Huo Shenshou

As he entered the building, he was instantly greeted by a sight that even him from his past life would look at and be left speechless. At the moment, multiple people were moving to and fro as conversations were started and finished multiple times within a short amount of time. While that was all happening, pills of various shapes, sizes, and scents could be seen displayed all throughout the pavilion as they were placed in glass containers.

And that was only the first floor of the pavilion.

Bombarded by the intense stimulus from the pavilion, Shi Li could not help but stand on the spot in silence for a few seconds, only to snap back to reality as a person waved his hands in front of him. Looking at the man, Shi Li noticed that the words 'Starry Alchemical Pavilion' was writing on a small plaque affixed on his chest, realizing that he had unexpectedly attracted a person from the pavilion.

Not knowing the person's position in this place, Shi Li instantly bowed with respect and said, "My apologies for blocking the building's entrance."

Surprisingly, the person let out a light chuckle as he said in response, "No worries, no worries. Most newcomers of the pavilion would have the same reaction as you, being surprised by the sight in front of them."

Hearing that, Shi Li could not help but slightly blush from embarrassment, to which the person ignored as he asked Shi Li, "So, how may I help this young sir today?"

Pondering in silence for a bit as he tried to collect his bearings, Shi Li eventually replied, "I would like to buy a few pills."

"Well then, that's what the Starry Alchemical Pavilion is known for," the person replied before introducing himself. "My name is Guang Feng. I am one of the attendants of the Starry Alchemical Pavilion who shall be serving you today."

Hearing the word 'attendant' come out of Guang Feng's mouth, Shi Li only nodded in response as Guang Feng continued to ask him, "What kind of pills is this young sir looking for?"

"I was planning to look for cultivation pills…" Before Shi Li could finish his response, Guang Feng instantly asked him in response, "What kind of cultivation pills are you looking for, young sir? Are you looking for cultivation pills that would allow you to breakthrough to a higher realm? Cultivation pills that would allow you to speed up the process of opening acupoints? Or are you looking cultivation pills that would speed up your cultivation in general?"

Although he was caught off guard by Guang Feng's sudden question, Shi Li's ears still perked up when he heard that there were cultivation pills that catered to opening acupoints. However, he only placed it at the back of his head for now as he knew that pills like that would surely have some downsides to it. With that, he returned his train of thought to what he originally wanted to obtain, which were cultivation pills that sped up his cultivation overall.

"Just some general cultivation pills," Shi Li said in response, albeit with a bit of stutter. Oblivious to the stutter, Guang Feng then asked Shi Li to wait where he was for a bit as he headed to another place in the pavilion. After some time, Guang Feng appeared in front of him once more, carrying a small box which he opened soon after.

Inside the box was an assortment of pills being split into two rows. The first row of pills consisted of pills that gave off a light gray luster that increased in clarity, while the second row of pills gave off a light blue luster, also increasing in clarity.

Seeing that Shi Li's attention was affixed to the pills he had shown, Guang Feng went ahead and explained what the pills he had shown Shi Li were. "There are two types of general cultivation pills one could buy from the Starry Alchemical Pavilion. Those two types of are Meridian Widening Pills, which are the light gray pills here, and the Qi Perception Pills, which are the light blue pills here."

"The Meridian Widening Pills are made for those that don't have a problem sensing qi, but feel like the pathways that circulate qi are too constricted for them to move freely," he continued. "You might be wondering why they're called Meridian Widening Pills even though they widen pathways. In fact, they can widen acupoints as well. Nevertheless, the first person to create these set of pills initially aimed to only widen meridians with the pills, hence their name."

"As for the Qi Perception Pills, they do what they say. If you're having problems sensing qi in your surroundings, then a pill like this would be something for you. Of course, if you consume them together, then you would be achieving twice the results with half the effort while cultivating." Guang Feng ended his explanation then and there.

With his eyes seemingly glistening as he looked at the pills, Shi Li calmed down his excitement as he quickly recalled that the Meridian Widening Pills were pills that alleviated the severity of his Imperfect Meridians. As to how it alleviated it, he did not know. Nevertheless, he knew that he had to get one of these sooner or later.

With that, he asked Guang Feng, "How much do the Meridian Widening Pills cost?"

"For Meridian Widening Pills at Tier 0, they cost 5 silver coins each. Note that this price is only applicable for Low-quality Tier 0 pills. Each increase in quality doubles the price, with Middle-quality pills costing 10 silver coins, High-quality pills costing 20 silver coins, and Supreme-quality pills costing 40 silver coins," Guang Feng answered as if he had memorized the prices.

"How about Qi Perception Pills?" Screaming inwardly at the prices of the pills, Shi Li continued to ask, making sure to not show the shock he was feeling at the moment.

"They cost less than the Meridian Widening Pills, starting at 3 silver coins for Low-quality Tier 0 pills. For one Supreme-quality Tier 0 Qi Perception Pill, it costs 24 silver coins," Guang Feng replied before asking with a smile, "So, young sir. What would you like to buy?"

"Er…I was only checking the prices…" Shi Li scratched his head as he replied to the man's question, only to notice that the man's attitude towards him instantly took a 180-degree turn. With a cold expression, he said to Shi Li, "If you don't have any money, leave."

"Huh?" Not expecting such a drastic change, Shi Li was left dumbfounded. It was only when one of the guards of the pavilion came to drag him out of the pavilion did he find out that Guang Feng was serious.

As he was thrown back to the streets out of the building, Guang Feng looked at him with a cold gaze once more. "Only customers with money are allowed to enter the Starry Alchemical Pavilion. If there ever comes a day you have money…"

"Then, don't hesitate to come here! We'll serve you to the best of our abilities," he said with the previous attitude he showed Shi Li before turning around to serve other customers.

After looking at the entrance of the building for a bit, Shi Li let out a light sigh as he wondered why some people had short tempers. In any case, he had still achieved his goal of finding out the prices for the pills he wanted, especially the Meridian Widening Pills. However, as he recalled the price of even the Low-quality pill, he could not help but suck in a breath of cold air. "5 silver coins…that's already enough to feed a family of 4 for half a month."

Thanks to the previous owner's memories, Shi Li knew how valuable silver coins were. In the grand scheme of things, they were not that valuable, as silver coins were equivalent to 100 copper coins, the lowest grade of currency. However, considering how he didn't have any way to make money, even a silver coin was difficult for him to procure.

With that in mind, he thought about returning back to the clan, only for him to think otherwise. "This is the first time I've gone out of the clan, so I should make the most out of it. Plus, it's not like I'm being restricted by anything."

And so, Shi Li continued to stroll around town some more, pondering on ways to make money as he looked at the various buildings and people that passed by him. In fact, some were even offering him jobs as he gave off that feeling to others that he was out of money. However, since those jobs relied mostly on menial labor, which he was poor at due to his illnesses, he declined.

Eventually, Shi Li stopped in front of a one-floor building that had a shelf of pills for display out in the front. As he wondered what the name of this building was, he looked at the large wooden sign affixed onto the roof of the building, feeling his mouth twitch as he muttered, "God Fire Alchemical Pavilion…what an overbearing name."

Just as he was about to take his leave, a man called out to him and said, "Well, hello there, young customer! Welcome to the God Fire Alchemical Pavilion! How may I help you today?"

"You are…?" Seeing as he couldn't leave the premises that easily, Shi Li went ahead and asked him this question. Hearing that, the man beamed a smile and replied, "The name's Huo Shenshou."

"Nice to meet you."