Hanping Prefecture, West Market, Thousand Treasures Pavilion, Gambling Arms Shop.

Song Cheng extended his hand to touch each weapon, observing the fluctuations in their stats.

After feeling around, he picked one out.

Covered in rust, long and narrow, it was unclear what weapon it was.

But Song Cheng knew it was a blade.

Because only a blade could increase the upper limit of his strength.

He grabbed it and asked, "Boss, how much?"

The shopkeeper was a man with a languid aura, and at this moment, he glanced over and said, "Three Hundred Tael apiece, the price is firm."

Ling glanced at the piece of junk iron that seemed worthless even if given for free. She decided to play up her advantages as a tea-sipping sweetheart, trying to bargain on behalf of her master with a coquettish tone, "Elder, Three Hundred Tael is too expensive. Could it be a little cheaper?"

The shopkeeper said, "Oh? Are you going to pay some other price?"

He took a look at Ling and said, "Then Two Hundred Tael, plus you serving me for five nights."

Ling was left speechless, unsure of how to respond.

Song Cheng swept the shopkeeper a look, a hidden master of the Form Realm. Was he joking with a little girl or was that just his nature?

He didn't care and just said, "Pay him."

With no choice, Ling took out her small purse, pulled out some silver notes, counted three with a denomination of a hundred each, and then handed them over, puffing up in anger as she glared at the profligate young master, and, though she didn't dare to speak loudly, she still enunciated each word, "Three. Hundred. Tael."

Song Cheng, holding the Embroidery Blade, passed his Fine Blade to Ling.

He glanced at the stats.

Well, holding the Fine Blade, the stats were "119~238".

With the rusty blade in hand, the stats turned to "121~242".

This blade hadn't even been sharpened yet, and the value it held in his hand had already surpassed his Fine Blade. If sharpened, it might improve even further.

It seemed he didn't need to practice much. By simply refurbishing the equipment in Prefectural City, the stats were creeping closer to the ceiling of Prefectural City's combat power...

This blade was worth it.

The two continued browsing on the first floor for a while.

Apart from pills and weapons, the first floor also had some herbs and oddly colored demon beast meat, neither of which were labeled, apparently without worry of selling. Ling wanted to ask the shopkeeper what these were, but he didn't pay them any attention, seeming to have identified the two as country bumpkins at a glance, too lazy to bother.

Even when Ling huffily pulled out the silver note to wave, the shopkeeper still ignored her, but did say, "I'm here for the long haul. If you want to buy, just pick something. If not, then forget it. There's a knack to consuming these things, and I'm too lazy to explain it to you. If you die, don't come looking for me." He then ignored them again.

Ling's face turned green and then white with these words.

Thus, the two decided to head to the second floor.

But to do so, they had to continue paying the entry fee...

The fee to go upstairs was Forty Tael per person, Eighty Tael for the two of them.

Puffing her cheeks, Ling complained, "Master, let's not go upstairs."

She felt this place was a complete rip-off, her money had blown away, and all they had gotten was an old rusty blade that looked like trash.

Emotionally, Song Cheng also felt the expense was outrageous;

but reasoning told him that to acquire resources "beyond his class," paying an extra entry fee of Eighty Tael was actually quite fair.

Having looked around the first floor of the Thousand Treasures Pavilion, at the very least he knew that there must be a way for masters to rapidly rise in this world. It's only minor powers like the An Family that would have their martial artists slowly cultivate by eating meat. Even an outstanding individual like Ding Kui, who was already in his mid-twenties, hadn't yet reached the Force Realm.

Besides, this world must be rich in pills. Not to mention others, those fancy herbs alone were probably raw materials for many strange pills.

"Pay."

Song Cheng said.

Ling took out the Eighty Tael and handed it over.

Then the two ascended the staircase.

If the first floor of the Thousand Treasures Pavilion evoked a searing sense of medicine aroma, the second floor was rather chilly.

As if separated by the two-story staircase, there was at least a ten-degree difference in temperature.

Both of them went upstairs, still ignored by everyone.

Fortunately, this floor sold bottled pills.

The pills couldn't be seen from outside, so there were some simple signs with brief descriptions.

Ling read them one by one.

"Minor Illusion-Breaking Pill, dispels illusions?"

"Soul-Calming Pill, reduces susceptibility to illusions?"

"Healing Soul Pill, repairs Divine Soul injuries?"

"Soul Nourishing Pill, enhances the strength of the Divine Soul?"

Ling: ???

The more she read, the more astonished she felt.

What was all this about, and why did she suddenly feel that she had stumbled into a completely unfamiliar world?

Divine Souls? Illusions?

She had no idea such things existed in her world.

Then she caught a glimpse of shadowy figures cloaked in darkness in the distance, resembling monsters in the mist, which frightened her...

But to Song Cheng's eyes, these clerks were rather interesting.

Downstairs were those in the Force Realm and even the Form Realm, but this floor... was mostly those below the Power Realm, and even weaker than that.

According to logic, the second floor should have been tougher, but in the Thousand Treasures Pavilion, it was the opposite.

After a meticulous scan, he approached a man with a goodwill level of 70 and asked, "Excuse me, how effective is the Soul Nourishing Pill?"

The man was thin and gaunt. Upon hearing the question, he indeed lifted his eyes and said, "Haven't nourished before?"

Song Cheng honestly said, "No."

The man said, "The first time it's used, the results are very good, but a martial artist like you actually doesn't need it. Using it would be a waste.

Your strength is not weak, and your body exudes a yang fire like that of your flesh and blood. How could you possibly conceal a Yin Soul as cold as ice?"

Having said that, he didn't say anything more and leaned back, closing his eyes.

Clearly, a "70% good impression" could only get you so much. If it were someone else, they might not even care to talk.

Song Cheng learned from Ling about the price of the "Soul Nourishing Pill"—eight hundred taels per bottle.

It seemed a bit outrageously expensive.

"Ling, buy a bottle," Song Cheng said because he had indeed never nourished a Divine Soul.

Ling carefully counted out eight silver notes, beginning to earnestly count them...

Song Cheng then asked, "Are there any other pills that can enhance the strength of the Divine Soul?"

The slender man opened his eyes with a smile and said, "You're quite interesting. Do you really think you can use it?"

But having said that, he shook his head, seemingly rejecting his own words, and then said, "If you're willing to waste money, I'm happy to oblige."

After speaking, the man took out a blue jade porcelain bottle from a small box under the counter. As soon as the bottle was taken out, the air around it became colder, and wisps of cold air escaped, giving Song Cheng a sense that it had just been taken out of a "freezer."

"Soul Strengthening Pill, eight thousand taels per bottle. Do you want it?"

Ling: ...

Song Cheng asked, "How many pills are in a bottle?"

The slender man said, "10 pills. Don't think about buying them separately. It's a cycle of 10 pills, one per day, to be taken under the open sky at midnight. If there's moonlight to guide it, even better. More or less can be problematic.

Soul-type Pills like these, once they are used, the effect lessens each time.

For ordinary people and those who have just begun to practice Soul Techniques, the Soul Strengthening Pill is already the best for the first use.

However, you have to be able to withstand it; otherwise, it would be safer to buy Soul Nourishing Pills.

But the first increase is the largest, and if you take it again afterward, the combined effects may not even be as good as the first time."

Song Cheng asked, "May I smell the scent?"

The slender man said, "Ten taels for a whiff."

Ling: ...

The Little Tea Girl was collapsing inside, and so was her sense of the cost of things.

Ten taels for a whiff? What a joke!

"Ling, pay him."

When Ling heard her master's order, she took out the silver and passed it over.

The slender man, holding the bottle, beckoned, and Song Cheng moved closer.

The man pulled out the stopper, waved his hand, and quickly replaced the stopper.

Immediately, a touch of icy chill assaulted Song Cheng, entering through his nostrils, piercing his body to his soul, reaching his brain, going up to his Purple Mansion, giving him a profound sense of extreme comfort in his Divine Soul.

Before smelling it, Song Cheng thought everything was normal.

But after catching the scent, his Divine Soul suddenly felt a sense of hunger, a desire to feed and grow.

Song Cheng understood that this thing would be very useful to him.

"I'll take it, but I didn't bring enough money."

The slender man showed a surprised look, which quickly faded, and he said, "Alright, which family do you belong to? I'll send someone with you to get the money."

Song Cheng didn't hide it, after all, in the Prefectural City, if anyone with a little power really wanted to investigate who he was, it was easy to find out. After all, a blind man carrying a shield and a blade would be... one of a kind.

"Ruyi Commerce Chamber, Song Cheng," Song Cheng replied directly.

The slender man nodded, his good impression of Song Cheng rose from 70 to 80, and he responded, "Thousand Treasures Pavilion, Hua Wen."

After speaking, he added, "Don't worry, the prices are regular; I haven't overcharged you."

...

Immediately, Song Cheng had Ling pay four thousand taels, and then he took the bottle of "Soul Strengthening Pill." Next, he took a clerk from Thousand Treasures Pavilion to the An Family, urgently allocating another four thousand taels of silver from the storeroom.

Ling had become completely numb.

The transactions her master made today cost tens of thousands of taels of silver, for goodness' sake...

Ahhh!

However, when An Chenyu met Song Cheng, she only asked, "Do you want to buy a couple more bottles?"

Song Cheng shook his head, "Let's try it first."

An Chenyu said, "What's mine is yours."

Finished speaking, she smiled brightly.

Song Cheng smiled and said, "I am yours."

An Chenyu's heart rate suddenly quickened, and then, not knowing how to respond, she turned and quickly left... If it had been Madam Tong, she would have spat in disdain, but Miss An's inner world clearly hadn't braced for an assault by such "cheesy love words" and was caught entirely off guard.

After the young miss left, only Song Cheng remained in the inner courtyard.

He took out the Soul Strengthening Pill and looked up at the sky.

Pure white filaments were scattering down from the colossal corona of white incandescence in the firmament.

He did not wait for this.

He was waiting for that inky globe at midnight.

The moon.

Or perhaps it was called—Taiyin.

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