(What a joke!)

Chen Tu's refusal was like a slap to the owner's face. Even if he could afford it, why would he spend the money on buying a piece of rock that had no specific uses? Of course, it could have been different if the owner had been sure about the content inside the stone.

But obviously,  he doesn't. If he did, perhaps the price of whatever was inside could be worth more than five mere Spiritual Coins.

Since he couldn't deliver some trustworthiness in his words, who would be willing to pay his asking price? Even in the eyes of passersby, this thing here was simply a useless rock.

Chen Tu's expression remained firm and collected.

Although the stall owner only asked for five Spiritual Coins, wouldn't Chen Tu have a better place to spend his money? 

For example... Buying five more sets of ingredients to refine the Grain Pellets? Of course, it would be great if there was really [True Essence Obsidian Ink] inside the stone. Otherwise, he would have wasted the money for nothing.

"This customer, please wait!" the stall owner quickly overtook Chen Tu and prevented him from leaving.

"Four Spiritual Coins, alright?" he put four fingers out from his palm while looking at Chen Tu. It was already difficult to do business here, so how could he miss an opportunity to close a sale?

Moreover, Chen Tu's interest is not in the popular product. But instead, it was on that piece of useless rock. To a businessman, all transactions come with a profit as long it keeps the money flowing.

Furthermore, keeping that rock for a couple more days would be pointless to ensure it can be sold for five Spiritual Coins. After all, who knows when will another individual interested in the stone appear?

"One Spiritual Coin. Take it or leave it." Chen Tu replied. The price he offered was truly ruthless. But if this place wasn't the Worldly Treasures Pavilion, he won't even be willing to pay half a coin for it.

"Three! How about three Spiritual Coins?" the stall owner still tried to negotiate. Wouldn't that ruin his reputation if he agreed to sell the rock for one Spiritual Coin?

"Two. This is my final offer." Chen Tu shook his head and countered the price again.

"Deal. Two Spiritual Coins it is." the stall owner immediately accepted the offer. After all, two coins are better than one. He was so afraid that Chen Tu would change his mind and pinched the corner of Chen Tu's sleeve to prevent him from leaving.

He overreacted, but these were not Chen Tu's concerns. Since they had a consensus, he naturally had to fork the two Spiritual Coins out. It wouldn't be good for Chen Tu's reputation if he changed his mind.

Chen Tu quietly placed the two Spiritual Coins into the owner's hand before leaving with the rock. As nothing else caught his attention, Chen Tu escaped the place without a lingering attachment.

(Gosh... Shopping is indeed addicting. I should come to this place less and only go for essential items next time...)

Chen Tu patted his chest a few times while pulling the distance between him and the Worldly Treasures Pavilion. He could feel his heart screaming, "Buy! Buy! Buy!" inside the pavilion.

He starts inspecting all the items he has bought.

Fifteen sets of ingredients for the Grain Pellet and a piece of rock. Although he had no idea what this [True Essence Obsidian Ink] was, it should be something extraordinary.

After all, Chen Tu's Spiritual Sense is keener than everyone else in his cultivation layer. Even without running a cycle of Sun and Moon Condensation Art to heighten his sensitivity, Chen Tu could still feel a faint attraction within the rock.

It felt like something was developing inside, but it was too weak to create a storm. Without the sword mark left on its surface, this thing could take another thousand years to reveal itself. The only problem now is Chen Tu had no idea what was there.

First of all, it couldn't be a living being. And secondly, it should have some connection to Formation and Array because of the work [Ink] in its name. But unfortunately, there's no point for him to play with the stone now.

After tidying what he had bought, Chen Tu returned to his meditation. It has been a while since he stopped cultivating, and his current level is barely different from two weeks ago. If this continues, he would still be at the third level after everyone else had been promoted.

He sits comfortably at the spot he's always been. And with the window opened wide, Chen Tu started to circulate the Sun and Moon Condensation Art. Although his cultivation barely improved recently, the same thing cannot be said for his core which stores Spiritual Energy.

To Chen Tu's surprise, even with his cultivation stagnating, his holding capacity had qualitative growth. The amount of Spiritual Energy his body could keep was around three and a half days before this, but it was almost four days now.

This in-depth improvement was obviously the result of continuous usage of Spiritual Energy while refining pills and using the Alchemic Refinement Flame. Like a woodcutter that chops the wood daily, the more he worked, the faster he had a finer grasp over them.

Although his cultivation level was still too low, a more significant difference would be noticeable the further Chen Tu's cultivation advances.

His effort quickly paid off as Chen Tu finally formed another drop of Sun and Moon Essence. The only regret was that he was too lax in his cultivation and used close to two and a half weeks to form this treasure.

Still, having one drop of Sun and Moon Essence is better than none. With the estimation that Chen Tu's body could hold three without an issue, he continued his meditation.

Although he's still incapable of completing the whole meditation cycle, it was already much better than everyone else. By taking a short break in between, Chen Tu alternated his focus between a few things.

Since the ingredient would quickly dry up if he took too long, Chen Tu couldn't help but put his pill refining as his priority. But he also prevented himself from forcing himself too much in between.