Junior sister, I really need to control you.

In the casting furnace, one can observe the procession; before the quenching stone platform, one can see the quenching essence.

"Senior, are you satisfied?" The female shopkeeper bent her waist slightly.

"Hmm." Li Yinsheng nodded, but did not ask about the price. Instead, he turned to look at another stone platform not far away.

This stone platform is the same size as the stone platform where the Qi Refining Lock is stored. The difference is that there are several Qi Refining Locks crammed onto the stone platform, while the other stone platform is occupied by a crimson ball of light the size of a watermelon.

"What is that? Judging from my divine sense, the restrictions within seem somewhat similar to the Tempering Yuan Lock, but far superior," Li Yinsheng asked.

"Senior has excellent eyesight!" the female shopkeeper exclaimed. "This item is indeed closely related to the Tempering Yuan Lock, both crafted by master weapon refiners in my temple. The Tempering Yuan Lock uses the Earth Qi to permeate the entire body, exerting an invisible force to temper the physique, making it suitable for those with low cultivation levels."

Mu Xiaoyu was munching on her tea and snacks when she heard those words and suddenly felt that something was not quite right.

The female shopkeeper, oblivious to Mu Xiaoyu, continued to explain, "And the magical artifact before you is called the 'Blood Refining Pivot,' which was refined using the Qi of Bing Fire."

"Among the five internal organs, the heart belongs to fire. It can combine with the heart and use the fire energy to temper and strengthen the blood and qi. Moreover, no matter what kind of cultivation method you practice, you can automatically temper your blood and qi when you meditate and circulate your energy. It is equivalent to you cultivating your own magical power and it helps you cultivate your blood and qi."

"Although in terms of effectiveness, it certainly can't compare to body cultivators who focus solely on refining their qi and blood, the fire qi is still extremely effective in refining qi and blood, and can at least be considered half a body cultivator."

"And the price of this item..." Li Yinsheng asked tentatively.

"If you are interested, senior, ten thousand talismans will suffice." The female shopkeeper smiled, pursing her lips.

Li Yinsheng was somewhat surprised: "Oh? Physical cultivation is extremely difficult, and this magic artifact can give one an extra half a physical cultivation achievement, yet it only sells for ten thousand talismans? It sounds too good to be true."

"What you say is true, senior. Even if you hadn't asked, I would have reminded you." The female shopkeeper didn't try to hide anything and nodded frankly.

"While this item has many advantages, it also has significant drawbacks. Firstly, it uses the fire element to temper one's blood and qi, so during cultivation, one's blood is filled with fire, inevitably causing burning pain throughout the body, as if a mortal were placed in a burning room, which would greatly deplete one's mental energy."

"Secondly, like the Tempering Yuan Lock, the Bing Fire Qi will continuously dissipate regardless of whether it is used or not. Although this Blood Refining Pivot is more than ten times larger than the Tempering Yuan Lock, it dissipates even faster, and can only be used for six or seven years at most."

"If it were enveloped in magical power like you did just now, it could pause its dissipation." The female shopkeeper paused here, then shook her head again.

"Even if you insist on enveloping it with your magic power for several hours every day, you can only use it for two or three more years. It will still deplete your mental energy and affect your cultivation. It's not worth it."

Li Yinsheng suddenly realized.

This thing does have significant drawbacks.

The fact that 10,000 talismans can only be used for four or five years is secondary. The most important thing is that cultivation itself is an extremely mentally taxing activity. In addition, this thing will cause constant burning pain and heat, which will exacerbate the mental and physical damage. In other words, the time that a cultivator can cultivate is actually shortened.

It's like someone who could normally walk a hundred miles a day, but now if you put a big rock on their back, they might not be able to walk fifty miles a day.

But neither of these shortcomings mattered to him.

In any case, whether it's the searing pain or being enveloped in magical power, it only drains one's mental energy. However, when receiving the reward in that ghostly space, his mental energy wouldn't be affected!

As long as he can endure the burning pain and persist in multitasking during cultivation, using his magic power to envelop the Blood Refining Pivot while cultivating, then this thing is practically flawless!

"How much mental strain does this thing cause?" Li Yinsheng asked.

"Most people are not used to it at first. When they first use this item, their daily cultivation time is almost halved, or even reduced by more than 60%," the female shopkeeper said.

"Afterwards, depending on individual capacity to bear the loss, some people still reduced their income by half, some reduced it by 30% or 40%, and some only reduced it by 20% or 30%, but such people are extremely rare."

"That doesn't sound like a good deal," Li Yinsheng said, trying to negotiate the price down.

"So not many people are buying it," the female shopkeeper laughed. "Initially, it was priced at 20,000 talismans, but the price has been lowered again and again. Now it's half price. We just want to clear out this hot potato."

The implication was that she refused to negotiate the price.

"Can't it be any cheaper?" Li Yinsheng blurted out.

He could afford ten thousand talismans, but if he actually did, he would only have five or six thousand talismans left in his hand.

"Since it's a senior who has spoken, how could I refuse?" The female shopkeeper, who was already looking to make friends, spoke frankly, "If you don't mind, this item will only cost nine thousand talismans."

"Please forgive me, senior. The price has already been lowered again and again, and it's almost at cost price now. If it goes any lower, we'll lose money."

The female shopkeeper changed the subject, saying, "However, if you are interested in this item, I can make the decision. It will still be nine thousand talisman coins, and the Qi-Refining Lock will be given to you as a bonus."

"Can I just take the free gift?" Li Yinsheng asked.

"Hehehe... Senior is so witty." The female shopkeeper covered her mouth and laughed.

Li Yinsheng sighed.

He knew that the shopkeepers at Baoguang Temple had a certain degree of pricing power, and the reason the other party had given him discounts twice was because he had displayed his cultivation level.

Logically speaking, this treatment isn't bad, and since he was able to lower the price twice so readily, he should be able to negotiate another few hundred coins down the price.

But he wanted to lower it even further, and he didn't want it to be too complicated.

"Shopkeeper," Li Yinsheng touched his bamboo hat, "could we speak in a quiet room?"

"Of course, senior," the shopkeeper said with a smile, "please follow me."

"Xiao Mei, take good care of this junior sister. Serve her the best tea and snacks!"

……

In a quiet room.

Li Yinsheng sat opposite the female shopkeeper.

The female shopkeeper looked at the other person with a smile.

Through casual conversations and interactions over this period, she has come to the conclusion that although the other party is quite meticulous in his speech and actions, he is not particularly shrewd. He is probably cautious by nature and does not often haggle with others.

That's normal. Apart from people who are in business, who would practice how to bargain with others every day?

She already had a plan in mind. When the other party bargained down, she would offer a discount of seven or eight hundred talismans, and she would pretend to be reluctant and say, "I am only making an exception to give you a low price because you are a very important customer," so that the other party would be satisfied.

Moreover, this price is indeed much lower than the market price. After all, the main purpose of this trip is to make friends, so it doesn't matter if we earn less.

"Manager..." Li Yinsheng began.

"Here it comes! Now it's my time to show off my acting skills!" the female shopkeeper thought to herself.

Li Yinsheng did not continue speaking, but instead took off his straw hat.

The female shopkeeper froze completely.

The fact that the face in front of me looked to be only in his early twenties wasn't surprising.

After all, someone with such profound cultivation could easily look like they're in their twenties if their cultivation method had even a slight effect on preserving youth and prolonging life.

She froze simply because of the appearance of that face.

The moment Li Yinsheng revealed his face, she felt the quiet room seemed to darken a little.

Or perhaps it was because her attention was focused on that face that she mistakenly perceived the surroundings as dark.

"Shopkeeper..."

The female shopkeeper saw a hint of sincerity and apology on the young face in front of her, as if to say, "I know it's not right for me to do this, but I really have my difficulties."

"I know you've already tried your best to offer a favorable price, but I'm really short on funds lately," Li Yinsheng said sincerely. "Could we discuss it further? I hope we can both be as satisfied as possible..."

The female shopkeeper unconsciously uttered, "Okay..."

……

About half an hour later.

Li Yinsheng, who had brought back the bamboo hat, led Mu Xiaoyu out of the shop of the Casting Furnace Temple, while the female shopkeeper behind them had an extremely complicated expression.

"Senior brother?" Mu Xiaoyu asked in a low voice, "How much did we actually spend?"

"Seven thousand five hundred talisman coins," Li Yinsheng said.

"Senior brother, you're amazing! You bought the Qi Refining Lock, which originally cost 1,000 talismans, and the Blood Refining Pivot, which cost 10,000 talismans, for only 7,500 talismans! Hmm... so if we calculate it that way, didn't we save 3,500 talismans?"

Mu Xiaoyu looked on with admiration.

Li Yinsheng shook his head: "No."

"Hmm...did you only buy the Blood Refining Pivot for 7,500? That senior brother is amazing, he saved 2,500 talisman coins this way!" Mu Xiaoyu still admired him.

Moreover, out of a vague instinct, she felt that not being able to buy the Quenching Yuan Lock might not be such a bad thing.

"No, the Qi Refining Lock is also there." Li Yinsheng shook his head.

"Then why did you say 'no', Senior Brother?" Mu Xiaoyu asked, puzzled. "That would indeed save three thousand five hundred talismans. Or is it that you're bad at math, Senior Brother?"

Li Yinsheng took out an empty Qiankun bag, handed it to Mu Xiaoyu who was full of questions, and explained:

"Seven thousand five hundred talisman coins, in addition to the Qi Refining Lock and Blood Refining Pivot, plus a Qiankun Bag."