Gathering Materials

Xu Yan walked slowly toward the Rogue Cultivator Market, recalling the notes on this kind of pill in Lin Dao's cultivation journal along the way.

According to Lin Dao's records, the most essential material for these pills is Space Stone.

Xu Yan narrowed his eyes slightly. Space Stone was a rather precious material.

Space Stone was one of the most unusual materials in the cultivation world. Because it contained space within it, it was often used to refine storage-type magic artifacts.

Xu Yan's Storage Bag, for instance, had been refined using Space Stone as its core material.

According to Lin Dao's conjecture, each batch of these pills required very little Space Stone. As long as a pill's internal space measured one foot on each side, it could hold enough flames to unleash terrifying power.

Of course, the larger the space within the pill and the more flames it held, the greater its power would be.

Besides Space Stone, he also needed Iron Essence, Blackstone, Red Sand, and other materials. These were all common supplementary materials for artifact refinement, easy to obtain, and he knew their prices.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, the Rogue Cultivator Market came into view.

Unlike the Separation Valley Market, the Rogue Cultivator Market had already been divided into several sections by the Rogue Cultivator Alliance. After checking the layout, he headed straight toward the section for spirit ores and materials.

This section occupied roughly a tenth of the square, and several hundred rogue cultivators were running stalls there.

As he approached, the rogue cultivators immediately began calling out.

"Fellow Daoist, come take a look! A venom sac from a first-tier demonic beast, the Black-Bellied Python, in perfect condition! An essential material for refining first-tier poison pills. Whether you're killing someone for their possessions or launching a sneak attack to save your own skin, it's an excellent choice. Don't miss out, Fellow Daoist!" A rogue cultivator with a bandit-like face lifted a black lump and pitched it directly to Xu Yan.

Xu Yan gave it an indifferent glance and immediately walked away.

After only a few more steps, his eyes lit up, and he stopped before a stall.

"I'll take this Blackstone and Red Sand," Xu Yan said, pointing at the two materials on the stall.

Behind the stall sat a graceful female cultivator in a long gauze dress. At his words, she immediately gave a lilting laugh. "You have a keen eye, Fellow Daoist. My blackstone and red sand are both of superb quality. These five pieces of blackstone cost one low-grade spirit stone each, and there are three jin of red sand at two low-grade spirit stones per jin. Pay me eleven low-grade spirit stones, and you can take them away."

Xu Yan nodded. The prices were fairly normal. After a moment's thought, he said to the female cultivator, "Fellow Daoist, I don't have that many spirit stones on me. Would you accept pills in payment?"

As soon as he finished, the woman's expression darkened slightly, and she replied rather coolly, "Paying with pills is possible, but they must aid cultivation or strengthen one's foundation and nourish one's vital essence. Other pills won't do."

Xu Yan understood her requirements. Without wasting any more words, he took a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills from his Storage Bag and tossed it to her.

The woman reached out a delicate hand and caught the jade bottle. Once she saw the Qi Gathering Pills inside, a smile immediately bloomed on her face again. She gently replaced the stopper, cast Xu Yan a flirtatious glance, and chided him in a sweet voice, "Why didn't you say so sooner, Fellow Daoist? Qi Gathering Pills are certainly acceptable. But there are only three in this bottle, worth just nine Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

Xu Yan's stern face showed no reaction to her behavior. With a beckoning motion, he put the five pieces of Blackstone and the Red Sand into his Storage Bag.

Then, before the woman could speak, he flicked a finger, sending another Qi Gathering Pill flying toward her.

At his gesture, delight filled the woman's face. She thought she had met a lavishly generous rogue cultivator, but once she saw the Qi Gathering Pill in her hand, she immediately cried out shrilly, "Fellow Daoist, why is this Qi Gathering Pill so small?"

Having collected the two materials, he was already about to leave. At her words, he turned and looked at her expressionlessly, speaking in a low voice. "These are the only Qi Gathering Pills I have in my Storage Bag. If you're unwilling, return them to me."

Hearing Xu Yan say this, the woman only tightened her grip on the pills. For rogue cultivators, obtaining pills was fairly difficult. Sometimes, even spirit stones could not buy them.

Her Divine Sense had already swept over the slightly smaller Qi Gathering Pill in her hand. Apart from containing roughly half as much spiritual energy as an ordinary Qi Gathering Pill, it was no different. Even so, the payment was still half a Low-Grade Spirit Stone short.

Xu Yan had watched every change in her expression. Certain that she would not abandon the deal, he gave a quiet chuckle and slowly walked away.

Watching Xu Yan recede into the distance, the woman knitted her brows slightly. In the end, she said nothing, though she could not help cursing inwardly.

Next, Xu Yan successfully purchased Iron Essence and Copper Mother at other stalls, likewise paying with pills. By then, he had used up most of the pills he had obtained from this round of assignments.

Apart from the essential Space Stone, he had gathered all the other materials.

"Why isn't there any Space Stone?"

Xu Yan murmured, puzzlement showing on his face. He had searched this section several times, yet there was no Space Stone to be found.

Faced with this situation, he decided to ask someone for information.

Xu Yan slowly approached a stall whose owner, an old man dressed in coarse hemp clothing, sat cross-legged behind it. He cupped his hands toward the old man and asked, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist. I'm looking to buy Space Stone. Do you know where it's sold?"

Hearing someone speak, the old man slowly turned to look over. His face initially held an impatient expression, but upon seeing the Low-Grade Spirit Stone in Xu Yan's hand, his aged face immediately wreathed itself in smiles.

He extended a withered hand and deftly took the spirit stone from Xu Yan, then cleared his throat lightly. "Heh heh, you've asked the right person, Fellow Daoist. Space Stone is quite precious. Ordinary rogue cultivators don't have any. There's a shop here in Ascendant City called the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. It sells all sorts of spiritual goods, so it might have some. If it doesn't, I'm afraid you'll have trouble finding any in Ascendant City."

After speaking, the old man stood on no ceremony and put the Low-Grade Spirit Stone straight into his Storage Bag.

After offering his thanks, Xu Yan immediately headed toward the shop the old man had mentioned.

Leaving the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, Xu Yan continued on his way. About two hours later, he reached the busiest street in Ascendant City. Looking into the distance, he saw a golden pavilion glittering with jewels and riches.

The pavilion was immensely tall and grand, its exterior adorned with Spirit Gold. From afar, it looked like a mountain of gold standing in the middle of the street.

This was the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion the old man had spoken of, reputed to have the most comprehensive selection of spiritual cultivation goods in Rising Rosy Clouds Immortal City.

Its interior was extraordinarily lavish, suffused with a pale violet glow. All four walls were covered entirely in second-tier ore, Purple Sun Rock, with dreamlike colors flowing across them.

As soon as Xu Yan entered, two young maidservants stepped lightly forward.