Wang Hao chatted with the group for a while longer before returning to his room to rest.

The next day, he followed Wang Yanfeng down the mountain, heading towards the market town.

This time, the two traveled on horseback, which was considerably faster. Having placed in the top three, Wang Hao had won a Zephyr Horse and naturally intended to ride it.

The two of them returned to the market town in just four days.

Wang Yanfeng said, “I can only stay for half a month. How much you learn depends on your own ability!”

Wang Hao smiled. “Of course. I wouldn’t dare delay Eighth Uncle’s time too much. If Eighth Uncle could just introduce me to the supply and sales channels, connections, and resources, that would be more than enough!”

The Wang Family Pill Shop, although called a pill shop, was actually more of a general store.

The shop occupied a full five mu of land. The front had a two-story street-facing shop: the first floor was the main hall, and the second floor had private rooms for receiving important guests. Wang Yanfeng usually monitored the entire shop’s operations from the second floor. Behind it was a large courtyard and the living quarters for the Wang family members stationed there.

Since Wang Hao was taking over, he would have to move in eventually. It was closer to the spirit vein, making the spiritual energy denser, which was actually more suitable for his cultivation.

However, there were gains and losses. The pill shop had many affairs to manage. As the manager, Wang Hao probably wouldn’t have as much free time as before.

Not long after the two entered the shop, a customer arrived.

Actually, it wasn’t exactly a customer but rather a broker who helped connect people for business deals and collected fees.

The Qingniu Market had many rogue cultivators. With greater numbers came a higher probability of finding good items. But many rogue cultivators inherently distrusted established shops, fearing they would bully customers due to their size, preferring to trade through brokers instead.

This man was named Chang Bao. He was in his forties with cultivation at the seventh layer of Qi Refining. If Wang Hao wanted to acquire spirit medicines in the future, he would inevitably have dealings with Chang Bao.

“Fellow Daoist Wang isn’t being very considerate. You left the market without even notifying me,” Chang Bao began accusing as soon as he stepped through the door.

“Ah, my sincere apologies. I was urgently summoned by my family and forgot to inform you, Fellow Daoist. My mistake,” Wang Yanfeng smiled apologetically.

“It’s not a big deal for me, but several Fellow Daoists wanting to sell spirit herbs are getting anxious. If you don’t want them, I can recommend them elsewhere!”

“How could that be? I’m here now!” As he spoke, Wang Yanfeng took out five Spirit Stones and pressed them into Chang Bao’s hand. “Please have some tea on me. Don’t refuse!”

Seeing the Spirit Stones, Chang Bao’s expression changed instantly like a Sichuan opera face-changer. “Fellow Daoist Wang, rest assured. You know my character!”

Then he noticed Wang Hao standing nearby and asked, “And this Fellow Daoist is?”

“Fellow Daoist Chang, don’t rush off. I was just about to tell you. This is my nephew from the main family line, Wang Hao. From now on, this shop will be under his management.” Wang Yanfeng glanced at Wang Hao. “Hurry up and pay your respects. Our Wang family shop’s business relies entirely on Fellow Daoist Chang’s care.”

Wang Hao nodded and said, “Junior Wang Hao greets Senior.”

Chang Bao quickly waved his hands. “How dare I? Fellow Daoist Wang is a member of the Wang family. How could a mere rogue cultivator like me presume to be called senior?”

“You and I are like brothers; he is my nephew. Calling you senior is not inappropriate!” Wang Yanfeng said with a smile. “I’ll have to trouble Fellow Daoist Chang to look after my nephew in the future!”

“Of course, of course!” Chang Bao agreed verbally, but inwardly he thought that while Wang Yanfeng was experienced and shrewd, this Wang Hao was young; perhaps he could gain some extra advantages in the future! However, he was still a member of the Wang family after all. Chang Bao didn’t dare get too arrogant; truly causing significant losses for the Wang family would be seeking death!

“I actually do have a big business deal to introduce to the Wang family,” Chang Bao said, glancing outside the door.

Wang Hao naturally understood what he meant and gestured politely. “Senior Chang, let’s talk upstairs!”

After going upstairs, the three found a private room and sat down. Only then did Wang Yanfeng say, “Brother Chang, tell us about it. What kind of big business?”

“Heheh, business that seeks out the Wang family naturally involves spirit medicines!” Chang Bao chuckled without beating around the bush. “Spirit medicine related to Foundation Establishment Pills—is that big enough business?”

A look of curiosity appeared on Wang Yanfeng’s face as he asked, “There are over ten types of spirit medicines related to Foundation Establishment Pills, though most aren’t particularly rare either. Which one is it?”

Chang Bao smiled smugly. “Since I said it’s big business, I wouldn’t dare bother you with ordinary spirit medicine!” He lowered his voice. “It’s a Borage plant—one of the three main ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment Pills!”

Hearing this, Wang Hao suddenly felt excited! He had already collected most of the auxiliary ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills; finding the remaining ones patiently wouldn’t be too difficult either. It was just that among the three main ingredients—the Condensing Essence Fruit and Borage—he had never heard any news about them before.

Foundation Establishment Pills required three main ingredients: the Condensing Essence Fruit, a two-hundred-year-old Crimson Blood Ginseng, and a three-hundred-year-old Borage!

The Condensing Essence Fruit needed to be at least Tier 2 High-Grade—meaning only fruits from at least Tier 2 High-Grade Condensing Essence Trees were effective; higher grades naturally produced better quality Foundation Establishment Pills. The fruit’s role was to provide abundant spiritual energy for cultivators to condense their True Essence—the key step in Foundation Establishment.

Crimson Blood Ginseng served as a restorative medicine; cultivators inevitably suffered tears in their Dantian and meridians during breakthroughs, and this medicine repaired such damage.

Borage served a protective function. Consuming it alone was harmful to cultivators, but taking it during Foundation Establishment temporarily hardened the Dantian and meridians within a short period, enabling them to withstand massive spiritual energy impacts during the breakthrough process itself. Along with other auxiliary ingredients, each had different functions like protecting meridians, providing Qi-blood, replenishing mental clarity, and so on.

From its function, one could see Borage was quite dangerous, hence its age was crucially important. Too low meant insufficient potency; too high meant excessive potency. Both led to failure! Only around three hundred years old was suitable!

Taking a Foundation Establishment Pill, even if the breakthrough failed, its medicinal effects still strengthened the Dantian and meridians once, boosting the next attempt’s success rate by ten percent. The body also wouldn’t suffer severe damage. Whereas attempting a breakthrough forcibly without the pill might succeed, failing often meant death or severe foundation damage, drastically reducing lifespan if one barely survived.

“Dare I ask Senior whether this Borage is alive or dead, and what is its age?” Wang Hao asked, suppressing his excitement.

Chang Bao replied, “Alive, naturally. The age, though, is a bit low—only eighty years.”

“Eighty years? Then it’s useless for alchemy. We can only resell it for Spirit Stones…” Wang Yanfeng sighed.

“Brother Wang, ah, even if it were three hundred years old, what difference would it make? Could you find a Condensing Essence Fruit? We handle the deal, earn a profit, and are done…” Chang Bao chuckled lightly, having long given up such thoughts himself.

Wang Yanfeng sighed, lamenting the difficulty, then asked, “Do you know where the medicine is located? Has it been harvested yet?”

Chang Bao smiled reassuringly. “Rest assured, it hasn’t been harvested yet. You know the price difference. I’ve already instructed the seller regarding the location. You need to negotiate directly with him through me…” He hooked his fingers meaningfully.

Wang Yanfeng took out twenty Spirit Stones and handed them over. “After the deal is done, there will be the same amount again.”

Chang Bao nodded, satisfied. “I understand the rules. I’ll go call the person for you to negotiate…”

After Chang Bao left the room, Wang Hao asked, “Eighth Uncle, is there a big difference between harvested and not harvested?”

Wang Yanfeng explained, “Naturally. Those rogue cultivators’ methods are crude, and they have no knowledge of spiritual plant techniques. They often damage the roots. Even if they barely keep it alive, it requires years of recuperation, and sometimes it affects the medicinal properties. Thus, the price gap is significant.”

“So we’re actually buying the location to go harvest it ourselves, correct?”

“Mmm, correct indeed. But only for rare medicines like this…” Wang Yanfeng advised warningly. “The Duan Yuan Mountain Range is dangerous. Moreover, these rogue cultivators are not always honest; killings and robberies are frequent. Remember, you must not risk your life for small gains…”

The implied meaning was: if the benefits are sufficiently large, naturally disregard the danger. Capitalists throughout history were indeed of the same nature!