Xu Changxing had watched several transactions over in Kettle Bell Town, and every one of them had been extremely complicated.
He had never expected the Spirit Pill Workshop here to have such a simple process, or even to let its shop assistants handle pills.
The Setting Sun Sect truly lived up to its reputation as an upright, prestigious sect. Even the atmosphere in its marketplace was so much better than in Kettle Bell Town.
After reflecting on this, Xu Changxing shook his head and said,
"No need to trouble your manager. Since you're authorized to buy it, I'll sell it to you.
By the way, do you buy medicinal herbs here?"
The assistant smiled. "We do, but we only buy relatively rare ones."
Xu Changxing nodded, then took all the medicinal herbs he had previously gathered out of his storage pouch and said,
"Then take a look at these herbs. See how many you can use and give me a price."
After carefully sorting through the herbs for a while, the assistant picked out several of the better varieties and offered Xu Changxing twenty low-grade spirit stones.
The price was actually a little low.
If Xu Changxing set up a stall and sold them himself, he could get at least thirty low-grade spirit stones. It would merely take a little more time.
Had he still been a first-level Qi Refinement cultivator, he would most likely have been reluctant to sell the herbs at that price.
But he was now at the seventh level of Qi Refinement, with the system at his side, so he did not quibble over such a small number of spirit stones.
His time was worth more to him now than a dozen or so low-grade spirit stones.
Xu Changxing put away the spirit stones and left the Spirit Pill Workshop with seventy low-grade spirit stones in his possession.
Once he had left, the shop assistant took the Spirit-Gathering Pills he had purchased into the back room.
He placed the Spirit-Gathering Pills before a middle-aged man and said, "Master, I just bought these Spirit-Gathering Pills for fifty low-grade spirit stones!"
The middle-aged man nodded, then picked up the Spirit-Gathering Pills and examined them.
A moment later, the middle-aged man said in a deep voice, "This bottle of Spirit-Gathering Pills is of reasonably good quality. Your valuation of fifty low-grade spirit stones was fairly accurate."
The assistant grinned. "Master, my appraisals are getting more and more accurate. Am I nearly ready to finish my apprenticeship?"
The middle-aged man scoffed. "Finish your apprenticeship? You're still a long way off.
Tell me, where was the alchemist who refined this bottle of Spirit-Gathering Pills from?"
The assistant froze for a moment. "I... I don't know..."
The middle-aged man shook his head. "I told you long ago that alchemists from different places each have their own distinctive traits.
Even when the pills they refine have the same medicinal effects, you can determine where they were made from their subtle differences.
The medicinal potency of these Spirit-Gathering Pills is clearly on the fierce side, and there are faint traces of a murky aura mixed in. Yin fire was clearly used in their refinement."
"Yin fire..."
The assistant's pupils contracted slightly. "You mean this bottle of pills was brought over from the Yin Corpse Sect's territory?"
The middle-aged man asked expressionlessly, "What was the cultivation level of the man who sold you the pills?"
The assistant thought for a moment. "I couldn't tell, but he felt pretty powerful to me. At least above the fifth level of Qi Refinement."
The middle-aged man nodded. "A cultivator above the fifth level of Qi Refinement brought a bottle of Spirit-Gathering Pills over from the Yin Corpse Sect's territory.
Yet rather than use them himself, he sold the bottle to us.
What an interesting fellow."
The assistant's pupils contracted again as he said,
"C-could he have sold us these pills on purpose?
But why would he do that?"
The middle-aged man waved a hand. "Who knows what he's after? Just tell Xia Shanyang about this.
We don't need to worry about the rest."
Xu Changxing still had no idea that the bottle of Spirit-Gathering Pills had already exposed his origins.
At that moment, he was gazing excitedly at the spirit stones in his hands.
These spirit stones were enough for another simulation.
Xu Changxing took out sixty-four low-grade spirit stones and deposited them into the system, then started another simulation.
[Day one, you hid in your room to cultivate and familiarize yourself with your current cultivation level. The smooth cultivation afforded by your third-grade wood spiritual root left you feeling thoroughly at ease.] [...] [Day seven, you continued cultivating and worked out the timing, planning to go out in two days for a "chance encounter" with Xia Shanyang.] [Day nine, while you were cultivating, someone knocked on your courtyard gate. You opened your room door and discovered that your visitor was a young cultivator. You asked who he was and were surprised to learn that he was Xia Shanyang. Xia Shanyang keenly noticed your surprise but said nothing about it. After chatting with you for a while, he seemingly casually asked about your origins. Unwilling to reveal your cultivation level or background, you merely said that you were a rogue cultivator from the countryside and had come here only to join the Setting Sun Sect. Xia Shanyang nodded noncommittally, then left.] [Day twenty, you went to visit Xia Shanyang of your own accord, only to discover that he was not in Red Sparrow Town. You vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but had no idea where things had gone awry.] [Day twenty-nine, Xia Shanyang returned from out of town and came to chat with you again. You brought up your desire to join the Setting Sun Sect, but he remained noncommittal.] [Month two, you tried visiting Xia Shanyang, only to discover that he was quite wary of you.] [Month three, you finally realized that you probably would not be getting a letter of recommendation from Xia Shanyang. Still, you had lived quite comfortably these past few months. Moreover, you felt that with your current aptitude, life as a rogue cultivator would be quite good too, so you simply settled down here.] [Month eight, after more than half a year of peaceful cultivation, you increasingly enjoyed this leisurely life, and your aura grew ever more serene.] [Year two, Xia Shanyang gradually let down his guard around you and came to chat from time to time, but still never mentioned a letter of recommendation.] [Year three, your cultivation broke through to the eighth level of Qi Refinement, and you also accumulated some spirit stones. Since earning spirit stones was difficult for a rogue cultivator, you did not use them for cultivation. You planned to save them until you reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement, then save up more spirit stones to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill.] [Year four, while gathering herbs nearby, you rescued a young woman dressed in fitted martial attire. Her name was Yun Yanwan, and she was a fairly well-known wandering heroine in the area. To repay you, she willingly became your maidservant.] [Year five, affection blossomed between you and Yun Yanwan over time, and you married. You taught her the arts of immortal cultivation, while she taught you to wield spears and staves. Your days were quite happy.] [Year six, during one of your conversations, Xia Shanyang suddenly offered to recommend you to the Setting Sun Sect. After some consideration, you declined his invitation. The following month, your son Xu Yunfei was born.] [Year seven, your cultivation broke through once more, making you a ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivator and earning you considerable renown in this remote little town.] [Year eight, you began making preparations for Foundation Establishment. Yun Yanwan offered to put her own cultivation on hold for the next few years and leave all the spirit stones for your Foundation Establishment. After repeatedly trying and failing to refuse, you could only accept her kindness.] [Year nine, your second son, Xu Yunhai, was born.]
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