Chapter 45: The Mysterious Stone

A Perfect Grade Yin-Yang Pill cost two thousand spiritual soul coins.

Even a High-grade pill still set you back one thousand three hundred spiritual soul coins, while an Upper-grade was cheaper at eight hundred spiritual soul coins—just shy of a thousand.

After selling all his non-perfect Yin-Yang Pills, Qin Shu amassed over three hundred thousand spiritual soul coins.

Next, he procured materials for a hundred batches of Yin-Yang Pills.

With that done, he left the Money God Shopping Mall and headed towards the awakened beings’ free market.

He planned to buy some seeds; there was no excitement in the mall whatsoever.

Perhaps at the free market, he could snag a bargain or two.

Seeds, unless exceptionally rare, were generally unremarkable items. Even fourth-rank seeds might not fetch higher prices than second-rank materials.

The microcosmic heavenly cave, after more than two months of nurturing, had developed a fertile soil zone near its center suitable for cultivating spirit medicines.

This time, Qin Shu didn’t conceal his identity as he strolled around freely.

One street stretched endlessly before him, lined with shops on both sides.

There were stalls selling medicinal herbs, magical artifacts, talismans, and even some pills.

Most of these items were low-tier; high-quality goods were rare.

However, prices here were generally lower than at the Money God Shopping Mall, except for unique or scarce items which commanded a premium.

Further away lay a massive square, covering an area of about ten square kilometers.

The square was filled with individual booths manned by hardworking awakened being vendors, along with adventurers who had gathered items during their travels.

Most sold materials, primarily parts from monster beasts.

This was Qin Shu’s destination.

“Come and see! Third-rank Darkmoon Tiger Whips - premier aphrodisiac material! One-of-a-kind item, miss it and you’ll be left empty-handed!”

“Check out my place! High-grade spirit ores for crafting magical weapons. Not 1800, not 998, but just 98 each, take them home today!”

Just a few months ago, Qin Shu had been in their shoes, sometimes setting up his own stall here, other times selling some of his Perfect Foundation Establishment Pills at nearby apothecaries.

Now he was revisiting this familiar haunt.

He swiftly glided past stalls piled with various materials, his gaze fixed on his objective.

In an unassuming corner, a man and woman stood before a booth laden with curious trinkets.

Most were fragments of spiritual or magical artifacts, along with some seeds and hard, rocky stones.

As Qin Shu approached, their eyes lit up, and they hurriedly asked, “Friend, might we interest you in anything?”

Qin Shu’s gaze swept over the items, his perception keen.

The artifact fragments had lost all spiritual energy, rendering them valueless; even bundled together, they likely wouldn’t fetch more than a hundred spirit soul coins.

The seeds were nothing but common spirit varieties.

Only a handful of rocks caught his eye.

“Are these rocks just for weighing down your stall?” Qin Shu inquired.

“Oh no,” the woman replied. “These are peculiar stones. Notice how divine sense cannot penetrate their interiors.”

“Hmm!” Intrigued now, Qin Shu asked, “Might I examine one closer?”

“Certainly! Please do.” The woman handed him a fist-sized stone.

Qin Shu took it from her with a surprised look. “Wow, that’s quite heavy.”

“Isn’t it? Just this piece weighs a thousand kilograms! It can’t be broken open by magical artifacts; you need spirit artifacts for that,” the woman explained. Her words made it clear she had attempted to break it before.

Qin Shu extended his divine sense, but could only perceive a thin outer layer. The interior was pitch-black, completely blocking his senses.

A few of these cultivators looked at him with greedy eyes.

News of Li Zhen’s arrival as a newcomer had already spread among those who kept their ears open.

For instance, they knew he’d been brought here by a disciple from Ten Directions Valley, along with two spirit stones given to him.

Some cultivators had also seen Li Zhen enter the Treasure Pavilion. Whether buying or selling there, such an action indicated that Li Zhen must have some wealth behind him.

Given how young Li Zhen appeared, even if he didn’t possess vast riches, mere possession of a few spirit stones would make him an object of desire.

Of course, anyone interested in Li Zhen’s supposed wealth wouldn’t be particularly powerful themselves. A true mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator could easily earn far more on a single outing than scheming against a lowly novice would yield—time being money after all.

After placing the mystical stone in his hand. “It is indeed quite heavy,” he remarked.

“It sure is,” she replied. “Just this piece weighs! Not even magical tools can penetrate it.”

Qin Shu examined artifacts for that.” Her tone suggested matter-of-factly made it obvious she had tried herself.

He looked at the stone, seeing a large quantity of tier one and two spirit seeds, worth about two spiritual was pitch-black darkness; their senses from penetrating inside.

A small number were tier three and four, but these weren’t particularly valuable.

“Is that all you have?” he asked.

“Of course not,” the vendor replied. “We have some spirit seeds beyond fourth rank, but the price…”

“Spiritual Soul Coins are no issue for me,” Qin Shu waved his hand dismissively. “If I find them valuable, I won’t haggle.”

“Excellent! Just as I hoped. Here, take a look.” The vendor swept their hand over the stall, causing dozens of jade boxes to materialize and automatically open.

Qin Shu examined them quickly. “Mostly fifth-rank spirit seeds, am I right?”

“You’ve got an eagle eye, friend,” the vendor said. “Grass-based seeds are thirty spiritual soul coins each, while tree-based seeds are three hundred per seed. Which ones catch your eye?”

“I’ll take all of them, including these three.” Qin Shu pointed at the most unique among the spirit seeds; two were clearly sixth rank, and though it was harder to tell with the last one, its internal life force seemed exceptionally resilient—it could very well be a xenogenic.

“Certainly! Three sixth-rank spirit seeds at one thousand spiritual soul coins each, eighteen fifth-rank grass-based seeds at fifty-four hundred spiritual soul coins, and eleven fifth-rank tree-based seeds at three thousand three hundred spiritual soul coins. That brings us to a total of six thousand three hundred forty spiritual soul coins.”

“Agreed.” Qin Shu collected the jade boxes and promptly produced a golden spiritual soul card. “Charge it to this.”

The vendor took out a payment device, entered the amount, swiped the card, then bowed respectfully. “Thank you for your patronage!”

Qin Shu nodded, then turned around and continued his treasure hunt.

However, after walking for quite some time, he no longer felt that sense of déjà vu. Eventually, he left the free market.