"Only 3 spirit stones?"
Su Hao glanced at the low-grade Pure Qi Pills sold here. They were priced at 4 spirit stones, just 1 spirit stone cheaper than at Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.
But there were no Mid-grade Pure Qi Pills for sale.
The maid's smile remained unchanged. "This price is very fair. Even if you look elsewhere, you won't find anyone offering a higher price."
"You don't sell Mid-grade Pure Qi Pills here?" Su Hao asked.
"Uh..." The maid was momentarily at a loss and glanced at the middle-aged shopkeeper.
"If Fellow Daoist needs them, we can prepare some for you. The price for a regular customer is 10 spirit stones per bottle."
The middle-aged shopkeeper, Li Ying, walked over.
He clearly understood the purpose of Su Hao's question: he wanted to compare the selling price with the purchase price.
Su Hao pondered for two seconds. "In that case, it seems it would be more profitable for me to spend some time setting up a stall outside."
"That may be true, but with your level of strength, it would be difficult to bear the risks. You should know that this marketplace is a mixed bag. Some villains keep their eyes not only on passersby, but also on the disciples setting up stalls.
The longer you stay, the more likely you are to attract someone's attention.
And what good would it do if you sold them at a high price?
Once you leave Hidden Dragon Valley, they might block your path, kill you, and take the spirit stones back.
Doing business with us is safer by comparison. Our Eight Treasures Hall has operated in Hidden Dragon Valley for more than thirty years, and our reputation is reliable."
Looking at the mask on Su Hao's face, Li Ying had already determined that Su Hao was new here and had never made a name for himself in the marketplace.
Su Hao naturally had no intention of setting up a stall outside. He did not have the time.
It was just that this price was far too disadvantageous.
Even a less-skilled alchemist would have trouble making back their costs.
"Do you have a soundproof room? Let's discuss this."
Su Hao glanced at the inner room. A strange array, rippling like waves, isolated the sounds inside, and divine sense could not probe through it.
Just like at Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, there was a room specially isolated by an array for confidential discussions.
"Oh?" Li Ying grew interested and gestured to the side. "Of course. This way, please."
Su Hao sat down calmly. After setting down the medicine bottles, he continued taking pills out of his storage pouch.
One bottle, two bottles...
A full fifteen bottles were placed in front of Li Ying.
"Fellow Daoist, you don't mind if I take a look, do you?"
Li Ying was growing increasingly astonished. Could all of these be Mid-grade Pure Qi Pills?
For Eight Treasures Hall, receiving more than ten bottles of Pure Qi Pills in a single transaction already counted as major business.
He professionally fetched a jade box and a spoon-shaped jade utensil for taking out and putting away the pills.
Thirteen bottles were Mid-grade Pure Qi Pills, while two bottles were High-grade Pure Qi Pills.
Li Ying's eyes were already shining, and he was wild with delight.
"Eight spirit stones per bottle for Mid-grade Pure Qi Pills, and fifteen spirit stones per bottle for High-grade Pure Qi Pills." Su Hao's tone was firm.
"This..." Li Ying immediately grew displeased. "Fellow Daoist, that price is outrageous. At this price, our shop would have no profit at all."
Su Hao shrugged. "Pills are in short supply. Surely you can't produce Mid-grade and High-grade Pure Qi Pills whenever you want, can you? At this price, you'll still make money, and you'll gain a good reputation."
"There are only this many. That's hardly enough to build a reputation." Li Ying cut him off at once.
"In any case, this is my bottom line. If our cooperation goes well, I can continue supplying you with Pure Qi Pills of this quality in the future."
Su Hao smiled.
Li Ying shook his head. "Fellow Daoist, that sort of price-raising tactic won't work. Many customers say the same thing, but very few can truly maintain a long-term partnership. Who knows where these pills came from? Or are you an alchemist?"
"If we can't reach an agreement, then forget it." Su Hao did not take the bait and was utterly unwilling to admit that he was an alchemist. "I'll spend some more time looking for other shops."
"Unless you're an alchemist, there's no way you can get this price from another shop." Li Ying hurriedly pressed down on the jade box, trying to continue negotiating. "Very few disciples can afford pills at this price."
"Pills of such low quality have no grounds for price negotiation, but high-quality pills are scarce and don't lack buyers. As for those senior brothers in the outer sect, which one of them doesn't need high-quality pills?"
Su Hao stared at Li Ying. When he had chatted with Huang Shanyu of Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, he had already understood how precious high-quality pills were.
These kinds of pills were rarely sold externally. They were usually consumed internally, supplied to elders and deacons.
After a while, Li Ying saw that Su Hao's attitude was too firm. He could only smile bitterly, looking as though he had suffered a tremendous loss. "Fine, fine... Considering the quantity, our shop can afford to take a loss. We'll go with your price!"
He received 134 low-grade spirit stones.
In these past few days of alchemy, Su Hao had not only fulfilled part of Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's commission, but had also secretly kept most of the Three-Colored Lotus, Spirit Essence Grass, and other spirit herbs.
Selling the spirit herbs alone would not bring in much money. These low-level spirit herbs were cheap, costing only one or two spirit stones per stalk.
Now, he had nearly 200 bottles of Pure Qi Pills and more than 100 portions of Spirit Gathering Powder in his storage pouch.
Most of them were top-quality.
"Fellow Daoist, it's settled, then. If you have any more pills, you must come to us first." Li Ying grasped Su Hao's hand, a faint hope in his eyes, and said sincerely, "I'm hoping we can cooperate for a long time in the future. That's why I agreed to this price."
"Understood. Certainly, certainly..."
Su Hao smiled before leaving Eight Treasures Hall.
Li Ying stood at the entrance and stroked his chin. "A Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator shouldn't be able to obtain pills of this quality... Has he hidden his strength, or is there someone else behind him? But this person's voice is young. He can't be the alchemist who refined these pills."
"He did solve Eight Treasures Hall's urgent problem. Elder Xu's grandson happens to need these."
He grinned, turned around, and went back inside, with no intention of making any underhanded moves.
After leaving Eight Treasures Hall, Su Hao continued strolling through the various stalls in the marketplace.
The strolling was a pretense. In truth, he was keeping an eye on Eight Treasures Hall.
He wanted to prevent them from trying to swallow the goods and kill the seller or pursuing some other objective by sending people to follow him and investigate his background.
After confirming that Eight Treasures Hall had not done so, Su Hao went to another shop that purchased pills.
The same price, the same quantity.
Another 134 low-grade spirit stones fell into his hands.
After successfully making a second sale, Su Hao completely confirmed that these high-quality pills, even though they were low-level pills, were extremely popular.
Over the course of more than an hour, Su Hao found six shops spaced fairly far apart and confirmed that they did not share the same owner behind the scenes. He then sold them Pure Qi Pills and Spirit Gathering Powder.
He sold all of the Mid-grade and some of the High-grade pills.
He received 1,268 spirit stones!
Adding in the inheritances of Lin Zhi Shan, Zhao Bai Jiang, Zhang Jiaojiao, and the others,
Su Hao was now wealthy, with more than 1,500 spirit stones.
If he sold the top-quality pills, that number could definitely double!
But Su Hao did not have the courage to do that for the time being. The more he sold, the easier it would be to expose himself, and the easier it would be for someone to set their sights on him.
With so many spirit stones, he had to convert them into combat power as quickly as possible.
He could certainly use the spirit stones to cultivate directly, but that method offered far too little value for the cost.
"Senior Brother, how about 200 spirit stones for this Low-grade Spirit Gathering Array?"
After strolling for so long, Su Hao had already spotted several items that caught his interest.
For example, this Low-grade Spirit Gathering Array increased the efficiency of Spiritual Energy gathering by thirty percent. It was quite practical. Its only drawback was that activating it once required 10 spirit stones.
The Array Disk was priced at 260 spirit stones.
After some haggling, he bought it for 220 spirit stones.
Besides that, Yin Souls were what Su Hao needed most.
Quite a few stalls were selling Yin Souls, but their prices were outrageously high.
A Yin Soul at Qi Refining Level 4 cost 20 spirit stones, while one at Qi Refining Level 5 cost 40 spirit stones. The farther up they went, the more the price doubled!
A Yin Soul at Qi Refining Level 10 cost 200 spirit stones, more expensive than even a low-grade magical artifact!
A Qi Refining Level 10 Yin Soul had only one-tenth or one-twelfth of the strength it possessed before death.
If the Soul Refining Banner were filled entirely with Qi Refining Level 10 Yin Souls, forming a Hundred Soul Banner, it would be enough to run rampant through the outer sect.
But this method was difficult. Whether he could gather enough was one matter, and the price was exorbitant. With 20,000 spirit stones, one could buy a treasure even more powerful than a top-grade magical artifact. Who would still value a low-grade magical artifact like the Soul Refining Banner?
"It's far too poor a deal. Even if low-level Yin Souls fill the Hundred Soul Banner, they're fragile and weak, making it difficult for them to threaten late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.
If I rely on buying Yin Souls to fill the Soul Refining Banner, the value for the cost is even worse than simply buying a Mid-grade magical artifact.
As for a Mid-grade magical artifact, its power should be thirty to fifty percent higher than a low-grade one."
Su Hao paced back and forth in front of the stall.
Against Liu Mei, the Soul Refining Banner would probably have little effect.
He swept his gaze around and noticed an unassuming stall nearby displaying some talismans.
The instant he caught sight of the stall owner, Su Hao's pupils contracted.
"Zheng Tu!"