Chapter 3: Just Say Whether You Want It or Not

Three male cultivators wearing tight magic robes surrounded them, bending down to look at the things on the bluestone slab.

"Eh, Concealment Talisman, good stuff! How much for one?"

"Five spirit stones each, a must-have item for home and travel, going up the mountain to hunt. At a critical moment, activate this talisman, and even the nose of a thorn wolf won't be able to smell you!"

"So expensive, why don't you just rob someone?"

"Just say whether you want it or not!"

"Make it cheaper, we are going into the mountains, we need to buy many kinds of talismans, buying a stack from you is also fine."

"Why don't you go and ask around? My reputation as Old Man Chen in Dahe Market, my talisman-making skills! Besides, I can give you a cheaper price on the talisman, but when the beast is right in front of you, can it bite you one less time?"

"Three spirit stones for this Concealment Talisman, plus three Earth Spike Talismans, six Fireball Talismans."

"Four! Can't be any lower, this Concealment Talisman is my exclusive business, I only produce one a month!"

The three male cultivators discussed it and decided to buy this Concealment Talisman.

After calculating the account, they shifted their attention to the jade bottles in the corner.

"Grain-Bigu Pills?"

Luo Chen got into the spirit, "One pill keeps you full, ten pills and you won't be hungry for three days and three nights. How many bottles?"

"How much?"

"Let me tell you, my Grain-Bigu Pills are made with high-quality Tier 1 yellow beef as the main material, supplemented by ginseng, angelica... and finally refined with hundred-flower honey, a specialty of the Medicine King Sect. It is truly high quality and inexpensive!"

"Is it really that good?"

"Come, smell this aroma, isn't it fragrant! Look at this color again, absolutely no flour added to fake it. I dare say no one in this area has better quality than mine!"

"Big brother, it seems it really is a bit more fragrant than the Grain-Bigu Pills we bought before."

"That's right, this fellow Daoist knows his stuff. You were probably cheated before. Are those Grain-Bigu Pills you ate floury? That definitely used fake beef!"

"How much?"

"Four bottles for one spirit stone!"

"Why don't you just rob someone!"

"Just say whether you want it or not! If you miss this stall, there won't be such good goods. Let me tell you, I have many old customers. In a while, I'll sell out and go home."

"Make it cheaper?"

"Seeing that the three fellow Daoists are sincere about buying, how about this: still one spirit stone, five bottles! How about it? Let's just make friends, and in the future, when I have new pills, I'll give you a discount!"

"Fine, give us ten bottles. We still have some stock left from before, let's try yours this time."

Money and goods were exchanged, and Luo Chen and Old Man Chen blessed them with "Peace in the mountains, full harvest."

After the people left, the two looked at each other and smiled.

Old Man Chen quietly placed another Concealment Talisman on the stall.

Didn't you say one a month?

As the sun rose, the rogue cultivator area in the southwest corner became more and more lively.

People selling pills, cultivation methods, and beast meat were everywhere.

People buying things and hunting for goods were endless, and occasionally one could even see one or two disciples wearing the standard Daoist robes of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.

And at the appearance of the latter, the rogue cultivators became spirited, and the prices they shouted were several percent higher.

People from sects, those were big fat sheep!

However, this had nothing to do with Luo Chen.

Grain-Bigu Pills were the most common of common goods, and every sect had them.

Moreover, what he refined was only the lowest-level Grain-Bigu Pill, which couldn't even be called a pill, just Grain-Bigu Powder rolled into pills.

This kind of thing, no matter how well he refined it, had no competitiveness.

By the time noon arrived, Luo Chen's goods were almost sold out.

There were only twenty bottles in total, which really wasn't much, and this was still the stock he had saved up for six or seven days.

It could only be said that low-level alchemists were too miserable!

If they weren't supported by sects or families, low-level rogue alchemists were even more miserable.

There was nothing to pack up, he gave Old Man Chen some beef jerky made from scraps, and Luo Chen planned to leave.

Before leaving, Old Man Chen chewed on the beef jerky with water and called him to stop.

"You want to launch a new pill? It wouldn't be that incomplete pill formula you found last year, would it?"

"Young man, don't be too ambitious. I've seen too many rogue alchemists study new pill formulas and go bankrupt."

"It's not easy for you to save those spirit stones, why don't you go to the Spirit Medicine Pavilion and buy two bottles of Nourishing Qi Pills to improve your cultivation."

This could be considered the rare sincere words of this stingy old man who liked to take advantage.

Luo Chen could hear the sincerity of the other party.

In fact, the price the original owner paid for that incomplete pill formula was even greater than what Old Man Chen said.

However, Luo Chen had other ideas, so naturally, he wouldn't do something so ambitious.

"You old man, you should pay attention to your teeth, my beef jerky is easy to break teeth."

Old Man Chen bit down on a piece of beef jerky with a ferocious face, the meat fibers stuck between his teeth, quite uncomfortable, but he still swallowed it forcibly.

He glared at Luo Chen.

"Get lost!"

Luo Chen smiled, squeezed into the crowd, and disappeared.

It was still this rogue cultivator area in the southwest corner, but he arrived at the herb distribution area.

Having mixed in this area for many years, he was familiar with the buying and selling of various goods.

"Sister Wang, is this what your man just picked back from the mountain? It feels like it hasn't even been dried yet, I'm afraid those who know the goods won't like it."

"Little brother will do a good deed today and reluctantly take ten jin!"

"This piece of fleeceflower root, I'm afraid it's not ten years old! Make it cheaper, I'll take it."

"Jade yam, right, give me fifty jin. I used to buy twenty jin for one spirit stone, now it's doubled, how about giving me a discount!"

"Forget it, I won't haggle, you give me a red cedar fruit, just this one, it's big enough."

For an afternoon, Luo Chen wandered in this herb area, purchasing various herbs he needed on a large scale.

Because they were all sold by rogue cultivators at street stalls, the quality of the goods depended entirely on one's eyes, and the price depended entirely on one's own haggling.

After grinding his mouth dry, Luo Chen finally purchased most of what he needed.

And next, he had to make a trip to the center of the inner city.

Spirit Medicine Pavilion, one of the six top shops in Dahe Market, located in the most conspicuous place in the city center.

It was five stories high, with flying eaves and painted walls, carved railings and jade masonry, truly beautiful.

It was just that this place only traded in finished pills, which was not a place Luo Chen could afford for the time being.

His destination was the Hundred Herb Hall next to the Spirit Medicine Pavilion.

It was said that both the Spirit Medicine Pavilion and the Hundred Herb Hall came from the Medicine King Sect, but he didn't know why they were divided into two storefronts.

Compared to the high-end Spirit Medicine Pavilion, the Hundred Herb Hall was much more ordinary.

A row of bungalows extended to the back, looking unremarkable.

However, once he got close, the rich smell of herbs rushed towards him.

Luo Chen's spirit was lifted, and he placed the large bag on his back gently at the entrance.

The fat shopkeeper looked at the large bag, his eyes narrowed slightly, his nose twitched, and then he shook his head.

Luo Chen didn't mind and leaned over to the counter.

"Senior, do you still have dried scallops and fire dog whip here?"

Hearing the names of these two medicinal materials, the fat shopkeeper's eyes became playful. ===== CHAPTER 4 =====