144: Chapter 144 The Treatment Was Indeed Different

Leaving the rented Immortal Cave, Li Qing knew very well that he was no longer the unremarkable Loose Cultivator he had been when he first arrived in Yingshui City.

By now, Li Qing was more or less a celebrity in the Cultivator circles around Yingshui City.

Moreover, he had just made a Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, becoming a Foundation Establishment Early Stage Master. If he swaggered into the market like this, he would definitely be recognized. Once word got out, trouble would follow constantly. Forget about peacefully performing Alchemy to upgrade his Immortal Cave; he wouldn't even be able to live a stable life.

After thinking it over, Li Qing immediately decided to disguise his appearance.

With the strength of his current Divine Sense, as long as there was no Core Formation Master present, absolutely no one would be able to see through his disguise.

He found a secluded grove, held the docile Red-tailed Fox in his arms, chanted the incantation for a secret technique, and circulated a trace of spiritual energy to his face.

In just a few moments, his original face changed. His face became slightly wider, his complexion darkened a bit, and even his aura became ordinary and unremarkable. He looked like a completely different person from the previously thin Li Qing. Even if an acquaintance ran right into him, they would definitely not recognize him.

Looking down at his current appearance, Li Qing nodded with satisfaction. This way, even if he wandered around the market, he wouldn't have to worry about being targeted. His successful Foundation Establishment could also be completely concealed. Keeping a low profile to grow was the safest way.

The Red-tailed Fox tilted its head in his arms, seemingly not recognizing that the person before it was its master. Its little nose sniffed, and upon smelling a familiar scent, it obediently rubbed against him again, lying quietly in his arms without making any noise.

Once everything was settled, Li Qing concealed his aura as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and walked toward the Yingshui City market.

Li Qing had been to this market several times before. Instead of going to those scattered small stalls, he headed straight for Luoshui Hall, the most official and well-reputed establishment in the market.

Just as he reached the entrance of Luoshui Hall, the two shop assistants standing at the door, who were extremely sharp-eyed, immediately sensed the steady aura on Li Qing. Although he had deliberately concealed his aura, the foundation of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator could not be hidden. The two assistants instantly adopted respectful expressions and hurriedly stepped forward to bow.

"Inside, please, Master. May I ask if you are here to sell Materials or purchase Medicinal Pills and Magical Artifacts?"

This call of 'Master' was exceptionally respectful.

In the cultivation world, only Foundation Establishment Cultivators could be addressed as Master. Previously, when Li Qing was in the Qi Refining Stage and came to Luoshui Hall, the assistants would at most call him 'Fellow Daoist' with a lukewarm attitude, which was a world of difference compared to now.

Li Qing knew in his heart that this was the treatment of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. He nodded calmly and, cradling the Red-tailed Fox in his arms, stepped into Luoshui Hall.

The interior of the hall was spacious and bright, with rows of shelves stocked with Medicinal Pills, Magical Artifacts, Spiritual Plants, and Cultivation Techniques. Cultivators came and went, making it lively but not noisy.

The assistant led him to a quiet guest booth and even thoughtfully served spiritual tea, his attitude incredibly respectful.

"Master, please wait a moment. I will immediately go and invite our hall's manager over."

After speaking, the assistant respectfully withdrew, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

Before long, a capable-looking Middle-aged Cultivator dressed in a blue robe walked in. This person was Manager Zhang of Luoshui Hall, whose cultivation was at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment. He had a sharp eye and was highly experienced.

As soon as he entered, he sensed the faint aura of Foundation Establishment on Li Qing, especially the Red-tailed Fox in Li Qing's arms, which clearly carried the aura of a Tier Two Yao Beast.

His gaze instantly turned solemn, and he hastily cupped his hands in greeting.

"I am Zhang Qian of Luoshui Hall. Greetings, Fellow Daoist. I wonder what brings you here today?"

No matter where a Foundation Establishment Cultivator went, they were a figure of significance, not to mention that this person looked quite young with limitless future prospects. Naturally, he did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.

Li Qing sat in his chair while the Red-tailed Fox lay obediently in his arms. He raised his hand and spoke in a flat tone:

"Manager Zhang is too polite. I have come today for two reasons: first, to sell a batch of Materials, and second, to purchase a batch of Materials. I would like to ask you to help inventory and appraise them."

After speaking, with a flick of Li Qing's finger, dozens of Storage Pouches appeared before Manager Zhang.

Li Qing picked up one of the Storage Pouches and handed it to Manager Zhang.

"Please take a look, Fellow Daoist."

Manager Zhang hurriedly received it with both hands. Sweeping his Divine Thought inside, his expression instantly shifted slightly.

Inside were over a hundred Tier One Low Grade Magical Artifacts.

He then took another Storage Pouch, which contained thirty Tier One Medium Grade Magical Artifacts and fifteen Tier One High Grade Magical Artifacts.

The third Storage Pouch contained over a hundred bottles of various Tier One Medicinal Pills.

The fourth Storage Pouch contained over a hundred sheets of various Tier One Talismans!

The fifth Storage Pouch contained eight different Qi Refining Cultivation Techniques and over twenty secret techniques!

Fortunately, there was no sixth Storage Pouch.

All of them were Materials needed for the Qi Refinement Stage.

Could this Fellow Daoist be a Rogue Cultivator?

Manager Zhang looked at Li Qing and fell into deep thought!

"What? Manager Zhang, does your Luoshui Sect also care about the origin of these items?"

Li Qing said with dissatisfaction.

"Ah? Haha, Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. I was just shocked by your grand scale."

Manager Zhang snapped out of it.

Indeed, I only care about purchasing them. The origin of these items has absolutely nothing to do with me.

Not daring to be careless, Manager Zhang meticulously inventoried all the Materials and carefully estimated their prices. He calculated on paper with a brush for quite a while before looking up at Li Qing.

"Fellow Daoist, all of your Materials—including the Magical Artifacts, Talismans, Cultivation Techniques, secret techniques, Spiritual Plants, and Medicinal Pills—add up to a total of forty-one thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones from our Luoshui Hall. Are you satisfied with this price?"

Calculating in his mind, Li Qing found this price to be slightly higher than he had expected. Luoshui Hall indeed did not drive down the price. He immediately nodded:

"That works. Let's go with this price."

Seeing Li Qing agree so readily, Manager Zhang also breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ordered an assistant to prepare the Spirit Stones.

A Foundation Establishment Master like Li Qing coming to trade at Luoshui Hall made him a major client. They had to entertain him well to retain his business.

"Master, here are your forty-one thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Please count them."

With a sweep of his Divine Thought, Li Qing confirmed the amount was correct and put away the Storage Pouch.

Originally, he only had over a thousand Medium Grade Spirit Stones and over two thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Now, with an instant addition of over forty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, his wealth had suddenly grown much thicker, putting his mind at ease.

Having sold his idle Materials, the next step was to purchase the Materials needed to upgrade his Immortal Cave.

"Manager Zhang, I also need to purchase these Materials. See if the hall has them in stock."

Manager Zhang took the list and looked closely. Listed on it were about a dozen Materials, including void stones, black spirit soil, spirit milk grass, pure water spirit syrup, spirit-gathering wood, pure water lotus, and a Tier Two Pill Furnace. They were not exceptionally rare, but the void stone among them was relatively hard to come by, belonging to a niche and rare category of Materials.

"Rest assured, Master. Aside from the limited stock of void stones, our Luoshui Hall has ample supplies of all the other Materials. I will have someone fetch them for you right away."

With that, Manager Zhang personally went to the warehouse to fetch the goods, working with extreme efficiency.

Before long, he brought back the black spirit soil, spirit milk grass, spirit-gathering wood, and other Materials one by one, carefully packaging each item before placing them in front of Li Qing.

Among these Materials, the black spirit soil was for upgrading the spirit field, and he wanted a full fifty catties of it; the spirit milk grass was for upgrading the beast enclosure; the pure water lotus was for upgrading the Spirit Well; and the spirit-gathering wood was for upgrading the training room. Each item was purchased exactly according to the requirements for upgrading the Immortal Cave, neither too much nor too little, just enough.

Finally, Manager Zhang carefully took out a small jade box, opened it, and presented it to Li Qing: "Master, here is the void stone you requested. In the entire Yingshui City, only our Luoshui Hall has five of them."

Li Qing looked down and saw a fist-sized stone lying in the jade box. It was pitch black all over, with faint spatial fluctuations rippling across its surface. It felt slightly cool to the touch, and its quality was indeed excellent.

"Master, all these Materials you requested, including the void stone, come to a total of thirty-three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Qing directly took out the Spirit Stones he had just received and paid the fee.

Most of the Spirit Stones in his hands were spent all at once, but he didn't feel any heartache. These were all absolute necessities. Only by upgrading his Immortal Cave and Pill Refining Room to Level Four could he perform Alchemy with greater efficiency, and he would only earn back even more Spirit Stones in the future.

With the transaction complete, Manager Zhang was all smiles. He personally escorted Li Qing to the entrance of Luoshui Hall, maintaining a respectful attitude throughout, not showing the slightest negligence just because the transaction had ended.

"Master, if you have any Materials to sell or need to purchase any Materials in the future, please feel free to come to our Luoshui Hall. We will certainly offer you the best prices and the most attentive service."

Li Qing nodded slightly and, cradling the Red-tailed Fox in his arms, turned and left Luoshui Hall.

Walking along the streets of the market, Li Qing could clearly feel that the Cultivators passing by him all looked at him with a hint of respect.

Sensing his aura as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, many Cultivators would actively step aside to make way for him, and some even went out of their way to cup their hands in greeting. This was treatment he had never experienced back when he was in the Qi Refining Stage.

In the past, when he walked through the market, he was just an unremarkable minor Cultivator whom no one would spare a second glance. Now that he had become a Foundation Establishment Master, he was respected wherever he went. This was the change brought about by strength.

He did not linger long in the market; after all, changing his appearance was only a temporary measure, and it was not wise to stay too long.

Having purchased all the Materials, he walked straight out of Yingshui City and made a low-profile return to his Immortal Cave.

Returning to his Immortal Cave, he dispelled the disguise secret technique and restored his original appearance. Only then did Li Qing completely breathe a sigh of relief.

Seeing his original appearance, the Red-tailed Fox in his arms instantly grew excited, rubbing its little head against him continuously.

Li Qing placed all the newly purchased upgrade Materials into the storage area of his Immortal Cave, then took out the Spirit Stones he had just obtained and placed them together with his previous savings.

Looking at the upgrade prompt lit up on the Immortal Cave panel, his eyes were full of anticipation.

Now that the Materials were complete and the Spirit Stones were sufficient, he could finally upgrade his Immortal Cave from Level Three to Level Four. The Pill Refining Room, spirit field, beast enclosure, Spirit Well, and training room could also be upgraded along with it.

Once the Immortal Cave upgrade was complete, the success rate and medicinal potency purification of the Pill Refining Room would be significantly enhanced. When the time came, he could refine foundation establishment pills in large batches and sell them in the market, allowing him to make a massive fortune of Spirit Stones and never have to worry about Spirit Stones again.

Li Qing stroked the head of the Red-tailed Fox in his arms and glanced at the Iron Corpse lying quietly in the corpse refining pool. He resolved in his heart that once he had established a firm foothold and saved enough Spirit Stones and Materials, he would definitely have the Iron Corpse advance into a Copper Corpse. As the assistance around him grew stronger, he would have enough confidence to cope even if he had to face the retaliation of the Houtu Sect in the future.

Next, he would focus on upgrading his Immortal Cave and begin his path of refining pills to amass wealth!