After finishing his cultivation, Ye Chen fell into a deep sleep.

  When he woke up the next morning, he felt refreshed.

  This was the first restful sleep Ye Chen had since he crossed over to this world.

  After instructing a mortal maid to assist him with washing up, Ye Chen tossed the problematic Rose Red and some ineffective herbs into the alchemy furnace, burning them into dregs.

  This was to make others believe he had failed in alchemy again.

  Since he knew the shopkeeper was watching him, he had to produce some failed pills.

  For now, he decided to keep his true alchemy skills hidden.

  ***

  Today, Ye Chen pnned to go out and buy some herbs for Qi Gathering Pills.

  His predecessor had wasted quite a bit of herbs due to poor alchemy skills, and some herbs had been tampered with.

  He had to buy new ones.

  This was also to show the steward, as the steward knew he couldn't refine pills.

  Although he could easily complete tasks with the tenfold return, taking out pills without reason would arouse suspicion.

  So he needed to buy some herbs as a cover.

  Of course, the main reason was that he wanted to see if there were any beauties at Silver Moon Market with a higher multiplier.

  Although Lin Ke'er, that little green tea, could give a tenfold return, Ye Chen wasn't a true Lick Spirit.

  If he encountered a match with a higher multiplier, he would abandon Lin Ke'er without hesitation.

  It's all about maximizing benefits.

  As Ye Chen left the backyard, Steward Zhang immediately received the news.

  With just a little thought, Steward Zhang guessed what Ye Chen was up to.

  To be honest, Steward Zhang was already too zy to waste any effort on Ye Chen.

  Poor aptitude, low alchemy skills, couldn't even distinguish herbs.

  In this situation, he only had eyes for women, always thinking about giving them gifts.

  Such a waste, he wouldn't have a chance to get a spot even without interference.

  But Ye Chen's identity was a bit different. His father was a te-stage Eighth Layer of Qi Refining cultivator, the strongest in the Ye family aside from the head, responsible for transporting various resources.

  Ye Chen might not see through his tricks, but Ye Chen's father was a sly old fox. If he found out, it would be troublesome.

  Moreover, disqualifying Ye Chen early might lead to bme.

  After some thought, Steward Zhang smiled: "This kid must have a lot of spirit stones. Since he's pnning to buy pills from outside, why not keep the profit in-house... Wouldn't it be better if I earned those spirit stones?"

  With this in mind, Steward Zhang immediately called his confidant and gave instructions.

  ***

  Walking out from the backyard, Ye Chen surveyed Silver Moon Market with some disappointment.

  His family's shop was on the main street, so the ground was paved with bluestone sbs.

  The whole street looked retively clean.

  But looking further, beyond the main street, many pces were gravel and dirt roads.

  Most of the houses looked small and gray.

  There was none of the celestial aura that Ye Chen imagined cultivators should have.

  Instead, it resembled the vilges in his memory, and not even modern ones.

  It seemed that most cultivators lived quite hard lives.

  "Fellow Daoist, fellow Daoist..."

  A sudden voice interrupted Ye Chen's thoughts.

  A furtive cultivator approached Ye Chen.

  Ye Chen immediately took a step back, cautiously circuting his cultivation technique.

  "Fellow Daoist, do you need pills?

  My father is an alchemist, and I'm short on cash, so I stole some pills to sell.

  Low Grade Qi Gathering Pills. A full five hundred.

  If you want them, I'll give you a good price, but don't spread it around..."

  Hearing this, Ye Chen felt a hint of caution.

  Low Grade Qi Gathering Pills?

  These were exactly what he needed for his task.

  But how did he just happen to run into this right after leaving?

  Ye Chen was not like his predecessor, a young man who stayed within the family, ignorant of the world.

  He immediately sensed something fishy.

  It felt like one of those scams from his previous life, like selling phones at train stations.

  Even the cultivation world pyed these tricks?

  This cultivation world was really down-to-earth.

  Waving his hand, Ye Chen didn't want to engage further.

  The other party seemed anxious, looking around and whispering: "Fellow Daoist, these pills are really cheap, thirty pills for one spirit stone. Even though they were stolen, they're genuine pills, the efficacy is guaranteed.

  One Low Grade Spirit Stone can let you cultivate for almost two months, buying them is a profit... And if you buy them all, I'll make another concession, just give me fifteen Low Grade Spirit Stones."

  After speaking, afraid Ye Chen wouldn't believe him, he quickly poured out a pill for Ye Chen to see.

  Ye Chen gnced at it and raised his eyebrows.

  With his current level, Ye Chen could tell that these Low Grade Qi Gathering Pills were decent, at least better than what his predecessor had made.

  Seeing Ye Chen's interest, the other party quickly poured out a few more.

  They were all of simir quality.

  Indeed, they were genuine Qi Gathering Pills, not fake.

  But this made it even more interesting.

  Selling pills of this quality at this price was practically charity.

  Such a cheap opportunity, and it just happened to fall into his p?

  Most importantly, it was exactly five hundred pills.

  Wasn't this too coincidental?

  In Ye Chen's mind, Steward Zhang's chubby face involuntarily appeared.

  With just a little thought, he guessed the general idea.

  Although it was just a guess, Ye Chen felt it was likely correct.

  It seemed Steward Zhang not only wanted to trick him but also squeeze him dry.

  Knowing he couldn't refine pills, he had someone sell him cheap pills so he could complete his tasks.

  All the profits went to Steward Zhang.

  While he continuously spent spirit stones to complete tasks until he was completely drained.

  In the end, with a little manipution from Steward Zhang, he would be exposed when he tried to refine pills publicly.

  The Qingyun Sect spot would be completely lost.

  Steward Zhang was truly heartless!

  Thinking of this, a shadow crossed Ye Chen's eyes.

  In his previous life, Ye Chen wasn't someone who took grievances lying down; he was all about settling scores.

  Steward Zhang was really asking for it.

  ***

  However, despite his anger, these pills delivered to his door were actually a good thing for Ye Chen.

  Previously, he had to pretend about the source of his pills.

  Now, buying these cheap pills meant he didn't have to pretend anymore.

  After all, it was the other party who sold them to him behind the scenes.

  It saved time and effort.

  As for spending money?

  That was not an issue.

  With the Lick Spirit System and his perfect first-grade alchemy skills, Ye Chen's spirit stones would only increase.

  So, Ye Chen directly said, "Let me check all the pills. If there's no problem, I'll take them."

  The furtive cultivator was delighted to hear this.

  He immediately nodded, allowing Ye Chen to inspect each one.

  It took nearly half an hour to complete the transaction for the five hundred Low Grade Qi Gathering Pills.

  During this process, Ye Chen became even more certain of his previous suspicions.

  After all, if they were stolen goods, the other party would be eager to sell them quickly for cash, not have time to dawdle.

  But Ye Chen deliberately dragged out the inspection, and the other party wasn't anxious at all.

  It could only be said that their acting skills were indeed cking.