In the Loose Cultivation Market, Zhong Shenxiu and Lin Xunyi walked side by side, looking at the withered marketplace and finding themselves at a loss for words.
Behind them followed a large yellow dog.
"It’s hard to believe... that this Loose Cultivation Market has become so deserted."
Zhong Shenxiu shook his head, remarking with some regret.
Recently, according to the observations of Jinmao Hou, he was temporarily convinced that Lin Xunyi posed no issues.
Today, Lin Xunyi had come to him, claiming to have information that someone was willing to sell a high-quality Pill Furnace. Zhong Shenxiu, therefore, decided to come and see for himself.
After all, he had plenty of Yellow Emperor Coins at hand, barely qualifying as wealthy.
If the Pill Furnace was good, he would buy it.
"Yes, this is all due to the recent unrest in the Cultivation World..." sighed Lin Xunyi, adding, "Merits are precious, and us Law Enforcement Envoys don’t have many; we also have to exchange them with the court for more essential Daoist texts and spells, and various sundries. Many Daoist officials also search the marketplace for such items... Now that it has become so desolate, it is indeed rather inconvenient."
"This time, it’s a coincidence, I just received the information that someone urgently needs a large amount of Yellow Emperor Coins and is willing to exchange many treasures for them, including a Seven-star Furnace, which is a high-quality Magic Artifact... That’s why I immediately informed Brother Su."
"Brother Su, you too, to have a hand in alchemy, it fills me with envy..."
This obvious flattery made Zhong Shenxiu smile, "Alchemy is just a minor skill..."
Regarding this Pill Furnace, he wasn’t expecting much, as it was just a Magic Artifact, at best something he could use for practice.
But for now, he could not hope to instantly come across treasures like the ’Five Fire Six Qi Furnace.’
"Alchemy is not a minor skill. Even the most common injury-healing and Qi-Blood-replenishing Elixir Pills that we, Cultivators, can make are highly sought after in the secular world..."
"Although for Gang Sha Cultivators, Gang Sha Qi is the best miracle medicine, they too require medicinal pills for healing wounds, fasting, and detoxification..."
"Not to mention, there’s the ’Condensing Method Pill,’ which many Innate Expert martial artists covet..."
Lin Xunyi continued to argue.
This Condensing Method Pill was a truly miraculous Spirit Pill, requiring quite precious materials and having a low success rate in production. It had only one purpose, to help martial artists at the peak of the Innate Realm refine Mana!
Essentially, consuming a single Condensing Method Pill could create a Gang Sha Realm cultivator, which is why it was highly sought after in the secular world and was also known as the ’Foundation Establishment Pill’ or ’Heavenly Gate Pill.’ It often was priceless, and some Innate Experts, even if they served high-profile households as servants, could never come close to acquiring one in their lifetime.
But in Zhong Shenxiu’s view, it was just so-so.
After all, base-building with Elixir Pills resulted in mixed Mana quality, not to mention inferior to Dragon Tiger Magic Power and probably even to White Bone Magic Power.
Moreover, there were issues like incompatibility with Daoist texts and legacies.
At the Supreme Dragon and Tiger Sect, disciples who built their foundation with Elixir Pills were not even accepted into the outer sect.
But the problem was... some Loose Cultivators had no legacy!
They were completely unaware of the mysteries of the Realm of Divine Powers, or even if they knew, they realized it was too much to hope for.
Therefore, they didn’t need any plan like the Yin Sha Yang Gang Skill or make optimal choices.
In their hands, they might only have two or three ordinary spells patched together, fragmented and lacking in legacy, and they might not even be able to break through Yang Gang.
For these martial artists with no hope for the future, becoming a Gang Sha Realm cultivator was already a great profit; they never even thought about Divine Powers.
Thus, this Condensing Method Pill still had a market.
No matter what, using mana to cast spells definitely had much more power than Innate True Qi!
"This is also a viable option. Does Zhang Taiyi remember the recipe for the Condensing Method Pill? Maybe I should make a batch and earn some pocket money?"
"Also, something about this big customer Lin Xunyi mentioned seems off... Exchanging a pill furnace for Yellow Emperor Coins might seem like a loss under normal circumstances, but if there was an impending war, where it becomes crucial to quickly convert power, Yellow Emperor Coins would be extremely useful, whether for instantly buying items or directly refining mana to replenish arrays..."
As Zhong Shenxiu pondered, he reached the center of the market, in front of a building that looked like a tea house.
The tea house was sparsely populated, and its signboard, Half Moon Hall, was quite ancient-looking.
"We’re here. The other party chose this place for the trade... Originally, it was run by a loose cultivator named Water Smoke Guest, who somehow offended a powerful figure and was killed, leading to the place being taken over," Lin Xunyi explained in a teasing tone.
However, Zhong Shenxiu felt a sudden chill in his heart and sighed silently to himself, realizing that loose cultivators indeed lived lives as light as duckweed, never knowing when disaster might strike.
"Oh? Has Brother Zhang already arrived?"
As Lin Xunyi entered the tea house, he spotted a black-robed Daoist and couldn’t help but smile, "Let me introduce you two. This is my good friend, Law Enforcement Envoy Su Daoshi... and this is Zhang Xiong, who calls himself Black Bear Daoist!"
Black Bear Daoist was burly and robust, with mana that had reached the Yang Gang level, and his manner was quite brash and arrogant.
Zhong Shenxiu was unimpressed and sat down opposite him: "The pill furnace? Let me see it!"
"This Seven-star Furnace is a superior magic artifact. I wouldn’t sell it so easily if I wasn’t really in a bind..."
Black Bear Daoist’s voice was rough as he slapped his sleeve, and a bronze pill furnace landed on the table.
It was made of bronze, with three legs and two handles, and its surface was covered with intricate inscriptions.
Above the body of the furnace, there were seven gems, like stars, embedded in it.
A magic artifact required a Gang Sha Cultivator to sacrifice a spell of their own, along with numerous materials and a great deal of time and energy to craft.
The higher the level of the sacrificed spell, the better the quality of the magic artifact.
According to the accepted norms in the cultivation world, those with fewer than three prohibitions were considered inferior magic artifacts, mid-grade ones had between three and six prohibitions, and those with more than six prohibitions were superior magic artifacts and quite rare.
Zhong Shenxiu examined it carefully and nodded to himself, "Although the craftsmanship is rough, the materials are solid; it’s barely sufficient for my needs. How much are you asking?"
"Three hundred Yellow Emperor Coins!"
Black Bear Daoist grinned.
At this, Lin Xunyi frowned slightly, displeased, "Come on, Black Bear, don’t be too excessive."
"Hehe... How would I dare to cheat two court Daoist officials? It’s just that this pill furnace really is a fine piece, and three hundred Yellow Emperor Coins really is a painful sacrifice for me."
Black Bear Daoist chuckled, and from his expression, he didn’t seem to take the court Daoist officials too seriously.
This demeanor, for some reason, made Zhong Shenxiu think of Crow Elder.
This elder was also a Gang Sha Cultivator who had mastered the Yang Gang Skill of paper soldiers and could swagger around organizing a loose cultivation gathering outside Fufeng City without any problems.
After all, ordinary Daoist officials couldn’t touch him, and Divine Power Practitioners couldn’t be bothered with him.
Alas, consumed by greed, he was caught in a significant case and was immediately executed.