Cultivation Begins with Daily Intelligence Reports

9: Selling earthworm grassLin Jingyu took a deep breath, suppressing a hint of nervousness about entering the inner market for the first time.

The bluestone road beneath his feet was noticeably wider and cleaner than in the outer area, and the shops on both sides were much more impressive.

The Spiritual Qi permeating the air seemed slightly denser, mingled with the faint, pleasant scent of Medicinal Pills and the distinct herbal aroma of Materials.

His gaze swept over several shops with signs like ”Spirit Medicine,” ”Alchemy Cauldron,” and ”Hundred Treasures,” before finally stopping in front of a shop named ”Hundred Herb Hall.”

The shop’s frontage wasn’t the largest, but he had seen the emblem hanging at the entrance annotated on his map; it was an enterprise belonging to an Alchemist Family under the Qinglan Sect, meaning it had a deep background and likely strict rules.

Adjusting the conical hat that covered most of his Face, Lin Jingyu stepped inside.

The space inside was larger than it appeared from the outside; rows of sandalwood shelves were neatly organized with various dried Spiritual Plants, minerals, and powders or liquids stored in jade bottles.

A faint medicinal fragrance lingered in the air.

Behind the counter stood an elderly man with graying hair, wearing a clean cyan robe, who was leisurely weighing a silvery-white powder with a small scale, his expression focused.

Lin Jingyu did not go forward immediately but instead pretended to walk casually among the shelves, his eyes quickly scanning the names and prices on the labels.

”Spirit Gathering Grass, First-Tier Low Grade, three Spirit Stones per tael... Dew Condensing Flower, First-Tier Low Grade, five Spirit Stones per flower... Red Charcoal Powder, Alchemy auxiliary material, ten Spirit Stones per catty... Tsk, so expensive.”

He clicked his tongue inwardly, confirming even more strongly that he couldn’t afford any of these items.

He wondered what price he could get for the two stalks of earth dragon grass here.

Noticing the old man had finished weighing and had carefully poured the powder into a Jade Box and sealed it, Lin Jingyu finally walked up to the counter.

He deliberately lowered his voice to a raspy, deep tone: ”Shopkeeper, do you buy Spirit Medicine?”

The old man looked up, his small eyes sharp and shrewd. He sized up Lin Jingyu’s unremarkable and somewhat shabby attire. With no particular expression on his Face, he simply nodded: ”We do. Fellow Daoist, what do you have to sell?”

Lin Jingyu didn’t speak but looked around. There were two or three other customers in the shop picking out herbs, standing some distance from the counter.

Only then did he take a small Jade Box from the basket on his back, place it gently on the counter, and push it forward.

Regarding Lin Jingyu’s cautious demeanor.

A smile appeared at the corner of the old man’s mouth. Loose Cultivators always treated whatever they obtained as a treasure, hiding it away tightly.

He reached out with a thin, withered but steady hand and opened the small Jade Box.

When he saw the two Spiritual Plants lying quietly inside, shaped strangely like little insects with tiny red flowers on top, his shrewd eyes brightened slightly for a moment before returning to calm.

”earth dragon grass?” The old man’s voice remained steady, but Lin Jingyu keenly caught his fingertips gently rubbing against the yellowish-brown ”insect body,” a movement that carried the caution of an expert.

”Yes,” Lin Jingyu said concisely.

The old man picked up one of them, brought it to his eyes, and observed it closely.

A trace of faint green Spiritual Qi gathered at his fingertips, like the gentlest breeze, brushing over the roots, insect body, top leaves, and small flowers of the earth dragon grass. That Spiritual Qi seemed to possess a certain probing quality.

A moment later, the old man put down the earth dragon grass and looked at Lin Jingyu: ”The quality is decent, and it is well-preserved, with the Spiritual Qi intact. First-Tier Low Grade earth dragon grass usually fluctuates between fifteen and twenty Spirit Stones in market price.”

”For these two stalks from you, Fellow Daoist... I can offer a fair price: sixteen Spirit Stones each. How about it?”

Thirty-two Spirit Stones! Lin Jingyu frowned; this was lower than he had expected!

The information from before said that the Third Elder had sold them for seventeen or eighteen Spirit Stones.

He pressed his hand on the Jade Box and said in a raspy voice: ”Since the shopkeeper has no intention of buying, I will just go to another shop.”

There were at least a dozen shops in the inner market that could handle earth dragon grass, so he wasn’t worried about being unable to sell it.

The old man stroked his beard and pondered for a moment. earth dragon grass wasn’t very valuable. Its scope of use was narrow, only applicable to a few types of Medicinal Pills.

But it had the advantage of being rare.

If he encountered a Cultivator in urgent need, he could easily flip it for over forty Spirit Stones.

His own shop happened to be out of stock.

So he asked: ”I wonder what price you would like to sell them for, Fellow Daoist?”

Lin Jingyu pondered for a while, appearing to consider, and finally decided:

”I won’t sell for less than eighteen Spirit Stones per stalk!”

At the same time, he was prepared to be counter-offered; seventeen Spirit Stones was his bottom line.

”Fine!” The old man nodded and said: ”Seeing as it’s your first time at my Hundred Herb Hall, Fellow Daoist, I’ll count them both as thirty-six Spirit Stones. Let’s consider it a gesture of goodwill.”

Damn! I priced it too low! I might have been able to sell them for twenty Spirit Stones each!

Seeing the old man agree so readily, Lin Jingyu felt a pang of regret in his heart.

However, since it was already decided, he naturally couldn’t go back on his word.

Otherwise, would such a large shop still have any Face?

It could still be considered as meeting his psychological expectations.

A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit; next time, he would definitely quote a higher price.

He cupped his hands in thanks: ”Thank you, Shopkeeper.”

The old man nodded, turned around, and took a heavy small cloth bag from under the counter. He counted out thirty-six Low-Grade Spirit Stones, each the size of a little finger and emitting a soft white light, and pushed them in front of Lin Jingyu: ”Please count them, Fellow Daoist.”

Lin Jingyu did not pretend to be generous; he counted them carefully one by one. After confirming there were no errors, he carefully tucked the Spirit Stones into his bosom (Storage Pouch).

The heavy sensation made him feel an unprecedented sense of security.

”Shopkeeper, I’d like to ask you about something else.” Lin Jingyu didn’t leave immediately; he still needed to buy Materials.

”Please go ahead, Fellow Daoist.”

”Do you have ’Fragrance Condensing Grass’ and ’Jade Marrow Powder’ here?”

Both of these were items needed to make sweet potato pills; they were of some value and not very common.

When he walked over from the outer area earlier, he had been paying attention all the way but hadn’t seen them, which was why he had the question.

A sharp glint flashed in the old man’s eyes: ”Fragrance Condensing Grass and Jade Marrow Powder? Naturally, we have them. Fellow Daoist, how much do you need?”

”The only things that use both of these Materials are sweet potato pills and Dew Condensing Pills. I wonder which one you are refining, Fellow Daoist? We have many more auxiliary and main ingredients here for you to choose from.”

Lin Jingyu was shocked. He hadn’t expected this unassuming old man to have almost guessed his secret.

He then said in a raspy voice:

”Shopkeeper, you’re overthinking it. I don’t have the grand ability to perform Alchemy; I just like to put them in steamed buns and eat them as a side dish.”

Seeing him give such a ridiculous answer, the old man didn’t press further, though a flash of contempt crossed the corner of his eyes.

A lackey from a Loose Cultivator background.

Being so secretive about refining a low-level Medicinal Pill.

He turned around and rummaged through the medicine cabinet behind him: ”We have Fragrance Condensing Grass, one Spirit Stone for three stalks. Jade Marrow Powder... twenty Spirit Stones per catty. How much do you need, Fellow Daoist?”