Jiang Chen laughed to himself.

But on the outside, he wore a foolish expression.

"Don’t you try to fool me. I know my materials."

Jiang Chen’s acting was spot on.

’Who doesn’t know how to pull a scam?’

The Ten Thousand Years’ Falling Grass the stall owner mentioned was fake.

But he knew that the stalk of Gunpowder Grass was real.

He just didn’t know if the stall owner could recognize its true value.

He beckoned to Yuan Ming. "Let me take a look at that Ten Thousand Years’ Falling Grass first."

"I’ll know if it’s real or fake the moment I see it."

Yuan Ming was startled. ’Could this kid really tell the difference?’

After all, his stalk of Ten Thousand Years’ Falling Grass was, in fact, a fake.

It would be trouble if the kid saw through his ruse.

Feeling uneasy, he handed the fake Ten Thousand Years’ Falling Grass to Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen pretended to inspect it with great care.

Then, he let out a cry of surprise.

"Wow, boss, it’s real! You really didn’t lie to me."

Yuan Ming was laughing inwardly, thinking, ’This idiot really doesn’t know his stuff.’

He immediately chimed in, "Of course! When I, Yuan Ming, do business, I always put honesty first."

"One hundred yuan crystals, and it’s yours."

He knew better than anyone that his materials were all common herbs he’d gathered himself from the mountains.

But it wasn’t often he got the chance to swindle a fool, so he had to make what he could.

He immediately urged Jiang Chen to hurry up and buy it.

Jiang Chen hesitated for a moment.

"Boss, one hundred yuan crystals is too expensive for a Ten Thousand Years’ Falling Grass. How about ten yuan crystals?"

A genuine Ten Thousand Years’ Falling Grass would be worth tens of thousands of yuan crystals.

However, that stalk of Gunpowder Grass was definitely worth several thousand yuan crystals.

This boss dared to scam him.

So Jiang Chen didn’t mind scamming the boss right back.

His target, of course, wasn’t this common herb, but the Gunpowder Grass.

But he wasn’t going to let the stall owner off easy.

So he drove the price down to rock bottom.

When Yuan Ming heard this, he instantly became angry.

"Kid, you’ve gone too far! This is a Ten Thousand Years’ Falling Grass, and you’re offering me ten yuan crystals? This is an insult! Do you understand? An insult!"

He was furious. He thought he could squeeze a bit more out of this stupid kid, but now he realized he was screwed. The kid was actually a little sharp.

He even knew how to haggle. The crucial part was how viciously he did it—slashing the price straight down to ten yuan crystals.

’This kid is unbelievable!’

But Jiang Chen just looked displeased and said, "Ten yuan crystals. Are you selling or not?"

"If not, forget it. I’ll go look somewhere else. I might find one for even cheaper."

Sure enough, several other stall owners immediately started waving at Jiang Chen.

They all saw him as a fool.

"Hey, young man! My Ten Thousand Years’ Falling Grass is very cheap, only five yuan crystals!"

"Young man, mine’s only four yuan crystals!"

Seeing this, Yuan Ming felt like he was about to explode.

These stall owners were all competitors, and they loved to see each other fail.

When he saw Jiang Chen about to leave, he hastily grabbed his arm.

He stuffed the so-called Ten Thousand Years’ Falling Grass into Jiang Chen’s hands.

"Young man, I’ve taken a liking to you."

"This must be fate. Ten yuan crystals it is."

"I’ll sell you the Ten Thousand Years’ Falling Grass. Consider it a token of our new friendship."

He spoke as if he was taking a huge loss, but inwardly he was still very happy.

After all, the herb he’d offered was worthless. You could buy ten of them for a single yuan crystal.

Ten yuan crystals was still a profit.

Jiang Chen grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

"Alright. But, boss, you should throw in these five herbs as well."

He grabbed the five herbs, including two stalks of Flame Grass, and continued to bargain.

What?

Yuan Ming was shocked. ’This kid isn’t a fool at all, he’s cunning as a fox!’

’We already made the deal, and he still wants to take advantage of me.’

He glanced at the five herbs; they were all cheap stuff too.

But he still feigned displeasure. "No way. Everything here is as valuable as the Ten Thousand Years’ Falling Grass. How can I just give them to you for free?"

"You’re being too disrespectful! Do you think my materials are all trash?"

He held out his hand and said angrily, "Fine, you can have them, but you have to add one more yuan crystal."

He decided to go all out.

Giving them to Jiang Chen wasn’t a big deal, but scamming another yuan crystal out of him would be nice.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Chen was very generous.

He decisively took out eleven yuan crystals and gave them to Yuan Ming.

"Fine. Consider it the price of making a friend."

He had used ten yuan crystals to buy two stalks of Flame Grass, each worth nearly five thousand yuan crystals, for a combined value of ten thousand.

He already felt a bit guilty.

That was why he’d generously added another yuan crystal for Yuan Ming.

Needless to say, he had made a massive profit.

But Yuan Ming was completely in the dark, and would likely remain so for the rest of his life.

He had been terribly scammed by Jiang Chen.

If the Flame Grass were sold at a place like the Treasure Elephant Pavilion, the price would be even higher—six or seven thousand yuan crystals per stalk, or even more.

Two stalks of Flame Grass would have been enough for Yuan Ming to live on for the rest of his life.

"Take care, young man! Come back and visit anytime!"

Overjoyed, Yuan Ming put the eleven yuan crystals into his Qiankun Bag and waved enthusiastically at Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen was even happier, contentedly placing the Flame Grass into his own Qiankun Bag.

"I’ll be back often."

He left with a flourish.

Leaving behind a chorus of sighs.

"That kid got fleeced again."

"Ten yuan crystals for a fake herb. What an idiot."

Many of the stall owners secretly felt sorry for Jiang Chen.

As for Jiang Chen himself, he was grinning from ear to ear.

He went straight back to his courtyard in the Jiang Family estate.

He excitedly took out the two stalks of Flame Grass.

That’s right, two stalks. He had obtained two stalks of Flame Grass in one go, making an incredible profit.

This was a huge bargain he’d picked up because others couldn’t recognize the goods.

"Heh, heh. Taking me for a fool."

"I bought Gunpowder Grass worth at least ten thousand yuan crystals for just ten yuan crystals."

As he took in the pungent smell coming from the Flame Grass, he trembled with excitement. It was as if he had returned to his high-spirited days as the Pill Emperor.

The scent wafting from the Flame Grass was that of sulfur. This herb grew on plateaus near volcanic eruptions, absorbing the sulfurous air as it developed.

It was naturally an easily combustible material.

In his hands, this Flame Grass would become a Blazing Pill.

A Blazing Pill was incredibly powerful, enough to kill a master-level Martial Artist in an explosion.

’With these two stalks of Flame Grass, I can refine five Blazing Pills. They’ll become one of my trump cards.’

Right now, Jiang Chen needed ways to protect himself. The immensely powerful Blazing Pill was a perfect unexpected trump card for self-defense, with endless uses.

It would be impossible for his enemies to guard against.

The other ingredients for refining a Blazing Pill were all easy to find; only this Flame Grass was rare.

And yet he had stumbled upon it by chance.

’Then let’s get started right away.’

Jiang Chen returned to his room, set up a brazier, took out his Pill Furnace, and began to refine the Blazing Pills.

’Blazing Pills are prone to exploding. I have to be extremely careful and cautious during the refinement process.’

Jiang Chen’s expression was incredibly solemn. Among elixirs, the properties of the Blazing Pill were the most volatile.

One small mistake and it would explode.

Therefore, when refining it, one had to pay even greater attention to controlling the details.

Fortunately, this didn’t seem to be a challenge for Jiang Chen.