One of them was pale white, like the branches of some plant, and successfully caught Wu Tao's attention.
Seeing that Wu Tao seemed genuinely interested, the stall owner, a Spirit Race Earth Master, looked at him with some curiosity.
"Brother, what do you intend to exchange for this spirit wood?" Wu Tao examined it closely. Within the white bark of the "spirit wood," a mystical aura was faintly visible. Counting, there were nine segments, with dense grain and a rough, stone-like touch.
He then replied calmly.
Upon hearing that Wu Tao actually wanted to trade for the spirit wood, the Spirit Race stall owner was first stunned. He looked Wu Tao up and down before saying in a hoarse voice:
"Although I haven't found the true use for this spirit wood yet, the value of spirit wood formed naturally by heaven and earth is hard to estimate..."
"How about this: I'm still in need of a protective magical treasure, or other treasures of equal value. I won't refuse those either."
"Brother, you're really asking for the moon. To trade something whose origin you don't even know for a magical treasure, aren't you being a bit too greedy..."
When Wu Tao heard this, he was startled, and his face immediately darkened.
"Why should a friend get angry? Everyone views the value of an item differently..."
"This piece of spirit wood might have very little value to me, but it should be extremely important to you, otherwise, you wouldn't have stood here for so long."
The Spirit Race stall owner said this.
Wu Tao was somewhat speechless upon hearing this.
What he said made sense, but the normal psychology of both buyer and seller was to acquire the most needed item at the lowest price.
Because this spirit wood was so crucial to him, his words had become a little hasty, and the Spirit Race stall owner had discovered it, using it as leverage to greatly increase the price.
With a clearer understanding, Wu Tao's expression softened, and he slowly said, "I see. Since you've specifically asked for a magical treasure, I happen to have one. Brother, see if it's suitable."
"To avoid further complications, Wu Tao had no intention of haggling. With a wave of his hand, a green light flashed, and a wood-attribute flying-knife-shaped magical treasure appeared. He directly threw it to the other party.
The Spirit Race stall owner was somewhat surprised, not expecting Wu Tao to agree to his terms so readily. He happily snatched the wood-attribute flying-knife-shaped magical treasure and examined it carefully.
"Not bad, it is indeed a wood-attribute flying-knife-shaped magical treasure. It suits me perfectly," the Spirit Race stall owner said happily, tucking the treasure away.
Seeing this, Wu Tao gave a wry smile and vanished the next second.
After acquiring this spirit wood of unknown origin, Wu Tao returned to his cave dwelling.
As soon as he returned to his cave, Wu Tao raised his hand and activated the restriction formation with a jade ring, preventing anyone from disturbing him.
Only then did Wu Tao feel at ease and begin to examine this special spirit wood.
The fiery energy beneath the spirit wood's bark was incredibly powerful, yet it had solidified into its current form, which was truly incredible.
Thinking this, his hands began to flash with golden light, and he started to slowly inject a large amount of spiritual energy into this special spirit wood.
Suddenly, a phoenix's cry echoed through the heavens.
The special spirit wood in Wu Tao's hand ignited, transforming into a fiery red, radiant object like red crystal.
The next second, it was as if the entire world paled in comparison, all brilliance converging on the center of the spirit wood.
There, a phoenix was taking shape.
Clad in flames that never extinguished, it was the divine beast "Phoenix."
With a peacock's head, a swallow's beak, a snake's neck, and long, fiery red feathers that swayed, its majestic aura as the king of all birds was fully displayed.
Wu Tao looked at the phoenix in mid-air, suddenly enlightened.
If he had only had some guesses before, he was now certain that this special spirit wood was Phoenix Parasol Wood.
Phoenix Parasol Wood was a top-tier existence among heavenly-grade spirit materials, an upper-heavenly-grade spirit material.
Phoenix Parasol Wood grew in places extremely rich in fire-attribute spiritual energy, considered the essence of fire, and grew extremely slowly, one segment in a thousand years. This Phoenix Parasol Wood had nine segments, clearly indicating it was at least nine thousand years old.
"Grade One Divine Ability - Burning Heaven and Boiling Seas" was a terrifying fire-attribute divine ability that Wu Tao had long wanted to condense.
However, this Grade One divine ability had extremely high requirements for condensing spirit materials. It required at least five extremely rare and hard-to-find earth-grade upper-quality spirit materials of at least a thousand years old as auxiliary components, with Phoenix Parasol Wood as the main body, to be successfully forged.
Over the years, he had only managed to find one such earth-grade upper-quality spirit material over a thousand years old.
Only by possessing a Grade One divine ability could Wu Tao gain an absolute advantage in battles against Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
To be able to overlook most of his peers and reign supreme among them, what an awe-inspiring and glorious feat...
After carefully putting away the Phoenix Parasol Wood, Wu Tao breathed a sigh of relief, his heart filled with even more confidence for condensing the "Grade One Divine Ability - Burning Heaven and Boiling Seas." He had inadvertently obtained the Phoenix Parasol Wood.
With such a rare upper-heavenly-grade spirit material, the other four thousand-year-old earth-grade upper-quality spirit materials should not be a difficult task.
Wu Tao, in a good mood, said to You Meng, "It seems I was the one with more foresight. If I hadn't offered a magical treasure, I would have surely missed out on this Phoenix Parasol Wood."
You Meng pouted and turned her head away, ignoring his narcissistic boasting.
Having tasted success, Wu Tao returned to the exchange the next day, right on time.
"Is this the 'Tongyan' technique among the Spirit Race?"
A young girl, dressed like a child of twelve or thirteen, accompanied by three or four Earth Masters comparable to Nascent Soul stage cultivators, was scouring the various stalls for treasures.
Wu Tao, using his Dream Demon Eyes, secretly peered at her. He saw celestial light appearing in the young girl's eyes, transforming into various mysterious patterns.
Shocked, Wu Tao couldn't help but exclaim.
Hearing this, the young girl, like a cat caught stealing fish, stuck out her tongue and chuckled with cupped fists, "It's just a small hobby, what 'Tongyan' technique? How should I address you, big brother from the Human Race?"
The young girl was also an Earth Master comparable to a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
Looking at the growth of the emerald green vine on her head, her Earth Master realm was exceptionally stable, indicating that this young girl could indeed be considered a prodigy of the Spirit Race!
Facing the young girl, Wu Tao smiled and said, "My surname is Wu, and my given name is Tao."
The four Earth Masters accompanying the young girl were likely her bodyguards. They were all older Spirit Race Earth Masters.
These four Earth Masters scanned Wu Tao simultaneously. Finding no malice, they no longer paid attention.
She looked at Wu Tao, who was dressed like a human ascetic, and recalled the evaluation of human ascetics by her elders.
Her dark green eyes rolled, and she suddenly smiled, "Are you a human ascetic, sir? My elders have a very deep impression of you..."
"They say your pursuit of the Great Dao is like a stone in a latrine, both stinky and hard, but you value resources immensely, going to great lengths to acquire them, consuming pills, refining magical treasures, and the majority of those who cultivate to become Purple Mansion Ancestors are of this kind."
"But I haven't seen any during my time in Tongguan. Seeing one now is truly unusual!"
Wu Tao was stunned at first, then inwardly thought, "Unusual my foot! What is an ascetic..."
"Ascetics are like ancient turtles when resources are abundant, never moving easily. If you can see them easily, you'd truly be seeing a ghost..."
On the surface, Wu Tao said with a calm and indifferent tone, "I also find it unusual. Those with spirit eyes are already rare. Today, I've actually seen another one. What a coincidence!"
The young girl heard this and found it very pleasing. She giggled and said, "You're such an interesting fellow. The way you speak makes it sound like you want to hit on me..."
"Oh right, my name is Teng Ling'er. Teng from vine, Ling from Spirit Race..."
Wu Tao heard this and shook his head repeatedly in alarm.
After all, judging by Teng Ling'er's appearance, she was only thirteen or fourteen years old. While her actual age was certainly more than that, Wu Tao didn't want to gain a reputation as a pedophile pervert.
Just then, You Meng suddenly darted out from Wu Tao's sea of consciousness and sweetly called out to Teng Ling'er, "Meow meow..."
"What a cute kitten!"
Teng Ling'er's eyes lit up upon seeing You Meng!
"Hey, why did you suddenly come out? Don't cause trouble for me?" Wu Tao communicated with You Meng through their unique senses.
To his surprise, You Meng completely ignored Wu Tao.
You Meng wagged its cat tail, staring at the storage bag at Teng Ling'er's waist. Its cute cat eyes showed longing, and it licked its lips, meowing. It meant it was hungry.
Wu Tao's previously calm demeanor was instantly shattered by this scene.
He had no choice but to take out a spiritual beast pill, discreetly placed it in his hand, and slightly waved it in a direction You Meng could see.
However, how could an ordinary spiritual beast pill compare to the high-quality spiritual items in the storage bag of a direct descendant of a Spirit King? You Meng was completely unmoved.
Seeing that flattery wouldn't work, Wu Tao resorted to force. He grabbed You Meng's tail, held it upside down, and was about to...
"You're not allowed to torment the cat like this! Give it to me!" Teng Ling'er couldn't stand it anymore. She snatched it over and hugged You Meng.
Then Teng Ling'er took out two thousand-year-old spirit herbs from her storage bag and fed them to You Meng.
Wu Tao's eyes widened. Those two thousand-year-old spirit herbs were extremely rare treasures, and they were used to feed You Meng.
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