“Brother Qi, have you heard about the mysterious alchemist who’s arrived in our Qingshi Market?”
Qi Ping had just reached the Qingshi Market on the morning of the second day and hadn’t even exchanged more than a few pleasantries with Boss Gao when the portly shop owner leaned in, speaking with a conspiratorial tone.
This took Qi Ping by surprise.
After confirming that no one else had visited Peak No. 7 earlier that morning, he had set out, feeling reassured. His plan was to purchase some spiritual seeds and other supplies needed to build his new home. The journey hadn’t been entirely smooth; he had encountered a group of mid-tier first-grade Tusk-Gold Beetle demonic insects along the way, which his High-Speed Ring-Cutter Bees had swiftly dispatched.
Since entering the market, he had overheard people mentioning an ‘alchemist’ more than once. Now Boss Gao was specifically bringing it up. Could it be that a second-grade alchemist had arrived? After all, while ordinary first-grade alchemists weren’t exactly common in Qingshi County, the three major families still had a few.
“I hadn’t heard. What’s so remarkable about this mysterious alchemist? Could you tell me about it, Boss Gao?” Qi Ping followed the topic, seeing it as a good opportunity to gather recent news about Qingshi County.
Seeing Qi Ping’s curious look, Boss Gao immediately became more animated and launched into a vivid description: “Rumor has it this female alchemist is as beautiful as a celestial being, with a captivating charm… ah, they say no woman in our entire Qingshi County can compare, hehe…”
“But what really draws people in isn’t that; it’s the fact that she sells Soul-Nourishing Pills at half price!”
Soul-Nourishing Pills? And at half price?
Qi Ping was both slightly startled and puzzled upon hearing this.
Soul-Nourishing Pills were a rare and highly sought-after commodity. For most cultivators in the cultivation world, once they break through to the late Qi Refining stage, their soul strength often begins to lag behind. Cultivation progress in the late Qi Refining stage is inherently difficult, and having to expend a large amount of spiritual energy to slowly nourish the even slower-progressing soul causes many late-stage cultivators to advance at a snail’s pace.
As a high-tier first-grade pill specifically for enhancing soul strength, the Soul-Nourishing Pill directly addresses this problem. Coupled with the generally low yield of soul-related pills, this makes Soul-Nourishing Pills extremely expensive.
So, Qi Ping could easily imagine the huge stir caused by the appearance of half-price Soul-Nourishing Pills. No wonder everyone was talking about it!
“But Soul-Nourishing Pills are such a hot item. Even selling them at a 10% discount would create overwhelming demand. Isn’t it unreasonable for her to do this?” Qi Ping voiced his confusion. One would have to be mad to do such a thing.
“You’re absolutely right, Brother Qi,” Boss Gao said. “There’s a condition for buying the pills at half price. The buyer must provide her with information about recent, unusual anomalies within Qingshi County, or some rare and peculiar special items. And crucially, the mysterious alchemist herself must deem the information or item useful.”
“But defining what’s ‘useful’ is quite subjective, isn’t it? Isn’t she worried people will just feed her useless information for free?”
“That’s not a concern because the alchemist makes an oath to the Heavenly Dao before each transaction.”
“I see…” Qi Ping nodded. “But what could there be in our Qingshi County that warrants such an effort from her?”
“Who knows?” Boss Gao replied. “Truth be told, the Soul-Nourishing Pills are probably just the bait. It’s said that in the nearly ten days since she arrived, she’s only sold two or three pills at half price, but she has purchased a great deal of information and strange objects.”
At this point, Boss Gao’s expression turned serious. “Brother Qi, there’s something I feel I should mention, though I’m unsure if I should.”
“Please, speak freely, Boss Gao,” Qi Ping urged, realizing that this was likely the real reason Boss Gao had brought up the mysterious alchemist.
Boss Gao took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking slowly. “Brother Qi, we’ve been trading for a while now. I greatly admire your character. Last time, it was partly because of you that I gradually came under Lord Meng Yan’s wing. I haven’t forgotten that favor.”
“Then… the difference between your recent transactions and those from before… well, you’re aware of it without me spelling it out. I never intended to bring it up actively, as I prefer to just focus on business.”
“But regarding this mysterious alchemist… what she’s doing now might potentially bring trouble to you. Almost all transactions within Qingshi County are monitored by the management to some extent. It’s highly likely that someone is collecting information on unusual trading patterns to present to her.”
As he spoke, Boss Gao took a manual from his storage pouch and handed it to Qi Ping. Emblazoned on the cover were the words “Disguise and Bone-Shrinking Art”.
“I don’t know how things will unfold, but that mysterious alchemist is definitely not someone to be trifled with. She’s not a disciple of the Green Origin Sect, but even Lord Meng Yan seems quite wary of her. She has many late Qi Refining guards around her, and there might even be a Foundation Establishment expert protecting her from the shadows. If she sets her sights on you, it would be dangerous.”
“The last few years have been too abnormal. I have a feeling something major is going to happen in Qingshi County, or perhaps the entire Qingtian Domain.”
“I’ve perhaps overstepped by saying all this. I hope you won’t take offense, Brother Qi.”
Qi Ping looked at the “Disguise and Bone-Shrinking Art” in his hand and remained silent for a long moment. Finally, he clasped his hands and bowed seriously to Boss Gao. “Thank you, Boss Gao. I will remember this kindness.”
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing,” Boss Gao waved it off. “Just please don’t casually teach this art to others, Brother Qi, as it could easily lead to trouble. I’ll say no more on that matter. So, what brings you here today?”
Feeling he had said what needed to be said, Boss Gao quickly changed the subject. There were many things he normally preferred not to inquire about, but this time he couldn’t stand by and watch Qi Ping potentially walk into danger. Deep down, he valued his ongoing partnership with Qi Ping. He also believed Qi Ping was intelligent enough to understand the stakes and how best to utilize the Disguise and Bone-Shrinking Art.
“I’m here to sell some things,” Qi Ping said, taking out the corpses of the common demonic insects he had gathered recently. Additionally, he produced a sixty-year-old Blood Ginseng.
Qi Ping had carefully weighed the pros and cons of selling the Blood Ginseng. A sixty-year-old specimen was just valuable enough to address his immediate financial needs while keeping the risk within acceptable limits, provided he didn’t sell any more in the future. Now that he had rented the mid-tier first-grade spiritual land in Zone B, he could mass-plant common spiritual flowers and earn spirit stones by selling common Gold Marrow Honey. At his current level of strength, selling common honey posed little risk; only the high-grade honey produced by his Brewer Big-Belly Bees required caution. Fortunately, the “Disguise and Bone-Shrinking Art” from Boss Gao would help mitigate many risks. Qi Ping remembered that this manual was sold in major commercial establishments for a high price of three hundred spirit stones. Even if this was just Boss Gao’s own copy, it was immensely valuable and would solve many potential problems for him.
“Brother Qi, how does five hundred and seventy-two spirit stones for the lot sound?”
“That’s fine,” Qi Ping agreed. “Could I also trouble you to get me some Sun-Essence Flower and Moon-Slumber Flower seeds? Also, Boss Gao, do you know of any other fast-growing spiritual plants available in the market? Their market value isn’t particularly important.”
“Fast-growing ones… let me think… How about Hundred-Spirit Grass? It’s a low-tier first-grade plant. It grows extremely fast wherever there’s spiritual energy, almost like a weed. But its medicinal properties are mixed and chaotic, making it practically worthless. It’s usually used as fodder for spirit-oxen.”
“Perfect! That’s the one!” Qi Ping’s heart leapt with joy upon hearing this.
Why hadn’t he thought of that?!
On the spiritual land in Zone B, Hundred-Spirit Grass would definitely grow incredibly fast! While its value to cultivators was indeed minimal, it would be more than sufficient as food for his bees. And if he gave it to the Brewer Big-Belly Bees… perhaps there would be a pleasant surprise! With their innate talent as [Grand Brewmasters], extracting and harmonizing the medicinal properties of Hundred-Spirit Grass should be well within their capabilities!
