"Forgive me, Senior. Today is truly unfortunate. There are only three high-grade Blood Origin Pills left. I still have some mid-grade and low-grade ones. If you are interested, we can trade."
Outside the Three Purities Dao Palace, Yan Kuan took a deep look at the Jade Vial in the old woman's hand before slowly withdrawing his gaze. He pointed to the remaining porcelain bottles on his stall and spoke calmly.
Yan Kuan was naturally immensely tempted by the Vermillion Phoenix Blood in the old woman's hand. It was top-tier fire-attributed Demon Blood. If he refined and used it with the secret techniques of his inheritance, his cultivation would certainly advance by leaps and bounds, while he could also lay an incomparably solid foundation. But he did not dare trade for it openly, because it was Vermillion Phoenix Blood.
On the surface, the Ancestral Star had the Four Great Demon God Lineages: the main branch of the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, the Sky Kirin Clan, the Vermilion Phoenix Lineage, and Ten Thousand Demons Valley.
Each of these four powers had experts in the Transforming Dragon Realm and even the Immortal Platform Realm. Their influence spread throughout Hua Nation, and they were simply not forces Yan Kuan could afford to provoke.
As an elder of the Jiujiang Dragon Finch Clan, the old woman had the background and ability to trade Vermillion Phoenix Blood. Yan Kuan, however, did not have the ability to accept it.
Of course, an even more important reason was that he had already made it clear that there were only three high-grade Blood Origin Pills. Since they had already been traded away, he needed to know when to stop. Producing another would invite unnecessary trouble.
"It is no matter. Since there are none left, it simply means this old woman lacks the fortune. Little Sparrow, go exchange a few bottles of pills with this young friend!"
The old woman glanced at Yan Kuan, then nodded and gripped her cane tightly. The old man beside her walked over to Yan Kuan, took out several Daoist scriptures and a few other items, and exchanged them for all the remaining mid-grade Blood Origin Pills on Yan Kuan's stall.
"Young friend, if you have time in the future, you may visit my Jiujiang Dragon Finch Clan."
After the old man returned to her side, the old woman exchanged a few polite words with Yan Kuan and casually tossed a token engraved with a Dragon Sparrow pattern before him.
Yan Kuan hurriedly caught it and nodded. "Thank you, Senior."
"Daoist, this is a token of my Tianshi Manor. If you ever have time to visit my Dragon Tiger Mountain, be sure to come sit with my master and me!"
At this moment, Elder Zhang Lingyun also smiled and handed over a jade pendant. Yan Kuan stood up to accept it, and the atmosphere around them immediately eased considerably.
The two elders of the Shangqing Sect and Lingbao Sect also came forward one after another to make friendly overtures. Any sect would treat a talent capable of refining pills with courtesy.
Yan Kuan's remaining pills were quickly traded away, but he was in no rush to leave. Instead, he made another round through the various stalls, buying and selling a few trade goods. Only when the sky was about to darken did he vanish into an inconspicuous corner.
"The target left just now. He directly used an artifact to flee through the air. He was extremely fast and quite cautious."
"Then he should be an old hand. We need to be more careful, but if he thinks he can escape with such a trick, isn't he being too naive?"
"No need to act yet. It seems we are not the only ones who have our eyes on him."
At the entrance to the Three Purities Blessed Land, several groups with the same objective departed one after another. After they left, several more figures followed from afar.
At a steep gorge more than ten miles from Mount Sanqing, a short figure in a black robe abruptly stopped. He suddenly turned around, his gaze lingering over several directions in turn before he called out, "There is no need for you all to hide. You have followed me for so long. What exactly are you after?"
No other sounds came from the various parts of the gorge, where insects chirped and birds called. Only Yan Kuan's voice slowly echoed through the air.
"What, do you want me to invite each of you out one by one?"
Yan Kuan's voice suddenly turned cold. He pointed toward a certain treetop. "The three of you in the tree have concealed your auras, but your heartbeats do not lie. There are another two following behind you. And over here..."
Yan Kuan pointed them out one by one, and figures suddenly emerged. There were actually twenty-six of them in total, all cultivators at least in the Life Spring Realm. In this End of Dharma era, that was an extremely formidable force.
"You have followed me for so long. What do you want?"
Yan Kuan looked over the group, his tone unfriendly. "Could it be that you have set your sights on my belongings? I thought this sort of thing only happened in mortal-world stories. I never expected that Shrouding the Heavens would have so many fools who did not know their place. This is a society ruled by law now."
A voice came from among the many cultivators. "A society ruled by law? Do you think those things that restrain mortals can control us people beyond the mundane world?"
Then another deep voice rang out. "Daoist, we do not wish to make things difficult for you. We only wish to obtain Divine Pills from you."
Yan Kuan answered bluntly, "My Blood Origin Pills have already all been traded away."
At that moment, another sinister, low voice spoke. "Daoist, why deceive us? Any cultivator would certainly keep Divine Pills with such astonishing medicinal effects for personal use first. Only those he could not finish using would be put up for trade. Unless you have something even better."
"Even if I do have something better, what does that have to do with you? Whether I trade is up to me. Are you planning to rob me by force?"
Yan Kuan glanced toward a certain place, then said coldly, "Do not blame me for failing to warn you. Leave within three breaths. If anyone continues following me, do not blame me for showing no mercy."
"Take him down, and everything will be ours."
A shrill voice spoke with extreme decisiveness. Amid a sonorous sword cry, a streak of sword light was especially dazzling beneath the darkening sky. It illuminated a large expanse of the Void as it shot toward Yan Kuan like a long rainbow. Someone had launched a sneak attack to kill him.
It was the same everywhere: where there were people, there was conflict. Since these people had followed Yan Kuan, they naturally harbored ill intent. Some were still hesitating and watching, while others were astonishingly decisive and directly struck to kill.
A sharp sword like autumn water flashed past Yan Kuan. The spot where he had originally stood exploded in an instant, sending countless shards of stone flying. This strike immediately triggered a chain reaction, and every figure charged toward Yan Kuan.
"Roar~~~"
Yan Kuan suddenly raised his head and opened his mouth. Powerful sound waves echoed again and again through the steep gorge. Every cultivator who had attacked felt their minds go blank. Some of the weaker ones fainted on the spot, and then countless sharp flashes streaked through the sky.
Figure after figure was sent flying, their bones shattered and their flesh mangled. Yan Kuan had always been a cautious person. Before coming to Mount Sanqing, he had deliberately studied the surrounding terrain and prepared a plan. Since these people had dared attack him, they had chosen the path to death.
"Are the two seniors of the Dragon Sparrow Clan worried for this junior's safety, and have you specially come to see me off?"
Yan Kuan resolved all his opponents in an instant, yet he was in no hurry to clean up the battlefield. Instead, he looked toward another location.
A moment later, the old woman holding the Dragon Sparrow staff appeared with the old man supporting her. Her hair was snowy white, every strand gleaming crystal-clear. Her complexion was rosy, and she seemed to be in much better spirits than before.
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