CHAPTER 351: CHAPTER 351: RUTHLESS MERCHANT

"Wow! The prices have gone up again?" The customer inquiring about Iron Thistle Grass is a slightly chubby old man, identified as a Bear Demon by the system, a low-level monster in the Sixth Layer of the Wisdom Realm akin to Hu Zhile’s realm.

After an exclamation, the Bear Demon furrowed his brows slightly but still entered the shop.

The savvy shop assistant immediately noticed Jiang Yuan and enthusiastically greeted him, "Sir, are you looking for spirit medicine? You can come inside and have a look. In just a few days, the Immortal Peach at Wo Hu Temple will mature, and many Taoist friends are eager to seize this rare opportunity.

Elixirs are so expensive, and there’s no guarantee they’ll be available. In contrast, spirit medicine is much more affordable, and those that replenish spiritual power and heal injuries are in high demand!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan was taken aback, "Directly consuming spirit medicine?"

"That’s right!" The shop assistant couldn’t detect his realm aura right away and quickly explained, "Directly consuming spirit medicine has its drawbacks, such as loss of medicinal properties and the forceful impact of medicinal power on the meridians, but it’s cheap in large quantities and can be lifesaving in emergencies.

Isn’t the most commendable trait of us Demon Cultivators our strong physiques? In urgent situations, a mere impact of medicinal power is nothing.

If you’re interested, hurry and pick some good items; recently, not only at Wo Hu Temple Market, but even at the Jade Rabbit Palace Market miles away, the prices for spirit medicine have skyrocketed!"

Jade Rabbit Palace Market?

It should be a place higher level than Wo Hu Temple.

He raised his eyebrows slightly and turned to enter the shop, greeted by a strong medicinal incense.

But this scent seemed a bit...

[Inferior Star Spirit Flower: Extremely poor quality]

[Inferior Ningxin Grass: Poor quality]

[Inferior Purple Gold Lotus: Extremely poor quality]

........

With a glance, the spirit medicines displayed in exquisite jade boxes on the counters in the spacious hall looked of excellent quality, yet after system identification, none were genuinely good, and the prices were exorbitant.

The lowest-level spirit medicine casually picked from the grass by Crescent Lake, displayed here with a high-quality label, could be sold for three to four hundred Spirit Stones, no wonder the scent differed from what he usually uses, Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but curse the deceitful merchants silently.

Let alone buying from the pharmacy to refine Elixirs for profit, this kind of inferior product couldn’t even produce a batch of Elixirs in the Alchemy Room!

"Sir, take a look at our high-quality Iron Thistle Grass, then take a sniff of its abundant medicinal properties; although medicinal power impacts during key moments, it is a life-saving good!" Persistently promoted the shop assistant, clutching the jade box.

The Bear Demon looked, sniffed multiple times, and sighed, "Can’t the price be lowered? Previously, buying the best Iron Thistle Grass was less than two hundred Spirit Stones, this, this is way too expensive!"

"Then go check out other stores. Wo Hu Temple’s Immortal Peach has attracted countless cultivators to gather here, step out of the main gate and take a look, who wouldn’t want a piece of the pie? At that time, weapons there are blind, better preparation gives more assurance, we’re almost sold out of spirit medicine, today’s price is 450, tomorrow it might be 550!"

The assistant casually packed away the jade box, showing an attitude of choosing whether to buy or not.

The Bear Demon secretly contemplated his needed supplies, Spirit Stones were evidently not enough; an Iron Thistle Grass alone costs 450 Spirit Stones, if he gathered over a dozen other more precious spirit medicines, wouldn’t it be more expensive than a ready-made Elixir?

Noticing the customer’s hesitation, eager to sell off the inferior goods, the shop assistant skillfully persuaded, "Go around and inquire, not to mention Wo Hu Temple Market, even at Jade Rabbit Palace, there has been no Elixirs available for purchase for a while now!

Alchemists are rare, working tirelessly to refine a few Elixirs; those without connections can only try their luck at the Auction House, the price for an ordinary Spirit Core Pill has reached sixty thousand each on the Black Market, isn’t consuming spirit medicine much more cost-effective?

Anyway, we Demon Cultivators have thick skin and strong bodies, the medicinal power impacting meridians doesn’t matter, please consider carefully."

"Alas!" The Bear Demon felt tempted, but his purse was too tight.

If he had to spend tens of thousands of Spirit Stones on an Elixir, he’d undoubtedly not hesitate. After all, it takes over a dozen or even dozens of spirit medicines to refine one Elixir; there’s no comparison in price or efficacy.

But an Iron Thistle Grass was so costly, he didn’t want to be taken for a sucker.

Jiang Yuan was contemplating whether or not to interfere and see if he could earn some rewards for doing a good deed a day; just then he saw the Bear Demon stamping his foot, gritting his teeth and walking away!

"Sir, what kind of spirit medicine would you like to see?" The assistant cast a disdainful glance at the Bear Demon, then turned with a smiling face and asked.

He glanced again, realizing the storyline of picking cheap goods depicted in novels didn’t exist at all. Merchants were savvy, and buying ordinary goods from this shop had very slim chances.

Indeed, even in the Otherworld, there are plenty of deceitful merchants!

Thinking of what Song Zhi said in Cloud City, Jiang Yuan guessed his father was likely tricked by such merchants. Therefore, Cloud City shouldn’t have counterfeit goods, right?

Wandering aimlessly down the street, Jiang Yuan became more curious about his new neighbor, Cloud City, pondering how to enter the city smoothly and legally?

"Elixirs! Elixirs! Unprecedented sale on Second Grade Spirit Core Pills!" Just as he ascended a level, he suddenly heard sales cries, accompanied by loud drumming and clamorous hollering.

About to head over and join the commotion, the Bear Demon who almost entered and exited the pharmacy simultaneously kindly reminded, "The Elixirs sold at that store are of poor quality; it’s best to be cautious."

Jiang Yuan looked perplexed, "They’re selling poor quality Elixirs, isn’t the Market Manager going to handle it?"

He thought to himself this Wo Hu Temple Market was quite chaotic, unlike Cyan Fish Mountain and Golden Carp Lake. Despite those markets being slightly lower in level and frequented by cultivators with tighter budgets, at least there weren’t so many blatantly fraudulent merchants.

"They can’t manage." The Bear Demon lowered his voice, "Spirit medicines, Elixirs, such items greatly test a cultivator’s insight. They are not forced upon anyone, and they inform that the low prices are because the Alchemist slightly misjudged the refinement timing; you can’t find fault after purchasing a defective product.

Since the Demon Realm Alliance established markets, many regulations were set, but there are too many cunning merchants exploiting loopholes, where could they manage it?"

"Are there no wronged cultivators seeking justice?" Jiang Yuan found it hard to believe, Elixirs used directly for replenishing spiritual power or treating diseases, delay in healing would surely prompt someone to demand an explanation?

The Bear Demon waved his hand, explaining, "They’ve said the refinement timing was off, and the price is relatively affordable. Buy it, identify it, and come back; the shop has plenty of excuses waiting;

If ingesting it led to a problem, either directly resulting in serious injury or death, or coming back after a delay, the issue is the Elixir was consumed, but there’s no evidence! Who can prove the faulty Elixir was bought from his shop?"

He listened, bewildered, "It can be like this?"

"These days the world is becoming increasingly chaotic, and no one governs these deceitful merchants, their goods’ quality all depends on conscience." The Bear Demon sighed, "Cultivate, cultivate, many cultivators focus on cultivation but neglect their morality, ending up morally degenerate akin to Evil Cultivators!"

Gazing afar, the Elixirs vigorously promoted by the shop assistant were identified as unqualified by the system, outwardly appealing Elixirs were merely experimental defective products, the spirit medicine ratios improper posed significant ingestion risks.

Could I find an opportunity to work for them, activate the Causality Weapon, and bankrupt the deceitful merchants? Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but ponder, would that increase the blood exchange rate to 1:21?

"Thank you for your kind reminder, Taoist friend." With this in mind, he took out a Nine Bends Vine from his Storage Bag, similar in medicinal efficacy to Iron Thistle Grass, both used for healing, and handed it over, "The spirit medicine sold in that pharmacy consists of defective products, perhaps this Nine Bends Vine can resolve your urgent needs."