Leaving the market, Xu Feng did not return to his residence in the Si district.
After strolling down the street for a moment and making sure that no one was following him, he made his way quickly into the inner district.
Choosing a spiritual medicine shop thick with the heavy scent of herbs, he stepped inside.
Perhaps because it was drawing near dusk, there were no customers in the shop. Only a shop assistant was slumped over the counter, dozing off so soundly that he hadn't noticed a customer arriving at all.
"Fellow Daoist."
He cupped his hands slightly toward the sleeping clerk on the counter and called out softly.
It wasn't until he called twice that the clerk jerked his head up. Perhaps because of an awkward sleeping posture, drool from his mouth had stuck to his cheek, and as he jerked his head up, it flew straight toward Xu Feng standing in front of the counter.
Fortunately, Xu Feng reacted quickly, taking two sharp steps back just in time to avoid being hit.
"Hehe, Fellow Daoist, I'm truly sorry. We're about to close up for the day, and I thought no one else was coming, so I just dozed off for a second. Please excuse me for any offense."
The clerk before him was at a cultivation level comparable to his own—both at the Qi Refining 3rd Layer. He looked slightly older than Xu Feng, but what made the deepest impression was the rolling flesh all over his body.
The man was entirely round, just like a big leather ball, and when he spoke, you could clearly see the flesh on his cheeks bouncing along with him.
"Understood, understood. I suppose Fellow Daoist must have been exhausted from a long day, and just dozed off for a bit—it's only human nature!"
In order to sell the spiritual medicine he had picked up for a good price later, he decided to cozy up to the clerk first, offering an understanding and diplomatic defense.
"Fellow Daoist, you can say that again! I've finally met a kindred spirit today. That's just what I told my Master, but the old man didn't see it that way at all—he said I was spouting heresy and punished me plenty of times. You have no idea..."
Just as the clerk was about to launch into a lengthy discourse, an unsatisfied, cold snort suddenly came from the back room, startling the chubby clerk so badly that he instantly changed his expression and solemnly questioned Xu Feng:
"Ahem, how may I help you today, Fellow Daoist? Our shop not only purchases spiritual medicines, but we sell them as well. Either way, our prices are fair and honest to young and old alike."
Watching the clerk change his expression so rapidly, the corners of Xu Feng's mouth twitched. Without saying much more, he reached into his storage bag and took out the spiritual medicine he had just picked up.
The clerk had initially been full of expectation, standing on tiptoe behind the counter to watch him retrieve the item, but the moment he caught a glimpse of the lump of dirt Xu Feng pulled out, his disappointment was plain to see.
Xu Feng didn't notice this, and even if he had, he wouldn't have said anything, because everything about the object right now was a facade.
Next, he channeled his mana into both hands and gave it a hard snap, and all the dirt clinging to the roots of the fake spiritual medicine shattered and scattered all over the floor.
Seeing this, the chubby clerk originally wanted to utter a few complaints—after all, turning a clean, spotless floor into a mess like this was simply creating trouble, wasn't it?
However, when he saw the dirt ball crumble away to reveal a genuine spiritual medicine hidden inside, he immediately swallowed the words that had just reached his lips and stared at Xu Feng in utter astonishment.
"Fellow Daoist, this..."
His original intention was to ask what was going on here, but Xu Feng completely ignored him and gave an irrelevant reply:
"Please appraise this spiritual medicine for me, Fellow Daoist. If the price is right, I'll sell it."
The chubby clerk realized at that moment that he had spoken out of turn, so he cupped his fists in a salute, took the spiritual medicine, and began to inspect it.
"Entirely silver-white, six branches, extremely fine tendrils, weighing about half a tael. Fellow Daoist, this spiritual medicine of yours is a Rank 1 Mid-Grade Star-Glow Grass, which can be used to refine Rank 1 Mid-to-High-Grade pills that accelerate cultivation speed. Its value is not low.
"However, a truly mature Star-Glow Grass should be sixty years old, and its weight ought to be around one tael. Right now, this specimen of yours clearly lacks age and seasoning—it hasn't fully matured, so its value is greatly discounted.
"A fully mature one is worth thirty spirit stones; for this one of yours, I can only offer fifteen spirit stones. I wonder if Fellow Daoist is satisfied with this price?"
Naturally, he was not satisfied at all! The system had already given him a prompt that this was a rare Rank 1 Mid-Grade spiritual medicine, and now you're telling me it hasn't fully matured? Isn't that a joke?
Thinking this to himself, Xu Feng began to doubt the clerk's discernment and prepared to try another apothecary.
"To be honest, this price falls far short of my expectations, so I plan to go ask at other shops. Sorry to have troubled you just now, Fellow Daoist."
"Think nothing of it, think nothing of it. Fellow Daoist, here is your spiritual medicine—please take it back."
The two exchanged polite pleasantries, and just as Xu Feng was about to take the spiritual medicine back from the clerk's hands, a figure suddenly emerged from the back room, calling out:
"Hold on!"
The newcomer was a middle-aged cultivator with a fair, beardless face and a scholarly demeanor. The clerk hurriedly greeted him upon seeing him, and Xu Feng didn't just stand there either, offering a bow of his own. This was all because the powerful aura radiating from this person undoubtedly marked him as a Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator.
"Little friend, might I have a look at this spiritual medicine?"
"Be my guest!"
With his permission granted, the newcomer took the spiritual medicine and began to examine it closely.
After a moment, he said with some astonishment:
"This turns out to be a mutated Star-Glow Grass, and its growing age has long since exceeded the limit of ordinary Star-Glow Grass—it's definitely well over a hundred years old without a doubt.
"I never expected to actually encounter a spiritual medicine previously only recorded in ancient texts today. How fortunate!"
"Master, you're saying this is a mutated Star-Glow Grass that has grown for all these years? But why hasn't its weight increased? On the contrary, why has it decreased?"
Hearing his master's conclusion, the clerk asked with some puzzlement.
"Didn't I just say? It's mutated. Any change in a mutated spiritual medicine is unsurprising. Right now, the value of this spiritual medicine is already comparable to a general Rank 1 High-Grade one; if you factor in its rarity, the value might be even higher."
"Then how many spirit stones is this spiritual medicine worth?"
Xu Feng interrupted the master-and-disciple teaching moment, staring straight at the master to ask the question that mattered most to him.
The clerk first shot him an unsatisfied look, then likewise stared at his own master, awaiting the answer.
"For this spiritual medicine, the highest I can offer is ninety spirit stones. If the little friend agrees, I will buy it in my capacity as the shopkeeper. If you're not satisfied, the little friend is welcome to check out other spiritual medicine shops."
The choice was left to him.
Xu Feng was, of course, overwhelmingly willing, because even though he didn't know much about spiritual medicines, that didn't mean he was clueless about market rates.
In the small alley where he currently lived, there were quite a few cultivators who made a living purely by gathering herbs. Before his master went missing, he frequently interacted with these people, so he still had a general grasp of spiritual medicine prices.
Generally speaking:
The price of a Rank 1 Low-Grade spiritual medicine ranged between 1 and 10 spirit stones.
The price of a Rank 1 Mid-Grade spiritual medicine ranged between 10 and 30 spirit stones.
The price of a Rank 1 High-Grade spiritual medicine ranged between 30 and 100 spirit stones.
Ninety spirit stones was basically the absolute top price among Rank 1 spiritual medicines; he had no reason to refuse.
Therefore, after pretending to ponder it for a moment, the two parties happily concluded the transaction, and he left that spiritual medicine shop carrying a 'huge fortune' of ninety spirit stones.