"Please enlighten me, shopkeeper."
"Of course. Anyone who visits our shop is a friend. It's no trouble at all."
The middle-aged shopkeeper smiled. "If the various families refuse to sell, there's still somewhere that will—the auction."
"Desolate Ruins Market holds an auction every month, specifically selling treasures, treasured techniques, secret teachings, and the like. It takes place in the middle of the month."
"The goods either come from killing and looting, or are consigned by declining lineages. But the organizers remove every identifying mark and seal on them, so you can rest assured on that count."
This was news to Lin Changheng, though he let nothing show. "Thank you, shopkeeper."
"If you need anything in the future, fellow Daoist, you're welcome to visit our little shop again."
"Of course."
As the middle-aged shopkeeper called after him, Lin Changheng waved, then slipped into the crowd on the street and vanished.
Finding another deserted corner in the market, Lin Changheng changed his disguise once more, then found a cultivators' inn to stay in.
He checked every spirit stone he had just received with the [Spirit Inspection Technique].
None had been tampered with.
Back in the shop, he had deliberately used the mid-grade spirit stone to test the shopkeeper. Had the man truly harbored ill intentions, he probably would not have agonized over it so much.
Instead, he would have been even more generous. After all, what harm was there in leaving a mid-grade spirit stone with someone temporarily to achieve a particular goal?
For now, the shopkeeper seemed trustworthy. Perhaps they would have dealings again.
Meanwhile, after Lin Changheng left the Alchemy Pavilion, a quiet conversation began.
"Shopkeeper, that man had so many premium-grade pills, and I doubt that's all he has. Should we..."
The assistant who had been all smiles earlier