you have cultivated to this realm in just over a dozen years; your aptitude is much stronger than mine was back then. Why be so humble?" Old Monster Xu laughed loudly.

"Hearing Fellow Daoist Xu say this, Nephew Xiang is indeed gifted." Han Li also nodded with a smile.

The youth's face turned slightly red, and he could not say anything more.

"According to common sense, this descendant's future achievements might even surpass mine. But unfortunately, he has a defect that makes this prospect look bleak." The look of pride on Old Monster Xu's face vanished, and his voice became somewhat heavy.

Han Li's gaze flickered, but he said nothing, knowing the other party would surely explain it himself.

Sure enough, Old Monster Xu's voice paused, then he continued:

"Although he has excellent aptitude, he has run into problems with his natal Cloud Beast. The natal Cloud Beast, which should have been cultivated long ago, has remained stuck at the final step, unable to truly condense. According to past experience, the earlier the natal Cloud Beast is cultivated, the better. Otherwise, it greatly hinders his future advancement and his own strength. My reason for asking Fellow Daoist Han about the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy this time is essentially for this matter."

"How so?" Han Li's expression shifted, appearing somewhat puzzled.

"This is a bit complicated. But simply put, I accidentally discovered that the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy collected from the last celestial phenomenon actually helps in the condensation of my junior's natal Cloud Beast. However, most of the energy collected last time was accidentally used up by me, and the remainder is not enough for his use. So, I have no choice but to seek help from you." Old Monster Xu finally stated the ultimate purpose of his visit.

"If the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy is useful to Nephew Xiang, with your divine abilities, condensing some should be easy. Why specifically come to Han Mou?" Han Li replied calmly.

"I have tried several times, but ordinary Heaven and Earth spiritual energy is useless for my junior's natal Cloud Beast. It seems that the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy you condensed during the celestial phenomenon last time was special, containing some other things that cannot be detected. Only these special things can help Xiang'er." Old Monster Xu also appeared somewhat frustrated.

"So that's how it is." Han Li revealed a thoughtful expression.

He knew very well that the so-called celestial phenomenon was actually caused by the disintegration of True Qilin source crystal grains, so it was no surprise that it differed from ordinary Heaven and Earth spiritual energy. But that this thing could be useful to the Cloud Clan's natal Cloud Beast was truly beyond his expectations.

"I hope you can gather the same Heaven and Earth spiritual energy as last time. Afterward, I will certainly reward you handsomely." Old Monster Xu said, full of anticipation.

"It is not that I do not want to help, but this matter is not easy to handle." Han Li's mouth twitched slightly, and he became very hesitant.

The True Qilin source is an extremely rare item. Even if he could not refine it, it was still a spiritual pill that could advance the cultivation of the Soul-Returning Beast; how could he be willing to extract it for nothing?

Even though there were many True Qilin crystal grains in the Soul-Returning Beast, it might just be missing these one or two grains, which would prevent its cultivation from advancing to a higher realm.

Han Li was naturally unwilling to let his spirit beast make such a sacrifice for an alien he had just met.

"Why, does Fellow Daoist Han have some unspeakable difficulty? This matter concerns the future and fortune of my junior; as long as you are willing to help, any amount of spirit stones is negotiable." Old Monster Xu's heart sank slightly, but he promised without hesitation.

"This is not something that can be solved with spirit stones. To be honest, the celestial phenomenon last time was not something I could release out of thin air with secret techniques or cultivation. It required the use of a consumable treasure to manifest. I cannot disclose exactly what treasure it is. But I think you should know the value of a consumable treasure that can manifest such a phenomenon. Moreover, I have very little left." Han Li pondered for a long while before saying with difficulty.

"A consumable treasure." Old Monster Xu's expression changed upon hearing this.

"Correct. And this thing is extremely important to me and has other great uses. Even with more spirit stones, I am unwilling to waste it." Han Li refused with a hint of apology.

"If it really is a consumable treasure, I would not easily waste it or trade it for spirit stones either. But then again, no matter how rare a treasure is, it always has a certain value. I am not talented, but I consider myself to have some assets. I can completely trade with you using treasures of equal value." Old Monster Xu clearly had prepared some arguments before coming and had no intention of giving up.

"Trade!" Upon hearing this, Han Li's expression shifted, appearing truly tempted.

Seeing Han Li's expression, Old Monster Xu naturally knew the other party was not truly unwilling to trade. He was overjoyed and immediately flicked his sleeve toward the table in front of him without a word.

A sheet of red light flew out, and seven or eight jade boxes of various sizes suddenly appeared on the table.

"These things are all treasures I have collected over many years of cultivation. For two of them, I almost fell and died. Fellow Daoist, take a look first; whatever you fancy, just take it. Moreover, this will also count as you doing me a great favor." Old Monster Xu promised with unusual generosity.

Han Li smiled gently, swept his gaze over the jade boxes on the table, and his thoughts raced.

Old Monster Xu was already at the peak of the Void Refinement stage and was a member of the Cloud Clan, so his divine abilities were not small. The treasures he brought out were likely not bad.

However, he himself possessed heavy treasures, even two Profound Heaven Treasures that even Body Integration cultivators would not dare to covet. In his heart, he really did not expect the items in these jade boxes to make him want to trade.

In any case, if there was nothing he needed, he would not easily agree.

Thinking this to himself, Han Li smiled without explicitly stating his thoughts:

"Since Fellow Daoist has said so, I will take a look at your collection and broaden my horizons."

As he spoke, he reached out toward the void opposite him.

Suddenly, a fiery red jade box on the table swayed slightly and immediately flew into Han Li's hand with a "whoosh."

Sensing the faintly radiating heat from the jade box, Han Li raised an eyebrow. Not daring to be careless, his palm flashed with green light, wrapping it in spiritual light, while his other finger flicked the jade box.

With a light sound, the lid opened by itself.

Following this, a wave of scorching heat surged out from within, and the temperature of the entire hall rose instantly.

Han Li's pupils flashed with blue light, and he saw the item in the box clearly.

It was surprisingly a protein-colored beast egg, only the size of a chicken egg, but its surface was covered with red spots, radiating astonishing red light and slightly expanding and contracting.

"This is?" Han Li's expression of surprise flashed, and he could not help but ask.

Although he felt the egg's aura was not weak, he naturally could not identify its species out of thin air, hence his curious question.

"Fellow Daoist has a sharp eye; you grabbed the only spiritual egg among the treasures. I obtained this egg years ago after killing a rare Savage Flame Butterfly in the depths of a volcanic region. This Flame Butterfly possessed fire-attribute divine abilities not inferior to mine. I spent a whole year setting traps before finally exterminating this spirit beast. I believe that if this egg is hatched and carefully cultivated, it will definitely be an excellent spirit beast. If I didn't already have a natal Cloud Beast and couldn't spare the effort for other spirit beasts, I might have hatched it long ago." Old Monster Xu said with a smile.

"To possess divine abilities comparable to yours, the tier of this Flame Butterfly is truly shocking. Unfortunately, I have other spirit beasts, otherwise, I would be drooling." Han Li retracted his gaze from the insect egg and exclaimed in wonder.

Old Monster Xu was stunned for a moment, but immediately smiled and said:

"That was my lack of consideration. With your current cultivation, how could you not have spirit beasts you have cultivated for years? No matter, Fellow Daoist, continue to look at the other treasures."

Han Li nodded, closed the jade box in his hand, and tossed it lightly.

Suddenly, a ball of green light flew out from Han Li's sleeve, wrapped the jade box, and steadily carried it back to the table opposite. But then, the green light flashed and took the opportunity to wrap another jade box on the side, sending it to Han Li.

Han Li raised his hand and grabbed the new jade box...

Time passed bit by bit. After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Han Li had looked through eight or nine out of ten of the jade boxes Old Monster Xu had brought out.

The items in the remaining jade boxes were mostly rare materials, with one or two finished magic treasures of considerable power, and even a bottle of medicinal pills that could increase cultivation even for Void Refinement cultivators.

These items were all extremely rare, and even if taken to the Four Clans Auction, they would not be inferior to many of the auction items.

But unfortunately, Han Li did not fancy any of them from beginning to end, only smiling without a word.

When he finished appreciating the item in the last jade box and sent it back without saying anything, Old Monster Xu, sitting opposite, looked somewhat displeased.

"Why, is there not a single item among these that catches your eye?" Old Monster Xu finally could not help but ask.

"To be honest, none of these items are anything less than treasures. Especially that Flame Melting Butterfly; if sold to a fellow Daoist who cultivates fire-attribute techniques, I fear they would be willing to pay any price. Even if auctioned, I believe selling for over ten million spirit stones would be a small matter. But these things, to me..." Han Li also revealed a hint of helplessness and shook his head without finishing his sentence.

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