After the mind-reading cripple junior sister, the entire sect rose to prominence.

Chapter 68 Getting rich again
At this point, the man had no choice but to give in.

"Alright, since the items are intact, we'll give you a refund."

There's no way to get a refund.

Are we really going to make him try it in public? Judging from the male cultivator's confident look, this thing might really be ineffective.

If a passerby tries it and finds it doesn't work, their shop's reputation will plummet. They're a new shop; if their reputation is ruined, how will they do business in the future?
Although returning the goods isn't a pleasant experience, it's better than losing face.

Moreover, the sect leader himself said that they should avoid retreating if possible. But the current situation... clearly makes retreating imperative!

If you want to avoid trouble, then let's back down.

The male cultivator received the money, snorted coldly, said "That's more like it," and then turned and left.

Seeing that there was no more drama to watch and that the main characters had all left, the onlookers also turned and left one by one.

The two shop assistants were a little dejected, because the shopkeeper was not easy to talk to. Knowing that the goods had been returned in public, he would definitely scold them a few times when they got back.

Just as he was about to put the beads into the box and put them away, he heard a female cultivator's voice.

"Can you sell me this bead at a discount?"

The two were taken aback. They looked up and saw a spirited female cultivator holding a baby girl. The baby was fair and tender, with bright, star-like eyes that were looking at them intently.

This child is delightful at first glance; you can tell from his appearance that he is clever and adorable.

"You want to buy the Tranquility Beads?" The shopkeeper was taken aback.

Wow, buy it! Yes, buy it!

[Senior Sister Chen is amazing! She must have figured out what this bead was really like, right? That's why she came to snag this bargain!]

Mo Jiuwei was first taken aback, then overjoyed.

“Yes.” Chen Lan nodded. “There’s something wrong with this bead, and my junior sister is a weapon crafter. I’d like her to reforge it, which would be cheaper than buying a new one, and she could practice her skills. I just wonder if you could sell it to me at a lower price?”

Yes, that reason is perfectly reasonable!
The two men exchanged a glance, both able to see the joy on each other's faces.

If something is returned, you'll get yelled at.

But if the item is resold, then the scolding can be avoided.

“No problem.” The shopkeeper immediately replied in a warm tone, “We’ll give you a discount. It was originally nine hundred and ten crystals, but we’ll give it to you for eight hundred.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Lan's face turned cold, and she turned and left.

"Hey, let's talk this out, don't go!" The waiter panicked and quickly stepped forward, grabbing her sleeve to stop her.

"Since you don't really want to sell, and you're offering such a high price as if you're treating me like a fool, then there's no need to negotiate," Chen Lan sneered. "You might as well keep it; maybe you can sell it back at the original price later."

Selling them at the original price is impossible. This has caused quite a stir, and once the news spreads, it's estimated that they won't be able to sell even one of their other meditation beads.

One of the men gritted his teeth and gave a number.

Soon, Chen Lan left the house, completely satisfied.

[Wow, that's amazing! He bought a top-grade Spirit Gathering Pearl for only 300 crystals! That's jaw-dropping!]

This was an amazing find!

[Senior Sister Chen is really amazing!]

Chen Lan pursed her lips, her face flushing slightly with guilt. She had no discernment whatsoever; if her junior sister hadn't pointed it out, she wouldn't have known the bead was so precious.

However, since there was no way to explain it, we could only accept it as fact.

Clutching a precious pearl, Chen Lan felt a little unsteady on her feet. She couldn't help but look back twice, afraid that the staff inside would notice something amiss and chase after her to take the pearl back.

Of course, that's not true. The guys are probably still overjoyed at having successfully sold the problematic beads, let alone gotten them back.

That's perfect, both sides are satisfied.

As for the shop's huge losses... what does that have to do with Chen Lan?

She didn't steal or rob; she was doing business legitimately, and both parties agreed. So it was a reasonable and legitimate transaction.

As for the rest, that's the shop's own business.

Back at her stall, Chen Lan whispered to Ji Qingqing about it.

Ji Qingqing's eyes widened in astonishment. "Huh? Really?"

Seeing Chen Lan nod, Ji Qingqing excitedly covered her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.

"I'm rich again! What's the difference between this and picking up money on the street? My Immortal Sect is truly experiencing a stroke of good fortune!" Ji Qingqing was so happy that she wanted to jump up and down on the spot.

"But, senior sister, we've already gotten a good deal, isn't it a bit unfair for you to haggle like that?" she asked hesitantly after regaining her composure.

Chen Lan shook her head. "Only this way is reasonable. If I bought it at the original price, it would attract too much attention. Besides, we know the bead is valuable. Think about it, if it really is an ineffective calming bead, what would my act of buying it for three hundred beneficiaries mean?"

“…I’m a huge victim of injustice,” Ji Qingqing said honestly.

Now she understood, and realized that Chen Lan was indeed more experienced and shrewd than she was.

If I were to bring Jiuwei there myself and this happened, I would probably go up and buy it, at most bargaining down to a hundred or two crystals.

However, this behavior does raise suspicion because it is so unreasonable. With that price, you could buy a perfectly good meditation bead. Why would someone specifically buy the ineffective one?
After selling most of their miscellaneous items at the stall, the three of them returned to their sect.

Chen Lan had Ji Qingqing take Mo Jiuwei to her room and coax her to sleep, while she herself went to the front hall and told everyone what had happened that day.

"A top-grade Spirit Gathering Pearl!"

Everyone stared intently at the somewhat transparent little bead. It was really not that eye-catching; if they hadn't already known, no one would have recognized that it was such a precious thing.

"I've only ever seen low-grade Spirit Gathering Pearls, and I've only ever heard of mid-grade ones, let alone this top-grade one."

"Me too, not many people can afford these kinds of beads."

"It's not that we can't afford it, but the materials are too rare, so the quantity is very limited. Those who are wealthy often choose spirit-gathering arrays instead of spirit-gathering beads."

The Spirit Gathering Array is a one-time use item. Setting up the array requires crystals and materials. It can gather spiritual energy in the center of the array, which is helpful for cultivation.

Once the materials are exhausted, the formation will disappear.

However, the Spirit Gathering Pearl is different. It is a container that absorbs nearby spiritual energy and stores it in the pearl until it is full.

With it, a cultivator can cultivate as if they have a top-grade spirit-gathering array by their side.

Once the spiritual energy is exhausted, the bead can absorb spiritual energy again, and so on in a continuous cycle.

Whether it's a spirit-gathering array or a spirit-gathering bead, it can be used by one person or multiple people, with no limit on the number of people. However, the more people there are, the faster the spiritual energy inside will be consumed.

(End of this chapter)