Tonight, we push for the charts, my brothers and sisters! Lend a hand and help Baili reach the recommended rankings! Bowing for votes, many thanks! o(∩_∩)o... －－－－－－－－－－－ "How are you planning to sell this compendium?"

Ye Qin’s expression remained unchanged, his tone utterly flat, as if inquiring about an object of no value whatsoever.

The dark-skinned man had been closely monitoring Ye Qin’s demeanor. Seeing that Ye Qin flipped through the manual but remained utterly unconcerned, failing to treat it as anything important, he couldn't help but feel a slight disappointment. Nevertheless, since Ye Qin was asking about the price, he diligently promoted the book.

"This Rare Herb Compendium is truly exceptional. It not only contains detailed illustrations but also complete formulations. If little brother could manufacture even one of the medicines recorded within to sell, you would definitely make a fortune. It’s a shame this old man isn’t in that line of work and doesn't understand pharmaceutical preparation; otherwise, I wouldn't be selling this book. A fixed price: one Gold Leaf. An absolute bargain. What does little brother think?"

"I believe everything recorded here consists of rare herbs, because every single herb documented here, I’ve seen in the Herb Catalogue at the Herb Gathering Hall. Not a single one is missing. But you’re selling it to me for one Gold Leaf—isn't that deceiving me? This book simply isn't worth that much. Ten Silver Leaves, at most. If you’re willing to sell, I’ll take it; if not, forget it."

Ye Qin held the worn Compendium of Rare Herbs in his hand, dusting off the cover lightly.

The man grew anxious: "Why isn't it worth that much? It contains medicine formulations! Any single formulation is worth that price alone."

Ye Qin let out a cold laugh: "The rare herbs recorded inside are utterly impossible to find. What use is a formulation alone? In the many years I’ve been at the Herb Gathering Hall, I’ve never seen a few stalks of the herbs listed there. Moreover, the Herb Gathering Hall has plenty of formulations; the ones attached to your book are hardly unique secrets. If you don't believe me, take this compendium to the Herb Gathering Hall, sell it to the Master Pharmacist there, and see if they will even accept it."

Hearing Ye Qin mention selling the book to the Herb Gathering Hall, the dark-skinned man immediately deflated. He had, in fact, visited the Hall, hoping to sell the compendium for a high price. Unfortunately, a Master Pharmacist there had merely glanced at it a few times before tossing it back, claiming the book detailed only herbs and formulations already recorded, thus holding no value. Selling it for a high price to the Hall was out of the question.

The dark-skinned man had been hoping to find an inexperienced young disciple from the Herb Gathering Hall to offload the book onto. He happened to run into Ye Qin. However, he hadn't expected Ye Qin to be so seasoned and sharp-eyed, completely unwilling to be tricked.

"Don't think that just because this book records many rare herbs and some formulations it's worth more than ten Silver Leaves. Ordinary people who acquire this book gain nothing, as they don't understand how to identify or prepare medicines. Even for those of us who specialize in herbs, it’s a mixed blessing. The herbs recorded inside are too scarce—you might not see a single stalk in ten or twenty years, perhaps not even in the last fifty or sixty years! Never mind preparing any medicine. Having the formulation but lacking the herb—what use is this book? If I buy it, it will only be for reference."

"Fifty Silver Leaves!"

"Thirteen!"

"Twenty! That’s my final price. Any lower, and I won’t sell!"

The dark-skinned man’s face was etched with pain as he gritted his teeth and spoke.

Ye Qin pondered for a moment; this price range was within his acceptable limit. He then pulled out twenty Silver Leaves and exchanged them for the Compendium of Rare Herbs from the man’s hand. Afterwards, Ye Qin continued browsing the other stalls in the market, hoping to find Spirit Stones. But after searching the entire market, he found nothing remarkable.

It was difficult to ascertain if these Spirit Stones were usable—whether they could be mentally moved into his Dantian—without testing them firsthand. However, in a crowded trading market like this, he absolutely could not attempt such a thing. He could only rely on visual inspection and feeling to check if the stones on the stalls were Spirit Stones. Unfortunately, such visual assessment was almost entirely ineffective, as simple observation could not distinguish between Spirit Stones and ordinary rocks.

Ye Qin found nothing significant and left the market with the only item he purchased, the Compendium of Rare Herbs.

Although he failed to find Spirit Stones, obtaining this compendium was still a considerable gain. In the final few pages of the manual, he unexpectedly spotted a picture of the Dew Grass: a solitary little blade of grass, with a drop of dew hanging from the tip of its leaf.

The moment he first saw the image of the Dew Grass at the stall, he nearly betrayed his astonishment. Fortunately, he had already cultivated to the first layer of the Sit and Gaze Upon Nothingness technique, granting him complete control over his expressions; otherwise, he would surely have shown shock right there.

Leaving the Trade Market and walking onto the street of the county town, Ye Qin impatiently flipped open the Rare Herb Compendium again to confirm—it was definitely Dew Grass. The compendium also named this exceedingly rare little grass directly as "Dew Grass," a fitting name.

It also documented the Dew Grass's medicinal flavor, efficacy, morphology, and other details.

Included was a medicine formulation, using the precious Dew Grass as the primary ingredient, supplemented by over ten other herbs that were rare but not exceptionally valuable, to create a supreme Qi-regulating medicine called the "Serenity Pill," specifically designed to treat martial artists suffering from Qi Deviation (Zou Huo Ru Mo).

As far as Ye Qin knew, there were many types of medicines for regulating Qi Deviation, categorized into Low-grade, Mid-grade, High-grade, and Supreme-grade, capable of counteracting different severities of Qi Deviation. The more severe the internal imbalance, the higher the grade of regulating medicine required to resolve it.

The Serenity Pill was one of these Supreme-grade regulating medicines, capable of harmonizing Qi Deviation regardless of how severe the symptoms. However, because the Dew Grass was so rare, this supreme regulating medicine had scarcely appeared in the Jianghu circles of Pingzhou Prefecture for decades.

Most of the regulating medicines currently circulating in the Jianghu ranged between High-grade and Low-grade.

Among the first-tier and top masters of the Pingzhou Prefecture Jianghu, the number of people dying annually due to Qi Deviation was far from small. Possessing a Serenity Pill—a supreme regulating medicine—was practically holding an extra life-saving token.

Ye Qin still had several dozen stalks of Dew Grass reserved in his Dantian, so he decided to prepare one or two Serenity Pills for himself, just in case. If he ever encountered an issue while cultivating, he would have a life-saving medicine available. Since the main ingredient was already secured, using one stalk of Dew Grass would have little impact on his cultivation progress.

Ye Qin carefully put away the compendium, weighed his money pouch—he still had over one hundred and sixty Silver Leaves unspent—and strode toward the several jade shops in the county town. He didn't hold high expectations; he was just going to look around casually. If he could find Spirit Stones, that would be excellent; if not, there was nothing to be done.

Those who specialized in the jade business would certainly be more familiar with all sorts of peculiar stones than he was. Perhaps they would know where stones brimming with spiritual energy could be found. Even if acquiring such a stone demanded a huge price, he was determined to obtain it.