Do You Want It or Not?

Three male cultivators in tight-fitting magic robes gathered around and bent to examine the items on the azure stone slab.

"Eh, an Aura Concealing Talisman. Good stuff! How much per talisman?"

"Five Spirit Stones each. Essential for staying home, traveling, and heading into the mountains to hunt. At a critical moment, activate this talisman, and even a Thorny Wolf's nose won't be able to smell you!"

"That expensive? Why don't you just rob people?"

"You tell me—do you want it or not?"

"Make it cheaper. We're heading into the mountains and still need to buy many kinds of talismans. We can buy a whole stack from you."

"Why don't you go ask around? My reputation, Old Taoist Chen's reputation, in Great River Market—and my talisman-making skills! Besides, even if I sell the talismans to you cheaply, when a demonic beast pounces right in your face, will it bite you one time less?"

"Three Spirit Stones for this Aura Concealing Talisman, plus three Earth Spike Talismans and six Fireball Talismans."

"Four! Not a single bit less. This Aura Concealing Talisman is my exclusive business—I only produce one a month!"

The three male cultivators discussed it and decided to buy the Aura Concealing Talisman.

After settling that account, their attention fell upon the jade bottles in the corner beside it.

"Grain Avoidance Pills?"

Luo Chen perked up. "One pill will fill you up. Ten pills will keep you from going hungry for three days and three nights. How many bottles would you like?"

"How much?"

"Let me tell you, my Grain Avoidance Pills are made with high-quality Tier 1 yellow beef as the main ingredient, supplemented with ginseng and angelica sinensis... and finally refined with Hundred Flowers Fragrant Honey, a specialty of the Medicine King Sect. They're truly excellent quality at a fair price!"

"Are they really that good?"

"Come, smell the fragrance. Isn't it wonderfully fragrant? Now look at the color—there's absolutely no flour mixed in to fake it. I dare say no one in this area has pills with a better appearance than mine!"

"Big Brother, they do seem a little more fragrant than the Grain Avoidance Pills we bought before."

"Exactly. This fellow cultivator can tell quality at a glance. You were probably cheated before. Were those Grain Avoidance Pills floury when you ate them? Then they were definitely made with fake beef!"

"How much?"

"Four bottles for just one Spirit Stone!"

"Why don't you just rob people!"

"You tell me—do you want them or not? Once you pass this stall, you won't find goods this good again. Let me tell you, I have plenty of regular customers. Before long, I'll be sold out and heading home."

"Can't you make it cheaper?"

"I can see the three of you sincerely want to buy them, so how about this? Still one Spirit Stone, but five bottles! Sound good? Consider it making friends. When I come out with new pills later, I'll give you a discount too!"

"Fine, give us ten bottles. We still have some left from before that we haven't finished, so this time we'll try yours."

Money and goods changed hands. Luo Chen and Old Taoist Chen cupped their hands and wished them, "May you enter the mountains safely and return with bountiful harvests."

After they left, the two exchanged smiles.

Old Taoist Chen quietly placed another Aura Concealing Talisman on the stall.

Hadn't he said he only made one per month?

As the sun climbed higher, the Rogue Cultivator Area in the Southwest Corner grew increasingly lively.

There were sellers of pills, sellers of cultivation methods, sellers of demonic beast meat—everywhere one looked.

Buyers and treasure hunters came in an unbroken stream. Every now and then, one could even spot a disciple clad in the standard Daoist robes of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.

Whenever the latter appeared, the rogue cultivators became especially spirited, and the prices they shouted rose by several notches without them even realizing it.

People from sects were all fat sheep!

But that had nothing to do with Luo Chen.

Grain Avoidance Pills were the most common of common goods; every sect had them.

Moreover, what he refined were the lowest-grade Grain Avoidance Pills. They could not even truly be called pills, merely Grain Avoidance Powder kneaded into little pellets.

No matter how well he refined such things, they had no real competitive edge.

By noon, Luo Chen had sold almost all his goods.

There had only been twenty bottles to begin with—not many at all—and even those had taken Luo Chen six or seven days to save up.

Low-level pill refiners truly had it too hard!

If they were not supported by a sect or clan, rogue cultivator low-level pill refiners had it even worse—so miserable it was inhuman!

There was nothing much to pack up. After giving Old Taoist Chen a few pieces of beef jerky made from scraps, Luo Chen prepared to leave.

Before he left, Old Taoist Chen stopped him while chewing beef jerky with water.

"You're planning to release new pills? Don't tell me it's that Incomplete Pill Recipe you picked up last year?"

"Kid, don't aim too high. I've seen too many rogue cultivator pill refiners study new pill recipes until they lost everything, their fortunes poured away like water."

"It wasn't easy for you to save up those few Spirit Stones. You might as well go to Spirit Medicine Pavilion and buy two bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills to improve your cultivation a little."

This was rare heartfelt advice from that miserly old man who loved taking advantage of others.

Luo Chen could hear the sincerity in his words.

In truth, the price the original owner had paid because of that Incomplete Pill Recipe was even greater than Old Taoist Chen had said.

But Luo Chen had other plans, so naturally he would not do something as unrealistic as aiming too high.

"You should watch your teeth, old man. My beef jerky is liable to crack them."

Old Taoist Chen bit down on the beef jerky with a savage expression. Strands of meat lodged between his teeth, making him quite uncomfortable, yet he still forced them down.

He glared at Luo Chen.

"Scram!"

Luo Chen chuckled, squeezed into the crowd in two or three steps, and vanished from sight.

It was still the Rogue Cultivator Area in the Southwest Corner, but this time he had come to the herb trading district.

Having spent years in this place, he was thoroughly familiar with the buying and selling of all kinds of goods.

"Sister Wang, did your man just bring these back from the mountains? They don't even seem fully dried yet. I'm afraid anyone who knows their stuff won't want them."

"Your little brother will do a good deed today and reluctantly take ten jin off your hands!"

"This piece of He Shou Wu probably hasn't reached ten years yet! Make it cheaper, and I'll take it."

"Jade Mountain Herb, yes, give me fifty jin. I used to buy twenty jin for one Spirit Stone, but now the price has doubled. You should at least give me some discount!"

"Forget it, I won't haggle anymore. Throw in a Red Cedar Fruit for me—this one here, it's nice and large."

Over the course of the afternoon, Luo Chen moved through the herb district, purchasing in bulk all kinds of medicinal herbs he needed.

Since rogue cultivators were all selling from street stalls, the quality of the goods depended entirely on one's eyes, while the price depended entirely on one's bargaining.

He haggled until his lips were dry before he managed to purchase nearly everything.

Next, he still had to make a trip to the center of the Inner City.

Spirit Medicine Pavilion, one of Great River Market's six top-tier shops, stood in the most conspicuous location in the city center.

It was five stories high, with upturned eaves, painted walls, carved railings, and jade-like masonry—a sight of exquisite beauty.

But it only bought and sold Finished Pills, so for the time being, it was not a place Luo Chen could afford to patronize.

His destination was Hundred Herbs Hall beside Spirit Medicine Pavilion.

It was said that both Spirit Medicine Pavilion and Hundred Herbs Hall came from the Medicine King Sect, though no one knew why they had been divided into two storefronts.

Compared with the lofty grandeur of Spirit Medicine Pavilion, Hundred Herbs Hall was far more ordinary.

A row of single-story rooms stretched toward the back, looking entirely unremarkable.

Yet once one drew near, the rich scent of medicinal herbs rushed straight at the face.

Luo Chen's spirits lifted. He gently set the large sack on his back down by the entrance.

The Fat Shopkeeper's eyes narrowed involuntarily as he looked at that large sack, and his nose twitched as well. Then he shook his head.

Luo Chen paid it no mind and stepped up to the counter.

"Senior, do you still have dried scallops and Fire Hound Whip here?"

Upon hearing the names of those two medicinal ingredients, the Fat Shopkeeper's gaze toward him turned playful.