Chapter 708 The Successful Exchange
As long as Zhang Han acquired the thunder yang gra.s.s, he would obtain three out of the five kinds of thunder yang spirit treasures. Not only would that better the territory, but it would also make the crystal stone mineral vein under the mountain more condensed, accelerating its forming speed.
But gaining 48,000 points was no joking matter.
“Eh?”
Zhang Han cast a few glances around and then s.h.i.+fted his gaze to the side. Suddenly, he once again found a treasure that was somewhat appealing to him.
“A divine object—the serene world stone!”
Zhang Han strode over and stared at it closely. The price was 20,500 points.
He had enough points to exchange for it.
Back then in the relic of Shenzhen, Zhang Han had suppressed all the talents from the worldlet by himself and robbed Mu Xue and Ye Longyuan of their divine weapons just for the purpose of getting that holy object, the serene world stone.
In the end, after refining it into two strands of hair, Zhang Han finally opened the s.p.a.ce door at the critical moment and turned the tide.
If Zhang Han had not prepared this in advance, the consequences would be beyond his imagination.
The divine object in front of him, the serene world stone, though was only the size of a palm, was a spirit treasure very close to the sixth stage. In Zhang Han’s view, it was worth at least 30,000 points, but it was merely sold for 20,500 points.
“With this stone, the area can cover half of Earth.”
Zhang Han was a little tempted. He was very confident in his safety. The only thing he was worried about was his wife and daughter. Last time, he spent Zi Yan’s precious strand of hair, so now he felt a little insecure.
Now, as long as he could buy the fifth-stage serene world stone, his security level would be several grades higher.
At the very least, his family of three would not be living at a distance of half of Earth. And they would seldom be separated from one another.
Although he was enticed, Zhang Han’s expression was still calm.
He continued to walk to the side and spotted some more advanced fifth-stage spirit treasures there.
“This nine-dragon halberd looks not bad, but it’s a little expensive as it is sold at a price of 30,000 points.”
“Oh? This blue jade gourd is really a brilliant treasure. It only costs 50,000 points. It’s really worth it.”
“There’s even a jade slip with a cultivation method on it? The Mysterious Soul Technique? An incomplete piece sold for 20,000 points. It’s too expensive.”
In this way, Zhang Han found that many of the treasures were suitable for himself.
But as he only had 20,000 points, he had no way to buy a lot of them. He could only choose the most suitable one, the fifth-stage serene world stone.
However, he didn’t want to let go of the thunder yang gra.s.s either.
While Zhang Han was pondering over the matter, all of a sudden, a purple-robed person came from the side.
His body was wrapped in a flowing glow, which blocked out Zhang Han’s soul sense.
Zhang Han studied his paces and abruptly remarked, “Yue Wuwei?”
“You’ve mistaken me for someone else,” the purple-robed man answered in a low voice. His voice was still rigid and emotionless.
Zhang Han was silent for two seconds.
Then, he shook his head and said, “With your strength, there’s no need to hide your ident.i.ty.”
“Huh?” The purple-robed man suddenly laughed and waved his right hand. The purple robe on his body dissipated, and the man, as expected, was Yue Wuwei.
Zhang Han was not too surprised.
On the contrary, Yue Wuwei asked curiously, “How did you notice that it’s me? I’m sure that my method of hiding my aura can hardly be seen through by those in the Heaven Realm, let alone those in the Divine Realm.”
At this, Zhang Han smiled but said nothing.
How could he say that he saw it through with his eyes?
Since Zhang Han didn’t answer, Yue Wuwei stopped pursuing the subject. Instead, he focused on something else.
“Why haven’t you broken through the Innateness Stage yet?”
“I’m not in a rush.”
“The worldlet will appear in two days. You don’t think you need to rush? Boy, the situation in your Heavenly Knights Sect may not be optimistic,” Yue Wuwei said in a bewildered tone.
“Let’s wait and see.” Zhang Han smiled and said, “If I want to break through, I can do it at any time.”
“You have a good temperament. It’s actually hopeful for you to reach the Elixir Stage in the future,” Yue Wuwei said, with the look of an elder praising a junior.
That remark, yet, made Zhang Han raise his eyebrows.
“Judging from your tone, your cultivation may be at the early stage of the Elixir, or the peak of the Innateness Stage? I guess there is an 80% chance that you are at the peak of the Innateness Stage.”
“Hmm?” Yue Wuwei was stunned. “You seem to have thought light of me, haven’t you?”
“Think light of you?” Zhang Han smiled but didn’t say anything more.
“Interesting.”
Yue Wuwei also smiled faintly. He was now quite a different man compared to the time when they met at the Qingfeng Sect. At that time, he was a little stubborn, while now he had the demeanor of an accomplished master.
“In this world, or even in a worldlet, we’re called martial artists. There are the Divine Realm, the Earth Realm, and the Heaven Realm. But the most orthodox names are Qi Refinement, Foundation, Innateness, Elixir, and Qi Refining Stage. It’s all about Qi. The Foundation Stage is a c.u.mulative process. When I was in the sect and saw you strike, I peeped into your meridians. Although there was only half of it, I still found the difference between you and a pure martial artist. You are also a cultivator! Am I right?”
“Yes.”
Zhang Han nodded. He also felt that Yue Wuwei was an orthodox cultivator with some strength. But he had never expected that what Yue Wuwei got to say next would make him a little astounded.
“Since you know about cultivators, you must also know about the Kunlun Immortal World, which is the place for cultivators to stay. It’s superior to this world. The capable ones can destroy rivers and mountains with their own hands. In their eyes, the martial arts world is a very inferior product.” Yue Wuwei shook his head repeatedly, with emotions in his eyes.
“Kunlun Immortal Realm?” Zhang Han’s lips trembled slightly. “I suppose it has no entrance or exit, so it must be difficult to go in and out of it.”
“Oh, you also know this?” Yue Wuwei said in surprise. “Yes, only at a certain time, there will be a mysterious force rippling in the depths of the Kunlun Mountains. It is the weakest time node of the world’s enchantment. At that time, you can use magic arts to go in and out. But… many people don’t want to come, because people at my level will be suppressed by this world, and it is difficult to make progress in cultivation. So, you know, when you reach the peak of the Innateness Stage, you will feel it and will try your best to go to the Kunlun Immortal World.”
“Is the Kunlun Immortal World that you are talking about just a self-contained world?” Zhang Han asked.
“Yes. The Kunlun Immortal World is very large. It houses loads of sects, plenty of cultivation resources, and rich spiritual Qi. It is a treasured place for cultivation. Not to mention those at the Elixir Stage, even the old Yuan Yings live there.” Yue Wuwei seemed to be in a good mood, willing to chat with Zhang Han for a little while.
However, after hearing these few pieces of news, Zhang Han made a very close guess about the situation, so he was not interested in it anymore.
When he was free, he would of course go home to accompany his wife and daughter.
“Let’s talk about exchanging for treasures,” Zhang Han shook his head and said.
“Oh? The points are marked here. How else do you want to exchange for them?” Yue Wuwei asked with a smile, as if he had forgotten what Zhang Han had told him when he went upstairs.
He was not in a hurry. He had time to kill.
So he said unhurriedly, “Last time, it was your grandfather, Zhang Mu, who came in. He didn’t have enough points, but he exchanged some other things for a treasure worth 40,000 points. As you can see, there are countless fifth-stage spirit treasures here. Half of them were brought here by me from the Kunlun Immortal World, and the other half was what I looted from all kinds of ruins in the past century. I have to say that the relics of this world are really special. If the Kunlun Immortal World had opened frequently, the martial arts world wouldn’t have got a share of these treasures at all.”
Zhang Han then spoke his mind. “I have more than 20,000 points, and I want to exchange for a fifth-stage spirit treasure—the serene world stone. As for the thing I’m talking about, I’ll exchange it for another fifth-stage spirit treasure—the thunder yang gra.s.s.”
“You want to trade for the thunder yang gra.s.s? How ambitious!” Yue Wuwei’s face suddenly paled a little. “If I’m not satisfied with what you offer, you may not be able to take away any of the spirit treasures. And you know too much. If you die here, don’t blame me for not reminding you.”
“It’s not that I know too much, but that you don’t know enough,” Zhang Han replied flatly.
“Really? Aren’t you afraid of me? You are just at the Foundation Stage. You have no chance against me.” Yue Wuwei cracked a smile again, but what he was thinking was concealed.
“Will you kill me?”
The simple question made Yue Wuwei speechless.
After a good 10 seconds of silence, Yue Wuwei shook his head with a smile. “Boy, you’re interesting.”
He also knew that in the past 100 years, only the Heavenly Treasure School and the No Action Immortal were in the legend. For such a long time, he had only opened the Heavenly Treasure School once every few years. It could be seen that he was not a murderous, domineering, or unreasonable person. He was just a cultivator who liked to look for treasures and took world-traveling as his hobby. Zhang Han had seen many people like him.
“Whether it’s for the sake of that guy named Zhang Mu or your father, Zhang Guangyou, or for other issues, you are safe here. But if you’re fooling around, I will deduct your points. As for the term you proposed, I accept it. As long as the result is satisfying, the serene world stone and thunder yang gra.s.s are all yours. Anyway, how did you spot the flaws of my puppets that I haven’t solved for decades?”
Yue Wuwei voiced his doubts.
“You have white-robed, black-robed, azure-robed, and finally violet-robed puppets. Of these four types of puppets, the white-robed and azure-robed puppets were the first batch you refined. Am I right?”
Hearing Zhang Han’s words, Yue Wuwei narrowed his eyes and nodded. “Yes!”
“The black-robed puppet is the second batch you refined. The purple-robed puppet is the third batch and also the most well-developed batch, right?”
“Yes.”
“The white-robed puppet is devised to be the main force in a battle, so its materials have been refined layer by layer and eventually formed into a solid body. It has the automatic recovery ability, but every activation requires you to spare some mind to control it, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“The material used to refine the green-robed puppet is close to the soul sense. It does not possess a very good fighting ability, yet it allows you to personally search for some high-grade spirit treasures…”
Before Zhang Han could ask, Yue Wuwei quietly replied, “Yes!”
“As to the black-robed puppet, it was developed after you discovered the method of refining puppets. It requires one’s soul. Hence, you fetched a Yin soul to merge with the puppet. Eventually, you gained the ability to maintain the puppet’s operations at the cost of crystal stones…”
“You’re right!”
“The purple-robed puppet was made with a more precise method you later found. First, you refined the soul into an unconscious hazy shape. Then, you refined the puppet. At the third step, you merged the two and created a puppet with the ability to move by itself.”
“That’s right!”
After saying that, Yue Wuwei wiped the sweat off from his forehead without realizing it.
He was very uneasy because the secret processes of him making puppets had been recounted by another man.
“How did he know all this?”
Yue Wuwei suddenly realized that Zhang Han was not as simple as he had thought!
“So, give me the serene world stone and thunder yang gra.s.s first,” Zhang Han said and reached out his right hand to Yue Wuwei.
He looked like he was asking for his debt.
“Oh, okay.”
Yue Wuwei was a little dumbstruck after the talk and subconsciously took out the two kinds of treasures.
“Hold on!”
Just as Yue Wuwei took the treasures out, he froze for a moment and looked at Zhang Han warily.
“Are you trying to play tricks? Why do you want the spirit treasures before you offer me the solution?”
“I’m afraid that you’re so cunning that you won’t admit what you have promised. I can’t do anything to you given your strong strength. So, hand me the treasures first. I’m right here. You can take the treasures back if my solution doesn’t work,” Zhang Han insisted without taking back his hand.
At that remark, Yue Wuwei looked Zhang Han up and down. Finally, he gave a snort and put the two spirit treasures in front of Zhang Han.
“Swoos.h.!.+”
After summoning them into the s.p.a.ce Ring, Zhang Han smiled and said, “You’re on the right track, but your method is wrong. It calls for some secret techniques to refine the soul into an unconscious hazy state. Most of these secret techniques are only known to the specialized cultivators. What level is your strength at? Tell me and I’ll teach you the secret techniques at once.”
Upon hearing this remark, Yue Wuwei was silent for two seconds, and then uttered, “Half a step away from the Elixir Stage.”
After saying that, he cast a solitary look at the sidewall. On the wall displayed a ton of treasures, and there was a transcendent aura rising from him.
In fact, he was also looking at Zhang Han out of the corner of his eye.
He wanted to see his stunned expression.
“Or in the next second, he’ll be full of respect and call me ‘mighty senior’, won’t he?”
Just as the thought came to Yue Wuwei’s mind—
“Oh.”
A calm voice came out. “There is a secret technique that you happen to be able to perform, though with efforts.”
“This technique is a way to refine objects with the Fire of the True Spirit. The so-called Fire of the True Spirit is a secret technique that should be cast with 30% of spiritual force and 70% soul sense. In the refining process, there are three stages. I’ll teach you this secret technique first…”
“What the h.e.l.l?
“I, Yue Wuwei, am a cultivator half a step away from the Elixir Stage. What are you doing here?
“Don’t you know how to respect your senior?”
Yue Wuwei really wanted to scold Zhang Han for having no manners.
However, when Zhang Han went straight to the secret method, it immediately intrigued Yue Wuwei. He repelled other thoughts and listened carefully.
While listening to Zhang Han’s instructions, he began to perform the secret method.
“Wait, wait, how should I cast the soul sense route?”
“Why does the spiritual force have to pa.s.s one more meridian and form an array inside me?”
“Slow down a bit. I didn’t understand this tricky point. What’s this?”
After a total of one and a half hours’ lecture, Yue Wuwei cast the secret method for the first time. The Fire of the True Spirit was earth-yellow, and it burnt for two seconds before it was extinguished with a rustling sound.
Then, he tried the second time, the third time, the fourth time…
Every practice was coupled with many questions from Yue Wuwei.
But every time, Zhang Han also criticized him in a helpless tone.
“I’ve explained this issue twice. Why did you still not take heed of it?
“Every time you were about to finish, you relaxed your mind. Can’t you stabilize your Divine Realm?
“You are half a step away from the Elixir Stage. But how could you make such a stupid mistake?”
As the lecture went on, Zhang Han started to feel as if he was pa.s.sing the ninth-stage tribulation. His tone was sometimes fierce and sometimes helpless. For once or twice, he even reprimanded his student.
Yue Wuwei had big drops of perspiration all over his forehead. It seemed that he had forgotten that he, a cultivator who was half a step away from the Elixir Stage, was dealing with a person who hadn’t reached the Innateness Stage yet.
“Sorry, it’s a bit difficult here. I have to familiarize myself with it.
“Oh, I forgot that problem we discussed just now. I feel a little awkward to use this secret method.
“I’ll adjust my mentality. I know. This time, I’ll pay attention to it and try my best to succeed!”
Finally, after another hour and a half, Yue Wuwei successfully displayed the Fire of True Spirit, and that made him overjoyed.
“Hahaha, I made it! The Fire of the True Spirit! I can feel its aggressiveness. It turns out that I’ve got this point wrong before!”
While immersed in happiness, he suddenly thought of something.
His face froze.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Yue Wuwei coughed lightly, looking calm, and again put on airs as if he was a senior.
“Well, this secret method is very good. It’s worth it.”
The thunder yang gra.s.s was worth more than 40,000 points. But Yue Wuwei felt that it was a bargain!
Although he felt very happy and reckoned that it was a very nice deal, his expression was very calm. Well, he was trying to put on a poker face.
Because he was afraid that Zhang Han would ask for more spirit treasures.
At his words, Zhang Han nodded.
“If nothing else, I’ll hit the road.”
He was always that efficient. With that, Zhang Han turned and made his way to the staircase, leaving Yue Wuwei, whose corner of his mouth was twitching, behind.
At the staircase, Zhang Han suddenly stopped, looked back, and said, “By the way, Chief Yue, I also know a method that may come in handy for you when you break through to the Elixir Stage. You can use it to refine higher-level puppets. This secret method is relatively high-end. Do you want to make a deal with me?”
“Hiss!”
Yue Wuwei’s face hardened. After two seconds of silence, he asked, “How much is it?”
“Four spirit treasures here.”
“No, no.” Yue Wuwei shook his head repeatedly. “I think the current secret method is good enough. No need.”
At his reaction, Zhang Han shook his head and smiled. Then he turned around and walked downstairs.
“Interesting.”
Yue Wuwei gazed at the staircase and said emotionally, “This boy is much more terrifying than Zhang Mu. He will definitely become somebody in the future. He even makes me start to doubt if he has been possessed by a certain old monster? Even if it’s not that case, he must have also obtained a great opportunity. He’s even grasped such a secret method. Scary. That’s scary.”
Zhang Han went down the stairs. The sixth floor was already empty.
The five men must have exchanged for treasures and left a long time ago.
When he pa.s.sed through the treasure area and arrived at the fifth floor, there weren’t many people either. Only less than 10 people were still on this floor examining treasures.
When they spotted Zhang Han, their expressions changed slightly.
Seeing this, Zhang Han knew that they must have heard about the news of him going up to the seventh floor without racking his brains.
Sure enough, when Zhang Han came to the fourth floor, there were already a lot of people there. As soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard a lot of murmurs.
“This is the second time someone has gone up to the seventh floor of the Heavenly Treasure School.”
“Merciless Zhang deserves his reputation. I just don’t know what kind of treasure he will exchange for. It’s the seventh floor of the Heavenly Treasure School. I’m wondering what’s on that floor!”
While other people were talking about it, Lei Tiannan and his men were also discussing it in a low voice.
All of them were a little confused about this matter. Since they didn’t have enough points to go up, they had been under the impression that Zhang Han was only on the sixth floor. But to their huge surprise, he turned out to have gone up to the seventh floor.
Last time, it was Zhang Shenw.a.n.g who broke the record. This time, it was Zhang Han. Had all the record-breaking events of the past century been reserved by the Heavenly Knights Sect?
“Master!”
Zhao Feng was the first one who saw Zhang Han.
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoos.h.!.+”
Then, the others also noticed him. When they saw the man of the moment come down, the entire hall became so quiet that even the sound of a needle falling could be heard.
Everyone was staring at Zhang Han. They would not be shocked by the divine objects someone else had traded for. But a man going up to the seventh floor could hold them in amazement for a long time.
After all, it was something that even the heads of many large sects in the worldlet hadn’t accomplished yet!