Lin Family Elixirs

"Senior Brother Qin, our family's shop is just ahead. My fifth uncle, Lin Zhenglan, is currently in charge of our shop in New Peace City. He's a second-tier alchemist."

"Other than my father, Fifth Uncle is the one I'm closest to among my uncles."

Lin Qingxuan spoke with a touch of excitement. It was clear that she had a very good relationship with her fifth uncle.

After entering the city, they had already walked roughly ten li. This distance was clearly still far from the city center.

Along the way, not every district had been bustling. Several main avenues were indeed lined with shops, with cultivators flowing through them like a weaving stream.

Yet many areas were residential districts, and there were comparatively few people there. The residential districts of New Peace City had a far better environment than Cloudfield Market, if only because the roads were much wider.

"Senior Brother Qin, we're here."

On a fairly bustling main street, they stopped before a storefront occupying roughly the space of three rooms. Its signboard bore the words "Lin Family Elixirs."

The moment they entered the shop, Lin Qingxuan ran toward the middle-aged cultivator seated beside the counter. Qin Huaian could not see through the man's cultivation, so he was likely a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

"Fifth Uncle, I came to see you!" Lin Qingxuan said sweetly with a smile, hugging the middle-aged cultivator's arm.

"Haha, what brought Qingxuan here to visit your Fifth Uncle?" the middle-aged man asked with a hearty laugh, his gaze full of indulgent affection.

"Fifth Uncle, let me introduce you. This is Senior Brother Qin Huaian from my Yellow Mountain Sword Sect. He's also my neighbor in the sect."

"Greetings, Senior Lin." Qin Huaian cupped his fists.

Only then did Lin Zhenglan turn his head and look Qin Huaian over with a hint of scrutiny.

"Fifth Uncle, Senior Brother Qin refined some Qi Recovery Pills and wants to sell them for spirit stones," Lin Qingxuan added.

"Oh? Little Friend Qin is an alchemist as well?" Lin Zhenglan asked, slightly surprised. Alchemists were rare no matter where they were.

"This junior can only refine a few simple first-tier pills. I merely wish to exchange them for spirit stones to cultivate."

"Little Friend Qin, exchanging pills for spirit stones is not difficult. You can rent a temporary stall on the streets of New Peace City to sell them, as long as you pay a certain management fee to the city's administrators."

"Or you can sell the pills to our shop. Our purchase price is seventy-five spirit stones per bottle of Qi Recovery Pills."

Qin Huaian considered it briefly. Back at Cloudfield Market, Rosy Cloud Pavilion had paid him eighty spirit stones per bottle, though that was naturally because he had a good relationship with Shopkeeper Xue.

He was unfamiliar with New Peace City, so seventy-five spirit stones per bottle was acceptable for the time being.

Qin Huaian was just about to speak when Lin Qingxuan shook Lin Zhenglan's arm and said, "Fifth Uncle, Senior Brother Qin is my good friend. Raise the purchase price a little."

Lin Zhenglan chuckled. "Qingxuan, that price was set by your eldest uncle. In business, we must value fairness and equality. All our customers follow the same prices."

"Of course, if Little Friend Qin sells more than one hundred bottles of Qi Recovery Pills to Lin Family Elixirs this month, then next month, his purchase price can be raised to eighty spirit stones per bottle. That is the preferential treatment we offer long-term partners."

"Senior Lin, we'll go with the price you stated. We can simply follow the rules of Lin Family Elixirs," Qin Huaian said, cupping his fists.

At his alchemy speed, supplying one hundred bottles every month would not be a problem. There was no need to haggle over the price of this first sale.

Moreover, he did not plan to set up a stall and sell them himself for now. That approach wasted too much time.

What he pursued was not earning spirit stones, but cultivating immortality and attaining longevity. Although earning spirit stones did not conflict with cultivation, he could not earn spirit stones merely for the sake of earning spirit stones.

"Good, then it's settled. Little Friend Qin may come to Lin Family Elixirs at any time to sell Qi Recovery Pills," Lin Zhenglan said with a nod.

"Senior Lin, here are sixty bottles of Qi Recovery Pills. Please inspect them." Qin Huaian took sixty bottles of Qi Recovery Pills from his storage bag and placed them on the counter beside Lin Zhenglan.

Lin Zhenglan casually picked up a bottle, poured out a pill and examined it, then held it before his nose and sniffed it.

"Mm, excellent quality. Little Friend Qin's refining is quite good. Sixty bottles in total, four thousand five hundred low-grade spirit stones."

"Senior Lin, may I ask how much the spirit herbs for refining Qi Recovery Pills cost here?"

"If Little Friend Qin is buying, I'll charge you twenty spirit stones per set of herbs."

"Good. Please help me get two hundred sets of herbs, Senior Lin." The price here was the same as what he had paid at Rosy Cloud Pavilion in Cloudfield Market, so Qin Huaian directly bought them here.

"Senior Lin, does your shop sell the medicinal herbs for refining Essence Cultivation Pills? How much is one set?"

Lin Zhenglan glanced at Qin Huaian with slight surprise. Essence Cultivation Pills were considered rather difficult to refine among first-tier pills, and they were also relatively expensive.

"Little Friend Qin, Essence Cultivation Pills are not like Qi Recovery Pills. Essence Cultivation Pills are more expensive, and the spirit herbs are comparatively harder to obtain. Generally, pill shops do not sell such spirit herbs separately."

"Since the spirit herbs are relatively difficult to obtain, if a shop has them, refining the pills itself yields greater profits."

"If Little Friend Qin needs them, I can sell them to you for eighty-five spirit stones per set. Other shops would generally sell them for at least ninety spirit stones, perhaps even more."

Qin Huaian pondered silently. At ninety spirit stones per set of herbs, one batch of Essence Cultivation Pills would yield three pills, which could sell for three hundred spirit stones. It looked highly profitable, but the success rate had to be considered. If the success rate was only fifty percent, then two sets of herbs would cost one hundred and eighty spirit stones, leaving a profit of only one hundred and twenty spirit stones. Calculated by profit margin, it was still not particularly worthwhile.

The herbs for refining Qi Recovery Pills were cheap. On one hand, these herbs were easier to acquire; on the other, Qi Recovery Pills were important cultivation pills for low-level cultivators, with enormous sales volume, so every shop focused on selling in volume.

Qin Huaian still decided to try refining Qi Recovery Pills. He had the seed space, which could raise his alchemy success rate.

"Senior Lin, please exchange the remaining spirit stones for herbs to refine Essence Cultivation Pills."

"Alright. There are five hundred spirit stones remaining. I'll exchange them for six sets of herbs for refining Essence Cultivation Pills."

Lin Zhenglan instructed a shop assistant to fetch the spirit herbs from the warehouse.

"Thank you, Senior Lin," Qin Huaian said gratefully.

At that moment, someone entered through the back door. It was Fu Jingwen.

After entering, Fu Jingwen first cupped his fists and bowed to Lin Zhenglan. Then he smiled warmly at Qin Huaian and Lin Qingxuan. "Qingxuan, Brother Qin, you're here. I just heard about it from the assistant who went to the rear courtyard."

"Cousin (Brother Fu)."

"Brother Qin, it's already late. The roads are unsafe after dark, and it's too late to hurry back to the sect now. Have you found a place to stay?"

"Fifth Uncle, do we have any spare rooms in the back courtyard for Senior Brother Qin to stay the night?" Only then did Lin Qingxuan remember the matter of lodging.

"It's no problem for him to stay one night for now, but there may not be a room for him alone," Lin Zhenglan said after a brief moment of thought.

"There's no need to trouble you, Senior Lin. I saw plenty of inns along the road; I'll just find one to stay in."

Qin Huaian did not want to trouble them. He planned to rent a place for a while, earn some spirit stones first, and then return to the sect.

At that moment, a shop assistant came over carrying a large bundle of medicinal herbs. "Shopkeeper Lin, these are the spirit herbs this customer asked for."

"Good. Little Friend Qin, check them over."

"Alright, Senior Lin. No problem." Qin Huaian gave them a quick inspection before putting them into his storage pouch.

"Junior Sister Lin, I plan to remain in New Peace City for a while longer. What do you plan to do?"

He had asked Lin Qingxuan to bring him here, yet now he was staying in New Peace City and could not escort her back. Qin Huaian felt somewhat embarrassed.

Lin Qingxuan curled her lips. Before using her, he called her Junior Sister Qingxuan; afterward, he called her Junior Sister Lin.