Chapter 60 Purple Lightning Talisman

"Core-formation stage magic treasure..."

Many cultivators fell into deep contemplation. Although they possessed no such treasures, they coveted the monster core deeply, racking their brains to think of rare items they could trade for it.

Seeing this, Cao Yun was ecstatic inwardly, yet his expression remained calm. He sat quietly on the ground, observing the shifting situation.

"Could it really be that no one has one?" the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator asked with a dejected expression, his tone tinged with frustration.

"Junior Brother Chen Ping, I happen to have a slightly damaged magic treasure here. I wonder if it might be exchanged for Junior Brother's core-formation stage monster core?" A late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Heavenly Star Wolf Sect slowly stood up. With a flick of his wrist, a thumb-sized, golden bead materialized in the center of his palm.

"Oh? Senior Brother Buchengzi, would you allow me to examine it closely?" A sharp gleam flashed through Chen Ping's eyes as he asked eagerly.

Buchengzi smiled faintly and gave a gentle flick of his wrist, sending the bead treasure floating leisurely toward Chen Ping.

Chen Ping made a light beckoning gesture, instantly pulling the slow-drifting treasure into his hand. Infusing it with his spiritual sense and magical power, he discovered that the internal array patterns of the treasure were severely damaged, and its exterior was covered in cracks. As he increased the flow of his magical power, the bead treasure gradually expanded until it reached nearly the size of a zhang before coming to a halt. After the bead spun a few times in mid-air, Chen Ping waved his hand gently, and it settled steadily back into his palm.

"Senior Brother Buchengzi, the current power of this magic treasure is only comparable to a top-tier intermediate magic tool. I am truly sorry, but it fails to meet my expectations," Chen Ping said to Buchengzi, his face full of apology.

"No matter. This Purple Cloud Bead treasure was originally purchased at the price of a top-tier intermediate magic tool. Since it failed to catch Junior Brother Chen Ping's eye, this senior brother has nothing more to say." Buchengzi shook his head, a hint of disappointment lingering on his face.

"Do any other senior and junior brothers have a magic treasure?" Chen Ping slowly scanned the circle. Just as he was about to sit back down upon seeing no response, Cao Yun spoke up.

"Senior Brother Chen Ping, I do happen to possess a magic treasure, but a single monster core is likely not quite enough." Cao Yun slowly stood up, a silver-glowing flying sword tightly clutched in his hand at some point.

***

Upon hearing these words, the gazes of all the cultivators instantly converged on Cao Yun.

"Oh? Junior Brother Cao, you actually possess an intact magic treasure?" Chen Ping's voice trembled slightly with excitement as he eagerly pursued the question, an undisguised joy flashing in his eyes.

"Senior Brother Chen will know upon inspection." The corners of Cao Yun's mouth curved upward in a confident smile as he waved his hand lightly. In an instant, the silver-glowing flying sword treasure seemed guided by an invisible force, flying leisurely toward Chen Ping.

Seeing this, a sharp light flashed in Chen Ping's eyes. With a gentle beckoning motion, the flying sword traced a sharp arc through the air and landed securely in his hand. Impatiently, he channeled his magical power into it, and the blade was instantly covered by a layer of dazzling electric arcs, accompanied by the sound of rumbling thunder echoing around the sword. At the same time, the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth seemed summoned, converging toward the flying sword to form a breathtaking and wondrous spectacle.

"Good! Very good!" Chen Ping laughed heartily, his voice carrying a sense of heroic boldness. "I wonder if two core-formation stage monster cores might catch Junior Brother Cao's eye?"

Before his voice had even faded, two monster cores had appeared in his palm—one emerald green like jade, and the other fiery red. Each was the size of half a fist, suspended in mid-air and radiating a mesmerizing luster. With a slight flick of his wrist, the monster cores darted rapidly toward Cao Yun. Cao Yun smiled faintly and made a casual beckoning motion, catching both monster cores steadily in his hands.

The spiritual energy fluctuations surging from these two monster cores were turbulent; even without using spiritual sense to probe them, one could clearly perceive the vast power contained within. Judging by the intensity of the spiritual fluctuations, these two monster cores had clearly not been harvested long ago. A flicker crossed Cao Yun's eyes as he cast a suspicious glance at Chen Ping; this unassuming Senior Brother Chen Ping turned out to be rather interesting.

"Very well. Although I am taking a slight loss, I am currently in urgent need of core-formation stage monster beast inner cores, so I accept this trade," Cao Yun stated cleanly and decisively.

"Good, straightforward!" Chen Ping laughed, flipping his wrist to make the magic treasure vanish without a trace as he stored it away in his storage pouch.

This exchange meeting had begun with rolling climaxes, as monster cores and magic treasures of the core-formation stage made successive appearances, instantly igniting the atmosphere of the entire venue. However, as the trades continued, the subsequent items gradually became mundane—either cultivation techniques, pill formulas, weapon-refinement materials, or ordinary spiritual herbs of low value, causing everyone to gradually lose their initial enthusiasm.

Just then, a cultivator from the Demonic Pagoda Sect slowly stood up, holding a jade bottle of pills, and said, "A bottle of Ascending Dragon Pills. These are saint medicines on par with Dust-Descending Pills for breaking through the bottlenecks of the mid and late Foundation Establishment stages. For cultivators with false spiritual roots or waste spiritual roots, their value goes without saying." He swept his gaze across the surroundings and added, "This humble self requires only five thousand spirit stones."

Yet, wherever his gaze fell, the crowd showed little interest. The cultivators present all possessed true spiritual roots; although bottlenecks existed in the Foundation Establishment stage, true spiritual roots allowed cultivators to break through bottlenecks relying solely on their own accumulated spiritual power without the aid of pills, unlike those with false or waste spiritual roots who were forced to rely on pills to advance.

***

Everyone turned their heads away, either lowering them in silence or emitting a scornful, cold hrumph.

"If everyone finds five thousand spirit stones too high, four thousand spirit stones will also suffice." The Demonic Pagoda Sect cultivator scanned the surroundings once more, only to be met with more mockery and indifference.

With a helpless shake of his head, just as he was about to dejectedly retreat back to his seat, he saw Cao Yun stand up.

"Senior Brother from the Demonic Pagoda Sect, if this bottle of pills can be sold for three thousand spirit stones, I will take as many as you have," Cao Yun said calmly.

"Three thousand spirit stones..." The Demonic Pagoda Sect cultivator pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, "I only have this one bottle. If Junior Brother Cao truly wishes to buy it, how about three thousand five hundred spirit stones? Any lower than that, and we have nothing to discuss."

"Since Senior Brother from the Demonic Pagoda Sect is so straightforward, let's settle on three thousand five hundred spirit stones." Cao Yun smiled faintly and tossed a storage pouch to the Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Demonic Pagoda Sect.

The Demonic Pagoda Sect cultivator caught the storage pouch, inspected it, nodded, and tossed the bottle of Ascending Dragon Pills in his hand toward Cao Yun. Catching the pills and examining them carefully, Cao Yun slowly stored them away in his own storage pouch.

When it was the turn of the next cultivator, he closed his eyes to rest his mind for a moment before slowly opening them, standing up to announce: "This humble self has three Purple Lightning Talismans here, each comparable to a full-strength strike of a late-stage core-formation cultivator. They are priced at two thousand spirit stones per talisman, non-negotiable."

"What... Purple Lightning Talismans!"

All the cultivators present let out a cry of astonishment. One had to know that possessing such a talisman was equivalent to being invincible among peers; even when encountering a Core Formation cultivator, one could handle the situation with composure. If an early or mid-stage Core Formation cultivator happened to be careless, it might even achieve a one-hit kill effect.