A sage master under the pine tree imparted the Dao and taught longevity.

Chen Chuan landed on the boardwalk at the bottom of the lake and headed towards Wanbaozhai at the street corner.

He was a regular customer who often came to this shop to trade talismans; the shopkeeper and the clerk all knew him.

Upon entering the shop, the waiter, seeing him, quickly cupped his hands and smiled, saying, "Master Chen, what brings you here today? Please have a seat."

Chen Chuan nodded, took off the storage bag from his bosom, and took out all the talismans he had drawn last night and two bottles of pills, placing them on the table: "I drew some talismans and refined two bottles of pills today. I'd appreciate it if you could check and price them, young man."

The shopkeeper took the ritual implements and examined them carefully, counting them one by one: "Eighteen firefly talismans, twelve talismanic horse talismans, twenty qi-guiding talismans, fifteen sound transmission talismans, and two bottles of essence-nourishing pills. The Taoist priest's talisman pills are always of excellent quality, with concentrated spiritual energy, several times better than ordinary goods on the market."

After saying that, he calculated with his fingers and said, "One bottle of Nourishing Essence Pill costs fifty Tier 1 spirit stones, two bottles would be one hundred, Firefly Talisman costs eight Tier 1 spirit stones each, Armor Horse Talisman costs twelve each, Qi Guiding Talisman costs five each... The talismans total four hundred and ninety-four Tier 1 spirit stones, plus the pills, for a total of five hundred and ninety-four Tier 1 spirit stones."

The waiter looked up and smiled, saying, "Since you're a regular customer, we'll round it up for you to six hundred tier spirit stones. Do you want to pay in tier one spirit stones, or convert it to tier two spirit stones?"

The spiritual stones in this area are clearly priced: one hundred first-tier spiritual stones can be exchanged for one second-tier spiritual stone, and one hundred second-tier spiritual stones can be exchanged for one third-tier spiritual stone. Spiritual stones of the third tier and above are rare and cannot be easily obtained by independent cultivators.

After a moment's thought, Chen Chuan said, "Please convert it to second-tier spirit stones."

The waiter responded and turned to fetch a brocade box. Inside, six lustrous second-tier spirit stones lay quietly, their spiritual energy several times richer than that of first-tier spirit stones.

He handed the brocade box to Chen Chuan: "Daoist, please count and keep it safe. It contains 600 first-tier spirit stones, which is exactly six second-tier ones."

After examining the spirit stone and putting it into his storage bag, Chen Chuan thanked the shopkeeper and then strolled around the shop.

"What's the price range for spirit meat in your shop?" Chen Chuan asked, turning his head.

The shopkeeper, having accepted the talismans and pills, hurriedly came forward: "Spiritual flesh is divided into three grades: superior, middle, and inferior."

"Low-grade spirit meat costs 30 Tier 1 spirit stones per pound, mid-grade spirit meat costs 80 Tier 1 spirit stones per pound, and high-grade spirit meat is more expensive, costing 200 Tier 1 spirit stones per pound."

"Hmm." Chen Chuan nodded calmly. "I'll go take a look elsewhere."

Leaving Wanbaozhai empty-handed, Chen Chuan cursed under his breath, "The things in this big shop are way too expensive! I'd better go browse the ghost market on the outskirts..."

The outer perimeter of the market at the bottom of Mirror Lake is a ghost market spontaneously formed by independent cultivators.

There are no orderly buildings here, only temporary stalls. Cloth curtains cover the lake, and the people coming and going are all independent cultivators who pick and bargain. It lacks the orderliness of large shops, but has more of a lively, bustling atmosphere.

The prices here are much lower than in the expensive inner workshops, making it a good place for independent cultivators with limited funds to purchase supplies.

Chen Chuan followed the flow of people toward the ghost market, and soon found a stall displaying the hides and flesh of demonic beasts. Behind the stall stood a burly man with a thick beard, carrying a hunting bow on his back. His aura was rough, and he was clearly a rogue cultivator who had been hunting demons in the mountains for many years.

His gaze swept over the spiritual meat on the table, and with a light touch of his fingertips, he felt that the spiritual energy was rich and pure, which was the quality of top-grade spiritual meat.

He pondered for a few moments, thinking that Xiao Jin had exceptional talent. If he were to nourish himself with high-grade spiritual flesh, he could reach the peak of the embryonic breathing stage and break through to the Qi refining stage in less than two years.

If one were to nourish oneself with medium-grade or even low-grade spiritual flesh, it would take at least five years. In cultivation, one step behind means one step behind.

Let's buy some high-quality spiritual flesh...

"Stadium owner, how much is your top-grade spiritual meat?"

Seeing that he was an old Taoist priest, the burly man said directly, "Others would pay 190 first-grade spirit stones per pound, but since you look kind, let's say 180 per pound."

Although the price was slightly lower than that of Wanbaozhai in the inner workshop, it still exceeded Chen Chuan's expectations.

He stroked his beard and said, "Your spirit meat was all hunted in the mountains by yourself, without any rent or labor costs. Why is it so expensive? I want five catties, 160 pieces per catty. Take it if you agree, otherwise forget it."

The burly man looked troubled, hesitated for a moment while examining the spirit meat, but ultimately decided to spare the customer's expense and said through gritted teeth, "Fine, fine. Considering your age, five catties it is. I'll charge you eight hundred first-grade spirit stones. That's a loss for me!"

Chen Chuan nodded, took eight second-tier spirit stones from his storage bag and handed them over. The burly man checked the spirit stones, wrapped five catties of high-grade spirit meat in spirit beast hide, handed it to Chen Chuan, and instructed him:

"If you are not going to eat it, wrap it in animal hide and place it in a cool place. This will keep the spirit meat from spoiling for a month."

After collecting the spirit meat, Chen Chuan strolled leisurely through the ghost market. When he came to a stall displaying ancient books and jade slips, his eyes were drawn to a yellowed sword manual. The cover of the book was titled "Gengjin Sword Essentials," which perfectly matched the metal element of Xiao Jin's natal Zhan Chen sword.

He picked it up, flipped through it, and asked, "How much is this score worth?"

The stall owner stroked his beard and said, "This is a branch sword manual of the Golden Palace Sword Sect. Although it is not a supreme treasure, it is superior in that it is authentic. Five hundred first-grade spirit stones, no bargaining."

Chen Chuan sighed inwardly. Now, including the second-tier spirit stones he brought from the Taoist temple, he only had five second-tier spirit stones left. If he bought the sword manual, he would have no money left to buy spirit rice and other things. He had no choice but to reluctantly put down the sword manual and give up.

As he walked to a stall selling crafting trinkets, Chen Chuan's gaze suddenly fell on a small, white jade bottle. The bottle was engraved with the five elements and shimmered with spiritual light.

Seeing his interest, the stall owner quickly introduced, "Master, you have a good eye. This is the [Qi Gathering Jade Bottle], which is specially designed to collect the five elements of spiritual energy between heaven and earth, condense and seal it, and can be activated when needed."

Chen Chuan's heart stirred. Xiao Jin was already at the third stage of the embryonic breathing realm. With his talent and the assistance of high-quality spiritual flesh, he would be able to break through to the Qi Refining realm in at most two years. The key to Qi Refining was to draw in the five elements of heaven and earth into the body. This Qi Gathering Jade Bottle could collect the five elements of spiritual energy for him in advance, saving him a lot of effort later.

"How much is this bottle worth?"

"Original price: 200 Tier 1 Spirit Stones"

It's definitely not expensive.

After a brief negotiation, Chen Chuan finally bought the Qi Gathering Jade Bottle for 180 Tier 1 spirit stones.

The stall owner handed Chen Chuan the instructions on how to use the jade bottle. Chen Chuan accepted the jade bottle and bought some spirit rice to replenish his materials for drawing talismans and refining pills.

After calculating, he only had a little over eighty first-tier spirit stones left in his pocket. He was satisfied and headed towards the center of Mirror Lake with his supplies, preparing to return to Songjian Temple.

……

Chen Chuan carried two large bags of spirit rice ashore, looking somewhat disheveled. He watched as the other cultivators either rode flying shuttles or swords, or rode various spirit birds and beasts away in style.

He secretly made plans in his mind.

As Xiao Jin's cultivation level increases, the amount of cultivation resources he needs will also increase. His storage bag, which is marked with "one square", can only hold one square of resources.

It would be great if there were larger storage bags, or a vehicle like a flying shuttle...

However, among the cultivation supplies, these two items are the most expensive. A flying shuttle costs twenty second-tier spirit stones, and a flying sword costs at least eight hundred second-tier spirit stones.

I'd better keep my legs on...

After attaching the [Jia Ma Talisman] and picking up the spirit rice, Chen Chuan ran towards Songjian Temple.