The private room was quite similar to the one from Gengbai Emporium and had some basic things in it like a table, some cushions and a tea set already prepared. Lin Mu did a quick sweep of the room with his spirit sense just to check for assurance and found it to be normal.

This was something senior Xukong had taught him. At first Lin Mu was doubtful for the reason behind it but then he learned them very well from the memoirs of the lost immortal. There were often ways that shops and merchants used to trick customers.

Some of them were the use of befuddling formations that dulled the mind and allowed the merchant to get higher profit. There were also incenses that could do the same, and Lin Mu had already encountered them in the Alluring wisteria pavilion.

Here though, he found everything to be normal and thus he calmed down.

"Please take a seat, senior.

" The Shopkeeper spoke.

Lin Mu sat down and so did the shopkeeper, but Hei Wan stood at the side.

"So senior, I see you have some spirit apples to sell, could you show them to me so I can appraise them?

" The shopkeeper asked.

"Sure, but I think we'll need a bit more space than this.

" Lin Mu said.

"More space?

" The shopkeeper asked with confusion.

While Hei Wan had told the shopkeeper that Lin Mu had a large amount of spirit apples to sell, she hadn't told him the exact number. Doing so would make him determine the price beforehand and would then lessen the profit Lin Mu could make from it.

Still, the shopkeeper obliged and the table was moved to the side, leaving a much larger space there. Lin Mu then simply extended his hand and withdrew ten large barrels that took up nearly the entirety of the room, only leaving enough space for the three people to stand.

The shopkeeper was absolutely astounded and couldn't believe his eyes. He went to one of the barrels and opened its lid revealing the spirit apples that were stored inside. All of them looked the same as the one he had been shown.

Still, he didn't stop here he opened the lids of all the barrels and then used his spirit sense to count them. After ten minutes he was done judging and still had a surprised expression on his face.

"A total of thirty two thousand six hundred and nine spirit apples all of the same quality…

" The Shopkeeper muttered.

He roughly calculated the price and how much he could resell them for and came up with the transaction costs.

"Senior this… for 32609 spirit apples I'm willing to offer you 24,268 low grade spirit stones or its equivalent in mid grade spirit stones.

" The shopkeep spoke.

Lin Mu looked over to Hei Wan, and she slightly nodded her head.

"Alright, I'll take it.

" Lin Mu replied.

~phew~

The shopkeeper took a breath of relief and felt secretly happy. He would be able to resell these for thirty percent more and his commission from that would be the same as what he would get from the sect in six months.

"How would you like the payment to be senior? Do you want spirit stones, resources, or something else?

" The Shopkeeper asked.

"Hmm… deduct the things that I am buying from this and from the renaming amount I want it to be split into two. One part to be converted into low grade spirit stones and the other to mid grade spirit stones.

"That is acceptable. It shall be done as you wish.

" The shopkeeper spoke and called over a few servants.

Since Lin Mu had asked for quite a lot of things, they would need a little while to gather them and thus he instructed the servants to get what was needed. Hei Wan though was an attendant and thus of a higher rank, because of which she got to stay here.

The shopkeeper couldn't help but think about the man in front of him. This was a great deal but he was curious how Lin Mu had gotten so many sprint apples. The trio cauldron peony sect had a good relationship with the Wu Lim city and its mayor Wu Xun, who was now a minister at the capital.

They were thus aware of the costs of the spirit apples and knew the quality that they could get in the market. But no matter how he looked at these, they seemed to be of a much better quality than what they could get.

'Does he perhaps have a different source? Hmm… but then the climate to grow the spirit apples and the soil would also be needed and that is not available anyplace else than near the northern forest.

The only other way would be to… make a specific orchard that is isolated and enriched for the optimum growth of the spirit apple trees. That is the only way by which the spirit apples can get to such a good quality.

Getting the saplings is not that difficult, but setting up an orchard like that… it is no easy task.' The shopkeeper thought to himself.

Unknown to Lin Mu, he had become a mysterious figure with a good backing in the eyes of the shopkeeper. The man himself was an elder of the Tri cauldron peony sect and thus dealt with things related to alchemical pills and spirit herbs all the time.

He knew very well how they were grown and how to take care of them. Became of this the conclusion he reached was so different than reality. Still, there was no way he could have known the truth either, and even if he did, there was a great chance he would never believe it.

After all, in the entire cosmos, only four people before Lin Mu had ever been the owners of a garden of Karma.

A servant poured them some tea, while they waited for the items to arrive.

—