Chapter 749: Increase Investment!

As Xiao Yan finished speaking, the old man who had been resting with closed eyes behind the counter suddenly opened his eyes, surprise flashing in his aged gaze as he scanned Xiao Yan up and down.

"One of each?" The old man frowned; he had never heard such a request before.

Although Ning Tian Continent lies on the outer fringes of the Great Thousand World, with its Heavenly Earth Spirit Qi far thinner than that of the Ten Supreme Continents at the center, it still boasts a wide variety of elixirs.

The shop was small, but everything was in place.

In the Great Thousand World, elixirs are divided into four major categories, just like on the Dou Qi Continent: Healing, Enhancement, Special, and Cultivation Realm elixirs.

Among them, Healing elixirs are the most numerous and relatively the cheapest, such as Detoxification Pills and pills for internal or external injuries.

Enhancement elixirs temporarily boost combat power—not merely increasing Spiritual Energy or physical strength, but even enhancing Alchemy skills or speeding up Spirit Array Master's array formation.

The latter two categories are the most expensive: Cultivation Realm elixirs are, on average, the rarest and hardest to refine, while Special elixirs must be custom-made, with prices fluctuating widely; they generally require direct consultation with an Alchemist and a Pill Formula.

Just like Hai Bodong—so Special elixirs are extremely rare on the market and usually cannot be bought outright; one must seek out an Alchemist to refine them.

Thus, one normally buys only one type of elixir—no one ever asks for one of every single category!

Even if you asked for every rank of Detoxification Pill, the old man would find that normal, since Detoxification Pills must be tailored to the poison—but even requesting the lowest-grade Common Grade One Healing Pill? That was strange.

These people didn't look like children from the Spirit Movement Realm at all.

Xiao Yan nodded calmly and said, "Correct. Any problem?"

The old man's eyes flickered with a strange light, then he shook his head. "Of course no problem."

Xiao Yan's group entering the Dan Shen Clan's elixir shop to purchase pills was noticed by the shopkeeper from the ancient Wancao Grassland, their rival; the conversation was not concealed, naturally drawing the other's attention.

Though neither of these two shopkeepers were Alchemists, they wore the shop's branded attire, clearly members of the two factions, both powerful—each a Supreme-level cultivator.

The Dan Shen Clan elder probed cautiously: "Do you also require Supreme-grade Spiritual Pills? For example, Supreme Pills?"

The Western Realm has only six Supremes, so Supreme-grade Spiritual Pills are scarce, and all are below Spiritual Level Three.

This Dan Shen Clan elder's question was shrewd: those who could afford Supreme-grade Spiritual Pills were at least Supremes themselves, and Spiritual Level pills were extremely expensive—usually worth at least a thousand Supreme Spirit Liquids.

One such pill is called the Supreme Pill: it compresses a thousand drops of Supreme Spirit Liquid into a single special elixir through a unique Alchemy Technique. The Supreme Pill's purpose is obvious—to help a Soul Spirit Trial peak cultivator open the Supreme Sea and break through to Supreme.

The cost of such a pill is a thousand Supreme Spirit Liquids, yet its market price reaches three to four thousand—while the Supreme Pills refined by Dan Shen Clan and Wancao Grassland soar to an absurd ten thousand, a tenfold profit!

Even though everyone in the world knows Dan Shen Clan and Wancao Grassland sell Supreme Pills at exorbitant prices, demand still outstrips supply, because their Supreme Pills use unique Alchemy Techniques that compress the Supreme Spirit Liquid more thoroughly, slightly increasing the chance of breaking through to Supreme.

These Alchemy Techniques are secret transmissions of the two factions; only their Alchemy Masters know them.

Xiao Yan knew perfectly well this was a test of his strength—but he didn't care about such trivial probing, and nodded indifferently: "Give me one of each Supreme-grade Spiritual Pill too."

Xiao Yan had been in the Great Thousand World for over a month; he understood basic facts: Supreme Pills are among the lowest-tier Spiritual Level pills, since they're meant for Soul Spirit Trial cultivators to break through to Supreme—not for Supremes themselves.

Hearing Xiao Yan's firm nod, the Dan Shen Clan elder's eyes gleamed sharply. Without hesitation, he pulled out an iron token engraved with the Dan Shen Clan crest, pressed it onto the counter, and a Spirit Array hummed to life. With a thought, elixirs automatically filled jade bottles; those with especially potent fluctuations—the Supreme Spiritual Pills—were placed in brocade boxes sealed by a Flame Sealing Array to prevent potency loss.

At least in packaging, Dan Shen Clan truly did well.

"The total value of Common Grade elixirs is 320 million Spiritual Values; if paid in Supreme Spirit Liquid, only thirty drops are needed." The Dan Shen Clan elder pulled out a simple space ring and placed hundreds of Common Grade One to Nine elixirs inside.

Spiritual Values are a dense form of Spiritual Energy and can be exchanged for Supreme Spirit Liquid—at a standard rate of one million Spiritual Values per drop, though usually with a handling fee.

Xiao Yan nodded, flicked his finger, and thirty drops of Supreme Spirit Liquid flew out from his space ring.

"Here are three Healing elixirs: the Spiritual Level One Fu Lu One-Star Pill, suitable for cultivators below Two-Star Sovereign, capable of rapidly healing wounds and restoring some Spiritual Energy." The elder waved his hand, and several exquisite brocade boxes floated over, slowly opening; the rich Pill Fragrance filled the air, making everyone present feel refreshed and serene.

Feeling this potent Pill Fragrance, Zhu Kun and Gu Yuan both exchanged a glance, their eyes darkening with gravity; they whispered to each other: "Even I feel a slight awakening effect—this pill has reached Nine-Treasure Pill level."

Zhu Kun nodded gravely: "Yes, and even among Precious Pills, it's top-tier."

This was just a Spiritual Pill casually available in a shop—yet on the Dou Qi Continent, a Nine-Treasure Pill was nearly impossible to obtain; only the top Elders of Xiao Dan Ta and a few Nine-Treasure Pill Elders of the Yao Clan could refine them; the entire Dou Qi Continent had fewer than twenty Alchemists capable of refining Precious Pills!

Xiao Yan smiled faintly and whispered: "The Dou Qi Continent is indeed inferior to the Great Thousand World, but Alchemy hasn't fallen far behind—these Spiritual Pills contain more Spiritual Energy, so their quality is higher, not due to superior Alchemy Technique. The Dou Qi Continent was sealed for fifty thousand years, causing our techniques to stagnate or even regress."

According to Xiao Yan's speculation, in ancient times, cultivators who broke through to Dou Emperor or Nine Star Dou Sheng could fly beyond the heavens, seek out cultivation blessings in the Space surrounding the Dou Qi Continent, and gradually ascend to the Great Thousand World.

Xiao Yan had just broken through to Dou Emperor and arrived in the Great Thousand World without any cultivation trials; by rank, he was merely a One-Star Dou Emperor, still far from Dou Emperor peak—so even if his Dou Qi fully transformed, he'd only be barely entering Earth Supreme.

But Earth Supreme is among the top tier in the Great Thousand World; even though the Dou Qi Continent is smaller than the vast Great Thousand World, it remains formidable among its many continents—only because fifty thousand years ago, the Dou Qi Continent suffered a rupture, losing even Dou Emperors, and with them, the Dou Sheng tier began to decline.

"This is the Ling Xi Pill, used to treat internal injuries, broken tendons, and damaged Spiritual Veins—suitable for One-Star Sovereigns."

"This is the Fu Lu Two-Star Pill—same effect as the Fu Lu One-Star Pill, but stronger, usable even by Three-Star Sovereigns."

The Dan Shen Clan elder slowly closed the three brocade boxes; there were only three Healing elixirs. The remaining two boxes contained Enhancement and Cultivation Realm elixirs—no Special elixirs here.

"This is the Ling Shen Pill—an Enhancement elixir that temporarily boosts a One-Star Sovereign's Spiritual Energy to Two-Star Sovereign level, lasting fifteen minutes; after the effect fades, Spiritual Energy plummets back to Soul Spirit Trial level." The elder opened another brocade box of a different color, revealing a purple pill.

"This is the Supreme Pill—no need for me to elaborate. Though by rank it's only Common Grade Nine peak, our Dan Shen Clan's Supreme Pill increases the chance of a Soul Spirit Trial cultivator breaking through to Supreme by forty percent—better than Wancao Grassland's." Speaking of the Supreme Pill, the Dan Shen Clan elder was visibly proud.

The reason was simple: in refining the Supreme Pill, Dan Shen Clan's technique was superior to Wancao Grassland's—they achieved a forty percent success rate, while Wancao Grassland managed only thirty-five.

"Hmph." Hearing the Dan Shen Clan elder's words, the Wancao Grassland shopkeeper snorted coldly but said nothing in rebuttal.

"Supreme Pill: ten thousand Supreme Spirit Liquids. Fu Lu One-Star Pill: fifteen thousand. Ling Xi Pill: twenty thousand. Ling Shen Pill and Fu Lu Two-Star Pill: thirty thousand each." The elder smiled with the standard merchant's grin. "Total: one hundred and five thousand Supreme Spirit Liquids."

Hearing this price, Qiao Shihong couldn't help but gasp. Xiao Yan had looted over ten million Supreme Spirit Liquids from Zhu Ye—enough to buy a top-tier Supreme Grade Divine Artifact or even a Sacred Artifact—but five pills cost one hundred and five thousand!

Ordinary cultivators couldn't afford Dan Shen Clan or Wancao Grassland pills—they cost two to three times the usual price; only core disciples of major factions could possibly afford them.

Fortunately, Xiao Yan still had some wealth; neither he nor Xiao Yixian needed Supreme Spirit Liquids to accelerate transformation, saving nearly a million Supreme Spirit Liquids.

Xiao Yan didn't hesitate—he flicked his finger, and a small stream of Supreme Spirit Liquid flew toward the Dan Shen Clan elder. This was his future path to wealth!

Seeing one hundred thousand Supreme Spirit Liquids fly out, the Dan Shen Clan elder hurriedly collected them in a vessel, his curiosity about Xiao Yan's group deepening.

"The total Supreme Spirit Liquids held by the four regions and two major sects of the Western Realm probably don't amount to this much—these people aren't from the Western Realm. Could they be from other realms? Seeking the legendary Earth Supreme Secret Treasury?" The Dan Shen Clan elder pondered silently.

(End of Chapter)