Frying Pan

Depressed, he drank the remaining nine elixirs at once.

Soon, Su Yin became even more depressed.

Similar to the first one, the spiritual power contained in these elixirs was expelled immediately after entering his body. Some through his acupuncture points, and some through the mid, and some through the lower parts of his body. It was shameful.

His body seemed to be like a punctured sack. Even if spiritual aura could enter his body, it would be immediately expelled. It was as if the spiritual aura didn't want to remain in his body for even a second longer.

Was he really not suitable for cultivation?

No… It should be because the elixirs are not pure enough.

The spiritual aura that I consumed, even though my body doesn't seem to like it. It didn't hate it as much as it hates the spiritual aura in the air.

Perhaps, if I find a more refined elixir—I would be able to break through the shackles of my body and finally start to cultivate.

Su Yin took a deep breath and left the quiet room. He walked over to the girl at the front desk once more and asked, "Are there any Spirit Gathering Elixirs that are purer, and of better quality?"

"This…" The girl nodded and replied, "Yes. There is the master-grade above pure-grade. However, there aren't a lot of them in stock, and they are not cheap. One costs 5 taels of silver. And, the minimum purchase needed to buy them are ten pieces."

The corner of Su Yin's mouth twitched.

It was really expensive.

Although "cheap Senior" had given him money, it was just tens of taels of silver.

One costs 5 taels of silver, while the minimum purchase was ten pieces.

This meant that he would have to spend 50 taels of silver at once.

"Elixirs of such grade are not only pure, but the amount of spiritual aura they have far exceeds ordinary elixirs. Many cultivators use it when they are on the verge of breaking through."

The girl further explained. "Moreover, such elixirs can only be refined by genius alchemists. There aren't many of them in Dayan City. It's natural for it to be expensive. Master, do you want to buy?"

"Uh…"

Su Yin took out all the silver he had and counted them.

He only had 47 taels of silver.

Slightly embarrassed, Su Yin said, "I don't have enough money…"

"Can you make it cheaper for me? If not, you can sell me 8 pieces?"

"Sorry, but this is the market's rules…"

"I'm just an attendant, there's nothing I can do…" The girl shook her head.

"Then… do you know any way to earn money fast?" Su Yin was helpless.

If he went back to get money, even if there was money, he would have to borrow from Elder Wu Yuan or the others. As the Little Uncle-Master, disguised as an "unparalleled master", he felt that it was embarrassing to borrow 3 taels of silver from them.

Not to mention that a round trip would take two or three hours.

By then, the night would've already fallen.

In the world of cultivation, it was hard to ensure one's safety when traveling in the dark.

Therefore, instead of going back and forth, it was better to find a way to earn these remaining 3 taels of silver.

Although most of the 36 skills that he learned in the Forbidden Ground seemed to be useless in earning money. He learned a few skills that could be used to put up a performance. For example, he could set up a stall to play the zither for others to hear.

He would be able to earn his money through the donations of the crowd.

This shouldn't be that difficult of an endeavor.

"Earn money fast?"

The girl shook her head helplessly.

If she knew a way to earn money fast, she wouldn't be here. Suppressing her speechlessness, she said, "This is a market. The best way to make money is naturally to sell things. You can sell whatever unused items you have with you to gather enough money for what you want to buy."

"That's right!" Su Yin came to a sudden realization.

Although he didn't care much about his "Little Uncle-Master" status, it would not look good if others found out that he performed on the streets. It was best if he could solve the problem by selling something.

Having spent ten years in the Forbidden Grounds… he had made quite a few items while learning the 36 skills.

Su Yin contemplated for a while before he took out a sphere-like object with a turn of his wrist.

"Take a look at this, is this worth 3 taels of silver?"

Confused, the girl looked over.

Soon, she was blinking her eyes in doubt. "This is… a pan?"

"Yes, a frying pan!" Su Yin nodded.

He had forged these using abandoned ores in the Forbidden Grounds not long after having learned smithing. The workmanship was so-so, so it wasn't so useful for him.

This pan might not be valuable to Su Yin, but the minerals and steel that were used to make this pan had been thoroughly tempered. Even if he sold this as scrap metal, it must be worth a few taels of silver at the least!

"You want to sell this?" Hearing the other party's confirmation, the girl was dumbfounded.

This guy looked well-dressed and well-mannered.

I thought that he would have some kind of treasure in him. I didn't expect him to take this out…

Paintings, weapons, elixirs were worth money.

But a frying pan?

Are you serious?

You must be kidding me!

Forcibly holding back the trembling of the veins on her forehead, the girl remained courteous as an attendant should. "I could put it up for sale. But I can't be sure if it can be sold, or if it's even worth 3 taels of silver!"

"All right! Can I take an advance payment of 3 taels of silver to buy the ten spirit gathering elixirs?" Su Yin asked carefully.

Who knew many days it would take for this to be sold?

"This…" The girl lowered her head to look at the item in front of her.

Forged using fine iron and some minerals, it was black and shiny with special patterns on the surface. An unknown charm seemed to be coming from it. Just it looks alone was enough to conclude that it was definitely worth more than 3 taels of silver.

Of course, whether it could be sold or not was another matter.

After all, only ordinary people would use frying pans.

It was questionable if ordinary people would even buy a pan for 30 wen.

Not to mention buying it at 100 times the cost.

After hesitating for a long time, the girl finally gnashed her teeth and said, "I can give you an overdraft of 3 taels of silver first. But if this pan is not sold for 3 taels of silver within 3 days, you will need to make up for the rest. Otherwise, my salary will be deducted."

"Of course!" Su Yin breathed a sigh of relief.

The other party was an attendant after all.

If the pan was not worth that much, and she had to pay from her own pocket…

It would not be so nice.

After the discussion, what came next was much simpler.

He handed 47 taels of silver and the frying pan over to the girl. After a while, the girl returned with a jade bottle.

Su Yin pulled the cork out of the bottle and saw the elixirs inside.

They were vermillion in color and each of them contained a dense spiritual aura.

It was more than twice as powerful as the ones he took before.

He took a slight whiff.

His closed pores opened slowly, they seemed to be less repulsed and cold as before.

"Many thanks…"

His eyes lit up.

After taking a look outside and seeing that it was already late, Su Yin turned around to leave.

I'll use them when I get back!

Shortly after he left, a round-faced girl came to the front desk.

She looked down at what was on the table and snorted. "Yafei, you received a broken pan for 3 taels of silver? Is there something wrong with your brain?"

The girl from earlier blushed. She said in uncertainty. "That young man doesn't look like he will repudiate a debt. If this can't sell for 3 taels of silver, he should be able to make up for it…"

Song Yafei—who had been here for less than a month—was considered a newcomer to the mall.

"Make up for it?" The round-faced girl shook her head with a sympathetic look on her face. "Why are you so stupid? To think that you would believe in whatever people say? That guy is obviously a liar!"

"If you don't believe me."

"Then, let me ask you…"

"Who would carry a pan with them?"

"…" Song Yafei froze.

That was right. Since he had a storage ring, there should be other treasures in there. But he took out a frying pan… he obviously did not take the matter seriously.

Seems like I was deceived…

"A fall in the pit, a gain in your wit. Thankfully, it's just 3 taels of silver. Otherwise, it'll be too late to cry over spilled milk." The round-faced girl snorted.

"En, I understand." Song Yafei nodded, her eyes turned red.

Her monthly salary was only 1.5 taels of silver.

It would take her two months to earn 3 taels of silver.

This was obviously a huge loss.

Forget it, she would have to be more careful next time.

Although she felt depressed, she still put up the frying pan for sale after careful deliberation.

She would minimize her losses as much as she could.

Although…

She didn't have much hope.