With his mind made up, Fang Ming stepped through the entrance of the Tianbao Tower.
Upon entering, a steward, appearing to be in his forties, approached him.
After a brief glance, assessing Fang Ming's financial standing, the steward smiled and said, "Young sir, what kind of spiritual medicine are you looking to purchase? While we can't claim to have everything, we can certainly meet your needs for spiritual medicine required by those at the fourth level of Meridian Condensation."
Since the steward had spoken so directly, Fang Ming naturally followed suit. "Steward, I need Sky Azure Treasure Liquid, Falling Rain Sand, Earth Yellow Root... which of these do you have?"
As soon as he spoke, the steward's smile turned into a wry grimace.
Clearly, he did not have all the herbs Fang Ming was looking for.
He had just boasted about being able to satisfy all the requirements of a fourth-level Meridian Condensation cultivator, only to be contradicted by the herbs requested by this young man.
This situation caused the steward to feel a pang of bewilderment.
He felt as if he had been slapped in the face.
He suspected that this young man might have come specifically to cause trouble.
Otherwise, with a cultivation base at the fourth level of Meridian Condensation, one would not need such precious items, especially the "Hidden Moon Blood," a purple spiritual herb.
This was not something someone who had just entered the mid-stage of Meridian Condensation should be asking for; it should be someone at the late stage.
Why would this young man, with his low cultivation, be requesting herbs that only experts at the seventh or eighth level of Meridian Condensation might need?
A hint of resentment and anger welled up in the steward's heart. However, as he once again looked at the beautiful young man before him, that emotion dissipated.
People are swayed by appearances.
Cultivators are no exception.
The innocent and adorable young Fang Ming, solely based on his looks, was enough to make the steward feel that this was not a bad person.
Such a cute child couldn't possibly have come here specifically to cause trouble, could he?
This thought flashed through the steward's mind, and outwardly, he replied to Fang Ming's question, "Ah, young sir, the spiritual herbs you are requesting are quite precious."
"My apologies, but here at Tianbao Pavilion, we only have seven of the nine spiritual herbs you mentioned."
"Earth Yellow Root, hundred-and-thirty-year-old ginseng, Sky Azure Treasure Liquid... these herbs are available, but we truly do not have the extremely precious herb, Hidden Moon Blood..."
"How about this, young sir, shall I bring you these seven spiritual herbs first?"
The steward proposed.
"Yes, please bring those seven spiritual herbs over first."
Fang Ming did not mind. In fact, he felt that Tianbao Pavilion lived up to its good reputation, managing to gather seven spiritual herbs.
Among these, the hundred-and-thirty-year-old ginseng was one of the three more precious herbs Lin Xuan needed; the other two were of a lesser grade.
The Sky Azure Treasure Liquid was similar.
Among these spiritual herbs, the five ordinary green-quality ones were all collected, and two of the three precious blue-quality ones were collected.
Now, only one more blue-quality herb and the most precious purple-quality herb, Hidden Moon Blood, remained.
To be able to obtain seven spiritual herbs from a single shop was enough to satisfy Fang Ming.
"My apologies, young sir." The steward, seeing that Fang Ming did not seem like someone who would cause trouble, felt he had been mistaken earlier. He apologized to Fang Ming and then went to a shelf to find the spiritual herbs Fang Ming needed.
The steward's attitude had been respectful towards Fang Ming from beginning to end. Having worked at Tianbao Pavilion for a long time, he could immediately tell that the treasure robe Fang Ming was wearing was extraordinary.
Only the genius disciples and wealthy young masters of a few prominent families possessed such high-quality treasure robes. Therefore, when Fang Ming requested several precious spiritual herbs, the steward did not doubt his ability to afford them.
Even if he had doubts, they were only about Fang Ming trying to cause trouble, not about his financial capacity.
This could be entirely discerned from the quality of the clothes one wore.
If Fang Ming had still been wearing his tattered old clothes, the steward would not have been so respectful and would have likely dismissed him as boasting and kicked him out of the shop.
This was the principle of "people rely on clothing, Buddha relies on gold."
"Young sir, here is the Earth Yellow Root, the hundred-and-thirty-year-old ginseng... a total of six thousand low-grade spirit stones." The steward, having found the green-quality and blue-quality spiritual herbs Fang Ming requested from the shelf, held out the seven herbs with both hands and gave them to Fang Ming.
Fang Ming slightly used his spiritual power to check the authenticity of these seven spiritual herbs. From the feel alone, he knew that the steward had not deceived him; all seven spiritual herbs were genuine, none were fake.
However, this was also normal. Tianbao Pavilion was not a rogue cultivator selling on the street; if there were quality issues, they couldn't just run away and disappear.
Conversely, Tianbao Pavilion was a long-established shop.
If it were golden-quality spiritual herbs, those capable of refining Foundation Establishment Pills, then one might worry about them absconding.
But for mere green-quality and blue-quality spiritual herbs, even if precious, they were not enough to make this large shop run away.
Therefore, one generally did not need to worry about quality issues or fake goods when buying here.
Fang Ming's inspection was merely out of caution, a contingency measure, not because he genuinely believed fake goods would appear.
Now that the authenticity had been verified, there were no further issues, and the transaction could proceed.
"Yes, this price is in line with the market price."
"Excellent, excellent."
"I like it very much."
Fang Ming slapped the table and handed over sixty mid-grade spirit stones, completing the transaction between them.
After the transaction was completed, Fang Ming wanted to leave as soon as possible, as he still had other spiritual herbs to collect.
Unexpectedly, someone suddenly appeared from outside and blocked Fang Ming's path.
"Wait, hold on! My young master has an urgent need for this hundred-and-thirty-year-old ginseng. He is willing to pay double the price!"
The person shouted.
Fang Ming frowned. Judging by the person's attire, he was a servant, and his cultivation was at the second level of Meridian Condensation.
Clearly, this was a subordinate.
And his words indicated he was speaking on behalf of his master.
Likely, this was not a friendly encounter.
Fang Ming's eyes narrowed.
He could almost foresee what would happen next.
As for which direction things would develop, it would depend on whether this servant's master had a similar personality to his own.
If their personalities were similar... he might have to take action and teach someone a lesson.
Just then, Fang Ming saw another young man in white, about sixteen or seventeen years old, walk in after the servant.
And this young man in white was, without a doubt, the servant's master.
Fang Ming subtly observed his demeanor and inwardly shook his head. This person was likely of the arrogant and overbearing type. This matter might be difficult to resolve peacefully.
"Esteemed young sir, the spiritual herb has already been sold to this young brother," the steward said with a fawning smile, seeing another richly dressed young master enter.