Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

Out of caution, Zhang Li changed into ordinary clothes and disguised himself when no one was around.

Such a disguise could not fool those who knew him, but he didn't have many acquaintances.

As Zhang Li approached the entrance to Luoxia Market, two Qi Refining cultivators guarding the gate glanced at him, sizing him up as he changed into an ordinary gray cloth short jacket.

"The entry fee is one low-grade spirit stone."

Zhang Li took out a spirit stone from his storage bag and handed it over.

"Alright, you can go in now. Remember, don't cause trouble."

After receiving a spirit stone, the two cultivators guarding the market entrance tossed Zhang Li a temporary pass and gave him a cold, admonishing remark.

Zhang Li reached out and caught the wooden plaque engraved with pale red cloud patterns, casually tucked it into his clothes, and started walking along the mountain path into the market.

As Zhang Li walked from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside, he strolled through the bustling streets, where he could see antique-style pavilions and towers everywhere. He secretly observed the various cultivators dressed around him.

Judging from the aura that those cultivators inadvertently revealed, most of them were in the early or middle stages of Qi Refining, with only about one-fifth being in the late stage.

Occasionally, one or two Foundation Establishment cultivators would pass by, and the cultivators nearby would immediately make way and bow in respect. This shows how the cultivation world values ​​strength and has strict rules.

Following the flow of people, he gained a more detailed understanding of the layout of the market.

If you want to buy high-quality magical artifacts, elixirs, or cultivation techniques, you can go up along the main road. The higher up you go, the larger the shops will be.

The shops in the middle are privately owned by powerful independent cultivators or cultivator families. They mainly rely on their reputation and may not have top-tier items, but the quality of common cultivation materials is not bad.

Further down is the market's own trading area.

Most independent cultivators rent a temporary stall here and set up a stall to trade like in a mortal market, making the place extremely lively.

Zhang Li came here mainly to sell the Qi-Nourishing Pills he had refined. He had no intention of setting up a stall to sell them slowly, nor did he need to go to a large store like the Treasure Pavilion.

Ultimately, Zhang Li chose a shop called Luojia Pavilion.

He knew a little about the background of this shop; it came from the Luo family, a cultivation family that had been passed down for several generations and was considered a medium-sized family among the Foundation Establishment families affiliated with the Qingxuan Sect.

There are currently two known Foundation Establishment cultivators in the clan, both of whom have some lineage in alchemy and are well-regarded in the market.

There weren't many people in the lobby of Luojia Pavilion, only a few ordinary waiters and a middle-aged manager with a cultivation level of mid-stage Qi Refining.

Upon seeing Zhang Li enter, a mortal waiter immediately approached him, asking eagerly, "Immortal Master, is there anything you need?"

Zhang Li didn't reply. Instead, he walked past the shop assistant and went straight to the shopkeeper behind the counter, whispering, "Shopkeeper, does your shop accept pills?"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's heart stirred, and he said, "Of course, this is not the place to discuss business. Please follow me, fellow Daoist."

Soon, the middle-aged shopkeeper led Zhang Li to a quiet room in the backyard of the shop.

After taking his seat, Zhang Li stopped hiding his intentions and went straight to the point: "Let's get straight to the point, I want to sell a batch of Qi Nourishing Pills."

Qi-Nourishing Pill?

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up. There was a huge demand for these kinds of pills used for cultivation, so there was no worry about selling them.

He immediately replied, "Of course I'll accept them. How many do you have, my friend?"

Zhang Li smiled slightly and said, "There aren't many, only ten bottles."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Li waved his hand, and ten white jade bottles appeared neatly on the wooden table between the two of them.

Upon seeing this, the shopkeeper's expression turned serious, and he secretly wondered, "Could this person be a rogue alchemist?"

However, this thought only lasted for a moment. "Given his cultivation level of the third level of Qi Refining and his age, it is impossible for him to refine the Qi Nourishing Pill. He is too young. It must have been refined by someone behind him."

The thought vanished in an instant, and the shopkeeper suppressed his curiosity, not asking any further questions about its origin.

The reason why Luojia Pavilion has been able to establish itself in Luoxia Market for generations and has achieved its current reputation is that it adheres to the rule of not asking about the source of goods, not inquiring about privacy, and conducting fair trade.

The shopkeeper casually picked out several jade bottles and examined them one by one. After a moment, he slowly spoke:

"These Qi-Nourishing Pills are of very high quality; the alchemist who refined them must be a master. My Luojia Pavilion will accept all of these Qi-Nourishing Pills for 260 low-grade spirit stones. What do you say, fellow Daoist?"

Zhang Li ignored the other party's slightly probing words and stated the matter at hand: "A very reasonable price."

On the market, a single Qi-Nourishing Pill sells for three low-grade spirit stones, and a bottle sells for thirty spirit stones. Shops typically buy it for between 80% and 90% of the selling price.

Generally, only when more than fifty bottles of pills are sold at once will the purchase price be 90% of the selling price; for less than thirty bottles, the purchase price is generally no higher than 85%.

Therefore, the price offered by the shopkeeper was already higher than usual, so Zhang Li naturally had no reason to refuse.

"Ten bottles of pills and two hundred and sixty low-grade spirit stones. Fellow Daoist, you can take a look at the count."

As he spoke, the shopkeeper took out spirit stones and placed them on the table.

Zhang Li glanced at it, nodded, and said, "The quantity is correct."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "If you have any Qi-Nourishing Pills of this quality in the future, please come to my Luojia Pavilion. If you buy in large quantities, I can raise the price even further."

He still had the person who refined the pills on his mind, but the rules of the pavilion were in front of him, so he dared not ask directly. He could only use the pretext of a transaction to leave room for further contact.

Zhang Li neither confirmed nor denied, but simply nodded slightly and said, "Definitely, definitely."

Nodding is one thing, whether they actually come or not is another.

"Goodbye!"

After dispensing the pill, Zhang Li left Luojia Pavilion without lingering.

After leaving Luojia Pavilion, Zhang Li wandered around the market a few more times before leisurely returning to the free trading area.

The ten bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills that Zhang Li sold earlier were not all of his stock.

Next, he went to several smaller shops and sold all the remaining Qi-Nourishing Pills, finally getting a total of more than 500 spirit stones.

After dealing with the pills on his body, and since it was a rare opportunity to leave the sect, Zhang Li planned to buy some materials that interested him in the Luoxia Market.

The first thing he wanted to do was to collect various talismans with different functions; he had longed for talismans for a long time.

The book "Fundamentals of Cultivation" records that talismans and formations are two rare methods for cultivators to use to defeat those of higher power.

Especially spirit talismans, which do not require prior setup like formations, nor do they require consuming a large amount of mana or spirit stones to activate. The mana required to activate a spirit talisman is almost negligible, and most importantly, they are not limited by cultivation level.

In other words, even a Qi Refining stage cultivator can activate a high-level spiritual talisman, thereby threatening a high-level cultivator.

Therefore, Zhang Li chose to become a Spirit Talisman Master as his first secondary skill, so that he would never have to worry about his lack of firepower again after becoming a Spirit Talisman Master.

However, after discovering a grotto-heaven that could accelerate the ripening of spiritual herbs, he chose to become an alchemist.