Chapter 26: Can

He Pingsheng followed the direction indicated by the Qi Refining third-layer disciple and indeed spotted a staircase in a corner of the hall.

“Thank you, younger brother!”

He Pingsheng bowed in thanks, then walked toward the staircase.

He climbed the stairs and reached the second floor.

He entered a room first.

Inside sat an old man clad in gray robes; He Pingsheng could not discern his cultivation base.

But the old man’s sharp gaze swept over He Pingsheng and said, “Fourth layer? First time here?”

He Pingsheng replied respectfully, “Yes, this junior is here for the first time!”

“No need for such formalities!” the gray-robed elder waved his hand. “You’re Qi Refining fourth layer, I’m Qi Refining ninth layer—there’s a gap, but we’re both in Qi Refining. Call me Senior Brother from now on.”

“I couldn’t possibly bear the title ‘Elder’!”

“Yes, Senior Brother!” He Pingsheng quickly corrected himself.

The gray-robed elder said, “Go in.”

That hurdle was cleared.

He Pingsheng exhaled in relief, bowed again politely to the gray-robed elder, then turned and stepped into the second-floor hall.

The second floor was the same size as the first.

But it lacked the bustling crowds of the first floor.

Only a dozen disciples moved among the various shelves.

“Younger brother…” A Qi Refining fifth-layer disciple approached He Pingsheng with a slight smile. “Here to purchase items?”

“Follow me!”

He Pingsheng said, “No… this junior is here for the first time—I’ll just browse for now.”

“Fine!” the man said. “Browse all you like. If you find something you like, you can buy it—each item has its price marked beneath it.”

He Pingsheng thanked him and began wandering alone through the vast second floor.

There were other cultivators on the second floor, but not many.

For He Pingsheng, the ideal would be to buy some dud elixirs at an extremely low price, then use the Treasure Basin to enhance their quality before using them.

But he knew this was a fantasy.

Because the Exchange Hall would never sell dud elixirs.

Then maybe inferior Pill of Gathering Qi!

I hope the price isn’t outrageous!

He Pingsheng first walked along the shelves, and soon reached the [Elixir Shelf].

A massive shelf was filled with all kinds of elixirs.

Pill of Gathering Qi, Golden Bone Elixir, Nourishing Primordial Elixir, Marrow-Washing Elixir, Grain Grain Bigu Elixir!

And so on…

The most numerous were Grain Grain Bigu Elixirs.

He Pingsheng checked: one furnace of Grain Grain Bigu Elixirs cost 800 contribution points.

One furnace meant twelve pills.

Grain Grain Bigu Elixirs cannot aid cultivation.

But they have one advantage: they eliminate the need for food and drink.

Qi Refining disciples must juggle eating, drinking, and other mundane tasks while cultivating; with Grain Grain Bigu Elixirs, they can avoid these distractions.

Swallowing one pill allows a person to go a full month without food or drink.

One furnace of Grain Grain Bigu Elixirs can sustain a cultivator for a year.

But after seeing the price, He Pingsheng admitted he couldn’t afford it.

Too expensive.

He had only a thousand-odd contribution points total.

He turned to look at the rest.

Inferior Pill of Gathering Qi!

This was far pricier than Grain Grain Bigu Elixirs.

Because it was a cultivation elixir that enhanced one’s base, it couldn’t be compared to the crude Grain Grain Bigu Elixir.

It wasn’t sold by the furnace—but by the pill.

One inferior Pill of Gathering Qi cost two inferior spirit stones.

So they didn’t accept contribution points—only spirit stones.

This…

He Pingsheng wanted to buy some Pill of Gathering Qi, but he had no spirit stones either.

Of course, as a disciple of a “cultivation clan,” He Pingsheng knew exactly what spirit stones were.

Spirit stones were special rocks; each inferior spirit stone was roughly the size of a jujube, divided into five elemental types—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—each containing distinct Five Phases spiritual energy.

They could aid cultivation and serve as energy sources for arrays.

They could also power certain flying magic treasures.

Due to their wide utility, they had become the universal currency of the cultivation world.

He Pingsheng had seen them before—after his parents died, their home had dozens, later stolen by unknown individuals.

Not a single one remained.

“Senior Brother…” He Pingsheng approached the sales clerk and asked, “How many contribution points for one spirit stone?”

“Heh…” The green-robed disciple smiled. “Younger brother, you don’t know—contribution points and spirit stones can’t be freely exchanged.”

“Some items require only contribution points, but precious items demand spirit stones.”

“Understood?”

“Understood!” He Pingsheng wasn’t foolish—he grasped it instantly.

He Pingsheng continued examining the shelves.

Pill of Gathering Qi, inferior: two spirit stones per pill.

Golden Bone Elixir, inferior: one spirit stone per pill.

Marrow-Washing Elixir, inferior: five spirit stones per pill!

…

All these elixirs required spirit stones.

He Pingsheng’s gaze shifted and noticed some herbs near the shelves.

[Seven-Leaf Spirit Herb]: ten stalks: one spirit stone.

[Spirit Apricot]: ten fruits: two spirit stones.

[Immortal Bamboo Shoot]: ten shoots: one spirit stone.

[Zhu Fruit]: ten fruits: three spirit stones.

He Pingsheng narrowed his eyes.

Seven-Leaf Spirit Herb, Zhu Fruit, Immortal Bamboo Shoot, and Spirit Apricot—these four were all first-grade herbs, and together they formed the ingredients for [Pill of Gathering Qi].

That meant these herbs were enough for ten furnaces of [Pill of Gathering Qi].

Buying them all would cost only seven spirit stones.

If all ten furnaces succeeded—even if all were inferior—that would yield one hundred twenty pills.

Each worth two spirit stones—that’s two hundred forty spirit stones total.

Sssss…

Compared to seven spirit stones in materials, that’s over thirty times markup?

Of course!

Alchemy success rates are low; for some alchemists, ten batches of materials yield only one furnace of elixirs.

Then those twelve pills could sell for twenty-four spirit stones.

Even then, the markup is still threefold.

But alchemy isn’t that simple.

Besides materials, you need an alchemy furnace, an alchemy formula, and flame.

Ordinary outer disciples never get access to the alchemy chambers.

And if you tried alchemy at home, your success rate would drop tenfold or more.

So He Pingsheng immediately abandoned the idea of buying materials to make elixirs.

The key point—he had no spirit stones anyway.

He Pingsheng shook his head and walked away from the elixir shelf.

Let’s check out other areas.

[Basic Sword]: Grade-One magic treasure, price: sixty spirit stones.

[Green Wood Shield]: Grade-One magic treasure, when deployed, defends against attacks from cultivators of the same level, price: one hundred thirty spirit stones.

[Ice Needle Talisman]: Grade-One talisman, when used, summons ice needles equivalent to a full-power strike from a Qi Refining seventh-layer cultivator, price: sixty spirit stones.

Truly excellent items.

Too bad—he couldn’t afford them.

It's truly unaffordable.