Chapter 32

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The injuries that Rice suffered were not the same as a mental breakdown. But upon closer reflection, there were some similarities... both were issues with the internal energy circulation system, leading to an inability to condense energy.

The description of the Yuan Gathering Qi Soup also mentioned its remarkable effectiveness in treating internal organ and meridian injuries. This world doesn't have the concept of meridians, but the source of martial arts energy... the principle of this thing should have some connection to meridians, right?

After all, martial arts energy also flows within the body according to certain rules, and the source of martial arts energy is similar to the dantian. My cooking skills in this world are adjusted according to the world's laws, so this dish should be no exception.

However, the ingredients needed for this dish are not as simple as just some meat from magical beasts.

From the name alone, it's clear that this Yuan Gathering Qi Soup is not an ordinary home-cooked dish, but a medicinal dish. As a medicinal dish, the main ingredients are mostly various herbs. These herbs may not be particularly rare in the game, as they are daily consumables that sell in large quantities. But in this world, it's hard to say.

In fact, Ji Ran currently only has the bones of some magical beasts that can be used to make the Yuan Gathering Qi Soup. These bones were carefully selected by Ji Ran and are suitable for making soup. However, the energy contained in the bones of third-level magical beasts is limited and can only be used a few times.

The other ingredients mostly require silver-level materials. After all, Uncle Rice is a silver-level himself, and he once reached levels five and six. Bronze-level materials would have little effect on him.

To collect these materials, money is needed. But how much money is still unknown. The value of what everyone has in hand is still uncertain, so it's best to wait until the materials are sold before considering further.

Uncle Rice just smiled faintly after hearing Ji Ran's words. He also understood the principle that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment, so he was trying his best to calm his emotions. But how much hope he actually had, no one knew.

The night passed without incident, and everyone finally had a good night's sleep after leaving the Blue Pine Forest. However, Ji Ran did not go to sleep directly but sat in meditation to practice. Now, this method of gaining experience points is his fastest way to level up.

According to his calculations, by practicing every night, he could level up to 26 in less than two days. Killing the fifth-level priest and the true god's avatar gave him a large amount of experience, almost enough to level up. Unfortunately, the true god's avatar had not fully descended, so the experience given was not too much. Otherwise, he might have jumped two levels directly.

But even so, after reaching level 26, he could level up again in about half a month at this practice speed. This leveling speed is truly terrifying. By the world's standards, it would take less than half a year to level up. In this world, such a leveling speed is considered extremely fast, even in the early stages. Of course, in the later stages, leveling up would not be so fast, and being able to level up in a few years would already be quite good.

Moreover, there are many people stuck at the level-up barrier, unable to make any progress throughout their lives.

The next day, after everyone finished washing up, they went to the town's trading market to sell part of the materials they had obtained. They also decided to sell one of the two magic items after discussion.

Songpan Town, while not remote, is not a major place either. Magic items are naturally very precious here, but they don't sell for a high price. After all, the adventurers who come here are generally not of high level and find it difficult to spend a lot of money on such valuable items. They decided to sell a poorer one and take the other to a big city to sell.

These two magic items were obtained from the followers of the True God Sect, and their effects were not too good—Ji Ran didn't think much of them. But for ordinary adventurers, they were already quite rare and valuable. After Old Mac's appraisal, they were worth about 400 to 500 gold coins. Including other materials, the total amount they could sell might exceed 2000 gold coins.

The reason they didn't sell all the materials was to keep some for their own use. After all, Ji Ran is an alchemist who can make magic weapons. Who wouldn't want their equipment to be more powerful?

Most of the bargaining was done by Rice and the others, while Ji Ran could only watch. He had no choice; he was unfamiliar with the prices in this world and didn't know the exact prices of the materials. In a town where adventurers gather, unscrupulous merchants are never lacking... if he tried to sell things rashly, he would surely be cheated.

Fortunately, he now had the chance to learn, which would at least give him some experience. His future plans would inevitably involve buying and selling various materials and finished products, so it wasn't a bad idea to see the true colors of the unscrupulous merchants in this world.

In fact, he did see that the unscrupulous merchants in this world were no worse than those in his original world. They would denigrate the materials and items brought by Rice and the others, saying things like the quality was not high, the processing was problematic, and the preservation was not good, all in an effort to lower the price. It was only because Rice and the others had rich adventuring experience that they finally managed to sell the materials at a relatively reasonable price.

"Time is too tight,

otherwise, we could have found more shops and sold for a bit more." Even so, Rice still shook his head.

Ji Ran was a bit puzzled: "As far as I know, the merchants who buy materials outside these adventure areas don't pay high prices, right? Since we're going to Baise City anyway, wouldn't it be better to sell there?"

Baker, hearing Ji Ran's words, immediately bounced over and put his arm around Ji Ran's shoulder, a proud smile on his face.

"Ha ha, you don't understand! If it were any other time of the year, what you said would be true. But during this season, selling materials in Baise would actually be cheaper than here."

Ji Ran thought for a moment and understood: "Because of the Azure Wind Academy's entrance exam?"

Ban smiled and nodded. "Exactly. Every year, many young people of the right age plan to enter the Azure Wind Academy, but not all of them are from wealthy families. So, like us, most of them earn their tuition by hunting magical beasts. Some of them, who can't sell their materials elsewhere in time, go directly to Baise to sell. Think about it, Baise is known as the city of commerce. Do you think the merchants there are any less shrewd than those here?"

Indeed. Ji Ran nodded, understanding the situation. Who would rush to use money if not for a reason? If the merchants didn't make a profit from them, they wouldn't be merchants.

"But there are also benefits. During this time, the prices of magic items in Baise will rise. When we go to sell our magic item, we should be able to make more money. If it weren't for Ji Ran's suggestion to prepare more money, I wouldn't have been willing to sell even one." Rice was a bit reluctant about selling the magic item.

Hearing this, Ji Ran smiled and shook his head. "Uncle Rice, this is a good opportunity for us to collect some materials. The materials we have saved are not enough to make a magic item for everyone. We need to find more materials here, and we need to prepare more money. If we don't have enough money in Baise City, I can make another magic item to sell... one or two shouldn't be a big problem."

Knowing that Ji Ran was doing this for their benefit, the others didn't raise any objections. After selling the materials they had, the group decided to browse the trading area to see if they could find anything useful.

"Uncle Rice, buy that kind of ore... um, obsidian, two pieces, about five kilograms each. Um... and that herb, silver leaf, at least ten stems. That magical beast bone is good... too expensive? Then forget it..."

Ji Ran pointed out various materials for Rice and the others to buy. After all, Rice and the others were experienced and knew the prices of the materials better than he did.

He didn't plan to buy too many materials here, just enough for Ji Ran to use on the journey. More materials could be bought in Baise, which would be cheaper. And the materials there would definitely be much cheaper than here. But actually, Ji Ran hoped to find some bargains here... the adventurers here might be inexperienced and sell some treasures as junk.

And not long after, Ji Ran did find an opportunity.

At an adventurer's stall, there was a pile of cloud-patterned crystals. These crystals have cloud-like patterns inside and can be used as materials for making magic items. However, these crystals are relatively abundant and can be found all over the continent, so their price is low. Only high-quality ones can sell for more.

What Ji Ran was interested in was not the high-quality cloud-patterned crystals, but a crystal with many impurities. The crystal was about the size of a fist, and almost half of it was a black impurity, spotted and mottled, completely ruining the integrity of the crystal.

Ordinary people would naturally think that this cloud-patterned crystal had almost no value, and the seller probably just wanted to sell it for whatever he could get. But if someone knowledgeable saw it, they would know it was a rare by-product, Cloud-Breaking Iron!

Cloud-Breaking Iron is a metal, lightweight but with good hardness. If it were just these two properties, the metal wouldn't be considered rare, but the key is that items made from this metal have a natural ability to reduce air resistance!

In other words, flight devices made from Cloud-Breaking Iron would be much faster. In "Immortal Freedom," Cloud-Breaking Iron is a top-tier material for making flying magical items or flying swords—gold-level magical items or flying swords would also add a bit of Cloud-Breaking Iron if possible.

Get it! This piece of Cloud-Breaking Iron, I must get it! Ji Ran made up his mind and secretly instructed Baker.

Baker gave him a reassuring look and went to the stall to haggle with the seller. He was also smart and didn't just focus on that one crystal but picked several others. After haggling for a long time, he finally used the high price as an excuse and got the crystal as a bonus.

The seller clearly didn't recognize the Cloud-Breaking Iron, so Baker easily bought the cloud-patterned crystal containing a large amount of Cloud-Breaking Iron.

After getting the cloud-patterned crystal with a large amount of Cloud-Breaking Iron, Ji Ran was naturally very excited. Countless predecessors have taught us that good things can be found at flea markets, and they were right!