Foothill Market

Song Wen was short on funds, so in the end, he did not purchase a single spell technique from the Transmission Hall.

He had finally found a Corpse Puppet Refinement Art that caught his fancy, but it cost twenty-five Spirit Stones.

After leaving the Transmission Hall, Song Wen headed for the Foothill Market.

The Foothill Market was established by the Corpse Demon Sect. It housed not only shops run by the Corpse Demon Sect, but also shops belonging to outside factions, as well as stalls set up by Corpse Demon Sect disciples and Rogue Cultivators of the demonic path.

The sect's shops generally sold goods at higher prices, but their quality was guaranteed to some extent.

The goods at stalls were generally cheaper, but their quality was much poorer. For instance, pills might be of inferior quality, or cultivation techniques might have missing portions that made them impossible to cultivate.

By the time Song Wen arrived at the market, the sun was already sinking westward, yet the streets were still packed shoulder to shoulder. This was the market's liveliest hour. Most Corpse Demon Sect disciples had toiled all day and only had time to wander the market and hunt for treasures now.

Song Wen had come to the market for two reasons: first, to purchase Corpse-Baleful Qi to aid his cultivation; second, to broaden his horizons.

Song Wen strolled along, looking as he went. After nearly half an hour, he finally spotted the Corpse-Baleful Qi he had been yearning for at a stall.

Three black jade bottles sat on the stall. Their surfaces were carved with intricate formation patterns, meant to prevent the Corpse-Baleful Qi inside from leaking away.

"Senior Brother, how much is the Corpse-Baleful Qi?" Song Wen asked.

The stall owner was also dressed in the robes of a Corpse Demon Sect outer disciple. He gave Song Wen a cold glance and replied indifferently.

"Eighty low-grade Spirit Stones."

"That expensive?" Song Wen was startled by the price.

"I ventured deep into the heart of Ten Thousand Corpse Valley and spent several days refining and collecting the purest Corpse-Baleful Qi. One bottle can sustain a Qi Refining Early Stage disciple like you for three months. Naturally, it won't come cheap."

Ten Thousand Corpse Valley was a deadly region not far from the Corpse Demon Sect. It was blanketed in Corpse-Baleful Qi year-round and was a place nearby demonic cultivators often visited to collect it.

As for the stall owner's claim that he had ventured deep into the valley's central region, that was merely boasting to sell his goods.

Even though Song Wen had only entered the Corpse Demon Sect two months ago, he knew that the heart of Ten Thousand Corpse Valley was definitely not somewhere a Qi Refining Stage cultivator could enter deeply.

"Make it cheaper. Twenty Spirit Stones." Song Wen tried to haggle.

The stall owner immediately grew irritated. "Go, go, go. If you're not buying, don't come here making trouble. You want to buy a bottle of pure Corpse-Baleful Qi with twenty Spirit Stones? You must still be dreaming. This jade bottle alone is worth more than ten low-grade Spirit Stones."

Song Wen left the stall dejectedly after being driven away.

After that, Song Wen found several more stalls selling Corpse-Baleful Qi. From what he observed, a bottle of pure Corpse-Baleful Qi generally sold for around sixty Spirit Stones.

If the buyer provided an empty jade bottle, the price could be reduced by ten Spirit Stones.

In other words, the specially made jade bottle used to hold Corpse-Baleful Qi was worth around ten Spirit Stones.

Though he did not have enough Spirit Stones, Song Wen did not give up. He still had something on him that he could sell.

The pill furnace he had obtained from Extreme Yin!

Though this pill furnace was only a low-grade magical artifact, it was a relatively rare kind of magical artifact and carried a considerable price.

Song Wen walked straight into a shop that sold magical artifacts.

A shop attendant immediately came forward. His cultivation was around the Qi Refining Third Layer.

"Customer, what would you like to buy?"

Song Wen said, "I'm not here to buy anything. Does your shop purchase magical artifacts?"

"Of course we do." The attendant did not turn cold simply because Song Wen had come to sell something. He remained very enthusiastic.

"What magical artifact would you like to sell, customer?"

Song Wen flipped his palm, and the pill furnace appeared in his hand.

"This pill furnace."

The attendant took the pill furnace and examined it carefully before saying,

"Customer, this is a low-grade magical artifact pill furnace, and it shows signs of long-term use. Some of the formation patterns on it have already been worn down. Our shop can offer fifty Spirit Stones for it."

Song Wen was slightly taken aback. "That low?"

From what Song Wen knew, low-grade offensive magical artifacts in the market generally sold for more than one hundred Spirit Stones. Defensive magical artifacts cost a little more, though they usually did not exceed two hundred Spirit Stones.

Specialized magical artifacts like pill furnaces could not be mentioned in the same breath as ordinary magical artifacts.

A low-grade pill furnace generally cost around five hundred Spirit Stones. No wonder it was said in the cultivation world that raising an alchemist consumed an immense amount of resources.

A single low-grade pill furnace was already beyond the means of ordinary cultivators.

Though Song Wen's pill furnace was secondhand and had been used before, he had estimated its value to be between two and three hundred Spirit Stones.

A shop had to earn the difference by buying low and selling high, but fifty Spirit Stones was far below Song Wen's expectations.

"Your offer is too low. Can you raise it?"

The attendant smiled. "Customer, perhaps you do not know this, but our shop does not ask where the items we purchase come from. No matter how you obtained this magical artifact, once it enters our shop, we can handle any trouble connected to this pill furnace for you. Naturally, the price must be lower."

Song Wen was momentarily speechless. Clearly, the other party had taken him for someone looking to dispose of stolen goods.

The attendant could not be blamed. Song Wen's displayed cultivation was only around the late Qi Refining Level One, the level of someone who had just entered the path. This pill furnace naturally could not have belonged to Song Wen himself.

Alchemy was an occupation that consumed enormous amounts of resources and Spirit Stones. It was not something an outer disciple like Song Wen, who had only just entered the sect, could even dream of pursuing.

Song Wen said, "You have misunderstood. There is absolutely nothing questionable about how I obtained this pill furnace. It will not involve any trouble."

Song Wen took back the pill furnace, turned, and walked toward the shop entrance. If this shop would not buy it, there were other shops.

Seeing how decisively Song Wen was leaving, the attendant became anxious and hurriedly called out.

"Eighty Spirit Stones?"

Song Wen had nearly reached the entrance, yet showed no sign of turning around.

The attendant could not help feeling uneasy. Had he judged wrongly? Was there really nothing questionable about the pill furnace's origins?

"One hundred and twenty Spirit Stones."

Song Wen still did not turn his head. He had already stepped out of the shop and onto the street outside, looking around for a suitable shop to sell it to.

"One hundred and eighty Spirit Stones."

The attendant hurried outside after Song Wen and said to him,

"This is the highest price I can offer. Even if this pill furnace has no problems with its origins, you cannot sell it for a higher price."

Song Wen smiled faintly, turned, and walked back toward the attendant.

"Fine. Deal."

Song Wen handed the pill furnace to the attendant.

He knew that if he set up a stall in the market to sell the pill furnace himself, he should be able to fetch a higher price. However, setting up a stall required paying five Spirit Stones every day, and a magical artifact like a pill furnace was unlike other magical artifacts. Ordinary people would not buy one; only those determined to become alchemists would purchase it.

If Song Wen sold it at a stall himself, who knew how many days it would take before it sold.

The attendant's offer of one hundred and eighty Spirit Stones had already exceeded Song Wen's expectations.