A few weeks later, the news of the gambling house having lost big times came and went. A measly twenty-three golds were not that much for this illicit place. However, it was not too low either.

Inside the town, Wu Tian walked back to the herbal shop. The sound of a bell echoed for a few short moments, and the creaking of wood reacted to his every footstep.

"Master, do you think we can ask about what they don't have?" He only saw a nod before focusing back onto the counter. "Hello sir. I wanted to purchase a Purp- A purple... flower... Sorry, I don't quite remember the name actually." The man behind the counter readjusted his black suit before excusing himself for a few seconds. He went behind the velvet curtain and came back with a familiar worn book. Putting it on the counter, he signaled for Wu Tian to start browsing. "Thank you sir." Not standing on ceremony, Wu Tian searched a bit before finding what he wanted.

The two of them should be all we have, but why is the blue one cheaper?

Murmuring to himself, Wu Tian gazed at Guizou. "Master, is the Blue Foundation Herb more common than the other one?" The expected outcome came instantly. "Common? It's not a rare plant, neither is the purple one either. But calling it more common than the purple variant is nothing short of a crucial lack of knowledge. The purple one is the most common, and each color up is also an up in rarity. The jump isn't big, but it's there. Why? Don't tell me..."

Seeing Wu Tian nod dejectedly, Guizou sighed. "Bunch of morons. Well, it works in our favor somehow. How much cheaper is it? I'll be glad if it's near its intended price."

Going back to the right page, Wu Tian pursed his lips. "Hum. It says four silvers." Guizou had to blink a couple of times before settling down. "Four?"

"Four."

"Four? As in four with an f, an o, u and r? Like the amount of fingers I have raised up?"

"Yes. Four."

"Motherfu-!" Calming himself down, Guizou exhaled loudly. "... Honestly... I feel bad for the plant. This is insulting. It feels like a mountain of gold being mistaken as colorful stone. They keep doing this. I even feel offended as an alchemist. They don't appreciate the preciousness of each herb. But more importantly, they can't appreciate rarity! What next? We'll go to a weapon shop and sell the Jade Mystic Sword- no, the Great Emperor Lexus' Imperial Thunder Gloves for three chunks of copper? And then we'll buy the... the damn what, the actual Fool's Treacherous Sword for twenty platinum coins!?"

Wu Tian was not sure what Guizou's examples were, but clearly he was making fun of the pricing disparity between everything. The common garbage on the floor would become more expensive than the sky itself while the most exclusive luxurious items would be sold dirt cheap.

He understood how this could become maddening. Some claimed that age would make one more appreciative. He guessed that Guizou could not stop himself from feeling infuriated by such a mistreatment of valuables.

"So, are we still buying it?" But of course he was not stupidly blinded either. "Of course! Buy it now! That's one hell of a deal! Don't be ridiculous."

Why are you acting so offended? Just enjoy the low prices...

"Sir, I want to buy the Blessed Purple Flower and the... Blue Demon Flower." Just as he finished speaking, Wu Tian raised a brow, and so did Guizou. Gazing into each other's eyes, they lost sentience for a bit. Their thoughts were synchronized on this blatant proof of people's blindness.

Why is it not Blessed Blue Flower?

Again! These fuckers got the name wrong even worse! It looks exactly like the purple one! Why is the name not even the same across the board?!!

Guizou was on the verge of losing his mind. Anyone with a pair of functioning eyes would be able to tell the similarities. They were simply identical, even in the drawings! Someone drew the flowers and did not even realize them to be identical except for color.

You can tell its blue, but you can't tell it looks the same? All of them can go die for all I care!

Back to reality, the staff member nodded. "Right away sir, but we need to ask distribution for the Blessed Purple Flower. If you are willing to deposit five golds, we'll have it here in two to three weeks. At the time, we'll wait for you to come back within three months unless there is a special notice. As for the Blue Demon Flower, here it is. It will be four silvers please." Taking out a gold coin absentmindedly, Wu Tian waited. "Thank you sir, here is your change. Please wait here as I go fetch it." Standing up, the man walked in front of the counter and headed for a wooden table deep into the shop.

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After a few screams, he came back to the counter with the flower. His fist was clearly bloodied, but looking at his demeanor, it was not his own. "Here you go sir. As for the other one, are you willing to pay half in advance?" Immediately taking out five golds, Wu Tian handed them over. In any case, they were earned in mere hours from a very fair and peaceful session of gambling.

"Please wait a moment sir." Calling over a few more people, the man along other staff members took turns carefully memorizing Wu Tian's appearance. He also asked for a name and a signature to be done without thinking. Signatures were easily faked and worth nothing, but it could still help if done in a proper setting.

"Alright, this will be all. If you have nothing else going on here, I will thank you for your purchase. We hope to see you again soon." Nodding at the man, Wu Tian left the shop in high spirits.

However, Guizou was perplexed. "Didn't you want to ask for the other plants?" Realizing his mistake, Wu Tian turned around and blushed. "I can't go back! No way! Master, we'll come back in a couple of weeks or so. I don't want to go back in and look like an idiot."

"Why? There's nothing wrong with forgetting something." Guizou was next met with Wu Tian's rattling head. "No. I... you don't understand. It feels weird."

"Why are you embarrassed? Never mind, let's just go back. We still need to get the low grade Yin Flower. Don't forget it when we come back here."

"Yes..."

Indeed, the next day, Wu Tian felt idiotic. "Master, actually why not go back..." This sort of displeased his old friend. "Are you being serious? What happened to the attitude last time?"

"It's... I was embarrassed yesterday... but now it's fine, it's a new day." Guizou immediately smacked Wu Tian's head. "It's fine because it's a new day? Not because you realized your stupidity?"

"Kid, what will you think when the world is against you? It could happen. You are like a mouse and don't want to lose face when nobody cares about you. What if the world believes you to be some sort of demon or devil? Will you cower in fear because you feel embarrassed as well?"

Watching Wu Tian lower his head in shame, Guizou shook his head. "Sigh. I know. It won't get into that thick skull of yours for a while. Let's go see for the Yin Flower. Also ask about everything else. The Yin Flowers are only for the first three levels. After that we'll need other stuff."

.

.

.

Back into the herbal store, they looked around and found a staff member in their usual black suits.

"Excuse me miss, I would like to know if you have a low grade Yin Flower by chance? I also want to ask about more precise plants." The young lady scratched her head as she pondered. "Hm. I don't think we have one on stock right now. I could ask distribution. But first, what are the other plants you want to ask about? If we can ship them together that would save us both a lot of time and money."

"So I wanted to know if you had a high grade Yin Flower, some Cleansing Water Beads, a mid and high grade Peace Flower, a high grade Nature Lotus, a low, middle and high grade Yang Flower. Also two high grade Convergence Stalks. And if possible a high grade Core Forming White Lotus as well as either a Path Making Sapling or a Seven Colored Crystal Lotus."

Fucking hell! I made it! I didn't stutter! Wu Tian was more ecstatic about not messing up the order rather than even gathering these ingredients. He had spent a good three hours memorizing everything. He did not know any of these herbs except the for Yin Flowers, but he was not complaining.

However, the young woman looked at him in a daze. "Sir, could you please write it down? Maybe it's my fault, but I can't memorize everything. I also have to ask the shopkeeper."

That old lady from before?

"Alright." Wu Tian nodded and went to the counter where the lady gave him both paper and ink.

After a while, all the ingredients were written down. The only issue would be if they even knew the correct names in the first place. Wu Tian was certain of Guizou's knowledge. But he was not so keen on the Mortal Land's.

While facing the velvet curtain and waiting, Wu Tian began to question Guizou about a specific topic. "Master. The Mortal Realm increased my lifespan, right?" Guizou nodded solemnly at his question, already seeing through him.

"Then, the Warrior-"

"No." Wu Tian was shocked. The Warrior Realm tempered one's body to the extreme. How could it not exponentially increase lifespan? However, Guizou was firm in his rebuttal, brutally telling him the bitter truth. "Do you think doing that to your body is healthy in the long run? Your body will be fine, Qi is miraculous. But you still don't have enough of it. Right now, you are racing with the time given by the Mortal Realm. Each level of the Warrior Realm decreases your lifespan! And by quite a bit too. To practice this realm, you spend your time destroying your body. The human body is not eternal. After a certain amount of healing, it won't be able to anymore. There is an end to it. Physicians of the Fairy Land already experimented with it. Your cells divide and repair. But it's not a process done completely through external gathering, there is some internal gathering as well. At some point, the cells run out and won't divide themselves anymore."

"Then..." Wu Tian was devastated. He already had begun to grown a blue beard and his blue hair was almost reaching his lower back.

"If you aren't too slow, you'll break through the Meridian Opening Realm. At that time, it won't be hard to regain a lot of lifespan. It's the realm where lifespan becomes a bit more meaningless. You will have your body constantly nourished by Qi unless you are crippled. It will give birth to new cells and strengthen you across the board. It's the true step of becoming an Immortal cultivator! Look at me! I did not die of old age, and I had lived for more eras than you can comprehend! Not to forget, my cultivation had reached the peak of all! I was stopped and could not use breakthroughs to help me regain lifespan."