The two discussed things a bit more and decided to go up the mountain tomorrow. Wu De would go to the Sunlight Fortress to lure Zhang Song out, while Lu Li would set up an ambush in the forest outside Sunlight Town with his treasure.
The two talked quite pleasantly, and Wu De seemed to already see vials and vials of Earth Milk Essence waving at him.
The sky gradually darkened, and several night pearls the size of washbasins on the high walls of the marketplace also lit up, illuminating Tiger Might Square brightly.
This signified that the exchange meeting was about to begin.
One by one, rogue cultivators began gathering on the streets outside the square.
The guard standing on the right side of the topmost stone step calmly surveyed the crowded assembly and slowly said, "Exchange meeting rules: no fighting is allowed on the square. Violators... die!"
Most people here had participated in the exchange meeting before and, upon hearing this, all nodded to show they understood.
Only then did the guard announce to everyone, "Enter!"
Instantly, the crowd swarmed in.
Lu Li and Wu De exchanged glances and also walked in side by side.
Many stone platforms over three feet high were arranged around the square. Some people rushed toward those platforms as soon as they entered, which puzzled Lu Li. He asked Wu De, "What are they doing?"
Wu De glanced at Lu Li. "Looking for stalls, of course. People like this usually come with the intention of selling goods and have almost no thoughts of buying."
"Oh, that's how it is." Lu Li nodded in understanding, then asked again, "You don't have anything to sell?"
"Nope. This old man is just casually browsing. The stuff here is just so-so; not many things catch my eye." After speaking, he looked at Lu Li and said while walking, "Kid, what do you want to buy?"
"An alchemy furnace," Lu Li said casually.
"An alchemy furnace?" Wu De looked at Lu Li in surprise. "You know alchemy too?"
"What, doesn't it seem like it?"
"Heh, the study of alchemy runs deep. Knowing medicinal properties, identifying medicinal herbs, controlling the fire temperature-every one of these requires countless practices. You're still young... I'd believe you want to learn alchemy, but to say you can already do it... only a ghost would believe that!"
This old man seems quite knowledgeable.
Lu Li glanced slightly at Wu De. "So, you know alchemy?"
"Heh, of course!" Wu De proudly puffed out his chest. "If you, kid, need alchemy done, this old man can help you. The fee... just something symbolic will do."
"No need for help. How about... giving me your alchemy furnace? I'll remember you for a lifetime."
"Bah, don't even think about it!"
"Cheapskate!"
Lu Li walked while looking around here and there.
Along the way, he discovered that most people were selling spirit grasses, and almost all these spirit grasses lacked much spiritual nature. They seemed poorly preserved, which somewhat disappointed him.
Meanwhile, Wu De vanished without a trace while walking.
Lu Li shook his head and continued aimlessly searching. Suddenly, a woman in a yellow robe came up from behind and walked side by side with him, speaking as softly as a mosquito, "Fellow Daoist, need Demon Beast essence blood?"
Lu Li was taken aback and turned his head to look at the woman. "Are you talking to me?"
The woman was about thirty years old, with a broad face and yellowish skin, looking as if she had experienced plenty of wind and sun.
The woman nodded. "Yes, Fellow Daoist, do you need it?"
Lu Li was puzzled by her mysterious behavior but then thought to himself. If he studied talisman making in the future, he would indeed need Demon Beast essence blood. He couldn't help but ask, "How much?"
Seeing Lu Li's interest, the woman in yellow instantly looked delighted. "Primary grade essence blood costs twenty True Essence Pills per bottle, intermediate grade costs fifty."
As she spoke, she took out a jade bottle slightly larger than a thumb and handed it to Lu Li. "This is primary grade essence blood. Fellow Daoist, take a look. Absolutely pure."
Lu Li exclaimed, "Just this little bit costs twenty True Essence Pills?"
The woman said, "Fellow Daoist, this is already a very reasonable price. This amount of essence blood is enough to draw dozens of primary grade talismans."
Lu Li shook his head, still thinking it was too expensive. After a moment's thought, he said, "I don't want essence blood. Fellow Daoist, if you're willing to part with your extraction method, I'll buy it at a high price, okay?"
Teaching a man to fish is better than giving him fish. He estimated that practicing the first chapter of the Great Evolution Forbidden Arts in the future would require a lot of essence blood. If he had to rely entirely on buying it, how much money would that cost? So he set his sights on obtaining the other party's essence blood extraction method.
Upon hearing this, the woman instantly became alert and snatched the jade bottle back. "Sorry, I have matters to attend to. I'm leaving first."
After speaking, she turned and hurried away.
While walking, she even secretly released her Divine Sense to sense Lu Li's movements, seemingly afraid Lu Li might chase after her.
Lu Li stared at her back, considered for a moment, but still didn't give chase.
The essence blood extraction method was indeed rare in the mortal world, but for the Sect, it wasn't so hard to come by. At worst, he could return to the Qingyang Sect in the future or find someone from the Qingyang Sect to get a copy.
After this little episode, Lu Li continued browsing for a while longer.
Unfortunately, after walking through the entire assembly, he didn't find anyone selling alchemy furnaces.
"Fellow Daoist, check out these spirit medicines. Freshly picked, still fresh." Just as Lu Li was about to leave, the stall owner next to him suddenly waved and called out to him.
Hearing this, Lu Li glanced at the stall. He saw a messy pile of spirit medicines spread out, most of which hadn't matured and weren't even first-grade yet, and some were withered and yellow.
Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, focusing on the half-foot-tall, bamboo joint-like plants carelessly bundled together next to the stall owner's left hand. He deliberately pretended not to understand and asked, "What are these?"
This was clearly Emerald Bamboo Grass, but the bamboo joints were withered and yellow, devoid of Spiritual Qi, with only twenty to thirty years of age.
The stall owner scratched his head. "To be honest with you, Fellow Daoist, I found this by accident in a bamboo forest. I saw it had spiritual patterns and guessed it must be medicinal, so I picked it. It's been two months now, and no one has shown interest."
"Does Fellow Daoist want it? If you do, I can sell it to you at a low price."
Lu Li pretended to hesitate for a moment, then lifted the large bundle of Emerald Bamboo Grass and feigned weighing it. He said, "It's probably a spirit medicine, but the age is too low. It's useless for refining medicine, and if planted, it might not survive..."
The stall owner nodded deeply in agreement. "That's exactly right. I picked it two months ago. When I didn't sell it the first time, I tried planting it. Before planting, it was okay, but as soon as I planted it, the thing withered even faster."
This stall owner seemed like a straightforward person and didn't seem to have any intention of deliberately tricking Lu Li.
Lu Li thought to himself that Emerald Bamboo Grass was extremely particular about its environment. It would be strange if you could get it to survive. He pondered for a moment and then said, "How about this: I'll pay ten True Essence Pills to buy it back and try to see if one or two plants can survive."
He even pretended to sigh. "What a pity. This thing is already so withered; otherwise, it would be nice to use as a green ornamental plant."
Hearing that Lu Li was willing to buy it, the stall owner thanked him profusely. "Thank you, Fellow Daoist. Fellow Daoist, you are truly a good person!"
This stuff really couldn't be kept any longer. By then, forget about ten True Essence Pills-even if he gave it away for free, people would think it took up space.
"No need to be polite."
Lu Li took out a small jade bottle and handed it to the stall owner, then stored the bundle of Emerald Bamboo Grass.
Many passersby who saw this secretly shook their heads, thinking this person was completely ignorant, actually spending ten True Essence Pills to buy a bundle of worthless weeds.
What no one knew was that Lu Li was already grinning from ear to ear.
This bundle of Emerald Bamboo Grass likely contained at least a hundred plants. If he could get them all to survive, he'd make a huge profit.
Looking for more free chapters? Visit www.skynovelvault.com to read over 5,000 free chapters and continue exploring more stories from SkyNovelVault.