```
It wasn't long before a few cultivators walked into the shop together, their eyes scanning over the various spiritual objects displayed on the counters.
There was an array of low and middle-grade magic artifacts, talismans, and formations, which occupied more than half of the counter space. The rest was filled with spirit pills, including the Jade Spirit Pills submitted by Li Zhirui, as well as Spirit-Replenishing Pills, Blood Replenishing Pills, Hemostatic Powder, and other common spirit pills.
Among these dazzling spiritual objects, the Jade Spirit Pill stood out because the wooden sign with the price also included the words, "This is a Water-Refined Spirit Pill!"
"Is this really a Water Refinement Pill?" a cultivator asked excitedly, his eyes shining, clearly recognizing its value.
His companion, however, was clueless and curiously asked, "What is a Water Refinement Pill?"
"It's a spirit pill made using Spirit Water as fuel for the alchemy process. Because this method is harder than Fire Refinement and requires more resources, few cultivators learn the Water Refinement Method," he explained.
"But the advantages of Water-Refined Pills are also quite obvious. Not only do they have fewer pill poisons, but their quality is also better than that of Fire-Refined Pills."
"Generally speaking, the price of Water-Refined Pills is a bit higher than that of Fire-Refined Pills." That's why he was skeptical of seeing Water-Refined Pills priced the same as Fire-Refined Pills and wondered if it was just a marketing gimmick by the store.
"My Li family would never do anything to tarnish our own reputation," Li Shihua said with a smile as he took out a bottle of Jade Spirit Pills and opened the cork, offering, "If the fellow Daoist is not assured, you can check for yourself."
The difference between Water-Refined Pills and Fire-Refined Pills was quite distinct—one moist and lustrous, the other dry and sparkling. You could tell with the naked eye.
"Really? It's a Water-Refined Pill?!" The cultivator probed with his Divine Sense and exclaimed with surprise, "I'll take five bottles of Jade Spirit Pills!"
With one bottle of Jade Spirit Pills costing twenty-eight Spirit Stones, five bottles amounted to one hundred and forty Spirit Stones, which he paid without hesitation.
Thanks to this man's endorsement, quite a few cultivators gathered around, and by their expressions, it was clear they were tempted, and none suspected that he was a shill hired by the Li family.
"I'll go fetch the Spirit Stones right now. Please reserve ten bottles for me, no! Twenty bottles!" Not even waiting for Li Shihua's consent, he quickly dashed out of the shop.
This made the members of the Li family realize why no one suspected him: he must be from a certain power and would not likely engage in scams like this.
Seeing him reserve twenty bottles of Jade Spirit Pill in one go, the watching cultivators inside the store could no longer hold back and started to make their purchases. Some wanted one bottle, others wanted another, and while none were as generous as him, their collective interest quickly resulted in over a dozen bottles sold.
Moreover, as these cultivators left, news that Li Family's Grocery Store had Water-Refined Pills for sale also spread throughout the marketplace. Being informed, many cultivators came to the store to buy.
By the time the man returned, over fifty bottles of Jade Spirit Pills had already been sold. Bear in mind, this was just within half an hour, indicative of the popularity of Water-Refined Pills.
This bustling scene made several members of the Li family start to worry whether the two hundred plus bottles they had accumulated would be enough to meet the demand.
But if it wasn't enough, there was nothing to be done; this was all the Jade Spirit Pills the family had. In fact, in an attempt to earn more Spirit Stones, the family hadn't even distributed Jade Spirit Pills to their own clan members.
Meanwhile, Li Zhirui, who was wandering through the marketplace, had no idea his crafted Jade Spirit Pills were so sought after, as he was busy haggling with a small vendor over the price of a Spirit Stone.
Despite having crafted so many Jade Spirit Pills, Li Zhirui not only lacked Spirit Stones, but he was also carrying a debt of twelve hundred Spirit Stones.
Li Zhirui currently had just over a hundred Spirit Stones on him, so much so that when purchasing Spiritual Medicine seeds and young plants, he didn't go to specialized stores but chose to pick them out from street stalls, hoping to save a few Spirit Stones.
```
"I've bought dozens of Spiritual Medicine seeds, and you can't spare even one Spirit Stone?" Li Zhirui said resentfully.
"Do you know that one Spirit Stone can buy one-third of a Jade Spirit Pill?" the vendor retorted without yielding, "Moreover, the price I've offered is already very affordable. If you go to a store, you can't get them for less than sixty or seventy Spirit Stones!"
Li Zhirui was momentarily at a loss for words because the vendor had a point; furthermore, his stall had the most complete selection of Spiritual Medicine seeds in the entire street, and the quality wasn't bad either, saving Li Zhirui the trouble of having to buy from different vendors sporadically.
"Fine," but Li Zhirui still felt somewhat reluctant and pointed at a seed next to him, it was the size of a thumb, pitch-black, and indiscernible as to what kind of Spiritual Medicine it was, and said, "But you have to throw in that seed."
"Alright, alright, you win. I'm giving you a bargain," the vendor said, waving his hand and showing a resigned expression.
Li Zhirui scoffed. He hadn't had much contact with merchants in the Cultivation World, but from what he had heard in his previous life, he didn't believe for a second that he had snagged much of a deal, with rumors of millionaires and vendors who owned multiple luxurious houses.
After the exchange was complete, Li Zhirui turned to leave the street of stalls, but unexpectedly ran into Li Zhizhun, Li Zhihao, and several cousins of his generation.
"Big brother, second sister..." Since he had run into them, Li Zhirui couldn't just pretend not to see them and walk away. He had to walk over and greet them.
"Ninth brother," everyone greeted Li Zhirui in unison. Li Zhihao, who was most familiar with him, said, "You're here too?"
"Yeah, I came to buy some Spiritual Medicine seeds. The things here are cheaper than those in the stores, but..." Li Zhirui lowered his voice to a whisper, "...there are quite a few fakes as well. So when you buy things, you'd better look carefully and not be tempted by small bargains."
As for the possibility of being targeted, Li Zhirui wasn't worried. His brothers and sisters didn't have many Spirit Stones to begin with, they couldn't buy much, and moreover, there were two Foundation Establishment elders in the Marketplace.
"How come you know so much? Have you been here before?" Li Zhihao asked curiously.
Li Zhirui nodded and said, "I've been here once before with Uncle Ren."
The others didn't ask any more questions, mainly because gathering in a group in the street was somewhat blocking the way. After a few brief exchanges, they dispersed, with Li Zhirui silently following behind Li Zhihao.
The street of stalls wasn't big, and so they finished browsing quickly. Aside from Li Zhirui, the rest of the family members had bought various Spiritual Objects, more or less.
The most eye-catching was Li Zhizhun, the bargain big brother. Seeing the wide smile on his face, one could tell that he had come across some good items.
However, Li Zhirui didn't inquire further. After all, they weren't close, and for Cultivators, having one's secrets was quite normal.
"Big brother, if there's nothing else, shall we head back to the store?" Li Zhirui asked.
"Yes, let's go," Li Zhizhun replied, still carrying a semblance of a big brother's composure. He quickly suppressed his smile and led the group of younger siblings towards Li Family's Grocery Store.
However, the closer they got to the store, the more Cultivators they encountered, and many of them discussed the Water Refinement Pill.
It looked like the business at the store was doing very well. Li Zhirui thought to himself.
The other family members threw occasional glances at Li Zhirui, veiled or otherwise. Outsiders might be oblivious to the origin of the Water Refinement Pills, but these relatives knew that the one in front of them, the famously talented member of the family, was the creator of those pills!
Not only was his aptitude outstanding, but his alchemy talent was also impressively high. Even the closest family members couldn't help feeling a tinge of envy in their hearts.