Han Li listened to Hu Jingjing while scanning his surroundings. The wide bridge was bustling with activity.

Not far from him, beyond the outer railing of Tongji Bridge, one could see giant swimming beasts in the river below. Some carried, others towed, intricately decorated and elaborately carved pavilion boats, moving in an orderly fashion.

"In the Dijiang Ward, the largest and most powerful shop is called 'Flowing Wind Pavilion.' It's actually backed by His Highness the First Prince. Most of the items there are of extremely high quality, but of course, the prices are exorbitant. Second is a shop of Guangyuan Zhai, only slightly less powerful, but with the best reputation..." Hu Jingjing continued to explain.

"Is Guangyuan Zhai's headquarters here?" Han Li asked, his interest piqued.

"The Guangyuan Zhai shop in Dijiang Ward is just a branch, not the headquarters. The headquarters is also in the Maha District, but it's on the Tongyi Garden side, separated from us by more than half of the Maha District," Hu Jingjing explained.

As they spoke, the carriage had already crossed Tongji Bridge and was stopped by stationed Demon Race cultivators.

The two of them then got out of the carriage and began to walk.

"Continue," Han Li said.

"Yes. In Dijiang Ward, there are not only shops selling Sacred Race magical treasures and spiritual materials, but also shops selling Immortal Realm artifacts. 'Immortal Spirit Pavilion' is one such shop that specializes in Immortal Realm artifacts. And the strangest of all is 'Jingwu Zhai,' which sells the most peculiar things. Some items, once they appear, can cause a stir throughout Nightfall City, while others are just... hard to describe," Hu Jingjing said with a knowing smile, continuing her explanation.

"That shop sounds interesting. Does it have any backing?" Han Li nodded and asked.

"Yes, it's no secret in Nightfall City. The mastermind behind Jingwu Zhai is the Twelfth Prince, Shi Jingkai," Hu Jingjing nodded.

"Shi Jingkai... is he the same mother's younger brother as the Fifth Princess, Shi Jingyan?" Han Li pondered for a moment and asked.

"Indeed, it is he. This Twelfth Prince is also quite the character, handsome and extraordinary, but with a free and unrestrained personality. He's never taken cultivation seriously, and is still only at the True Immortal Realm. He also enjoys traveling and exploring secret realms and ancient Immortal abodes. Many of the items in Jingwu Zhai are things he's brought back from various places. The Demonic artifact Myriad Nether Urn, which once caused a sensation in Nightfall City, was brought back by him," Hu Jingjing said with a smile.

"Daring to venture into danger with only True Immortal cultivation, I imagine that Fifth Princess must worry about him a lot?" Han Li said with a smile.

"You're right. It's said that the Fifth Princess has arranged for three Grand Luo Jade Immortals to follow her brother at all times, and has also asked a Da Luo cultivator to look after him. Otherwise, how could she allow him to run wild like this?" Hu Jingjing lowered her voice and said with a giggle.

The two arrived at the entrance of the ward. Seeing the tall stone archway, Han Li suddenly stopped and said:

"Alright, Miss Jingjing, you can go back now."

The Demon Race girl, who had been smiling just moments ago, suddenly froze, looking confused. "Senior..."

"As a Body Integration cultivator, you know a bit too much. You've led me to Dijiang Ward, and I know the way back. There's no need for you to follow me," Han Li said, his smile fading.

The smile gradually disappeared from Hu Jingjing's face as well. She gave Han Li a blank look and bowed, saying:

"As you command."

Han Li ignored her, waved his hand behind him, and walked into the archway.

The Demon Race girl watched Han Li's figure gradually disappear into the crowd. A resentful look appeared on her face. She stomped her foot heavily and turned to walk back towards Tongji Bridge.

After walking for a while, Han Li glanced back and saw that she was sensible enough not to continue following him secretly. The corner of his mouth twitched, revealing a hint of a smile, and he began to look around at the shops on both sides.

The architectural style of Dijiang Ward was not as orderly as that of the Demon Palace. Various styles were mixed together, making it seem a bit chaotic. Coupled with the pedestrians coming and going on the streets, it seemed to have a bit of worldly atmosphere.

Most of these pedestrians looked no different from humans, but they all retained a bit of Demon Race characteristics. Some had a scale, some had a horn, and some had different colored pupils.

Of course, there were also quite a few who completely maintained their human appearance, so Han Li was not too conspicuous among them.

Not long after walking in, Han Li saw a three-story pavilion with carved beams and painted rafters, and upturned eaves. The style was simple and ancient, leaning towards the Immortal Realm style. The plaque hanging above it was "Immortal Spirit Pavilion."

The flow of people outside its gate was obviously not as dense as that of the neighboring shops, making it seem a bit deserted.

Han Li lifted his foot, crossed the threshold of the pavilion, and walked in.

As soon as he entered Immortal Spirit Pavilion, he immediately felt a strong surge of Immortal spiritual power. It turned out that this was a large, independently operating formation that could restrain the surrounding Heaven and Earth spiritual energy.

A young man in a Confucian robe walked out of the hall, quickly greeted Han Li, and a familiar smile appeared on his ordinary face. "A distinguished guest has arrived, apologies for not welcoming you sooner..."

"I wouldn't call myself a distinguished guest, I'm just curious as to why your store is located in this Demon Realm capital," Han Li asked casually.

"Just like there are many Demon Race people in the Immortal Realm, there are also human cultivators in the Demon Realm. Aren't you one such person? Our little shop mainly serves inter-realm Immortals like you," the young man said with a smile.

"That's true," Han Li nodded and said.

"I wonder what you need, now that you've come to our humble abode?" The young man asked.

"I need to buy some materials, I wonder if your store has them," Han Li said, pulling out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handing it over.

The man took the paper and looked at it carefully, but his brows gradually furrowed.

"The things you need are all top-notch materials. Apart from the top two, we don't have any of them in our little store. But if you need them, I can communicate with the chamber of commerce and see if we can get them from somewhere else," the young man hesitated for a moment, looking at Han Li with a slight change in his expression.

"It would be great if you could get them. It would be best if you could gather all of these materials," Han Li nodded.

"You jest, these things are too rare. We'd be lucky to gather even a small half of them. As for the others, I'm afraid you'll have to search elsewhere," the young man said apologetically.

"It doesn't matter, I'll take as much as you can get," Han Li said casually.

"There's one more thing I need to tell you in advance. Transferring goods from the Immortal Realm to here is different from being in the Immortal Realm. It takes a lot of resources. If you're willing to wait, you can wait for the next time the two realms transfer goods, and we'll send them to you together. If you're in a hurry, we can expedite the transfer, but the cost will naturally be added to the materials," the young man hesitated for a moment and then said.

"It doesn't matter, as long as the wait isn't too long," Han Li said.

"The next transfer of goods will be in about ten years," the young man replied.

"I wonder how much the price will be increased, including the transfer fee?" Han Li pondered for a long time before asking.

"According to the chamber of commerce's rules, the price of the goods will be increased by one-tenth," the young man quickly replied.

"Can I settle with Immortal Essence Stones?" Han Li asked.

"Of course," the young man said with a smile.

"Then I'll wait ten years," Han Li said after pondering for a long time.

"Okay, then please move to the guest room and wait a moment, I'll go get those two spiritual materials for you to inspect," a hint of joy flashed in the young man's eyes, he said.

...

Inside the imperial city, in a delicately arranged courtyard filled with dense demonic energy.

A charming Demon Race girl hurried through the halls and courtyards, arriving at a delicate and beautiful white-spired building at the innermost part, and stopped.

This girl was none other than Hu Jingjing, who had been dismissed by Han Li earlier. However, her cultivation level at this moment had already reached the Early Golden Immortal Realm.

Just as she was about to speak, the door of the house suddenly opened inward on its own.

The girl hesitated slightly, but still quickly walked in.

The house was quite empty. A silver-haired man dressed in black close-fitting attire was gently applying colors to a huge drawing board with a paintbrush in his hand.

In the picture was a tall, precipitous black solitary peak. A blurry figure stood on the top of the peak, facing the wind and rain. Above his head, a bolt of snow-white lightning ran down, tearing apart most of the picture.

"Jingjing, what's wrong, did he chase you away?"

The silver-haired man put down his paintbrush, turned around, and a gentle smile appeared on his handsome face.

He was none other than Shi Chuankong's third brother, Shi Pokong.

"Reporting to Your Highness, that person..." the Demon Race girl respectfully saluted and began to slowly recount what happened.

From the time she waited outside the gate of the residence, to her separation from Han Li under the Dijiang Ward archway, she recounted everything she had seen and heard along the way, as well as every word and every change in expression that Han Li had made, in great detail to Shi Pokong.

Shi Pokong listened quietly with his arms folded, without interrupting Hu Jingjing's account. Only at the end did he ask:

"After he chased you away, you didn't secretly follow him, did you?"

"Your Highness had already given instructions, so I didn't dare to gild the lily," Hu Jingjing quickly said.

"Mm, you did well," Shi Pokong nodded with a smile.

Hearing this, a hint of hesitation flashed in Hu Jingjing's eyes, and she seemed to want to say something but stopped.

"Speak if you have something to say," Shi Pokong said with a smile.

"Reporting to Your Highness, although that person was very amiable all the way, when he spoke his parting words, I couldn't help but feel a bit... a bit of chill down my spine. The reason I didn't dare to rashly follow was also because I was a little afraid," Hu Jingjing didn't dare to hide anything and told the truth.