Chapter 431: Chapter 432 Outwitted
 

The Good Goods shop also had a damning reputation among the cultivator community. The word “pitfall” was no longer sufficient to summarize their actions – they were practically treating cultivators like fools.

A pack of Huazi, which only costs one top-grade Spirit Stone to purchase in its place of origin, was being sold here for three.

By comparison, the journey from the first battlefield to Holy City was merely an hour or two at most. Was such a short amount of time really worth two top-grade Spirit Stones?

It was nothing short of daylight robbery.

“Don’t think you’re the only ones who can go to Holy City, we can go there just as easily!”

“Let’s go, brothers. These bastards aren’t trying to do honest business, don’t fall for their tricks!”

“In Holy City, one top-grade Spirit Stone can get you a pack of Huazi. Isn’t that a sweet deal?”

“Let’s get moving, and ignore these unscrupulous merchants!”

The cultivators scattered in disdain, leaving only the shopkeeper, who had been beaten to a pulp, staring at the Huazi inside the store with tears wanting to fall.

“What’s going on? Why set the prices so high?”

Mei Changqing entered the shop and asked, immediately noticing the prices on the wall, which had tripled since yesterday.

“Reporting to the City Lord, when our people went to the original point of sale, they were selling it at two top-grade Spirit Stones a pack. We couldn’t just bring it back without making a single Spirit Stone in profit, so we added one more top-grade Spirit Stone to the price, making it three top-grade Spirit Stones per pack of Huazi,” the store manager explained logically. He had followed Mei Changqing’s orders from the previous day to the letter and believed there wouldn’t be any issue.

“Has the price of Huazi in Holy City gone up?” Wang Guan asked with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

“Price hike my foot, a cultivator just returned from Holy City and made it very clear that a pack of Huazi is one top-grade Spirit Stone there. Judging by the time, it would have been right about the same time our people arrived.”

“This is Li Xiaobai’s doing!”

A chill flashed in Mei Changqing’s eyes.

They had extensively purchased Huazi from Holy City, transferring it to sell in their own shop. Li Xiaobai didn’t hinder them but instead deliberately inflated the prices when the shopkeepers from the first battlefield came to purchase, making a hefty profit before rapidly bringing the prices down immediately after.

In this way, the other cultivators were buying a pack of Huazi for one top-grade Spirit Stone, but the shopkeepers paid double the price during their purchase.

Trying to sell it in the city based on a buying price of two top-grade Spirit Stones would attract no buyers. If they sold it at the Holy City standard of one top-grade Spirit Stone, they would incur a huge loss, not to mention the current price of three top-grade Spirit Stones per pack. No cultivator would pay an intelligence tax to buy such ridiculously overpriced Huazi.

The Spirit Stones spent by the shopkeepers would probably end up landing on their own hands.

“City Lord, about these Huazi…” the shop manager began timidly.

“Sell them as you would normally, according to the market price!” Mei Changqing said irritably.

“About the Spirit Stones that we’ve overpaid, do you think we could possibly…” the shopkeeper hinted desperately.

“No, that’s your own problem if you paid too much for your goods. The Spirit Stones lost in the transaction are for you to deal with on your own. That’s that,” Mei Changqing said indifferently before vanishing from the spot in an instant.

The store manager wanted to cry but had no tears left, this time, a massive loss was suffered; even the principal had been cheated away.

“Let’s take a look at Huazi’s research results, hopefully they’ll bring some good news to me, the City Lord.”

Mei Changqing said with a dark expression.

Atop a certain mountain peak, several dozen elders were seated in a circle, their brows furrowed, as if pondering something deeply.

On the desk before them, dozens of torn and fractured Huazi were neatly arranged, from their outer layers to their core material, thoroughly dissected and analyzed.

Even using a cauldron furnace to refine and decipher the secret formula within, yet without exception, all were stumped.

“Let’s all share our thoughts, what do you think about this object?”

“The efficacy of Huazi is indisputable, we have all tasted and verified that it indeed enhances the cultivators’ comprehension and clarity of the Spiritual Platform, even capable of countering the blood aura of Flesh Mountain, but no matter how I analyze, it seems to contain only Enlightenment Tea Leaves as the ingredient; perhaps my eyes are simply failing me.”

“No, no, no, I admire Elder Tong’s power, and the conclusion I’ve reached is similar to Elder Tong’s, no matter how you look at it, this Huazi seems to be nothing more than a bunch of Enlightenment Tea Leaves rolled up in a piece of paper.”

“We have already tried, just wrapping Enlightenment Tea Leaves in paper does not produce such supernatural efficacy, I guess there must be some other hidden aspect that we have not yet discovered.”

“What other secrets could there be? We’ve checked everything that can be checked, even verifying if a Formation was engraved on it, what more can we look into?”

“This Huazi is truly mysterious, no wonder they never stopped our first battlefield cultivators from purchasing it in bulk; they’re not afraid of us deciphering the secret formula. In my opinion, to understand the secret, we can only ask that Li Xiaobai.”

The dozens of elders went back and forth with each other, their words filled with frustration; they were the cultivators most knowledgeable about elixirs within the border regions, among them even some who could establish their own sects outside as Elixir Grandmasters.

But now each and every one of them was at a loss, stumped by a mere cigarette.

“A bunch of useless fools, such a trivial task and you can’t even do it well, what use are you all?”

In the distance, Mei Changqing came walking slowly with Wang Guan, his face filled with rage, feeling like nothing had gone his way since he started setting up shop within the city.

Whether it was quality shop products or Tangneng First-class, all of them had issues, and now even the analysis of Huazi presented a problem. These people were supposed to be Elixir Grandmasters who could even craft elixirs capable of aiding his cultivation.

Yet here they were, full of woes. Could it be that Li Xiaobai’s proficiency in elixir crafting was even beyond these Grandmasters?

“City Lord!”

“We have exhausted all our methods on this Huazi, but no matter how we look at it, the formula seems to contain only Enlightenment Tea Leaves as the ingredient; it simply cannot possess such miraculous effects.”

Seeing Mei Changqing and the others approaching, the group of elders became somewhat panicked, afraid that they would be punished for their failure to perform.

“How do you explain the sensation you felt when smoking the Huazi, then?” Mei Changqing demanded angrily.

“Reporting to the lord, this is also a puzzle to us, to find the answer, I’m afraid we must start with Li Xiaobai.”

The elder saluted and spoke with utmost respect. However, before he could finish his sentence, his head flew off his neck, and a round, rolling head landed at the feet of the crowd.

“City Lord, please calm your anger!”

“We have not carried out our tasks effectively, please punish us, City Lord!”

The several dozen old men were terrified, their faces ashen, trembling like leaves in the wind.

“Heh, Li Xiaobai, truly a clever tactic; it seems, the only choice is for me, the City Lord, to personally visit the Holy City!”