98: Chapter 98 Transactions

Inside the Medicinal Pill shop.

As Ye Jing stepped inside, he smelled a refreshing medicinal fragrance. Just a single whiff made him feel as if all his fatigue had been washed away.

A large golden Medicine Cauldron stood in the center of the shop, and behind the counter sat an elderly female Cultivator with a wrinkled face.

However, she possessed a Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivation, and she seemed to carry a faint, invisible pressure.

Seeing Ye Jing enter, she asked somewhat perfunctorily, "Fellow Daoist, what kind of Medicinal Pills are you looking for?"

Ye Jing stepped forward and asked, "Do you purchase Spirit Medicines here?"

From Su Dadan's introduction, he knew that general Medicinal Pill shops would buy Spirit Medicines and offer a fair amount of Spirit Stones as payment.

Seeing that the newcomer was an old man at Qi Refining Level 5, the female Cultivator nodded and said, "We do, but it depends on the quality. I won't take herbs that are too ordinary."

Ye Jing didn't mind her dismissive attitude and took out the crimson blood fruit and qi condensing grass from a jade box.

Following the example of other Cultivators, he had spent one Low-Grade Spirit Stone to buy this jade box.

He slowly opened the jade box, and a burst of pure Spiritual Qi immediately overflowed from it. Accompanied by a fragrance several times richer than the ordinary herbs in the shop, it instantly filled the entire establishment.

The female Cultivator, who had previously looked indifferent, twitched her nose. Her expression changed abruptly as her half-closed eyes snapped open, her sharp gaze fixing on the inside of the jade box.

Inside the box were crimson-red fruits shimmering with golden patterns, alongside lush green qi condensing grass. Their spiritual power was extremely robust, far exceeding that of ordinary Spirit Medicines.

"This old woman is seeing crimson blood fruit and qi condensing grass of such quality for the first time!"

One must know that the growth requirements for Spirit Medicines were extremely harsh; they could not grow unless they were in a place saturated with Spiritual Qi.

Spirit Medicines like these, which clearly contained such pure spiritual power, were even rarer and extremely difficult to Cultivate.

Looking at these herbs, if they were used for Alchemy, the efficacy would be significantly better.

She instinctively stood up, her face breaking into a warm smile. She cupped her hands toward Ye Jing and said, "Forgive me, Fellow Daoist, I was muddled just now. I wonder what price you are looking for for these two types of Spirit Medicines?"

Seeing her reaction, Ye Jing felt a surge of joy in his heart.

The value of these Spirit Medicines had indeed far exceeded his expectations. He calmly closed the jade box, blocking the female Cultivator's overly fervent gaze, and asked indifferently, "I wonder how many Spirit Stones the shopkeeper can offer?"

The female Cultivator fell silent for a moment, a trace of struggle flashing in her eyes. Then, she gritted her teeth and said, "Ordinary crimson blood fruit goes for twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones at most, and qi condensing grass for five. But Fellow Daoist's two stalks are the best of the High Grade, with pure Spiritual Qi and no impurities."

"I am willing to offer sixty Low-Grade Spirit Stones for the crimson blood fruit and twenty for the qi condensing grass! What do you think, Fellow Daoist?"

This price already far exceeded the market rate, but these two Spirit Medicines were very precious. If used to refine Medicinal Pills, the success rate and the quality of the pills would increase significantly, allowing her to earn much more than this in the end.

Listening to her, Ye Jing hadn't expected that after being grown by the Immortal Willow, the value of these Spirit Medicines would multiply several times over.

He saw the nervous look on the female Cultivator's face, as if she were afraid he wouldn't agree.

Although Ye Jing didn't know the market price, seeing her nervous state, he knew she wanted them badly and wouldn't cheat him too much.

Thus, he nodded and said, "Deal."

Seeing Ye Jing agree, the female Cultivator immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and the smile on her face grew even more brilliant. "Fellow Daoist is straightforward! I will get the Spirit Stones for you right now!"

With that, she turned around and took out a heavy cloth bag from a hidden compartment under the counter, handing it to Ye Jing.

"Fellow Daoist, please count them to see if the amount is correct."

Ye Jing did a rough count and was somewhat shocked. The few crimson blood fruits and stalks of qi condensing grass he had casually brought out had actually sold for over five hundred Spirit Stones. He had truly struck it rich!

He didn't let it show on his face as he handed the jade box to the female Cultivator.

After receiving the jade box, the female Cultivator treated it like a precious treasure. Only after confirming the Spirit Medicines were correct did she put them into her Storage Pouch.

She looked up at Ye Jing, her eyes filled with eagerness. "Fellow Daoist, I wonder where you obtained these Spirit Medicines? I would like to continue purchasing high-quality Spirit Medicines like these in the future. If you have more resources, you can come find me at any time. The price will certainly not disappoint you!"

Ye Jing gave a faint smile and didn't say much. "If there is an opportunity, I will naturally come again."

His goal had been achieved. Having obtained the Spirit Stones, he intended to leave the shop to buy some items his family needed for cultivation.

Seeing that it was inconvenient for Ye Jing to say more, the female Cultivator tactfully didn't press further and warmly escorted him to the door.

"Take care, Fellow Daoist! This old woman's shop always welcomes your visit!"

After bidding farewell to the female Cultivator, Ye Jing quickly walked toward the small stalls.

Most of these stall owners were Cultivators with low cultivation levels or mortal merchants. The items they sold were a mixed bag, ranging from basic Cultivation Technique Jade Slips to healing herbs and Fasting Pills—they had everything.

Ye Jing slowed his pace and stopped at a stall selling damaged Spiritual Artifacts.

A longsword on the stall was particularly eye-catching. The blade was nicked, and there were several visible cracks in the middle, yet the sword was an ancient, deep black and emitted a faint spiritual power.

To still have spiritual power despite being broken to this extent showed that it was extraordinary.

The stall owner was a Cultivator with a goatee. Seeing Ye Jing stop in front of his stall, he said enthusiastically, "Fellow Daoist! This broken sword of mine is no ordinary object! I risked my life to find it on a battlefield where a Great Sect fought against demonic Cultivators! It's a great material for forging or tempering!"

Ye Jing's gaze didn't leave the broken sword as he asked in a flat tone, "What is the asking price for this sword?"

The goateed Cultivator's eyes darted around as he sized Ye Jing up. Seeing his elderly appearance and simple clothes, he took him for an ordinary Loose Cultivator.

He chuckled and said, "Fellow Daoist has a good eye! This broken sword has an extraordinary origin. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't let it go for less than a hundred Spirit Stones. But since you are destined to have it, I'll let you have it for eighty Spirit Stones today!"

Ye Jing sneered inwardly; the stall owner was clearly asking an exorbitant price.

Although this broken sword had residual spiritual power, it was so damaged that it was little more than scrap metal to an ordinary Cultivator. With eighty Spirit Stones and some bargaining, one could buy a low-grade Spiritual Artifact longsword.

He withdrew his gaze and turned to leave. "It's not worth that price. You should keep it for yourself, shopkeeper."

Seeing Ye Jing about to leave, the goateed Cultivator grew anxious and hurried forward to stop him. "Stay your steps, Fellow Daoist! We can negotiate the price! If you have a price in mind, why not say it, and we can talk!"

This broken sword had been sitting on his stall for a long time. Because the damage was too severe, no one had been interested. Now that he finally had a potential buyer, he naturally didn't want to let him go easily.

Ye Jing stopped and spoke indifferently, "Twenty Spirit Stones."

"Twenty? Fellow Daoist, you're driving the price too low!" The goateed Cultivator's face fell as he said miserably, "This was dug out from battlefield ruins. Just the trip there and back cost more than twenty Spirit Stones. At least forty Spirit Stones, not a cent less!"

"Twenty." Ye Jing's tone remained flat, with no intention of raising the price.

After the two stalemated for a moment, the goateed Cultivator finally compromised. He sighed and said, "Fine, fine. I'll take a loss today. Twenty Spirit Stones!"

After completing the trade, Ye Jing bent down and carefully picked up the broken sword. It felt cool to the touch, and although the blade had cracks, it possessed an indescribable sense of weightiness.

He first put it into his Storage Pouch and then intended to place it into the Immortal Willow to be repaired.