Chapter 788: Unexpected Deal

After drawing three pieces of Purple Sun Warm Jade into his hand, Han Li carefully placed them over Weeping Soul's forehead, heart, and lower abdomen in accordance with the method taught to him by Shi Chuankong.

The purple light emanating from the three crystals instantly brightened slightly, only to then return to normal again.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he sat down onto the ground with his legs crossed to observe Weeping Soul.

Several minutes passed by with neither the pieces of Purple Sun Warm Jade nor Weeping Soul displaying any changes, and Han Li's expression darkened slightly upon seeing this.

Even though this Purple Sun Warm Jade was only of the low-grade variety, he had thought that it would have some positive effect on Weeping Soul, even if it couldn't completely cure her condition.

Having said that, he was already prepared for such an outcome, and he immediately rose to his feet before setting up a hexagonal array that was around ten feet in size on the ground.

At the center of the array was a circular area, while there were sixteen slots littered throughout the array.

Han Li swept his gaze over his surroundings to ensure that the array had been set up correctly, then swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a burst of azure light that picked up Weeping Soul's body before gently setting her down at the center of the array.

After that, he placed sixteen pieces of Purple Sun Warm Jade into the slots in the array before casting an incantation seal into the center of the array.

The hexagonal array immediately lit up, as did the sixteen pieces of Purple Sun Warm Jade, which released bursts of purple light that flowed along the lines of the array before converging around Weeping Soul's body.

A layer of purple light instantly appeared around her, and her aura was immediately stabilized, while her rate of essential energy dissipation was slowed down significantly, but wasn't stopped altogether.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this.

The energy contained in Purple Sun Warm Jade was very special and difficult to harness. This array appeared to be quite simple, but it was actually extremely profound, and it was one that he had created after painstakingly altering a spiritual energy gathering array. Through the use of the array, he was able to elevate the low-grade Purple Sun Warm Jade placed within them to around the mid-grade level, but it appeared that this still wasn't enough.

This meant that if he wanted to enhance the effect that the array had on Weeping Soul, he would have to replace all of the low-grade Purple Sun Warm Jade in the array with mid-grade Purple Sun Warm Jade, something that was completely beyond his means at the moment.

With that in mind, Han Li could only heave a long sigh.

It seemed that his only hope right now was to accompany Shi Chuankong to Night Sun City and seek out that grand priest.

Thankfully, Weeping Soul's rate of essential energy dissipation had already slowed down significantly, and that should be enough for her to last until they reached Night Sun City.

However, he only had just over two hundred pieces of low-grade Purple Sun Warm Jade, and he didn't know how long that was going to last, so he would have to purchase some more.

"I promise that I'll save you, Weeping Soul," Han Li vowed in a solemn manner, then left the Flower Branch space to return to his room.

An uneventful night passed by, the next morning, Han Li and Shi Chuankong paid for their rooms before leaving the inn.

"Seeing as we're only going to stay here for one more day, we don't have much time, so I think we should split up. What do you think, Fellow Daoist Shi?" Han Li suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea. That way, we'll be able to visit more shops, but make sure to be on your guard and maintain constant contact," Shi Chuankong replied.

"Of course. Also, low-grade Purple Sun Warm Jade may not be worth much to you, but they're very useful to me, so if you happen to find any, please purchase it for me, and I'll compensate you after the event," Han Li said.

"There's no need for you to compensate me. If it wasn't for Fellow Daoist Weeping Soul, I would've perished back in the infernal prison in Asura City. Seeing as this Purple Sun Warm Jade is for her, it's the least I can do to repay her for saving my life," Shi Chuankong said.

"You have my thanks," Han Li said.

The two of them emerged from the inn, and Lu Xie was already waiting for them by the entrance with a wide smile on his face.

"You can take Lu Xie's carriage, Fellow Daoist Li. I'll go hail another one," Shi Chuankong said before turning to depart.

Lu Xie turned to Han Li with an inquisitive look upon seeing this, and Han Li waved a dismissive hand as he explained, "Don't mind him, he has some other matters to attend to. Keep taking me to the shops in the city."

Lu Xie asked no further questions and did as he was told.

......

Half a day flew by in a flash.

With Lu Xie acting as his guide, Han Li visited five or six more shops, but progress was much slower than it had been the day before, and he had only managed to purchase fewer than a hundred pieces of low-grade Purple Sun Warm Jade.

He emerged from a shop with tightly furrowed brows, then beckoned to Lu Xie, instructing him to move onto the next shop.

Lu Xie approached him with an uneasy expression, holding a black voice transmission talisman in his hand, then said, "Senior Li, someone approached me not long after you entered that shop and asked me to pass this onto you."

Han Li raised an eyebrow as he accepted the talisman before injecting his spiritual sense into it, following which his pupils instantly contracted slightly.

"Where's the person that gave you this talisman?" he immediately asked as he scoured his surroundings, but didn't spot anyone worthy of note.

Lu Xie became even more uneasy at the sight of Han Li's reaction, and he hurriedly replied, "He immediately left after giving me this voice transmission talisman, and he told me that if you want to meet him, then you can go to the Plum Forest Teahouse up ahead."

"It's alright, there's no need for you to feel anxious. Take me to the Plum Forest Teahouse," Han Li instructed.

Lu Xie did as he was told, while Han Li sat in the carriage, looking at the voice transmission talisman in his hand with a contemplative expression.

The talisman contained a very concise message: "I have information pertaining to Purple Sun Warm Jade."

A short while later, a resolute look appeared in his eyes as he stowed the talisman away, then summoned a purple jade plate and spoke into it briefly before stowing it away as well.

Before long, the carriage arrived in front of a teahouse.

"Wait for me outside," Han Li instructed before making his way into the teahouse.

Business appeared to be quite slow, and there were only four or five customers inside the teahouse.

Han Li was approached by a waiter, but he paid no heed to the waiter as he cast his gaze toward the customers in the teahouse.

Right at this moment, a black-robed young man rose to his feet before giving Han Li a nod.

"Thank you for coming, Fellow Daoist. Please come with me to the second floor where we'll have a bit more privacy," the black-robed young man said through voice transmission, then turned and began to make his way up the stairs.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li followed along, and the two of them entered a booth before sitting down.

"Were you the one who left this voice transmission talisman for me?" Han Li asked as he fished out the black talisman.

"That's right. My name is Hei Lang. This is quite an important matter, and that's why I employed such a roundabout method to invite you to come and see me," the black-robed young man replied as he swept a sleeve through the air, releasing several small black flags that released a black light barrier to encompass the entire booth.

Through this gesture, Han Li was immediately able to determine that Hei Lang was a True Immortal cultivator. On top of that, he was from the devil race, just like Shi Chuankong.

Han Li wasn't all that surprised by this. During his time in the city, he had seen quite a few devilish beings, and there were even some mortal devilish beings among them.

According to Shi Chuankong, the devil race and the demon beasts in the Ten Hazards Mountain Range were sworn enemies, but Black Weasel City was a safe haven where all beings could coexist in harmony.

As a result, Black Weasel City was a massive melting pot of beings of all descriptions, and it was clear that this was exactly what the Black Weasel King wanted.

"It's fine. Do you truly have information on Purple Sun Warm Jade?" Han Li asked in a direct and straightforward manner.

"Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn't have invited you here," Hei Lang replied with a smile.

A hint of elation welled up in Han Li's heart upon hearing this, but his expression remained completely unchanged as he asked, "How much Purple Sun Warm Jade do you have? If it's only a small quantity, then I'm not interested."

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist, my Purple Sun Warm Jade will definitely be of satisfactory quantity and quality to you. Here's a list of my stock. If you're interested, then we can discuss this matter further," Hei Lang replied as he pulled out a jade slip before handing it to Han Li.

Han Li took a meaningful glance at Hei Lang, then accepted the jade slip before injecting his spiritual sense into it, following which a surprised look immediately appeared on his face.

Sure enough, the jade slip contained an extensive catalog of Purple Sun Warm Jade, consisting of over five hundred of the low-grade variety, forty to fifty of the mid-grade variety, and even two pieces of high-grade Purple Sun Warm Jade.

"According to my knowledge, Purple Sun Warm Jade is extremely rare, and even the best shops in the city can only supply the low-grade variety. Do you really have so much Purple Sun Warm Jade to offer?" Han Li asked.

"I'm not someone with so little to do with my time that I would go around pranking people over such matters. Rest assured, you have my word," Hei Lang replied in a confident manner.

"Alright, in that case, how much are you planning to charge for your Purple Sun Warm Jade?" Han Li asked.

Hei Lang considered the question momentarily before stating a price.

Much to Han Li's surprise, the price that he had stated was not steep at all. In fact, it was even a little cheaper than the market price.

It seemed that there were some hidden circumstances involved. For example, perhaps Hei Lang had obtained his Purple Sun Warm Jade through illegitimate means, thereby making it difficult for him to sell them, and that could perhaps be why he was willing to offer such low prices.

Having said that, none of that mattered to Han Li. If he could go through with this deal, then he would immediately leave Black Weasel City after obtaining the Purple Sun Warm Jade, so the aftermath hardly mattered.

"Alright, I'll take everything you have. Do you have the Purple Sun Warm Jade with you right now? If so, then I'm willing to complete the transaction now," Han Li said.

"Before we discuss that, there's something else that I have to tell you," Hei Lang said.

Sure enough, there was a twist in the tale, and Han Li prompted, "Go ahead."