Items related to cultivation techniques are not generally sold to the public. But when it comes to the second son of the Yuan family, is he really just another member of the public?

  Thus, Han’s entry was unimpeded. As he walked in, he saw Yuan Fang in the middle of beating up Yuan Hua.

  The young man, barely seventeen or eighteen and dressed in a sea-blue outfit, was ducking and dodging as Yuan Fang pummeled him. Despite being a martial artist himself, Yuan Hua dared not resist the punches and kicks from Yuan Fang, who was known as the "frail" cultivator.

  "Brother, they're here! Stop, leave me some face!" Yuan Hua cried out when he saw Han, trying to salvage his dignity.

  Yuan Fang shot him an angry glare, but eventually, he stopped. Yuan Hua immediately bolted out of the room.

  "Apologies for the spectacle," Yuan Fang said, looking somewhat embarrassed.

  Han simply shook his head, not commenting. He had no idea why Yuan Fang was upset about his younger brother visiting the business, but he had no intention of getting involved in family matters. After all, it was none of his business.

  The room they entered had a small partition, behind which an elderly man sat.

  "Looks like Yuan Er Gongzi is here to check on the affairs of our business," the old man said with a smile.

  "Supervisor Lin, I brought a friend of mine who needs some items. I specifically brought him to take a look," Yuan Fang explained.

  "May I ask what this young friend is in need of?" Supervisor Lin turned his gaze to Han.

  "Incense for calming the mind, protecting the soul, and revitalizing the spirit... the ingredients," Han replied.

  Cultivators in Black Cloud Town were still few in number, so while incense ingredients were available, gathering them was somewhat troublesome.

  Supervisor Lin nodded, "We have everything you need, and the prices are not high."

  In this world, gold and silver had always been the main currency, and Han was somewhat wealthy by now.

  "I didn't realize Brother Zhou also knows how to make incense," Yuan Hua chuckled.

  Han modestly replied, "I know a little."

  Han then explained the quantities he needed, and Supervisor Lin immediately sent someone to fetch them.

  An Lang practiced incense-making techniques and needed incense ingredients regularly. Han decided to buy a bit more than he usually would. Even if the ingredients didn’t help An Lang directly improve her strength, different types of incense had various effects on spirits. An Lang, of course, would need a balanced diet... though it could also be said she just had a craving.

  Han wouldn’t skimp on An Lang in this regard. The raw materials for basic incense were cheap, and once An Lang made the incense and sold it, he could even make a profit.

  "Is there anything else you need?" Supervisor Lin asked.

  "Not at the moment."

  "Then please wait. The items you requested will be delivered soon. Feel free to look around in the meantime. You may find something else that catches your interest," Supervisor Lin suggested.

  Han nodded and, now interested, walked out with Yuan Fang.

  Yuan Fang smiled, "Incense is very important to cultivators like us. Brother Zhou, your skill in incense-making will be appreciated wherever you go."

  "It's just enough to get by," Han replied, a little embarrassed.

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  The second floor of the Wanxing Chamber of Commerce had much higher quality items. Even the lowest-tier martial arts practices here cost fifty taels of silver!

  That was an eye-watering price, far beyond what an average family could save without going hungry for a long time.

  And this was just for martial arts techniques—fighting methods, healing tonics, and so on would cost extra.

  Martial cultivation was never cheap.

  No wonder Yuan Fang hadn’t paid much attention to the apprentices who had moved to other martial schools during the day. The apprentices were learning techniques that only cost ten taels of silver.

  "The first floor is open to all, but the second floor has certain requirements," Yuan Hua explained, leading Han to the third floor.

  "The third floor has even stricter entry standards—one must meet a certain level of strength, status, or wealth to gain access."

  The third floor had far fewer items, but their quality had skyrocketed. Han saw a few weapons on display for sale!

  However, the prices were so high that Han didn’t even spare them a second glance.

  Not only did they require gold and silver, but there were also other conditions.

  "Just look, don’t buy. The markup is outrageous," Yuan Fang said.

  "Does no one buy them?" Han asked.

  "Of course, there are buyers. People with wealth are always looking for rare treasures," Yuan Fang said. "But with Brother Zhou's connections, you can simply go straight to the master blacksmith and request a weapon. No need to waste money here."

  Han nodded, realizing that Yuan Fang was a man with connections.

  Yuan Fang had a sharp eye.

  Han also compared the quality of the pills for sale here with the ones he had consumed from the immortal tree. The pills here were far inferior.

  Each pill had an exhibit, and Han’s spirit could clearly sense the faint medicinal power inside. However, the potency was weak, and the pills were overpriced—Han had absolutely no interest in them.

  Just as he was passing by a display case, Han suddenly felt a disturbance in his spatial ring.

  His spirit sense quickly examined the situation, and Han was shocked to find a stone vibrating inside the ring, emitting a low humming sound.

  Could it be... a Treasure Detection Stone?

  Han immediately turned around and walked toward the display he had just passed. The closer he got, the stronger the reaction from the Treasure Detection Stone.

  It was a soft, squishy, candy-like pearl with a golden color.

  "Yang-Boosting Marrow Pearl?" Han muttered.

  Yuan Fang followed his gaze and raised an eyebrow. "Are you interested in this, Brother Zhou?"

  Han nodded, his curiosity piqued. "According to Wanxing Chamber's description, it can slightly boost the circulation of qi and blood and strengthen one’s physique. That sounds pretty good, but… shouldn't it be on the second floor, not the third?"

  A slight boost to qi and blood seemed insignificant compared to the other items on the third floor.

  "This Yang-Boosting Marrow Pearl doesn’t have much use for cultivation, but it’s here because it has remarkable effects in other areas," Yuan Fang said, pausing before continuing, "During... intimate moments, if you cut off a small piece of the pearl and swallow it, even an ordinary person can perform with the strength of a young stallion for an entire night, with no side effects. That's why it's so popular among the wealthy, and its price has been steadily rising, eventually making it to the third floor."

  "..."

  So it’s an aphrodisiac…

  But even just a small piece of the pearl could give an ordinary person such stamina, without any side effects, and even improve their health in the process. From a certain perspective, it could be considered a miracle drug.

  With this pearl, not only would one’s performance improve, but the body would get stronger too.

  Only in an extraordinary world like this could something like this exist. Han thought, amazed.

  "Brother Zhou, would you like to buy one?" Yuan Fang asked with a knowing look.

  Han hesitated, then answered, "I need it."

  Then, he immediately realized how strange that sounded. He quickly shook his head. "No, wait... I want to buy it, but I don’t need it."

  Yuan Fang’s face broke into a mysterious smile. "I understand, I understand."

  Han gritted his teeth. "You understand what, exactly?"

  He wasn’t going to explain. It was one of those things you just didn’t bother explaining.

  Looking at the price, Han realized he could afford it. Thank you, Heavenly Mother’s gifts.

  Han called over a staff member and expressed his interest in buying it.

  "How many Yang-Boosting Marrow Pearls would you like, sir? We still have three in stock."

  Han thought for a moment. "I'll take all three, including the one here."

  Yuan Fang's eyes widened. "You want all of them?"

  The staff hesitated, glancing at Yuan Fang. After a brief moment, they agreed and went to retrieve the pearls.

  Suddenly, a mocking voice echoed from behind them.

  "Yuan Fang, I didn’t expect you, the so-called gentleman, to be buying Yang-Boosting Marrow Pearls."

  "Looks like we all misjudged you, pretending to be virtuous but secretly indulging in debauchery."

  Is he taking a jab at me?

  "How surprising to see you here, Huang Mingnian," Yuan Fang said coldly.

  Han turned to look and saw it was the same person he had crossed paths with earlier, the one who had exchanged a few snide remarks with Yuan Fang.

  Han furrowed his brows. Could this guy, Huang Mingnian, be about to engage in some cheap trick to outbid him for the pearls? This was feeling suspiciously like a cliché story.

  However, to his surprise, although Huang Mingnian noticed him, he didn’t direct any hostility toward Han.

  Han was not accustomed to dealing with people who were actually... intelligent.