"Not needed for now. I need some spirit talismans for a matter and don't have enough spirit stones on hand. After I finish my business, if I still have spirit stones left, I'll buy your alchemy furnace. Since your furnace is so good, why hasn't it sold?" Leo said.

  Morana heard this, looking somewhat disappointed, wrinkling her nose and sighing.

  "Ah, the problem is precisely that this furnace is too good. My elder brother and I risked our lives, almost dying, to snatch it from a dilapidated temple in the Moonwatch Mountains. If I sell it for too cheap, naturally I'd be unwilling. But among loose cultivators, alchemy apprentices and junior alchemists are few to begin with. For them, a poorer furnace is sufficient; they have no need to spend many spirit stones on this one. Intermediate and senior alchemists are even rarer. They've long been recruited by the various major families in Moonwatch City. Those big families have even better furnaces, so naturally they won't come to buy."

  To put it plainly, this furnace was a bit of a case of "too good for the low end, not good enough for the high end."

  From recruitment information he'd seen along the street shops, Leo roughly knew that alchemists were a highly sought-after group in the immortal city. Even a junior alchemist capable of refining Qi Gathering Pills was extremely popular. After all, there were tens of thousands of cultivators in Moonwatch City. Late-stage and great perfection Qi Refining cultivators were in the minority; most were early and mid-stage. Foundation Establishment cultivators were even pitifully scarce.

  So, pills aiding cultivation were essential for cultivators. If he had enough pills, he could rapidly advance to Qi Refining Level Three, even higher realms. Everyone wanted to reach Qi Refining great perfection as fast as possible to prepare for Foundation Establishment. The younger one was, the greater the possibility of successfully establishing a Foundation.

  "I believe it will sell soon enough."

  "I hope so. The techniques you're selling don't seem particularly special. You need to call out, attract people's attention to sell them. Or have a showstopper treasure to draw people to stop; the chance is greater," Morana said helplessly, pursing her lips, then reminded Leo.

  "Oh, thank you," Leo said. After thinking, he felt Morana's words made sense. Moreover, this was Moonwatch City with patrolling soldiers. Fighting and brawling were forbidden within the city, so there shouldn't be much danger. So, Leo took out a small bottle from his storage pouch and placed it beside the technique books, then began loudly hawking.

  "Selling techniques! Earth element, Fire element, Water element! Complete sets from early to late Qi Refining! Additionally, one Essence Energy Pill! Buy quickly, miss it and it's gone!"

  "What? You actually have an Essence Energy Pill?! And the techniques go all the way to late Qi Refining?!" Before others gathered, Morana already exclaimed in a low voice.

  "Yes, any problem?" Leo asked.

  "N-no. How much for the earth element technique?" Morana asked.

  "This Lofty Earth True Scripture complete set goes to late Qi Refining, thirty-three low-grade spirit stones," Leo said. Previously, while buying Compendium of Spiritual Herbs and Records of Demonic Beasts, he had casually checked the prices of late Qi Refining techniques in shops; none were below thirty. Complete sets were around forty low-grade spirit stones. To quickly accumulate spirit stones for buying talismans, he set the price relatively low.

  "Coincidentally, my elder brother is at Qi Refining Level Six and might soon break through. He just needs an earth element late-stage technique. Can you wait a bit? I'll go fetch my brother right now; it'll be quick," Morana requested.

  "Alright, I'll sell these other two sets first. I'll wait half an hour for you," Leo nodded, putting away the earth element Lofty Earth True Scripture.

  Morana hurriedly packed her stall items, thanked him, and hurried off.

  "You have Essence Energy Pills? How many?" Soon after Morana left, people gradually crowded around.

  "Only one. My late master left it to me on his deathbed. I don't need it now, so I'm selling it."

  Leo made up an excuse, pulled the stopper from the pill bottle. A strong, fragrant aroma wafted out.

  "That's right, it's an Essence Energy Pill! And this scent is so rich; it should be a mid-grade Essence Energy Pill," A ruddy-nosed old man, after savoring the scent with rapt attention, exclaimed with a flushed and excited face.

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  "Mid-grade Essence Energy Pill?!" Instantly, the people present vied to push forward. In Moonwatch City, mid-grade pills were mostly used by wealthy, powerful family cultivators. Those flowing into the market were basically low-grade pills. The difference between mid-grade and low-grade, though just a word apart, was significant in effect. If stuck at a bottleneck at Qi Refining Level Seven, using a mid-grade pill made breaking through way easier than using a low-grade one. The benefit was immeasurable.

  "Young man, I want this pill. How many spirit stones?" The red-nosed old man had been stuck at Qi Refining Level Eight for a long time, exactly needing this good pill to help him break through. After visiting several pill shops without success, he wasn't about to let this chance go.

  " Old Tim the Freak, you're not the only one with spirit stones. Little brother, I offer thirty stones. Give me the pill!"

  "Thirty stones might buy a low-grade Essence Energy Pill. Little brother, I offer thirty-five! I am Rock, an officer in the city guard. I ask everyone present to make way for me," another cultivator dressed as an officer squeezed into the crowd, loudly clasping hands to those around.

  "I'd normally accommodate Officer Rock’s requests for other things, but there's only one mid-grade Essence Energy Pill. Officer Rock, my apologies. Little brother, I will offer you thirty-six low-grade spirit stones. I hope those present won't compete with me, an old man," a lean old man with black eyebrows reaching his chest squeezed in and said gravely.

  "Long-Browed Old Freak!"

  An exclamation arose from the crowd as they quickly made way, seemingly quite fearful of this long-browed elder. Even the armored officer, Rock, wore a wary look in his eyes. The Long-Browed Old Freak was a notorious ruthless character in the area. It was said that many who had crossed him later entered the Moonwatch Mountains only to mysteriously vanish, never to return. Some claimed they had fallen prey to demonic beasts, while others had spotted the Long-Browed Old Freak lurking nearby—leading to widespread speculation that he was behind the disappearances.

  This officer had some authority within the city, but outside, he might not be the Long-Browed Old Freak's match.

  After the Long-Browed Old Freak spoke, no one else offered a price. For one thing, the price was already steep enough. For another, offending the Long-Browed Old Freak over such a high bid would indeed feel like a thorn in one’s back once outside Moonwatch City—simply not worth the trouble.

  "Little lad, the spirit stones are here. Hand over the pill," the Long-Browed Old Freak said, seeing people cowed by his intimidation and no longer bidding. He chuckled smugly, threw a bag of spirit stones to Leo, and reached out to grab the pill bottle.

  Leo inwardly fumed. This damned Long-Browed freak! If not for him, with others bidding, I could have gotten at least a few more spirit stones. Ruined by this meddler. But seeing so many late-stage Qi Refining people around have been scared into silence, he naturally dared not show any dissatisfaction on his face. He could only respectfully hand over the Essence Energy Pill.

  Once the pill sold, the crowd dispersed. However, since there were many people earlier, one took a liking to his complete fire element technique. Seeing the price was quite affordable, they haggled a bit and finally bought it for thirty-two spirit stones.

  Leo wondered if he should take out another Essence Energy Pill to sell for more stones and attract more people. But he quickly dismissed the thought. The bag now held a weighty sixty-eight low-grade spirit stones. Several people around looked enviously, and a couple had ill-intentioned glances.

  If not inside the city, who knows what might happen. For early and mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, sixty-eight spirit stones was already a huge sum.

  Thinking this, Leo gave up the idea of selling more Essence Energy Pills.

  "Big Brother, he's right here. He has a technique that can be cultivated all the way to late Qi Refining!" Not long after, Morana returned, bringing a square-jawed youth wearing a ring-pommeled spiritual saber. However, his clothing was rather shabby, just simple, worn cloth.

  "Leo, this is my elder brother, Sasha. He's already a Qi Refining Level Six cultivator," Morana said with a proud look.

  "Can I see the technique in your hand?" Sasha asked.

  "Of course," Leo nodded. Sasha didn't show any arrogance despite having far higher cultivation. On the contrary, he was quite polite. His slightly unassuming expression didn’t put people off; instead, it gave off a sense of steadiness and reliability..

  "The technique is decent. Can the price be lowered a bit? If so, I'll take it," Sasha said.

  "Sorry, thirty-three stones is already very cheap. I just sold a fire element set," Leo shrugged. Though his impression of him was good, he needed spirit stones for a major purpose and wouldn't lower the price.

  Sasha anxiously rubbed his hands. "But we don't have that many spirit stones on hand. Can you wait a few days? I'll ask a few friends in the city to pool together?"

  Morana rolled her eyes. "How about this? What do you think of my alchemy furnace? Though it doesn't sell well, its actual value should be close to fifty stones. Your technique sells for over forty low-grade stones in shops. I'll trade this furnace for your earth element technique."

  "But I'm short on spirit stones lately and I need them urgently. How many stones do you have?" Leo was somewhat hesitant. The black-robed old man had become a source of anxiety for him. Now that he had a chance to eliminate him, he didn't want to wait longer.

  "Counting the metal- and wood-attribute ones together, we have twenty-one," Sasha said, scratching his ear. If they were short by just two or three stones, he could borrow from other friends to cover the gap. But with a shortfall of twelve stones, none of the people he knew were particularly well-off themselves, and no one would empty their pockets just for him to buy a cultivation manual. Lending two or three stones was already considered good friendship.

  "Do you have any spirit talismans on you? Fireball, Water Arrow, or others are fine," Leo asked again.