Chapter 68: Spending Money Can Also Make You Stronger

Hanping Prefecture, West Market, Qianzhen Ge, Gambling Weapon Shop.

Song Cheng raised his hands to touch the weapons one by one, watching the fluctuations in the data.

After feeling around, he picked one out.

It was wrapped in rust, long and thin, and it was impossible to tell what kind of weapon it was.

But Song Cheng knew it was a blade.

Because only a blade could raise the upper limit of his strength.

He grabbed it and asked, "Boss, how much?"

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with a decadent air; he glanced at it and said, "Three hundred taels, no bargaining."

Ling'er glanced at the trash-like rusted iron, which she wouldn't even want if it were given for free, so she utilized her "tea-girl" charm to help her master haggle, saying in a sugary voice, "Senior, three hundred taels is too expensive, can you make it a bit cheaper?"

The shopkeeper said, "Oh? Are you willing to pay another price?"

He looked Ling'er up and down and said, "Then two hundred taels, plus you serve me for five nights."

Ling'er was choked by this, not knowing how to respond.

Song Cheng glanced at the shopkeeper; he was a hidden Form Realm expert. Was he joking with a young girl? Or was he just this kind of person? He didn't care, only saying, "Pay him."

Ling'er helplessly took out her small purse, pulled out the silver notes, took out three of the one-hundred denomination, counted them repeatedly, and only then handed them over, before glaring at her spendthrift master; though she dared not speak loudly, she still said word by word, "Three. Hundred. Taels."

Song Cheng gripped the rusted blade and handed his Fine Blade to Ling'er.

He glanced at the data.

Good heavens, when holding the Fine Blade, the data was "119~238".

When holding the rusted blade, the data was "121~242".

This blade hadn't even been sharpened yet, and the value in his hand already exceeded that of the Fine Blade he held; if it were sharpened, it would go even further.

It felt like he didn't even need to practice; just by refurbishing the equipment in the Prefecture City, his data was already starting to approach the ceiling of combat power in the Prefecture City. This blade was not a loss.

The two of them wandered around the first floor for a while longer.

Besides pills and weapons, the first floor also had some medicinal herbs and strangely colored Demon Beast Meat; neither had price tags, as if they weren't worried about selling them. Ling'er wanted to ask the shopkeeper what these were, but the shopkeeper ignored them entirely, seemingly seeing at a glance that they were country bumpkins and not bothering to care. After Ling'er angrily pulled out the silver notes and flicked them, the shopkeeper still didn't pay attention, only saying, "I run a long-term business here. If you want to buy, just buy something; if not, get lost. There are specific ways to eat these things, and I can't be bothered to tell you. If you eat them and die, don't come looking for me." After saying this, he ignored them further.

These words made Ling'er's face turn from green to white.

Thus, the two decided to go to the second floor.

As it turned out, to go to the second floor, one had to continue paying an entry fee to go upstairs: forty taels per person, eighty taels for the two of them.

Ling'er puffed out her cheeks and said angrily, "Master, let's not go upstairs."

She felt this place was a huge rip-off; money was spent so easily, yet they had only bought a rusted blade that looked like junk.

Emotionally, Song Cheng also felt this money was spent absurdly;

But his reason told him that to purchase resources that "transcend one's own class," paying an extra eighty taels for an entry fee was actually quite fair.

After touring the first floor of this Qianzhen Ge, he at least knew that there must be a way for "rapid success for experts" in this world; only small forces like the An Family would let their martial artists rely solely on eating meat to cultivate slowly, and even top-tier talents like Ding Kui were already twenty-five or twenty-six without having managed to reach the Jin Realm.

Besides this, the pills in this world must be very abundant; not to mention anything else, those gaudy medicinal herbs were likely raw materials for many strange pills.

"Give it to him."

Song Cheng said.

Ling'er took out eighty taels and paid the fee.

Then the two climbed the stairs.

If the first floor of Qianzhen Ge gave people a sense of scorching heat permeated with the smell of medicine, then the second floor felt quite cold.

With the two-story staircase as the boundary, the temperature difference was actually at least ten degrees or so.

The two went upstairs, and again, no one paid them any mind.

Fortunately, this floor sold only bottled pills.

The pills couldn't be identified from the outside, so there were some signs outside with minimalist introductions.

Ling'er read them one by one.

"Small Soul-Breaking Pill, breaks through illusions?"

"Soul-Calming Pill, makes one less likely to fall into illusions?"

"Soul-Healing Pill, repairs damage to the Soul?"

"Soul-Nurturing Pill, increases the strength of the Soul?"

Ling'er:??? The more she read, the more alarmed she became.

What was all this? How did it feel like she had suddenly run into a completely unfamiliar world?

Soul? Illusions? Did the world she lived in have these things?

Glancing into the distance, she saw everyone hidden in the darkness like monsters in a gloomy mist, which made her feel afraid... but in Song Cheng's eyes, these shop assistants were more interesting.

The ones downstairs were at the Jin Realm, and there were even Form Realm ones, but the ones on this floor were almost all at the Force Realm, or even below the Force Realm.

According to normal logic, the second floor should definitely be more powerful, but here at Qianzhen Ge, it was the opposite.

He scanned them carefully again and suddenly came to a man with "70 Favorability" and said, "May I ask, the Soul-Nurturing Pill, what is its effect?"

The man was thin and sickly; upon hearing this, he actually lifted his eyes and said, "Never nurtured it before?" Song Cheng answered honestly, "No."

The man said, "The first time you use it, the effect is very good, but a martial artist like you actually doesn't need it; using it is just a waste.

Your strength is not weak, and the flesh and blood in your body are like solar fire; how could you possibly hide a Soul as cold as ice?"

After saying this, he didn't say anything more, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

Clearly, "70 Favorability" could only get him this much; for anyone else, he probably wouldn't have bothered.

Song Cheng learned the "price of the Soul-Nurturing Pill" from Ling'er—eight hundred taels per bottle.

It felt a bit absurdly expensive.

"Ling'er, buy a bottle," Song Cheng said, because he truly had never nurtured his Soul.

Ling'er carefully counted out eight silver notes and began to check them earnestly. Song Cheng asked again, "Are there any other Pills that increase Soul strength?"

That thin man opened his eyes and smiled, "You are an interesting person; is it possible you can actually use them?"

But after saying this, he shook his head, seemingly rejecting his own statement, then said, "If you are willing to waste money, I am happy to oblige."

Having said that, the man took a cyan jade porcelain bottle out of a small box under the counter. Once the bottle was brought out, the surrounding air grew colder, and wisps of cold air drifted out, giving Song Cheng the impression that it had just been "taken out of a freezer." "Soul Strengthening Pill, eight thousand taels a bottle, do you want it?"

Ling'er:. Song Cheng said, "How many pills in a bottle?"

The thin man said, "10 pills. Don't think about buying them separately; 10 pills make one cycle. Take one pill a day at midnight in the open air. It is even better if guided by moonlight. Too many or too few are both bad."

For Soul-type Pills, these Soul-Nurturing ones have their effects diminish with each use.

For ordinary people and those just beginning to cultivate Soul techniques, the Soul Strengthening Pill is already the best for the first time.

However, that is only if you can endure it; otherwise, it is safer to buy Soul-Nurturing Pills.

But the first increase is the greatest; even if you take them again later, the combined effects may not be as good as the first time."

Song Cheng said, "Can I smell the scent?"

The thin man said, "Ten taels for one sniff."

Ling'er:. The little tea girl's heart was collapsing, and her sense of value was also collapsing.

Ten taels for one sniff? What a joke! "Ling'er, pay him."

Hearing her master's instructions, Ling'er took silver from her purse and handed it over.

The thin man grabbed the bottle and beckoned, and Song Cheng leaned in.

The man pulled out the stopper, waved his hand, and quickly put the stopper back in.

A touch of icy aura immediately rushed toward Song Cheng, drilling into his two nostrils, penetrating his body into his Soul, up to his brain, and reaching his Purple Mansion, bringing with it a sensation of extreme comfort to his Soul.

Before smelling this scent, Song Cheng felt everything was normal.

But after smelling this scent, his Soul suddenly seemed to feel hunger, becoming eager to eat and grow.

Song Cheng understood that this thing was very useful to him.

"I'll take it, but I didn't bring enough money."

The thin man showed a look of surprise, then immediately calmed down and said, "Fine, which family are you from? I'll have someone go with you to collect it."

Song Cheng did not hide it either. After all, in this Prefecture City, for anyone with a bit of influence, it was easy to check who he was. After all, he was likely the only blind man carrying a shield and a sword.

"Ruyi Chamber of Commerce, Song Cheng," Song Cheng said directly.

The thin man nodded, his favorability increased from 70 to 80, and he replied, "Qianzhen Ge, Hua Wen."

After saying that, he added, "Don't worry, the prices are all standard; I didn't overcharge you."

Immediately, Song Cheng first had Ling'er pay 4,000 taels, then took that bottle of "Soul Strengthening Pill," and afterwards took a clerk from Qianzhen Ge to the An Family to urgently withdraw 4,000 taels of silver from the treasury.

Ling'er was already completely numb.

The master spent over ten thousand taels of silver on this deal today, ah ah ah ah ah! However, when An Chenyu met Song Cheng, she only asked, "Do you want to buy two more bottles?"

Song Cheng shook his head, "Let's try it first."

An Chenyu said, "Mine is yours."

After saying this, she smiled brightly.

Song Cheng smiled, "I am yours."

An Chenyu's heartbeat accelerated by several beats, and she didn't know how to respond, so she turned and left in a hurry. If it had been Tong Niangzi, she would definitely have spat, but the Young Miss's inner world had clearly never been attacked by "cheesy pick-up lines," and this was truly caught off guard.

After the Young Miss left, only Song Cheng remained in the inner courtyard.

He took out the Soul Strengthening Pill and looked up at the sky.

Pure white filaments were scattering down from the huge incandescent light mass in the firmament.

He was not waiting for this.

He was waiting for the midnight hour, for that ink-colored light mass.

The moon.

Or perhaps called—Taiyin.

(End of this chapter)