Chapter 65: Purchasing Pills and Spells

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Purchasing Pills and Spells

"Jade Spiritual Bamboo?" Li Changsheng looked surprised.

As a First-rank Upper Grade spirit plant, the Jade Spiritual Bamboo’s branches and leaves had the effect of calming the mind and nourishing the spirit. Its value was significantly higher than his Snake Saliva Spirit Tree.

He thought to himself, "Chang’s Pill Pavilion is truly powerful. To display such a precious spirit plant right out in the open!"

While he was admiring the Spiritual Bamboo, a young servant in blue trotted over and said respectfully, "Sir, please tell me directly what kind of Spirit Pills you’d like to purchase."

Li Changsheng snapped back to reality and asked softly, "Is your Changxing, Chang the Pill Master, here?"

The servant thought for a moment before replying apologetically, "Sir, Lord Chang went to a gathering today and is not in the Pill Pavilion.

"If you have business with him, you can wait a little while, or I can pass on a message for you."

"Oh, there’s no need," Li Changsheng said, shaking his head. "How much are your Spirit Gathering Pills and Refining Jade Pills?"

"To answer you, sir," the servant replied respectfully, "since our shop has just opened, our prices are slightly more favorable than other stores.

"Spirit Gathering Pills are thirty Spirit Stones per bottle, with eleven pills in each bottle.

"Refining Jade Pills are one hundred and sixty-three Spirit Stones per bottle, with five pills in each bottle."

Li Changsheng’s eyes brightened slightly as he continued to ask, "What about Blood Pills?"

"Lower-grade Blood Pills are nine Spirit Stones per bottle, with five pills each.

"Mid-grade Blood Pills are ninety-five Spirit Stones per bottle, also with five pills each."

Estimating the Spirit Stones in his pocket, Li Changsheng thought for a moment and said, "Give me five bottles of Spirit Gathering Pills and one bottle of lower-grade Blood Pills."

"Right away, sir. Please have a seat." The servant agreed happily and turned to leave.

"Wait..." Li Changsheng waved to stop him. After a moment of hesitation, he added, wincing at the cost, "Bring me a bottle of Refining Jade Pills as well."

"Right away, sir. Please wait a moment." The smile on the servant’s face grew even wider as he walked away briskly.

Li Changsheng casually found a chair to sit on, his gaze shifting to the only other two people in the shop. The two behaved rather intimately, resembling Dao companions, yet there was something ambiguous about their relationship.

The man had a handsome face but wore an impatient expression. The woman was cute and charming, seemingly no older than eighteen or nineteen. As they spoke, she kept trying to lean against the man.

Just as the servant was bringing back the Spirit Pills he had ordered, a loud shout suddenly echoed through the store.

"Enough! It’s just a single Barrier-Breaking Pill. Are you buying it or not?

"I have other matters to attend to, so I won’t be accompanying you any longer."

The man shoved the girl away and strode out of the shop.

Li Changsheng watched him leave, then turned back, expecting to see the girl either humiliated or twisting her face in anger. To his surprise, the girl’s expression remained indifferent. She didn’t look angry or humiliated in the slightest.

The girl exchanged a few words with the servant before leisurely walking out. As she left, she even gave Li Changsheng a slight nod.

After she was gone, Li Changsheng couldn’t help but marvel, "What impressive composure..."

The servant approached at that moment, placing the tray of pills on the table. With a respectful expression, he said, "Sir, these are the Spirit Pills you requested. The total comes to three hundred and twenty-two Spirit Stones."

Li Changsheng nodded. With a thought, he took out the Spirit Stones, placed them on the table, and said, "Count them."

Because the amount of Spiritual Qi contained within each Spirit Stone varied, the servant took out a talismanic device specifically meant for examining them. He checked the stones several times before finally putting them away.

After leaving Chang’s Pill Pavilion, Li Changsheng turned and walked into a shop that traded Spirit Rice. He spent thirty Spirit Stones to purchase over three hundred catties of Yellow Seed Spirit Rice, which would roughly last him until his own Spirit Rice was ready to harvest.

Stepping out of the Spirit Rice shop, Li Changsheng checked his storage bag; he had slightly less than two hundred Spirit Stones left. Recalling the Ice Condensation Magic that Dong Xing had mentioned, he hesitated briefly before striding toward the location Dong Xing had told him about.

He wasn’t as superficial as Dong Xing; fulfilling his culinary desires wasn’t important to him. The main reason he wanted to buy this Daoist Technique was for his captive Spirit Beasts. He hadn’t cleaned the pens in a few days, and the stench of urine and feces was simply indescribable.

Leaving D Zone, Li Changsheng headed straight into Yisan Street. Compared to the pervasive herbal scent in D Zone, B Zone was filled with the heavy smell of metal and fire, and even the temperature here was much higher than outside.

CLANG CLANG CLANG.

Highly rhythmic hammering sounds echoed intermittently in his ears.

When Li Changsheng reached the middle of the street, a shop with a sign reading "Hundred Flavors Studio" caught his eye. The shop’s entrance curtain was half the size of the one at Chang’s Pill Pavilion. Looking inside from the street, all he could see were bookshelves crammed with books.

Li Changsheng stepped inside and glanced around. The store was about thirty square meters in size and held six bookshelves. Currently, the only person inside was a burly man wearing an embroidered robe and sporting a face full of fierce-looking flesh. He was weaving back and forth between the shelves, organizing the books.

Staring at the man’s imposing pectoral muscles, Li Changsheng hesitated for a moment before calling out softly, "Shopkeeper?"

The shopkeeper shot him a glance and asked while continuing to sort the books, "Yeah? What are you buying?"

His voice wasn’t as gruff as his appearance suggested; instead, it was rather gentle and magnetic.

Li Changsheng paused for a second, then quickly replied, "I’d like to purchase the Ice Condensation Magic."

The shopkeeper nodded, put down the book in his hands, and walked over. Now that he was closer, Li Changsheng realized just how incredibly tall and muscular the man was. He estimated the man was at least two meters tall. Furthermore, his aura was completely hidden, leaving Li Changsheng unable to detect a single trace of his cultivation base.

With a flip of his hand, the shopkeeper took out a jade slip and handed it over, saying, "The Ice Condensation Magic is fifty Spirit Stones. You must swear a Heart Demon Oath that you won’t pass it on to anyone else.

"The jade slip can only be viewed three times. If you fail to learn it after three attempts, it will become useless."

Li Changsheng nodded hastily, took out the Spirit Stones, and handed them over. He then swore a Heart Demon Oath right in front of the shopkeeper before finally accepting the jade slip.

The shopkeeper gave him a nod, then turned and went back to the bookshelves to continue organizing. Li Changsheng took a brief look, noticing they were all tattered, ancient texts. He immediately turned and left the store. Without stopping, he headed straight out of the Marketplace.

After walking several dozen meters away, Li Changsheng turned back to look at the Marketplace, then checked the sky. He summoned Xiaohua, fed it a few handfuls of Yellow Seed Spirit Rice, and vaulted onto its back.

"Let’s go, Xiaohua. We’re heading home."

OINK OINK.

Xiaohua grunted twice and swayed as it walked down the main road toward the bottom of the mountain. Li Changsheng leaned back and lay on Xiaohua’s back. He summoned Big Bro, Little Bro, and the insect swarm, then took out the Ice Condensation Magic jade slip and pressed it against his forehead.

[Ice Condensation Magic. Recorded. Complete. Ready for cultivation...]

The Ice Condensation Magic was a First-rank Lower Grade Magic. Once cast, it gathered a mass of chilling, cold air that could freeze water into ice.

As Li Changsheng studied the Ice Condensation Magic, the sky gradually darkened. Soon, the night deepened, and the stars shone brightly.

Xiaohua carried Li Changsheng to the foot of the mountain in D Zone. It turned onto a small path, hurrying toward their home. Whenever he encountered someone along the way, Li Changsheng greeted them with a smile.

When they reached Yunwan Courtyard, the wooden cabin was brightly lit with candles. Sitting atop Xiaohua, Li Changsheng peered down from his elevated vantage point.

The two little girls, one wearing a blue ruqun and the other red, were sitting stiffly upright at a desk. Holding slender writing brushes, they were earnestly copying texts from a book. Standing in front of them was a beautiful woman with a stern expression. She held a bright yellow discipline ruler, occasionally slapping it against her palm.

The sound frightened the two little girls into straightening their backs even more as they focused intently on their writing.

"Haha... Tough luck, you little brats," Li Changsheng chuckled to himself.