Chapter 100: Luoyao Market District

Therefore, in the following days, Chu Xin’er did not rush to search for the remaining three types of spiritual herbs. She first found a suitable secluded place to establish a cave dwelling, then began to master the flying needle technique and its control.

Taking advantage of this time, Xiao Wenzi did not continue exchanging pills to break through his bottleneck. Instead, he calmly absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to stabilize his realm.

The valley Chu Xin’er chose was extremely remote, and with the formation array shielding the cave entrance, more than half a month passed without any reckless cultivators coming to provoke them.

Old Xu’s cultivation level was about the same as Chu Xin’er’s, so the techniques he practiced were naturally not difficult for her to understand—especially since she was only focusing on comprehending the manipulation and use of flying needles.

After this period of time, Chu Xin’er was already able to skillfully control the flying needle artifact, capable of striking an enemy silently and unexpectedly.

At the same time, Xiao Wenzi’s late ninth-tier Heavenly Realm had stabilized. It was time to leave. After a simple packing, Chu Xin’er quietly departed from this temporary cave dwelling.

The path of immortality is long; the Qi Refining stage is merely the beginning. Only upon truly entering the Foundation Establishment stage can one be said to have some ability to protect oneself, and lifespan would multiply greatly from the original base.

However, Foundation Establishment pills are expensive, and ordinary cultivators cannot rely solely on their own cultivation to break through bottlenecks. Thus, acquiring spiritual herbs and flowers becomes especially important.

In the following days, Chu Xin’er continued to roam in mountain valleys far from towns.

Yet the results left her somewhat disheartened. Although she found some spiritual flowers and herbs during these days, none of them were the three materials she lacked for refining the Foundation Establishment pill.

This was quite normal; a single batch of the pill requires dozens of rare materials and treasures from heaven and earth.

Old Xu had searched for a long time and had barely gathered over half of them. Within just a few months, Chu Xin’er had already obtained over ninety percent. If other Qi Refining cultivators knew of this, they would surely be envious and resentful.

“Hmm, continuing like this isn’t a solution. I need to change my strategy...” she mused.

A few more days passed with no progress, and Chu Xin’er decided to visit the marketplace.

First, she only needed three kinds of spiritual herbs: Purple Violet Vine, Jasmine Cloud Grass, and Antelope Blood Ginseng. These should not be difficult to find in a larger market. Second, after several battles, her wealth was somewhat more abundant than that of a typical Qi Refining cultivator.

By selling off unused storage bags, artifacts, and spare herbs and pills, along with her accumulated spirit stones, she had more than enough to purchase the three herbs.

The only difficulty, or rather concern, was that Chu Xin’er feared attracting the covetous attention of those with ill intent. After all, any cultivator with even a basic understanding of pharmacology could easily guess she was preparing to refine a Foundation Establishment pill.

As the saying goes, wealth invites trouble. Foundation Establishment pills are very valuable.

A complete set of materials for refining such a pill is not only alluring to low-level cultivators, but even those who have broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage would be tempted.

Because it is hard to guarantee that the other party does not have close relations in need of these herbs, or that they would not sell them for a considerable fortune.

This was why Chu Xin’er initially avoided the marketplace, choosing instead to search in the wild.

Luoyao Market was a medium-sized market within the Ling Tian Sect’s sphere of influence.

Because several nearby family clans depended on the Ling Tian Sect, conflicts and strife were rare. The market was managed very prosperously. Though not comparable to the Ling Tian City market, it was the largest within tens of thousands of miles.

Walking through the streets of Luoyao Market, Chu Xin’er gazed at the densely packed shops and pavilions, and the steady flow of male and female cultivators. Her heart was filled with awe.

The Northern Territory of Pingzhou was truly a sacred place for cultivation. Just in this single market, there were probably over ten thousand cultivators—many times more than at the Qingye Sect where she came from.

Among so many cultivators, though most were at the Qi Refining stage, there were certainly some senior figures at the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation stages. To avoid being targeted or envied, Chu Xin’er had to be even more cautious and low-key.

She decided not to visit the large pill shops, since spiritual herbs for refining Foundation Establishment pills held little appeal to cultivators above that stage.

It would be best to find such herbs in shops avoided by high-level cultivators, at least to avoid attracting powerful adversaries she could not resist.

The shop before her had no attendants, only a middle-aged man who appeared to be the shopkeeper dozing behind the counter. The shelves storing spiritual herbs and pills were sparse.

Hearing footsteps, the middle-aged man looked up and smiled, greeting her: "Welcome. May I ask if you are here to sell herbs or purchase pills?"

Chu Xin’er was seeking Purple Violet Vine, Jasmine Cloud Grass, and Antelope Blood Ginseng, so choosing a shop specializing in spiritual pills was natural. His question was not surprising.

Seeing that the man’s cultivation was only at the thirteenth tier of the Heavenly Realm, roughly equal to her own, Chu Xin’er nodded and smiled: “Fellow cultivator, do you have Purple Violet Vine over three hundred years old, or Jasmine Cloud Grass and Antelope Blood Ginseng?”

“Hmm? This young lady wants to buy three-hundred-year-old Purple Violet Vine, Jasmine Cloud Grass, and Antelope Blood Ginseng? These are the main ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment pills. Could she be planning to have someone refine such a pill for her?”

The middle-aged man’s cultivation was not high. The reason he could open such a pill-selling shop was due to his background; he had served as an apprentice pharmacist in a Spiritual Herb sect for many years. Having been immersed in the environment, he could refine some Qi Refining pills himself.

Though now out of the sect, he could still stand firm in the marketplace by selling low-level pills like Qi Gathering Pills and Spirit Condensing Pills, living quite comfortably.

He was also collecting materials for refining Foundation Establishment pills. Hearing Chu Xin’er inquire about Purple Violet Vine, his heart stirred, though his face remained cheerful as he said:

“Three-hundred-year-old Purple Violet Vine and Antelope Blood Ginseng? I do have one specimen of each, but the price is rather steep...”

Unexpectedly lucky, Chu Xin’er felt a surge of excitement but still pretended to be anxious, frowning as she said:

“Steep? How steep? Please state your price. As long as the quality is good and within my budget, I’ll take both the Purple Violet Vine and the Antelope Blood Ginseng.”

Though Chu Xin’er appeared tense and reluctant, the middle-aged man who often dealt with cultivators could tell she was not being sincere. Smiling, he continued:

“Purple Violet Vine is seven hundred and sixty spirit stones, Antelope Blood Ginseng is a bit more expensive. If you plan to buy them together, I can give you a discount—one thousand six hundred spirit stones in total.”

Hearing that it only cost one thousand six hundred spirit stones, Chu Xin’er breathed a long sigh of relief.

Indeed, the spirit stones obtained from several battles totaled over ten thousand. She had spent less than half on pills and still had six to seven thousand remaining.

Two herbs for sixteen hundred, plus the remaining Jasmine Cloud Grass would not exceed three thousand in total. Her spirit stones were more than enough to buy two sets.

Moreover, her storage bags contained unused artifacts such as black banners and flying swords, and over a dozen spiritual herbs to sell. Chu Xin’er had no worries about a lack of spirit stones.

However, knowing the wisdom of not flaunting wealth, she could not show too much extravagance. She continued to frown:

“One thousand six hundred? That’s quite a lot. Could you please let me inspect the quality of the herbs before I decide?”