"These herbs come to a total of sixty-two low-grade spirit stones. Would you like to sell them, Sir?" a young woman in her twenties asked respectfully inside the Hundred Herbs Hall.

The girl was not very strong, only around the third stage of the Qi Refining realm. Most shop attendants in the market were at this level.

"Alright." Lin Zheyu nodded.

Low-grade spirit stones were the inferior kind Lin Zheyu had obtained before. Above them were mid-grade, high-grade, and even top-grade stones. Lin Zheyu had not even seen a mid-grade one, let alone the others.

The girl took out 62 spirit stones and handed them over, saying, "Here are your spirit stones."

Lin Zheyu counted them, confirmed the total, and stored them in his storage pouch. He visited several shops and sold off everything he did not need, including spare storage pouches, dharma artifacts, herbs, and refining materials. The Divine Power Crystal, however, he kept. He felt that this energy, different from spirit power, might prove crucial at certain moments. After selling everything, he obtained a total of six hundred and twenty-three spirit stones, all low-grade. It looked like a lot, but it really was not.

In this world, low-grade spirit stones were the lowest-quality, most basic kind. One thousand low-grade stones could be exchanged for a single mid-grade stone, and one thousand mid-grade stones for a high-grade one. Lin Zheyu's entire fortune was not even worth a single mid-grade spirit stone. He was, without a doubt, utterly poor.

"I thought that young man from the Directorate of Celestial Observation had some powerful backing. Turns out he's just another pauper." Lin Zheyu shook his head slightly as he stepped out of the Hundred Herbs Hall.

Compared to others, that youth was simply a slightly less poor pauper. Lin Zheyu had even been so cautious before, worried about exposure and potential trouble. If that young man from the Directorate of Celestial Observation knew he had been judged as poor, he would probably be so angry he might come back to life just to argue with Lin Zheyu.

As a martial artist, Lin Zheyu did not understand the hardships of the Immortal Dao. Something had gone wrong in this world. Not only did advancing to the Golden Core realm require a slot, but even spiritual qi itself had become problematic. What had once been freely available was now an exceedingly precious resource. Ordinary immortal cultivators had to pay a heavy price just to purchase spiritual qi in order to improve their strength.

Most cultivators had little to spare. That young man from the Directorate of Celestial Observation came from an ordinary background, and his talent was not particularly extraordinary. Yet while advancing to the Foundation Establishment realm, he still managed to save enough spirit stones to purchase several decent dharma artifacts. By comparison, he was already considered wealthy.

Adding the twenty-three spirit stones I had left before, that makes six hundred and forty-six in total. I need to plan carefully and spend sparingly, Lin Zheyu thought as he considered what to buy.

First, he needed a technique. That was his main purpose for coming here. Second, he planned to buy a suitable blade-type dharma artifact. It did not need to be powerful, just sturdy and sharp enough. Then he would look for any special formations or suitable heavy armor to help him break his limits in the future and obtain Origin Force. Finally, he would browse a bit more and pick up anything else useful he found.

***

"How much is this saber?" After wandering the market for a while, Lin Zheyu stopped at a stall.

The stall owner was a middle-aged man whose strength Lin Zheyu could not discern. The dharma artifacts he sold were a mixed assortment, likely of dubious origin.

"One hundred low-grade spirit stones," the man said indifferently. His demeanor was calm, nothing like the enthusiastic service of shop attendants.

"Too expensive. Thirty low-grade spirit stones." Lin Zheyu shook his head, immediately cutting the price to a third of its original price.

"Hah! This is a remnant embryo of a dharma treasure. It may have failed during forging, but with the right materials and a skilled artificer, it could still be repaired," the middle-aged man sneered disdainfully.

A dharma treasure was a class of artifact even stronger than dharma artifacts, typically used by those at the Golden Core realm and above.

"So you do know it's a failed embryo. A botched dharma treasure is not even as good as a dharma artifact." Lin Zheyu shook his head slightly.

Of course, he knew it was a remnant embryo of a dharma treasure. That was precisely why he wanted to buy it. Although it had lost many of its mystical properties due to the failed refinement, its hardness and sharpness as a dharma treasure base were beyond doubt.

The middle-aged man did not bother to argue further and said coldly, with an extremely poor attitude, "If you're not buying, get lost!"

Lin Zheyu was speechless at the sight. These stall vendors had truly terrible service.

"Fine then." Left with no choice, Lin Zheyu could only accept the price.

He had indeed taken a liking to this long saber. Its name was Setting Sun. In terms of hardness and sharpness, even many high-grade dharma artifacts could not compare. However, because the refinement had failed, Setting Sun lacked the special abilities of ordinary dharma artifacts and could only be considered an extremely hard and sharp blade. It did not even qualify as a true dharma artifact. Moreover, the residual traces of its failed forging made it extremely difficult to refine again. Removing the flawed formation inscriptions would not be an easy task either.

"The spirit stones," the stall owner said indifferently.

Lin Zheyu took out one hundred low-grade spirit stones from his storage pouch and handed them over, then took the Setting Sun saber. He gave it a few test swings. It felt very natural in his hand, and his true origin flowed through it without the slightest obstruction. Although it lacked the mystical properties of a dharma artifact, it suited him even better.

"Heh... Either a greenhorn who's never seen the world, or someone with a special way to handle dharma treasure remnants. Interesting." The stall owner watched Lin Zheyu's departing figure and revealed a faint, inscrutable smile.

Unless the materials were extremely precious, failed dharma treasure remnants had little value for reuse. After buying the weapon, Lin Zheyu continued browsing. Passing by a stall selling storage pouches, he spent twenty low-grade spirit stones to purchase a ten-cubic storage pouch. A one-cubic space was too small and inconvenient.

"How are these manuals priced?" Lin Zheyu stopped at another stall.

There were many stalls here, and it was often possible to find interesting techniques and texts. Just like now.

"These are ten low-grade spirit stones, these are thirty, and these are fifty," the stall owner said with a smile, pointing to the manuals arranged in several sections.

Compared to the stall owners Lin Zheyu had seen before, this one was much more enthusiastic. Judging by his preparation and the number of manuals, he was likely a full-time vendor rather than someone doing this on the side.

"What about those over there?" Lin Zheyu pointed to a few lonely manuals in the corner.

"Those aren't worth much, three low-grade spirit stones each. They're used for refining demon puppets or deathsworn. The side effects are severe, and they're not suitable for personal cultivation," the stall owner explained.

"Oh." Lin Zheyu nodded.

He picked one manual from the ten-stone section and one from the three-stone section, then took out thirteen low-grade spirit stones from his storage pouch and handed them over. The two manuals were the Ninefold True Demon Body and the Thunder Astral Body Tempering Art.

The Ninefold True Demon Body came from the three-stone section and was a technique used to forge a body with the strength and regenerative ability of demonic creatures. Lin Zheyu had already bought a total of thirteen similar body-refining techniques, spending over three hundred spirit stones, which pained him. However, in order to create the most suitable and powerful martial body-refining technique for himself, the expense was necessary.

"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist. You're a body-refining cultivator, aren't you? I have a few formations and dharma artifacts here that would be quite helpful for your cultivation. You might want to take a look," the stall owner said with a smile.

"Oh? Could you show them to me?" Lin Zheyu grew interested.

He had already taken an interest in several special formations that used formation flags and spirit stones to set up formations, allowing him to break his limits without entering the deep sea. However, those formations were expensive, and their effects were not particularly ideal. He planned to return and purchase them only if he found no better options.

"This is the Heavenly Astral Thunderfire Formation. Once activated, it summons a storm of thunder and fire, which has excellent effects for tempering the body. This is the Phoenix Blood Pill. Take one each month, and it will temper your body. After ten years, there is a chance to gain a trace of the legendary Fire Phoenix bloodline..." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"This is the Thousand Mechanisms Myriadweight Armor, forged primarily from Purple Profound Spider silk and inscribed with special formations. It can expand or contract and is immune to water and fire. It can block an attack from the early Foundation Establishment realm, though that is not its most important feature. When worn, it allows the user to experience a crushing force of up to fifty thousand kilograms. Wearing it regularly has unimaginable effects on body tempering. This one is..."

The stall owner rambled on, introducing various formations, medicinal pills, and dharma artifacts while sizing Lin Zheyu up and observing his reactions. However, Lin Zheyu remained expressionless, seemingly unmoved. Only when he heard about the Thousand Mechanisms Myriadweight Armor did his heart stir slightly.

At last!

After searching the market for so long, he had finally found the armor he wanted. Lin Zheyu had no interest in its ability to block a strike from a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. What he valued was its capacity to subject the wearer to a crushing force of up to fifty thousand kilograms. With this armor, breaking his limits and obtaining Origin Force in the future would no longer be so troublesome. Though tempted, he showed nothing on his face, remaining calm and unmoved. The stall owner could only feel helpless at the sight.

"What are the prices?" Lin Zheyu asked calmly after the stall owner finished.

"The Heavenly Astral Thunderfire Formation is eighty low-grade spirit stones. If you buy the required thunderstones and Crimson Flame Stones in bulk from me, I can give you a discount. The Phoenix Blood Pill is thirty low-grade spirit stones each... ... The Thousand Mechanisms Myriadweight Armor is sixty low-grade spirit stones. To activate the fifty thousand kilograms force, it consumes one low-grade spirit stone every half hour."

As he spoke, the stall owner observed Lin Zheyu's expression. Seeing the faint annoyance on Lin Zheyu's face, as if thinking the items were overpriced trash, he quickly added, "Haha, although this armor has high requirements, it does not demand high purity from spirit stones. Even unrefined mid-grade spirit stones can be used. As for this one..."

The owner continued to explain.