Cultivation Nerd-Chapter 244: Cheap

I looked at the pills and elixirs on sale. A powerful alchemy program was the cornerstone of any good and great sect or clan. Things like Qi Sensing Pills helped people sense Qi and break through to Qi Gathering. They were crucial for any clan or sect to have in stock.

If a sect had a well-developed Alchemy program or pagoda, Qi Sensing Pills might go for as little as four or five spirit stones. Even the cheapest pills typically cost one spirit stone.

One spirit stone could usually be exchanged for a hundred gold coins. However, this was more of a forced economic incentive to give cultivators from commoner backgrounds a fighting chance.

I scanned a shop window and spotted an Ember Root Pill, a tier one pill that boosted fire-type spiritual root resonance, being sold for thirty-seven gold coins. That was… quite a shock.

There were plenty of other pills at similar prices.

I didn't see any Qi Sensing Pills or other signature recipes of the four great sects. It seemed more like this town didn't have the recipe, or maybe they did, but they didn't dare use it publicly.

Copyright didn't exist in this world, but there was an unspoken rule: mess with the great sects' core interests, and you'd find out exactly how quickly they'd respond. That kind of risk wasn't worth the profit.

I brushed my hand across the clean, polished glass, staring at the pills on display like I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"Are you going to buy something, or just gawk?" the shopkeeper asked, stepping out with a strange look in his eyes.

He was an old man with barely any hair left on his head and a thick gray mustache. He looked like some kind of cowboy if cowboys were Asian and sold pills instead of bullets.

"We're outsiders," I said plainly. "We were just amazed at how cheap your pills are. If you decided to sell them outside the town, you'd make a profit."

"No, thanks," the man snorted. "I'm not some copper-counting merchant. I'm a proud alchemist."

There was real pride in his voice when he said that, and I could sense a sliver of Qi around him. He was a Qi Gathering cultivator, barely, but it counted.

Had he forcefully built up his cultivation using pills to compensate for his lack of talent? Maybe. I could've been jumping to conclusions, but studying the idea alone was fascinating.

"I feel like there's a story there," I said with a smile. "Sorry if we outsiders are being a bit nosy, but I'd really like to understand more about this place."

Fu Yating looked at me strangely. She was probably wondering why I wasn't smashing this guy's face in and demanding answers. That was how most cultivators would've handled a situation like this.

"Pah, I've seen your type before, young man," the shop owner said, running his fingers through his mustache as a smile crept across his face. "A man can only become so humble when chasing profit. Or maybe it's knowledge you're after. You're an alchemist, aren't you?"

"So close, yet so far away," Fu Yating snickered.

What the hell did she just say?

I shot her a look that made it clear she'd said enough. Just because I had taken her from my family to protect her didn't mean I'd let her interfere.

We both knew I was too paranoid to leave behind someone whose clan had been exterminated by mine. I wouldn't want to kill her, but I would if I had to. It was better than risking her turning against the people I cared about.

Fu Yating was smart. She immediately picked up on the tension, nodded silently, and looked down.

We had trained together. We shared a kind of connection. But that didn't mean I would risk everything to protect her if she stopped being useful.

"I've dabbled in alchemy," I said, shifting the conversation. "But I never delved too deep beyond basic concoctions. Never really had the talent for it."

The old man frowned, staring at Fu Yating for a few quiet seconds before turning back to me. "Right... So are you going to buy something, or just keep staring at my shelf?"

"We're here to buy," I replied, scanning the available pills and selecting what we'd need for the journey.

…

It took a bit of time to settle everything. The old alchemist had to fetch extra pills from the back, and even then, he hesitated to sell too many at once. He wanted to ensure he had enough left over for his regular customers.

I spent just over a thousand gold coins in total. I would've bought more, but he was clearly firm about not emptying his reserves.

After we left the shop, I placed the goods in my storage ring and turned toward Fu Yating.

"This is the first and last time you antagonize anyone while I'm around," I said calmly. "I don't care how you acted in the Azure Frost Sect or how things were in your clan. Do it again, and I'll assume you're trying to subtly create enemies around me."

There was no need for death threats. She already knew that if I ever sensed anything off, anything that hinted at a betrayal, I wouldn't hesitate.

Maybe this had been her way of testing how far she could push me. If so, I had just drawn the line.

I had a way I liked conducting myself when dealing with others. If she couldn't accept that, then she didn't have a place here.

"Sorry," Fu Yating said, bowing her head. "I just got caught in the moment."

She looked genuinely ashamed. She even sounded like it.

But she was a master actress, and I didn't believe her for a second.

After that brief unpleasantness, we set off to explore more of the town. We ended up spending another couple thousand gold coins, buying both things we needed and a few things we definitely didn't.

There were plenty of pills and elixirs here I'd never heard of before. I was interested in seeing what effects they might have.

Gold was just another commodity for most cultivators, and I was no different. I didn't hold back much. Even in the Blazing Sun Sect, spirit stones were the main currency for cultivation materials, so gold didn't mean much to me.

During our wandering, we also learned some information about the town's leadership. While the main power here was the Crimson Pill Sect, the place was actually run by a council voted in by the townspeople.

Strangely enough, it was a kind of democracy.

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But there was a catch: alchemists were the only ones who could vote. That worked out fine for them since most of the population qualified as alchemists... though many were barely skilled enough to be called tier one.

Alchemy rankings went from tier one, the lowest, up to tier nine, the highest. Some places had a lower standard of passing that threshold when qualifying for tier one.

…

As the sun dipped low on the horizon, the sky turned a brilliant shade of crimson-orange. We finally stopped wandering aimlessly and began heading toward the center of town.

Normally, you'd expect a town center to get busier the closer you got. But here, it was the opposite. The streets became quieter, with larger homes and even bigger yards spreading out in every direction.

"I don't see any Sect grounds. How does the Crimson Pill Sect rule this place?" Fu Yating asked, her brow furrowed. "From the way people talked, it seemed like the Sect was based here, not some outside force."

Oh? She hadn't figured it out yet. I guess the idea might be harder to grasp for someone who grew up in a more traditional cultivator environment.

"It's probably more of a membership system," I said. "You join, get access to their knowledge, and do your own thing. Think of it like a Sect that doesn't really demand much control."

"But Sects already let most people return to their clans," Fu Yating said, watching me closely.

"Yes, but even then, those people are still within the Sect's territory," I explained. "They only allow that kind of freedom because it doesn't cost them anything when a Foundation Establishment cultivator decides to leave. But if someone has the potential to reach Nascent Soul... well, that's when the Sect gets possessive."

Most Sects had their own methods for keeping that kind of talent tied to them. Some used honey traps. Others made sure their disciples' families were well cared for. And then there were promises of future leadership, access to rare techniques, or personal mentorship under powerful elders.

There were many ways to keep someone invested in the Sect.

And if none of those worked…

A wild Nascent Soul cultivator was just asking for trouble. Most sects would eliminate unstable factors like that long before they became a real problem.

Anyway, some smaller alchemy shops were still around this part of town. Most were connected directly to houses, and some even sold tier-two pills for a meager thousand gold.

Even Fu Yating couldn’t resist. She ended up buying a few tier-one and tier-two pills. Despite trying to appear harmless, the temptation had clearly been too strong.

I acted like I didn’t notice, but she was smart enough to know I wouldn’t be blindsighted just because I was in a new place.

So far, nothing she’d bought could be used to make poison, at least as far as I knew. But Fu Yating might have more advanced knowledge than I gave her credit for. She could’ve hidden her intent beneath layers of complexity.

Right now would’ve been the perfect time to poison me and make a run for it.

She had to know that most poisons wouldn’t work on Wu Yan’s unique body, and killing me would turn Wu Yan into an enemy she couldn’t afford. Wu Yan wasn’t someone she could charm or bribe.

At this point, I was confident Fu Yating wasn’t going to poison me.

Which was, in a strange way, kind of disappointing.

Despite all my conspiracy theories, she hadn’t acted on any of them.

So, I had an idea to create an opportunity. A perfect, clear chance for her to take if she really wanted to betray me.

No matter how disciplined someone was, it should be impossible to hold back after what had happened to her family.

Still, this place was more developed than I had expected. That could be an opportunity.

How many cultivators came through here? How many of them understood the economic significance of being able to buy cultivation resources with gold?

If I were the first in a hundred years to recognize this opportunity, then there would be real profit to be made.

If I could get the Crimson Pill Sect to support Song Song, we’d have an enormous advantage in putting her in the high seat.

This was, in a way, a lucky encounter.

But before I could get ahead of myself, reality settled in.

These people weren’t stupid. They weren’t going to get involved in something beyond their level. The inner battles of the Blazing Sun Sect might as well have been wars between gods, while this town was, at best, a pebble at their feet.

No one here would be reckless enough to interfere.

No one except maybe Fu Yating.

We walked deeper into the center of town and finally arrived at a crimson-red pagoda. A couple dozen people milled around the area. It was far more populated than the rest of the central district. freeweɓnøvel.com

I approached with a gentle smile, scanning the crowd for someone young, inexperienced, and eager to talk.

Alchemists weren’t rare in this place, but alchemy was still clearly respected. Its prestige made its students confident and sometimes careless.

It didn’t take long to find my target.

The girl looked no older than eighteen. Her face was open and cheerful, and she was surrounded by a group of peers. She kept trying to speak, but the others interrupted her again and again.

I tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, and unfortunately, so did her companions.

“Sorry,” I said, keeping my tone apologetic. “I’m an outsider. I just wanted to ask a few questions about this amazing town. Do you mind? Or should I not be here? Sorry if I’m intruding.”

One of the guys from the group stepped forward. A tall, handsome young man with brown hair and striking emerald eyes. He offered a friendly smile.

“Of course you’re allowed, stranger,” he said warmly.

Just from that one interaction, I could already read him. Born good-looking, raised with enough wealth to never worry about anything, and far too kind and trusting.

“Thanks,” I said with a nod.

They returned to their conversation while the meek girl kept staring at me with uncertainty. Every so often, her gaze drifted toward Speedy.

"What can I help you with?" she asked, nervously playing with her fingers.

It was strange, but also refreshing, to be around people acting their age. Most had to mature too fast or become full-blown young masters just to survive the kind of pressure this world threw at them.

"Well, you can start by telling me your name," I said, tilting my head slightly.

"Ah, okay," she nodded. "My name is Xuan Zui. I'm an apprentice alchemist. In a couple of years, I should be able to become a tier-one alchemist."

I hadn't asked about her profession, but judging a book by its cover seemed to have worked this time. Some people just liked to talk and brag about the smallest things.

Sometimes, silence was golden. But big talkers made friends more easily.

"I don't really understand how this place is ruled," I said. "For example, who's the current Crimson Pill Sect Leader, or who's supposed to succeed him? Of course, only if that's public knowledge and you don't mind sharing."

"Oh?" Her shoulders slumped a little like she'd been expecting a more interesting question. "Well, there's the Sect Leader at the top, and his two successors. Everyone thinks one of them will end up in charge. The first is the Sect Leader's son, Lian Zi. The second is the son of the Sect Leader's grandfather, Lian Dan Zi."

The son of the grandfather? That would make the second candidate the Sect Leader's uncle. Which was... odd. A young man, considered for leadership, despite being technically of the older generation.

"How old is the current Sect Leader?" I asked.

"I think we learned it from our books... hmm..." She paused, doing a bit of mental math. "He should be about eighty-three."

Long-living cultivators always got into weird succession messes like this. The grandfather probably had a child when he was over a hundred. That kind of thing was bound to create conflict down the line.

Since this was a family dispute, I didn't have many openings. Interfering as an outsider wouldn't be well received. Even if the candidate I supported won, he'd be powerless if he didn't have the internal support of the elders or the Sect as a whole. A puppet. And puppets were as good as useless without the power behind them.

I wracked my brain, trying to think of something useful to do with this. But every strategy I came up with was full of holes big enough that anyone with half a brain could tear it apart.

Still, buried among those bad ideas was a safe investment. One that didn't rely on backing a side or risking anything too much. My position gave me a little wiggle room.

"So, what do these two look like? Have you ever seen them before?" I asked.

The girl tilted her head and squinted at the sky, clearly thinking hard. "Hmm... they both have black hair. One of them is tall... but the other guy is also tall, just shorter than him..."

She went on with a generic explanation that told me nothing. But I hadn't asked to get a clear answer.

I just needed her to get a clear image in her head.

And then, without warning, I softly touched her forehead with my index finger.