Lu Heng reached out and touched the stone. After confirming it was genuine, he stored it in his Storage Ring.
The old man carefully tucked the pill away close to his body, looking considerably more relaxed.
He glanced at Lu Heng and offered a word of advice:
"If you still need such rare heaven-and-earth metal stones, I'm afraid the open markets of the Central Plains will find it difficult to gather them all."
Lu Heng paused as he rose. "Elder, you are experienced and well-traveled. Do you know of any other channels?"
The old man lowered his voice and pointed south.
"The Beast Region. Have you heard of it, young friend?"
"I've heard a little about it."
"The mineral veins in the human territories of the Central Plains have been mined for thousands of years. Any divine materials with even a trace of spirituality have long since been stripped clean."
The old man took a sip of tea before continuing.
"But the Beast Region is different. Mountains stretch endlessly there, and the Ten Thousand Mountains conceal countless ancient mineral veins. The various Magical Beast clans rule their own territories and fight fiercely, but when it comes to alchemy and forging, they know absolutely nothing."
"Many ranked companion spirit mines are simply piled bare in the wilderness. Some are even used by those hulking creatures as bedding for their nests."
Lu Heng listened thoughtfully.
Magical Beasts truly were not skilled at making refined use of Heavenly Treasures. That was indeed a fact.
The old man smiled.
"If you have the time, you might as well try your luck in the Beast Region someday. Bring high-grade pills to trade for ores, and those Magical Beast overlords will surely treat you as an honored guest."
"Thank you for the guidance, Elder."
Lu Heng