Because this valuation was a bit too low.
According to what he had previously learned, the market price for a single Nurturing Qi Pill was about one and a half Spirit Stones, while one Exorcise Evil Spirits Pill was about five Spirit Stones.
In other words, based on market prices, he could sell his Nurturing Qi Pills for sixty-five stones and his Exorcise Evil Spirits Pills for forty.
And now, the Lei Family's Trading Firm's offer for these six bottles of pills was a full twenty Spirit Stones lower than the market price.
Although he had expected the Lei Family's valuation to be low, he did not expect it to be this low.
There was one word to describe it.
Exploitative.
Han Yi did not immediately accept the offer but instead pondered for a moment and asked, "I've heard that the Lei Family's Trading Firm sells low-level magic skills. I'd like to purchase one skill, shopkeeper, do you have any recommendations?"
As soon as Han Yi finished speaking, a smile appeared on the corner of the shopkeeper's mouth.
"Fellow Daoist, you've come to the right place."
"We have a wide range of magic skills for sale in our shop, including defensive skills, magical attack skills, and artifact controlling skills."
"Which category of skill are you looking for?"
"Also, do you have a price range? If so, I can help narrow down the options for you."
At this moment, the elderly shopkeeper's words reminded Han Yi of a house-selling agent from his previous life. Their way of talking had some similarities.
"Shopkeeper, do you have any skills that I can afford with the valuation of these pills?" Han Yi asked tentatively.
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's smile grew even wider.
"Of course."
"However, those skills are just ordinary and low-level, with weak power. Some of them can even be considered chicken ribs – quite useless."
"I sincerely suggest you choose a better magic skill."
"Let me introduce you to the three top-selling skills of this quarter."
"One is Tiangang Divine Fire, with the divine fire emerging, it can burn everything to ashes, even those at the High Qi Cultivation realm cannot escape. This is a powerful weapon."
"One is Shadow Realm Infiltration. When cultivated to the extreme, it is rumored that not even those in the Foundation Establishment stage can catch your trace. It is an excellent skill for self-preservation."
"One is Speech Spirit Skill. Every immortal speech can break the rules and temporarily rewrite them, truly mysterious."
The shopkeeper's words came out smoothly without hesitation. Obviously, he had said this to countless people before.
Han Yi's eyes widened.
Desire welled up in his heart.
Tiangang Divine Fire, Shadow Realm Infiltration, and Speech Spirit Skill – these three skills sounded extremely impressive, let alone the detailed explanation of how powerful they were from the elderly shopkeeper.
This made Han Yi itch to acquire them.
However, he quickly calmed down.
These magic skills were absolutely not cheap, definitely more than a hundred stones, and perhaps even as high as several hundred Spirit Stones.
If he took a risk and sold all the other pills in his storage bag, it might be enough to buy one skill.
But.
He did not dare gamble.
This was completely different from his original plan, and he would not be able to explain it to the Xuan Fire Pill Store later.
Seeing Han Yi's thoughtful expression after being so tempted, the elderly shopkeeper thought to himself, "As I expected."
An alchemist, especially one who could refine Exorcise Evil Spirits Pills of nearly top-quality, must be wealthy. Surely he had more than just these pills on him.
What the shopkeeper wanted was for Han Yi to sell more pills or make up the difference in Spirit Stones to afford these three skills.
The final goal, of course, was to make a small profit.
Selling one skill was selling, selling two was also selling.
This was a profitable business without any capital investment.
The elderly shopkeeper was about to encourage Han Yi with more words but saw Han Yi spread his hands.
"Shopkeeper, it's not that I don't want to buy them, it's that I can't afford them."
"These six bottles are all the pills I have on me. Just give me a straight answer, if I sell these six bottles and get eighty-five Spirit Stones, which skills can I buy here?"
Han Yi's sudden change left the shopkeeper with no choice but to swallow the words he had prepared.
But business is business, and the elderly shopkeeper was half a pure businessman.
Moreover, a transaction of 85 spirit stones was not a small amount.
"In that case, it is indeed a pity."
"However, I do have a few magic skills within the price range of fellow Daoist."
The old shopkeeper took out seven Scripture Transmission Jade Plates from a cabinet nearby. These jade plates were purely for transmitting magic skills, and only by placing them on the forehead could one receive the teachings.
Mysterious lights circulated on the seven jade plates.
The old shopkeeper placed one of them in his palm.
"This is a Light Body Technique, of course, it's the lowest level Light Body Technique. The original price is 30 spirit stones, but if you're really interested in buying it, I'd be bold enough to offer you a discount and sell it for 28."
The old shopkeeper put down the jade plate and picked up the next one.
"This is a Water Control Skill, also the lowest level, originally priced at 40 spirit stones, but I can offer a discount of two."
Next, he took out the third jade plate.
...
Light Body Technique, Water Control Skill, Scolding Skill, Bright Eyes Skill, Invisibility Skill, Wind Blade Skill, Sword Control Skill.
There were a total of seven magic skills, and Han Yi was itching to buy each one.
However, he was well aware of the principle of not trying to grab too much at once.
The most important thing was that he didn't have that many spirit stones.
"Shopkeeper, is the seventh skill a Sword Control Skill?" Han Yi asked again for confirmation.
In his impression, the Sword Control Skill was a top-notch skill and not cheap.
The old shopkeeper nodded and held up the seventh jade plate:
"That's right. This is a Sword Control Skill. Of course, the reason for such a preferential price is mainly because this Sword Control Skill is incomplete. To be precise, it is a skill that lies between the mortal sword skill and the Immortal Sword Skill."
"Let me say in advance; this Sword Control Skill has obvious pros and cons."
"A real Sword Control Skill requires at least a high Qi Cultivation base and years of nurturing flying swords in order to control them. However, this Sword Control Skill, modified from the mortal sword skill, can be practiced as soon as one enters the Qi Cultivation Stage."
"The low threshold is an advantage."
"Compared to the advantages, the drawbacks are also obvious: the power of this Sword Control Skill is far inferior to that of the Immortal Sword Skill."
"Another drawback is that it is more challenging to practice, and one might never be able to control the sword in flight throughout their life, only holding the flying sword for close combat."
"Therefore, this modified Sword Control Skill is so cheap, requiring only 85 spirit stones."
"Fellow Daoist, it's up to you to choose."
After saying this, the old shopkeeper didn't bother to say more.
Apparently, his patience had reached its limit.
Across from him, Han Yi was indecisive.
Of these seven magic skills, he had initially ruled out the Water Control Skill and the Bright Eyes Skill due to their limitations, but he hadn't decided which of the remaining five to buy.
This was a difficult decision.
Seeing Han Yi's indecision, the old shopkeeper gave him a glance.
Situations like this were not uncommon in the past.
"What's so difficult to choose?"
"For magic skills, just buy the most expensive ones."
"The most expensive ones are not necessarily the best, but they are definitely better than the cheaper ones; otherwise, why would they be priced higher than the others?"
These words awakened Han Yi.
Just like when he went shopping in his previous life, it made sense that expensive goods would likely be better quality than the cheap ones, judging by the probabilities.
"All right, shopkeeper, I'll take the Sword Control Skill."
Han Yi made up his mind. As for the other magic skills, it wouldn't be too late to buy them next time.
The old shopkeeper's face softened slightly upon hearing his words.
An 85 spirit stone transaction, while not big, was still a small profit for him.
A moment later.
When Han Yi left the Lei Family's Trading Firm, there was an additional Scripture Transmission Jade Plate containing the Sword Control Skill in his storage bag.
He no longer approached other stalls but swiftly left the market and headed straight for the Xuan Huo Pill Shop.