CHAPTER 272: CHAPTER 272: SECOND GRADE SPIRIT CORE PILL

Not bad, as a puppet, it’s quite sensible and perceptive.

But Jiang Yuan doesn’t even need to chop vegetables when cooking, so there’s naturally nothing to help with, he just let her go into energy-saving mode to rest.

"Yes, sir." Yun Shu responded and was about to leave when he quickly corrected himself, "From now on, don’t call me sir, call me mister."

Those two words always felt a bit odd, so he changed it to something more pleasant-sounding.

"Yes, mister." She saluted and walked to the corner of the living room, closed her eyes and stood still, probably shutting down her energy "system".

The appearance is fine; it’s just the core is lacking. If only it could directly load a language data package, and ideally be equipped with various weapons like a smart robot, occasionally changing forms...

Jiang Yuan pondered, and soon he had prepared a table full of steaming, fragrant dishes.

For dinner, he specifically added two seafood dishes, steamed a large basin of the big scorpion crab and mantis shrimp caught at the beach, and also steamed three fresh large bass.

While teaching his apprentice how to peel a crab, he was eating with sauce dripping down his mouth, thoroughly enjoying the freedom of seafood.

"Master, let’s find some time to go to the seaside again tomorrow!" Wan Mingchuan swallowed a mouthful of delicious crab roe, his eyes glowing as he said: "I’ll also help catch crabs on the beach, although they look unattractive, the taste is amazing!"

"Mm-hmm, we can catch more." Jiang Yuan nodded, thinking about spending more time at the sea, so that when returning to the real world, he could bring some seafood for his parents to taste, as they are too frugal to buy expensive seafood despite having money.

Then he noticed a pop-up hint of a side task and tentatively asked, "Mingchuan, do you want to know your lineage?"

The other person shook his head with a mouth full of flavor and decisively said, "I don’t want to!"

The words he had planned to say suddenly stuck, Jiang Yuan asked, "Why don’t you want to?"

"Why should I want to?" Wan Mingchuan looked perplexed, "My grandpa raised me; my master taught me skills, in this lifetime I only acknowledge you guys! They didn’t want me and threw me away, I don’t want to know who they are."

Others at the dining table noticed something unusual, their glances subtle yet curious.

Jiang Yuan thought of that phoenix hairpin and sighed softly, "What if you weren’t intentionally abandoned?"

"Then I definitely won’t acknowledge them." Wan Mingchuan said confidently, "It’s been so many years! If they didn’t want me, even if they accidentally lost me, why wouldn’t they search? During my times of distress and despair, my grandpa was there with me, and my master reached out to help.

All these years of not having enough to eat or wear, suffering through difficult days, no one ever came looking for me; now I have my master, Brother Long, Sister Hu, Brother Mo, to eat well, dress warmly, and live a life as blissful as an immortal, I’m not intrigued by them at all!"

The discussion seemed difficult to continue, mainly because Jiang Yuan also couldn’t bear to let his apprentice suddenly get swept into the familial struggles of the elite.

So he decided to leave it be for now, wait until the elixirs are sold for money, get his apprentice some good equipment and then reveal the truth about his lineage!

No sooner said than done, after dinner he took out the gorgeous flying sword crafted at the Treasure Forging Workshop and headed to Crescent Lake to find the mermaid.

Meanwhile, the Golden Carp Lake Market was gradually becoming lively.

As waves rippled, the boats swayed, and the lights of various shops lit up, appearing like fireflies adorning the lake’s surface.

"Creak~"

The window of the Cloud Grocery Store, with its business hours set, opened automatically. Ninety-nine Spirit Core Pills, carefully selected by Jiang Yuan, radiated a gentle glow inside delicate crystal bottles, the window overlaying them with a shimmering sales filter, spreading the enticing scent typical of elixirs.

As a result, approximately ten meters away, Shopkeeper Hou Ze next door first caught a whiff of this refreshing aroma, his eyes lit up as he stuck his head out from his small shop to look around, "It’s the scent of elixirs, and it’s Second Grade elixirs! Where is it? Golden Carp Lake Market actually has Second Grade elixirs?"

The next second, he seemed to realize something, hurriedly skimmed over the water and rushed straight to the Cloud Grocery Store.

Indeed, in the showcase, there was only a large bottle of Second Grade Spirit Core Pills for sale.

"Our neighbor is indeed an alchemist!" Hou Ze patted the furry little golden monkey’s head exposed from his bosom, eyeing the Second Grade Spirit Core Pill priced at sixty thousand Spirit Stones apiece with envy, took out a silver note from his Storage Bag and handed it over, "Hmm, let’s hope our neighbor accepts silver notes. Otherwise, I’ll have to trouble you to run errands and exchange some Spirit Stones for me."

The system-managed Floating Market was clearly very intelligent, the silver notes were inserted, and immediately three elixirs were traded at the price.

"Wonderful! Simply wonderful!" He excitedly took out another larger denomination silver note from the Storage Bag, inserted it with a slightly regretful sigh, "It’s unfortunate we don’t have enough Spirit Stones, otherwise I could’ve bought the entire bottle and sold them one by one for quite a profit!

Second Grade elixirs aren’t the type of good stuff anyone can get at will, at least it’s the first time seeing so many Second Grade elixirs for sale at Golden Carp Lake Market."

Hou Ze bought five more, cautiously taking out a jade box from his Storage Bag to store them, already in this short time many cultivators were attracted by the scent and gathered around.

Some were stealthily submerged beneath the water; some floated on the surface; others maneuvered sharp-cornered small boats; more flew in mid-air, either on flying swords or flapping wings, all targeting this seemingly unassuming grocery store.

"See, this is the allure of elixirs for cultivators! And also, the embodiment of an alchemist’s worth!"

He returned to his shop, letting the golden-haired monkey pop out of his bosom, whispering a reminder, "Keep an eye on the movements in the shop next door, if you spot the shopkeeper, make sure to alert me immediately! Proximity to water offers the chance to benefit first, and as neighbors, maintaining good relations with an alchemist could be immensely beneficial in the future."

The small, adorable golden-furred monkey skillfully cracked open a peanut, tossing it into its mouth, "Squawk squawk" it chirped, nodding to show it understood.

"Hey, you seniors in front, be considerate and leave a few pills for those waiting behind!"

"Why the rush, if you’re late then just wait for the next sale. Now that Golden Carp Lake Market has a grocery store specialized in selling elixirs, why worry about not having elixirs in the future?"

"Last time when a First Grade Spirit Core Pill was sold for thirty-five thousand Spirit Stones apiece, I couldn’t get one! Today there’s Second Grade Spirit Core Pill for sale, I must snag one!"

"How much does a Second Grade Spirit Core Pill cost?"

"Sixty thousand Spirit Stones each, silver note transactions are accepted but doesn’t give change, the insufficient ones or the excess ones will be returned..."

...

Under the rules of the Market Array, even though it’s crowded with people eager to get a couple elixirs, at most they just murmur, then anxiously look forward to their turn.

Jiang Yuan, just from the short journey of collecting medicines and gathering Feather Bugs from the courtyard to Crescent Lake, the pleasant sound of gold coins chiming into his account never ceased.

In no time, he amassed nearly six million Spirit Stones, after trading for the Water Manipulation Technique from the mermaids there, he could then go to Golden Carp Lake Market to look for the Mysterious Jewelry Merchant’s whereabouts!

"Woo woo woo~" Filled with hope, he took out the Large Conch Shell and blew it.

As expected, shortly after, he heard the sound of water splashing, as a merman and mermaid emerged from the water, "Jiang Yuan, do you have something you want to trade for? Please be quick, we’re going to attend an interesting event later, and I don’t want to arrive late!"

Upon seeing the signature conch shell hairdo, it’s clear the speaker is the mermaid alchemist Yaoguang, while the other is the handsome merman Tian Qu.

Jiang Yuan promptly presented the gorgeous flying sword she desired, "Look, I’ve already crafted it. But I don’t want the potion that sings heavenly melodies for now, I’m in urgent need of a means to manipulate water, which shouldn’t be difficult for you guys, right?"