This chapter has been revised several times, so the update is a bit late, apologies. The strong push is over, and there are only the last few days left before October 1st. I hope to remain on the recommendation and popularity charts for a few more days; it will depend entirely on the support of all you book friends :-) ! －－－－－－－－ The Spirit Mist Grand Canyon? What kind of place is that? Ye Qin felt a flicker of confusion.

However, now that he had entered Xian Yuan City, he had no intention of leaving. The outside world was nothing like the city within. Just picking a few cultivators randomly in Xian Yuan City, and they would possess cultivation at the fifth or sixth level of the Qi Refining stage or higher. He was only at the fourth level, a newcomer, without the ability to venture out and show off. Inside the city, at least there were guards maintaining order; as long as he was careful and cautious, he would be safe. If he encountered a malicious high-level immortal cultivator outside the city, he wouldn't even know how he died.

He inquired, "Are there no people cultivating spirit herbs within the city?"

The girl's stall was filled almost entirely with very low-grade, trivial small materials and items. Passing cultivators would merely glance over them and move on; hardly anyone paid them any attention. Since she had nothing else to do, she rested her delicate, rosy cheeks on her hands and began chatting with Ye Qin, opening her wide eyes to say:

"The cultivation time for medicinal herbs is quite long. Even the very lowest-grade spirit herbs take anywhere from three to five years, and some take twenty or thirty years to mature. Better quality herbs require even longer, sometimes one or two hundred years. Most cultivators in Xian Yuan City are rogue cultivators. Who among them is willing to spend that much time planting herbs? By the time the herbs are grown, the rogue cultivator would probably already be dead, and the harvested herbs would only benefit others.

Only immortal cultivation families with inherited bloodlines, or within immortal cultivation sects, would specifically set aside fields for planting spirit herbs. Moreover, it's not as simple as just wanting to plant them; spirit herbs have extremely high environmental requirements, needing places where the spiritual energy is exceptionally abundant. Such prime locations are almost entirely occupied by the sects. No rogue cultivator can possess such a place alone. Our Xian Yuan City is situated upon a barren Gobi Desert; the spiritual energy here is thin, making it impossible to cultivate spirit herbs. Some people do plant ordinary mortal medicinal herbs, but those are priced in gold and silver and aren't worth much."

Ye Qin felt deflated. If there were no living spirit herbs in the city, wasn't this forcing him to go to that Grand Canyon?

He asked, "Then how do rogue cultivators obtain living spirit herbs? Is that Canyon the only place near Xian Yuan City where living herbs can be found?"

The girl covered her mouth and let out a soft, amused 'puchi.' She smiled sweetly, "That is the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon. It's about two hundred li to the west of Xian Yuan City. That Grand Canyon is said to be extremely, extremely long—at least a million li. It is covered in countless spirit herbs. However, that Grand Canyon is shrouded in thick fog year-round. Very few people dare to go there normally. If you really want to look for living spirit herbs, you can go directly to the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon. But, that place is terribly dangerous, you know. Not only are there many ferocious demonic beasts haunting the area, but there are also bloodthirsty, murderous fiends who specifically prey on low-level immortal cultivators to rob them of their wealth. That's why no rogue cultivator dares to go to such a dangerous place alone."

Ye Qin knitted his brows. Dangerous demonic beasts in that Canyon too? Being completely unfamiliar with the area, he knew almost nothing about the local conditions. It wasn't worth risking his life for spirit herbs in such a perilous place. For now, he should remain in the city, increase his strength, and familiarize himself with the environment before anything else. He could buy those few seeds of the Thornwood Vine from this green-clad girl first, and then check other stalls in the market to see if he could find seeds for other spirit herbs.

Ye Qin then said, "How about I trade you a Spirit Pill for these three Thornwood Vine seeds? How does that sound?"

The girl paused, then smiled, "That sounds fine, of course. Anyway, any money I make from selling these items is used to buy Spirit Pills for my cultivation. If you have Spirit Pills on you, then it’s perfect for a trade. But what kind of Spirit Pills do you have? Different pills have vastly different prices."

"Dew-Dropping Pill."

Ye Qin took out a small vial from his robe and poured out one perfectly round, cyan pill. A faint, delicate spiritual fragrance drifted out.

The girl’s pure, large eyes widened. She took the Dew-Dropping Pill and examined it closely, exclaiming in surprise, "Oh~, it really is a Dew-Dropping Pill! This Spirit Pill is the superior grade pill most suitable for cultivators in the first to third levels of the Qi Refining stage. One pill is equivalent to three Qi Nurturing Pills, worth three Low-Grade Spirit Stones. That’s wonderful! I really needed this kind of pill to break through to the third level. Big Brother, how many Dew-Dropping Pills do you have? You can take these five or six Thornwood Vine seeds from my stall; they are worth two Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Furthermore, I have many other things on my stall—raw materials for alchemy and artifact refinement. If you see anything you like, just take it."

Ye Qin smiled faintly. He had already toured the market not long ago and had a general understanding of the prices of low-grade Spirit Pills. The exchange rate of one Dew-Dropping Pill for three Low-Grade Spirit Stones was fair. However, among the items on this stall, he was only interested in the Thornwood Vine seeds. He only needed three seeds for initial testing in his Purple Mansion; having too many wouldn't be of much use to him.

"I only want three seeds; I don't need anything else. Please return two Low-Grade Spirit Stones to me," Ye Qin stated.

The girl blinked in surprise. It was only morning, and she had just started business; she didn't have any extra Spirit Stones on hand. She had already resolved to trade for Ye Qin's Spirit Pills, and seeing that Ye Qin wasn't interested in the other goods on her stall, she feared the deal might fall through and he might leave at any moment, causing a flicker of panic in her expression.

She bit her lower lip slightly and took out a very tiny gourd from her bosom, about the size of a thumb. "This little gourd contains Chen Sang Wine. It’s a vintage made from eight types of spirit herbs and seventy-three types of mortal herbs, totaling eighty-one ingredients, steeped in spiritual spring water. It is extremely effective for recovering magical power. If you are fighting and your internal mana is depleted, just taking a sip can restore some of your power in a very short time. It’s one of the most practical items for cultivators during combat. This small gourd holds a small sip of the immortal wine, enough to quickly restore a small amount of mana. This little gourd is worth at least ten, eleven Low-Grade Spirit Crystals. It could trade for your three Dew-Dropping Pills and a bit more. If we include the Thornwood Vine seeds, it would exactly cover four pills. Do you have four Dew-Dropping Pills in your vial?"

The girl held the small gourd, her eyes revealing a hint of secret, smug cunning. She put on a yearning look, gazing at the pill vial in Ye Qin's hand, hoping to trade this little gourd for more Dew-Dropping Pills.

Hearing the girl's description, Ye Qin was instead somewhat surprised, pointing at the small gourd.

"The contents of this can directly restore magical power?"

"Of course, am I going to lie to you? If you don't believe me, just smell it. Just smelling the aroma will let you sense the value of this Chen Sang Immortal Wine."

The girl handed the small gourd to him.

Ye Qin took the small gourd. It still carried the warmth and faint floral scent of the girl's body, causing his face to redden slightly. Fortunately, he quickly masked it. He opened the stopper, and a rich, mellow wine aroma mixed with dense spiritual energy rushed out, invigorating the senses.

It was important to remember that normally, meditating to recover mana was extremely slow, taking about a full day to restore all one's power.

The only method Ye Qin knew to speed up mana recovery was using Spirit Stones as an aid, but this only slightly increased the 'slow' rate and still consumed a lot of time.

If this Chen Sang Immortal Wine could truly restore mana quickly in a critical moment, it would be a life-saving treasure. Thinking back, if Nan Tian Xiong had possessed even a sip of this immortal wine, he wouldn't have been so miserably surrounded by martial artists at the Yongfu Restaurant in Zhuqi County.

Most importantly, the Chen Sang Immortal Wine required a large number of spirit herbs, which he couldn't cultivate directly in his Purple Mansion in a short time, nor did he know how to brew immortal wine. Buying a small gourd of Chen Sang Immortal Wine to keep in reserve would definitely do no harm.

Ye Qin unhesitatingly tucked the small gourd away: "I want this wine. Do you have any more of this immortal wine? If you do, I'll take all of it."

Seeing Ye Qin be so generous, the girl stuck out her small tongue in surprise and quickly shook her head, "No more. The spirit herbs needed to brew this Chen Sang Immortal Wine are extremely precious, and the brewing process alone takes five years. Every jar of Chen Sang Wine produced by the immortal wine workshops in Xian Yuan City is quickly snatched up by the various rogue cultivators. This little gourd was given to me by my cousin, which I treasured and kept in reserve. If I weren't already at the peak of the second level of the Qi Refining stage, longing to trade for your Dew-Dropping Pills to push toward the third level, I would never have been willing to bring it out."

Without another word, Ye Qin directly poured out three more Dew-Dropping Pills from the vial, totaling four pills, to trade for that small gourd of Chen Sang Immortal Wine, plus the three Thornwood Vine seeds. .