Qi Yunxiao and Xin Ruyin

Li Yunfan didn't care about this at all. After putting the spiritual medicine back into his storage bag, he went to the sixth floor under the guidance of the beautiful woman.

In the entire sixth-floor hall, there was only one elderly man who looked to be in his seventies or eighties, with gray hair and a face full of wrinkles, sitting in a rocking chair, intently reading a book in his hands.

"Elder Lan, this guest wishes to sell a medicinal herb. I am but a humble servant, and cannot identify the variety or specific year of the herb. I beg Elder Lan to take a look!" the beautiful woman said respectfully, bowing deeply to the old man.

"Oh? Even you can't tell the specific year and variety?" Old Lan closed the book in surprise, then stood up from his rocking chair.

"Please bring out the medicinal herb so I can appraise it. If it is indeed a rare and precious medicinal herb, our establishment will definitely offer a price that will satisfy you!" Elder Lan said after walking to the side and inviting Li Yunfan to sit down.

Upon hearing this, Li Yunfan took out the medicinal herb again and placed it on the table, asking the other party to examine and identify it carefully.

Elder Lan indeed had a keen eye; with just a slight examination, he could discern the grade and specific year of the medicinal herb.

"Yes, no wonder you couldn't tell. This Silver Essence Mushroom is indeed extremely rare. Even I have only seen it a few times. Moreover, this Silver Essence Mushroom has been cultivated for 1,200 years, making it an extremely precious spiritual herb!"

Upon hearing this, the beautiful woman's face first showed a hint of surprise, and then she excitedly inquired about the value of the elixir.

"I wonder how many spirit stones this guest intends to sell?" Elder Lan did not answer the beautiful woman's question, but instead looked at Li Yunfan and asked with a smile.

Li Yunfan glanced at Elder Lan, and in a flash, he guessed the purpose of the other party's inquiry. It was nothing more than wanting to test him first. So he directly quoted a slightly higher price.

"Two thousand six hundred spirit stones!"

The price made the beautiful woman frown, but Old Man Lan chuckled and, without any intention of haggling, agreed directly.

"We'll take this Silver Essence Mushroom from Stardust Pavilion at the price this guest quoted. Go get the spirit stones!" Old Lan turned to the beautiful woman and instructed her.

Although the beautiful woman had some reservations about the price, she had no choice but to listen to Elder Lan and could only turn around to get the spirit stones.

A short while later, the beautiful woman returned to the sixth floor with a storage bag. She gently shook the bag downwards, and more than two thousand spirit stones were piled on the table, filling the entire table.

"Here are two thousand six hundred spirit stones. Please count them, sir!" The beautiful woman still wore a smile, but her tone had turned somewhat cold.

Clearly, she was dissatisfied with the high price quoted by Li Yunfan, which is why she made such a rash move.

However, Li Yunfan didn't care. After all, he had earned spirit stones, so there was no need to nitpick over such a small matter.

His divine sense enveloped the spirit stones on the table, and in the blink of an eye, he had counted them all; there were two thousand six hundred stones, not a single one missing.

After putting them all into his storage bag and handing the elixirs over to the other party, he left Stardust Pavilion directly.

"Elder Lan, this person clearly quoted a high price after hearing your appraisal. Even if this spiritual herb is somewhat rare, it shouldn't be worth 2,600. It should be worth at most 2,200 or 2,300!" The beautiful woman said to Elder Lan with some resentment after Li Yunfan left.

"You can't always focus on immediate gains; you need to think long-term!" Old Lan chuckled and shook his head.

Seeing that the beautiful woman was still somewhat confused, Old Man Lan then began to explain.

"Although on the surface we paid more spirit stones this time, the fact that the other party could easily produce such a spiritual herb as Silver Essence Ganoderma is clearly not that of an ordinary cultivator. Now that they've tasted success, do you think they'll continue to sell spiritual herbs to Star Dust Pavilion next time?"

After hearing Elder Lan's explanation, the beautiful woman nodded in understanding.

"Alright, you can go back to your work now. I'm going to continue reading my book," Old Lan said, waving his hand.

Upon hearing this, the beautiful woman immediately bowed respectfully and took her leave.

Li Yunfan was unaware of the conversation between the two. He had already left the Star Dust Pavilion and was quite satisfied with the price he had paid for the two spiritual herbs.

Including the spiritual herbs he sold to Baoling Pavilion, he now has more than five thousand spirit stones, which is quite valuable even among Foundation Establishment cultivators.

In high spirits, Li Yunfan was about to leave the market when he suddenly remembered something. His brows furrowed slightly, and he looked back in a certain direction of the market before turning back and continuing to walk out of the market.

"That Elder Zhou is definitely not as simple as he seems. I'm only at the Foundation Establishment stage now, so it's best to be careful. It's just a pity about those two sets of formations..."

Li Yunfan now had enough spirit stones, and the two exquisite arrays in Old Zhou's shop immediately came to mind. However, after thinking it over, he decided to play it safe, since he had just personally experienced the dangers of the cultivation world.

Just as he reached the outermost shop and was about to leave the market, two women and a man suddenly walked towards him. Li Yunfan simply glanced at them and then ignored them and continued walking forward.

After all, being in a market town, there are many cultivators coming and going almost all the time, some alone, some in groups of two or three, so it's not unusual.

Just as he passed by the other woman, he suddenly heard her say, "Brother Qi, after we purchase the materials, we'll need your help to craft the array-setting tools for the Five Elements Reversal Array."

"No trouble at all. I am a weapon refiner myself, so crafting some array-setting tools is not difficult for me. Miss Ruyin, please rest assured!" Upon hearing this, a confident smile appeared on the man's face, and he patted his chest to assure him.

Although the two spoke in hushed tones, they did not try to conceal their conversation. With Li Yunfan's enhanced hearing after reaching Foundation Establishment, overhearing their conversation was not difficult.

"Brother Qi, the Five Elements Reversal Formation, Miss Ruyin... Could it be them?" Li Yunfan stopped in his tracks, a strange expression on his face.

Turning around to look at the three people's backs, his eyes flickered slightly. After pondering for a moment, he quickly caught up with them.

"Fellow Daoists, please wait!" Li Yunfan called out after catching up with the three, stopping them directly.

The three of them frowned as they looked at Li Yunfan, who had suddenly blocked their way.

"Why are you blocking our path, fellow Daoist? We don't seem to know each other!" The somewhat short and stocky man took a small step forward, shielding the two women behind him, before looking Li Yunfan up and down.

The two women also frowned slightly as they looked at Li Yunfan. Finding his appearance completely unfamiliar, they couldn't help but become wary.

"Fellow Daoists, there's no need to be nervous. I meant no harm. I just happened to overhear your conversation as I passed by, which is why I stopped you. I hope you won't take offense!" Li Yunfan said with a smile and a cupped hand.

"You were eavesdropping on our conversation?" The man's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he looked at Li Yunfan warily.

"Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. I did not mean to eavesdrop. Although the conversation between you two was not loud, it is not surprising that I could hear it with my hearing after I reached the Foundation Establishment stage," Li Yunfan explained with a chuckle.

Upon hearing Li Yunfan say that he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the man's face turned pale, and a hint of panic appeared in his eyes.

The other woman also showed a hint of fear, clearly somewhat afraid of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The woman standing between the two gradually calmed down after her initial surprise, and then actually stepped forward.

"Since you have said so, senior, the three of us naturally believe you. However, we are a little confused as to why you stopped us. Please enlighten us!" The woman cupped her hands to Li Yunfan with neither humility nor arrogance before slowly asking.