The old man spoke without even lifting his eyes from his work.

  "Young Master Wei, what brings you to my humble shop at such an hour?"

  "My friend here wants to purchase some of your exclusive items, the pure ones."

  The man finally looked up at me with an unnerving stare. "Pure elemental essences? For an Outer Disciple?" He laughed. "You're either very ambitious or very foolish, possibly both."

  I chose not to react to the man's condescending attitude.

  Getting mad at someone who could potentially help me would be a foolish decision.

  "You might just be right," I said with a small bow. "I am ambitious, and maybe even little foolish. But I still need the essences for Earth, Air, and Water, if you will consider selling them to me."

  My response caused the old man’s demeanor to change, was that approval? He retrieved three jade containers from beneath his desk, each containing a unique design. When he opened them, I almost gasped.

  The first box contained a substance that resembled liquid starlight. The color flowed and moved inside the container. "This is the pure water essence from a thousand-year-old spirit spring," the old man explained.

  The second box held what looked to be a miniaturized whirlwind perfectly confined within the box. "This is the Wind Essence from the summit of Mount Kunlun, where the air itself has become sentient."

  The third box displayed a crystal that seemed to include an entire mountain range in miniature. "And this is the Earth Essence from the heart of an ancient spirit vein."

  “For a friend like myself,” Wei Lin stepped forward. "If I purchase all three at the same time, maybe you could give us a discount?”

  "The market price stands,” the old man’s expression didn’t change. “Three thousand high grade spirit stones."

  "Of course there must be some room for negotiation," Wei Lin argued. "The wind essence is much older than the other two; its potency must have decreased somewhat.”

  "The containment structures preserve their full potential," the old man retorted. "However... since you mentioned the passing of time... this particular sample has stabilized. So it’s more suited for foundation development than fresh samples that might be too... unstable."

  “Fair point about stability,” Wei Lin nodded thoughtfully. "But because of the current market conditions... with the Southern Sects opening their spirit stone mines... maybe twenty-five hundred?"

  "The Southern Sects' Spirit Stones are of poor quality. Three thousand."

  I watched the back-and-forth with a growing sense of despair. Negotiations notwithstanding, the price was substantially higher than I could afford. I had approximately a hundred and something low grade spirit stones, which was my entire accumulated stipend from months of living on virtually nothing while devoting myself to cultivation and herb missions.

  "I can lend you 700,” Wei Lin whispered to me. “With your savings—"

  The old man raised his hand. "Even with the total amount of money you and your friend have together... you're still short." He looked at me for a long time. "But... I could give you one of them now... not for spirit stones, but for a favor to be returned in the future."

  My body tensed instantly. Every single cultivation novel I had ever read had the protagonist end up in a terrible situation due to a deal of this nature — whether it was performing horrible actions or fighting their way out of an impossible situation.

  The old man seemed to see the thought process behind my expression. "Nothing too extreme, young man. The favor will be proportionate to the item I provide to you now. I have developed a bit of an eye for talent over the years... And I believe you will go far, so having someone like you owing me a favor could be beneficial."

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  "And what exactly would this favor entail?" I asked cautiously.

  "That would depend on future events," the old man said. "But I promise you... nothing that would risk your life or violate sect laws."

  "Many things that don't technically violate sect laws can still be... problematic," I pointed out.

  “You’re cautious, that’s good,” the old man actually smiled at that. “Let me be more specific... nothing that will put your life, limbs, or cultivation at risk. Nothing that will require you to harm others or betray your values. Simply a favor; proportionate to the help I give now."

  Wei Lin leaned in. "Favors are a currency of their own in our world," he whispered. "At times more valuable than spirit stones."

  “Alright then,” I nodded slowly. "I accept."

  I looked at the three boxes and wondered which one to pick.

  "Take the water essence," Wei Lin said. "That's usually the most difficult to obtain."

  “We’ll take the water essence,” I told the old man.

  "Pleasure doing business with you, young cultivator.” The old man sealed the water essence's container securely and gave it to me. “I hope to see how far you get."

  "Thank you for your kindness, Elder," I bowed deeply. "I will not forget this favor."

  "See that you don't," he replied. But his tone sounded more playful than menacing.

  Our guide suddenly reappeared to lead us out of the warehouse area.

  When we reached the entrance, the old man called out to us one final time. "Young Master Wei, please extend my greetings to your father. Tell him the shipment of Ceylon spirit wine he sent me recently was... especially intriguing."

  Wei Lin's expression didn’t change as he bowed. "I’ll pass along your compliments.”

  The rest of the walk was silent until we were well away from the warehouse area.

  It wasn't until then that I released a deep sigh I had unknowingly been holding.

  "That was a lot easier than I thought it would be," Wei Lin said, glancing at the jade box I was cradling carefully.

  "If by easier you mean I now owe a mysterious favor to an enigmatic underground merchant, then yes," I replied, then turned to look at Wei Lin. "Who even is that guy?”

  "Old Man Bu," Wei Lin said. "He's ran that place as long as anybody can remember. Legend has it, before he became disabled as an Outer Disciple, he used to be a cultivator. After losing all his cultivation through some injury, he decided to use his abilities to create this enterprise instead."

  "A mortal? Seriously?" I pushed down any surprise and kept my tone neutral, but something about the story felt off.

  "Oh yeah, just an ordinary mortal now," Wei Lin nodded. "My father even had a few Elemental Realm cultivators verify it for us when we first began doing business with him."

  I nodded, though I still kept my thoughts to myself. Having Elemental Realm cultivators verify that someone had no cultivation was essentially as trustworthy as a kid saying there weren't any grown-ups hiding during a game of hide and seek.

  Anybody strong enough could mask their qi from lower level cultivators. If anything, this just reinforced my assumption that Old Man Bu was an example of the "completely ordinary-looking elderly person who is extremely powerful" archetype.

  "But if he has been around for so long," I asked, "Why does the Sect seem so... opposed to the fact that disciples interact with him?"

  “Because Old Man Bu doesn't discriminate in what he sells,” Wei Lin's expression turned serious. "Yes, he has righteous cultivation materials like what we just purchased, but..." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "He also sells cursed artifacts. Items that can corrupt your core if you’re not careful. The Sect can’t shut him down because he has too many powerful connections. But they discourage disciples from going to him. Too many have been lured into temptation by what he offers and strayed from the righteous path."

  "Still," Wei Lin continued, his tone brightening, "he’s always been honest in his dealings."

  I nodded again, my mind already racing to find solutions to the problems of the remaining essences. Acquiring sufficient spirit stones quickly seemed impossible... If only I had some kind of alchemy cheat ability, I would be able to safely cultivate in the Sect while getting filthy rich.

  Finding natural resources outside of the Sect was an option, but the mortality rate for Qi Condensation cultivators in the outside world was horrifically high.

  "There is always the Two Suns World," Azure suggested in my mind. "After all, death there isn’t permanent."

  I nodded slightly.

  It didn’t matter how many times I died there, I’d just reset.

  The question was: did the Two Suns World have the kind of elemental resources that my inner world needed?

  "How important is this, really?" Wei Lin asked, his voice interrupting my thoughts. "The elemental essences… How vital are they to your cultivation?"

  "Very important," I replied. "Without them, I’ll not be able to properly advance."

  Wei Lin was silent for a moment, then smiled.

  "Well then... I suppose we're making a journey outside the Sect."

  I stiffened immediately. "Wei Lin, that is far too dangerous. We’re both only—"

  "We’re going to my family estate," Wei Lin interrupted.

  I stared at him in confusion.

  "My family has Wind Essence," he explained. "Not as refined as the product that old man was selling, but it should be good enough for foundation building."

  "I can’t just accept something that valuable for free," I insisted. "That's too—"

  "What are friends for?" Wei Lin shrugged. "You told me that this was important to your cultivation. Of course I’d help."

  "Not for free," I shook my head firmly. "I won’t take advantage of our friendship like that."

  “Fine, fine.” Wei Lin exhaled dramatically. "You can owe me. Are you happy now?"

  “Happy.” I couldn't help but laugh at that.

  23 chapters ahead!

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