Chapter Seventeen: Black Gold Claw

  Days go by one after another.

  At this time, the rumors about Ling Xiao in the sect had already faded away. After all, although he had once refined a high-quality Pei Yuan Dan and seemed to have gained the appreciation of Fu Ling Zhenren, there was no follow-up, so naturally, it slowly became forgotten by everyone. Especially with Ling Xiao's recent alchemy, under the propaganda of those who were paying attention, people gradually came to know about it. The results were only mediocre, making him even less like a "genius".

  Not being an alchemy genius, it's natural that I wouldn't attract more attention.

  There are also rumors that Fuling has been disappointed with Ling Xiao, so he has been ignoring him lately.

  Instead, it was Qí Míng. After putting his mind at ease, he made several consecutive attempts at refining the elixir and achieved a resounding success. Although he didn't manage to refine the top-grade Pei Yuan Dan, he consistently maintained two sets of materials and succeeded once, resulting in an astonishingly high success rate that naturally overshadowed Líng Xiāo's reputation once again.

  These Ling Xiao didn't take it to heart and even wished Qi Ming would be more ostentatious.

  Feng Yi felt somewhat indignant, in her opinion, Ling Xiao's "Dan Refining Technique" was far more impressive than Qi Ming's! Several times she tried to speak up for Ling Xiao, but was stopped by him. What did he mean by making such a scene?

  Like this, after Ling Xiao's "genius" title sank, he finally moved the abacus of selling elixirs.

  That morning, he pretended to go out and collect medicine, but soon after leaving the mountain gate, he turned in the direction of Fang City. Fang City is not too far from Qiyun Peak, and after entering the second layer of Qi practice, his pace was faster. He estimated that if he hurried up a bit, he could return before dark.

  They rushed for two hours and finally arrived at the town.

  The location of the village was in a slightly concave valley. The surrounding woods were lush, and there were also array formations to protect it. Generally, low-ranking cultivators, if they didn't know the location beforehand, might not even notice it when walking right past it.

  Ling Xiao had been here several times before, so he naturally knew the way. He followed the path left by the formation and entered the city.

  The outermost area is a group of scattered stalls, mostly weak cultivators selling some miscellaneous items. Generally speaking, the prices here are slightly lower, and there are often some good things because the sellers don't know their value and sell them at low prices. So many loose cultivators like to come here to dig for goods or exchange what they need.

  Further inside are some larger storefronts, mostly run by masters with some backing or supported by great masters. The quality of the items will be better, and most of them won't cheat customers for the sake of reputation. Of course, the prices of the things they sell will also be slightly higher.

  Ling Xiao's footsteps flew swiftly and directly through those scattered stalls, rushing straight to the Wanyue Pavilion in the back.

  He came and went in a hurry, naturally without time to set up a stall to sell slowly. Wanting to get rid of the dan medicine in his hands as soon as possible, it's still better to find those merchants with better reputation.

  The Wanmiao Pavilion here is just a branch, and the power of its main store is said to be even higher than that of the Qiyun Sect. That's why it has the best reputation and relatively fair prices. So, after Ling Xiao disguised himself carefully, he rushed straight to this place.

  Be careful, even if disguised, and be cautious in actions, for fear of encountering other fellow disciples. Although the sect does not explicitly prohibit selling elixirs privately, it is still not a good thing to do, after all, they are made from materials obtained by contributing 20 points to the sect. Moreover, he is more afraid of revealing the secret that he has successfully refined too many elixirs...

  Fortunately, under a simple disguise, it's not some profound technique, he also learned some simple tricks within the sect. Making his face look slightly more mature, his voice a bit huskier, even people familiar with him would hardly recognize him.

  Pushing open the door and entering, Ling Xiao's gaze swept lightly around, taking in everything within the room at a glance.

  Right in front of the counter, there were placed elixirs, treasures, talismans... and many other celestial instruments. Even within the restrictive spell array, each item shone with a faint, extraordinary light.

  Behind the counter stood an old man in his fifties or sixties, yet he was spirited and wore a Taoist robe with a subtle luster on it, obviously not an ordinary product. Ling Xiao recognized that he was Jin Lao, who had some reputation in identifying spiritual medicine and elixir.

  Seeing Ling Xiao come in, he smiled and stood up to greet him, "This Taoist friend, I don't know what you want to buy?"

  "I need a piece of flying claw equipment... hmm, low-grade or mid-grade..."

  The low-grade or medium-grade talismans, at most, were only worth a dozen or so low-grade spirit stones. For the Wondrous Pavilion, it was not a big deal at all. However, Jin's expression didn't change in the slightest, and he continued to smile warmly as he introduced: "Please come this way, fellow Daoist. We also have many types of lower-grade flying claw talismans... Hundred Refinements Flying Claw, Green Refining Claw, Silver Moon Claw, Black Gold Claw... What are your requirements?"

  There are more and better flying claw-type artifacts here than Ling Xiao saw in the Fa Bao Pavilion of Qi Yun Sect.

  At first glance, the Black Gold Claw is made from a very expensive material called Black Gold; its entire body has a subtle black tint and looks unremarkable on the surface, like an inferior spirit artifact. However, it's priced at 13 low-grade spirit stones, which is more expensive than the Silver Moon Claw. Of course, its quality is also superior, and its speed is 30% faster than the Silver Moon Claw.

  Yao Wolf Claw, although it is a low-grade talisman, contains the power of the Yao Wolf. When used in a ritual, it can transform into a Yao Wolf to attack, so it also requires 8 pieces of low-grade spirit stone. It's almost equivalent to the price of a mid-grade talisman.

  ……

  The contribution points of Qiyun Sect, about 100 contribution points are equivalent to 1 piece of low-grade spirit stone. Of course, when actually buying, the things here are slightly more expensive than Qiyun Sect, such as Silver Moon Claw, which requires 11 pieces of low-grade spirit stone.

  Ling Xiao gazed past him, his eyes burning with unshed tears.

  "What did you end up buying?" Jin Lao asked with a smile from the side.

  Ling Xiao didn't rush to answer, instead asking: "Jin Lao, I don't have enough spirit stones in my hand, do you accept dan medicine?"

  Jin Lao Deng's expression changed slightly, his face more solemn than before. His demeanor also became more respectful, "Of course, I'll accept it. Fellow Daoist wants to sell elixirs? No harm in taking a look."

  At any time, the alchemist is always highly respected. Whether the young-looking monk in front of him is selling elixirs on behalf of others or making them himself, he deserves to be treated with more caution.

  Ling Xiao took out a few grains of dan medicine from his bosom and handed them over to him.

  Jin Lao carefully took it over and held it in his hand for a closer examination.

  "Three medium-grade pills, two high-grade pills, and one more...". His face suddenly changed, he stood up, carefully lowered his head to sniff lightly, then held it in his hand, carefully identifying it again. "This elixir, its potency is almost 90%, just a little short of being a top-grade elixir! Unfortunately, it's slightly inferior..."

  When the medicinal power reaches 90%, it is called a top-grade elixir. Since the medicinal power has already been extremely pure and thick, it is of great help in breaking through bottlenecks. Therefore, even if it's the most ordinary type of elixir, as long as it can be refined into a top-grade one, it will easily sell for an unbelievable sky-high price.

  Ling Xiao was also somewhat dazed, "Top quality?"

  He saw clearly that what Jin Lao valued so much was actually the pellet, which he had previously thought was a low-grade Pei Yuan Dan. Could it be that this was actually an extremely high-quality elixir?

  Jin Lao looked at it carefully for a long time before slowly putting down the Pei Yuan Dan, "What a pity, compared to the top-grade elixir, it's still slightly inferior... but it's already very close..." Looking at Ling Xiao's strange expression, he smiled and said: "Fellow Daoist took it as a low-grade Pei Yuan Dan, right? Hehe, the top-grade elixir is too refined in its medicinal properties, so it's actually more subdued. Whether it's the fragrance or color, it returns to simplicity, looking like an ordinary low-grade one instead. If you haven't seen a top-grade elixir before, I'm afraid it would be very difficult to distinguish."

  Ling Xiao himself was startled, but he was cautious by nature and remained calm as he asked, "I see, I wonder how much this dan medicine is worth?"

  Jin Lao seemed to still be in a daze from the shock of the Dan medicine, and subconsciously asked, "I don't know who Shifu Cheng is? Was this Dan medicine personally refined by Xiao You, or was it sold on behalf of someone else?"

  Ling Xiao's eyebrows slightly furrowed in displeasure, "Must one investigate a person's identity before selling them medicinal pellets?"

  Jin Lao Deng suddenly came back to his senses and hurriedly apologized: "It was this old man's mistake. Hmm, this Pei Yuan Dan, although its medicinal properties are already very pure, it should be of some help in breaking through the bottleneck, but after all, it is far inferior to a top-grade Pei Yuan Dan. How about 6 pieces of low-grade Ling Stone, friend?"

  Six pieces of low-grade spirit stones, this price is already astonishing.

  Ling Xiao nodded, in fact, if it weren't for the Wan Miao Ge's extremely high reputation, other places might have dared to buy this Dan medicine as an ordinary lower-grade Pei Yuan Dan. Who made him unable to identify it himself? In his heart, he was also secretly rejoicing, fortunately, he didn't take it as an ordinary lower-grade Pei Yuan Dan and consume it, otherwise, it would be heartbreaking. He swallowed six pieces of lower-grade Ling stone in one go, which was the most extravagant thing he had ever done.

  Of course, as for whether there are still such elixirs left after swallowing them all, he really didn't dare guarantee it...

  "Others are very simple," Jin Lao continued, "Top-grade Cultivation Pill is worth 3 pieces of low-grade Spirit Stone; middle-grade, 1 piece of low-grade Spirit Stone. These together are worth 15 pieces of low-grade Spirit Stone."

  Selling dan medicine here, the price is naturally cheaper than selling it outside. But he was in a hurry and didn't have time to spare. He simply nodded his head in agreement with the price.

  In fact, he was also secretly relieved, and what he got was far beyond his expectations.

  With 15 pieces of low-grade spirit stones, what can be bought? The mind quickly calculates...

  When Ling Xiao came out of the Wan Miao Pavilion, he once again returned to his impoverished state. It seemed that refining pills had earned him a lot, but his expenses were even more terrifying.

  He hesitated for a moment, but still chose the Black Gold Claw. Firstly, the better the protective artifact, the stronger the combat power and the safer it is. The Black Gold Claw not only has a faster speed than the Silver Moon Claw, but also has a harder texture, making it a mid-grade artifact that can be used until he reaches the 6th or 7th layer of Qi Refining. Secondly, he suddenly thought that whether it was the Green Forging Claw or the Silver Moon Claw, taking them out would be too showy, and if someone else saw them and asked about it, what could he say?

  It's better for him to use something like Wu Jin Zhao that is dull and unattractive.

  So I steeled myself and spent 13 pieces of inferior spirit stone to buy that piece of Black Gold Claw. Now, nearly half of my family's assets are gone.

  With the remaining two pieces of low-grade spiritual stones, Ling Xiao didn't dare to buy alchemy materials in Wanyao Pavilion anymore. After bidding farewell and leaving, he pretended to leave the market, circled around, and only changed into a disguise after making sure no one was following him. He then returned to the market stalls and wandered around, preparing to purchase some alchemy materials.

  Through the stalls, eyes quickly swept over the counters, looking for what they wanted.

  Most of the auxiliary materials are very cheap and their prices are relatively stable, so there's no need to be picky; but the three main medicines in Peiyuan Dan: Hunyuan Yushi, Tonglingzhi, and Peiyuancao... are different, with big price differences among various stalls.

  "This Taoist friend, how much for these spiritual branches?" Ling Xiao's eyes were sharp and had already spotted the goods on a stall. He hastily walked over, pretending to be nonchalant as he asked. He stretched out his hand to flip through the spiritual branches laid out on the ground, furrowing his brow in apparent dissatisfaction with their quality.

  "One piece of Spirit Stone, 14 strands, no haggling!"

  The middle-aged Han man who was running the stall only glanced at Ling Xiao for a moment before withdrawing his gaze, saying lazily, "You don't need that much, you can exchange it with other spiritual medicines."

  Ling stones are the most commonly used medium for transactions among cultivators, and they also have distinctions of lower, middle, upper, and extreme grades. However, even lower-grade ling stones have very high value. Therefore, these cheap spiritual medicines can only be exchanged for other items or sold together with a full set of materials for refining dan as a package deal.

  The price is actually a bit expensive, Ling Xiao reluctantly put down the item, it seems that this seller is also an old fox, even if he can still haggle, it won't be much. So Ling Xiao stood up and turned to look in other directions. The materials for Pei Yuan Dan are relatively common, so she needs to pick carefully.