Han Li wasn't the only one to experience this; after their initial alarm, all of the other cultivators present also discovered the changes in their magic power.
For Body Integration cultivators, this improvement was very minor and only equated to around several months of arduous cultivation at most. In contrast, Spatial Tempering cultivators received a much more significant boost in magic power that was the equivalent of over 10 years of arduous cultivation, which was naturally fantastic news for them.
All of the Body Integration cultivators were quite bewildered by this occurrence, and they immediately turned to appraise the giant black bell with intense unblinking eyes. Expressions like greed and ecstasy flashed over their faces, and it was as if they would like nothing better than to rush onto the platform and grab the treasure for themselves.
Just the chime of this bell alone could enhance one's cultivation base; how astonishing was that?
Using the treasure seemed to have caused significant backlash that left the green-skinned man a shell of his former self, but even so, this was definitely a supreme treasure that defied the natural order!
Could this be a legendary Profound Heavenly Treasure?
Han Li also had the same suspicion as he appraised the black bell in an astonished manner. Unfortunately, spiritual sense was greatly restricted here in the Black Realm, thereby preventing him from assessing the black bell in the distance with his spiritual sense. Otherwise, the fact that he owned the Profound Heavenly Fruit would make him more able than others to determine whether this was indeed a Profound Heavenly Treasure.
At this moment, the frail old man on the platform suddenly placed the purple club in his hands down onto the black stone table before him in a respectful manner. Spiritual light then flashed from beneath his feet, and he instantly vanished on the spot.
In the next instant, he was replaced by another humanoid figure, who appeared on the other side of the bell.
This humanoid figure wore a set of silver brocade robes and a golden wyrm-head mask. His eyes were of a bright green color, and he didn't seem to be a human, either.
His emergence on the platform naturally instantly drew everyone's attention, and he looked around briefly at all of the surrounding hovering pavilions before speaking. "Hehe, I'm sure all of you have just experienced the miraculous power of this Heavenmatch Bell. That bell chime was a small gift from our Black Realm to all of you. This Heavenmatch Bell is one of the most precious treasures we have to offer during this convention, and we're bringing it out as the first item for exchange to liven up the atmosphere. I'm sure this treasure won't disappoint the lucky fellow Daoist who manages to secure it."
"What? This treasure really is being offered for exchange?" Even though most people had already guessed this to be the case, it still came as a shock to some after receiving verbal confirmation from the golden-masked figure.
"As long as you can offer a treasure that I'm satisfied with, why wouldn't I exchange this Heavenmatch Bell?" the golden-masked figure chuckled.
"That's rather strange. I've attended this Black Realm Exchange Convention on many past occasions, and the treasures that have been offered for exchange are certainly nowhere near mundane, but very few treasures of this caliber have appeared, and never has one been brought out as the first exchange item. Could it be that your Black Realm is also preparing for the upcoming tribulation?" An elderly voice rang out, reverberating throughout the entire hall, thereby making it impossible to deduce exactly which stone pavilion it had originated from.
Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this. The tribulation that was being referred to here had to be the upcoming devilish tribulation. It was quite clear that all of the convention-goers present were aware of the devilish tribulation.
Thus, no one was surprised by the question that was being asked, and everyone turned to appraise the golden-masked figure, awaiting his answer.
"Indeed, Fellow Daoist. The devilish tribulation will befall both the human and demon races, and as a part of the two races, our Black Realm certainly isn't exempt from this, so it would only be normal for us to make some preparations in advance. However, I have to correct you on one thing; this Heavenmatch Bell is indeed quite an extraordinary treasure, but not as extraordinary as you think, and it possesses some flaws. Compared to the treasures brought out in the past Black Realm Exchange Conventions, it actually is inferior to a few of them," the golden-masked figure said with a smile.
"Flaws? Can you elaborate on that, Fellow Daoist? Is this not a Profound Heavenly Treasure?" A cold voice rang out from another stone pavilion, and it was clearly tinged with a hint of disappointment.
"Profound Heavenly Treasure? Hehe, you think far too highly of our Black Realm, Fellow Daoist; we may be quite powerful, but there's no way we could get our hands on such a treasure. There's no way that even the three sovereigns and seven monarchs, or even the two Grand Ascension cultivators in our two races would possess Profound Heavenly Treasures. Even if such a treasure were to fall into the hands of our two races, it would bring genocidal disaster upon us. Otherwise, why would that united foreign race army have attacked Deep Heaven City several centuries ago?" the golden-masked figure said in a meaningful voice. He was intentionally being slightly ambiguous with his words, but many of the Body Integration cultivators present were clearly aware of what he was referring to.
The golden-masked figure paused momentarily before continuing, "However, seeing as our Black Realm is willing to offer this Heavenmatch Bell for exchange, we naturally have an obligation to disclose this treasure's origins to everyone. In a sense, this treasure has also been imbued with a hint of the laws of heaven and earth, so it does indeed possess some incredible abilities akin to those of Profound Heavenly Treasures. The treasure was discovered within a secret region on the territory of an extinct foreign race, and it was quite damaged when we found it, so it's nowhere near as powerful as it otherwise could be. According to the textual annotations found in that secret region, this treasure should be part of a pair of treasures, which comprised of the most powerful treasures of that extinct race.
"Aside from this Heavenmatch Bell, there's also a Heavenquake Mallet, and the two of them should be used together. Unfortunately, we searched through that entire secret region, but were unable to find that Heavenquake Mallet. As such, we could only commission a tool refinement master to refine a replica Heavenquake Mallet using precious materials such as Deepsea Purple Copper, and the process took a vast amount of time and resources. This replica wasn't exactly a resounding success, and it can only achieve 10% of the effect that the original treasure would be capable of at most. As for repairing the Heavenmatch Bell, that would require extremely special materials that can't be found in this realm, so we could only leave it in its current form.
"Otherwise, if we could have the complete Heavenmatch Bell and the original Heavenquake Mallet to accompany it, the powers of the two treasures wouldn't be inferior by much, even compared to a Profound Heavenly Treasure. Of course, if we had been able to accomplish this, then there's no way that we would be bringing out this treasure as the first item for exchange during this convention."
Right at this moment, an indifferent female voice suddenly rang out. "I don't really care if this is a Profound Heavenly Treasure or not; I just want to know its exact abilities and flaws."
"Of course, I was just getting to that. I'm sure all of you have already experienced this bell's ability to enhance one's magic power. However, this ability is only effective for cultivators at or above the Deity Transformation Stage. A chime of this bell can enhance a Deity Transformation cultivator's magic power by a degree equivalent to 30 years of arduous cultivation, which is reduced to around 10 years for Spatial Tempering cultivators, and for Body Integration Stage fellow Daoists, the effect is quite minimal. However, the bell only works three times for each person. After that, no matter how many chimes of this bell one listens to, it won't do anything for them. On top of that, if the number of people listening to the chime of the bell on a single occasion exceeds a certain threshold, the magic power enhancement effect would be significantly hampered…" As the golden-masked figure continued in his introduction, the scorching looks in everyone's eyes faded significantly.
Most people were shaking their heads and giving up what they perceived as a lost cause.
"Not only that, but not just any cultivator can make this bell chime. A body refinement warrior must be selected, and they must reach a certain level of mastery in a foreign cultivation art that we secured from the same secret region. Due to the fact that this Heavenmatch Bell is damaged, the one who strikes the bell will suffer backlash from the power of laws within this treasure, depleting them of their true essence, and leading to their death not long after the event. Hence, if you want to use this bell, then you have to nurture a group of specialized body refinement warriors who are willing to die for this cause, which may be quite troublesome. However, if it were to be used appropriately, this Heavenmatch Bell can still be quite useful, especially to those who are part of large families or sects." The golden-masked figure finally completed his introduction.
After hearing all of this, Han Li's brows furrowed slightly, and he returned to his seat. It was quite clear that this Heavenmatch Bell wasn't going to be of much use to him.
In contrast, he was rather interested in that foreign body refinement art that the golden-masked man had mentioned.
Like Han Li, many of the other people present had also lost interest in this treasure after hearing this lengthy introduction.
The entire hall was silent for a while before someone finally asked, "What would you like for this treasure? I'm sure normal items wouldn't be able to catch the attention of your Black Realm."
"Hehe, not necessarily. I'll state a few items that I'm willing to exchange this treasure for, and if any of you possess one of those items and are willing to offer it for exchange, this treasure is yours. If none of you possess any of those items, then we're willing to exchange this treasure for top-grade spirit stones or spirit medicines over 1,000 years old, as well, but that will naturally require an unimaginable sum," the golden-masked figure said, and everyone was quite surprised to hear this.
"Are you serious?" The same unknown female cultivator seemed to be very interested in this Heavenmatch Bell, and she was very excited to hear this.
"Of course, I wouldn't make jokes on such an occasion. On top of that, our Black Realm naturally has more items we'd like to offer for exchange than just this Heavenmatch Bell. Here is a list of items that we're searching for in exchange for our treasures." The golden-masked man flipped a hand over as he spoke to reveal a white jade slip.
Immediately thereafter, spiritual light flashed, and a pillar of white light erupted from the jade slip before dispersing into a series of ancient silver characters in mid-air.
These characters depicted the names of over 100 types of items.
"Over three kilograms of Earthyin Crystals; a 30-feet-long section of Snowspirit Wood; Greenblood Fruits that are over 100,000 years old…" Han Li looked at the list of items and was quite stunned by what he saw.
