Unfortunately, Liu Yu was busy examining the pill cauldron, so all her efforts went to waste.
He stood up and carefully inspected the Azure-Pattern Cauldron.
Without realizing it, the two had drawn closer, and a faint, orchid-like fragrance suddenly drifted into his nose.
The subtle fragrance of a mature woman made Liu Yu feel slightly awkward, so he quietly moved two steps away.
After all, in this life, he was still only seventeen or eighteen, an age when his body's instincts could most easily go to his head.
Keeping his barrel tactically lowered was still very necessary.
Fortunately, his bamboo hat concealed his face, and she did not notice his discomfort.
Seeing that Liu Yu showed no response, Steward Liu gave him a lingering look, then could only open another brocade box and continue her introduction:
"This is the Purple Copper Cauldron, refined from superior purple copper. It helps stabilize flames and control temperature, and withstands intense heat."
"This is a middle-grade magical artifact pill cauldron, priced at just two hundred and fifty spirit stones."
"It is another excellent choice that will give your alchemy journey a smooth start, Fellow Daoist Hong!"
Listening to her introduction, Liu Yu looked toward the Purple Copper Cauldron.
The cauldron was purplish red all over and about the size of two fists, with many intricate patterns carved into its body.
After finishing her introduction, Steward Liu lifted her teacup and sipped slowly, waiting for her customer to choose.
As for Basics of Alchemy, its price had always been twenty spirit stones, so there was naturally no need to say more.
After six years in the separate courtyard and two in the outer sect, with all his expenses deducted, Liu Yu had saved only three hundred and eight spirit stones.
He rarely bought pills for cultivation, and the magical artifacts he used were still the standard-issue ones supplied by the sect.
He had only one low-grade offensive magical artifact, the Cold Light Sword, and one low-grade defensive magical artifact, the Black Iron Shield. His combat ability was decidedly ordinary.
Liu Yu's circumstances reflected those of most outer disciples of the Primordial Yang Sect, yet he was already better off than many rogue cultivators.
Many impoverished rogue cultivators reached the middle stage of Qi Refining without owning even a single Lower-grade Magical Artifact.
They relied entirely on spells for offense and defense, their lives truly as fragile as ants, unsure whether they would survive from morning to night.
Liu Yu touched his Storage Bag and made his decision after a moment's thought.
Of course, he could simply use artificially matured spiritual herbs to purchase a high-grade pill cauldron.
But for a mere Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivator to produce the "huge sum" of six hundred and eighty spirit stones would be far too conspicuous.
It would be no different from writing "fat sheep" over his head, so after a little thought, he suppressed the idea.
"I'll take this Purple Copper Cauldron."
Liu Yu raised his arm and pointed at the small purplish-red cauldron.
With a thought, he used his Divine Sense to withdraw two hundred and seventy spirit stones from his Storage Bag, then put both the Purple Copper Cauldron and the jade slip inside.
Steward Liu swept her Divine Sense over the Spirit Stones and counted them instantly.
Then she flicked her sleeve, and the spirit stones on the table vanished. The smile on her exquisite face grew even brighter.
She opened her eyes wide and gazed steadily at Liu Yu.
An unusual gleam shone in her long, beautiful eyes as she parted her red lips and said softly:
"You certainly are decisive, Fellow Daoist Hong. I have other magical artifacts here as well. Why not take another look?"
Nearly three hundred spirit stones was no small sum for an ordinary cultivator in the Qi Refining Period; it generally represented eight or ten years of savings.
Being able to produce that much at once could just about qualify as spending impressively.
Seeing her like this, Liu Yu felt his heart stir, and a trace of amorous fancy arose within him.
I'm still too young.
With that thought, he dared not linger and rose to take his leave.
"This Hong still has important matters to attend to. Farewell!"
Liu Yu spoke calmly, then cupped his hands and quickly departed.
From beginning to end, he had never touched that cup of hot tea.
The cultivation world was utterly cruel. The slightest carelessness could mean death!
He left the Jade Orchid Tower.
After this round of purchases, only thirty-eight low-grade spirit stones remained, leaving Liu Yu aching at the expense.
He walked to a corner, took out the jade slip, and pressed it to his forehead.
He swept through it with his Divine Sense without reading closely, checking only the information on the spiritual herbs required by the included Pill Formulas.
Normally, besides basic knowledge of alchemy, Basics of Alchemy also came with two Pill Formulas.
The Spirit-Gathering Pill and the Pure Spirit Pill.
The former was suitable for early Qi Refining cultivators, while the latter suited middle Qi Refining cultivators. Both were extremely common pills.
The pill cauldron and Basics of Alchemy are ready. Next come the spiritual grasses and herbs.
With that thought, Liu Yu continued wandering around the Market Ward.
He did not enter any more shops, instead collecting seeds for the spiritual herbs needed to refine Spirit-Gathering Pills and Pure Spirit Pills from various stalls, intending to mature them himself.
An hour later, after spending five spirit stones, he had obtained all the spiritual herb seeds needed for both pills.
Because Spirit-Gathering Pills and Pure Spirit Pills were so common, collecting the seeds for their spiritual grasses and herbs was relatively easy.
Time to leave. I'll report to Herb Garden 17 first.
Having achieved his purpose, Liu Yu lingered no longer and slipped unobtrusively out of the Market Ward among the crowds.
After leaving Jiatai Market, Liu Yu ran twenty li out of caution before removing his bamboo hat and black veil.
Whoosh!
Then he cast the Wind-Riding Technique, and after a few bounding leaps, his figure vanished into the mountains.
Following the mountain path back to the sect, he did not pause for a moment and hurried toward Herb Garden 17.
Herb Garden 17 lay in a small gorge between two spiritual mountains.
Restrictions set by the sect surrounded the herb garden to prevent outsiders from entering.
Buzz, buzz.
Liu Yu reached out to touch the restriction, but white light suddenly flared, blocking his way.
Completely unruffled, he took out his bronze token and held it toward the barrier. A beam of yellow light immediately shot from the token into the restriction.
The restriction's white light quickly faded, settling down within a breath or two.
Rather than entering the herb garden directly, Liu Yu stood where he was and waited patiently for something.
Before long, an outer disciple also dressed in gray robes hurried out of the gorge.
The man looked about thirty years old and was at the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
Tall and slightly dark-skinned, he had a somewhat simple, honest-looking face, like a farmer.
"I am Wu Chang. Junior Brother, have you accepted the task of tending the herb garden?"
"Are you familiar with the characteristics of spiritual herbs, Junior Brother? Would you like me to explain them?"
Wu Chang spoke hurriedly as soon as they met, seemingly eager to complete the handover because he had something important to do.
Liu Yu noticed his impatience and cupped his hands with a smile.
"So you are Senior Brother Wu. I am Liu Yu. I've done this sort of task before, so there's no need to trouble you."
"Let's go inside and count the spiritual grasses and herbs."
With that, he took the lead into the herb garden.
If a few spiritual herbs were missing or something was wrong, and he failed to discover it during the handover, it would all become his responsibility afterward.
When that happened, his spirit stones would inevitably be docked, or he would face punishment from the sect.
Liu Yu had heard plenty of similar stories when talking with his fellow disciples.
Although Wu Chang appeared honest and simple, Liu Yu would not become careless because of it.
After all, a man's heart lay hidden behind his belly!
Entering the herb garden, Liu Yu stood on high ground and looked down, taking in the entire scene.
Two thatched huts built from dry grass and wood stood in the center of the garden.
Around the huts lay a dozen or so mu of spiritual fields of various sizes, divided by channels into neat squares and arranged in orderly rows.
Every plot was lush and green, planted with many spiritual herbs, some familiar and some unfamiliar, along with oddly shaped plants that filled the entire herb garden with vibrant life.
For mortals living in such a place, extending their lives and reaching a hundred years would be nothing difficult.
Even a cultivator like him felt utterly refreshed after taking a deep breath.
Liu Yu made a careful circuit of the garden, comparing it with the information he had read at Senior Brother Qian's place, and found nothing amiss.
He then cupped his hands toward Wu Chang and said with a smile:
"Everything is in order. You've tended it very well, Senior Brother Wu. All the spiritual grasses are growing normally."
"I doubt you're far behind even a spiritual plant farmer!"
Wu Chang's slightly dark face shifted. He scratched his head out of habit and repeatedly waved his hands in modest denial.
"Not at all, not at all. How could I compare with a spiritual plant farmer? You flatter me, Junior Brother Liu!"
He was clearly pleased by Liu Yu's praise; his brows twitched, and even his voice grew louder.
With the handover complete, Wu Chang exchanged a few distracted pleasantries, then cupped his hands and said farewell.
He took out a yellow flying sword, which expanded to a zhang in length in the blink of an eye, then hurried away in a streak of yellow light.
Liu Yu remained where he was, arms folded across his chest, gazing in the direction where the yellow Escape Light had vanished, a thoughtful glint passing through his eyes.
Judging by its spiritual energy fluctuations, he concluded that it was a middle-grade magical artifact, and a fine specimen at that.
It seems this Senior Brother Wu isn't as simple as an ordinary outer disciple.
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