The dispute at the stall quickly drew a huge crowd.
But the old man behind the stall lowered his eyelids, as if he were dozing off, completely unmoved by the insults.
Beside him, a cute child swayed back and forth, reciting herb properties like a little scholar.
"Blazing Heart Sect? That's one of the top alchemy sects in Lingshui Riverlands! Why are they here?"
"What do you think—sabotage. Blazing Heart Sect and Bailing Medicine Sect smile on the surface, but behind the scenes? They fight nonstop."
"This method is too low-class."
"Maybe it's not official. Could just be that disciple acting on his own."
"Hah—look at you already preparing the excuse to shift blame."
Someone chuckled, then slipped into the crowd.
He reappeared elsewhere, spreading whispers—
basically painting the scene as "an individual act, not the sect."
Easy to wash hands clean.
Punish a single disciple lightly later…
but the damage to Bailing Medicine Sect's big event?
That could be serious.
The Blazing Heart Sect youth shouted louder and louder.
"Everyone look! Ridiculous prices! Inflated values! This so-called trade conference is just here to scam people who don't know the market!"
People pointed and murmured.
Whether it was true didn't matter.
They loved a show.
The youth sneered.
"What? Not talking now? A mere Second-Grade herb pretending to be Fifth-Grade? Old man, you've gone senile!"
He was mid-rant when—
A gray-clothed young man stepped forward, with a beautiful woman in a long dress at his side.
The woman's presence instantly drew attention.
The young man's eyes swept the stall.
Then he spoke calmly.
"I'll take these."
Lin Ye had already seen through it.
Those weren't Second-Grade herbs.
They were top-tier Fifth-Grade herbs—rare ones too.
Most had even learned to hide their spiritual aura.
Selling them at twenty million each?
That was a bargain.
The Blazing Heart Sect disciple had mistaken their "low aura" for low grade, so he seized the chance to stir trouble.
Even many Fourth-Grade alchemists wouldn't spot the trick.
The old man finally opened his eyes, studying Lin Ye.
"Seven herbs. 140 million spirit stones."
His voice was slow.
But his gaze stayed sharp—fixed on Lin Ye like he was measuring something deeper.
The Blazing Heart Sect youth froze.
"One hundred forty million?! You two are plants, aren't you?!"
Summer Wei didn't argue.
She simply handed over a storage pouch filled with spirit stones.
The old man received it without even counting.
"Heh. Good eyes, young man."
He packed the herbs into a spirit-preserving pouch and passed them to Summer Wei.
The transaction was smooth—too smooth.
One bought cleanly.
One sold cleanly.
The youth felt like a clown being toyed with in public.
Lin Ye didn't even look at him.
He looked at the old man instead.
"You've got more. I'll take them. Name your price."
If he could find herbs like these, he had real skill.
And Lin Ye could tell—
this old man was an alchemist too.
At least Fifth-Grade.
In others' eyes, impressive.
To Lin Ye?
At his age, still Fifth-Grade… he had hit his ceiling.
The old man's eyes narrowed.
"I do have more. But… I don't want spirit stones."
He stared directly at Lin Ye.
This entire stall was bait.
He was fishing for someone like Lin Ye.
He had seen Lin Ye outside the city earlier.
But he didn't expect—
Lin Ye also understood alchemy.
The Blazing Heart Sect youth finally snapped.
"You two! I'm talking to you! Who the hell do you think you are?!"
He stomped forward and swung his palm at Lin Ye—
—but Lin Ye hadn't even moved yet.
A fiery whip shot out from the crowd and wrapped around the youth's arm with pinpoint precision.
Like a flaming serpent.
Whip—!
The youth yelped as he was flung away.
He crashed hard into the ground.
The crowd scattered.
A red-clothed girl stood there, one hand on her hip, the other holding the whip.
"How dare you cause trouble on Bailing Medicine Sect's ground!"
"Seize him!"
Behind her, fully armed Bailing Medicine Sect disciples rushed forward, pinning the youth down and dragging him away.
Trying to stir chaos right under their noses?
Stupid.
Very stupid.
The red-clothed girl holstered her whip and looked at Lin Ye with blatant curiosity.
"Greetings. I'm Fang Yiyi, core disciple of Bailing Medicine Sect."
"Our elders instructed me to ensure the two of you enjoy your time in the market."
She even displayed her identity token.
Instantly, people gasped.
"That's Fang Yiyi?!"
"She's famous?"
"You've never heard? She's the youngest Earth Transformation Realm expert in Bailing Medicine Sect—and the youngest Third-Grade alchemist too! Dual cultivation of alchemy and martial arts! The future top star of the sect!"
"So she's the 'hot-blooded' type, not the cold beauty type…"
Summer Wei stepped forward politely.
"Thank you, Miss Fang."
But Lin Ye didn't even turn to look at her.
He kept talking to the old man.
"If you don't want spirit stones… what do you want?"
The old man spoke slowly.
"A Sixth-Grade pill."
"Profound Heart Meridian-Opening Pill."
Fang Yiyi blinked.
A Sixth-Grade pill?
She had never even heard of that specific pill.
And Sixth-Grade pills were priceless.
In their sect, only the ancestor could reliably refine them.
So why was this old man not seeking their ancestor…
and instead negotiating with a young man?
It felt absurd.
And yet—
Lin Ye didn't laugh.
When the old man mentioned the pill, Lin Ye's gaze shifted to the child beside him.
It was sharp.
Like it could peel flesh and see straight into the meridians.
"What herbs can you offer?" Lin Ye asked.
The old man's eyes flashed.
Lin Ye looked at the child—
meaning Lin Ye knew what the pill was for.
And since he asked…
he had confidence.
"I can give you a Seventh-Grade herb—Ghost-Devouring Insectgrass."
Fang Yiyi inhaled sharply.
Seventh-Grade?!
Ghost-Devouring Insectgrass was said to grow only in places so dangerous that one misstep meant death.
Extremely rare.
Those cursed riverlands where poison beasts and monsters swarmed?
They birthed treasures.
Ghost-Devouring Insectgrass came from such places.
Thousand Slaughter Riverlands.
Legend said it held countless Sixth-, Seventh-, even Eighth-Grade herbs.
But it was also an ancient battlefield.
Ferocious beasts. Demonic creatures. Endless death.
Plenty of treasure—
no life to claim it.
This old man… had been there?
Fang Yiyi's heart tightened.
Anyone who survived Thousand Slaughter Riverlands wasn't ordinary.
Lin Ye shook his head.
"A Sixth-Grade pill for one Seventh-Grade herb? Not worth it."
He was generous with spirit stones—those were easy to get.
But refining pills?
That was his craft.
And he didn't do it cheap.
The old man's eyes sharpened.
"You can decide?"
"I can."
Lin Ye nodded calmly.
The old man took a breath.
"Ghost-Devouring Insectgrass. White Nightmare Heart Lotus. Earth Malice Seed."
"Three Seventh-Grade herbs."
"And…"
He produced another item.
"This is called… Thousand-Net Bloodstone."
The moment the Bloodstone appeared—
In Lin Ye's mind, the Nine Nether Blood Sea roared and surged like a beast waking from a deep sleep.
Finally.
Another blood-evil treasure.