Selling Pills

It seemed he still had to find a way to get hold of a cultivation technique!

Without one, no matter how much spiritual energy he absorbed, it would serve no greater purpose beyond strengthening his body.

Li Ping'an pondered this as he practiced the body-tempering fist art once more. He felt he had gained quite a few new insights, and the fist art itself seemed a little more exquisite than before.

Early the next morning,

Li Ping'an was already sitting quietly in a recliner in the courtyard, waiting.

Yet even when the rooster crowed and sunlight spilled into the yard, Steward Wang still did not appear.

It seemed Qingyue's warning yesterday had left Steward Wang temporarily afraid to act rashly.

It had to be said that Qingyue truly had some influence within the sect.

Steward Wang had been so desperate to kill him, yet now he had no choice but to stop for the time being out of consideration for Qingyue.

Li Ping'an sneered inwardly.

Steward Wang might not have made a move today, but that did not mean Fang Qi would not.

Having dealt with Steward Wang before, Li Ping'an knew perfectly well that the man would never let the matter rest until he achieved his goal.

What was more, Inner Sect chief disciple Zhang Lu was backing this matter.

Given Steward Wang's temperament, would he not torment him to death?

Forget it.

Li Ping'an stopped dwelling on it in the blink of an eye.

When soldiers came, generals would block them; when water came, earth would dam it.

Li Ping'an slowly rose to his feet.

Since Steward Wang was not coming, he could not simply sit idle either.

Before long, Li Ping'an arrived at the assembly hall, intending to find some work to do.

The moment he arrived, he found that quite a few Waste Hall disciples had already begun working, sorting through rubbish.

Li Ping'an chose the dirtiest and most difficult post.

The poisonous fumes were thickest here, but that surely meant the most energy for him as well.

"Elder Li, why don't you switch to something easier? Your body might not be able to take it!"

A young disciple could not help reminding him.

Li Ping'an shook his head. "No need. Leave these dirty, tiring jobs to this old man. You only need to attend to your own work."

"If this old man takes care of all the dirty, tiring work, you young lads can find yourselves something easier to do."

The young disciple was instantly moved beyond measure.

Li Ping'an did not waste any more words. He immediately got to work like mad and quickly finished the task in his hands.

Li Ping'an then enthusiastically went over to several other disciples and warmly helped them finish all the work in their hands.

The sight left countless people staring dumbfounded.

"There's something strange about this old man. Not only is he crazily snatching our work, he actually seems to be enjoying it?"

"Yeah! I didn't see wrong—this old man really is enjoying himself. Something's not right here. Who enjoys doing dirty, tiring work for no reason?"

"Exactly! I find it strange too. This is downright absurd!"

With Li Ping'an joining in, the assembly hall's work for the day was quickly finished.

Seeing that it was still early, Li Ping'an prepared to head down the mountain.

"Steward He, I'd like to request leave to go down the mountain."

Steward He's face immediately lit up with delight. "What? You've finally come to your senses? Approved, approved! Hurry down the mountain, don't dawdle."

Seeing Steward He's gratified expression, Li Ping'an found himself utterly baffled.

Still, approval was all that mattered.

Just as he was about to head down the mountain, Steward He suddenly ran over again and grabbed him, inexplicably stuffing several spirit stone fragments into his hand.

"I have a few spirit stones here. Take them. You might need them on the road."

As he spoke, he began sighing again. "Brother Li, mountains and rivers may bring us together again. If fate permits, we shall meet once more."

With that, he turned and left reluctantly.

Li Ping'an was completely stunned by the sight.

What are you doing, man? Are you messing with me?

Yet feeling the weighty spirit stone fragments in his hand, Li Ping'an still felt warmth rise in his heart.

No matter what, Steward He was definitely a truly good man. He absolutely had no intention of harming him.

Though two spirit stone fragments were indeed not much, they still represented Steward He's goodwill.

On this fantasy continent, ten spirit stone fragments equaled one low-grade spirit stone, ten low-grade spirit stones equaled one mid-grade spirit stone, and ten mid-grade spirit stones equaled one high-grade spirit stone.

For odd-job disciples like them, a month of hard work only earned them one or two spirit stone fragments in wages.

After bringing along some supplies and carefully tucking the few pills he had collected over the past few days into his robes, Li Ping'an headed down the mountain.

There was a market at the foot of the mountain.

The market was a mixed bag of dragons and snakes, with both sect disciples and independent cultivators from all corners of the land.

Everything was sold there: talismans, pills, magical artifacts, cinnabar, formation flags, formation discs, spiritual herbs, spiritual medicines—every trade of the cultivation world could be found within.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Li Ping'an wandered aimlessly through the market.

To onlookers, he looked like nothing more than an old man out for a stroll.

In truth, his small eyes were constantly surveying his surroundings. He was looking for a shop that bought pills.

After considering it, he realized he had eight Body-Tempering Pills in total, but he had no idea what one of them was worth on the market.

He was new here and did not know the going rates. It was better to test the waters first.

After walking around for quite some time, he finally stopped in front of a pill shop.

He would go in and ask about the price first.

Li Ping'an entered the shop.

The owner wore black-rimmed glasses and sported a mustache shaped like the character for eight, looking every bit the shrewd businessman. Upon seeing Li Ping'an enter, he put away his abacus and greeted him with neither warmth nor indifference.

"Do you buy pills here?"

"We do."

The shopkeeper answered.

"Then take a look at this pill for me. How much would you pay for it?"

Li Ping'an handed over a Body-Tempering Pill.

The shopkeeper took it carelessly, but the instant he saw that it was a complete, high-quality Body-Tempering Pill, his eyes went wide.

He could not help taking off his glasses and holding the pill up before his eyes for a careful inspection.

"This is actually a high-grade Body-Tempering Pill!"

He cried out.

Then he realized he had lost his composure and hurriedly coughed, steadying himself.

The main reason was that Li Ping'an looked like a decrepit old man, yet he had pulled out a Body-Tempering Pill. It truly surprised him.

"Cough, cough... Ahem, honored customer, if you wish to sell this Body-Tempering Pill, I sincerely offer ten spirit stones. What do you think?"

Ten spirit stones?

Li Ping'an raised his brows, feeling as though his heart had skipped a beat.

He knew pills sold for dearly in the cultivation world, but he had not expected them to be this expensive. It took ten spirit stones to buy a single Body-Tempering Pill?

That was equivalent to an odd-job disciple's wages for an entire lifetime. Behind vermilion gates, wine and meat went to waste; by the roadside lay the bones of those frozen to death.

Li Ping'an sighed inwardly, but his face remained impassive. Wearing the air of a serene old master, he looked the shopkeeper up and down until the man grew increasingly uncomfortable.

"Are you sure you can only offer ten spirit stones? Take a good look. This is a high-grade Body-Tempering Pill!"

The shopkeeper was filled with confusion upon hearing this.

Could this old man have seen through me? That shouldn't be possible!

The shopkeeper coughed and looked curiously at Li Ping'an.

"May I ask, honored customer, where did you obtain this Body-Tempering Pill?"

Li Ping'an said blandly, "I worked exceptionally well within the sect, and an elder simply rewarded it to me."

"Take a proper look. This is a high-grade Body-Tempering Pill. I believe it should be worth more than this, no?"

"Do not assume this old man is easy to bully merely because he is advanced in years."

Upon hearing that Li Ping'an had no backing and had not refined it himself, the shopkeeper once more became arrogant.

The shopkeeper gave it a casual glance and said blandly, "Although your pill is high-grade, this pill itself is not some high-level pill. Offering you ten spirit stones is already quite good!"

"Since you've had a hard time, I can offer you twelve spirit stones!"

Li Ping'an turned and left at once.

"Hey?"

The pill shopkeeper immediately panicked and hurriedly called after him.