Chapter 416: Chapter 201: First Arrival in the Eastern Domain, Xilai Country, Vast Sea Ring

’In that case, it’s worth coming over to see if I can buy a Storage Ring nearby.’

Despite the Imperial Capital having been built with several main streets, each a full twenty zhang wide, the roads were still bustling with people, packed shoulder to shoulder.

Most of them were Cultivators with at least some degree of Cultivation.

Foundation Establishment Cultivators passed by from time to time, a sight to which everyone was accustomed.

In the very center, two lanes had even been specially marked with red paint for Spirit Beasts and carriages.

In the short time he had been watching, Xiao Chen had already seen various mounts, such as Jade-Hoofed Steeds, Desert Patterned Giant Elephants, Golden-Horned Cyan Bulls, and Mountain-Carrying Crocodile Turtles.

There was also a dazzling and countless variety of other Spirit Beasts, including Heavy-Ringed Pythons, Blood Crowned Golden Eagles, Blue-eyed Toads, and Purple-faced White Apes.

Some Cultivators even had cricket cages hanging from their waists—some had more than one.

He remembered reading in Journey to the East that some mountainous regions of Xilai Country had a custom of betting on cricket fights.

In regions near the water, this was replaced by Spirit Fish or Spiritual Boat racing.

Xiao Chen strolled along the street, deliberately concealing his aura. Instead of rushing to find a shop, he walked patiently for half an hour.

Along the way, he kept his ears open, listening to the various conversations around him.

"Shopkeeper, has the Seven-Feathered Robe I ordered arrived yet?"

"Ah, Zhang, my apologies. All the Seven-Feathered Robes have been requisitioned for Princess Anping’s wedding. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a bit longer."

...

"Didn’t the price of black rock powder just go up half a year ago? How is it going up again?"

"Sigh... I heard a high-ranking Elder from the Five Thunders Temple is preparing a grand Magic Altar. Not a single crate of new black rock powder has been shipped from the Black Rock Sea since the new year. Our hands are tied."

...

"Li, could I get ten more portions of the Spirit Grass for making Qi Nourishing Pills? I’ll settle up for these and the last ten portions together."

"Certainly. That will be sixty Spirit Stones in total."

"Wait, has the price of Qi Nourishing Grass dropped again? What’s Qi Gathering Grass going for now?"

"It dropped to twenty Spirit Stones half a year ago. Qi Gathering Grass is also two Spirit Stones cheaper per portion now. Zhao, would you like to buy a few portions to get some practice in?"

"Really? In that case, I’ll take another three portions... no, five portions of the Spirit Grass for Qi Gathering Pills."

’Twenty Spirit Stones?’

Hearing the words "Qi Nourishing Pill," Xiao Chen subconsciously started paying closer attention.

’From the sound of it, the price of basic Spirit Grass here in the Eastern Domain has been pushed down to about half of what it is in the Southern Domain.’

’Unbelievable. Isn’t that a bit too drastic?’

’If the price of Elixirs dropped accordingly, then far more Cultivators could afford them to aid their training, which would raise the overall cultivation level of the entire Eastern Domain.’

’But if the Elixir prices stayed the same, the profit margin would be astronomical.’

’If this is the case for Tier One Elixirs, then what about Tier Two?’

At this thought, Xiao Chen quickened his pace.

He rounded a corner, and a magnificent pavilion that looked as if it were carved from gold and jade appeared before him.

The building was six stories high. Between the first and second floors hung a massive sign with four large words inscribed upon it: Ten Thousand Immortals Tower.

Several Hosts stood at the entrance, arranged in two rows of men and women.

They didn’t call out to attract customers, merely standing tall and straight like statues.

It was only when he stepped through the entrance that a female Host began to follow him, though she deliberately kept a distance of about eight feet.

She didn’t speak, just followed him quietly.

When she saw Xiao Chen look back at her, she quickly stepped forward and curtsied. "How may I help you, sir?"

"Where can I find the Elixirs?"

"Tier One Elixirs are on the northwest side of the second floor. Tier Two Elixirs are on the southwest side of the third floor."

"Alright, thank you."

Having gotten the directions, Xiao Chen headed upstairs. The female Host followed two steps behind him to the landing of the second floor but went no further.

The northwest section of the second floor was, just as she’d said, filled with all sorts of Tier One Elixirs.

Below each type of Elixir, its name and current price were posted on a slip of red paper with black writing.

Qi Nourishing Pill—Two Spirit Stones and three Spirit Pearls.

Qi Gathering Pill—Ten Spirit Stones.

Five-Colored Essence Pill—Six Spirit Stones.

...

Spirit Pearls were a type of small pearl used as currency in the Eastern Domain, functioning similarly to the Southern Domain’s Scattered Spirit Sand.

Most of the time, ten Spirit Pearls could be exchanged for one Spirit Stone, though they would occasionally depreciate slightly to a rate of twelve to one.

This meant that the price of Spirit Pills in the Eastern Domain was also roughly half of what it was in the Southern Domain.

Xiao Chen also noticed that Rejuvenation Pills were selling for as low as six Spirit Pearls.

’And this is the price inside the Ten Thousand Immortals Tower,’ he thought. ’If I were to find a stall in the Marketplace, it would surely be even cheaper.’

"Sigh, and here I thought I could make a killing," he muttered.

He was a little disappointed. After all, if he could sell his own Elixirs at the Southern Domain’s prices, his profits would be much higher.

’Still, this is to be expected,’ he mused. ’The price of Elixirs in the Southern Domain also fluctuates with the price of Spirit Grass.’

’The reasoning behind it is quite simple, driven mainly by two factors.’

’First, there are a lot of Low Tier Alchemists.’

’To recoup their funds and buy more Spirit Medicine to practice their Alchemy, they often proactively lower their prices to drive sales.’

’Over time, this drives the price of finished Elixirs down until there’s almost no profit margin left.’

’Second, it’s only easy to tax Spirit Medicine while it’s still growing in Spirit Fields.’

’Once it’s refined into Elixirs, no power can effectively regulate all the private transactions that take place.’

’So instead, they just raise the rental fees for Spirit Fields to extract profit at the source.’

’Spirit Plant Cultivators often work for a whole year only to make a meager wage for their efforts, with the lion’s share of the profits going to the major sects and clans.’

’I’d better go take a look at the Tier Two Elixirs.’

Xiao Chen walked up to the third floor, curious to see if the situation with Tier Two Elixirs would be any different.

The moment he arrived, he spotted the Stabilizing Pills. Below them, a label clearly read: "Limited-Time Special, Ninety Spirit Stones per bottle."

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