Alternative Formula

Li Shuidao arrived at the market. The crowd surged, and vendors shouted about their wares.

"Selling jade! High-grade spirit jade, come take a look! Vibrant colors, brimming with spiritual energy!"

"Newly forged treasure blades, one slash and blood will spurt!" The vendors' cries rose and fell.

Li Shuidao's eyes narrowed slightly, the formula for Purple Poison Powder surfacing in his mind.

Purple Poison Powder Formula: Evergreen Grass, four mace; Bitter Snake Sweet, two mace; Toad Gall, two mace; Three Immortals Grass, four mace.

Place the Evergreen Grass, Toad Gall, and Bitter Snake Sweet into a grinder together and grind them into powder. After washing the Three Immortals Grass, chop it into fine pieces, then mix it evenly with the previous herbal powder. Stir-fry at low temperature for the duration of one incense stick. When the medicinal ingredients turn deep purple, it is Purple Poison Powder.

Every disciple of the Li Family had learned this formula and was required to memorize it; it was common knowledge, so to speak.

Li Shuidao had naturally memorized it as well, not through rote memorization, but by understanding, incorporating the formula into his system of Yin-Yang Balance and Five Elements' mutual generation.

Toad Gall belongs to Water, Bitter Snake Sweet belongs to Fire, Evergreen Grass belongs to Wood. Three Immortals Grass stabilizes the medicinal properties, specifically the properties of Water, Fire, and Wood.

All things in the world tend toward Yin-Yang Balance and the harmony of the Five Elements. The medicinal properties of the three poisons—Water, Fire, and Wood—are anchored by the Three Immortals Grass. Mismatched Five Elements will disrupt the Yin-Yang; this is the toxicity and also the medicinal principle of Purple Poison Powder. He silently recited, his eyes slightly closed.

Theoretically, in the medicinal agent Purple Poison Powder, all herbs except for the Three Immortals Grass could be substituted.

Gathering all the spirit materials needed to refine Purple Poison Powder from the market stalls was almost impossible. After all, too many people knew the formula for Purple Poison Powder, and refining such a basic pill required no special skills.

Everyone was buying them at high prices, long-term purchases of Evergreen Grass, Toad Gall, Bitter Snake Sweet, and Three Immortals Grass.

Among these, Bitter Snake Sweet was the most scarce and also the most expensive.

Next was Evergreen Grass. Although this spirit grass was abundant, it could be used in many elixirs, thus it was not commonly seen in the market. As long as the price was not outrageous, it would be snatched up as soon as it appeared.

At the market, one could only buy Toad Gall and Three Immortals Grass at most.

Besides Purple Poison Powder, Three Immortals Grass could hardly be used in any other elixirs, so it easily appeared on the market.

After browsing the bustling market for a while, Li Shuidao's eyes suddenly lit up.

Three Immortals Grass!

The quality was quite good.

"How much for this Three Immortals Grass?" Li Shuidao asked.

"Tier one spirit grass, Three Immortals Grass, twenty Jade Coins per stalk," the vendor said loudly.

Li Shuidao frowned.

One stalk of Three Immortals Grass could at most refine three portions of Purple Poison Powder. Twenty Jade Coins was simply too expensive; it would be better to buy finished Purple Poison Powder directly from the Hundred Herbs Hall.

He had to haggle, at least down to ten Jade Coins per stalk to make it worthwhile.

"Five Jade Coins per stalk, how about that?" Li Shuidao said, ready to bargain with the stall owner, aiming to get them for ten Jade Coins.

"Ten Jade Coins per stalk! I'll take all the Three Immortals Grass here." A young man in a blue shirt walked over and bought all the Three Immortals Grass without further ado, then left.

Li Shuidao: "..."

Seeing Li Shuidao's disappointed expression, the stall owner chuckled, "Fellow Daoist, when you encounter something truly good, you must act decisively, or you'll regret missing out."

"What you say is very true, sir," Li Shuidao said politely, cupping his fists.

"A teachable youth." The stall owner then took out a handful of spirit grass from his storage bag. These spirit grasses were all dried out, clearly harvested a long time ago and poorly preserved, with severe loss of spiritual energy.

"These Three Immortals Grass are not in good condition, how about I sell them to you cheaply?" The stall owner didn't expect to get a good price for these substandard spirit grasses, but he didn't want to waste them, so he asked.

Li Shuidao's eyes lit up. Three Immortals Grass only stabilized medicinal properties; it didn't need to have abundant spiritual energy.

He pretended to be hesitant and said, "These spirit grasses are all dried out and have lost a lot of spiritual energy. I don't know if they can still be used. Sir, please name your price." Li Shuidao asked for the price.

Seeing that the young man was sensible, the boss smiled and quoted a price: "Take all of them for twenty Jade Coins."

Li Shuidao nodded, then counted out twenty Jade Coins from the cloth bag at his waist and handed them to the stall owner.

After the transaction was complete, Li Shuidao turned and left for another area.

"How much for these three stalks of Rootless Ice Grass?" Li Shuidao squatted down and asked.

"Eighty Jade Coins!" the stall owner said the price.

"Too expensive!" Li Shuidao shook his head and refused.

"Then I can't help you!" The stall owner shrugged indifferently.

Li Shuidao shook his head. He had a hundred Jade Coins left. If he spent too much here, he wouldn't have enough to buy other things later, so he decisively turned to leave.

"Wait—" At this moment, the stall owner called out to him.

"Are you willing to lower the price?"

"Fine, fine... You name a price?"

"Thirty Jade Coins." Li Shuidao named a price that he felt was reasonable according to his affordability.

"Deal!" The stall owner readily agreed.

Then, Li Shuidao took out thirty Jade Coins from his embrace, placed them on the stall, and left.

Next, Li Shuidao spent thirty-five Jade Coins to buy several stalks of Blazing Thistle, leaving only the wood-element spirit grass.

Among the wood-element spirit grasses, Evergreen Grass was the most suitable. Its medicinal properties were neutral and mild, best for harmonizing Yin and Yang. Otherwise, the medicinal properties of Rootless Ice Grass and Blazing Thistle would conflict too violently, likely causing an explosion on the spot.

Although Evergreen Grass is common, it's used in many pill recipes, so whenever it appears, it's snatched up immediately.

Li Shuidao walked through the marketplace, looking at the numerous stalls, pondering how to find a medicinal herb that could replace Evergreen Grass. He searched for a long time without finding any useful clues when suddenly he heard a commotion.

"You cheat! The Evergreen Pills you sold me are all duds." someone yelled, drawing a crowd.

Evergreen Pill!

A pill that extends the lifespan of cultivators below the Spirit Refining Realm. The main ingredient for this pill is Evergreen Grass.

Dud pills aren't fake pills, they're just pills that were ruined during refinement.

Although Evergreen Pill is a first-tier pill, it's difficult to refine, and its success rate is said to be extremely low.

Therefore, whether one can successfully refine Evergreen Pills is also a mark of whether a cultivator is a first-tier alchemist.

This stall owner must be practicing alchemy, but unfortunately, he has no integrity, which is why he's selling his refined dud pills as good ones.

Li Shuidao guessed the general reason after a moment's thought.

The goat-bearded stall owner's shamelessness was far beyond Li Shuidao's expectations. He said with a furious expression, "Who is this madman! Why are you being so unreasonable? I've always been honest with everyone!"

"You dare say these pills weren't sold by you?"

"No! What proof do you have that you bought them from me? I don't even know you. You're spewing nonsense, framing me, and clearly trying to extort me!" Although the stall owner was thin, he had plenty of spirit when it came to yelling.

"This makes me so angry! I can take this, but I can't stand this! I'll kill you!" The customer angrily attacked!

"Stop!"

"Who dares to lay a hand on him!"

Suddenly.

A cultivator with a silver hook hanging from his waist rushed out.

Silver hook!

The symbol of the Silver Hook Guard from the Enforcement Hall.

The person had been just an ordinary tourist a moment before, but the next second, he hung out his silver hook, revealing his identity.

Cultivators from the Five Poisons Sect's Enforcement Hall always lurked in the market. As soon as someone started causing trouble, they would immediately step in to punish the offenders and maintain order.

But the customer was now furious, completely losing his reason. Even facing an Enforcement Hall cultivator, he didn't know when to stop.

"Insolent!" the Enforcement Hall cultivator shouted sternly, "Surrender now!"