I'm Back Again

There were many people in the Merchant Alliance like Liu Ruyin, responsible for conducting transactions with cultivators. Though they received a monthly salary, it was not high enough to meet their cultivation needs.

Tips from customers were one source of extra income. Of course, for those like Liu Ruyin who were willing to lower themselves to serve customers, there was another way to make money.

Everyone in the Merchant Alliance came from Rogue Cultivator backgrounds. Before joining the Merchant Alliance, they had all been destitute. More than any other cultivators, they understood the cruelty of the Cultivation World and the difficulty of survival. Serving customers was not something hard to accept; life had driven them to it.

After leaving Heaven's Mystery Merchant Guild, Lu Ye sighed.

He had originally wanted to ask whether those Storage Bags could be sold, but Liu Ruyin had made him forget all about it.

It would not be appropriate to turn back now, so he could only wait until next time. He had originally planned to set out for the Crimson Blood Sect's camp, but now it seemed there was no need to hurry.

He had some good things on hand. Fully digesting them and turning them into his own cultivation was the proper path. The higher his cultivation, the safer his journey would be.

As for staying at Heaven's Mystery Merchant Guild, Lu Ye had not considered it. He was short on funds at the moment. One Spirit Stone per night did not seem like much, but if he stayed for many days, it would become a huge expense.

With four Spirit Stones remaining, Lu Ye followed his memories from the daytime and found a pill shop. He spent two Spirit Stones on two Spirit Nurturing Pills, then returned to the street where he had set up his stall during the day.

He casually took several pieces of ore from his Storage Bag and laid them out, then sat down cross-legged and took out another Spirit Stone.

This was the first time he had obtained a Spirit Stone. It could be used to assist cultivation.

Lu Ye had already tried cultivating with pills. Now, he wanted to try cultivating with a Spirit Stone and compare the results to see how efficient it was. If the efficiency was acceptable, he would not need to spend Spirit Stones on Spiritual Pills in the future.

Though he had never cultivated with Spirit Stones before, even if he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run. During the day, he had seen many stall owners cultivating leisurely while selling their goods, each holding a Spirit Stone in hand.

Now that he was following their example, Lu Ye discovered one advantage of cultivating with Spirit Stones.

That was, cultivation could be interrupted at any time. Unlike when one swallowed a Spiritual Pill, whose medicinal power would disperse in the abdomen and, if not guided in time, could accumulate there.

Cultivating with a Spirit Stone was different. If anything happened, he could simply interrupt his cultivation without the slightest consequence.

The street was bustling at night as well. Cultivators came by from time to time to ask about prices. Lu Ye handled them as he had during the day, and somehow actually made a sale—one piece of ore sold for five Spirit Stones.

At daybreak, Lu Ye stopped cultivating. He spread open his palm and looked at the Spirit Stone. It had only shrunk by a small circle. Then he checked the Spiritual Power that had accumulated in his Tenth Aperture, and Lu Ye frowned slightly.

After a night of testing, he reached several conclusions.

Cultivating with Spirit Stones was safer than cultivating with Spiritual Pills. First, the process could be interrupted at any time. Second, cultivating with Spirit Stones carried no hidden dangers, just like drawing in and exhaling Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.

However, its efficiency was far inferior to swallowing Spiritual Pills.

Perhaps because of his talent, it was difficult for him to guide Spiritual Energy into his body. Lu Ye felt that at his current efficiency, he would probably have to cultivate without sleep or rest for several days to use up a single Spirit Stone.

Other cultivators might be more efficient, but they definitely could not compare to taking Spiritual Pills.

As for cost-effectiveness...

The value of one Spirit Stone was basically equal to one Spirit Nurturing Pill. The Spiritual Power gained from consuming one Spirit Stone was roughly the same as that gained from consuming one Spirit Nurturing Pill, so their cost-effectiveness was about the same.

After this test, Lu Ye understood why everyone needed to exchange Spirit Stones for pills to cultivate. In terms of efficiency, taking Spiritual Pills was indeed higher, so naturally it was more popular.

As dawn approached, Lu Ye packed up his stall and left the market.

Since he was unwilling to waste money staying at Heaven's Mystery Merchant Guild, he could only find somewhere else.

He planned to return to the cave he had used on Green Cloud Mountain. It was fairly safe there, and no one would disturb him while he cultivated.

The main reason he had not left at night was that traveling after dark was unsafe.

Before departing, he spent another two Spirit Stones on a large amount of food. Hunting in the mountains took a great deal of time, and there were not many wild beasts left in that area.

He took stock of his current assets: forty-seven Spirit Nurturing Pills, five Low-Grade Spirit Stones, nearly thirty Spirit Talismans, six Healing Pills, nearly thirty pieces of Primordial Magnetic Ore of various sizes, some ores Lu Ye could not name, and four sets of spare clothes.

Compared to when he had first entered the Spirit Stream Battlefield, his assets were nearly the same, but his cultivation had improved enormously.

Lu Ye believed that if he could turn everything in his possession into strength, he could probably advance several levels in the Spirit Stream Realm.

But such things could not be rushed. He had to proceed step by step.

Many cultivators entered and left the market, most traveling in groups. There were also lone wolves like Lu Ye, Rogue Cultivators whom neither grandmother loved nor uncle cared for.

When Lu Ye left the market, it was the hour before dawn. Traveling alone, he could not help but be more cautious.

After entering Green Cloud Mountain safely, Lu Ye raced all the way. He deliberately made several detours along the way, and only after confirming that no one was following him did he continue along the route out of the mountains.

Before noon, Lu Ye had returned to his former cave.

To his surprise, there was actually movement inside. He carefully crept in, clutching a Spirit Talisman in his hand, ready to strike. When he looked closely, his nose nearly twisted with rage.

Inside the cave, a snow-white figure was lying on the ground, sleeping soundly. Who else could it be but Big Tiger?

Yiyi floated out from Big Tiger's forehead. When her eyes met Lu Ye's, the scene became rather awkward.

"What are you doing in my home?" Lu Ye demanded.

Yiyi asked in return, "Didn't you leave?"

"I'm back again!"

A moment later, Big Tiger's massive body shot out of the cave. He turned back and let out a roar at Lu Ye. Perched atop Big Tiger's head, Yiyi was livid, gritting her teeth. "You big liar! Faithless and treacherous!"

"Get lost!" Lu Ye's shout came from within the cave.

After driving out the spirit and tiger who had occupied the magpie's nest, Lu Ye ate something and entered a state of cultivation.

First, he took out the two Spirit Nurturing Pills he had bought with Spirit Stones and swallowed one. Once its medicinal power dispersed in his abdomen, he guided the Spiritual Power into his Spiritual Aperture.

The Spiritual Power in his Tenth Aperture slowly accumulated.

Once the medicinal power of the Spirit Nurturing Pill was completely exhausted, Lu Ye opened his eyes and discovered a problem. The Spirit Nurturing Pills he had bought in the market seemed less effective than those the Sect Master had given him. The difference was not great, but it was definitely there. He could infer as much from the Spiritual Power accumulated in his Spiritual Aperture.

Without stopping, he swallowed the other Spirit Nurturing Pill. Once its medicinal power was fully consumed, he became even more certain of this conclusion.

Afterward, he took out and swallowed a Spirit Nurturing Pill he had obtained from Heaven's Mystery Merchant Guild.

After comparing them, he finally reached a conclusion: Liu Ruyin had not lied to him. The Spirit Nurturing Pills at Heaven's Mystery Merchant Guild were indeed better than those sold elsewhere, on par with the ones the Sect Master had given him.

It seemed he had not wasted his money after all. When buying Spiritual Pills in the future, he should still go to Heaven's Mystery Merchant Guild. At the very least, the quality was guaranteed.