The streets were still quiet, as more than half of the market's cultivators had gone to the front lines against the spirit beasts. Taking advantage of the Yuxu Sect disciples leading the charge, they seized the opportunity to hunt more spirit beasts in exchange for cultivation resources.
When Shi Yu arrived at Tongyi Pavilion, she saw that there were hardly any customers inside. Jiang Qihe was absent, leaving only a young shop attendant propping his head up on his arms at the counter, dozing off.
Shi Yu walked over and tapped lightly on the counter.
The attendant's head dropped heavily, and he blearily looked up at Shi Yu. Standing before him was a slender, graceful woman wearing a plain-colored dress and a veil over her face. Though her features were hidden, her eyes were clear as autumn waters, shimmering gently like soft ripples.
Recognizing her, he jolted awake, all drowsiness vanishing instantly. “Honored guest, welcome!” he blurted out.
“Please, take a seat and wait for just a moment.” He guided Shi Yu to a chair and poured her a cup of hot tea. “I'll go fetch the manager right away.”
Jiang Qihe had previously instructed him that if this alchemist guest arrived, he was to report to him immediately.
Not daring to delay, the young attendant settled Shi Yu in and immediately rushed off to notify Jiang Qihe.
Shi Yu took a couple of sips of tea. After only a moment's wait, she saw Jiang Qihe rushing in from outside, with the attendant trailing closely behind him, out of breath.
Before he even reached her, his clear, hearty laughter preceded him. “An honored guest visits today!”
Walking up to Shi Yu, Jiang Qihe asked with great warmth, “Miss, what do you need today?”
Tongyi Pavilion was currently finding it difficult to move goods in and out. Pills were only going out with nothing coming in, and their stock was visibly running dry. Jiang Qihe felt anxious, but even more expectant. He could hardly contain himself, wanting to ask how her pill concoction had gone and whether it had been smooth.
Yet he feared offending the young woman before him—most alchemists and weapon refiners possessed proud, arrogant temperaments. People as easygoing as Shi Yu were rare indeed.
Shi Yu saw through his thoughts and didn't keep him in suspense.
She gave a faint smile and raised her hand slightly. In an instant, several neat rows of small jade bottles appeared on the table.
Looking at the jade bottles, Jiang Qihe's gaze instantly turned ardent.
Glancing over from behind the counter, the young attendant was so dumbfounded that his eyes bulged.
Shi Yu said, “They are all Dew-Condensing Pills. Take a look.”
Jiang Qihe nodded. Knowing from the Jade Dew Grass, Qi Gathering Grass, and Half-Sided Orchid she had previously bought that she intended to refine Dew-Condensing Pills, he was not surprised.
All he needed to evaluate was the quality of these pills and then determine a price.
Picking up a bottle, he pulled out the stopper. A delightful, delicate fragrance wafted out, instantly refreshing the mind.
Pill fragrance?!
Inhaling the intoxicating scent, Jiang Qihe tipped out a pill with a hint of pleasant surprise and placed it onto a jade saucer. After observing it for a moment, he clapped his hands and smiled. “Perfectly round and lustrous, with a rich fragrance—this is a Mid-Grade Dew-Condensing Pill.”
This was truly somewhat unexpected for him. Although her features were covered by a veil, her posture and aura made it clear she could not be very old.
For such a young alchemist, managing to produce a round, Low-Grade pill would already be considered good; ruined pills were usually the norm.
Jiang Qihe had never imagined she could already refine Mid-Grade Dew-Condensing Pills.
After roughly determining the tier, Jiang Qihe extended his spiritual sense to envelop the pill. Feeling it carefully, he was both shocked and overjoyed. “Though its efficacy is within the Mid-Grade tier, its impurities are far lower than those of an ordinary Mid-Grade Dew-Condensing Pill!”
Fewer impurities meant it contained less pill toxicity, which naturally warranted a higher price than an ordinary Mid-Grade Dew-Condensing Pill.
After a moment's consideration, Jiang Qihe said, “Ordinary Mid-Grade Dew-Condensing Pills are bought for three low-grade spirit stones each. For Miss's Dew-Condensing Pills, I can offer four.”
Furthermore, pills with such low impurities and toxicity never lacked buyers; cultivators would practically scramble for them.
The long-term accumulation of pill toxicity was a major obstacle in cultivation. Cultivators with even a modest amount of wealth would buy low-toxicity pills without hesitation whenever they encountered them, unbothered by paying a few extra spirit stones.
Manager Jiang's pricing had always been fair, so Shi Yu gave a slight nod. “Agreed.”
Seeing her nod, Jiang Qihe felt delighted. Just as he was about to count the pills to calculate the total price, his gaze caught a faint, subtle halo of light inside the small jade bottle in his hand. His smile froze, instantly turning into sheer disbelief.
His throat bobbed as he tipped out all the pills from the bottle onto the jade saucer.
The round pills tumbled onto the saucer one after another, and Jiang Qihe immediately spotted two among them that were enveloped in a gentle halo of light.
These two Dew-Condensing Pills had an exceptionally lustrous luster, and the pill halo emanating from them resembled a fine mist—soft, fragrant, and mesmerizing.
“This, this...” Jiang Qihe stared dead at the two Dew-Condensing Pills, unable to speak for a long moment.
A pill halo was a characteristic unique to High-Grade pills.
Jiang Qihe let out a long breath, his mind churning. Even with his self-proclaimed broad experience, he felt somewhat at a loss in this moment.
Let alone in this remote region where the Yuxu Sect was located, even in Hengze Prefecture—the central prefecture of the entire Changyuan Prefecture—High-Grade Dew-Condensing Pills were exceedingly rare and sought-after. Monopolized mostly by sects and prominent families, ordinary rogue cultivators could rarely buy them.
Where on earth did this young woman come from to be capable of refining High-Grade Dew-Condensing Pills?
At her age, it was truly astonishing.
After finishing the Dew-Condensing Pills meant for her own use, Shi Yu had been quite casual when refining these ones for sale, doing whatever saved time and effort.
Yet given her level of skill, the results couldn't be bad. Once completed, a cauldron would occasionally yield one or two High-Grade pills.
Seeing Jiang Qihe remain silent for so long, staring intently at those two High-Grade pills, Shi Yu thought to herself that had she known his reaction would be this dramatic, she should have picked out these scattered High-Grade pills beforehand.
She pressed her lips together and smiled faintly. “It was just luck.”
Jiang Qihe grumbled inwardly upon hearing this: How can producing High-Grade pills be brushed off as mere luck?
The young woman's alchemical mastery far exceeded his imagination.
The last person to give him such a sense of marvel was Shi Yu, who possessed exceptional talent in the Talisman Dao. Clearly, this young woman's talent in alchemy was no inferior to Shi Yu's talent in the Talisman Dao.
To think that a tiny market like the Yuxu Sect's was filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers—it truly left one speechless.
After a long moment, Jiang Qihe composed himself and said, “For High-Grade pills, I can offer ten spirit stones each. What does Miss think—”
He paused before adding, “May I ask how to address you, Miss?”
“My surname is Yu,” Shi Yu made up a name on the spot. “Manager, please calculate the total price based on these rates.”
There were 162 Dew-Condensing Pills in total, 38 of which were High-Grade, bringing the final total to 876 low-grade spirit stones.
“Please take these, Miss Yu.” Jiang Qihe handed her a heavy pouch of spirit stones.
Having completed this deal, Jiang Qihe beamed with an unsuppressible smile.
Shi Yu took the spirit stones and stowed them into the Fate-Tapping Bell. Raising her eyes, she said slowly, “Manager, please also prepare a few hundred spiritual plants needed to refine Dew-Condensing Pills and Rejuvenation Pills for me. In addition...”
“Please keep an eye out for news of the Heavenly Tone Lotus.”
Jiang Qihe's pupils shrank sharply.
The Heavenly Tone Lotus was a spiritual flower whose petals were as pure white as jade, interlaced with subtle cyan filaments, making it extraordinarily beautiful.
Its growth environment was extremely harsh, and wilting was a common occurrence. Often, before anyone could pick it, it would wither simply from coming into contact with metal or stone, or due to unsuitable sunlight or moonlight. Thus, it was exceptionally rare.
As for those with high age and potent medicinal properties, they were even harder to come by.
The Heavenly Tone Lotus helped condense innate Qi; consuming it raw alone could advance one's cultivation by several years.
Most importantly... it was the main ingredient for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill.
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