The Pattern of Grade Advancement
After paying nine hundred Spirit Stones, Shen Jingchuan put the two Spirit Concealing Jade into his Storage Ring. Before leaving, he casually asked:
Do you have any array plates here that can both block external Divine Sense probing and gather Spiritual Qi to aid cultivation?
The waiter nodded hurriedly, noticing that the man's clothes and appearance were ordinary, and his Qi Refining Second Layer, but he hadn't expected him to be so rich.
"Yes, yes, yes, it's called Spirit Gathering Formation Plate. It costs one hundred Spirit Stones for a low-grade one. It has the effect of gathering Spiritual Qi and can also block the Divine Sense scan of the Qi Refinement Realm cultivators;
"A mid-grade one costs 1,000 Spirit Stones. It can block the Divine Sense probing of the Foundation Establishment Realm, doubles the spirit-gathering effect, and makes the Spiritual Qi purer. It's perfect for daily use at home or while cultivating in hotels. We have them in stock."
Shen Jingchuan's fingertips traced the counter, and he looked up, saying, "Six hundred Spirit Stones, give me a mid-grade one."
The waiter immediately waved his hand:
"That won't do, fellow Daoist. We can't even cover the costs! The materials alone for refining this mid-grade array plate are worth several Spirit Stones. A thousand Spirit Stones is already a very low profit margin. If you cut it by four hundred, we simply can't do it."
Shen Jingchuan chuckled softly:
"I know what the prices are like in the market right now. If I can't sell it, so be it. I'll go look elsewhere." With that, he turned to leave.
"Hey, fellow Daoist, wait a moment!"
The waiter quickly stopped him and relented:
"If you're really serious about it, eight hundred Spirit Stones! This is truly the lowest price we can offer; any lower and we'd be losing money. If you agree, I'll wrap it up for you right away."
Shen Jingchuan pondered for a moment, then nodded and said:
"Alright, eight hundred it is."
The shop assistant breathed a sigh of relief, quickly took out a palm-sized bronze array plate from the back cabinet, and handed it over with a smile on his face.
"Fellow Daoist, please take this. Simply insert Spirit Stones to activate it; it's more than enough to cover a guest room. If you need anything else in the future, feel free to come!"
After paying 800 Spirit Stones, Shen Jingchuan put the array plate into his Storage Ring and turned to leave the shop.
He didn't go straight back to the inn. Instead, he circled the streets and alleys of the market twice, released his weak Divine Sense to scan behind him, and made sure no one was following him. He then pretended to stop at two stalls on the street to ask about prices before slowly walking towards the Yuelai Inn.
The Yuelai Inn is laid out with a front hall for receiving guests and a back courtyard for living. As soon as he turned into the back courtyard corridor, he bumped into Xiao Mingshu walking out with her maid Huan'er.
"I was just about to invite you to have lunch in the front hall. I've been out all afternoon; have you found anything?"
Shen Jingchuan smiled and said:
"Nothing special, just wandered around, picked up a few pills, and bought a Mid-Grade Spirit Gathering Formation Plate. It can gather Spiritual Qi to aid cultivation and also block external Divine Sense from prying into it, making it convenient for cultivating while staying at an inn."
Upon hearing this, a knowing glint flashed in Xiao Mingshu's eyes. A faint smile played on her lips. She didn't point it out; this array wasn't just for protecting against outsiders, but also against herself, wasn't it? She didn't expose it either, but simply nodded and said:
"That's useful. Let's go eat first, we can talk while we eat."
The meal was eaten quickly, and afterwards the two went back to their respective rooms.
Shen Jingchuan returned to the room, first bolting the doors and windows, then emptying all the Spirit Stones from his Storage Ring onto the table to count them.
Xiao Mingshu's three thousand Spirit Stones were set aside separately. Of the Spirit Stones that belonged to him, after deducting the nine hundred he spent on buying two Spirit Concealing Jade Flowers, the eight hundred he spent on Mid-Grade Spirit Gathering Formation Plate, and a few mid-grade pills, he still had a little over twelve hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones left.
He brushed his fingertips across the table, and with a thought, all twelve hundred Spirit Stones vanished and were absorbed into his Spatial Ring.
His mind sank into the Ring, and he called out in his heart, "Sister Xian'er!"
"Not bad, you're quite capable, lad, finding so many Spirit Stones so quickly."
Xian'er's ethereal figure appeared, a casual smile on her face, "I'll absorb a thousand Spiritual Qi first, and you can keep the rest."
As soon as she finished speaking, most of the Spiritual Qi from the dissolved Spirit Stones was absorbed into the aura surrounding her. The girl's figure became more solid, and she clearly felt much more energetic.
Shen Jingchuan's attention was focused on that figure, and his tone softened:
"Sister Xian'er, you look much better today. Has your spirit recovered somewhat?"
"Hmm, with more Spiritual Qi, your soul is more stable." Xian'er's voice carried a hint of languor. "Judging from your tone, you have a lot of questions to ask? Go ahead."
Shen Jingchuan chuckled twice, not bothering to hide anything, and rubbed his hands together, saying:
"Sister Xian'er, I just wanted to ask, how much Spiritual Qi and how many Spirit Stones are needed to upgrade the grade of pills, talismans, and Law Artifact artifacts using our Spatial Rings? I want to have a better idea of the exact amount."
Xian'er chuckled softly upon hearing this, her tone carrying a hint of knowing languor:
"I thought it was something important. What are you planning, kid? You're not planning to collect low-grade pills, upgrade them with your Rings, and then resell them to make a profit from the difference, are you?"
Having his thoughts exposed, Shen Jingchuan wasn't embarrassed and continued to smile:
"Nothing can be hidden from you, sister. You know how hard it is to earn Spirit Stones in the cultivation world. We finally have this opportunity, so we can't just leave it unused. I'm just worried that the cost of upgrading is too high, and we might lose money if things go wrong."
"It's not that we'll lose money, it's just a matter of how much we'll earn."
Xian'er's voice was slow and leisurely:
"Remember this: upgrading your item relies on the energy within the Ring. Spirit Stones are simply energy that the Ring absorbs and transforms. The exact amount of energy consumed depends entirely on the difficulty of purifying the item itself; there's no fixed number."
Elixirs are divided into ranks, and Law Artifacts are also divided into grades. The higher the rank of an item, the more energy it requires to upgrade.
Even among pills of the same grade, the medicinal properties and refining difficulty of Qi Nourishing Pill and Qi Condensing Pill are different, and the purification and consumption are naturally different as well.
Even items of the same grade and quality will have slight differences in material and Pill Formula, resulting in slight variations in waste. The Ring will automatically deduct the exact amount; you don't need to worry about calculating it.
She paused, then added:
"Within the same grade, upgrading from low-grade to mid-grade consumes less energy, while upgrading from mid-grade to high-grade consumes several times more. As for upgrading from high-grade to top-grade, the consumption is even greater."
Shen Jingchuan listened attentively, and then Xian'er continued:
"You don't need to worry about miscalculating. For pills of the same grade, the value produced will always far exceed the cost of loss, so you're guaranteed to make a profit."
Remember, the higher the grade and the rarer the elixir, the higher its price will be after its grade is upgraded, and the more money you will make.
If you happen to come across rare elixirs or talismans, items that are priceless and unavailable, the premium will be immeasurable, and you'll reap all the profits.
At the end, with a hint of a smile, she gave a definitive answer:
"Just remember this: collect good items and accumulate Spirit Stones; you'll never lose out."