Song Wanníng was determined to find books that could answer her questions.
"Alright, let me take a look."
She followed the ghost cultivator up to the second floor, where her eyes were immediately met with a dazzling array of shelves.
There were pills, ghost artifacts, ghost talismans, formation disks—everything one could think of.
Song Wanníng's interest was piqued. It seemed that regardless of whether one was a ghost cultivator or not, no one could escape reliance on the Four Arts of cultivation.
But when she glanced at the price tags, she couldn't help clicking her tongue. These items were outrageously expensive.
Even the most ordinary low-grade Ghost Pill cost over five hundred ghost coins.
Magical artifacts were priced at an even more absurd level.
She soon understood why. The Netherworld had been cut off from the outside realm for so long that resources were inevitably scarce. Anything that could aid cultivation was bound to be sold at sky-high prices.
She looked over the Soul Nurturing Pills.
Though they shared the same name as those in the Spirit Realm, the scent was entirely different, and the patterns engraved on the pills bore no resemblance.
They were two completely different pills.
The price was just as shocking—over five thousand ghost coins for a single low-grade, low-tier Soul Nurturing Pill. After walking a full circle, Song Wanníng could only admit that the hell coins in her pouch were pitifully few.
It had been a long time since she felt so strapped for money. The countless treasures and spirit stones inside her storage ring were useless here.
Worthless, in fact.
Her lips twitched, but she wisely decided to buy nothing and walked out. She first bought a few biographies from another place, then found a cheap inn and rented a room. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, she munched on fruit while flipping through the biographies.
They described the customs of the Netherworld, its general history, and many of its rules. Before long, she found the answers she had been seeking, and she let out a relieved breath. With this knowledge, she would no longer be a "fool" wandering blind.
However, to refine Ghost Pills, she would need not only herbs but also pill recipes. She had no money to buy any, and without ghost fire, she wasn't even sure if ordinary pill flames could work.
After some thought, she decided to spend the coming days gathering herbs. Once she had saved enough hell coins, she could buy a basic pill recipe. If she could successfully refine Ghost Pills, her income would multiply. She could soon live much more comfortably in the Netherworld.
She wasn't in a rush to return to the Spirit Realm. For one, it was rare to encounter an open passage, and she didn't know when the next opportunity would come. For another, she still wanted to find more Rebirth Flowers—after all, they were the best possible "gift" for Jiang Cen.
So for now, she would settle down here.
From then on, Song Wanníng began roaming far and wide to gather herbs. Her vast divine sense, along with help from a few little companions, allowed her to find quite a few plants outside the city.
Most of them were not rare and could only fetch a small price.
When she finally saved up one thousand hell coins, she bought herself a beginner's Ghost Pill Record. The recipes inside were of the most basic level, but since ghost cultivators who could refine pills were one in ten thousand, even low-grade pills sold well. She prepared the necessary herbs, took out her immortal furnace, and began practicing alchemy.
Though she lacked ghost fire, the immortal furnace in her hands gave her much more confidence. Following the steps to the letter, she completed her first batch. To her surprise, it wasn't as hard as she imagined—she succeeded on the first try, and the result was even a high-grade Ghost Pill.
Song Wanníng stared at the two perfectly round pills in astonishment.
That easy?
Thinking it over, she realized the real challenges in alchemy lay in fire control, infusion of spiritual energy, and finally channeling spiritual power to form the pill. She had already mastered all of that to perfection. This was simply a matter of using a different recipe—there was no reason for her to fail.
And the immortal furnace even solved the ghost fire problem.
A small smile curved her lips. If that was the case, she could make a great deal of money.
…
The next morning, refreshed and in high spirits, Song Wanníng went to the shop where she often sold herbs. When she laid out a pile of high-grade Ghost Pills, the ghost cultivator's eyes went wide, his mouth hanging open as if he could swallow an egg whole.
"High… high-grade pills?"
"Could it be, could it be that you are from Ghost King Valley?"
His gaze toward Song Wanníng grew far more respectful. This was an alchemist.
"I want to sell all of these. Will you buy them?"
Song Wanníng didn't comment on Ghost King Valley. She only cared about hell coins.
"Of course we'll buy, we must buy!"
The ghost cultivator quickly regained his senses, bent at the waist, and led her to the VIP room. Though she had visited this shop countless times, this was her first time stepping into its VIP section. It was proof that an alchemist's status was high no matter where one went.
Before long, the shop's manager came out personally to negotiate the deal.
"Dàrén, if you have more pills in the future, would you consider selling them to our Yuefeng Pavilion?"
His tone carried a hint of flattery, his eyes filled with anticipation.
With a steady supply of Ghost Pills, Yuefeng Pavilion could soon build a name for itself. Ghost cultivators from other cities might even come just to buy from them. It was an opportunity he could not afford to miss.
Song Wanníng, however, fell silent, as if reluctant to agree.
The manager quickly offered a sweetener.
"Dàrén, what if we provide the herbs for your pill refinement? You refine the pills, and we'll pay you the full market price. All we ask is that you agree not to sell these pills to any other shop. What do you say?"
He rubbed his hands together, eager. These were high-grade pills, after all. Even Ghost King Valley only released a handful of such pills each year.
Song Wanníng's expression remained calm. She sighed lightly. "Alright, but I'll only be staying here for a while. Once I leave, our cooperation will end. If that works for you, then I agree."
She knew exactly what they were thinking—she had once run an auction house herself. Reputation was everything, and so was customer flow. If Yuefeng Pavilion could build its name on high-grade pills, the benefits would be enormous.
So providing her herbs for free was only natural.
When she left, she took a large batch of herbs and, to reassure them, told them the name of her inn so they could send more the next day. After she left, the manager could hardly stop grinning.
This person could refine pills in a single day?
And the batch she took this time was for a fourth-tier pill—most would need at least two days to complete it.
"Heh, I've struck gold this time. No, I need to send her more gifts!
Tsk, maybe I should throw in a few rare pill recipes… though I wonder if she'd even want them. Forget it, I'll send more regardless. As long as I keep her, Yuefeng Pavilion will soar!
Hahaha!"