Spirit Stones into Combat Power

"The price is only 3 spirit stones?"

Su Hao glanced at the low-grade Pure Qi Pills for sale here, priced at 4 spirit stones, which was 1 spirit stone lower than Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

But they didn't have any mid-grade Pure Qi Pills for sale.

The maid's smile remained, "This price is very fair. If you find anyone else to buy them, you won't get a higher price."

"Do you not sell mid-grade Pure Qi Pills here?" Su Hao inquired.

"Uh..." The maid was momentarily speechless, glancing at the middle-aged shopkeeper.

"If fellow Daoist needs them, we can prepare them for you. The price for regular customers is 10 spirit stones per bottle."

The middle-aged shopkeeper, named Li Ying, walked over.

He clearly understood the purpose of Su Hao's question was to compare the selling price and the purchase price.

Su Hao pondered for two seconds, "In that case, spending some time setting up a stall outside would be more beneficial for me."

"That's true, but with your strength, it's hard to bear the risk. You must know that this market is a mixed bag, and some villains not only target passersby but also disciples who set up stalls.

The longer you stay, the higher the possibility of being targeted.

What's the point of selling at a high price?

When you leave Hidden Dragon Valley, they might intercept you and kill you to get the spirit stones back.

On the other hand, doing business with us is safer. Our Eight Treasures Pavilion has been operating in Hidden Dragon Valley for over thirty years, and our reputation is guaranteed."

Li Ying looked at the mask on Su Hao's face and judged that Su Hao was new here and had never dealt in the market before.

Su Hao naturally wouldn't set up a stall outside; he didn't have the time.

However, this price was too much of a loss.

Even an alchemist with slightly lower skill wouldn't be able to recoup their costs.

"Do you have a soundproof room? Let's talk."

Su Hao glanced at the inner room. A strange array formation with rippling waves on the surface isolated the sounds inside, preventing divine sense from penetrating.

Like Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, they had rooms specifically isolated by formations for private discussions.

"Oh?" Li Ying became interested and gestured with his hand, "Of course, please come in."

Su Hao calmly sat down. After putting down the medicine bottle, he continued to take out pills from his storage bag.

One bottle, two bottles...

A total of 15 bottles were placed in front of Li Ying.

"Fellow Daoist, you don't mind if I take a look, do you?"

Li Ying was increasingly surprised. Could these all be mid-grade Pure Qi Pills?

For Eight Treasures Pavilion, receiving more than 10 bottles of Pure Qi Pills at once was already a big business.

He professionally fetched a jade box and a spoon-shaped jade utensil to handle the pills.

Among them, 13 bottles were mid-grade Pure Qi Pills, and 2 bottles were high-grade Pure Qi Pills.

Li Ying's eyes were already gleaming, and he was overjoyed.

"Mid-grade Pure Qi Pills are 8 spirit stones per bottle, and high-grade Pure Qi Pills are 15 spirit stones per bottle," Su Hao stated firmly.

"This..." Li Ying was immediately displeased. "Fellow Daoist, this price is too outrageous. At this price, our shop has no profit at all."

Su Hao shrugged, "Pills are in short supply. You probably can't always provide mid-grade and high-grade Pure Qi Pills, can you? At this price, you'll make money and also gain a good reputation."

"Just this small amount doesn't count as gaining a reputation," Li Ying interrupted immediately.

"In any case, this is my bottom line. If the cooperation is pleasant, I can continue to provide you with Pure Qi Pills of this quality in the future."

Su Hao smiled.

Li Ying shook his head, "Fellow Daoist, this kind of price-hiking tactic doesn't work. Many customers say the same thing, but very few can maintain long-term cooperation. Who knows how these pills were obtained? Or are you an alchemist?"

"If we can't agree, then forget it," Su Hao didn't engage, unwilling to admit to being an alchemist. "I'll spend some more time looking for other shops."

"Unless you are an alchemist, you won't be able to get this price from other shops," Li Ying quickly pressed down the jade box, attempting to continue the negotiation. "Few disciples can afford this price."

"Pills of low quality don't have the right to negotiate prices, but high-quality pills are scarce and sell well. And those senior disciples in the Outer Sect, which one of them doesn't need high-quality pills?"

Su Hao stared at Li Ying. While chatting with Huang Shanyu from Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, he had understood the preciousness of high-quality pills.

These kinds of pills were rarely sold externally; they were usually consumed internally, supplied to Elders and stewards.

After a while, seeing Su Hao's overly resolute attitude, Li Ying gave a wry smile, looking like he was taking a huge loss. "Fine, fine... Given the large quantity, our shop will bear the loss, and we'll go by your price!"

134 low-grade spirit stones were received.

Su Hao had been refining pills these days. Besides fulfilling some commissions for Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, he had pocketed most of the Three-Colored Lotus, Spirit Essence Grass, and other spiritual medicines.

Selling spiritual medicines alone didn't bring much money. These low-grade spiritual medicines were cheap, costing one or two spirit stones per stalk.

Now, in his storage bag, he had nearly 200 bottles of Pure Qi Pills and over 100 portions of Spirit Gathering Powder.

Most of them were top-grade.

"Fellow Daoist, we have an agreement. If you have any more pills, please prioritize us," Li Ying said, holding Su Hao's hand with a sliver of hope. "I'm hoping for a long-term partnership, which is why I agreed to this price."

"Understood, absolutely..."

Su Hao smiled and then left the Eight Treasures Pavilion.

Li Ying stood at the entrance, stroking his chin. A Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator shouldn't be able to get pills of this quality... Is he hiding his strength, or is there someone else behind him? However, his voice is young, so he can't be the Alchemist who refined these.

This has certainly solved a pressing issue for the Eight Treasures Pavilion. Elder Xu's grandson happens to need these.

He grinned and turned back into the shop, not intending to cause any trouble.

After leaving the Eight Treasures Pavilion, Su Hao continued to wander through the various stalls in the market.

Wandering was a pretense; his real intention was to guard against the Eight Treasures Pavilion.

He wanted to prevent them from trying to rob him or using other means to track him down and investigate his background.

After confirming that the Eight Treasures Emporium wasn't doing anything suspicious, Su Hao went to another shop that bought pills.

The same price, the same quantity.

He received another 134 low-grade spirit stones.

With his second successful sale, Su Hao was completely certain that these high-quality pills, even if they were low-grade, were very popular.

In just over an hour, Su Hao visited six shops located far apart from each other, ensuring they weren't owned by the same person, and sold his Pure Qi Pills and Spirit Gathering Powder.

He sold all his mid-grade and some of his high-grade pills.

He obtained 1268 spirit stones!

Adding the inheritances from Lin Zhi Shan, Zhao Bai Jiang, and Zhang Jiaojiao, Su Hao's net worth was now substantial, exceeding 1500 spirit stones.

If he sold the top-grade pills, that number would definitely double!

However, Su Hao didn't dare to do that for now. The more he sold, the easier it would be to expose himself and attract unwanted attention.

With so many spirit stones, he needed to convert them into combat power as quickly as possible.

While he could use spirit stones to cultivate directly, that method was too inefficient.

"Senior Brother, how about 200 spirit stones for a low-grade Spirit Gathering Array?"

Su Hao had been browsing for a long time and had already spotted some items he quite liked.

For example, this low-grade Spirit Gathering Array, which increased Spiritual Energy gathering efficiency by 30%, was quite practical. Its only drawback was that it required 10 spirit stones to activate once.

The Array Disk itself cost 260 spirit stones.

After some bargaining, he acquired it for 220 spirit stones.

Besides that, malevolent spirits were the most crucial items for Su Hao.

Many stalls were selling malevolent spirits, but the prices were outrageously high.

A malevolent spirit from Qi Refining Level 4 cost 20 spirit stones, a Qi Refining Level 5 spirit cost 40 spirit stones, and the price doubled with each subsequent level!

A Qi Refining Level 10 malevolent spirit cost 200 spirit stones, more expensive than a low-grade magic artifact!

A Qi Refining Level 10 malevolent spirit only retained one or two-tenths of its strength from when it was alive.

If the Soul Refining Banner were filled with Qi Refining Level 10 malevolent spirits, forming a Hundred Soul Banner, it would be enough to dominate the Outer Sect.

But this method was difficult. Whether he could even gather enough was one thing, and the price was exorbitant. With 20,000 spirit stones, he could buy treasures far more powerful than top-grade magic artifacts. Who would even bother with a low-grade magic artifact like the Soul Refining Banner?

It's too unworthwhile. Even if low-level malevolent spirits filled the Hundred Soul Banner, they would be fragile and weak, making it difficult to threaten cultivators in the later stages of Qi Refining.

If I were to fill the Soul Refining Banner by buying malevolent spirits, the cost-effectiveness would be worse than directly buying a mid-grade magic artifact. A mid-grade magic artifact should have about 30-50% more power than a low-grade one.

Su Hao lingered in front of the stalls.

The Soul Refining Banner would likely have little effect against Liu Mei.

He scanned his surroundings and noticed a low-key stall nearby, displaying some talismans.

The moment he glanced at the stall owner, Su Hao's pupils constricted.

"Zheng Tu!"