Chapter 369: Meeting at Last

Honghuang and Mu Qiu calculated that the security deposit alone would cost five top-grade spirit stones.

Opening the shop would require at least five more.

Ten top-grade spirit stones. That wasn’t easy to come by right now.

However, the Longevity Sect was now focused on trade, and there were already a lot of Spirit Stones in active circulation.

But the players’ personal assets were still insufficient.

"Fan Guzhou and Han Tian could probably scrape it together if they pool their resources."

The Longevity Sect today was a far cry from its previous state of poverty.

At the very least, they could come up with some of the money, and they had a stockpile of materials.

An acquisition shop like this was still feasible. The Longevity Sect had an abundance of Demon Beast Materials, which were quite rare for most people who refined Magic Treasures.

Although Dragon Breath Spirit Materials were expensive, low-grade ones could be exchanged for Elixir Pills and other spirit materials at a discount. Some people would surely be willing to make the trade.

After all, Dragon Breath Spirit Materials couldn’t be taken through Teleportation Arrays, so most locals would choose to sell them on the spot.

The acquisition price locally would be cheaper than buying them elsewhere.

The Longevity Sect could easily profit from this price difference.

Mu Qiu was now very decisive. "Then let’s do it. We’ll build a good reputation, and in the future, we can acquire other materials too. Not just spirit materials, but also some Magic Treasures, special Elixir Pills, Elixir Recipes, and various other mental methods."

This place was far from the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect, so they could acquire many different things without issue.

As long as the items they acquired weren’t particularly High-level, they wouldn’t attract unwanted attention.

There were many similar shops in Xuanwu City.

"Then let’s pick people for a permanent rotation. They’ll be stationed directly in Xuanwu City and forbidden from leaving. Otherwise, I’m afraid someone with ill intentions will notice, follow them out, and murder them for their goods."

Mu Qiu now understood just how dark the rules of the Cultivation World could be.

"Once we get the business established, this small loss of Spirit Stones will be nothing."

Honghuang nodded. "Then let’s stick to the rule of rotating once a month. Someone will always be willing to come. After all, they’ll do anything for a salary."

True enough.

Mu Qiu said, "Let’s think of a name then. Just make sure it has nothing to do with the Longevity Sect."

Honghuang: "Then let’s call it the Honghuang Universe!"

Mu Qiu: "..."

An Xiu then suggested, "Let’s just call it Immortal Splendor Hall. It’s a common name and won’t attract attention."

Mu Qiu nodded. "Alright. I’ll go discuss it with Fan Guzhou and Han Tian."

After a pause, they suddenly added, "No need to discuss it anymore. The System says it will cover half."

Honghuang asked cheekily, "Did the System get the Sect Master’s permission?"

The System sneered, "Does your Sect Master really need to respond to such a trivial matter?"

’As if Song Jiulai would ever refuse.’

Opening a shop in the Dragon Frost Swamp was beneficial for using up the Longevity Sect’s surplus.

So there was no need to even ask for Song Jiulai’s opinion.

Since the System agreed, Mu Qiu, An Xiu, and Honghuang conferred and got straight to work.

Once they had the Spirit Stones, they went to Xuanwu City to handle the paperwork, picked a location, and were ready to open the shop.

There wasn’t much ceremony to opening a shop here. If your reputation was good, people would come even if you set up in the black market.

Acquiring materials was even more convenient. There were many shops that bought Dragon Breath Spirit materials, but the players had an advantage.

They could offer discounted exchanges for large quantities of Elixir Pills and Magic Treasures.

Most places just used Spirit Stones for direct purchases. The Longevity Sect didn’t have that many Spirit Stones, but they did have a large supply of low-level elixir.

When it came to promotions, the wisdom of modern people was truly limitless.

They knew exactly what kind of offers to use to lure customers in.

It didn’t matter if other shops gave them dirty looks. Other than the players making sales, no sect members would ever need to physically visit Immortal Splendor Hall. All goods could be transferred directly through the System.

No external transport was necessary.

Even if someone wanted to cause trouble, they wouldn’t get the chance.

And Zhen Weida was the first to sign up to be a clerk in the Dragon Frost Swamp.

He was currently a lifestyle player, but Shuang Xiahuai had sent him here for another matter, so he conveniently became the primary person in charge of acquiring materials.

This time, Zhen Weida hadn’t come via the Sea View Sect, but had paid his own way.

Because lifestyle players could now afford a top-grade spirit stone if they pooled their resources, they didn’t feel the pinch of traveling so far.

On an unremarkable day, Immortal Splendor Hall quietly opened for business on a street corner.

Because the rent they paid wasn’t high, it was located on a less popular street in Xuanwu City.

At this price, holding a grand opening celebration would have felt like they were just losing money.

On opening day, they simply hung a sign outside the shop listing various discounts and promotions.

On the first day, quite a few curious Cultivators came in to have a look.

Immortal Splendor Hall bought everything, not just Dragon Breath Spirit Material. As long as it was something the Longevity Sect didn’t have or couldn’t get nearby, it was a rare commodity to them!

They could convert the acquired materials into resources almost instantly, at an incredibly fast pace.

This was because there were so many players, and their consumption rate was also high.

Right after opening, most of the visitors were low-level cultivators.

They tentatively took out some First and Second Rank Materials that weren’t uncommon in the Dragon Frost Swamp.

When Immortal Splendor Hall actually bought all of them, this group of Cultivators was overjoyed.

You have to understand, in the Dragon Frost Swamp, worthless Low-grade Spiritual Materials were everywhere, and not every shop would buy them.

Furthermore, Immortal Splendor Hall also sold some affordable, high-quality Elixir Pills and Magic Treasures.

Although the volume seemed large, they mainly acquired first, second, and third-tier spirit materials. These low-level materials wouldn’t cause any waves in the eyes of a Major Sect. At first, some people came to inquire out of curiosity, but they quickly lost interest.

For a while, business was booming.

They also sold some small retail items made by the players.

For example, the players had now created a crude, electricity-powered toy—a small doll that could dance automatically without relying on Spiritual Energy.

This was bound to make some people curious. ’How does it work without Spiritual Energy?’

Although woodworking existed, this was a world apart from it.

The internal construction was also very simple.

But the power-generating device was enough to make contemporary Cultivators tear their hair out trying to understand it.

Immortal Splendor Hall sold these as well.

No profit was too small to be ignored.

Furthermore, Mu Qiu and the others felt this business model had great potential. They planned to send players to the Sect Cities of every Major Sect they could currently access and open a shop in each one!

They would acquire different materials and transfer them between locations.

Their biggest advantage over other shops was a System that required no travel fees and allowed for instantaneous transfers.

Zhen Weida couldn’t handle it all by himself, so in the end, two more lifestyle players were sent over to help.

A few days after the shop opened, during a rare moment of downtime.

Zhen Weida was sipping a cup of milk tea when he suddenly saw a shifty-looking Cultivator at the door.

Well, not exactly shifty. It was more that his appearance just made him look a bit dim-witted.

And then Zhen Weida froze for a moment.

’It’s a player.’

A player he had never seen before.

"Who are you? Weren’t you guys told not to come over?"

Just then, the player in front of him suddenly started winking and making faces.

Zhen Weida received a private message.

Liu Bo: [It’s me, bro! I finally got a chance to get out!]