John was extremely pleased at the wealth he had just made. Although he didn't know exactly how much it was worth, he could tell that it was a significant sum even for a Heaven Tribulation Pill Emperor.
'This amount of money should be more than sufficient to last me throughout my entire Qi Condensation and Core Formation journey, but I wonder how much its truly worth."
John turned to the Elder standing next to him, who began to guard the door seriously.
"Elder, just how much is seven hundred and fifty thousand spirit crystals worth in terms of buying power?" John asked the Elder curiously.
The Elder looked at John closely.
"You really are something. I've never seen anyone best a Pill Emperor like that, let alone a kid. Not bad. As for your question, lets put it this way. My net worth as a Meridian Forging Elder is around a few hundred thousand spirit crystals, so that should give you a pretty good idea."
John raised his eyebrows slightly. He had expected it to be a lot, but not that much.
"That much? Seems like I really did get a good deal for that fruit," John replied with a slight grin.
After a moment's thought, he suddenly tossed fifty thousand spirit crystals to the Elder, which fell at the Elder's feet and made a small pile. The pile of spirit crystals glowed brilliantly with vibrant energy.
"What's this?" The Elder asked with piqued interest. This sum of spirit crystals was an enticing number even for him.
"You guided me to Pill Emperor Thunderpill. Without that, I probably would have refined the Undying Vitality Fruit into a Undying Vitality Pill, which while nice, is not nearly as nice as the sum I just made now. Think of this as a gift," John replied.
He truly was grateful to the Elder. Although he knew the Elder hadn't taken him to the Pill Emperor out of concern for him, it still ended up in him getting a lot of money, and he figured he should repay the favor.
Although fifty thousand was an incredibly large sum of money, John was certain that the amount he had now was more than sufficient for the next few years. During the next few years, he would be able to obtain even more money, so money was no longer an issue he had to worry about.
The Elder was at a loss for words, as he felt awkward for taking a gift from a disciple. However, the amount of money was truly too enticing, and he could only accept it. The Elder waved his hand, and the small pile of spirit crystals disappeared.
"You have my thanks, young man," The Elder thanked John sincerely.
John nodded and began to walk away, when he suddenly stopped and turned back to the Elder.
"Elder, where is the best place to find the most impressive Qi Condensation pills. I want to try to break through to the late Qi Condensation realm."
Although John's essence cultivation had broken through to the middle Qi Condensation realm only a few weeks ago, he wanted to see if he could push it to the late Qi Condensation realm with pills. Even if he couldn't, cultivation pills would surely speed up the time he took to reach that realm.
"Qi Condensation Pills? The most expensive ones are sold on the second floor of this Pill Hall. However, instead of the room you went to the first time, the room you want is located at the very end of the east hall."
"Thanks," John replied before heading off.
He returned to the main stairway, and began to descend to the floors below. The amount of people walking through the halls steadily increased as he descended, as most within the building were between Qi Condensation and Meridian Forging.
Upon reaching the second floor, John turned down the east hallway, which was bustling with activity. Thousands of cultivators could be seen scurrying about to the many rooms lining the hallway, each with a different purpose.
John walked for over a mile down the incredibly long hallway, before he eventually reached the very end of the hall. A grand door came into view, with incredibly detailed and ornate designs on it. Two two doors were wide open, allowing him to see directly inside to the room.
The room was much larger than any of the other rooms he had seen within the hall, and was the most luxurious by far. Dozens of pedestals dotted the room, each containing a pill on top of it. The pills were all resting on silk pillows, and guarded by thick glass.
There were only a few other youths in the room, showing that most were unable to afford the prices of the pills.
John entered the large room, and began to peruse through the various pills. There was a nameplate on each pedestal giving the name and description of what the pill did.
"Lightning-Flower Condensation Pill...helps one attune to lightning better, improving their control over it. Sounds nice, but I don't need such a thing."
"Foundation Correcting Pill...helps one correct and improve their foundation if they have had a flaw in their cultivation...interesting, but useless to me."
"Hundred-Poison Antidote Pill...Is a fast acting antidote over one hundred types of poisions. Sounds very useful. I might take a few."
John continued to browse through the various pills, taking note of each and every one. Each pill performed a different tasks, but none of them were useless. He could tell why they had been put in this room, as each one was quite amazing.
"Ah, here we are, just what I was looking for. Thundergrass Essence Pill...Made from one hundred year old Thundergrass. Helps significantly boost the essence cultivation of lighting attribute cultivators. One of the most effective Qi Condensation cultivation pills. Loses potency after the third pill. Perfect."
After finding all the pills that he wanted to buy, John walked up the main desk in the room, in which an Elder sat. She had black hair tied up into a bun on her head, and appeared to be in her forties. Her cultivation was also in the Meridian Forging realm, at the early stage.
"Excuse me, but I would like to buy several pills," John stated to the Elder.
The Elder looked up from the scroll she was reading and inspected John for a moment. He appearance didn't scream wealth, and his age indicated he was a first year. As such, his contribution points would be low, and so she was unsure if he could actually pay for the pills in this room.
"The pills in here are quite expensive just so you know. What pills are you interested in?" The Elder asked.
John took out a scroll, on which he had written down all the pills and quantities he wanted as he perused the room. He handed the list over to the Elder, who quickly inspected it.
Her eyebrows raised in surprise, before she looked back up at John.
"This is quite the list. Five Hundred-Poison Antidote pills, Twenty Mist-Lotus Healing Pills, Three Thundergrass Essence Pills, Five Lightning Explosion Pills, Ten Qi Replenishment Pills...are you sure you can afford all this? Just the Thundergrass Essence Pills alone are incredibly expensive"
The Elder became skeptical at John's list. Many youths came into this room looking to buy the spectacular pills, but when it came time to pay, they were not able to pay for the pills. The Thundergrass Essence Pills were just as potent at the Undying Vitality Pills when it came to raising cultivation, which was why they were so expensive.
However, the pills did not contain the vibrant life energy of the Undying Vitality Pills, and therefore would not increase the cultivator's lifespan, resulting in a cheaper price.
"How much are the pills?" John asked casually. He was unconcerned with the price.
"Lets see, these pills combined will total to...one thousand three hundred contribution points, or thirty five thousand spirit crystals," The Elder replied.
"Thirty five thousand? Not bad," John replied.
He sent his divine sense into his spatial ring which contained his wealth, and moved thirty five thousand spirit crystals to one of the rings he had obtained from his enemies bodies."
"Here you go, thirty five thousand crystals," John said to the Elder as he handed her the spatial ring.
The Elder inspected the ring's contents, and was slightly surprised that John actually had the funds to purchase it, and didn't even seem concerned at the price. Such a sum was significant, even for her.
"Wait a moment," the Elder instructed before heading to a room located behind the desk. John waited for several minutes before the Elder returned.
She handed John a spatial ring, and he quickly inspected its contents. A rich medicinal aroma filled the spatial rings storage area.
"There you go, the pills are all in the ring, divided into small jars based on the pill. Is there anything else I can do for you?" the Elder asked?
"That's it for now, thanks for your help," John replied before leaving the room.
"Should I look around the sect for more things to buy?"
John considered seeing what else his wealth could buy, but eventually decided against it.
"I'll have all the time in the world to look at what I can buy. My main concern right now is raising my strength. I'll return home for now."
After deciding his next moves, John left the Pill Hall and returned back home. As he reached his house, he once again spotted a familiar figure waiting outside his door, seated in a meditative position, cultivating the hours away.
"Elder Ragur! I hope you haven't been waiting long," John called out as he noticed the Elder sitting there.
Elder Ragur slowly opened his eyes as he heard John call out, and stood up to greet him.
"Not at all. Besides, cultivation works anywhere, what the difference between cultivating here or cultivating at home?"
"That makes sense," John replied. "What brings you here?"
Although John had an inkling of what the reason was for Elder Ragur's arrival, he still asked.
"It's about your clan. I informed the Sect Leader of the issue your clan is facing, and he's made his decision."