Chapter 30: Mid-grade Essence Pill

“I don't need it for the time being. I need some talismans to get things done, and I don't have enough spirit stones on hand. Once I've finished my business, if I still have spirit stones left, I'll come to you to buy the alchemy furnace. Since your furnace is so good, how could it possibly go unsold?” Lu Xiaotian said.

Luo Qing felt somewhat disappointed upon hearing this; she wrinkled her nose and let out a sigh.

“Sigh, you can only blame this alchemy furnace for being too good. My elder brother and I barely escaped with our lives to snatch it from a ruined temple in the Moon-Watching Mountains. If I sold it too cheaply, I naturally wouldn't be willing. However, among rogue cultivators, there are very few alchemy apprentices or junior alchemists to begin with; a mediocre furnace is sufficient for them, so there is no need to spend too many spirit stones on this one. As for mid-level and high-level alchemists, they are even more scarce—they have long since been recruited by the various great families in Moon-Watching City. Those families have even better furnaces, so they naturally won't come to buy this one.”

To put it bluntly, this alchemy furnace was in a predicament where it was too high-end for the commoners and not quite right for the elites.

From the shop signs along the street, Lu Xiaotian had gathered that alchemists were a highly sought-after group in the immortal city. Even a junior alchemist capable of refining Qi-Gathering Pills was in high demand, especially since there were tens of thousands of cultivators in Moon-Watching City. Those at the late stage or Great Perfection of Qi Refinement were a minority; the vast majority were still at the early or middle stages. As for Foundation Establishment cultivators, they were pitifully rare.

Therefore, pills that could aid cultivation were essential for every cultivator. If he had enough pills, he could rapidly push toward the third layer of Qi Refinement or even higher realms. Everyone wanted to reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refinement as quickly as possible to prepare for Foundation Establishment. The younger one was, the higher the probability of success.

“I believe it will definitely sell eventually.”

“I hope so. The cultivation techniques you are selling don't seem particularly special; you need to shout and call out to attract attention if you want to sell them. Or, if you have a centerpiece treasure to draw people in, you'll have a better chance,” Luo Qing reminded him with a helpless pout.

“Oh, thank you.” Lu Xiaotian thought about it and felt that Luo Qing made sense. Since this was Moon-Watching City and there were patrolling soldiers, and fighting was prohibited within the city, there shouldn't be much danger. Thus, Lu Xiaotian took a small bottle from his storage bag, placed it beside several cultivation technique manuals, and began to shout loudly.

“Cultivation techniques for sale! Earth-type, Fire-type, Water-type! Complete sets available from early to late Qi Refinement! Also, one Vitality Pill included! Buy quickly, or you'll miss out!”

“What? You actually have a Vitality Pill! And the techniques go all the way to the late stage of Qi Refinement?” Before the crowd could even gather, Luo Qing let out a startled low cry.

“Yes, is there a problem?” Lu Xiaotian asked.

“No, no problem. How many spirit stones for the Earth-type technique?” Luo Qing asked.

“This complete set of the *True Scripture of Earthly Grace* goes all the way to the late stage of Qi Refinement for thirty-three low-grade spirit stones,” Lu Xiaotian said. When he had previously purchased the *Encyclopedia of Spirit Herbs* and the *Compendium of Demon Beasts*, he had checked the prices of late-stage Qi Refinement techniques in the shops; none were below thirty stones. A complete set usually cost around forty low-grade spirit stones. To save up enough for talismans as quickly as possible, he had set the price relatively low.

“My elder brother has just reached the sixth layer of Qi Refinement and might be close to a breakthrough; he happens to need a late-stage Earth-type technique. Can you wait for me a moment? I'll go get him right away, it won't take long,” Luo Qing pleaded.

“Alright, I'll sell these two sets first. I'll wait half an hour for you,” Lu Xiaotian nodded, putting away the Earth-type *True Scripture of Earthly Grace*.

Luo Qing hurriedly packed up her things and left in a rush after thanking him.

“You have a Vitality Pill here? How many do you have?” As soon as Luo Qing left, people began to surround him one after another.

“Only one. It was left to me by my master on his deathbed. I don't need it right now, so I can only put it up for sale.”

Lu Xiaotian made up an excuse and pulled the stopper from the pill bottle, releasing a rich, refreshing fragrance.

“That's right, it is a Vitality Pill. And with such a potent aroma, it must be a mid-grade Vitality Pill,” an old man with a bulbous red nose said excitedly, his face flushed after inhaling the scent.

“A mid-grade Vitality Pill?” Suddenly, the people present began to jostle forward. In Moon-Watching City, most mid-grade pills were consumed by the cultivators of the wealthy and powerful families.

The pills that trickled down to the market were basically low-grade. Though the difference between high-grade and low-grade was only a single character, the effects were vastly different. If one was at the bottleneck of the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, using a mid-grade pill made a breakthrough much easier than using a low-grade one. The benefits of this were immeasurable.

“Young man, I'll take this pill. How many spirit stones?” The old man with the red nose had been stuck at the eighth layer of Qi Refinement for a long time and desperately needed a good pill to help him break through. Having failed to find one in several pill shops, he was not about to let this chance slip away.

“Old Monster Xu, you aren't the only one with spirit stones. Little brother, I'll offer thirty spirit stones. Give the pill to me.”

“Thirty spirit stones? That's barely enough for a low-grade Vitality Pill. Little brother, I'll offer thirty-five. I am Zhou Yu, an officer in the City Guard. I ask everyone to show some courtesy,” another cultivator dressed as an officer pushed into the crowd and cupped his hands toward the surroundings.

“I wouldn't mind showing Fellow Daoist Zhou some courtesy for other items, but there is only one mid-grade Vitality Pill. Fellow Daoist Zhou, forgive my offense. Little brother, I offer thirty-six low-grade spirit stones. I hope those present will not contend with me,” a thin old man with long black eyebrows reaching his chest pushed his way in and spoke in a deep voice.

“Long-Eyebrow Old Monster!”

A gasp went up from the crowd, and people scrambled to make a path, seemingly quite fearful of this long-eyebrowed elder. Even the officer named Zhou Yu showed a hint of wariness in his eyes. The Long-Eyebrowed Old Monster was a notorious ruthless man in the surrounding area. It was said that many people who had provoked him had mysteriously disappeared in the Moon-Watching Mountains and never returned. Some said they died in the mouths of demon beasts, but others had seen the Long-Eyebrowed Old Monster lurking about, leading to widespread speculation that he was responsible.

As an officer, Zhou Yu had some prestige within the city, but once outside the walls, he might not be a match for this Long-Eyebrowed Old Monster.

After the Long-Eyebrowed Old Monster spoke, no one else in the vicinity dared to bid. Firstly, the price was already high enough, and secondly, offending the Long-Eyebrowed Old Monster over such a high price would make leaving Moon-Watching City a truly harrowing experience. It wasn't worth it.

“Little brat, the spirit stones are here. Hand over the pill.” Seeing that the surrounding people were silenced by his intimidation and no longer bidding, the Long-Eyebrowed Old Monster gave a triumphant, raspy laugh. He tossed a bag of spirit stones to Lu Xiaotian and reached out his hand to grab the small bottle containing the Vitality Pill.

Lu Xiaotian felt inwardly annoyed. *That damned Long-Eyebrowed monster. If he hadn't appeared, the others would have driven the price up, and I could have gained at least a few more spirit stones. He ruined it without even trying.*

However, seeing that even so many late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators were struck silent by the man, he naturally did not dare show any dissatisfaction on his face. He could only respectfully present the Vitality Pill.

Once the Vitality Pill was sold, the crowd dispersed. However, there had been many people earlier; one person had taken an interest in the complete set of Fire-type techniques in his hands. Seeing the low price, they haggled and eventually bought it for thirty-two spirit stones.

Lu Xiaotian wondered if he should bring out another Vitality Pill to sell to gather more stones and attract more customers, but he quickly dismissed the idea. With sixty-eight low-grade spirit stones weighing heavily in his bag, several people nearby were looking on with envy, and a couple of others had ill-intentioned glares.

If they weren't in the city, there was no telling what might happen. For early and middle-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, sixty-eight spirit stones was a massive sum.

Thinking of this, Lu Xiaotian abandoned the idea of selling more Vitality Pills.

“Big brother, it's right here. He has a cultivation technique that can be practiced all the way to the late stage of Qi Refinement.” Not long after, Luo Qing returned, bringing with her a young man with a square face and a ring-pommel spirit saber at his waist. His clothing was quite shabby, consisting of nothing more than simple, old cloth garments.

“Lu Xiaotian, this is my elder brother, Luo Yuan. He is already a master at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement,” Luo Qing said with a look of pride.

“Can I see the technique you have?” Luo Yuan asked.

“Of course,” Lu Xiaotian nodded. Luo Yuan did not act arrogant despite his much higher cultivation; on the contrary, he was very polite. His somewhat blunt expression did not cause irritation, but instead gave off a sense of reliability and steadiness.

“The technique is quite good. Can the price be lowered a bit more? If you lower it a little more, I'll take it,” Luo Yuan said.

“I'm sorry, thirty-three spirit stones is already very cheap. I just sold a set of Fire-type techniques,” Lu Xiaotian said with a shrug. Although his impression of the man was good, he needed spirit stones for important matters, so he wouldn't lower the price.

Luo Yuan rubbed his hands anxiously. “But we don't have that many spirit stones on hand. How about you wait a few days? I can go find a few friends in the city to pool some together?”

Luo Qing's eyes darted around as she suggested, “How about this? What do you think of my alchemy furnace? Although it's hard to sell, its actual value should be close to fifty spirit stones. Your technique sells for over forty low-grade spirit stones in the shops. I'll trade this alchemy furnace for your Earth-type technique.”

“But I'm short on spirit stones lately and have an urgent need. How many spirit stones do you have?” Lu Xiaotian hesitated. The black-robed old man had become a psychological burden to him, and now that he had a chance to eliminate him, he didn't want to wait any longer.

“Between the Metal-type and Wood-type ones, we have twenty-one in total,” Luo Yuan said, scratching his ear. If they were short by two or three stones, he could borrow from other friends, but being twelve stones short meant that even among his acquaintances, things weren't very prosperous. Others wouldn't empty their pockets just to buy a technique for him; lending two or three stones would already be considered a sign of good friendship.

“Do you have any talismans on you? Fireball talismans, Water Arrow talismans, or anything else?” Lu Xiaotian asked again.