All the Materials Purchased
Li Yunjing picked up his teacup and took a small sip.
He knew what Jin Wuxu meant.
The Luozhen Sect had fallen on hard times, at least in the eyes of outsiders.
These days, the Luozhen Sect was no different from a wild sect.
A wild sect was one with only a handful of members.
At present, the Luozhen Sect had only Li Yunjing.
In fact, the Luozhen Sect was worse off than a wild sect.
Wild sects might have few members, but at least, besides the sect master,
they still had a few elders and disciples.
The Luozhen Sect had only Li Yunjing, a commander without a single soldier.
And Li Yunjing was currently only at Qi Refining Completion.
There was no telling when he would reach Foundation Establishment.
In three months, the Immortal Alliance would send someone to inspect the Luozhen Sect.
If the Luozhen Sect had no Foundation Establishment cultivator holding down the fort then,
the Immortal Alliance would revoke the Luozhen Sect's membership.
From then on, the Luozhen Sect would no longer be a member of the Immortal Alliance.
As Jin Wuxu saw it, Li Yunjing was wasting his time clinging to the Luozhen Sect.
Jin Wuxu was therefore certain that Li Yunjing would not do so.
Jin Wuxu was also certain that Li Yunjing would absolutely not reach Foundation Establishment in three months.
That meant Li Yunjing could only, before the Luozhen Sect's membership was revoked,
find a new path for himself.
Otherwise, things would be troublesome when the time came.
Jin Wuxu thought highly of Li Yunjing.
Over the three years he had dealt with Li Yunjing,
Li Yunjing's abilities and character had all left Jin Wuxu satisfied.
If he recruited Li Yunjing into the Golden Millet Pavilion,
Jin Wuxu would gain a capable assistant.
The Golden Millet Pavilion could also develop more steadily and grow stronger bit by bit.
Putting down his teacup, Li Yunjing smiled and cupped his hands to Jin Wuxu.
"I'm honored that you think so highly of me, Shopkeeper Jin, but I don't want to give up yet.
"I can't let the Luozhen Sect perish on my watch."
Hearing this, Jin Wuxu sighed inwardly.
What a pity.
On the surface, however, Jin Wuxu still wore a smile.
"Sect Leader Li, your lofty ambitions have earned my admiration.
"I've always admired people like you. My offer still stands, and the Golden Millet Pavilion will welcome you at any time, Sect Leader Li."
Li Yunjing cupped his hands to Jin Wuxu and thanked him.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
A Golden Millet Pavilion attendant then entered.
He placed Li Yunjing's Spirit Rice Bag on the table.
He also took out a Spirit Stone note bearing the Immortal Alliance's emblem and a small pouch and placed them on the table.
After bowing to Li Yunjing and Jin Wuxu, the attendant left.
"Please take a look, Sect Leader Li," Jin Wuxu said with a smile.
Li Yunjing picked up the Spirit Rice Bag.
A wisp of green smoke rose from its opening and formed the characters for "thirty."
Of the two hundred and three jin of golden jade rice, he had kept thirty jin.
The remaining one hundred and seventy-three jin had all been sold.
Li Yunjing nodded and put away the Spirit Rice Bag.
He then picked up the Spirit Stone note on the table.
A Spirit Stone note was equivalent to the banknotes Li Yunjing knew.
It was a service offered by the Immortal Alliance.
Anyone holding a Spirit Stone note could go to an Immortal Pavilion established by the Immortal Alliance and exchange it for the corresponding amount of Spirit Stones.
For the one hundred and seventy-three jin of golden jade rice,
the Golden Millet Pavilion had paid one hundred and eighty low-grade Spirit Stones.
This was one of the benefits of the Luozhen Sect's membership in the Immortal Alliance.
The Spirit Stone note was worth one hundred and fifty.
The remaining Spirit Stones were in the small pouch.
After checking that everything was correct, Li Yunjing nodded to Jin Wuxu.
"Many thanks, Shopkeeper Jin."
"You're too polite."
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries.
Li Yunjing then excused himself, saying he had business to attend to, and left the Golden Millet Pavilion.
Jin Wuxu accompanied him all the way to the entrance of the Golden Millet Pavilion and watched him walk into the distance before turning back.
Walking down the street, Li Yunjing felt somewhat reflective.
"If I didn't have a golden finger, I'm afraid I would have accepted Shopkeeper Jin's offer long ago."
He had to admit, Jin Wuxu's invitation had been very tempting.
The Golden Millet Pavilion was a spirit rice shop backed by the Immortal Alliance.
Joining the Golden Millet Pavilion was something others could only dream of.
Unfortunately, Li Yunjing's ambitions lay elsewhere.
Putting aside his distracting thoughts, Li Yunjing still had important business to attend to.
Now that he had obtained quite a few Spirit Stones, Li Yunjing naturally needed to start buying the necessary supplies.
First, he went to the Immortal Pavilion and exchanged the Spirit Stone note for one hundred and fifty low-grade Spirit Stones.
Low-grade Spirit Stones were tiny, only the size of soybeans.
These were standard Spirit Stones produced by specially polishing them.
Spirit Stones did not look like this when they were first mined.
He put all the Spirit Stones into his Storage Bag.
Li Yunjing walked out of the Immortal Pavilion, recalling the requirements for upgrading the various buildings.
He planned to start by buying the materials needed to upgrade the Spirit Field.
"Twenty jin of ordinary plant ash..."
Ordinary plant ash was easy to obtain.
There were even places that specialized in selling it.
Ordinary plant ash could be used to refine basic spirit ink,
which could then be further processed into first-grade spirit ink.
It could then be used to draw spirit talismans.
As a result, ordinary plant ash was produced in large quantities.
He entered a treasure shop called the Treasure Gathering Pavilion,
which was likewise backed by the Immortal Alliance.
An attendant immediately came running over with a smile to welcome Li Yunjing.
"Welcome to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, Senior. What would you like?
"I wouldn't say our Treasure Gathering Pavilion has everything under the sun, but we do have most treasures."
The attendant spoke to Li Yunjing with a smile.
Li Yunjing glanced at the attendant. He was new, and Li Yunjing didn't know him.
Li Yunjing said directly, "Twenty jin of ordinary plant ash."
"Right away. This way, Senior."
The attendant led Li Yunjing to a seat nearby.
"Please wait a moment, Senior. I'll fetch twenty jin of ordinary plant ash for you right away."
"Not so fast. There are a few other things. See if the Treasure Gathering Pavilion has them."
Li Yunjing called the attendant back and gestured for him to stay.
The attendant stopped at once. "Please go ahead, Senior."
"Five bundles of ordinary straw, thirty jin of ordinary unhusked rice, and ten ordinary wooden planks.
"Six thick logs, one jin of ordinary iron nails, two jin of tung oil, and twenty sticks of first-grade incense.
"Work out how many Spirit Stones all that will cost," Li Yunjing said in one breath.
As the attendant listened, he was already estimating the price in his head.
Of the things Li Yunjing wanted,
most were ordinary items.
Their prices were modest.
Only the first-grade incense was worth anything much.
After estimating the price, the attendant smiled.
"Senior, that comes to six low-grade Spirit Stones in total.
"Four sticks of first-grade incense cost one low-grade Spirit Stone, so twenty sticks cost five.
"Everything else comes to two low-grade Spirit Stones altogether.
"However, I see that you're the master of the Luozhen Sect, Senior, so according to the rules, one Spirit Stone can be deducted.
"Therefore, you only need to pay six Spirit Stones, Senior."
Li Yunjing nodded, took out six low-grade Spirit Stones, and placed them on the table.
The attendant took the six Spirit Stones and immediately went to prepare Li Yunjing's goods.
With these things, I'll still have quite a few Spirit Stones left, enough to upgrade the Sect Grand Hall to lv2 as well, Li Yunjing thought.
Before long, the attendant returned.
He led Li Yunjing to the second floor of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.
Everything Li Yunjing needed was now piled on the floor.
Li Yunjing took out his Storage Bag and put everything he needed inside.
"Does the Treasure Gathering Pavilion have glazed tiles and bluestone bricks?" Li Yunjing asked.
The attendant nodded. "Yes, we do. How many do you need, Senior?"
"One hundred glazed tiles and fifty bluestone bricks," Li Yunjing said.
"Please wait a moment, Senior."
The attendant immediately went to work again.
Soon, several strongmen carried the glazed tiles and bluestone bricks up to the second floor.
There were one hundred glazed tiles and fifty bluestone bricks, not one missing.
"Please take a look, Senior," the attendant said.
Li Yunjing nodded. He had already inspected them with his Divine Sense.
There were no problems with the glazed tiles or bluestone bricks.
They were finely made, all high-quality goods.
Normally, these high-quality goods would cost more than ordinary ones.
But thanks to the Immortal Alliance's benefits,
the high-quality goods cost the same as ordinary ones.
Li Yunjing only had to pay forty-five low-grade Spirit Stones.
After putting away the glazed tiles and bluestone bricks, Li Yunjing had purchased more than half the supplies he had come out to buy.
He walked toward the exit of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, with the attendant following beside him.
"Take care, Senior."
Only after Li Yunjing had left the Treasure Gathering Pavilion did the attendant turn back to his work.
Walking down the main street, Li Yunjing thought to himself.
I must... hold on to the Immortal Alliance membership.
Just then, a delighted voice rang out.
"Senior Brother!"