Premium Acquisition, Wanting to Hug a Thigh

Su Yun spoke up, "Boss Wang, what price can you offer?"

Wang Fugui calculated rapidly in his mind.

The market price for a standard top-grade Blood Qi Pill was forty low-grade spirit stones.

They were rarely circulated on the market, and shortages were the norm.

The three pills before him were of a quality far exceeding standard top-grade ones.

The medicinal aura was vibrant, the potency pure, and the pill patterns perfect.

Pills of this caliber could be sold to great families or inner-sect disciples for at least seventy low-grade spirit stones each.

If he bought them at the market rate, pressing the price down to thirty-five per pill, this old man would likely walk away.

If he missed this opportunity, he would be hard-pressed to find such top-tier first-grade pills again.

More importantly, he was betting on the person behind the scenes.

Wang Fugui's mind raced with guesses.

Behind this old man, there was definitely a third-grade alchemist.

As long as he could establish a connection, it didn't matter if he didn't make a profit in the short term, even if he bought the pills at a high price.

With long-term cooperation, the Pill Pavilion could monopolize the entire market for top-grade low-level pills in Azure Cloud Market.

Reputation, clientele, and connections—everything would be a guaranteed gain.

He weighed the pros and cons in an instant.

Wang Fugui gritted his teeth, steeled his heart, and looked on with determination.

"Fellow Daoist Han."

"This batch of top-grade Blood Qi Pills you have is of supreme quality, rarely seen in this world."

"I won't haggle, and I won't play games."

"Sixty low-grade spirit stones per pill!"

Su Yun sat on the wooden chair, his hunched figure motionless.

Yet, his heart gave a violent jolt.

He was stunned.

Truly stunned.

He had roughly inquired about the market rates beforehand.

A standard top-grade Blood Qi Pill went for forty spirit stones.

Wang Fugui had offered sixty right off the bat.

That was a full twenty spirit stones higher.

A fifty percent premium!

This price was far beyond the normal acquisition rate.

Su Yun maintained a calm expression on the surface, his aged eyelids drooping slightly.

So high? Is this shopkeeper a fool? Or just a rich idiot?

He had originally estimated that fifty per pill would be the absolute limit.

He hadn't expected such an astronomical price to be thrown at him.

Su Yun suppressed the shock in his heart and deliberately adopted a casual, elderly tone.

"Boss Wang is straightforward."

"However, I don't just have two or three pills in my hands."

"I have quite a large quantity of top-grade pills."

"Are you certain you will buy them all at this price?"

This simple sentence left Wang Fugui stunned.

His plump body stiffened abruptly, and his eyes widened instantly.

His chest heaved violently, and his breathing grew heavy.

There are more? Not just these three?

Holy crap! I've hit the jackpot!

He had truly struck it rich this time!

Wang Fugui's heart hammered against his ribs, his mind buzzing with static.

If there were only a few pills, it would at most be considered a minor windfall.

But if it were a batch of top-grade pills...

Then the person behind this was definitely no ordinary third-grade alchemist.

At the very least, they were a third-grade master, perhaps even touching the threshold of the fourth grade!

An alchemist of this caliber could keep his Pill Pavilion fed for years just by leaking a few scraps.

In this moment, Wang Fugui's greed completely overwhelmed his reason.

Profits, costs—none of it mattered anymore.

What he wanted was to board this massive ship.

He needed to cling to the thigh of a high-level alchemist.

As long as their relationship was secured, he would have a constant supply of pills, making him unrivaled throughout the entire market.

Wang Fugui hesitated no longer; he slammed his hand onto the table, his tone decisive.

"Agreed!"

"Fellow Daoist Han!"

"That price stands!"

"However many you have, I will buy them all!"

"I'll settle the spirit stones on the spot, no delays!"

He was even prepared to take a massive loss.

Taking a loss early on to stockpile goods and curry favor with an alchemist—in the long run, it was a guaranteed fortune.

A merchant's vision was truly vicious.

Su Yun sat opposite him, taking in every micro-expression on Wang Fugui's face.

In an instant, everything clicked into place.

The corners of his mouth curled upward in a faint, imperceptible arc.

He understood.

He understood everything.

This shrewd shopkeeper had misunderstood.

He assumed there was a high-level alchemist standing behind Su Yun, believing Su Yun was merely a middleman running errands.

That was why he was intentionally raising the price, willing to pay a premium.

It was all to buy favor, build a connection, and gamble on a long-term partnership.

Su Yun chuckled inwardly.

Good grief.

Raising prices for me, handing me money, and even mistaking me for someone close to a big shot.

Since that's what you think, I won't be polite.

Only a fool would refuse.

Wang Fugui was all smiles, waiting for Su Yun to produce the second batch of pills.

In his view, no matter how deep the other party's pockets were, they could at most pull out another dozen or twenty bottles.

Top-grade pills were notoriously difficult to refine; it was impossible to have too many.

Just then.

Su Yun moved casually, his fingertips tapping his storage bag.

Clatter!

A crisp sound of jade bottles colliding suddenly rang out.

Rows of cyan jade bottles poured out like a flowing stream.

They were stacked neatly across the solid wood table.

One bottle, ten bottles, fifty bottles, one hundred bottles...

Densely packed, layer upon layer.

The jade bottles covered the entire table, with more than half spilling over onto the floor.

A full three hundred jade bottles sat there, filling the space completely.

Su Yun's hoarse, aged voice rang out.

"There are three hundred bottles of medicinal pills here in total."

"Five types of first-grade pills."

"Qi Gathering Pills, Blood Qi Pills, Body Tempering Pills, Rejuvenation Pills, and Hemostasis Pills."

The words were simple and plain.

Yet, they struck Wang Fugui's mind like five consecutive claps of thunder.

The smile on his face instantly stiffened, solidified, and vanished.

His obese frame shuddered uncontrollably, the fat on his back rippling.

He swallowed hard, his breath catching in his chest.

Suffocation.

A feeling of extreme suffocation.

Holy crap...

Three hundred bottles?!

He had been in the medicinal pill business for decades.

Never had he seen anyone treat top-grade pills like common groceries, pulling them out in heaps.

Since when did top-grade pills become so cheap?

He stood rigid, his hands even beginning to tremble slightly.

After a full three seconds, he finally managed to lift his shaking hand.

He grabbed a bottle of Blood Qi Pills from the table and twisted off the stopper.

The fragrance of the pills surged out, and the blood-colored pill patterns flowed clearly.

Three round, plump, top-grade Blood Qi Pills lay quietly at the bottom of the bottle.

Each one was perfect, without a single flaw.

They were truly top-grade.

He swallowed his saliva, his hand trembling as he grabbed a bottle of Body Tempering Pills.

He opened it.

Crimson pill bodies, lustrous and bright—standard top-grade quality.

He switched to another bottle.

Qi Gathering Pills.

Pure white like frost, spiritual energy contained within—still top-grade.

The next bottle.

Hemostasis Pills.

Another bottle.

Rejuvenation Pills.

He opened three, five, ten bottles in a row.

It didn't matter which type of pill it was.

There were no exceptions.

Every single one was a first-grade top-grade pill.

The quality was perfect to the extreme, the medicinal essence vivid, and there was no pill toxicity whatsoever.

Wang Fugui's breathing grew increasingly rapid, his chest heaving violently.

Cold sweat slid down his forehead, dampening his sideburns.

His legs went weak; if he hadn't been leaning against the back of his chair for support, he would have nearly collapsed onto the floor.

He was going crazy.

Everything was going crazy.

Even the Azure Cloud Sect couldn't possibly have this many first-grade top-grade pills in their internal treasury.

Who exactly was this seemingly unremarkable old rogue cultivator before him?

And that alchemist behind him—was he human or a ghost?

Wang Fugui didn't dare to continue thinking; the more he thought, the more his scalp tingled.

Fear, ecstasy, and shock—three emotions intertwined wildly in his heart.

He stared fixedly at the table full of jade bottles, his eyes filled with greed and awe.

After a long while, he forcibly suppressed his trembling and lowered his head to quickly calculate the prices.

The five types of pills were of the same grade, yet their market prices were worlds apart.

He quickly recited the base acquisition prices of the marketplace in his mind.

The first, Body Tempering Pill.

A necessity for body-refining cultivators, with high demand.

Top-grade quality, twenty low-grade spirit stones each.

The second, Blood Qi Pill.

For consolidating one's foundation and nourishing vitality, a staple for cultivators; a top-grade pill is sixty low-grade spirit stones.

The third, Hemostasis Pill.

For simple wound treatment, moderate price; a top-grade pill is forty low-grade spirit stones.

The fourth, Qi Gathering Pill.

To assist in cultivation and accelerate the circulation of spiritual energy; a top-grade pill is seventy-five low-grade spirit stones.

The fifth, Rejuvenation Pill.

The most expensive category of first-grade pills, used for rapid healing and repairing hidden injuries.

The marketplace is perpetually out of stock; a top-grade pill is one hundred low-grade spirit stones.