Buying Medicine

Walking along the bustling Commercial Street, Mo Tang looked at the rows of shops on both sides. Most of them bore the "Mo" emblem; clearly, they were all Mo Clan businesses.

He casually picked a shop with a rather grand storefront and walked straight in.

"Ah, esteemed customer, please come inside~~!"

The clerk's melodious call carried far the moment Mo Tang stepped through the door.

Especially after noticing the clothes that marked Mo Tang as a Mo Clan disciple, the clerk's expression became even more enthusiastic.

It could not be helped. These people all depended on the Mo Clan for their livelihoods, and many were even Mo Clan household servants. So even if they encountered a branch-family disciple of the Mo Clan, they still had to greet him with a smile.

Perhaps some melodramatic conflicts might arise between disciples who shared the Mo surname, but to ordinary outsiders, the entire Mo Clan was one whole.

"What's the current price for a Tier 1 Magic Core?" Mo Tang asked directly.

The clerk asked with a cheerful smile, "Esteemed customer, are you buying or selling?"

"...!"

Damn it, why did it feel like this bastard was taking a jab at me?

Mo Tang glared at the somewhat dim-witted fellow. Seeing the other man's baffled expression, he said irritably, "Of course I'm selling... ptui! I'm selling a Magic Core!"

"Ah, oh, oh. If you're selling, then it depends on what kind of Magic Core it is. Magic Cores with different attributes and grades naturally have different prices."

Although he felt that this young man before him was not particularly bright, the clerk still gave a very professional answer.

"A Thunder Wolf Demonic Core from a peak Tier 1 Thunder Wolf..." Mo Tang said, directly taking out the jade box.

The clerk's eyes immediately lit up!

A Lightning Attribute Magic Core... and one from a peak Tier 1 Thunder Wolf. That was a fine item!

"Please wait a moment. I'll go invite the shopkeeper."

Do not assume that Tier 1 Magic Cores were worthless. Their value also depended on their attributes.

Demonic Beasts with Wind Attribute or Lightning Attribute, which excelled in speed and attack, were particularly difficult to capture. Sometimes, even a Dou Shi-level expert was needed to catch one, so their prices were naturally higher.

A moment later, a middle-aged man dressed in fine robes emerged. Upon seeing Mo Tang, he immediately smiled and said, "Little brother, you're also from the Mo Clan? May I ask your name?"

Mo Tang nodded with a faint smile. "My name is Mo Tang. My father was called Mo Yun..."

It could not be helped. No one knew the name Mo Tang at all, so he could only drag out his dead father for use.

"Oh...!"

The middle-aged man wore an enlightened expression.

Yet his thoughts were racing as he tried to remember who Mo Tang was, and which Mo Yun he meant...

After a moment, the middle-aged man finally thought of someone and said, "Mo Yun? Was he the Mo Yun who served as a personal guard under the Great Elder ten years ago?"

Speaking of the Great Elder, there was only one person: Mo Cheng, the true pillar of the Mo Clan.

He was also the unlucky fellow from the original story whom Xiao Yan had stomped to death like a dog...

The Original Body's father had once been quite a renowned figure in the Mo Clan.

Moreover, he had been Mo Cheng's trusted confidant. Although he had died rather early, the older members of the Mo Clan still retained some impression of him.

"That's right." Mo Tang nodded.

"Hahaha, so you're Brother Mo Yun's son. I never expected you to have grown so much! Back then, this old man had quite a bit of contact with Brother Mo Yun."

While trying to build rapport, the middle-aged man said, "Nephew, this old man is Huang He. Just call me Uncle Huang. I heard that you want to sell a peak Tier 1 Thunder Wolf Magic Core?"

"That's right." Mo Tang handed the Magic Core to him and added casually, "Please have a look, Uncle Huang."

Huang He opened the jade box and examined it carefully before nodding. "Mm, not bad. It is indeed a peak Tier 1 Thunder Wolf Magic Core. Although some of its internal energy has leaked away, the loss is minor and will not have much impact..."

Mo Tang listened quietly.

This was the usual routine: first find flaws in the goods, then use them to haggle down the price.

Did Huang He think that calling him "nephew" and being called "Uncle Huang" truly made them uncle and nephew? When it came to business, that flimsy relationship was worth shit!

Right now, Mo Tang only hoped that Huang He would not cut him too deeply.

After dawdling for quite a while, Huang He finally set the item down and said with a solemn expression, "How about this? Since it's your first time visiting my shop, I should show some goodwill. I'll buy this Magic Core at a twenty percent premium: eight hundred Gold Coins. What do you think?"

Mo Tang's thoughts raced.

At that price, it was indeed two or three hundred Gold Coins more expensive than an ordinary Tier 1 Magic Core.

But considering that this was a peak Tier 1 Magic Core and a rare Lightning Attribute one at that, the price could only be considered fair.

As for this so-called premium...

It was best to just listen and not take it seriously.

"Fine, we'll do as Uncle Huang says." Mo Tang went along with it readily, making Huang He's smile grow even wider.

This thing could fetch at least a thousand Gold Coins with a simple resale. If he found an alchemist, it might even sell for more. Huang He's fat face was already smiling so hard that his eyes had disappeared.

"By the way, Uncle Huang, I'd like to use this money to buy some medicinal ingredients."

Huang He raised his brows at once and said, "Sure. Nephew, you want something to aid cultivation, right? Then I think you could buy some Bone Strengthening Vine. It can strengthen the body's muscles and bones, and its effect is quite good before one becomes a Dou Zhe."

As for medicinal pills... Huang He did not mention them at all.

He knew perfectly well that with the few hundred Gold Coins in Mo Tang's hands, he could not afford even the lowest-grade cultivation-assisting pill!

Those started at over five thousand Gold Coins!

Ordinary people could still work hard to save one or two hundred Gold Coins, buy things like Bone Strengthening Vine, and boil them into soup at home.

Mo Tang shook his head. "I want something that can help with cultivating Dou Qi..."

"That works too." Huang He nodded, then turned around and brought out several boxes from inside. After opening them, he revealed several kinds of herbs.

"These are all suitable. Take a look and see which one you want."

"Low-grade Energy detected: 3 points. Absorb?"

"Yes/No."

"Low-grade Energy detected: 4 points. Absorb?"

"Yes/No."

"..."

Without showing any reaction, Mo Tang inspected each of the herbs. After comparing their prices, he finally chose the most cost-effective medicinal herb, Dark Wind Grass. Each stalk cost four hundred Gold Coins and could provide him with 4 Energy Points, making it the best deal.

Before the eight hundred Gold Coins he had just received had even warmed in his hands, he had spent them again on two stalks of Dark Wind Grass. Still, overall, he had not lost out.

This method of purchasing Spirit Herbs from shops was extremely uneconomical for Mo Tang at his current stage, so next he planned to arm himself and head to the mountains thirty li outside the city.

Although that mountain could not compare to the resource-rich Demonic Beast Mountain Range, there were still some ordinary Spirit Medicines growing within it.

More importantly, most of the creatures living there were merely ordinary wild beasts. Only by truly venturing deep into the mountains might one encounter some Tier 1 or Tier 2 Demonic Beasts; higher-level Demonic Beasts did not exist there at all.

So long as he prepared sufficiently, Mo Tang would not need to worry too much about losing his life there...