Exchanging Demon Cores

The Central Plains, the true heart of the continent, is vast and boundless, teeming with experts and tangled with complex factions.

Here, the prosperity and power of the Dou Qi Continent are truly manifested.

Sky Medicine City, one of the most important centers for medicinal pill and herb trade under the Pill Tower, possesses a scale and grandeur far beyond any city in the Gama Empire.

The sky above the city is perpetually filled with a refreshing, intoxicating medicinal fragrance, while the streets are packed with crowds. One can see formidable cultivators and figures in alchemist robes with arrogant expressions everywhere.

In the center of the city, a massive tower as imposing as a mountain pierces the clouds; that is the branch established by the Pill Tower, and the core of the entire Sky Medicine City.

Lin Hai appeared silently on the busiest main thoroughfare of Sky Medicine City, yet none of the bustling crowd around him noticed his sudden arrival.

He remained as plain and unremarkable as ever, his aura restrained to the absolute limit.

Without a moment's hesitation, he walked straight toward the most magnificent giant building, which hung the unique emblem of the Pill Tower at its entrance—the Myriad Medicine Pavilion.

This is the largest, most reputable, and wealthiest pharmacy under the Pill Tower; it is said that the shadows of the Pill Tower's giants loom behind it, capable of swallowing any staggering transaction.

Walking into the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, the interior space is far more vast than it appears from the outside, utilizing the power of space.

Crystal counters are lined with a dazzling array of herbs, medicinal pills, and monster cores, their treasures glowing and their energy fluctuations breathtaking.

The customers coming and going are either wealthy or noble, at the very least experts of the Spirit King level, and occasionally one can even spot existences at the Spirit Sect or even Spirit Venerable level.

A maid dressed in proper attire with keen eyes immediately stepped forward. Although she could not sense any energy fluctuations from Lin Hai, his composed demeanor made her dare not be negligent: "This lord, is there anything I can help you with?"

Lin Hai did not even glance at the counters, simply stating plainly: "Call your person in charge; I want to discuss a big business deal."

The maid was slightly startled, but seeing that Lin Hai did not seem to be joking, she immediately said respectfully: "Please wait a moment, I will go and invite the deacon."

Soon, an old man dressed in the robes of a sixth-grade alchemist with a sharp face walked out quickly. His gaze swept over Lin Hai with keen intensity, his brows furrowing imperceptibly because he, too, could not sense any spirit energy fluctuations.

"This old man is Mo Li, a deacon of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion. I wonder what kind of business you wish to discuss, Excellency?" The old man's tone was polite enough, but carried a hint of scrutiny. There were many who came to the Myriad Medicine Pavilion every day to try their luck or play tricks.

Lin Hai did not waste words, simply brushing his finger across his storage ring.

Whoosh—!

In an instant, the light in the entire first-floor hall of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion seemed to dim!

A terrifyingly intense storm of fire-attribute energy erupted violently, accompanied by a pressure that made one's soul tremble!

A dense, brilliant crimson pile of Fire Beads poured out like volcanic lava, instantly forming a small mountain on the floor!

The most conspicuous among them were the eight dark-gold Fire Beads of the Spirit Venerable level, radiating terrifying energy fluctuations like small suns! Beside them were two slightly smaller crimson crystals, yet their energy purity was shocking, faintly carrying a trace of Saint-level might (condensed semi-saint energy)! Following those were over seventy Spirit Sect-level Fire Beads, dazzling in their brilliance! Then came over two hundred Spirit Emperor-level Fire Beads, and an even greater number of Fire Beads of other levels, almost covering the entire floor!

Pure, vast, and terrifying fire energy intertwined, causing the temperature of the entire hall to rise sharply, making the air itself distort!

All the treasures in the counters were eclipsed by this pile of Fire Beads!

Hiss—!

The sound of people gasping in cold air rose one after another!

Every customer, maid, and guard in the hall froze in place, staring dumbfounded at the pile of Fire Beads, their faces filled with unparalleled shock and horror!

Especially the eight Spirit Venerable-level Fire Beads and the two semi-saint crystals; the pressure they emitted made some Spirit Emperor-level customers feel difficulty breathing and their legs go weak!

The composure and scrutiny on Deacon Mo Li's face vanished without a trace, replaced by extreme shock and horror! As a sixth-grade alchemist, his soul perception was extremely strong, allowing him to clearly feel the terror and value of these Fire Beads! Especially those two crimson crystals—the essence of the energy contained within them made his very soul tremble!

"This... this... Excellency! You... you are..." Mo Li's speech was stuttering, his eyes widened like copper bells, staring fixedly at the pile of Fire Beads, especially the eight dark-gold ones and the two crimson crystals, his voice trembling, "Spirit Venerable-level Fire Lizardman beads?! And this... could this be... a semi-saint level energy core?! How is this possible?!"

Hunting a single Spirit Venerable-level Fire Lizardman required several experts of the same level working together, and venturing deep into the extremely dangerous underground magma world!

As for the semi-saint level... those were almost legendary existences! To take out eight Spirit Venerable Fire Beads and two suspected semi-saint cores at once? Did he wipe out the lair of the Fire Lizardmen?! What exactly is the background of this seemingly ordinary young man before him?!

"Count them up and exchange them all for eighth-grade monster cores," Lin Hai's voice remained plain, breaking the deathly silence as if he were merely talking about buying a few radishes, "Attributes don't matter, but the energy must be pure."

Mo Li snapped back to reality, his face instantly filled with unprecedented awe and sycophancy, his waist nearly bent to the ground: "Lord! Please, this way! Please, to the private room upstairs! This is no place for a conversation! Quickly!"

While bowing and leading the way, he roared at the maid beside him who had been frightened silly: "What are you still standing there for! Go and invite the Great Elder! Immediately! Right now! Open the highest-level reception!"

Soon, Lin Hai was invited to a luxurious private room on the top floor of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, covered in barriers that blocked detection.

The true person in charge stationed at the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, a white-haired old man with a cultivation reaching the peak of an eight-star Spirit Venerable and a seventh-grade peak alchemist, accompanied him personally, his attitude respectful to the extreme.

Dozens of senior appraisers were urgently summoned to carefully count and evaluate the mountain of Fire Beads.

Throughout the process, these knowledgeable appraisers' hands were shaking, especially when touching the Spirit Venerable-level Fire Beads and the semi-saint crystals, causing cold sweat to pour down.

The evaluation lasted for nearly an hour.

Finally, the white-haired Great Elder brought the evaluation results and came personally before Lin Hai, his tone extremely respectful: "Lord, the value of the Fire Beads you brought is immeasurable, especially those eight Spirit Venerable-level Fire Beads and the two... Saint Crystals, which are extremely rare. After a unanimous evaluation by all the elders of our Myriad Medicine Pavilion and consulting the Pill Tower headquarters, we are willing to exchange twenty eighth-grade monster cores of various attributes and pure energy for all your Fire Beads! What do you think..."

This price already exceeded the theoretical value of the Fire Beads themselves, but considering the rarity and research value of the two semi-saint crystals, as well as Lin Hai's unfathomable strength, the Myriad Medicine Pavilion (Pill Tower) would rather take a small loss than fail to befriend this mysterious expert.

Lin Hai was quite satisfied with this number and nodded faintly: "That is acceptable."

Upon hearing this, the Great Elder let out a long sigh of relief, a look of joy appearing on his face. He immediately took out a top-grade jade tray that emitted spatial fluctuations, upon which were neatly arranged twenty monster cores the size of eggs, each with a different shape, yet every one of them radiating energy so terrifying it felt like it could destroy the world!

The ice-blue ice-attribute monster core radiated a chill of absolute zero, the crimson fire-attribute monster core seemed to contain a volcano, the golden lightning-attribute monster core crackled, the emerald-green wood-attribute monster core was full of vitality, and the earthy-yellow monster core was as heavy as a mountain... The energy field gathered by twenty eighth-grade monster cores made the space in the entire private room tremble slightly!

This is the foundation of a top faction in the Central Plains! To take out twenty eighth-grade monster cores at once—the entire Northwest Continent couldn't scrape that many together in ten thousand years!

Lin Hai's divine sense swept over them, confirming the monster cores were of pure energy and superior quality, then he waved his hand, putting the entire jade tray into his storage ring.

"Transaction complete." He stood up, without the slightest attachment, and turned to leave.

"Lord, please stay! May I ask for your honorable name? My Myriad Medicine Pavilion..." The Great Elder stood up hurriedly, wanting to detain him to build a connection.

However, the figure of Lin Hai had already dissipated like blue smoke, leaving behind no trace as if he had never appeared at all.

Left behind, the high-ranking members of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion stared at the empty private room and the pile of priceless Fire Beads on the floor, exchanging bewildered glances, their faces filled with shock, awe, and a lingering sense of fear.

"Seal this information immediately! Today's events are to be classified as top secret!" The Great Elder took a deep breath, suppressing the raging storm in his heart, and issued a stern command.

He understood in his heart that a powerhouse capable of casually producing such resources with unfathomable strength must have a background that was terrifying beyond imagination.

Meanwhile, Lin Hai had already left Sky Medicine City, his storage ring now containing twenty Rank 8 Monster Cores, enough to drive any Spirit Venerable mad.

His next step was to use these monster cores to have Yao Chen refine Rank 8 medicinal pills, which would then be exchanged for a massive quantity of beast flames.