Fang Yun returned the congratulations politely before asking about the price of the Cyan Spirit Flowers.
Most Sect Disciples who grew and sold Cyan Spirit Flowers knew they were the primary Spirit Medicine used to refine Cyan Jade Pills.
The required materials were only the most basic part of a Pill Formula. The tedious step-by-step procedures and the crucial details for each stage were its true core.
"If you need Cyan Spirit Flowers, Junior Brother, you've come to the right place. One flower is four Lower-Grade Spirit Stones. Three will cost you eleven, and if you buy ten, it's only thirty-six Lower-Grade Spirit Stones."
He had heard a great deal about this Junior Brother Fang in the Disciple Marketplace, so he offered three suitable price tiers.
'Buying a single flower probably isn't what Junior Brother Fang would do,' he thought. 'And I've already discounted the other two tiers, so he won't try to haggle further.'
"Senior Brother, I'll take ten Cyan Spirit Flowers."
"I knew you were a decisive one, Junior Brother." The senior brother running the stall nodded quickly. "It's a deal!"
Fang Yun took out the required Lower-Grade Spirit Stones, inspected the ten Cyan Spirit Flowers, and quickly completed the transaction.
Of course, these ten Cyan Spirit Flowers were of inferior quality. Good-quality ones wouldn't be this cheap.
After some more shopping, he had also acquired the auxiliary Spiritual Materials for ten sets of Cyan Jade Pills, spending a total of sixty-two Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
Each set of Spiritual Materials for refining a Cyan Jade Pill cost nearly ten Lower-Grade Spirit Stones. This was the price for buying in bulk and accepting poor quality. A single, decent-quality set would have likely cost eleven or twelve Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
He had already spent most of the Spirit Stones he'd earned from selling one hundred and fifty Lower-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills.
Now, Fang Yun had fewer than fifty Lower-Grade Spirit Stones on him—only forty-seven remained.
"Do you know when that Junior Brother Fang Yun joined our Celestial Cloud Sect?"
"Just over half a year ago, I think. Why?"
"I noticed today that Junior Brother Fang is already at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. His talent for Alchemy must have really paid off."
"Qi Refining Fourth Layer already? It's tough for someone with Five Spirit Roots to break through to that level. Junior Brother Fang must have bought three Middle-Grade Qi Radiance Pills. To afford those while also maintaining his own cultivation for six months... his Alchemy Talent has certainly earned him a fortune."
「Nearing noon.」
Fang Yun appeared in the D Zone, the residential area for Outer Sect disciples.
[Sect Influence +1%]
Startled by the sudden notification, Fang Yun opened the sect interface on his light screen. His influence had risen from 2% to 3%.
Fang Yun couldn't help but nod.
'With my continued efforts, my influence in the sect is rising again,' he thought. 'My reputation must be spreading.'
'At this month's calculation, the talent bonus will reach 69%.'
'If my sect influence had increased five days ago, I could have drawn another Life Talent at the start of the month.'
The bottom-right corner of the interface now showed 96 Talent Points.
After closing the light screen, Fang Yun headed for number 137 in the Outer Sect's D Zone.
He had come to the Outer Sect's D Zone, of course, to find the little girl, Huang Mengzhu.
"Big Bro Fang Yun, hurry, come in!"
The door to number 137 opened, and upon seeing Fang Yun, Huang Mengzhu immediately invited him in.
"I won't come in this time."
"Are you leaving already, Big Bro Fang Yun?" Huang Mengzhu, who had been so cheerful a moment ago, suddenly grew dejected.
"No, this time you're coming with me, Mengzhu. I'm taking you out for a treat."
"Really?!" The little girl's dejection vanished in an instant.
"Of course. Now, come with me."
"Okay, let's go!"
As Fang Yun turned to leave, Huang Mengzhu closed the door and happily trotted after him.
Huang Mengzhu was now a Qi Refining Second Layer Cultivator, and her progress was quite fast. It showed that she was still cultivating diligently, even without anyone supervising her.
A disciple with Three Spirit Roots who joined the Celestial Cloud Sect through the standard process should have no problem reaching the third layer of Qi Refining within three years. However, to break through to the fourth layer, they would need additional resources; the sect's monthly allowance alone wasn't enough.
"Mengzhu, this is too slow," Fang Yun said, crouching down and patting his back. "Hop on."
"Okay, Big Bro Fang Yun!"
Huang Mengzhu's eyes lit up. She remembered Big Bro Fang Yun carrying her on his back when she was very little, but it hadn't happened again since then.
'I can't believe I get to ride on Big Bro Fang Yun's back again!'
Huang Mengzhu climbed onto Fang Yun's back, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"And we're off!"
Injecting Spiritual Power into his Light Spirit Shoes, Fang Yun took off at top speed.
With her short legs, the little girl wasn't very fast, even as a Cultivator, and Smoke Cloud Peak was still a long way off.
Smoke Cloud Peak was one of the five major peaks of the Celestial Cloud Sect.
Among the five major peaks, Smoke Cloud Peak was the shortest but covered the largest area.
Many tamed Demon Beasts were raised on Smoke Cloud Peak, serving as one of the sources for Spiritual Food ingredients.
All of the Celestial Cloud Sect's Spirit Chefs resided on Smoke Cloud Peak.
It could be considered the Celestial Cloud Sect's main dining area. Most of the sect disciples who came here to eat Spiritual Food were Inner Sect Disciples.
Today was Fang Yun's birthday. Now that he had some money to his name, he was determined to treat himself to a celebratory meal.
「Smoke Cloud Peak, Smoke Cloud Pavilion.」
This was the central hub of Smoke Cloud Peak.
The Smoke Cloud Pavilion wasn't tall—only four stories—but the building itself covered a massive area.
Disciples of the Celestial Cloud Sect who wanted to eat Spiritual Food usually dined on the first floor of the Smoke Cloud Pavilion.
"Junior Brother, little Junior Sister, what can I get for you?"
Fang Yun and Huang Mengzhu had just sat down when a senior sister approached their table.
"This is the Pavilion's primary menu. Please, take a look."
Fang Yun took the menu from the senior sister. It listed all sorts of Spiritual Foods and their corresponding prices.
Even the cheapest Spiritual Food on the menu cost one Lower-Grade Spirit Stone.
"Mengzhu, see what you'd like to order." Fang Yun placed the menu in front of Huang Mengzhu.
The little girl's mouth began to water just from reading the names on the menu.
"A small Stewed Spirit Egg and a Simmered Moonlit Night Dish."
Both of these Spiritual Food dishes cost only one Lower-Grade Spirit Stone each.
Fang Yun could tell the little girl was deliberately restraining herself.
Disciples who had been in the Celestial Cloud Sect for half a year would already have a basic understanding of how things worked.
Huang Mengzhu knew just how much of a luxury a meal of Spiritual Food was for disciples like them.
'Big Bro Fang Yun is treating, so I can't order too much.'
"Senior Sister, we'll have a large order of the Stewed Spirit Egg, one Simmered Moonlit Night Dish, one Red Fruit Oil Fish, and a whole Liuyun Chicken."
"Right away, Junior Brother. Please wait a moment."
The large Stewed Spirit Egg cost three Lower-Grade Spirit Stones, the Red Fruit Oil Fish was also three, and the specially prepared Liuyun Chicken cost five Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
The four dishes totaled twelve Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
The little girl counted on her fingers.
"Big Bro Fang Yun, this is way too much food..."
'I only get twelve Lower-Grade Spirit Stones from the sect in an entire year. This one meal costs all of it.'