Chapter 61: Four Qi Pavilion

Chen Mobai seemed to be on a lucky streak recently. His talismans gained traction in Nanxi Market, and upon returning to Diyuan Star, Qingnu also brought good news.

Baoping Pharmacy had an alchemy room that had been unused for a long time. It was fully equipped with medicine vats and other necessary equipment, allowing them to resume refining the Qi-replenishing spiritual water. This was a great relief for Chen Mobai. Without access to this spiritual water for the past few days, his cultivation speed had significantly slowed down, leaving him, accustomed to high efficiency, feeling somewhat disoriented.

However, once Qingnu began the second batch of Qi-replenishing spiritual water, Chen Mobai encountered another problem: where would he get the merit points for the next purchase of primary and secondary ingredients? Although he currently possessed 24 spirit stones, he was already somewhat reluctant to exchange them for merit points at the bank.

A single batch of mid-grade Tier 1 Qi-replenishing spiritual water takes approximately five days to refine. The alchemy room leased by Baoping Pharmacy was for one month. Qingnu suggested maximizing its use by purchasing several more sets of ingredients to refine enough Qi-replenishing spiritual water within the month to support Chen Mobai's cultivation up to Qi Condensation Layer Seven. Given Qingnu's efficiency, at least three more sets of ingredients would be needed.

Chen Mobai pondered the situation, but ultimately found no better alternative. He could only take a spirit stone, exchange it for gold at the Five Elements Sect's silver exchange in Nanxi Market, and then seek out Wu Wan.

"The gold is of the same quality," Wu Wan stated, "but I can only purchase the same amount as last time, which is 40 bars, for 4300 merit points."

After weighing and testing the purity with his scale, Wu Wan looked at the hundred gold bars laid out before him. He hesitated for a moment but decided to be helpful, taking only 40 of them.

"Oh, Master Wu, what do you mean by that?" Slightly confused, Chen Mobai asked.

"As you know," Wu Wan explained, "gold is a controlled resource of the Immortal Alliance. All our gold shops are registered with the Immortal Trade Bureau. Before we received our business licenses, we were informed that if any single individual's cumulative gold transactions with us exceed 10,000 merit points, we are required to proactively report it to the Market Supervision Department and the Law Enforcement Department."

A cold sweat broke out on Chen Mobai's back after Wu Wan finished speaking.

"Thank you, Master Wu." He offered a sincere thank you to Wu Wan. The latter gave a dismissive wave, put on gloves, placed the 40 gold bars from the scale into his safe, and then transferred the 4300 merit points to Chen Mobai's account using his mobile device.

"You've traded gold with me twice," Wu Wan continued. "You're only 4850 merit points shy of the 10,000 merit point limit. If you're truly short on merit points, I could take five more bars, which would put you right at the 10,000 limit. However, if the Immortal Trade Bureau audits my small shop's accounts at the end of the year, a transaction that precisely hits the 10,000 merit point limit would be too conspicuous and could trigger a special investigation. So, my advice is to trade just 40 bars this time. That way, even if an audit happens, I have several other customers like you, and after a bit of adjustment to the ledgers and tax records, the Immortal Alliance will essentially turn a blind eye."

After his failed attempt at Foundation Establishment, Wu Wan seemed to have gained a new perspective, ready to dedicate himself entirely to appraisal and business. He began treating people with sincerity, offering sincere advice and proactive warnings regarding Chen Mobai's gold transactions.

"Of course, if you desperately need merit points," Wu Wan added, "I can introduce you to a few other establishments. Just be careful not to exceed 10,000 merit points. However, for someone new like you trading gold, some owners might still proactively report to the Immortal Alliance as a precaution."

Chen Mobai felt a chill down his spine after hearing this. His goods were already of questionable origin, and it would be disastrous if the relevant departments of the Immortal Alliance really set their sights on him.

"I almost forgot," Wu Wan added. "If you register a company, you could circumvent this 10,000 merit point limit. Our transactions would then be corporate, and you might even receive discounts when merit points are returned at the end of the year." Wu Wan offered another suggestion, but Chen Mobai immediately shook his head. He was only eighteen; rashly registering a company solely for gold trading would surely draw even more scrutiny.

Before leaving, Chen Mobai thanked Wu Wan once more. At the same time, he abandoned any further thoughts of exchanging gold from the Heavenly River Realm. Since that path was no longer viable, he decided to try his earlier alternative plan.

Nanxi Market.

Dressed in traditional-style attire, Chen Mobai entered a shop owned by a local immortal cultivation family. The Yun Kingdom, situated along the Grand Yunmengze River, was rich in spiritual energy. Consequently, many immortal cultivation families had established medicinal fields along water veins, both for their own alchemists and for sale to major alchemy sects such as Huitian Valley. Furthermore, cultivating thousand-year spirit herbs allowed them to trade for Foundation-building Pills. Thus, nearly all immortal cultivation families here established a medicinal field, treating it as a cherished family heirloom. However, Huitian Valley only accepted premium-grade medicinal ingredients, so a considerable amount of lower-grade medicinal ingredients, once harvested, ended up being sold in nearby market shops.

This three-story shop, named "Four Energies Pavilion," was owned by the Lou family, one of the four Foundation Establishment stage families in the market. Chen Mobai recalled Qingnu mentioning that medicinal ingredients possessed four distinct natures—cold, hot, warm, and cool—collectively known as the Four Energies. The shop's name likely stemmed from this.

"Are you looking for spiritual herbs or spiritual pills, esteemed guest?" As he entered, a beautiful female cultivator at the third level of Qi Condensation greeted him. She assessed Chen Mobai's intricately stitched attire, a beaming smile on her face.

"I have three types of medicinal herbs here, which my elder needs for alchemy. I'm not sure exactly what they are, but could you please help me check if you carry them?" Chen Mobai took out the three primary ingredients for refining Qi-replenishing spiritual water, which he had received from Qingnu, and handed them to the female cultivator at the Four Energies Pavilion. She nodded, retrieved a tray, and accepted the herbs.

"These are Baiji, Chuizhu Grass, and Zhe Li," the cultivator said. "They are three very common spiritual herbs, and we have all of them in stock. How much does the esteemed guest require?" The female cultivator seemed quite knowledgeable about medicinal herbs. After a careful inspection, including smelling and touching them, she flashed a charming smile and stated three herb names that were completely different from those used on Diyuan Star.

"What's the price?"

"They are all very common herbs," she replied, "and sold starting at one spirit stone per jin. All three are priced the same."

Chen Mobai calculated that one jin of ingredients could yield five batches. Even if Qingnu only managed to produce 10 vials per batch, it would still be sufficient to support his cultivation up to Qi Condensation Layer Seven. The price was perfectly acceptable. With these, he would only need to purchase four secondary ingredients on Diyuan Star.

"I'll buy one jin of each for now then."

The beautiful female cultivator maintained her smile and immediately gestured for Chen Mobai to follow her to the second floor. From her introduction, he learned that the second floor was dedicated to spiritual and medicinal herbs, while the third floor sold their family's self-refined spiritual pills. A new batch of Spirit Gathering Pills had just been stocked, and she was hoping to interest Chen Mobai in them. However, spiritual pills from the Heavenly River Realm were known to contain dangerously high levels of pill toxins. Chen Mobai would never dare to purchase them. After collecting the herbs and paying with spirit stones, he promptly left.