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Join the ServerThe shopkeeper was just about to nod in agreement, but when she heard the final number—thirty-nine—she was utterly stunned.
She drew in a sharp breath.
“Little girl, you’re the first one to haggle like this.”
Song Zhiyou nodded solemnly, indicating her understanding. “Then let me round it up for you. How about sixty?”
The shopkeeper let out a laugh of exasperation and began shooing her away. “Are you kidding me? Get out of here, kid. Don’t cause trouble.”
“It was the shopkeeper who started the joke first,” Song Zhiyou said, pointing at the spirit plants.
“Take this Yellow Orchid, for instance. The tips of its leaves are withered and yellow—I suspect it’s been stored for quite a while, hasn’t it?”
“And as for this Purple Marrow Fruit, I heard that the East Market just got a fresh batch—bigger, more vibrant in color, and only eighteen spirit stones.”
“Second-grade spirit plants are indeed precious, but one hundred and ninety spirit stones is still on the high side. You’re clearly trying to fool me.”
As she spoke, Song Zhiyou pointed out several more examples.
This time, the shopkeeper couldn’t help but take a second look at Song Zhiyou. She smiled.
“Little girl, you might not know this, but with the recent turmoil on Mount Qixia, this batch of spirit plants was gathered by cultivators risking their lives. The price is already high. Two hundred and ninety spirit stones—I can’t go any lower.”
She hadn’t expected that this seemingly unreliable little girl actually knew her stuff.
But then again…
Alchemists were mostly generous and wealthy. She wondered which alchemist’s apprentice this was, to be so stingy.
Song Zhiyou, of course, had no idea about market prices. She was simply observing the condition of the spirit plants and making things up.
But from the shopkeeper’s words, she could tell the shopkeeper was also bluffing.
The “turmoil on Mount Qixia” was literal—aside from Song Lingtian being chased, there was no real danger.
“Two fifty. No more.”
“Two eighty.”
“Two sixty.”
“Two seventy.”
“Two thirty.”
“Two sixty! I really can’t go any lower, ancestor!” The shopkeeper was numb, her heart aching so much she could barely breathe.
Who haggled like this little brat?!
“Two fifty. If you don’t sell, I’ll go somewhere else.”
The shopkeeper gritted her teeth. “Fine!”
Before leaving, Song Zhiyou also squeezed a wilted Nourishing Essence Grass from the shopkeeper.
[Song Green +1, hehe.]
Song Zhiyou originally planned to head home with the mere ten spirit stones left in her pocket.
But in a stationery shop, she spotted a row of wolf-hair brushes.
Song Zhiyou leaned over the counter, her eyes fixed on them.
The brush tips were round and full, the points sharp as awls. The luster, elasticity, and quality were all exceptional.
These were treasures unique to the cultivation world, something she could never buy in the modern era.
They cost ten spirit stones.
With that, Song Zhiyou was completely broke.
For the next few days, Song Zhiyou didn’t go out.
She stayed peacefully in her small room, focusing on painting.
At first, she was a bit cautious.
She placed the Nourishing Essence Pill she had scrounged from Song Qingyao on the table and began to draw it meticulously.
In just a quarter of an hour, a lifelike “Nourishing Essence Pill” emerged from Song Zhiyou’s brush. Placed next to the real pill, it was hard to tell them apart at a glance.
Holding her breath, Song Zhiyou tore the painting apart.
A round Nourishing Essence Pill instantly appeared in her hand. Whether in aura or color, it was identical to Song Qingyao’s pill.
Song Zhiyou took out the Healing Pill Lu Wangshu had given her and placed it nearby as a precaution. Then, she swallowed the “Nourishing Essence Pill” she had painted.
As the pill entered her mouth, Song Zhiyou’s first sensation was bitterness.
It was even more bitter than eating raw Nourishing Essence Grass!
It felt like she had swallowed a concentrated dose of coptis decoction, the bitterness exploding from the tip of her tongue and shooting straight to the crown of her head.
But Song Qingyao’s Nourishing Essence Pill wasn’t bitter at all!
Just as Song Zhiyou thought she had concocted some strange pill, a stream of pure energy flowed down her throat, rapidly spreading through her limbs and bones. Her body felt incredibly light.
The effect was very similar to that of a Nourishing Essence Pill!
As Song Zhiyou nodded in relief, affirming her success, a small vortex appeared above her dantian.
What… is this?
Song Zhiyou stared blankly.
The next moment, inspiration struck, and she immediately entered a meditative state.
The flow of spiritual energy accelerated noticeably, and there was no longer any obstruction in absorbing it.
This was clearly beyond the normal effects of a Nourishing Essence Pill.
When she finally emerged from her meditation, it was already evening.
Bang!
The door to the small room was kicked open by Song Qingyao.
One hand on her hip, Song Qingyao slammed the food box onto the table.
She was about to say something, but suddenly sensed the spiritual energy emanating from Song Zhiyou, who had just finished cultivating.
Song Qingyao’s eyes went wide.
“Song Xiao Liu, you’re at the sixth level of Qi Refining?!”
She had been about to show off that she herself had broken through to the sixth level!
And what’s more, maybe it was her imagination, but she felt that the spiritual energy around Song Zhiyou was purer than her own.
Could Song Zhiyou have already surpassed her?
In that instant, a sense of crisis surged in Song Qingyao’s heart.
She whipped her head toward Song Zhiyou, and without waiting for a response, she stepped back warily and quickly left.
Without another word.
Song Zhiyou had barely started nodding when she was already gone.
She had no idea what had come over that kid again.
Song Zhiyou sighed.
After eating the delicious meal, Song Zhiyou continued painting pills.
But the initial success emboldened her.
She still painted Nourishing Essence Pills, but this time, instead of faithfully replicating the finished product, she began to perfect it.
She removed flawed indentations.
She corrected the crooked cloud patterns.
Song Zhiyou’s brush strokes were decisive and steady as a ruler, a continuous line of smooth motion.
Gently blowing on it, she admired the pill on the paper, then tore the painting apart.
A perfect version of the Nourishing Essence Pill appeared in her hand.
A faint green glow radiated from the pill, and a subtle fragrance of alchemy lingered in the air. Just the aura of it calmed Song Zhiyou completely.
As usual, she kept the Healing Pill within easy reach, then swallowed the “Nourishing Essence Pill Plus” in one gulp.
Well, she had learned her lesson.
Self-painted Nourishing Essence Pills couldn’t be chewed.
An even purer energy than before surged into her limbs and bones, and Song Zhiyou felt as if she were soaking in a hot spring.
Three vortices appeared above her dantian, and her cultivation speed more than tripled.
When she opened her eyes again, the sky was already bright.
Song Zhiyou was a little stunned.
She had cultivated the entire night without feeling tired—instead, she felt refreshed and energized.
The spiritual power within her even showed signs of breaking through to the seventh level of Qi Refining.
With her strengthened meridians and bones, compounded by her painted pills, her cultivation speed had transformed into something terrifying.
Song Zhiyou slowly calmed her mind.
[Does this pill have pill poison?]
[So far, I don’t feel any ill effects, but I’m not a proper alchemist. I can’t evaluate it.]
Fortunately, she knew someone who could.
After painting three more pills and storing them in a bottle, Song Zhiyou disguised herself once again and appeared in the same shop from yesterday.
You’ve got to see this next! Crow's Golden Fragment will keep you on the edge of your seat. Start reading today!
Read : Crow's Golden Fragment
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