Wang Daoyuan was planning where to go wandering when Wang Zhide came knocking. Wang Daoyuan stepped forward and bowed. "Greetings, Ninth Uncle. Your grandson has just broken through to Qi Refining Layer Seven and was preparing to report it to you."
Wang Zhide knew that Wang Daoyuan had long since reached the peak of the Sixth Layer of Qi Condensation, so he was not surprised by his breakthrough to Qi Refining Layer Seven.
He had previously worried that Wang Daoyuan was cultivating too hastily and that his foundation would be unstable after breaking through. But now, seeing Wang Daoyuan's dense, steady aura without the slightest hint of instability, he finally set his mind at ease.
He fixed Wang Daoyuan with a suspicious gaze. "You were probably thinking about where to go loafing around, weren't you? Since you've broken through to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation, your confinement order has been lifted. I can't be bothered to keep an eye on you anymore. I came because the clan head has issued an order: you and Shouye are to return to Jade Spring Peak at once, without delay. Where is Shouye? Didn't I order him to watch you?"
"After I broke through, Twelfth Uncle went out. Ninth Uncle, I need to go out and buy a few things. Could you give me a little more time?"
In his rush to break through to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation, Wang Daoyuan had long since used up all his Spirit Gathering Pills. He happened to need to go out and replenish his supplies, while also selling some "local specialties" produced by the Spirit Pearl Space.
For a cultivator with a Five-element Spiritual Root like him, advancement in cultivation mainly depended on piling up resources.
Among the various spirit plants in the Spirit Pearl Space, the only one that could be used over a long period to improve cultivation was spirit grain. Yet its effects were poor, and it was only truly useful to Meridian Opening Realm cultivators and those in the early stages of Qi Condensation.
Spirit grain's primary use was still to stave off hunger. Cultivators who ate ordinary grain needed to consume more than ten jin a day, while one jin of spirit grain could keep them from going hungry for three days.
To cultivators, the five grains and mixed cereals contained too many impurities. Eating them allowed impurities to enter the body, clogging the meridians and hindering the circulation of spiritual power. Besides, one had to relieve oneself every day, which was truly a waste of time. Eating spirit grain spared one all those troubles.
Although Crimson Blood Brew could also improve cultivation, its effects were far inferior to Spirit Gathering Pills, and its cost was far too high. A newly brewed five-jin jar of Crimson Blood Brew could sell for twenty Spirit Stones, yet its cultivation-enhancing effect was only equivalent to one Spirit Gathering Pill.
There were only a little over a hundred jars of Crimson Blood Brew in the Spirit Pearl Space, all of them meant for cellaring. Even the landlord's household had no surplus grain.
Although the space contained spirit herbs for refining Spirit Gathering Pills, and he had harvested several hundred batches over the past four years, eating them directly would be an outrageous waste.
Wang Daoyuan had also accumulated six jin of honey, but he was not extravagant enough to use Spirit Honey to improve his cultivation. In the cultivation world, Spirit Honey was an important resource.
Adding Spirit Honey during pill refinement could improve a pill's quality and greatly reduce residual Pill Toxin. Taking pills together with Spirit Honey could reduce the absorption of Pill Toxin, while high-grade Spirit Honey could even dissolve the Pill Toxin within one's body.
Adding Spirit Honey to healing pills could improve their efficacy, and Spirit Honey itself had a slight healing effect. When Body Cultivators tempered their bodies, consuming Spirit Honey could protect their internal organs and prevent injury to their foundations.
Most importantly, Spirit Honey could also be brewed into wine. Adding some Spirit Honey to Crimson Blood Brew would greatly increase both its quality and effectiveness. Unfortunately, he did not have a recipe for honey wine, so he could not directly brew Spirit Honey wine.
Although Wang Daoyuan's Spirit Honey had been made by Tier One Low-Grade spirit bees, it lacked none of Spirit Honey's usual effects. It was merely much weaker than high-grade Spirit Honey, barely better than nothing. Still, consuming it regularly would have some effect.
Even low-quality Tier One Spirit Honey sold for more than a hundred Spirit Stones per jin on the market, and it was a commodity with a price but no supply.
Using Spirit Honey to improve cultivation, one jin was less effective than five Spirit Gathering Pills, yet it cost ten times as much.
For the great undertaking of Foundation Establishment, he had to save Spirit Stones as early as possible to buy Foundation Establishment Pills. One Foundation Establishment Pill could raise the chance of breakthrough by twenty percent. With Wang Daoyuan's Five-element Spiritual Root aptitude, he would need five pills to guarantee success.
And that was assuming he took all five Foundation Establishment Pills at once.
Taking two Foundation Establishment Pills at once carried the risk of one's body exploding to death. Taking five at once meant that virtually no one could survive.
If one took a single Foundation Establishment Pill, then even if Foundation Establishment failed, the next attempt would still have its success rate raised by five percent.
If one sought stability and took only one pill at a time, then more than ten pills would be needed to guarantee a breakthrough.
A single Foundation Establishment Pill cost more than fifty thousand Spirit Stones, and even then, it was something one could encounter only by chance and never seek.
Even with the Spirit Pearl Space, after deducting his daily cultivation expenses, it would still take him decades to save that many Spirit Stones.
Wang Daoyuan was not a Rogue Cultivator. He had his own Lineage.
Even with ample resources, he still had to give back to the Lineage. Only when the Lineage was strong would an individual have greater room to grow. Though he was, in every sense, a wealthy local magnate, he still dared not squander his wealth without restraint.
The little honey he had stored up would be better sold for Spirit Stones. Selling it to the Pill Talisman Pavilion would also let him support the Lineage's business.
Wang Zhide nodded. "Fine. I'll give you three hours. After three hours, you must set off for Jade Spring Peak."
Wang Daoyuan left the Pill Talisman Pavilion, found an unoccupied spot, and changed into a black robe and a veiled bamboo hat. After taking a roundabout route, he returned to the Pill Talisman Pavilion.
When he entered the Pill Talisman Pavilion's shop, Wang Daocheng was still the one greeting customers. Wang Daocheng was quite valued by Tenth Uncle; it seemed Ninth Uncle had invested no small amount in him.
With a smile on his face, Wang Daocheng came forward. "What would this fellow Daoist like? Our shop—"
Wang Daoyuan took out the discount iron token. "One hundred Spirit Gathering Pills, two hundred sheets of Tier One High-Grade Talisman Paper, and fifty jin of Spirit Ink."
The ten-year Yellow Cloud Grass in the Spirit Pearl Space had already been harvested several times, so he was not lacking talisman paper at all. Spirit Ink, however, was still nowhere to be found. Spirit Ink was his true target; talisman paper was merely a smokescreen.
Over these four years, he had not been idle. Making talisman paper and refining Talismans, he had already stockpiled six or seven hundred Tier One High-Grade Talismans of various kinds.
Wang Daoyuan lowered his voice. "I have some things I wish to sell as well, but they are not suitable to bring out in full public view."
Wang Daocheng was a shrewd fellow. The moment he heard this, he understood that a major deal had come to his door. He led Wang Daoyuan to a private room on the second floor. Upon entering, Wang Zhihe was seated inside. Wang Daocheng turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.
As soon as Wang Daocheng left, Wang Zhihe spoke. "May I ask what this fellow Daoist wishes to sell? There are only the two of us here. Could you take it out and let me have a look?"
Wang Daoyuan took out a wine jar and affected an aged voice. "Everything I wish to sell is in here. The shopkeeper will know at a glance."
Wang Zhihe opened the jar, and a sweet fragrance rushed into his face. He took a deep sniff, glanced into the jar, and then covered it again.
Without showing the slightest change in expression, he said, "Tier One Low-Grade Spirit Honey, sourced from Spirit Grain Flowers. There are six jin, and the honey is of excellent quality, without a trace of impurity. Six hundred Spirit Stones for this jar of Spirit Honey. What does this fellow Daoist think?"
Wang Daoyuan was impressed. Just one sniff and one glance, and he could identify the grade of the Spirit Honey and its nectar source. A chief shopkeeper truly was not a position just anyone could hold. Without decades of accumulated experience, one should not even dream of it.
Wang Daoyuan pretended to be angered. "You truly know how to do business, fellow Daoist! Six hundred Spirit Stones for six jin of Spirit Honey of such quality—where could one find a deal like that? I want seven hundred Spirit Stones, not one less."
It was not that Wang Daoyuan was stingy or unwilling to let the Lineage profit. The price was simply too low, and that would instead arouse suspicion. The six jin of Spirit Honey was actually worth more than seven hundred Spirit Stones. Selling it to someone in urgent need for a thousand Spirit Stones was commonplace.
Hearing Wang Daoyuan's words, Wang Zhihe did not grow angry but smiled instead. He had been waiting for the other party to name a price. Seven hundred Spirit Stones for six jin of high-quality Spirit Honey was a tremendous bargain. The Wang Clan had pill refiners and winemakers. Using six jin of Spirit Honey for pill refinement and winemaking would certainly bring in more than a thousand Spirit Stones.
"Fellow Daoist is indeed a straightforward person. Then I cannot be too stingy either. Seven hundred Spirit Stones it is."
As he spoke, he took out seven Mid-grade Spirit Stones and handed them to Wang Daoyuan.
Wang Daoyuan thought, He even took out Mid-grade Spirit Stones. He wants to build goodwill with me.
One Mid-grade Spirit Stone was worth a hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. Yet on the market, it usually took a hundred and ten Low-grade Spirit Stones to exchange for one Mid-grade Spirit Stone, and even then, no one was necessarily willing to trade. There was even less need to mention the black market, where trading one Mid-grade Spirit Stone for a hundred and fifty or sixty Low-grade Spirit Stones was commonplace.
The spiritual energy contained in Mid-grade Spirit Stones was purer. Whether used to restore spiritual power or improve cultivation, their effect surpassed that of a hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones.
After bidding farewell to Wang Zhihe, he went down to the first floor, collected the Spirit Gathering Pills, talisman paper, and Spirit Ink, paid the Spirit Stones, then turned and left the Pill Talisman Pavilion.
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