This destination was a small and beautiful pagoda located on the main road, some hundreds of feet before arriving at the main plaza. Even without the sign that indicated it as the Herbs and Medicines store, the aroma that would escape through the open entrance was enough to guess what it sold. Outer disciples could only enter the first floor, which sold only basic herbs and a few low-level spirit ones, so Wu Guang did not look around, directly walking towards the counter.

An outer disciple was manning it, but a band on his arm indicated him as a member of the Herb hall, so in reality, his position was almost the same as an inner disciple. Knowing this, Wu Guang quickly and politely explained what he needed. In turn, after thinking for a brief moment the hall disciple answered

"We have low, medium, and high tier premade sets of herbs for skin strengthening. They guarantee twice, five, and ten times the effect of the common set sold by the normal store and are priced 50, 200, and 500 points respectively. The maximum effect guarantees that your skin will be undamaged by common weapons even while not infused with qi"

"Could you give me a list of the medium and high tier? My mentor asked me to check the herbs personally and whatever I buy, I should be able to explain them to him"

"Yes, wait a moment" The disciple did not show any emotion at the strange request or question Wu Guang's explanation and simply wrote down the list of herbs included from memory. He even added a brief explanation for the uncommon herbs, seemingly to help this disciple report.

Wu Guang received the list and after scanning it briefly found out that the effects of the medium tier were better in the long run, after all, the main component was the fire element 'Dragonfern', which was a claw-shaped red herb that would not only strengthen the skin but also if applied correctly would increase its effectivity after reaching the Spirit realm. Seemingly the correct method wasn't known or disclosed, so the disciples would only benefit from the initial effect, which indeed was smaller when compared to the earth element 'Underground Glowing Moss'.

None of the sets had a full balance between the five main elements, so Wu Guang decided against buying them. He quickly formulated a set mixing the basic ingredients from both lists and added four elemental low-level spirit herbs that he had seen on the stalls to complement and balance everything.

"I understand the sets, but I will go with a different one. Could you please check if you have the herbs available and how much it would cost?" Saying this and noting that the shopkeeping disciple was listening, Wu Guang proceeded to name the herbs and the quantities he would need.

When the list was explained, the disciple excused himself for a moment and disappeared into a room behind the counter. A bit later he returned

"We are currently missing the two 'Storm Lilies' from your request. The rest is available and the cost would be 635 contribution points"

"Do you have a petal of 'Underwater Lotus'? My master said that it could be used in place of the lilies"

"We do sell such petals, but they are restricted to the 2nd floor. Let me ask if we can sell you one" Said the disciple and disappeared again. When he returned from the room, where he seemingly asked someone he confirmed that a single petal could be bought, but it would cost 100 points.

"I will take the petal and the rest of the herbs. So the total would be 735 points? Can I receive the herbs right away?"

"The total would be 700 points as the manager instructed to apply a discount as an apology for not having an herb you asked for. Some of the herbs are located in the Hall grounds, so you may receive only a part of them right now, or if you prefer they will be sent all together to your residence during the day"

Wu Guang paid and after indicating where to send all the herbs, left the store. With this set, he expected to reach at least 10 times the effect from the common set, but also gain a degree of protection against the main five elements, something that not even the high tier set would give him. Normally one would not disclose the set herbs and quantities so openly, but he wasn't worried about sharing the set he had come up with, after all, most of the set's worth was in how it was applied and that was something that only he knew.

Until now he had spent 830 points, counting that he got 1275 points during admission and the 450 points he earned from the 'Nascent Pride', Wu Guang still had 895 points, which should last him until he enters the Inner circle and starts taking missions. He also had already traded the special entrance marks for points, which gave him another hundred points. Still, as they would not make a real difference, he decided to keep them for now. Leaving them as an emergency fund for any sudden event, after all, medicines and treatment would also cost him some points.

He decided against checking the lessons and classes available or going to the Martial Library to browse the available manuals and techniques, leaving this for after he entered the Spirit realm. After all, most of the ones he could benefit from would require him to reach it anyway.

Thinking like this, Wu Guang returned to Xiao Feng's residence and found that there was no one there, so he sat down in the small front yard to wait while meditating.

***

Wu Guang had meditated for several hours, as the sun was pretty close to the horizon now. During this time he mostly traveled between different memories while searching for knowledge useful for the next year, and he was indeed oblivious to everything until he sensed a person approaching him. Slowly opening his eyes and standing up, he noticed that it was an outer disciple, who was carrying a rune-box. These boxes were similar to the holding pouches but could be used by people even with no cultivation, although their price was dozens if not hundreds of times the one of a low-tier holding pouch, so they were not something commonly seen.

The disciple confirmed his identity by asking Wu Guang to show his badge and with this done explained that he is here to deliver everything he bought today. After Wu Guang questioned why items from both the Herb hall and the Sect store were delivered together, the disciple explained that he was on a courier work from the mission hall and most probably the request was passed to them by both of the Stores - so as it was the same address, it was decided to send both at the same time.

The process of unloading a rune-box was different from how a holding pouch operated, as one could not control the exact item that would be recovered from it. Knowing this, Wu Guang directed the disciple to an empty storeroom near the kitchen, judging that the glaive and herbs would be far easier to move from there than moving the ingredients somewhere. When the box was emptied, Wu Guang sent the disciple off after thanking the latter for his work and proceeded to order everything.

The glaive and two sacks of herbs he had bought were moved by him to the small room that the rest of his weapons occupied and then he proceeded to sort the ingredients. He actually did not expect their quantity to be so enormous, as he simply had requested 5 points of each of the four categories, without really asking how much the points were worth. Now with everything before him, he found himself as the owner of a 50 jin rice sack and several sacks of vegetables and fruits that by his estimate were about the same weight. A box of assorted meat weighing a dozen of jin was also present, but thankfully most of it was either smoked or dried, so it would not go bad in their absence of a cold room. This was enough food for three normal people for more than a month, but considering that they all were actively cultivating, Wu Guang calculated that except for the rice, they would finish the rest in a week or so.

Deciding that he would start the process of skin tempering the next day, Wu Guang used the rest of the day to cook dinner. His current persona did not have any real cooking experience, but during the initial years of his past life he had cooked a lot for himself, also he had some experience with cooking thanks to his mortal life as well.

He did not try to do anything luxurious, but simply grilled the 6 jin of fresh meat, intending to use them for both dinner and tomorrow's breakfast adding a simple salad side dish. Accompanying it with seasoned rice as Xiao Feng kitchen surprisingly had the latter present, Wu Guang finished in less than two hours.

As neither Xiao Feng nor Yuan Taotu had arrived, he dedicated the rest of the time before the former arrived to sort the herbs and decide on how he would use them.

Xiao Feng arrived almost at the same time as Yuan Taotu, right after sunset. Both were hungry and did not expect such and so Wu Guang's cooking was met with praise, even from the normally silent Yuan Taotu.

After they ate, Wu Guang discussed his day with Xiao Feng. The latter did the same, explaining that he mainly spent it training in the Palace. He also had chosen his first mission, a caravan escort one.