There were many people in the Trade Association like Liu Ru Yin who were responsible for facilitating trade with the cultivators. Although they received a fixed salary every month, it was not high enough to meet their cultivation needs. Therefore, the rewards they received were one of their additional sources of income. Needless to say, the willingness to use their bodies to serve customers like how Liu Ru Yin offered was also a kind of additional source of income.
Most of the workers in the Trade Association used to be rogue cultivators. They had been impoverished before entering the Trade Association, so they understood the cruelty and difficulty to survive in the Cultivation World better than any other cultivator. Therefore, providing personal services to a guest was not something they deemed unacceptable. It was simply something they were forced to do in life.
Lu Ye sighed as he walked out of the Divine Trade Association. He had originally planned to ask if he could sell those Storage Bags in his possession. However, Liu Ru Yin's actions flustered him so badly that he had forgotten about it.
It wasn't good to return immediately, so he could only wait until next time. He originally planned to set off for the Crimson Blood Sect's base, but it would seem that there was no need for him to be so eager. He had some good stuff on hand. It would only be right to digest them fully and transform them into his cultivation. The higher his cultivation, the safer his journey after all.
As for staying at the Divine Trade Association… He didn't even bother to consider the option since he was currently strapped for cash. While the price of one Spirit Stone per night did not sound high, it would turn into a huge expense if he stayed there for many days.
He still had 4 Spirit Stones in his possession. Relying on his memory during the day, he came to a Spirit Pill shop and spent 2 Spirit Stones to purchase 2 Spirit Restoring Pills. Afterward, he returned to the street where he had set up his stall during the day. Taking out a few more mineral ores from his Storage Bag, he put them on display and sat down cross-legged. Then, he took out another Spirit Stone.
It was his first time getting his hands on a Spirit Stone. It was something that could help with his cultivation. He had already tried cultivating by consuming Spirit Pills, so now he wanted to cultivate using Spirit Stones. He wanted to compare between these two methods to see how efficient cultivating using Spirit Stones was. If the efficiency wasn't too bad, then there was no need for him to exchange his Spirit Stones for Spirit Pills in the future.
Although he had never cultivated using a Spirit Stone before, he had seen others doing it. He noticed many owners of the stalls around him cultivating with a Spirit Stone in hand while carrying out business. They looked very leisurely doing so. Hence, he mimicked their actions and discovered one of the benefits of cultivating with a Spirit Stone: He could stop cultivating at any time.
When consuming Spirit Pills, the Pill Power would dissolve in his abdomen. If he did not guide the Pill Power in time, it would cause the Pill Power to build up inside his body. On the contrary, it was different when he cultivated using Spirit Stones. There was no adverse effect if his cultivation was interrupted partway.
This street was still very lively at night. Cultivators would approach Lu Ye to ask about his wares from time to time. He handled it just like how he did during the day, but unexpectedly completed a transaction this time. He sold one of the ores for 5 Spirit Stones. When daybreak came, he stopped cultivating and opened his palm to gaze at the Spirit Stone happily. It had only been reduced by a bit. However, he frowned slightly when he saw how much Spiritual Power had increased in his tenth Spiritual Point.
After experimenting for the whole night, he came to several conclusions. Using Spirit Stones to cultivate was safer than using Spirit Pills. For one, he could stop cultivating at any moment. For another, there were no hidden dangers attached to cultivating with Spirit Stones. On this point, it was similar to absorbing the Spiritual Qi from the surroundings. Unfortunately, the efficiency was far inferior compared to consuming Spirit Pills.
It might have something to do with his talent, which made it difficult for him to guide the Spiritual Qi into his body. He felt that it would take him several days of cultivating without sleep just to finish one Spirit Stone at his current cultivation efficiency. The other cultivators might be more efficient at this, but it was still not as effective as consuming Spirit Pills. As for the cost performance… The value of a Spirit Stone was more or less equivalent to a Spirit Restoring Pill. The increase in Spiritual Power after using up a Spirit Stone was no different from the increase in Spiritual Power after consuming a Spirit Pill. For that reason, their cost performance was about the same.
After experimenting around this time, he finally understood why other people would exchange their Spirit Stones for Spirit Pills when cultivating. Consuming Spirit Pills were higher in terms of efficiency, so it was only natural that this method was popular with everybody.
As the sky brightened, he packed up his stall and left the city. Since he was not willing to waste his money on accommodation at the Divine Trade Association, he could only search for another place to stay. He planned to return to the cave on Green Cloud Mountain where he used to stay. That place was fairly safe, so he would not be disturbed in the middle of his cultivation. The main reason he did not leave last night was that traveling at night wasn't safe.
Before he left, he spent another 2 Spirit Stones to purchase plenty of food supplies. It was very time-consuming to hunt in the mountains. Besides, there were not many beasts left in that area.
He did an inventory of all his current assets. He currently had 47 Spirit Restoring Pills, 5 Low Grade Spirit Stones, nearly 30 Spirit Talisman Papers, 6 Healing Pills, and approximately 30 Yuan Metal ores of various sizes. He also had some mineral ores that he did not know the names of and 4 sets of clothing.
Compared to the time when he first entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield, his assets remained almost the same, but his cultivation had greatly improved. He believed that he could advance several Orders in the Spirit Creek Realm if he could turn everything in his possession into his strength. It was just that things like this should not be done in a rush. It would be better if he took his time to figure it out.
There were many cultivators coming and going from the city. Most of them traveled in groups, but there were also some lone wolves like Lu Ye. These people were usually the rogue cultivators with no loving family or support.
It was dawn when Lu Ye left the city. He inevitably had to be more careful in his actions since he was traveling alone. He ran all the way without stopping after successfully entering Green Cloud Mountain. In the meantime, he also deliberately circled around several times just to make sure nobody was tailing him. Only then did he proceed along the path to get off the mountain.
Before noon, he arrived back at the cave he used to live in. To his surprise, there was movement inside the cave. He carefully inched his way inside while holding a Spirit Talisman Paper at the ready in his hands. When he took in the sight that greeted him, he was so furious that he nearly turned his nose crooked.
A snow-white figure was sprawled upon the ground inside the cave, sleeping deeply. Who else could it be but the tiger? Yi Yi floated out from the tiger's head. The atmosphere became extremely awkward when they met each other's eyes.
"Why are you in my home?" Lu Ye questioned.
Yi Yi also asked, "Didn't you leave?"
"I came back again!"
A short while later, that sturdy figure of the tiger slinked out of the cave. Then, it turned around and let out a roar in Lu Ye's direction. Yi Yi remained floating above the tiger's head, gnashing her teeth in absolute fury. "Big fat liar! Untrustworthy!"
"Get out!" Lu Ye's shout came from inside the cave.
After driving the Spirit and the tiger who had taken over his home away, Lu Ye ate something before entering the state of cultivation. He first took out the 2 Spirit Restoring Pills that he had spent 2 Spirit Stones to purchase and swallowed one of them. Once the Pill Power dissolved in his abdomen, he guided the Spiritual Power into his Spiritual Point. His tenth Spiritual Point slowly began to pool with Spiritual Power.
When the Pill Power of the Spirit Restoring Pill was spent, he opened his eyes. He had discovered a problem. The medical efficacy of the Spirit Restoring Pill he had bought in the city was not as good as the ones the Sect Master had given him. The difference was not huge, but the gap was there. He could infer this point just by looking at the Spiritual Power accumulated in his Spiritual Point.
Nevertheless, he did not stop. He took the other Spirit Restoring Pill and became more certain of his previous conjecture when the Pill Power was completely spent. Afterward, he took out the Spirit Restoring Pills he obtained from the Divine Trade Association and consumed one.
Following a series of comparisons, he finally came to a conclusion. Liu Ru Yin had not lied to him. The Spirit Restoring Pills from the Divine Trade Association were indeed better than the ones sold outside. It was similar to the ones the Sect Master had given him. From this point of view, he had not wasted his money on the purchase. He had to go to the Divine Trade Association if he wanted to purchase more Spirit Restoring Pills. At the very least, the quality was guaranteed.