In the Merchant Alliance, there are many people like Liu Ruyin who are responsible for trading with cultivators. Although they receive a monthly salary, it is not high enough to meet their cultivation needs.
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The tips from customers are one of their additional sources of income. Of course, those like Liu Ruyin who are willing to lower themselves to serve customers have another way of making money.
The people in the Merchant Alliance are all scattered cultivators by origin. Before entering the Merchant Alliance, they were destitute, and they know better than any other cultivators the cruelty of this cultivation world and the difficulty of survival. Therefore, serving customers is not something they find hard to accept; it is a matter of necessity for survival.
Leaving the Tianji Merchant Alliance, Lu Ye sighed.
He had originally intended to ask if the storage bags could be sold, but Liu Ruyin made him forget about it.
It would be awkward to go back now, so he could only wait until next time. He had originally planned to set off for the Bi Xue Sect's base, but now it seemed there was no need to rush.
Having some good things in hand, it was better to fully digest and convert them into his own cultivation. The higher his cultivation, the safer his journey would be.
As for staying at the Tianji Merchant Alliance, Lu Ye did not consider it. He was currently short on funds, and the price of one spirit stone per night, though not much, would add up to a significant expense if he had to stay for many days.
He still had four spirit stones left. Following the memory from the day, he found a medicinal shop and spent two spirit stones to buy two Spirit Nourishing Pills. Then he returned to the street where he had set up his stall during the day.
Taking out a few pieces of ore from his storage bag, Lu Ye sat cross-legged and took out a spirit stone.
This was the first time he had obtained a spirit stone, and it could assist in cultivation.
Lu Ye had already tried cultivating with pills. Now he wanted to try cultivating with a spirit stone to compare the efficiency. If the efficiency was good, he wouldn't need to spend spirit stones on spirit pills in the future.
Although he had never cultivated with a spirit stone before, he had seen many stall owners in the area cultivating while selling their goods, holding a spirit stone in their hands, looking very relaxed.
Now, imitating them, Lu Ye discovered a benefit of cultivating with a spirit stone.
That benefit was the ability to interrupt cultivation at any time, unlike with spirit pills, where the pill's energy would spread in the abdomen and, if not guided in time, could cause a buildup of energy.
Cultivating with a spirit stone was different. If something came up, he could interrupt cultivation without any impact.
The street was bustling even at night, and cultivators would often come to ask for prices. Lu Ye handled things as he had during the day and, surprisingly, made a sale, selling one piece of ore for five spirit stones.
When dawn approached, Lu Ye stopped his cultivation, opened his palm to look at the spirit stone, which had only shrunk a little. He then checked the increase in spirit energy in his tenth acupoint and frowned slightly.
After a night of experimentation, he drew several conclusions.
Cultivating with a spirit stone was safer than with spirit pills. One, the cultivation process could be interrupted at any time, and two, there were no hidden dangers, similar to absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
However, the efficiency was far lower than taking spirit pills.
Perhaps due to his own talent, he found it difficult to guide the spiritual energy into his body. Lu Ye felt that at his current cultivation efficiency, it would take several days of non-stop cultivation to consume one spirit stone.
Other cultivators might have higher efficiency, but they definitely couldn't match the efficiency of taking spirit pills.
As for the cost-effectiveness…
The value of one spirit stone was roughly equal to one Spirit Nourishing Pill. The increase in spirit energy after consuming one spirit stone was about the same as after consuming one Spirit Nourishing Pill, so the cost-effectiveness was similar.
Through this test, Lu Ye understood why everyone needed to exchange spirit stones for pills to cultivate. In terms of efficiency, taking spirit pills was indeed higher, naturally making them more popular.
As the sky began to brighten, Lu Ye packed up his stall and left the market.
Since he didn't want to spend money on accommodation at the Tianji Merchant Alliance, he had to find another place.
He planned to return to the cave on Qingyun Mountain, which was relatively safe and where he wouldn't be disturbed during cultivation.
The main reason he didn't leave at night was that it was unsafe to travel at night.
Before leaving, he spent two spirit stones to buy a lot of food. Hunting in the mountains was time-consuming, and there weren't many beasts left in that area.
He inventoried his current assets: 47 Spirit Nourishing Pills, 5 low-grade spirit stones, nearly 30 spirit talismans, 6 healing pills, nearly 30 pieces of magnetic ore of various sizes, and some other ores he couldn't name, as well as four sets of clothes.
Compared to when he first entered the Lingxi Battlefield, his assets were about the same, but his cultivation had improved significantly.
Lu Ye believed that if he could convert all these things into strength, he could likely advance several levels in the Lingxi realm.
However, such things couldn't be rushed and had to be done gradually.
Many cultivators were entering and leaving the market, most in groups, but there were also lone wolves like Lu Ye, who were scattered cultivators with no support.
Lu Ye left the market just as it was getting light. Being alone, he had to be cautious.
He smoothly entered Qingyun Mountain and ran all the way, deliberately taking several detours to ensure no one was following him, before heading along the path out of the mountain.
By noon, Lu Ye had returned to his previous cave.
To his surprise, there was movement in the cave. He cautiously entered, holding a spirit talisman, ready to act. When he saw clearly, he nearly lost his temper.
In the cave, a snow-white figure was lying on the ground, sound asleep. Who else could it be but Da Hu?
Yiyi floated out from Da Hu's forehead, and the two of them stared at each other, creating an awkward scene.
"What are you doing in my home?" Lu Ye demanded.
Yiyi asked, "Didn't you leave?"
"I came back!"
A moment later, Da Hu's massive figure darted out of the cave, turning back to roar at Lu Ye. On Da Hu's head, Yiyi was furious, gritting her teeth: "Big liar! Untrustworthy and unrighteous!"
"Get out!" Lu Ye's voice echoed from the cave.
After driving out the intruders, Lu Ye ate something and entered a state of cultivation.
He first took out the two Spirit Nourishing Pills he had bought with spirit stones and swallowed one. After the pill's energy spread in his abdomen, he guided the spirit energy into his acupoints.
The spirit energy in his tenth acupoint slowly accumulated.
After the energy from one Spirit Nourishing Pill was completely consumed, Lu Ye opened his eyes and noticed a problem. The effectiveness of the Spirit Nourishing Pills he bought from the market seemed not as good as those given to him by the sect leader. The difference was not significant, but it was noticeable, as he could tell from the amount of spirit energy accumulated in his acupoints.
He did not rest and took the other Spirit Nourishing Pill. After the energy was completely consumed, he confirmed this result even more.
He then took out the Spirit Nourishing Pills he had received from the Tianji Merchant Alliance and swallowed one.
After comparing them, he finally concluded that Liu Ruyin had not lied to him. The Spirit Nourishing Pills from the Tianji Merchant Alliance were indeed better than those sold outside and were on par with those given to him by the sect leader.
It seemed he had not wasted his money. In the future, if he needed to buy spirit pills, he should still go to the Tianji Merchant Alliance, at least to ensure the quality.