Just as Han Li pondered, he heard a long sigh from Wei Wuya.

Wei Wuya put away the jade box in a flash of light and happily said, “Not bad. It is truly the scales of a metamorphosed Venomous Flood Dragon. This is very suitable for me. There is hope that my magic treasure will ascend to a whole new level.”

Afterwards, he raised his head to shot Han Li an appraising look. “To tell the truth, it is truly surprising to me that Fellow Daoist was able to produce such rare treasures. These Venomous Flood Dragon scales are particularly important to me. Although all we’ve done is trade for what we’ve needed, Fellow Daoist Han still must partic.i.p.ate in the wagered battle on behalf of the Heavenly South. How about this? I still have one last piece of Auric Essence. I originally planned to give it to my descendants, but since Fellow Daoist Han requires it, I will give it to you. This way, I won’t be accused of taking advantage of you.” With a flip of his hand, he summoned an egg-sized piece of Auric Essence and tossed it to Han Li.

With the addition of this piece of Auric Essence, he would have more than enough to temper the thirty-six flying swords. His goals to taking out such rare materials had been achieved. It could be said these grade eight demon materials proved slightly more valuable than that of the Auric Essence. If they were take the materials and still have him fight in the wagered battle without further compensation, it would be rather unreasonable.

Of course, their intentions of acting so generously towards Han Li was obvious. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, he could simply pretend to agree and flee after taking the Auric Essence. If this were only a common trade that didn’t involve the wagered battle, they wouldn’t be able to do much else apart from complain.

At that moment, Master Sunreach finished appraising the item and he wore a slight smile on his face. It seemed he was quite satisfied with the tortoise sh.e.l.l. However, when he saw Wei Wuya give him another piece of Auric Essence, he hesitantly muttered to himself for a moment before bringing out a six-inch-long yellow rootstalk that was as thick as a thumb.

Master Sunreach solemnly said, “From the wood attribute spiritual Qi that is overflowing from your body, I believe that Fellow Daoist’s main cultivation art is wood-attributed. I have nothing appropriate to give you, so I can only present to you a small piece of rootstalk from an ancient rattan palm. It will be greatly useful regardless of whether you refine it into a magic tool or use it to nourish your body’s wood-attribute spiritual Qi. It should be enough to compensate you for the grade eight demon tortoise sh.e.l.l.”

Wei Wuya revealed an expression of astonishment when he saw this item. “Yi! That is...”

Han Li was initially disappointed, but when he saw Wei Wuya’s change of expression, his mind stirred in thought. An ancient rattan palm? Could it be that Profound G.o.ddess Palm that the Righteous and Devil Dao wished to resurrect with the Spirit Root Tree’s Wine Nectar? Han Li glanced at the item in his hand with astonishment.

Master Sunreach wasn’t surprised to see that Wei Wuya recognized this item. He calmly said, “With Brother Han’s status, he should know of the Profound G.o.ddess Palm that appeared in this world. It is a pity that despite our efforts, we were unable to bring it back to life. In the end, we were only able to divide up the pieces of the rattan palm with the Devil Dao and treat it as tool refinement materials. This is one quarter of the palm’s rootstalk.”

“The Profound G.o.ddess Palm!” Han Li caught the yellow rootstalk and muttered to himself with surprise.

Han Li learned of the Profound G.o.ddess Palm from several ancient records. He now realized why the Righteous and Devil Dao had schemed to resurrect it.

Immortal rattan palms were only a general cla.s.sifier for these plants. They were merely a vine-type spiritual root that were useful.

However, the Profound G.o.ddess Palm was different. Only a few such ancient rattan palms had the qualifications to be named as profound. Profound rattan vines belonged to a completely different realm, and came into creation during times of antiquity. As such, any fruits or flowers it may produce possessed inconceivable effects that were truly heaven-defying.

However, the Profound G.o.ddess Palm were one of such roots that possessed amazing effects, but as it had perished long ago, its husk was indistinguishable from other rattan palms. Were it not for the explanation that was left behind in the ancient cultivator burrow where it was found, it would’ve been a.s.sumed to be an ordinary rattan palm husk.

At the start, it was believed to be a precious treasure. Even the Righteous and Devil Dao has fought several times for the possession of the treasure. Later on, the higher echelon of the Righteous and the Devil Dao decided to first see whether or not the immortal rattan was able of being resurrected. After all, even if it was resurrected, it could take tens of thousands of years before it would bear fruit or flowers.

As a result, they first tried several different methods in their attempts to bring it back to life and they later used spirit water and milk to water it. They even used Wine Nectar from the Spirit Root Tree of the Dreamcloud Mountains. However, all these efforts were in vain as the immortal rattan showed no sign of coming back to life.

With dashed hopes, the Devil and Righteous Dao decided to divide the stalk and branches into tensome pieces and even divide them between each party. As for how Master Sunreach acquired a piece of the rootstalk, it was offered as tribute in an attempt to curry favor with him, the grand elder of the Righteous Dao Alliance.

As for how Wei Wuya recognized it, he also had a section of the immortal rattan, but it was only a small portion of its branch. Through a series of trades, it had eventually made its way into Wei Wuya’s hands.

Since the pieces of the Profound G.o.ddess Palm couldn’t be resurrected, they could only be used as top grade materials at best, greatly decreasing its value in Master Sunreach’s point of view. Additionally, since it was a wood-attribute material and wasn’t well-suited for his own cultivation arts, he gave it to Han Li without much consideration.

Wei Wuya soon realized what Master Sunreach also thought, and his surprise soon disappeared.

Although he knew of the origins of the rattan rootstalk, Han Li only felt slight disappointment.

He currently had no lack of top grade tool refinement materials. He only desired to acquire more Auric Essence, and it was for that reason that he took out the grade eight demon materials. Since he didn’t have the time to nurture his Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords nor the spiritual power to refine a new magic treasure, it was currently better for him to receive ancient treasures instead if Auric Essence was out of the question. But since Master Sunreach truly didn’t possess any Auric essence, he offered the rootstalk of the Profound G.o.ddess Palm, something that was also quite precious. As a result, Han Li simply took the box without another word and peered inside of it.

His current plan for it was to make use of the small green bottle when he returned to his cave residence and attempt to mature the rattan palm. The green liquid born from the small mysterious bottle was unfathomable, and was even able to mature the three divine trees. Perhaps it would be able to create a miracle of reviving the Profound G.o.ddess Palm. Although the chances were small, it would be an enormous windfall if it succeeded. As a result, his initial disappointment faded away.[1] Golden Lightning Bamboo(acquired from Violet Spirit), Soul Nurturing Tree(acquired from Heavenvoid Hall and Yuan Yao), and the Spirit Well Tree(Dreamcloud Mountains).

Before Wei Wuya and Master Sunreach further spoke, Han Li sighed and tactfully said, “Since I’ve acquired the Auric Essence, I will naturally partic.i.p.ate in the wagered battles in seven days. Since the hour is late, I will be returning first. I must make preparations for the coming war.”

Master Sunreach smiled and politely said, “I didn’t think that Fellow Daoist Han would be such an impatient character. The war is important so it is only natural to want to prepare yourself. We won’t keep you here any longer.”

Han Li promptly nodded and saluted them before quickly heading to the hall’s exit. But before Han Li could made his way outside, Wei Wuya stared at him with a strange expression and moved his lips, sending a series of voice transmissions towards him. “Fellow Daoist Han, on behalf of these Venomous Flood Dragon Scales, I will overlook the matter of you stealing away Fellow Daoist Nangong. As it wasn’t meant to be between Fairy Nangong and my nephew, there was nothing that could be done!”

When Han Li heard this, he couldn’t help but stop in his tracks. He then felt a wave of delight, and quickly walked out the hall without turning around. Once Han Li could no longer be seen, Master Sunreach and Wei Wuya glanced at each other in silence.

A short moment later, Master Sunreach slowly said, “What do you think? I found it truly inconceivable Han Li would actually bring out grade eight demon beast materials. Could it be in the time he disappeared through the ancient transportation formation, he acquired the complete legacy of an ancient cultivator? How else was he able to reach early Nascent Soul stage in such a short amount of time? Not to mention the many treasures he possesses.”

Wei Wuya wryly smiled. “It is possible! But this has little to do with us. He is not the only person that has inherited ancient cultivation arts and ancient treasures. Having such a rare chance is a truly envious matter. Don’t tell me you’re thinking about killing him to take his treasures?”

Master Sunreach chuckled and shook his head. “Kill him? Brother Wei can sure tell a joke. Let alone during a time of war, this can’t be done during peacetime either. Based solely on his ability to escape a Moulan Divine Sage, I’d be stirring up trouble without reaping any gains. Besides, his treasures may be precious, but would they allow me to breakthrough to Deity Transformation stage? Besides, the Heavenly Dao Union and those pair cultivators aren’t easily trifled with.”