Nine Dragon Shop

Nine Dragon Shop

Little Spirit Void Peak.

Inside a courtyard's Meditation Chamber.

A young man of around thirty sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. Before him stood an octagonal golden pill furnace.

The pill furnace was enormous, covering an area of nearly two meters and standing taller than a man.

Its eight corners extended outward, with two Spirit Stones embedded in each one.

The young man pressed both hands against the furnace's spiritual-power input ports, his eyes closed as he sensed the condition of the pills within.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from his face. Clearly, refining this batch of pills was no easy task for him.

At a certain moment.

The young man abruptly opened his eyes, delight flashing through them.

"It's done."

The most crucial stage of pill fusion had passed, but it would still take slow, painstaking work before the pill was fully formed.

The young man did not let down his guard. Instead, he continued to maintain stability. This was the attention to detail he had cultivated through years of rich pill-refining experience.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn.

The young man withdrew his hands from the pill furnace and slowly let out a breath.

Then.

He opened the furnace lid. Inside lay only a single pill, resting quietly.

The pill was half gold and half silver, roughly as thick as a finger, perfectly round as though formed by nature itself, containing a trace of flawless "beauty."

Looking at the perfect pill within the furnace, the young man narrowed his eyes, slightly entranced.

"It's finally done—the Gold-Silver Pill."

"It wasn't easy."

"For this single pill, the spirit herbs and grasses in the raw materials alone cost around ten Spirit Stones. The refining process also required at least five jin of spirit sand and eight Spirit Stones. Altogether, the material cost alone came to twenty-three Spirit Stones. It was practically a sky-high price."

"Still, once it succeeds, the returns are immense."

"This one is valued even by Qi Refining Layer 9 cultivators. It has miraculous effects in tempering spiritual power."

"The market price is two Medium-grade Spirit Stones, or around two hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones."

The young man was, naturally, Han Yi.

For this round of pill refinement, he had spent one thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones to acquire a special pill formula: the Gold-Silver Pill formula.

Before successfully refining this Gold-Silver Pill, he had already ruined three batches.

With his current pill-refining skill at Peak Mastery, for him to ruin three batches showed just how difficult this kind of pill was to refine. Moreover, each batch produced only one pill, making the success rate exceptionally low.

Han Yi took out a jade vial, placed the half-gold, half-silver pill inside, and carefully stored it in his storage pouch.

Then.

He put away the octagonal golden pill furnace as well.

He had also purchased this pill furnace at great expense, specifically to refine more valuable pills.

The Gold-Silver Pill was only his first step. Next, he wanted to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill formula and try refining Foundation Establishment Pills.

However, the price of a Foundation Establishment Pill formula far exceeded that of the Gold-Silver Pill formula, and its raw materials were even more expensive. It was not something he could involve himself with at present, so he temporarily set the matter aside.

"At present, I can refine seven kinds of pills in total: Qi Nourishing Pills, Evil Warding Pills, Breakthrough Pills, Mind Gathering Pills, Qi Fusion Pills, Spirit Sensing Pills, and Gold-Silver Pills."

"My next step is to inquire about a Foundation Establishment Pill formula."

"But over all these years, no Foundation Establishment Pill formula has ever appeared in the Inner Peak Market. I'm afraid it will be difficult."

"Forget it. When the boat reaches the bridge, it will straighten itself out. With my current abilities, my success rate at refining Foundation Establishment Pills would definitely be very low."

"And even if I did manage to refine Foundation Establishment Pills, I wouldn't dare sell them outside."

"There's no need to rush."

If Inner Sect disciples heard Han Yi's words, they would probably cough up blood.

Foundation Establishment Pills were notoriously difficult to refine. Even in the Inner Sect, only true disciples, deacons, or elders at the Foundation Establishment level could refine them. Yet he, an Outer Peak disciple at Qi Refining Layer 6, actually dared to speak of success rates.

After putting away the pill-refining items in the Meditation Chamber, Han Yi left the courtyard and headed straight for the Inner Peak, Red Sun Peak.

His destination was Red Sun Market, one of the three Inner Peak markets located on Red Sun Peak.

At the northwestern corner of Red Sun Peak stood a separately enclosed cluster of buildings. This was Red Sun Market.

Han Yi stepped inside and took a mask from his storage pouch, putting it on his face.

This kind of mask could be used within the market. It concealed one's aura, preventing others from discerning one's true strength, and was sold in the market itself.

Of course.

One could also trade openly in the market without wearing a mask. From Han Yi's observations, those Foundation Establishment experts of the sect rarely wore masks. They had confidence in their own strength.

Besides, there were only so many Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sect. Even with a mask, others could identify one's true face through small details. It was better not to wear one at all.

Han Yi had two purposes for coming this time.

One was to sell pills, and the other was to purchase a magical artifact.

And his method of selling pills differed from before.

Nine Dragon Shop.

Han Yi took out the pills he had accumulated from refining during this period and placed them before the manager.

The manager was a hunched old man in his seventies, surnamed He.

Yet although Manager He was old, Han Yi did not dare underestimate him in the slightest.

This was a Qi Refining Layer 9 cultivator. He appeared harmless to man and beast, but Han Yi had seen his decisive, thunderous side before.

"Oh? Gold-Silver Pills?"

Manager He immediately fixed his gaze on one of the jade vials.

Han Yi only saw a blur before his eyes, and the jade vial containing the Gold-Silver Pill was already in Manager He's hand. The movement was so fast that Han Yi had not even reacted. His heart turned solemn, but he did not reveal the slightest anomaly.

After pouring out the pill and appraising it, Manager He wore a satisfied expression.

"Not bad. Truly not bad."

"To be able to refine Gold-Silver Pills, Fellow Daoist is indeed remarkable."

Manager He set down the Gold-Silver Pill and began appraising the other types of pills.

A moment later.

"The market price for a Gold-Silver Pill is two hundred Spirit Stones. Here, Fellow Daoist knows that the price is discounted to eighty percent. But given that this pill's quality is passable and demand has surged recently, I can yield a little—one hundred and seventy-five Spirit Stones."

"Qi Fusion Pills have a market price of eight Spirit Stones. Sensing Pills are six. Mind Gathering Pills..."

"The market price of Standard Quality Evil Warding Pills has recently risen to thirty-two Spirit Stones..."

Manager He's abacus clicked rapidly, and before long, he had calculated the prices for every pill.

Han Yi listened quietly without objecting.

This shop was located in the Inner Peak Market. Its name was Nine Dragon, and he had heard that it was connected to Grandmaster Fu of the Inner Peak. Its reputation had always been excellent.

Han Yi recalled the Golden Core Stage grandmaster he had encountered several years ago on Little Spirit Void Peak, the one who had destroyed the Heavenly Demon's true body.

That cultivator had been surnamed Fu, and the magical treasure he used had been the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Cover.

The information matched. It was probably that very person, Han Yi guessed.

He had only begun considering this route more than four months ago.

Because his channels for selling pills had become increasingly restricted.

His pill-refining skills had grown stronger and stronger, and the pills he produced had become increasingly high-end in both quantity and quality.

Meanwhile, his need for cultivation resources, such as Spirit Stones, had also grown greater and greater.

Relying solely on female cultivators from Little Sea View Peak to buy them, along with setting up stalls among the vendors of the Inner Peak, took time and effort while scattering the risks.

In the end, after making inquiries in many places, Han Yi decided to sell most of his pills to Nine Dragon Shop at a discounted price.

This was his third visit.

Although Nine Dragon Shop pressed prices down severely, there would be no loose ends afterward, which suited Han Yi's requirements perfectly.