Ian’s expression remained unchanged. "This concerns my path of cultivation. One must always try."

Amos was noncommittal, pulling a leather-bound booklet from his clothes and casually flipping it open.

"Starlight Vine Marrow Crystal, Moon Soul Essence, Calm Heart Spring Water, Silver Soul Grass Pollen, Ancient Tree of Life Bark Extract... Of the items you want, I have all the main ingredients."

He looked up at Ian. "But the prices are steep. Starlight Vine Marrow Crystal, valued at 80 Magic Stones. Moon Soul Essence, 60 Magic Stones. And I don’t accept Magic Stones for these two."

"As for the Calm Heart Spring Water, since you’ve already asked Mira, you should know the market price. The ones I have are of higher purity—15 Magic Stones a bottle."

’The Silver Ring certainly has a deep foundation. A mere traveling merchant can casually quote prices for such precious Magic Materials.’

The first two main ingredients couldn’t be easily subdivided. Just like at the Furnace camp, this was the price for ten portions.

Ian did a quick mental calculation. ’Factoring in the Ancient Tree of Life Bark Extract I still need, the cost of one Concentration Potion is close to 20 Magic Stones. That’s clearly inflated.’

’A Magic Potion Alchemist with a slightly lower success rate would go bankrupt at this price, but I don’t care.’

He had enough Magic Stones on hand if he wanted to buy more, but...

"I can trade with Potions and special materials."

Ian opened his travel pouch, taking out the Potions he had prepared and the ten top-grade Essence Bloods. He used Wizard’s Hand to levitate them in front of him.

Amos’s gaze swept over the Potions, pausing for a moment on the Essence Bloods.

He gestured with his hand, and a dark-red Essence Blood with swirling shadow patterns on its surface flew into his grasp.

"Refined from the Essence Blood of a Shadow Pattern Viper... The purity is very high, with almost no impurities." A flicker of surprise showed in Amos’s eyes.

"To think a Magic Potion Alchemist like you would have such skill in bloodline refining."

Mira chimed in from the side at the perfect moment, "Mr. Ian’s Refining Technique is truly remarkable. The Life Energy concentration in these Essence Bloods far exceeds anything an ordinary High Level Apprentice could produce."

Amos inspected the other Essence Bloods—the earthy-yellow one from a Stone-Skinned Mountain Demon and the dark-green one from a Rotting Swamp Porcupinefish. Each was perfectly round and full, its energy contained within.

"The quality is indeed excellent." Amos returned the Essence Blood.

’What an unexpected windfall. Essence Blood of this purity is hard currency for Apprentices on the bloodline path. In another year... I can take this back and make a fortune.’

He was inwardly delighted, but his face betrayed nothing.

"For the 10 Essence Bloods, I’ll value them at 700 Magic Stones. Add to that your... Healing Potions. Their effect is somewhat special, so I’ll price them at 5 Magic Stones each. And the Awakening Potions, standard quality, 3 Magic Stones each."

"In total... 1100 Magic Stones. The Essence Bloods can be exchanged for five portions of the main ingredients."

Ian took a deep breath. "I’ll trade for all of it. Also, how much for the highest purity Calm Heart Spring Water?"

"The high-purity Calm Heart Spring Water is 20 Magic Stones for a small, standard-sized bottle." Amos closed his booklet.

Ian still chose to make the exchange. "And the Ancient Tree of Life Bark..."

"I don’t have any." Amos cut Ian off, turning and stepping into his carriage. He emerged with three specially made containers.

One was a palm-sized silver metal box. When opened, it revealed a piece of vine marrow crystal that looked like solidified starlight, emitting a cool, gentle glow.

Another was a translucent Crystal Bottle, inside which floated a mass of silvery essence that flowed like liquid moonlight.

The last was a large bottle of spring water so clear it was almost invisible, yet it faintly emanated calming ripples.

"Starlight Vine Marrow Crystal, Moon Soul Essence, and top-grade Calm Heart Spring Water."

Amos handed the items to Ian. "Go ahead and inspect them."

Ian carefully scanned them with his Spiritual Power. After confirming there were no issues, he handed the Essence Bloods and Potions to Amos.

"Oh, right." Amos said suddenly after stowing the items.

"Seeing as you’re collecting materials for the Concentration Potion, I assume you’re also in urgent need of the finished product to aid your cultivation."

"I happen to have 30 standard-quality Concentration Potions. They’re the practice brews of another Pharmacist—the effect is stable, but they’re not top-tier."

"The market price is 65 Magic Stones each, but there’s a condition: payment must be made with the same kind of Essence Blood you just showed me."

Ian was startled. ’Looks like the market for high-quality Essence Blood is huge,’ he thought. ’And this man is a true profiteer. That price for the Concentration Potion is exorbitant.’

’Even if they’re just standard quality, 30 Concentration Potions are enough to support ten days of Meditation Cultivation and give my Realm a small boost!’

’If anyone else knew I could burn through that many Potions in just ten days, their jaws would hit the floor.’

He didn’t respond immediately, his mind racing as he weighed the options. His previous experience at the Furnace camp made him wary.

But then again, he thought, ’This is the Silver Ring. They’ve seen all sorts of treasures. I can’t afford to be timid.’

"I’ll make the trade." Ian made his decision. He took out his remaining 20 Essence Bloods and added some Magic Stones on top—this was almost his entire stock.

A flicker of appreciation appeared in Amos’s eyes. The young man was decisive and knew how to make a trade-off.

"I will be back again. I hope you’ll have more Essence Blood to trade then. As for the Concentration Potion materials you’re looking for, that won’t be an issue."

He once again retrieved an exquisite wooden box from his carriage. Inside, 30 light-blue Potions were neatly arranged, the bottles bearing the label "Concentration."

Ian confirmed there were no issues and carefully put them away.

With the transaction complete, Amos said no more and led his merchant caravan to begin trading with the other waiting Apprentices.

Mira whispered to Ian, "You should head back. We’ll talk later."

Ian nodded and, carrying the precious materials and Potions he had acquired, quickly left the crowd.

Back in his quarters, Ian shut the door, set up a warning ward, and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

He took out the materials he had just acquired and arranged them neatly on his simple workbench.

The Starlight Vine Marrow Crystal felt smooth and cool, the Moon Soul Essence was gentle and pure, the Silver Soul Grass Pollen gave off a tranquil aura, and the Calm Heart Spring Water made him feel a sense of peace just by being near it.

’Does he really not have any Ancient Tree of Life Bark Extract?’

Ian’s fingers tapped lightly on the desk as he lowered his head in thought. He wasn’t sure if Amos truly had no stock or if there was some other hidden reason.

’Looks like I’ll have to make a trip to the Whispering Forest myself.’

The map Mira had given him surfaced in his mind: deeper in the Silent Death Mountain Range, near the edge of the Whispering Forest, was a suspected colony of an Ancient Tree of Life subspecies, guarded by Soul-Devouring Tree Demons...

It was dangerous, but not hopeless.

Especially now that his Bloodline Purification Technique had reached Limit-Breaking and gained the ’Spirit Devourer’ effect. His resistance to Spiritual Attacks had been greatly enhanced; he could even devour residual Spiritual Marks.

This undoubtedly increased his odds of survival in such a bizarre environment.

’Can’t be hasty,’ Ian warned himself.

He had just acquired the Concentration Potions; the top priority now was to use them to increase his strength.

’One month to reach just 7.8% progress as a High Level Apprentice is far too slow.’

’If I can use the Concentration Potions to increase my Meditation efficiency tenfold, my Skill Level will accumulate much faster. After using all 30 Potions, I should be able to advance my Realm by about 4%.’

He looked at the Skill Level for his Secondary Frost Freeze Beam on the panel; it was about to reach Limit-Breaking.

’First, I’ll break through and increase my strength. Then, I’ll go to the Whispering Forest.’