Chapter 353: Lady Lan

Han Li and the man sat on opposite sides of an Eight Immortals table. The two glanced at each other a few times, but neither had any intention of starting a conversation.

Cultivators who came here to buy goods would never try to get close to strangers; doing so would only invite hostility from others.

However, the man sitting opposite still curiously glanced a few times at Qu Hun, who was standing at the stairwell without entering the main hall.

With his discernment, he had long since seen through Qu Hun's identity as a refined corpse, and the spiritual energy fluctuations on his body made him feel greatly suspicious.

After all, living corpses like the iron-armored corpses refined by cultivators were generally just incredibly strong laborers; there shouldn't be any magic power present on them.

The man suppressed the urge to speak up and ask. Han Li had the same Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivation as him, which still made him quite wary.

When Han Li had nearly finished his cup of clear tea, the woman finally walked back into the main hall.

Only this time, she was followed by two burly men. These two had not a shred of magic power on them and their expressions were extremely stiff; they were actually two lifelike puppets.

But each of them held a large tray in their hands, which were bulging and lightly covered with red silk cloth. It seemed these were the rare treasures the female shopkeeper had mentioned.

A strange look flashed in Han Li's eyes. He had just tried to use his spiritual sense to pierce through the red silk on the trays to see what was underneath, but he hadn't expected to be blocked by that inconspicuous silk cloth, which truly surprised him. He couldn't help but turn his head and glance sideways at the man opposite him.

He saw that a look of surprise had also appeared on the man's face; clearly, he had done the same thing.

The middle-aged woman walked a few steps to the front of Han Li and the other man, smiling before she spoke:

"I already know Fellow Daoist Fan here, but I still don't know how to address this fellow daoist? My surname is Lan; the two fellow daoists can call me Lady Lan." The woman introduced herself with a familiar air.

Seeing this, Han Li naturally felt embarrassed not to speak, so he said somewhat reluctantly:

"My surname is Han!"

Then he stopped speaking, revealing a cold, indifferent demeanor as if he didn't want to talk much.

Lady Lan saw this, but didn't take it to heart at all.

After all, among the cultivators who came here, eight or nine out of ten were like Han Li, feigning indifference. She had long since become accustomed to it.

Thus, after the woman gave a faint smile, she beckoned to one of the puppets behind her, and the burly puppet immediately walked to the front.

Then Lady Lan extended her slender jade fingers and pulled off the red silk, revealing the few items on the tray.

Brilliant light shot from the eyes of Han Li and the man surnamed Fan opposite him at the same time as they focused their attention on the items in the tray.

They saw that the tray contained magic tools such as long swords, short blades, flying darts, and rings. There was even a pitch-black suit of armor. Every single item was gleaming, and one could tell at a glance that they were no ordinary goods.

Seeing the magic tools in the tray clearly, Han Li and the man had different reactions.

The cultivator surnamed Fan stared fixedly at the tray, his eyes revealing a look of infatuation. Han Li, however, only glanced at it once before immediately shifting his gaze away, displaying a look of utter disinterest. This greatly surprised Lady Lan, who took an extra look at Han Li.

"This item is called the Cold Crystal Blade. It is refined from rare profound crystals and ice jade. It is not only powerful in attack but also carries a rare yin-cold energy, which can cause the enemy's strength to diminish unknowingly during a protracted fight. It is truly a premium item among top-tier magic tools." The woman extended her wrist, took a short, crystal-clear blade from the tray, and held it up, introducing it unhurriedly.

Afterwards, she lightly brandished the magic tool in her hand, and suddenly, a wave of chilly cold air appeared in the room, causing the few maids who only had Qi Condensation cultivation to shiver several times.

"Lady, could you let me see this blade!" The man surnamed Fan looked at the magic tool, revealing a look of excitement as he spoke.

These words made Lady Lan smile slightly. Without a moment's hesitation, she handed the blade over, then glanced at Han Li in a subtle, lingering way.

But the Han Li she saw had a normal expression, just looking down at the empty teacup in his hand, showing no sign of being moved by this magic tool. This made Lady Lan somewhat disappointed.

"Alright, I'll take this Cold Crystal Blade. I wonder how many spirit stones it requires?" Just then, the man surnamed Fan, who was playing with the short blade on the side, said loudly.

Hearing this, Lady Lan was a bit surprised.

"Does Fellow Daoist not intend to look at the other items?" Lady Lan asked calmly.

"No need. I naturally know that the items behind are definitely better, but I am short on funds and reckon I can only afford this blade. Even if the other items are better, I have the heart but lack the strength. It's better not to look, lest I crave them!" This cultivator Fan spoke quite frankly and even with a bit of wit, causing the beautiful woman to cover her small mouth and let out a light laugh.

"This Cold Crystal Blade costs eight hundred spirit stones. Fellow Daoist Fan can take it once you hand over the spirit stones." After laughing, the woman said methodically.

"Good, Lady, please check these spirit stones to see if the amount is correct?"

The man surnamed Fan very readily took out his storage pouch and poured it onto the table. In the blink of an eye, a pile of spirit stones of various colors appeared on the table.

Lady Lan swept her gaze lightly over the table, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly as she smiled and said:

"How could I not trust you, Fellow Daoist? No need to check."

After saying this, the woman took out a storage pouch and sucked all the spirit stones into it.

This action by Lady Lan made the cultivator Fan feel very favorable toward her, and he left with a friendly farewell.

However, Han Li, who was on the side, saw this scene with an expressionless face and sneered a few times in his heart.

"What 'no need to check'! What was that faint spiritual sense covering the spirit stones just now? It's obvious that this Lady Lan's spiritual sense is far stronger than an ordinary cultivator's; she could instantly check the number of spirit stones without being detected, so she deliberately said such flattering, cheap words." Han Li thought with a sneer in his heart.

Lady Lan did not notice that her little trick had been seen through by Han Li. After smiling and watching the man surnamed Fan go downstairs, she cast her gaze back onto Han Li.

"Fellow Daoist Han doesn't seem very interested in these items! Could it be that these magic tools don't catch your eye?" Lady Lan said with a faint smile.

Strangely, she knew clearly that the person in front of her had a lower cultivation than her, but for some reason, she felt a trace of strange danger from Han Li, which made her speak to him much more tactfully, subconsciously not daring to offend him too much.

"If you say these magic tools are of good quality, they indeed are, but the magic tools I want are somewhat special and must be compatible with my cultivation technique! Moreover, what I want isn't just magic tools and talismans, but also some uncommon things." Han Li replied extremely calmly.

"Oh! If Fellow Daoist Han has such requirements, you could have said so earlier! I thought you were like Fellow Daoist Fan, that any kind of magic tool would do?" Lady Lan said with a light, surprised laugh.

"As long as you can afford the price, our Star Dust Pavilion can provide everything you want, Fellow Daoist." The woman said with great confidence.

Hearing this, Han Li let out a few dry laughs without responding, then asked directly:

"Since you've said so, Lady, I will be direct. I would like to ask if your pavilion has any pill formulas for Foundation Establishment stage use for sale? Or perhaps some complete sets of magic tools; the more magic tools a set contains, the better, of course."

Hearing Han Li's request, the woman's expression changed slightly, but she immediately returned to normal.

"Fellow Daoist's requirements are indeed somewhat unusual? If it were half a month ago, I might have been truly stumped. But recently, our pavilion has indeed received two pill formulas and one complete set of top-tier magic tools. However, the price of these two items is truly not cheap, and this is not something I can decide on my own. You must go to the sixth floor to discuss it, Fellow Daoist!" Lady Lan stared at Han Li with her beautiful eyes, speaking slowly.

"Then can I go to the sixth floor?" Han Li seemed to have expected the woman to say this, and asked with a normal expression.

"You can go, of course, but according to the rules, I still have to verify your qualifications, Fellow Daoist." Lady Lan smiled lightly as she tucked a lock of hair in front of her forehead.

"What qualifications?" Han Li asked indifferently.

"Very simple! If you have over a thousand spirit stones or exchange items of equal value on you, that will suffice." The woman suddenly said with a serious expression.

"Is this enough?" Han Li didn't say a word, took out the storage pouch containing the spirit stones from his body, and tossed it to the woman.

Han Li's spirit stones had long since exceeded a thousand; he should have had nearly two thousand low-tier spirit stones.

Lady Lan took the storage pouch, swept her spiritual sense slightly into the pouch, then nodded and tossed it back.

"Fellow Daoist Han, come with me. I will personally escort you to the sixth floor." After saying this, the woman walked toward the staircase without looking back.

Seeing this, Han Li naturally followed closely behind without a word.

The young attendant in red guarding the staircase, seeing Lady Lan approach, immediately and silently cleared the path. Han Li and she then ascended to the sixth floor of the Star Dust Pavilion one after the other.

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