“Unexpectedly, we have a guest today who can recognize the Sunfire Tea. I’m quite delighted,” a crisp voice rang out, sounding like the pleasant tinkling of a spring.

“Oh, I only have a rudimentary understanding of tea, I’m afraid I’ve made a fool of myself…” Gu Yue stood up and looked towards the entrance, his voice suddenly choked off, his expression as if he had swallowed a raw egg.

A woman in yellow walked in. She appeared to be in her thirties, her eyes still full of charm, and her skin was fair. Unfortunately, her cheeks were swollen, with three layers of fat folded under her chin. Her waist was as thick as a barrel, her limbs round, and her large feet made a “plop plop” sound as they hit the floor.

“I didn’t know we had such distinguished guests. I apologize for not greeting you sooner. My name is Zhuo Lingling, and I manage the Changxian Tower. May I ask your name?” The woman in yellow chuckled, speaking in standard Central Plains dialect, and subtly sizing up Yuan Ming.

Before Yuan Ming could speak, Gu Yue had already stood up and introduced him in slightly stiff Central Plains dialect, “This is Young Master Yuan from the Central Plains of Da Jin. He happened to be traveling here and wanted to buy some things. He knew that our Changxian Tower is also from Da Jin, so he came to take a look.”

Yuan Ming didn’t mind Gu Yue speaking for him. On the contrary, he was quite satisfied with Gu Yue’s ability to read the situation and adapt. Knowing what to say at the right time could save him a lot of trouble.

He didn’t say anything, just nodded slightly at Zhuo Lingling.

Despite her plump appearance, her cultivation was quite high, having reached the peak of Qi Refining. This showed that the Changchun Sect behind the Changxian Tower was not ordinary.

“Hehe, it’s an honor for our tower that Young Master Yuan has come to visit. Meeting in this foreign land is a kind of fate. Our tower has been in Heiyan City for many years, and our reputation for quality and affordability is well-known. If you want to buy something, you’ve come to the right place.” Zhuo Lingling’s smile deepened as she sat down in the chair opposite Yuan Ming.

The chair creaked as if it couldn’t bear the woman’s weight.

“Your tower indeed has a lot of items, but my needs are quite diverse. It would indeed be a bit of a hassle to find everything. If Manager Zhuo could help, that would be great.” Yuan Ming finally spoke slowly, speaking in fluent Central Plains dialect.

“I will do my best to not disappoint you. I heard you want to buy some spiritual materials and elixirs, is that correct?” Zhuo Lingling asked.

“Ice attribute spiritual materials, mid-grade or above, and I also need Black Stiff Silkworm Silk, Jade Flesh Powder, and Continuation Flower. As for elixirs and talismans, if you have a list, please let me see it.” Yuan Ming thought for a moment, then said.

“Although Black Stiff Silkworm Silk and the other two items are not common, we happen to have them in our warehouse. I will send someone to fetch them later. As for mid-grade or above ice attribute spiritual materials, although they are rare, our shop does have a few. Do you have any specific requirements?” Zhuo Lingling said after a brief thought.

“I can’t specify exactly what I need. If it’s convenient, could you bring them all for me to look at?” Yuan Ming asked, his face expressionless but his heart filled with joy.

The cultivation world of Da Jin was indeed not something a small sect like the Bi Luo Cave could compare to. If he could collect everything at once, it would save a lot of trouble. He didn’t have much time.

“Alright, please wait a moment, Young Master Yuan. In the meantime, please try our Jade Dew Tea, which we have collected from overseas.” Zhuo Lingling stood up, called a maid to change the tea set for Yuan Ming and the others, then bowed to Yuan Ming and went downstairs.

As soon as the woman left, Gu Yue leaned over and said with a smile, “Brother Yuan, you’ve really opened my eyes today. The Changxian Tower, which usually looks down on people, actually invited you into their private room. This saves a lot of effort! You really look like a young master from a noble family, even the manager didn’t notice anything. However, the things here are not cheap, their claim of quality and affordability is just nonsense.”

Gu Yue’s words were a mix of sincerity and flattery.

“Sometimes, if you can solve a problem with money, there’s no need to waste energy. You can always earn more spirit stones, but time waits for no one.” Yuan Ming took a sip of tea, which was fragrant and refreshing, and said.

“I see.” Gu Yue suddenly understood.

A moment later, the woman in yellow, Zhuo Lingling, came back.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Young Master Yuan. Fortunately, I’ve brought everything. Please take your time to look.” Zhuo Lingling apologized with a smile. She waved her sleeve over the table in the private room, and seven boxes of different sizes and materials appeared on the table.

Zhuo Lingling pointed, and the three wooden boxes on her left automatically opened!

Yuan Ming glanced over, and the three boxes contained the Black Stiff Silkworm Silk, Jade Flesh Powder, and Continuation Flower.

These three spiritual materials were all of excellent quality and in large quantities, enough to refine the Thousand Mechanism Mask twice.

Yuan Ming looked at the remaining four boxes, each containing an ice attribute spiritual material.

In a semi-transparent green stone box was a piece of jade, the Ice Soul Stone he had just seen downstairs. The other three boxes contained a black round stone, a blue flower, and half a white jade ruyi.

The Ice Soul Stone, the black round stone, and the blue flower all emitted an astonishing chill, but the white ruyi had no special aura, seeming like an ordinary object.”Allow me to introduce these four pieces of Ice Spirit Material to Young Master Yuan. This white jade is known as Ice Soul Stone, born at the bottom of an extremely cold ice pond. The black round stone is called Cold Iron Stone, not only does it contain intense cold energy, but its texture is also very hard, making it a good material for refining magical tools. The blue flower is called Nine Cold Flower, it cannot be used for refining tools, but it is an excellent material for refining cold attribute elixirs.” Zhuo Lingling explained.

“What about this half piece of Ruyi? It looks like a fragment of a magical tool.” Yuan Ming nodded noncommittally, but his gaze was fixed on the last white Ruyi.

“Young Master Yuan guessed correctly, this is indeed a fragment of a magical tool, made from Yin Jade. However, you can rest assured, the rune aura inside this jade Ruyi has completely dissipated, and there are no other materials mixed in, it can be used directly as pure spirit material.” Zhuo Lingling hesitated for a moment, then said.

“What is Yin Jade?”

Yuan Ming seemed to have seen this material in the Record of Strange Stones. The content of the Record of Strange Stones was too vast, many materials were only remembered by their names and general properties, but the details were not recorded in detail.

“Yin Jade is a special kind of cold attribute spirit material, not only does it contain intense cold energy, but it also contains a strong Yin energy. Although this item is only a medium-grade spirit material, the magical tools refined from it are not inferior to high-grade magical tools. Our shop was worried that the Yin energy inside the Ruyi would harm people, so we placed a seal on it. This is why its Yin energy is not apparent.” Zhuo Lingling explained.

“I see, may I pick it up and have a look?” Yuan Ming asked.

“Of course, you can. Just be careful not to let the Yin energy invade your body, prolonged contact can easily harm your spirit.” Zhuo Lingling reminded.

Yuan Ming agreed, and grabbed the white Ruyi.

A chillingly cold aura seeped out from the Ruyi, making his fingers numb. He quickly activated his magic power to protect his fingers, and then picked up the Ruyi.

Yuan Ming carefully examined the item, the more he looked at it, the more satisfied he became.

This Yin Jade, compared to the Ice Soul Stone and other cold spirit materials, had an additional sense of Yin poison and cunning. Ordinary cultivators would indeed be easily harmed if they came into contact with it, but he didn’t care, after all, he had the mysterious incense burner.

“Young Master Yuan seems to have made a decision. However, I must warn you in advance, the Yin energy inside this Yin Jade is too dense and has formed Yin poison. The owner of the magical tool will also be eroded by it. If you want to buy this item, you need to find a way to deal with it first. Once this item leaves this building, according to the rules, it cannot be returned or exchanged.” Zhuo Lingling reminded with a somewhat serious tone.

“Thank you for the reminder, Manager Zhuo. May I ask how many spirit stones this Yin Jade Ruyi requires?” Yuan Ming touched his nose and asked.

“To be honest, this Yin Jade Ruyi was bought by our shop at a high price from elsewhere. Since it’s your first time here, let’s make friends. The cost price is one hundred spirit stones for you. As for the other three materials, they total sixty spirit stones.” Zhuo Lingling put on a smile again and said.

“Okay.” Yuan Ming didn’t haggle and agreed right away.

The price of the three spirit materials for refining the Thousand Mechanism Mask was reasonable. The Yin Jade Ruyi was almost twice as expensive as other medium-grade spirit materials, but considering its effects, it was worth it.

In the following time, Zhuo Lingling took out the list of elixirs and talismans in the Longxian Tower. After Yuan Ming made his selection, he felt both joy and worry.

He was happy that the elixirs and talismans in the Longxian Tower were indeed extraordinary, far superior to those in the Biluo Cave. However, he was worried that these items were much more expensive. He wanted this and that, and found that if he let himself go, the more than six hundred spirit stones he had before would not buy much.

After some consideration, Yuan Ming, under the envious gaze of Gu Yue, bought ten bottles of elixirs and more than thirty talismans in one go.

Among them were three bottles of healing elixirs, whose effects were not inferior to the Flesh Bone Pill. They could greatly enhance his endurance and survival ability in battle, especially when participating in the Bailu Hill Alliance. There were also five bottles of Peiyuan Pills that could accelerate the cultivation of Qi Refining cultivators and two bottles of Lianfu Pills that could enhance the physical body.

As for the talismans, more than half of them were offensive. There were lower-level talismans like “Rocket Talisman” and “Wind Blade Talisman”, as well as mid-level talismans like “Thunderfall Talisman” and “Fire Snake Talisman”. The former cost two to three spirit stones each, while the latter jumped to eight to ten spirit stones, which really made Yuan Ming wince.

That was still okay. The remaining “Green Light Shield”, “Giant Strength Talisman”, “Vajra Talisman” and other defensive and auxiliary talismans were even more expensive at the same level.

However, Yuan Ming knew that these were all worth it. Through talismans, he could cast spells that he did not master, and they were quicker and more convenient to activate. They were hardly limited by his magic power, which was the best way to increase his strength in a short time.

Including the previous spirit materials, Yuan Ming spent nearly five hundred spirit stones all at once. If he hadn’t wanted to keep a medium-grade spirit stone, he would have probably spent all of them by now.

“Making money is like digging a well, spending money is like flowing water.” Yuan Ming sighed in his heart.

The six hundred spirit stones he had just saved up were spent in the blink of an eye, but fortunately, he had bought everything he needed.

The feeling of having spirit stones was really good.

The feeling of spending spirit stones was really good.

Now that he had spent almost all his spirit stones, it was time to end this market trip.