Fengyun Tower

The next day.

White Cloud Sect, Fengyun Tower.

Cheng Buzheng walked along the bustling street. At the restaurant in its center, groups of friends came and went with remarkable frequency.

This restaurant was Fengyun Tower, the only place in the sect where one could order a meal. It had been built specifically for Qi Refining cultivators.

Those in the Qi Refining Realm could not abstain from food entirely. If they took Bigu Pills for too long, many found the taste of life growing dull. So, amid everyone's anticipation, Fengyun Tower came into being.

Fengyun Tower had three floors in all. The first and second floors were gathering places for many Qi Refining cultivators, while the third was reserved for the occasional Foundation Establishment Realm Martial Uncle.

Many Qi Refining cultivators came here to chat and share strange tales and amusing stories, or to dine with a few close friends. Since quite a few female Qi Refining cultivators occasionally came to treat themselves to a better meal, the place was all the livelier for it.

Of course, at that moment, he would never set foot inside Fengyun Tower and squander the few Spirit Stones he had.

Because so many Qi Refining cultivators passed through here, the two sides of the path in front of Fengyun Tower had become a place where the sect's Qi Refining cultivators traded resources.

Many Martial Brothers and Sisters spread out a Beast Skin and placed the things they wanted to exchange on it.

If they went straight to the Stipend Pavilion to trade, they would get about twenty percent less. For impoverished cultivators who split every Spirit Stone in half just to make it last, how could they bear that?

Only wealthy cultivators who didn't care about such small sums would take their spirit items straight to the Stipend Pavilion to exchange.

But buying things at the Stipend Pavilion cost only a little more than the market price. After all, the quality was reliable, unlike the goods at street stalls, which came with no guarantees whatsoever.

As a result, this place had never really flourished. It was little more than a modest convenience for Qi Refining cultivators' daily needs.

Walking down the street, Cheng Buzheng saw many Martial Brothers and Sisters sitting cross-legged along both sides, with a Beast Skin spread out before each of them and all kinds of goods laid on top.

A short while later,

he spotted a stall displaying numerous porcelain bottles. The stall owner was a fat man in sect robes, his garment stretched tight across his body. The flesh on his round face pushed his eyes into narrow slits.

At that moment, the stall-owning Martial Brother was squinting as he sized up the fellow disciples passing by.

Cheng Buzheng walked over, glanced at the stall owner with an impassive expression, then carefully examined the bottles. "Martial Brother, how much are the Bigu Pills?"

As Cheng Buzheng looked him over, the stall owner did the same. Though he saw that Cheng was only a Qi Refining Level 1 cultivator, he didn't look down on him. Instead, he smiled broadly and said,

"Junior Brother, the more Bigu Pills you buy, the better the deal. And these pills were refined by Fairy Jiang herself, a fellow disciple of our sect. Their quality is absolutely reliable!"

At that,

Cheng Buzheng considered it silently, though his expression remained unruffled. He said,

"What's this man's connection to Fairy Jiang, that she'd let him sell her pills?"

He knew of Fairy Jiang. In the mere two months since he'd joined the sect, he'd heard all sorts of rumors about her at least three times.

Just yesterday, Senior Brother Niu and Senior Brother Dai, who were standing guard in front of the Sutra Repository Tower, had told him how Fairy Jiang was peerlessly beautiful, with unmatched grace. As they spoke, their faces had taken on the lovestruck look of men gazing at the moon.

No female cultivator in the sect could rival Fairy Jiang's beauty, though two others were said to match her. Together, they were known as the Three Immortal Flowers of White Cloud Sect.

According to the rumors, Fairy Jiang was not only exceptionally gifted—at just sixteen, she had already reached Late Qi Refining Stage—but also kind-hearted and approachable. When many fellow disciples came to her for pills, she generally didn't turn them away.

All sorts of rumors flashed through his mind in an instant.

Looking at the Fat Senior Brother before him, Cheng Buzheng knew that even if the pills really had been refined by Fairy Jiang, he still wouldn't buy them unless the price suited him. In his previous life, he hadn't been the sort to obsess over celebrities, much less now.

At the same time, he knew that an immortal maiden like Fairy Jiang was far beyond someone like him at present.

Cheng Buzheng looked at the Fat Senior Brother and spoke slowly:

"Whether Fairy Jiang made them or not, the main thing is the price.

"If I can't afford them, you can say all you like and I still won't buy!"

The Fat Senior Brother smiled broadly.

"Fairy Jiang is kind-hearted and would never cheat a fellow disciple. She's just returning the affection everyone's shown her. One bottle of Bigu Pills is only one Spirit Stone! Five bottles for four Spirit Stones, ten bottles for seven. The more you buy, the better the price!"

Cheng Buzheng didn't answer at once.

He reached out, and a bottle of Bigu Pills flew from the stall into his palm. He opened it and saw ten pills inside. He poured one out and examined it closely.

Cheng Buzheng found that they were no different from the Bigu Pills he was currently taking. By their aura, color, size, and sheen, they were indistinguishable.

"I'll take one bottle!"

As he spoke, he put the Bigu Pills into his storage pouch, then took out a Spirit Stone and handed it to the stall owner.

At that moment, the Fat Senior Brother's smile grew rather strained.

"Junior Brother, that bottle's been sitting out for a while, so the pills aren't at their best. Let me give you another bottle!"

"No need. As long as the Bigu Pills still work, that's enough. It's not like they're pills for improving cultivation!"

Cheng Buzheng shook his head, unconcerned.

He knew there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Bigu Pills. Besides, they had been sitting on the stall as samples. "They've been sitting out too long, so they aren't at their best" was nothing but a load of rubbish.

In his previous life, street vendors had used that trick so often it had become stale. The samples were the good stuff; everything in the storeroom was inferior.

Once bitten, twice shy.

After learning his lesson the hard way, whenever he bought things from a street stall, he only bought the samples—kitchen knives, cutting boards, and the like.

The Fat Senior Brother took the Spirit Stone with a strained smile, then kindly asked one last time,

"Are you sure you don't want me to give you another bottle?"

Cheng Buzheng replied with cool courtesy,

"Thank you, Martial Brother. There's no need."

With that, he turned and left.

Watching Cheng Buzheng walk away, the Fat Senior Brother grumbled inwardly,

"Is this kid really that sharp?

"I didn't lose a Spirit Stone, but I didn't make one either!

"This is the first time a Qi Refining Level 1 greenhorn has kept me from making a profit. I don't earn much on a bottle of Bigu Pills, but once I sell five bottles, I make a Spirit Stone!

"Ah, there are so many sharp people. Business is tough, and even greenhorns aren't easy to fool—let alone old foxes!"

Cheng Buzheng continued wandering along the street, seeing all sorts of Spirit Pills and spirit items. For example, a bottle of ten Qi Nourishing Pills, used to improve one's cultivation in the Early Qi Refining Stage, cost twenty Spirit Stones.

Another pill that also improved cultivation in the Early Qi Refining Stage, but worked better, cost forty Spirit Stones a bottle. The price was double, which showed that cultivators with plenty of Spirit Stones advanced faster. They were all paying to win.

Magic Tools were even more expensive. A single Low-grade Magic Tool cost at least fifty Spirit Stones, while better-quality Magic Tools cost even more.

As he walked, he listened and looked around. The books had given him numbers, but what he saw with his own eyes was far more real. He also quietly memorized the prices of various spirit items, some of which weren't mentioned in the books.

This let him see the cultivation world in a more realistic light. Once he reached Qi Refining Mid-stage, he would go to White Cloud City beyond the White Cloud Mountain Range and broaden his horizons.