Selling Spirit Honey

Wang Daoyuan was planning where to go have some fun when Wang Zhide came looking for him. Wang Daoyuan stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Greetings, Ninth Uncle. Your grandson just broke through to Qi Refining Layer Seven and was preparing to report to you."

Wang Zhide knew Wang Daoyuan's cultivation level, as he had already reached the peak of Sixth Layer of Qi Condensation, so he wasn't surprised by his breakthrough to Qi Refining Layer Seven.

He had previously worried that Wang Daoyuan's cultivation was too hasty and his foundation might be unstable after breaking through. Now, seeing Wang Daoyuan's robust aura with no signs of superficiality, he felt relieved.

He stared at Wang Daoyuan with a doubtful gaze and said, "I suspect you were thinking about where to wander off to, weren't you? Since you've broken through to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation, the house arrest order has been lifted, and I'm too lazy to manage you. I've come to find you because the Patriarch has ordered you and Shouye to return to Jade Spring Peak immediately, without delay. Where is Shouye? Didn't I order him to keep an eye on you?"

"After I broke through, Twelfth Uncle went out. Ninth Uncle, I need to go out and buy some things. Can you grant me a little more time?"

To break through to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation as quickly as possible, Wang Daoyuan had already used up all his Spirit Gathering Pills and needed to go out and purchase some. He also planned to sell some "local specialties" produced in the Spirit Pearl Space.

For him, a cultivator with a Five-element Spiritual Root, improving his cultivation primarily relied on resources.

Among the various spiritual plants in the Spirit Pearl Space, only Spirit Grain could be used for a long time to improve cultivation. However, its effect was very poor, only being very useful for those in the Meridian Opening Realm and early Qi Refining stages.

The main use of Spirit Grain was to satisfy hunger. A cultivator eating ordinary grain would need to consume over ten catties a day, whereas eating one catty of Spirit Grain could keep them from being hungry for three days.

For cultivators, common grains contained too many impurities. Eating them would lead to clogged meridians and inefficient circulation of Spiritual Power. Additionally, they would need to excrete daily, which was a significant waste of time. Eating Spirit Grain eliminated these troubles.

Although Crimson Blood Brew could also improve cultivation, its effect was far inferior to Spirit Gathering Pills, and its cost was too high. A newly brewed jar of Crimson Blood Brew, weighing five catties, could sell for twenty Spirit Stones. Its effect on cultivation was equivalent to that of one Spirit Gathering Pill.

In the Spirit Pearl Space, there were only over a hundred jars of Crimson Blood Brew, all stored for aging. Even the wealthiest families didn't have excess grain.

Although the space contained spiritual herbs for Alchemy, over four years, he had harvested several hundred portions. However, eating them directly would be a waste.

Wang Daoyuan still had six catties of honey saved up, but he wasn't extravagant enough to use Spirit Honey to improve his cultivation. In the world of cultivation, Spirit Honey was a vital resource.

Adding Spirit Honey during Alchemy could improve the quality of the pills and significantly reduce residual medicinal toxins. Taking pills with Spirit Honey could reduce the absorption of medicinal toxins. High-grade Spirit Honey could even resolve medicinal toxins within the body.

Adding Spirit Honey to healing pills could improve their efficacy, and Spirit Honey itself had a slight healing effect. Body cultivators, while tempering their bodies, could take Spirit Honey to protect their internal organs and prevent fundamental damage.

Most importantly, Spirit Honey could be used to brew wine. Adding some Spirit Honey to Crimson Blood Brew would greatly enhance its quality and efficacy. Unfortunately, he didn't have the recipe for brewing honey wine, so he couldn't directly brew Spirit Honey wine.

Although Wang Daoyuan's Spirit Honey was brewed by a low-grade Spirit Bee, it possessed all the properties of Spirit Honey, just weaker than high-grade Spirit Honey. It was better than nothing, but consistent consumption still had some effect.

Even low-grade Spirit Honey, with its inferior quality, had a market price exceeding one hundred Spirit Stones per catty, and it was often unavailable.

Using Spirit Honey to improve cultivation, one catty of Spirit Honey was less effective than five Spirit Gathering Pills, yet its price was ten times higher.

For his Foundation Establishment plans, he had to save Spirit Stones as soon as possible to buy Foundation Establishment Pills. One Foundation Establishment Pill could increase the breakthrough probability by twenty percent. With Wang Daoyuan's Five-element Spiritual Root aptitude, to guarantee a hundred percent breakthrough, he would need five.

This was assuming he took five Foundation Establishment Pills at once.

Taking two Foundation Establishment Pills at once carried the risk of exploding and dying. Taking five at once, no one could survive.

Taking one Foundation Establishment Pill, even if the Foundation Establishment failed, would increase the success rate of the next attempt by half a percent.

If he wanted to play it safe and only take one pill at a time, he would need over ten pills to guarantee a breakthrough.

The price of one Foundation Establishment Pill was over fifty thousand Spirit Stones, and they were rare and hard to come by.

Even with the Spirit Pearl Space, after deducting daily cultivation expenses, it would take decades to save enough Spirit Stones.

Wang Daoyuan was not a rogue cultivator; he had his own family.

With ample resources, he also had to give back to the family. The stronger the family, the greater the personal development space. Although he was a genuine local tycoon, he dared not squander his wealth.

It was better to sell the honey he had saved to exchange for Spirit Stones. Selling it to the Pill Talisman Pavilion would also allow him to support his family's business.

Wang Zhide nodded and said, "Alright, I'll give you three hours. After three hours, you must depart for Jade Spring Peak."

Wang Daoyuan left the Pill Talisman Pavilion, found a secluded spot, changed into a black robe, and put on a veil and a bamboo hat. He circled around and returned to the Pill Talisman Pavilion.

He walked into the Pill Talisman Pavilion shop, and the greeter was still Wang Daocheng. Wang Daocheng seemed to be highly regarded by Tenth Uncle, indicating that Ninth Uncle had invested quite a bit.

Wang Daocheng, with a smile on his face, stepped forward and said, "What can I get for you, fellow Daoist? Our shop..."

Wang Daoyuan produced a discount iron token and said, "I'll take one hundred Spirit Gathering Pills, two hundred sheets of First-grade High-grade Talisman Paper, and fifty catties of Spirit Ink."

The Yellow Cloud Grass in the Spirit Pearl Space had been harvested several times over ten years, so talisman paper was not an issue. However, Spirit Ink was still a problem. His main target was the Spirit Ink; the talisman paper was just a cover.

He hadn't been idle these past four years. He had made talisman paper and refined talismans, accumulating six to seven hundred sheets of various First-grade High-grade Talismans.

Wang Daoyuan whispered, "I have some items to sell, but they are not suitable to be brought out in public."

Wang Daocheng, being sharp, immediately understood that this was a big business opportunity. He led Wang Daoyuan to a private room on the second floor. Upon entering the room, he saw Wang Zhihe sitting inside. Wang Daocheng turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

As soon as Wang Daocheng left, Wang Zhihe spoke, "I wonder what fellow Daoist wishes to sell? There are only the two of us here, could you show it to me?"

Wang Daoyuan took out a wine jar and, adopting an aged voice, said, "Everything I wish to sell is in here. The shopkeeper will know once they see it."

Wang Zhihe opened the wine jar, and a sweet fragrance wafted out. He sniffed it deeply, then glanced into the jar before closing it.

Casually, he said, "Low-grade Spirit Honey, with Spirit Grain flowers as its source. It weighs six catties, and the Spirit Honey is of excellent quality, without a single impurity. How about six hundred Spirit Stones for this jar of Spirit Honey, Daoist?"

Wang Daoyuan inwardly admired him: just by smelling and glancing, he could discern the grade and source of the Spirit Honey. A head shopkeeper was indeed not anyone could be; such experience would take decades to accumulate.

Wang Daoyuan feigned anger and said, "You are quite the businessman! Six hundred Spirit Stones for six catties of such quality Spirit Honey? Where can I find such a deal? I want seven hundred Spirit Stones, no bargaining."

It wasn't that Wang Daoyuan was stingy and unwilling to let the family profit. It was simply that the price was too low, which would arouse suspicion. The actual value of six catties of Spirit Honey was over seven hundred Spirit Stones, and it was common to sell it for a thousand Spirit Stones to those in urgent need.

Upon hearing Wang Daoyuan's words, Wang Zhihe laughed instead of getting angry. He was waiting for the other party to name a price. Acquiring six catties of excellent quality Spirit Honey for seven hundred Spirit Stones was a great deal. The Wang Family had alchemists and brewers; six catties of Spirit Honey used for Alchemy and brewing would bring in revenue exceeding a thousand Spirit Stones.

"Fellow Daoist is indeed straightforward. Then I shall not be unreasonable either. Seven hundred Spirit Stones it is."

With that, he produced seven Mid-grade Spirit Stones and handed them to Wang Daoyuan.

Wang Daoyuan thought to himself: He's even brought out Mid-grade Spirit Stones. He wants to befriend me.

One Mid-grade Spirit Stone is worth one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. However, in the market, it usually takes one hundred and ten Low-grade Spirit Stones to exchange for one Mid-grade Spirit Stone, and even then, not everyone is willing to trade. The black market is even more so; one Mid-grade Spirit Stone for one hundred and fifty or sixty Low-grade Spirit Stones is common.

Mid-grade Spirit Stones contain purer Spiritual Power. Whether used to restore Spiritual Power or improve cultivation, the effect is better than one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones.

After bidding farewell to Wang Zhihe, he went downstairs to collect the Spirit Gathering Pills, talisman paper, and Spirit Ink, paid the Spirit Stones, and turned to leave the Pill Talisman Pavilion.