Chapter 432 - 205: Hundred Li Grand Market - Qi Blood and the Fake Pill

Chapter 432: Chapter 205: Hundred Li Grand Market - Qi Blood and the Fake Pill

The quantity of Spiritual Materials like Red Fire Marrow and the Spirit Jade Vermilion Bird Pendant was noticeably scarce.

It wasn’t just that top-tier Spiritual Materials were scarce; even common Tier Three Spiritual Materials were in short supply.

He hadn’t seen a single stalk of Tier Three Spirit Grass in particular.

Even Tier Two Spirit Grass was pitifully scarce, and most of what was available were varieties with highly specific uses.

"Excuse me, friend, why don’t I see any Spirit Grass in the shop?"

When in doubt, ask. Curious, Xiao Chen found a nearby Host and inquired, "If I want to buy Tier Three Spirit Grass, where should I go?"

The Host gave him a curious look. "Are you an Alchemist, sir?"

"If you want to purchase Spirit Grass to create Elixirs, you can go to the Hundred Herbs Hall across from the City Lord’s Mansion."

"If you just need Elixirs, our shop carries all the common types. We also take custom orders for rare Elixirs. You can discuss it face-to-face with our store’s Alchemist."

...

"That won’t be necessary, thank you."

Xiao Chen waved his hand and turned to leave.

’Oh, right. This is Hundred Herbs City. Of course they refine all the Spirit Grass into Elixirs.’

’And I call myself an Alchemist, yet I didn’t even think of that right away. I really don’t pay enough attention to this craft.’

’It’s not that I don’t pay attention to it, really, I just never seem to have the time.’

’When I get some free time, I’ll have to properly study both the Array Dao and Alchemy.’

He then finished browsing the shops in the city, but he still had no leads on a method for Fake Pill advancement.

It seemed his hopes were slim.

’Since I’ve come this far, I might as well go outside the city and try my luck.’

At the East City Gate, Xiao Chen thought for a moment and decided he should do his best and leave the rest to fate.

After exiting the city gate, the exquisitely decorated shops vanished, replaced by one street stall after another.

At the same time, a cacophony of hawkers’ cries rose and fell.

"Come on, come all, take a look! Fire-refined Yellow Sand from the Yellow Sand Secret Realm, going cheap!"

"Everyone, look over here! We’ve got premium Elixirs made by the Inner Sect Disciples of Hundred Herbs City! High quality, low prices, and honest dealings for all!"

"Stone Milk Dragon Saliva Fragrance, just one hundred Spirit Stones a piece! This is a rare opportunity, don’t just walk on by!"

...

Although he still couldn’t see any Spirit Grass, the variety and quantity of Spiritual Materials outside the city were clearly much greater.

Moreover, the prices mostly ranged from a few dozen to a few hundred Spirit Stones.

Xiao Chen had just spent over two hours wandering around the city, where items were easily priced in the thousands or tens of thousands.

Now, suddenly seeing items for a few hundred Spirit Stones, he couldn’t help but feel that everything seemed incredibly cheap.

He quickly shook his head to banish the strange thought.

He then refocused on his search for the Secret Technique.

.

’Hiss... I really should have learned Artifact Refining back in the day.’

As he continued his search, he found no Secret Technique, but Xiao Chen did see a staggering variety of Spiritual Materials.

Perhaps to create their own niche and attract more customers, many stalls had chosen to specialize in Spiritual Materials.

Spiritual Artifacts were too expensive, selling Spirit Pills required connections, and Spirit Grass was difficult to preserve.

Spiritual Materials, on the other hand, were cheap per unit, easy to source, and had almost no special storage requirements.

After all, things like metals, jades, and other precious stones wouldn’t go bad even if they sat around for a few hundred years.

Furthermore, the prices for these Spiritual Materials were extremely low—far lower than in the Southern Domain.

From this, he inferred that there must be a considerable number of Artifact Refiners in the Eastern Domain; after all, the cost of learning the craft was clearly much lower.

’No more Secret Manuals... Looks like this is really a bust.’

Reaching the end of the Hundred Li Grand Market, Xiao Chen scanned his surroundings. There were no more stalls displaying Secret Manuals or Jade Scrolls.

It looked like the matter of his Fake Pill advancement would have to be put on hold for now.

Acting on the principle of ’since I’m here anyway’.

He decided to check out the last few stalls, if only for a distraction.

But as he reached the last stall, he saw a figure hurrying over.

Before the person could even get his footing, he pulled a large red cloth from his robes and, with a SWISH, unfurled it on the ground.

He then deftly placed four stones on the corners and began to set up a new stall.

His movements were practiced; clearly, this wasn’t his first time.

What’s more, the person looked vaguely familiar. A closer look revealed it was the very same Sword Master he’d seen earning Spirit Stones with an Ink Flood Dragon—Ling Tianyi.

’What’s he doing here?’

Xiao Chen’s interest was suddenly piqued, and he walked over to see what the man was planning to sell.

"Well now, what can I get for you, friend?"

Noticing someone approach, Ling Tianyi greeted him with a smile while taking things out of his Storage Ring. "My stall just opened for business, and you’re my very first customer! I’ll give you a ten percent discount on anything you buy."

Xiao Chen glanced over. The items Ling Tianyi was laying out were also mostly various Spiritual Materials.

A couple of items looked rather novel, but Xiao Chen had no use for them.

So he shook his head. "No, thank you. I’m just looking."

He had thought the man might be selling something special, but it seemed he had gotten his hopes up for nothing.

"Hey, don’t be like that."

But Ling Tianyi wasn’t about to let a potential customer get away. "Since you came to the market, you must be looking for something. Why not tell me what it is?"

"Our meeting is a matter of fate. Who knows, I might just have what you’re looking for, right?"

He had just given Xiao Chen a quick once-over.

The man looked like an ordinary, middle-aged person, but he was wearing a Vast Sea Ring on his finger, a clear sign that he was wealthy.

Someone like that would normally only shop inside the city; to come out here, he must be after something specific.

Hearing this, Xiao Chen’s heart stirred.

If it had been an ordinary person saying that, he definitely wouldn’t have believed them.

But he had heard from Gao Changgeng that Ling Tianyi was the current Sword Master of the Demon-Vanquishing Sword Pavilion.