[So much Qi…] I whispered.

“It serves to preserve various samples and other things. There are, of course, many arrays that keep the items well protected as well.” She gestured to one of the glass displays containing a large beastly paw that had various arrays carved into the glass, keeping the item inside in a sort of stasis.

“The first floor contains items up to a Spirit Stone in value.” Poppy said. “As you can see here, we have various rare beast parts. Most of them are used in alchemy or during the creation of various relics. This Emerald Viper’s poison sack here, for example, can be used to create powerful stimulants after being refined, though some also use it to brew special wines.”

She turned to me. “But please refrain from drinking those, they can be quite harsh on the body.”

It didn’t escape my notice she glanced at my frail arms. I just nodded, pretending to be serious. Poisons… bah. That’s just spicy water. I needed something stronger.

“Here we have an enchanted full plate Greensilver alloy armor with a touch of gold. It is perfect for beginners, with arrays for enhanced speed, strength, as well as Qi regeneration. Only a single Spirit Stone.” She looked at me expectantly, but I just nodded and said nothing. It was nice, don’t get me wrong, a sparkling light green metal armor like that of a medieval knight, with a golden trim, but it was just too weak. It would probably be as strong as paper in my hands if it only cost a Spirit Stone.

Not interested.

Crimson Poppy led me through the various sections of the grand hall, showing me beast parts and samples encased in a jar, such as skin, flesh, and bones, that could be bought in bulk. There were weapons such as swords, spears, daggers, bows… Various kinds of enchanted armor, pills, painkillers, and even some drugs and stimulants were on display.

There were also a few shields and life-saving talismans, but they were quite expensive and only a one-time use. Useless for someone like me.

[You said there were other floors?] I asked after we saw everything.

“Well, yes, but those are for the Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators. And they are quite expensive…” She said, appearing slightly annoyed that I didn’t buy anything.

[Oh, can I please see them? Please, please, please?] I pleaded. It was embarrassing doing so, but that was the price I had to pay for pretending to be weak.

“Well… Sure. I guess it can’t hurt.” Poppy sighed. “Follow me.”

We went through one of the other tunnels and descended another set of stairs. We came to a similar large opened hall, though it was slightly smaller than the last one. Guards protecting that place also looked stronger and they certainly had better gear. As we stepped through the doorway, I felt an invisible barrier brush past my skin. The safety was much tighter.

“Here we are, the second level of the Old House. Things here go up to 100 Spirit Stones in price and touch the peak of Nascent Soul Cultivator’s equipment and other needs.” Poppy explained while showing me around.

I noticed a few other Disciples looking at the items in the hall, all of them having a guide with them. Most of them were pretty girls, but I saw some young men among them as well. They accompanied female customers. They were fewer, but they were there.

The items on display were much the same as before, just of higher quality.

Artifacts, enchanted rings, jewelry, various low-level relics, and cheaper Spirit Weapons. I also saw various powders with a myriad of effects.

Rare herbs and alchemy ingredients were among the items displayed there as well, together with special seeds and small saplings of exotic plants.

Beast cores were there as well, though none of them were what I needed. The clothes made of beast skin there were quite fancy though, and whether it was a combat attire or a soft fur cloak, both could be bought.

[Is there another level?] I asked after getting familiar with everything.

Crimson Poppy looked at me and I could see she was frustrated since I once again didn’t buy anything. It wasn’t my fault the items were useless to me. I needed something better, stronger.

“Well…” She hesitated.

[Pretty please? I’m really curious…] I begged with puppy eyes.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Oh, alright. Just… Don’t touch anything.” She finally gave in.

The third floor was even more strongly guarded and we actually had to pass an airlock with guards on both sides. I barely contained my smile as I knew the real goodies were on the other side.

We stepped into the room.

[Woah!]

It was small compared to the others, but the value of the items inside more than made up for it. Transparent glass cases were spread out in a circle around the room, but what elicited my reaction was the thing on the other side. It was the head of a Black Troll staring right at me.

“Not to worry, it’s just a decorative piece. Though it looks just like the real one.” Poppy explained with a comforting voice and a smile. She probably thought I got scared, but that was not it. “It even has an array inside that mimics its Aura. If we get close you can feel it.”

We stopped a few steps from the beast’s face showing its teeth. It had glass eyes, but they looked just like the real ones. It’s just that… it was so small!

The one I killed could swallow a person whole, while the one they had on display had to be no more than half the size!

Then again, having a head so nicely preserved probably wasn’t easy to achieve. It was a nice trophy. The Aura was somewhat lacking though. It wasn’t even scary. Talk about a disappointment.

[What are these things?] I pointed at the case containing many vials of blood. There was a paper beside them with explanations, but I pretended to be clueless.

“These contain Blood Essence.”

[Blood Essence?]

“They are the concentrated bloodline of various powerful beasts. Those are basically guaranteed to take hold if you do the Bloodline Ritual.” Poppy explained.

I frowned. [Wait, a Bloodline Ritual can fail?] That was news to me.

“Of course it can. If the bloodline is too thin or if there isn’t enough for the ritual, it can fail to properly manifest, leading to all sorts of complications. People tried to breed beasts with a Dragon’s bloodline and transfer it to more manageable beasts, but then it often failed to manifest when transferring it to humans. The more jumps there are or the further the bloodline is from the source, the weaker and thinner it becomes.”

She went on to gesture to a weird contraption inside one of the displays. “Services can be requested and a fee paid to use this Bloodline Focus. It concentrates the bloodline, making it easier to assimilate. That’s so you don’t have to bathe in blood and only a small vial is required.”

[So these vials…] I pointed at the first batch.

“Yes, concentrated Blood Essence. Sometimes people come to us but they don’t have enough money to pay the fee. We take a portion of the blood in exchange. And that’s what you are looking at. They all come from Golden Core beasts, mind you. They are really expensive.”

[Woah…] I almost smushed my face into the glass as I read the names.

[Blackshell Titan?] I turned questioningly at my guide.

“It’s a large turtle.” She explained. “The blood comes from a peak Golden Core, if I’m not mistaken. Supposedly its scales were so hard, even a Spirit Sword couldn’t pierce it. The hunters that killed it had to target its weak points which is…” She looked slightly embarrassed to say it. “Its behind.”

[Ouch…] I clenched my buttocks subconsciously. That was a terrible way to die! But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested. Unbreakable scales? And it was only 50 Spirit Stones. About as much as a low-grade Spirit Sword. I noticed they had three vials of it. Still, it was very tempting. I wondered how it would interact with my Dragon Scales.

“It’s up to your liking?” Poppy asked me.

[Well…] I stammered. [It does sound nice, but I thought people liked to focus on offense?]

“It’s true.” The girl sighed.” That’s why it is so cheap. If it was from a more desirable beast, the price would be at least double. Instead, it sits at 50 Spirit Stones, the cheapest item on this floor.”

I nodded.

[Oh… What about this one?]

“Ah, that’s what everybody wants. The Shadowbeast.” She said, appearing to be reminiscing. “The base of the beast is usually a wolf or a tiger, but once it reaches the Golden Core, it becomes something else entirely. It's odd how many species morph into the exact same creature once they reach that high. Anyway, it is a brutal, savage beast that devours everything. It specializes in strength and vitality and is devastating in close combat. Even Spirit Realm Cultivators are not safe with one of those around.”

[That strong?] Wow. That beast was awesome.

“Yes. This one actually comes from the last Beast Tide. It took three groups of hunters two full days to bring it down, and even then it only died because of lack of blood. Seven people died trying to kill it, and they only gained about a small barrel of blood.” Poppy said. “The difficulty of obtaining it reflects in the price, obviously.”

[225 Spirit Stones?] I whistled. That was a lot for some blood.

“It is, but four vials were already bought. That is the last one we have, possibly in the entire Sect as well.”

I looked through the other vials as well, but those two were the ones that stood out. The rest had prices ranging from 80 to 175 Spirit Stones, but none of them seemed interesting.

It was some kind of lynx creature that was really fast, a monkey, an ape, a hawk, some kind of large white cat similar to a tiger, an actual tiger, but it wasn’t white, a bear, and finally a snake. They all had their pros and cons, but they weren’t for me.

Of course, there were other things as well, not just bloodlines. There were weapons, every single one of them made out of Mythril, magnificent armors, and powerful relics that could blow your head off.

But they were really expensive, and mostly suited for the peak of Golden Core. Tempting, but not necessary. And I didn’t have enough money to buy them anyway. I only had around 700 Spirit Stones left. A pittance.

I also didn’t care for the forbidden pills. They offered temporary boosts but came with terrible side effects. Not worth it.

Then I remembered I also had some forbidden pills. I mean, I didn’t know if they were forbidden, but if they weren’t yet, they should be. The Darkfire Infusion Pill. I had plenty of those.

And then it struck me. I wondered if I could trade for some of the items there… I needed something to boost my Body Cultivation, and what could be better than powerful bloodlines? My eyes fell on the vials of Blood Essence.