Four Extremes Expert

"This fellow daoist, I want one mid-grade Blood Origin Pill, mid-grade Blood Origin Pill."

"Low-grade Blood Origin Pill, low-grade Blood Origin Pill, don't push, don't push, it should be my turn."

"Fellow daoist, fellow daoist, mind your manners, it should be my turn instead."

Outside the Three Purities Dao Palace, a crowd of cultivators formed a long line in front of Yan Kuan, each one eagerly pulling out dao scriptures and other resources to exchange with him for Blood Origin Pills.

Pills and elixirs had always been priceless on the market, and once the Blood Origin Pill proved effective, it naturally drove everyone to scramble, afraid of missing this opportunity.

Most cultivators didn't lack techniques, and those who could come to set up stalls outside the Three Purities Dao Palace had some strength to speak of. Faced with such a rare resource as pills, the majority were unwilling to let it slip by.

Yan Kuan sat steady as a fisherman on a rock, unflustered, calmly selecting the various dao scriptures and treasures he needed. In truth, aside from a bumper harvest of dao scriptures, he hadn't received many other good items.

Medicinal herbs were needed by everyone, and divine abilities and secret arts were far more valuable than ordinary Wheel Sea Realm techniques. As for some ancient artifacts, there were unexpected gains in that area—at least the fragments of ancient tools from a hundred years ago were mostly refined by cultivators above the Dao Palace Realm.

If not for the inappropriate setting, Yan Kuan would have been tempted to activate the Reincarnation Ability of the Empyrean Flame to reap a wave of gains.

The lively scene outside the Three Purities Dao Palace soon attracted truly major figures. Before long, the middle-aged daoist who had first traded with Yan Kuan brought over an old daoist of remarkable bearing.

"Greetings, fellow daoist. This old man is Zhang Lingyun of Tianshi Manor."

The old daoist politely made a hand gesture to Yan Kuan, who recognized him at once as one of the few seated at the very front of the Three Purities Dao Palace earlier—a Four Extremities Realm elder of Tianshi Manor. This was a true powerhouse in the current cultivation world, and Yan Kuan naturally dared not be negligent.

"Greetings, Senior Lingyun."

Yan Kuan rose slightly to return a brief bow before sitting back down, then pointed at the three bottles of top-grade Blood Origin Pills that had yet to be traded. "Senior, have you come for these pills?"

Though Yan Kuan phrased it as a question, his tone carried certainty. Zhang Lingyun had been led here by the middle-aged daoist from before, and the first thought for anyone would naturally be that he came for the pills.

"Correct. I heard from my disciple Qingyun that your divine pill has extraordinary effects. I wonder if I might examine one? Please take a look at this dao scripture."

Zhang Lingyun nodded and placed a dao scripture before Yan Kuan, who drew it into his palm with a wave of his hand and carefully flipped through it.

"Senior, I accept this dao scripture."

Yan Kuan didn't remain silent for long. After the surrounding crowd held their breath for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, he slowly nodded and pushed a porcelain bottle containing a top-grade Blood Origin Pill toward Zhang Lingyun.

"Thank you."

Zhang Lingyun took the bottle, pulled out the stopper, and carefully extracted a round, glossy spirit pill. The rich fragrance of a third-grade pill was potent and extraordinary; even a Four Extremities Realm expert could benefit from such a grade. As an elder of Tianshi Manor, Zhang Lingyun naturally knew quality when he saw it.

"Fellow daoist, the refining technique of this divine pill is unique to your own school. This old man's eyes are too dull to recognize it."

Zhang Lingyun scraped off a bit of the powder, flicked it into his mouth, and savored it for a moment before his spirits lifted. He then handed Yan Kuan a jade box. "This old man learned from Qingyun that he acted rashly earlier. These two Purple Spirit Mushrooms are both my trade and my apology."

Yan Kuan opened the jade box to find two purple spirit mushrooms, one large and one small. The moment the box was opened, a wave of medicinal fragrance hit his nose. Without much scrutiny, he could tell these were rare spiritual herbs in the Ancestral Star's cultivation world.

Spiritual herbs differed from ordinary medicinal herbs; their growth required nourishment from spiritual energy. In eras or regions with relatively abundant spiritual energy, like the Big Dipper cultivation world or the Kunlun Forbidden Zone, spiritual herbs were not uncommon.

But on the current Ancestral Star, with the overall environment depleted of spiritual energy, most high-year herbs outside had degraded from spiritual or precious herbs into mundane aged herbs. Though their effects remained, they lacked that spiritual essence, making it hard for cultivators to absorb their properties.

Nowadays, any spiritual herb appearing in the outside world was almost certainly a treasure cultivated within the spiritual grounds of major sects and powers, with only core disciples and major figures having quotas to use them. As an elder of Tianshi Manor, Zhang Lingyun naturally had that qualification.

"Thank you, Senior."

Yan Kuan didn't stand on ceremony or refuse; he decisively accepted the two Purple Spirit Mushrooms. Zhang Lingyun made another hand gesture with a smile and put away the porcelain bottle. Though the two exchanged few words, a debt of goodwill had been established.

"Heh heh! Old Zhang, you sly old fox, you've got good stuff and didn't call us."

A laughing, aged voice came from the direction of the Three Purities Dao Palace. Two old daoists in different robes appeared behind Zhang Lingyun, their gazes locking onto the porcelain bottle in his hand the moment they arrived.

"You two came quickly. There are still two spirit pills left. I assume I don't need to explain the rules..."

Zhang Lingyun nodded to Yan Kuan and then greeted the two. From their conversation, Yan Kuan learned that these were elders of the Lingbao Sect and the Shangqing Sect, both Four Extremities Realm cultivators.

"Greetings, seniors."

Yan Kuan gave a slight bow to the ones before him. The two later-arriving old daoists returned the gesture and followed Yan Kuan's established exchange rules in an orderly manner. Within moments, he had added two more dao scriptures and spiritual herbs to his tally.

"Fellow daoist, you should still have some of those top-grade Blood Origin Pills, shouldn't you? This old woman would like to exchange for one."

At that moment, another aged voice rang out. The three old daoists' expressions shifted slightly, and the crowd immediately parted to make way.

Yan Kuan's gaze sharpened. In his field of view appeared an elderly man and woman. The man supported the woman, who leaned on a cane, walking with visible difficulty and seeming somewhat awkward. Yet the surrounding cultivators all dared not speak loudly.

"Senior of the Dragon Finch Clan, my three top-grade Blood Origin Pills have already been traded away. I truly have none left. If you are interested, these others are still available for trade."

Yan Kuan recognized the origins of these two elders at a glance. They appeared like an elderly couple supporting each other, but in truth, they were likely elder and junior. The old woman was older than anyone present, a Four Extremities Realm cultivator, while the old man was at the Dao Palace Realm.

Most crucially, they came from the Dragon Finch Clan. Yan Kuan had memorized the aura of that clan back when he was in Jiujiang, so he could recognize them at a glance.

"Forget it, forget it. It seems this old woman's fate is poor. This bottle of Vermillion Phoenix Blood won't be traded away after all."

The trembling old woman suddenly produced a jade bottle. The blazing red light and intense energy fluctuations startled everyone, and Yan Kuan's eyes narrowed sharply.