Published: August 27, 2025
Chapter 354: Madam Lan
Han Li and the man sat on opposite sides of an Eight Immortals table, exchanging a few glances but neither showing any intention to start a conversation.
Cultivators who came here to buy things rarely tried to get close to strangers; that would only invite hostility.
However, the man opposite was somewhat curious as he glanced a few times at the quhun standing at the stair entrance, not having entered the main hall.
With his keen eyesight, he had already seen through that the quhun was a corpse refiner, and the fluctuations of spiritual energy emanating from him puzzled the man greatly.
After all, iron-armored corpses and similar animated zombies refined by immortal cultivators generally served only as extremely strong laborers; they wouldn’t carry any magical power within them.
The man suppressed the urge to ask out loud. Han Li’s cultivation base was also mid foundation establishment stage, which made the man somewhat wary.
When Han Li had almost finished tasting his cup of tea, the woman finally returned to the hall.
But this time, two burly strong men appeared behind her. They didn’t emit a trace of magical power, their faces expressionless to the extreme, and it turned out they were two lifelike puppets.
However, each of them held a large tray, bulging and covered lightly with red silk cloth—these must be the rare treasures the female shopkeeper had mentioned.
A flicker of something unusual passed through Han Li’s eyes. Earlier, he had tried to use his spiritual awareness to peer through the red silk on the tray to see what was underneath, but unexpectedly the inconspicuous silk blocked him. That surprised him a little. He glanced sideways at the man opposite.
The man’s face also showed surprise, obviously having done the same thing.
The middle-aged woman walked over to Han Li and the other man with a smile and said,
“I already know you, Dao-you Fán, but I don’t know what to call this Dao-you here? My surname is Lan; you two can call me Madam Lan.” She introduced herself in a familiar manner.
Han Li naturally felt a bit embarrassed not to respond, so he forced out a reply,
“My surname is Han.”
Then he stopped talking, displaying a somewhat cold and indifferent expression, as if not wanting to chat.
Madam Lan didn’t take offense at all.
After all, among cultivators who came here, eight or nine out of ten put on a similar cold façade like Han Li’s. She was used to it.
So with a faint smile, she gestured to one of the puppet men behind her, who immediately stepped forward.
Madam Lan extended her delicate jade fingers and pulled the red silk off the tray, revealing several items.
Han Li and the man surnamed Fán both emitted sharp glints from their eyes, focusing intently on the items on the tray.
There were longswords, short blades, flying darts, and circular rings—all magical artifacts, and even a piece of jet-black armor. Each item glittered, clearly not ordinary.
After seeing the artifacts clearly, Han Li and the other man reacted differently.
The Fán cultivator stared fixedly at the tray, his eyes showing a hint of fascination. Han Li glanced once and immediately looked away, showing an expression of disinterest. This surprised Madam Lan, who took an extra look at Han Li.
“This is called the Cold Crystal Blade. It’s forged from the rarest mysterious crystals and icy jade. Not only is its attack powerful, but it also carries a rare yin-cold aura that can silently weaken an enemy’s strength during close combat. Truly a top-grade magical artifact,” Madam Lan said leisurely, holding up a crystal-clear short blade.
Then she slightly moved the artifact in her hand, and a wave of icy coldness suddenly filled the room, causing the maidservants, whose cultivation was only at the qi refining stage, to shiver several times.
“Madam, may I take a look at this blade?” the man surnamed Fán asked excitedly.
Madam Lan smiled slightly and handed over the blade without hesitation, then glanced unobtrusively at Han Li.