Around a month later, a collection of scaled beings with horns on their heads were walking along the streets of an ordinary-looking small town.
There were also some other beings with extremely powerful auras in the town, and all of them had disguised their appearances through various as they visited the shops on the main street in the eastern part of the town.
"What? 10 tones of Wind Essence Metal?" Inside a dimly lit shop, a middle-aged shopkeeper with a short purple horn on his head was staring at the customer before him with an astonished expression.
Recently, there had been a sharp spike in the number of large sales being made in his shop, but he was still stunned by such a massive order.
The customer standing in front of the shopkeeper was enshrouded within a layer of azure light that completely concealed his appearance, and he said, "Do you not have that much stock? I've heard that the shops on the True Dragon Island are renowned for their ability to supply Wind Essence Metal; surely this isn't too much to ask."
"If you had come around half a month earlier, we would've been able to satisfy your order, but at the moment, we only have around four tons of stock; all of the rest have been purchased by several other seniors half a month ago," the shopkeeper replied in a respectful manner.
It was clear that all of the people making such large orders were powerful beings from outside the True Dragon Island, and he was only a mid-grade being with some true dragon bloodline in his body, so he naturally didn't dare to display any disrespect toward these esteemed customers.
"Alright, I'll take the four tons you have left then," the customer said after a brief hesitation, then swept a sleeve through the air to release a storage bracelet.
The shopkeeper caught the bracelet before quickly examining its contents, then immediately replied, "Please wait for a moment while I get someone to bring the materials to us."
Immediately thereafter, he pulled out a disk and spoke briefly into it.
A short while later, a small hidden formation in a room behind the shop flashed, and a young dragon emerged.
He quickly made his way into the shop, then pulled out three identical azure storage bracelets that he handed to the shopkeeper.
"Please examine to see if that's the right amount," the shopkeeper said as he offered the storage bracelets to the customer with both hands.
"There's no need for that; I trust in the reputation of your race," the customer said as he accepted the three storage bracelets, then immediately departed without examining their contents, leaving the two dragons to stare at one another in the shop.
"I can't believe he didn't even bother to examine such a large quantity of Wind Essence Metal," the young dragon said.
"You don't know anything! That man was granted entry to the island, so he must be somehow related to the esteemed true dragons on the island. Besides, a powerful being of his caliber doesn't have to worry about being swindled by a shop like ours. Otherwise, he can report us to the overseers on the island, and we'll be in a world of trouble," the shopkeeper said with a roll of his eyes.
An enlightened look appeared on the young dragon's face upon hearing this.
Meanwhile, a streak of azure light descended on a mountain outside the small town, then faded to reveal none other than Han Li.
He brought out the three storage bracelets again and briefly examined their contents, upon which a pleased look appeared on his face, and he flew away toward another direction.
Three months later, a streak of azure light descended into an ordinary-looking valley in a crimson mountain range.
At the center of the valley was an open platform, atop which sat five men and women in different attire, consisting of a little girl who appeared to only be around seven or eight years of age, a green-skinned elderly man, a couple who seemed to be in their thirties, and an imposing man with countless silver patterns etched all over his body.
The streak of azure light landed right at the center of the platform, and Han Li appeared before taking a glance at the other people present, then sat down with his legs crossed not far away from the little girl.
The others weren't surprised by Han Li's arrival, and all of them continued to sit in silence.
A short while later, another streak of five-colored light shot forth from the distance, then arrived in the air above the valley to reveal a beautiful woman in a colorful dress.
The woman descended onto the platform and inspected her surroundings with a cold expression before taking a seat in an unoccupied corner.
The green-skinned elderly man rose to his feet upon seeing this, and said, "There are enough people present; let's begin the exchanges. If no one has any objections, then I'll go first."
"Go ahead, Fellow Daoist, the sequence doesn't matter in exchanges like this."
No one had any objections, so the elderly swept a sleeve through the air, and a rectangular stone table that was of a glowing white color emerged at the center of the platform at his behest.
Immediately thereafter, he flipped a hand over, and around a dozen treasures appeared on the table amid a flash of spiritual light.
Han Li immediately focused his gaze on the treasures to find that several of them were stored in jade and wooden boxes, while the rest were all extremely rare treasures in the Spirit Realm, and there were a few that he couldn't even recognize.
"I'm looking for Myriad Year Yin Marrow, Xuanyuan Wood, Nine Spirit Emerald, and of course, if you have any incomplete Profound Heavenly Treasures, I would be very much interested as well," the elderly man said as he pointed a finger at the wooden and jade boxes, upon which their lids were removed one after another.
Everyone else quickly examined the items on the table, but no one was quick to say anything.
After waiting for a while, an impatient look appeared on the elderly man's face, and he said, "Is no one interested in the items I've brought out? In that case, I'll stow them away and let the next fellow daoist present their treasures."
"Hold on, Fellow Daoist. I have a piece of Xuanyuan Wood here; take a look and see if it's to your liking," the little girl said in an extremely tender voice, then raised a hand to release a black object.
An elated look appeared on the elderly man's face as he drew the item into his own grasp, but after a brief inspection, a hint of disappointment appeared on his face.
"This piece of Xuanyuan Wood is a little small and not quite old enough. What would you like in exchange for it?" the elderly man asked after a brief moment of contemplation.
"I would like a High Zenith Pill in exchange," the little girl replied as she pointed at one of the jade boxes on the table.
"Alright, a High Zenith Pills is roughly equivalent in value, so I can agree to that," the elderly man replied without any hesitation.
Thus, a golden pill rose up out of the jade box at the little girl's behest before flying into her grasp.
She then stowed the pill away and sat back down.
After that, the man from the middle-aged couple said, "I'm interested in that jade slip; would you be willing to exchange it for a vial of Contaminant Yin Liquid that's similar to Myriad Year Yin Marrow?"
The elderly man considered this for a moment before nodding in response.
After that, a series of exchanges took place, and most of the items on the table were successfully traded; Han Li had also exchanged for a material that was neither metallic nor stone in nature.
After ensuring that no one else wanted to make further exchanges, the elderly man stowed away the remaining items on the table with a pleased expression.
"Who would like to go next?" someone asked.
"If it's alright with everyone else, I'll go next," Han Li said as he rose to his feet with a faint smile.
……
Four months later, close to 100 golden-armored guards were patrolling the area near a giant golden ark above a huge lake.
Within a lavish hall on the top floor of the ark, Han Li and a golden-robed elderly man were seated across from one another.
Behind the elderly man was none other than Fan Paozi, the man who had invited Han Li to the True Dragon Island in the first place.
The golden-robed man had a pair of purple horns that were similar to Fan Paozi's, and he gave off an imposing air of authority. "So you insist on seeing what I have to offer before you decide whether you want to trade your True Soul Pill."
"That's right, Elder Jin. During these past few months, I've traveled across most of the True Dragon Island and exchanged for many precious materials from other fellow daoists. However, I haven't seen anything that can compare with a True Soul Pill. As such, I'm very interested to see what you can offer," Han Li replied in a calm manner.
This golden-robed man was none other than Grand Elder Jin of the True Dragon Race.
Rather than being displeased by this request, Elder Jin merely smiled, and said, "Hehe, that's very much understandable. In reality, this True Soul Pill isn't very useful to our True Dragon Race; I'm preparing to give it to an old friend of mine to repay a favor that I owe him. As for what I'm offering in exchange, I'm sure you'll be pleased to see it. Fan Paozi, bring out what I've prepared."
