Despite the discounts and upfront payment for the job, Liam ended up spending quite a lot.

Some, if not many, recipes had overlapping ingredients, especially when they belonged to the same alchemical field.

However, Liam didn’t know when he would gain access to similar wares next. He had no idea where life would lead him and what those destinations would feature.

Also, what Liam had done to find the market and the chaos that had risked unfolding had shown him how many problems could arise. Chief Grace had saved him this time, but luck wasn’t reliable. Liam even saw accounting for it as unacceptable.

As far as Liam knew, he might go entire months or longer without the opportunity to purchase anything, so he had to stash what he could now to prolong the never-stopping countdown that would leave him as any other desperate lone cultivator.

Liam’s Master had left him a vast assortment of ingredients, but there lay the issue. It was complete instead of specific. It enabled many concoctions but not extensive focus on one field.

And Liam only had the finances to focus on one field now, his main one. He couldn’t afford to make all-around upgrades to his arsenal.

So, Liam prioritized two things. He added one month to his stashes of what the smoking powder demanded, purchasing a few more rank 2 ingredients to enable eventual upgrades his minor roots might require.

Then, Liam purchased batches of over ten different rank 1 ingredients to enable something that would save him money in the long run. He had to weaponize his rank 2 venom, but that required creating new recipes, which was one of the most expensive aspects of the alchemical field.

Experiments were wasteful. Liam couldn’t save money by relying on existing knowledge. He had to create it from scratch, so the failures would be plentiful, no matter how much he understood poisons.

Chief Grace bent her personal limits as much as possible, but Liam still had to part with over seven hundred spirit stones, which was close to half of his wealth.

Of course, Liam could recoup all, if not more, on the spot, but he and Grace had eventually decided otherwise.

"Fellow Daoist, it was truly a pleasure," Grace announced once the purchase was finalized, offering a chunk of leather featuring drawings. "This will lead you to our warehouse. I’ll see you there in two weeks."

Liam watched the foundation expert carry the wooden box with his spirit stones outside from under the hood before storing the partial map in his space-ring. He had to show the item to pay and retrieve the ingredients, but wanted to limit that awareness to Grace.

"Once I complete the job," Liam said, "I’ll get the pipe and a higher rate for my products, correct?"

That was the reason Liam hadn’t sold anything yet.

In theory, Liam’s true wealth wasn’t with the spirit stones. His period of extreme focus on alchemy had left him with plenty of rank 1 products, each worth hundreds of that currency.

Liam wouldn’t sell his few healing pills, but the ointment for flesh wounds was superfluous due to his higher cultivation stage.

The Cloud Pills might reveal Liam’s identity, and they could be situational despite their lower rank, but the deadly poison was useless now that he had the rank 2 venom. It would even come with antidotes.

Then, there were the elixirs, the Qi-Igniting Pills, and other body-enhancing products. Liam had no use for them as a rooting expert, not even in tough situations, so they could go.

Liam wouldn’t sell his rank 2 venom since it might allow other alchemists to create antidotes, lowering its effectiveness. Yet, unlike what he had given back to the Sect, he still possessed the Metal Hand’s tome, and martial arts were probably worth even more than magical items.

Truth was, Liam even had his Master’s high-grade circulation technique and Poisonous Breath, but he would never sell those. Some things were simply priceless, at least to him.

So, Liam could multiply his spirit stones before even sitting behind a cauldron again, but as Grace had explained, selling always awarded a lower price since merchants had to account for their split.

Liam couldn’t solve that by becoming a merchant himself since he had no way of getting customers. Instead, the Merchants Guild could handle that part through its established channels.

Moreover, even if Liam could approach customers, he had no reputation to speak of. He wasn’t established as an alchemist, so no one would buy from him even if he lowered his prices until he incurred a financial loss. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

That was where Grace would step in once again. Completing her task would warrant a higher rate for Liam’s belongings since it would partially confirm his skills.

"I never lie about business," Grace confirmed, glancing at Liam’s right sleeve, the one hiding his space-ring. "Fellow Daoist, I hope my good intentions went through. I’m not one to operate at a potential loss for just anyone."

Liam looked down at Grace’s confident, elegant, but meaningful face. The math confirmed her claim. Liam had saved over three hundred spirit stones between discounts and freebies, but there was a line he couldn’t cross, definitely not now.

"Chief Grace, I’m sorry," Liam said. "I won’t join the Merchants Guild."

"Affiliations come in different forms," Grace explained. "The Merchants Guild is also far from united. We might have joint branches, but we are all individual merchants. I merely own more of those now."

Silence had already shown its limits, so Liam opted for directness. "What are you implying?"

"Alchemy is the profession more demanding of resources in the cultivation world," Grace explained, "But alchemical products earn the most despite their lower prices since everyone uses them."

Magical items were more expensive, so less affordable. They were also situational. Instead, for example, anyone could use and should possess healing pills, making that market always flourishing.

"I don’t care if you formally join the Guild or not," Grace continued. "This isn’t about the Guild, either. It’s about you and me as mutually beneficial business partners."

"Are you plotting against the Guild?" Liam seemed to understand.

"All merchants do," Grace revealed. "It’s all about wealth and who can buy the other. You can provide income, while I can be your reliable access to alchemical resources."

"I already told you that I won’t linger in one place," Liam reminded.

"A good merchant follows the money," Grace declared, "And the Guild’s branches are everywhere in the Kingdom. I’ll have to clash with the local merchants, but that’s my problem, one I’d be willing to overcome if I see value in it."

Liam didn’t know how good that was. Having reliable access to ingredients would solve many of his worries, but it would also work as a connection people could use to find him.

Also, Liam’s very heart was wary. He didn’t want to risk caring for Grace, which seeing her as an ally would cause, only to abandon her. That suffering wasn’t something he wished to re-experience.

Still, if anything, that insistence proved beyond a shadow of a doubt how valuable alchemists were.

"Also," Grace added, something new joining her gaze. "A good merchant is loyal to her source of income and his secrets. She won’t give them away even under extreme duress."

Some tension joined the atmosphere in the tent, and it came from Liam. Grace understood a lot, even too much, but she didn’t hesitate to backtrack.

"It’s just something I want you to keep in mind," Grace reassured, approaching a shelf, "And maybe discuss again in two weeks, once we both have proof of the mutual benefits we can obtain."

Grace returned to Liam, offering two jugs of the wine they had drunk earlier.

"This is on the house," Grace said, handing Liam the jugs before bowing respectfully. "May we meet again soon. Hopefully, you’ll be willing to share your name next time."

’Women are truly incomprehensible,’ Liam thought. He had gotten everything he needed at a great price, but strangely enough, he felt defeated.

Grace seemed to have taught Liam a new definition of that word, as Melissa had in the past.