The shop was a three-story wooden building, with four rooms on each floor and a spacious interior.
It was the largest shop in Qingyuan Town, named the Flowing Cloud Merchant Association.
From the name alone, it was clear that this was a branch opened by a major merchant association.
Ye Fei had barely stopped outside the Flowing Cloud Merchant Association when the attendant standing at the entrance hurried out.
"Fellow Daoist, if you have a moment, please come in and take a look. It doesn't matter whether you buy anything. Feel free to browse."
The attendant cupped his hands toward Ye Fei and spoke politely.
"Do you buy spirit herbs here?"
Ye Fei cupped his hands in return.
"We do! We'll take as many as you have!"
"And rest assured, fellow Daoist, our prices are the fairest in all of Qingyuan Town, without exception."
Upon hearing that Ye Fei wanted to sell spirit herbs, the attendant immediately perked up and thumped his chest in assurance.
With that, he respectfully ushered Ye Fei into the shop.
Although the ground floor was spacious, it contained only four display counters, holding cultivation manuals, pills, magical treasures, and talismans respectively.
Their grades were low, but the selection was comprehensive.
"How many spirit herbs would you like to sell, fellow Daoist?"
As soon as they entered, the attendant eyed the Storage Pouch at Ye Fei's waist and asked expectantly.
"One thousand."
Ye Fei answered calmly.
"Please follow me upstairs, fellow Daoist."
Delighted to hear such a large quantity, the attendant politely led Ye Fei to the second floor.
There were no display counters upstairs, only a separate room on either side and a reception area in the middle.
After showing Ye Fei to a seat in the reception area and pouring him a cup of spirit tea, the attendant stood beside him and asked politely:
"What spirit herbs would you like to sell, fellow Daoist?"
Ye Fei took a small sip of spirit tea and asked unhurriedly, "What are your prices for bottom-grade and lower-grade spirit herbs?"
"Each herb has its own price. Here's the list. Please take a look, fellow Daoist."
The attendant promptly handed Ye Fei a jade slip.
Taking the jade slip, Ye Fei sent a strand of divine sense into it with a thought.
A moment later, he returned it to the attendant.
Then he touched his Storage Pouch with his right hand, and five bundles of spirit herbs flew out one after another, piling up on the floor beside him.
Seeing that Ye Fei truly had so many spirit herbs, the attendant was overjoyed and hurried forward to inspect them.
"Two hundred stalks each of rehmannia herb, green-mother grass, silverleaf grass, dark frost flower, and golden ginseng."
"Rehmannia herb is worth two Lower-Grade Spirit Stones per stalk. The rest are worth one Lower-Grade Spirit Stone each."
"That comes to twelve hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones."
The attendant calculated as he spoke and soon gave Ye Fei the total.
"All right. I'll accept that price."
Ye Fei nodded.
He was already very satisfied with the price.
After all, despite the large quantity, these herbs were only a single harvest from his Herb Garden.
An income of twelve hundred Spirit Stones a month was an astronomical sum for a Qi Refining cultivator.
"Please wait a moment, fellow Daoist. I'll fetch your Spirit Stones right away."
The attendant smiled and cupped his hands toward Ye Fei before heading up to the third floor.
A moment later, he returned with a Storage Pouch.
He first gathered the spirit herbs into the Storage Pouch, then took out a chest of Spirit Stones with a thought.
Ye Fei stood on no ceremony. After sweeping them with his divine sense to confirm the count, he put the Spirit Stones away with a wave of his hand.
"Would you happen to need any magical treasures or pills, fellow Daoist?"
"The Flowing Cloud Merchant Association stocks all sorts of grades. We're sure to have something that satisfies you."
Delighted at completing the transaction, the attendant eagerly began pitching their other wares.
His commission on this transaction alone was twelve Spirit Stones, the equivalent of a month's wages.
If Ye Fei spent some more Spirit Stones, he could earn another commission.
He did not meet a wealthy customer like Ye Fei even once a year. Now that he had, every extra bit he could earn counted.
As for why Ye Fei had so many spirit herbs, that was none of his concern.
Nor would the Flowing Cloud Merchant Association ask.
Here, they discussed only transactions, not origins.
"Do you have any shipi grass here?"
A thought struck Ye Fei, and he remembered the shipi grass needed to make Skin Refining Pills.
Those pills were essential for cultivating the first of the nine body refinement realms.
Without them, he could not undergo his fifth spiritual root cleansing.
"Shipi grass?"
The attendant frowned and shook his head slightly.
"What? You don't have any?"
Ye Fei was somewhat disappointed.
"You misunderstand, fellow Daoist. It's not that we have none. Shipi grass is rather unusual, so we only have seeds, not mature herbs."
The attendant explained awkwardly.
"If you have seeds, why don't you have mature herbs?"
Ye Fei was puzzled.
"You may not know this, fellow Daoist, but once shipi grass leaves the soil, it quickly dies and loses its medicinal properties. Only its mature seeds can be preserved."
"So if you need shipi grass, you'll have to buy some seeds and grow it yourself."
The attendant explained patiently.
"I see. My knowledge was rather limited."
Ye Fei scratched his head awkwardly.
"Haha, you're too modest, fellow Daoist."
"The Flowing Cloud Merchant Association has jade slips recording the medicinal principles and properties of all kinds of spirit herbs. They're inexpensive. Even the most detailed one costs only ten Lower-Grade Spirit Stones."
"If you need one, fellow Daoist, I can fetch it for you."
Seeing how little Ye Fei knew about spirit herbs, the attendant's eyes shifted, and he began pitching jade slips to him.
"All right. Give me the most detailed one, along with some shipi grass seeds."
Ye Fei nodded.
"Shipi grass seeds cost one Lower-Grade Spirit Stone for five. How many would you like, fellow Daoist?"
The attendant asked with a smile.
"Fifty."
Ye Fei held up five fingers.
"Certainly. Please wait a moment, fellow Daoist."
With that, the attendant turned and entered the room on the left.
In no time, he returned with a jade slip and a cloth bag.
Ye Fei wasted no words and tossed him twenty Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
"With wealth like yours, fellow Daoist, you surely ought to have a treasure that conceals your true appearance. It would give you an extra measure of protection when traveling."
The attendant happily accepted the Spirit Stones and handed over the goods, then began pitching something else to Ye Fei.
There was no denying that this attendant was talented.
With his silver tongue alone, he managed to persuade Ye Fei to purchase yet another treasure from the Flowing Cloud Merchant Association.
When Ye Fei walked out, he had become an entirely different person.
He now wore a slightly dark-complexioned Human-Skin Mask and a blue cloak. Even his shoes had been replaced, making him appear a little taller.
The mask was exquisitely made. Once he put it on, there was no sign of any disguise-it looked just like real human skin.
He had bought it at the attendant's fervent recommendation. According to the attendant, the mask could withstand the scrutiny of cultivators below Core Formation.
Naturally, it was far from cheap, costing him two hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
As for the cloak and shoes, Ye Fei had bought them only to conceal his build and change his height. There was nothing special about them.
Ye Fei had purchased these things partly because of the attendant's enthusiastic recommendations, and partly because he wanted to sell all the spirit herbs he had.
He feared that using a single identity would attract attention.
Thus, when the attendant introduced the Human-Skin Mask, he was tempted.
With the mask, Ye Fei grew much bolder.
He kept changing his disguise, visiting five different shops in succession and selling all two thousand remaining spirit herbs.
They brought him another twenty-four hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
He now had forty-five hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
Inside the Azure Dragon Sword, that many Spirit Stones formed a small mountain.
After restoring his true appearance, Ye Fei walked along the street again, his eyes continually scanning the stalls on either side.
He wanted to see whether anything was worth buying.
After all, his purpose in obtaining Spirit Stones was to buy useful things.
And so Ye Fei walked slowly, examining everything carefully.
"Boy, there's something strange about that Pill Furnace. You could buy it and study it."
Half an incense stick later, as Ye Fei reached a white-haired old man's stall, Azure Dragon's somewhat surprised voice came from within the Azure Dragon Sword.
Before you continue