"Fellow Daoist, what would you like to order?"

  As soon as Ye Chen entered the Qingyun Workshop, a servant came to greet him.

  Noticing that Ye Chen's cultivation level wasn't high, the servant's enthusiasm waned a bit, but he didn't show any displeasure.

  Ye Chen didn't mind.

  Wasn't this service attitude much better than those luxury store clerks in his previous life?

  "I want to sell some pills and buy some medicinal herbs."

  Upon hearing this, the servant's expression remained unchanged and invited Ye Chen to sit down.

  Although the profession of an alchemist is precious, with the growing number of cultivators, there are bound to be some.

  So there was nothing surprising about it.

  After Ye Chen sat down, the servant asked, "May I ask what kind of pills you wish to sell?"

  "Two hundred medium-grade Qi Gathering Pills."

  Ye Chen stated directly, taking out a bottle of pills from his pocket.

  The servant smiled and nodded at Ye Chen.

  Then he gently rang a bell on the counter.

  Soon, an elderly man with white hair and beard emerged from the back.

  Seeing the elder, the servant hurriedly bowed, "Greetings, Manager!"

  The servant was a bit puzzled as to why the manager came out.

  Nevertheless, he quickly reported the matter of identifying the pills.

  "Alchemist Li is currently refining pills and has no time, so I'll take a look."

  The manager of Qingyun Workshop.

  There was no herbal scent on him.

  Instead, there was a faint smell of leather and blood.

  He was most likely not an alchemist but a talisman crafter.

  Moreover, there was an aura of pressure about him.

  To become a manager, he must be at the te stage of Qi Refining.

  However, Qi Gathering Pills are just low-grade pills.

  With his experience, even if he's not an alchemist, he can still appraise them.

  The elder nodded at Ye Chen and then picked up a pill.

  "Hmm, all are medium-grade Qi Gathering Pills, with pure color and rich yet not mixed fragrance, well-crafted."

  He first examined the exterior and nodded in satisfaction.

  Then he gently crushed one to check the internal structure.

  He even tasted a bit of the powder.

  "Hmm, the medicinal power is very pure..."

  The elder, who hadn't even gnced at Ye Chen before, now looked at him with interest, "These medium-grade pills are almost top-grade."

  "Surely, fellow Daoist has refined quite a few top-grade Qi Gathering Pills as well. Why not sell them together? The purchase price for top-grade Qi Gathering Pills is actually more favorable."

  Ye Chen wasn't surprised that the elder could guess.

  After all, a cultivator who can consistently produce medium-grade pills can often produce some top-grade ones.

  While top-grade pills seem more expensive, the demand is also high.

  Even slightly wealthier rogue cultivators would choose top-grade pills.

  After all, given the choice, they'd use the better ones.

  Pill toxins and impurities are much less.

  It's said that the daily cultivation pills given to disciples by the Qingyun Sect start at medium-grade.

  Disciples with better spiritual roots receive top-grade pills directly.

  This is one of the reasons rogue cultivators envy them.

  However, Ye Chen shook his head, "I haven't refined many top-grade pills; I've used them for my own cultivation."

  The elder nodded and didn't insist.

  Two hundred Qi Gathering Pills were just a small deal for Qingyun Workshop.

  "The purchase price for eighteen medium-grade Qi Gathering Pills at Qingyun Workshop is one spirit stones. If you have no objections to this price, let's settle it."

  The elder quoted the price.

  Ye Chen nodded and didn't haggle.

  The normal selling price for fifteen medium-grade is spirit stones each.

  But they have to make a profit, or else why run a business?

  A three-stone difference isn't too bad.

  "What herbs do you need?"

  The servant put away the box, and the elder continued to ask.

  Ye Chen took out a prepared list.

  The elder gnced at it, raising an eyebrow slightly.

  Ye Chen's list was quite mixed.

  It included main ingredients for Qi Gathering Pills, auxiliary herbs for Clear Vein Pills, and some for other pills.

  The elder didn't recognize them.

  But with countless pill recipes in the cultivation world, it wasn't surprising he didn't recognize them, especially since he wasn't an alchemist.

  He handed it to the servant, who quickly calcuted the price: "The total is a little over ten low-grade spirit stones.

  The Qi Gathering Pills earlier totaled eleven low-grade spirit stones. If you're not buying anything else, I'll return one low-grade spirit stone to you."

  Ye Chen had no objections.

  Soon, the servant also found the herbs.

  After Ye Chen confirmed everything was correct, he packed up the herbs and spirit stones and prepared to leave.

  "If you have more pills in the future, feel free to sell them to us. Our Qingyun Workshop has the most comprehensive selection of herbs in the entire Silver Moon Market."

  Although the Qingyun Sect doesn't ck alchemists, those trained by the sect don't like refining low-grade pills due to low contributions.

  So the sect's low-grade pills are in short supply.

  The pills collected by Qingyun Workshop from outside, those of good quality, are reserved for the sect, while the lesser ones are sold externally.

  Ye Chen's pills were of good quality.

  Hence the elder's words.

  Ye Chen nodded in agreement but didn't take it seriously.

  Better not to sell too many pills and attract unwanted attention.

  Even though Qingyun Workshop is a rge establishment, you never know if someone might be greedy.

  In his previous life, weren't those bosses worth millions still stingy with their employees' saries?

  Just as Ye Chen was about to leave, a female voice suddenly came from the back of the shop, "Dad, I drew a medium-grade Fireball Talisman, look, look, isn't it amazing..."

  The elder smiled upon hearing the voice but still reprimanded, "Didn't I tell you? No noise in the shop, wait until I'm done to speak."

  Though it was a reprimand, his tone was clearly pleased.

  Ye Chen, who had reached the door, couldn't help but turn back for a gnce.

  A woman in blue emerged from behind the counter.

  Her hair was pinned up with a jade hairpin, her figure graceful, her eyebrows arched, and her eyes lively and pyful.

  Her skin was exceptionally fair, almost glowing.

  Seeing her, Ye Chen paused for a moment.

  The woman frowned upon noticing Ye Chen's gaze.

  Ye Chen nodded at her and decisively turned to leave.

  "That person was so ugly..."

  After Ye Chen left, the woman whispered.

  The elder affectionately patted her head, "He just used external martial arts to alter his face, only at the third yer of Qi Refining, probably just a cautious smile... But he's indeed overly cautious, just a few low-grade spirit stones, nothing Qingyun Workshop cares about."

  The elder, experienced as he was, immediately saw that Ye Chen was a novice.

  His few words weren't due to silence but simply because he hadn't experienced such situations often, so he spoke less to avoid mistakes.

  That's how lower-level cultivators get by.

  His alchemy skills were decent, but nothing else was noteworthy.

  The elder took his daughter to the back courtyard to guide her.

  ***

  As Ye Chen left Qingyun Workshop, he couldn't help but gnce back.

  But by then, the female cultivator was no longer in sight.

  Ye Chen wasn't falling in love at first sight.

  The cultivation world was so fascinating, and with a system backing him, Ye Chen had a bright future.

  Why waste time on romance?

  The reason he paused earlier was because the system had given a notification:

  "Compatible target detected!"

  "Sun Ruoxin: Fifteen times!"

  Finally, at the Silver Moon Market, he found someone with a higher compatibility than Lin Ke'er.

  How could Ye Chen not be thrilled?

  Fifteen times!

  Giving Lin Ke'er a pill would yield ten in return.

  But giving this Sun Ruoxin a pill would yield fifteen.

  A direct increase of a third.

  And for things like cultivation techniques, the returns would be even higher.

  The only pity was that this Sun Ruoxin had a high status and was well-off.

  She certainly wouldn't easily interact with a rogue cultivator like him.

  It wouldn't be easy to give her gifts.