Wang Fugui quickly estimated the quantities.
Three hundred bottles of pills, with three pills in each bottle.
One hundred and two Body Tempering Pills, two hundred and ten Blood Qi Pills, one hundred and twenty Hemostasis Pills, two hundred and forty Qi Gathering Pills, and two hundred and ten Rejuvenation Pills.
The next second,
cold figures raced through his mind.
Body Tempering Pills: 2,400 low-grade spirit stones.
Blood Qi Pills: 12,600 low-grade spirit stones.
Hemostasis Pills: 4,800 low-grade spirit stones.
Qi Gathering Pills: 18,000 low-grade spirit stones.
Rejuvenation Pills: 21,000 low-grade spirit stones.
All together,
the total came to 58,800 low-grade spirit stones!
Wang Fugui's legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed onto the floor.
His eyes burned with excitement. Breathing heavily, he stared fixedly at the jade bottles covering the table.
If he could buy this entire batch of top-quality pills,
his Pill Pavilion would monopolize the entire Azure Cloud Market's first-grade pill trade.
Then the surrounding Lineages, Rogue Cultivators, and small sects would all have to come to him for their supplies.
He'd gain both fame and fortune, and his wealth would soar!
"F-Fellow Daoist Han..."
"Are you planning to sell this entire batch of pills?"
Su Yun nodded. "All three hundred bottles."
"That's a huge shipment. Can you afford to take it all?"
Wang Fugui shuddered, then immediately straightened up and nodded repeatedly.
"I can! Absolutely!"
"Fellow Daoist Han, you jest."
His tone was earnest, brimming with confidence.
"There are more than a dozen pill shops of all sizes in the Azure Cloud Market."
"Other than my Spirit Gathering Pill Pavilion, not a single one can swallow this many top-quality pills in one go."
"The others don't have enough funds, enough storage, or enough distribution channels."
"Only I have the means."
If he let this batch of pills slip away, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.
Even if he had to drain his entire supply of liquid funds, he would take them all.
Su Yun regarded him calmly in silence.
Wang Fugui drew a deep breath and named his price.
"Fellow Daoist Han."
"To make a friend of you, I won't haggle."
"I'll pay you above the market rate."
"By our calculation just now, the total is 58,800 low-grade spirit stones."
"I'll take the whole lot for that price. Not a single stone less."
"Feel free to ask around the market."
"The price I, Wang Fugui, am offering is fair and honest, with not a hint of padding."
A trace of approval flickered in Su Yun's eyes.
Wang Fugui had indeed offered a high price.
Su Yun nodded slightly.
"Fine."
"You can take them all in one go, and I can't be bothered to look for another buyer."
A buyer willing to take the whole lot at a fair price was good enough.
Su Yun silently calculated his costs and profits.
Fifty-eight thousand eight hundred low-grade spirit stones.
That worked out to a full 588 mid-grade spirit stones.
He'd spent less than ninety mid-grade spirit stones on his initial frenzy of medicinal ingredient purchases.
After deducting consumables, losses, and the rent for the alchemy room,
his net profit came to well over 480 mid-grade spirit stones.
Su Yun couldn't help marveling inwardly.
In the cultivation world, alchemy really was the most profitable business.
Cultivation spent money like running water.
Alchemy earned it like drinking water.
The profits were staggering—blatantly, shamelessly staggering.
If he had relied on his sect stipend, it would have taken him several years to save this many spirit stones.
Now, in barely more than ten days, he'd become rich overnight.
The thought flashed by, but Su Yun's expression remained unchanged. On the surface, he still looked like a detached, elderly Rogue Cultivator.
Meanwhile,
Wang Fugui didn't dare waste a moment, afraid Su Yun might change his mind.
He sprang to his feet and called loudly toward the door.
"Someone! Bring out the spirit stones from the storeroom! Hurry!"
The shop assistant downstairs answered and hurried off to the storeroom.
Wang Fugui secretly congratulated himself.
Fortunately, business at the Pill Pavilion had been booming lately, and the storeroom held a large reserve of liquid funds.
He'd originally set aside those spirit stones to buy spirit herbs and other medicinal ingredients next month.
But now he would use them all to secure this batch of top-quality pills.
Worth it.
More than worth it.
In less than half an hour,
footsteps sounded again.
The shop assistant appeared at the door, holding a high-grade black storage pouch in both hands. He bowed and respectfully carried it into the room.
Wang Fugui took the storage pouch and respectfully presented it to Su Yun.
"Fellow Daoist Han."
"Fifty-eight thousand eight hundred low-grade spirit stones, all here, not one missing."
Su Yun took the pouch and casually sent his spiritual sense inside.
The pouch wasn't very spacious, but the contents were arranged in neat stacks.
The spirit stones were piled up like a small mountain, each one translucent and glowing with a milky-white light. Rich, pure spiritual energy washed over him.
After confirming everything was in order, Su Yun nodded.
"Looks good."
Wang Fugui's face brimmed with ingratiating smiles as he took the opportunity to curry favor.
"Fellow Daoist Han, this was a very pleasant deal."
"If you have more pills in the future, whatever the grade or type, come straight to me."
"I'll always offer the highest price. No haggling and no trouble."
"I hope you'll continue to look after me and do business with my shop."
As he spoke,
Wang Fugui flipped his right hand and pulled a finely crafted, dark wooden box from the wide sleeve of his silk robe.
Fine cloud patterns were carved across the box's surface. It was sealed tightly, locking in the spiritual energy within.
Holding the box in both hands, he respectfully offered it to Su Yun.
"Fellow Daoist Han, a small gift. Please accept it."
Su Yun raised an eyebrow but didn't reach for it right away.
Wang Fugui hurriedly explained.
"This is a hundred-year-old spirit herb from my personal collection—the Essence Condensing Ganoderma."
"It's exactly a hundred years old, with concentrated spiritual energy and stable medicinal properties."
Giving him a valuable gift now might seem like a loss.
In truth, it was an investment.
You had to give to get.
Today, he was willing to part with a hundred-year-old spirit herb.
Later, the profit from just one batch of top-quality pills would more than double its cost.
Even though the herb was worth a great deal, he was happy to give it away.
All he wanted was to get on good terms with that mysterious alchemist
and maintain their relationship.
Su Yun reached out and took the box.
He gently lifted the lid with his fingertips.
A wisp of pale green mist slowly rose.
At the center of the box lay a spirit herb about the size of his palm.
It was a vivid green, its veins clearly visible.
A faint sheen shimmered across its leaves.
The fresh scent of plants mingled with rich spiritual energy and rushed into his nostrils.
It was indeed an Essence Condensing Ganoderma.
Su Yun recognized it at a glance.
This was a key ingredient for refining Foundation Establishment Pills.
To an ordinary cultivator, a Foundation Establishment Pill was a miraculous medicine capable of transforming them from the inside out.
For cultivators stuck at the ninth level of Qi Refining, a single Foundation Establishment Pill could break through the bottleneck and let them enter Foundation Establishment.
Even within the Azure Cloud Sect, Foundation Establishment Pills were a strategic resource.
They were strictly controlled and rarely made their way outside.
In the markets beyond the sect, Foundation Establishment Pills were even harder to find than gold. Even with money, you couldn't buy one.
But to Su Yun, it wasn't very useful.
With his Heavenly Spirit Root and Thousandfold Amplification, he had no bottleneck to overcome and didn't need pills to force his way into Foundation Establishment.
But that didn't mean the herb was useless.
He could keep it to refine higher-grade pills later, or sell it for a hefty sum.
Su Yun quietly put the box away, privately assessing Wang Fugui.
Shrewd, smooth, and good at dealing with people.
Willing to spend money, and knew when to give and when to take.
No wonder he'd built the Pill Pavilion into such a major business in the chaotic market.
He was worth working with long-term.
Su Yun looked up, a faint smile appearing on his aged face.
"Boss Wang, you're straightforward and perceptive."
"I'll bring the next batch of pills to you as well."
At that,
Wang Fugui's eyes lit up. The flesh on his face bunched together as he grinned from ear to ear.
He cupped his hands repeatedly, his tone growing even more respectful.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Han! Thank you!"
"I, Wang, will be waiting for you anytime!"
"Whenever you come, I'll give you the best prices, service, and sincerity!"