Selling Pills

"Shopkeeper Xue, here are thirty-seven bottles of Qi Recovery Pills. Please inspect them." Inside Rosy Cloud Pavilion, Qin Huaian handed over all the Qi Recovery Pills he had refined recently to Shopkeeper Xue.

Shopkeeper Xue opened several bottles to inspect them. They were all freshly refined, and he was secretly astonished. Fifty batches of spiritual herbs had actually yielded thirty-seven bottles—a success rate exceeding seventy percent.

Shopkeeper Xue himself had refined pills for many years, yet his success rate with Qi Recovery Pills had only just surpassed seventy percent. He had been refining pills for decades, but young friend Qin's talent for alchemy was actually this terrifying.

"Young friend Qin, there are no issues. We'll purchase them at the agreed price of eighty spirit stones per bottle. After deducting the material costs, I still need to pay you 2,210 lower-grade spirit stones."

"Shopkeeper Xue, deduct the cost of fifty batches of spiritual herbs this time as well." Qin Huaian did not plan to keep taking spiritual herbs on credit. After all, he had enough spirit stones now.

"Very well. Here are 1,460 lower-grade spirit stones." Shopkeeper Xue handed the spirit stones to Qin Huaian, then called to a clerk, "Wang Gui, go prepare fifty batches of spiritual herbs for refining Qi Recovery Pills."

"Yes, Shopkeeper." The way Wang Gui looked at Qin Huaian now held a touch of reverence. Who would have thought that in such a short time, not only had Qin Huaian's cultivation risen to heights he could only look up to, but his alchemy success rate had become so high as well?

"Many thanks, Shopkeeper Xue!" Qin Huaian took the spirit stones and herbs, then returned to his cave dwelling to continue refining pills and cultivating.

The speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy was now far greater than it had been at the fifth level of Qi Refinement. The higher one's cultivation, the faster one absorbed spiritual energy. Even without using spirit stones to cultivate, his absorption rate was now about the same as the rate of a fifth-level Qi Refinement cultivator using spirit stones.

If he cultivated with lower-grade spirit stones now, with both his mirror body and true body cultivating together, he would consume over two hundred spirit stones every day.

Qin Huaian did not plan to cultivate with spirit stones anytime soon. He wanted to save some for improving his cultivation arts later.

The day before the sects officially began their concentrated recruitment, Qin Huaian once again went to Rosy Cloud Pavilion to deliver pills. This was already his third delivery.

"Shopkeeper Xue, I won't be buying spiritual herbs this time."

After giving Qin Huaian the spirit stones for this batch, Shopkeeper Xue said, "Young friend Qin, the sect recruitment officially begins tomorrow. Do you have a sect in mind?"

Qin Huaian had recently learned a little about this round of sect recruitment. The sects coming to Cloudfield Market to recruit were mainly the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect, along with several sects within the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect's sphere of influence.

The Yellow Mountain Sword Sect was the absolute hegemon of this region, its strength far surpassing that of all other sects.

Below the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect were four second-rate sects. Naturally, these four sects were vastly inferior to the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect, but they were clearly stronger than the dozen or so smaller sects.

The Rosy Cloud Sect was one of those four second-rate sects.

"I don't have a sect in mind for now. Tomorrow, I'll first test my spiritual root aptitude." Qin Huaian naturally wanted to join the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect, but the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect's requirements for aptitude were very high.

"Young friend Qin, you just turned twenty-three this year, yes? You're already at the sixth level of Qi Refinement at twenty-three. I believe your spiritual root aptitude won't be too poor either." Shopkeeper Xue smiled.

"My Rosy Cloud Sect specializes in alchemy. If young friend Qin wishes to develop in the direction of alchemy, the Rosy Cloud Sect would be a fine choice."

"Of course, speaking as a friend, if young friend Qin can enter the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect, then the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect is naturally the best choice," Shopkeeper Xue told Qin Huaian.

"Thank you for the reminder, Shopkeeper Xue! We'll discuss it after the spiritual root aptitude test." After clasping his fists in thanks to Shopkeeper Xue, Qin Huaian left Rosy Cloud Pavilion.

Cloudfield Market was especially bustling today. The streets were packed with cultivators, all discussing tomorrow's sect recruitment.

Qin Huaian did not linger in the inner city and returned directly to the cave dwelling he rented.

Just as he reached the door, he happened to see the little fatty, Wang Baole, knocking on it.

"Fatty!" Qin Huaian called out to him. Over the past few months, Wang Baole had sought out Qin Huaian several times to ask him about cultivation.

Wang Baole had been cultivating diligently these past few months, and he had nearly exhausted all the spirit stones he had accumulated from mining. He had spent a great deal of spirit stones, and the results were quite obvious—he was now not far from the fourth level of Qi Refinement.

"Big Brother Qin, you're back! The sect recruitment is tomorrow. Let's go together tomorrow." Wang Baole spoke with a hint of excitement and a little nervousness. His main purpose in coming to Cloudfield Market had been to wait for the sect recruitment. Only by entering a sect could he obtain sufficient resources and guidance, allowing him to travel farther down the path of immortality.

"Alright. Fatty, get a good night's rest. There's no need to rush. With your cultivation speed, your spiritual root aptitude should be very good."

Qin Huaian had great confidence in Wang Baole. Without taking pills, Wang Baole's cultivation speed had already been extremely fast. His spiritual root aptitude should be exceptional.

After parting with Wang Baole, Qin Huaian returned to his cave dwelling.

This month, he had sold 110 bottles of Qi Recovery Pills to Rosy Cloud Pavilion. After costs, he had earned a total of 6,550 lower-grade spirit stones. Adding the few spirit stones he already had, Qin Huaian now possessed around 7,000 lower-grade spirit stones.

His recent cultivation had also consumed many Qi Recovery Pills. He now had thirty-one bottles remaining.

Opening the data panel:

Cultivation: Qi Refinement (Sixth Level 23/100)

Cultivation Arts: Azure Splendor Art (Complete)

Fireball Technique (Complete)

Spirit Eye Technique (Major Accomplishment, Optimizable)

Skystride Hundred Transformations (Major Accomplishment, Optimizable)

Skills: First-Rank Alchemist (Qi Recovery Pill: Minor Accomplishment 1/100, Can Be Deduced)

Although he had not cultivated with spirit stones recently, the effects of swallowing pills were also remarkable. His progress at the sixth level of Qi Refinement had already reached twenty-three percent. At this rate, he could attempt to break through to late-stage Qi Refinement in another three or four months.

Ordinary cultivators faced a hurdle when advancing from mid-stage Qi Refinement to late-stage Qi Refinement. Many Rogue Cultivators remained stuck here for years, and those with slightly poorer aptitude might not cross it even in their lifetimes.

Qin Huaian felt somewhat uneasy as well. He knew that his spiritual root aptitude probably would not be very good. But if his spiritual roots were too poor, then even with the seed space, his path of cultivation would likely be rather rugged.

From what he understood, spiritual root aptitude was innate and could not be improved or enhanced after birth.

Of course, this did not mean that those with good spiritual root aptitude would certainly cultivate more smoothly than those with poor aptitude. Cultivation was determined by many factors—wealth, companions, arts, and land all greatly affected a cultivator's cultivation speed.

Some people with extremely high comprehension had average spiritual roots, yet they could comprehend cultivation arts to profoundly deep realms. Their cultivation speed would not be much worse than those with good spiritual roots, and their upper limit might even be higher.

Qin Huaian's true body did not continue cultivating that night. He only left behind the tireless model worker of a mirror body to keep cultivating. He himself got a good night's sleep.

"Big Brother Qin, Big Brother Qin~" Before dawn had fully broken, Wang Baole's knocking sounded at the door.

"Big Brother Qin, let's set out~" The moment Qin Huaian opened the door, Wang Baole hurriedly said.

"Alright, let's go. There's actually no need to hurry—the sect recruitment is said to last many days." Though Qin Huaian said there was no rush, he did not delay. Together with Wang Baole, he headed toward the inner city.