Chapter 138: Recommendation

Qian True Person of Qianhe Sect looked seriously at Zheng Fa's words, deep in thought.

Qianhe Sect was also a member of the Hundred Immortal Alliance, but far inferior to Jiushan Sect—Jiushan Sect had three Nascent Soul True Persons and was a major sect within the alliance.

The strongest cultivator in Qianhe Sect was merely a Jin Dan.

Thus, their marketplace had never been as bustling as Jiushan Sect's.

The cost of the shuttle boats was already substantial for Qianhe Sect's marketplace—if, as Zheng Fa claimed, Jiushan Sect had already drawn away all nearby customers, then the shuttle boats were indeed not worth the expense.

But Qianhe Sect was not without its own specialties.

They had great expertise in cultivating spirit rice, especially Huangya Rice, which had gained some fame throughout the Hundred Immortal Alliance.

"So how exactly does your Huangya Rice sell at Jiushan Sect?" Qian True Person pondered for a while, yet showed no particular joy—he knew full well Zheng Fa had come to him for a reason.

"Qian True Person, I am here representing Jiushan Sect's marketplace to propose a partnership with your sect," Zheng Fa said with a smile. "How you sell it is entirely up to you."

"First, your sect can rent your own shopfront—sell directly in our marketplace. You bear all profits and losses yourself."

"Zheng True Person, you have no idea how hard it is to rent a shopfront in your sect," Qian True Person sighed bitterly.

Zheng Fa knew perfectly well.

Ever since Jiushan Sect's marketplace gradually grew prosperous,

the rent had not yet risen.

But transfer fees had skyrocketed.

If Qianhe Sect wanted to secure a shop, the cost would be steep.

Moreover, the marketplace already had vendors selling spirit rice—renting a shop would be far too risky for Qianhe Sect.

Zheng Fa had merely mentioned this option in passing.

"Second, our marketplace partners with you—we purchase your Qianhe Sect's Huangya Rice, and you only need to focus on cultivation. No shops, no profits or losses—you needn't concern yourselves with any of it."

"..." Qian True Person slowly understood Zheng Fa's intent: "So we'll only supply Jiushan Sect from now on?"

"Exactly."

"What's the price?"

"One spirit stone for three shi."

"No!" Qian True Person's lips trembled: "That's the price even in our own marketplace!"

"But isn't your own marketplace out of business?" Zheng Fa whispered.

"..." Hearing this, Qian True Person grew even angrier.

It was true—Zheng Fa kept ferrying people in.

Even Qianhe Sect's own disciples now shopped at Jiushan Sect.

What business did Qianhe Sect's marketplace still have?

"No room for negotiation?" Zheng Fa asked, watching his anger.

"Absolutely none!"

Qian True Person flung his sleeve and turned to leave.

"At least three hundred shi per month."

Qian True Person's steps halted abruptly.

"At least... three hundred shi?"

"No less."

Qian True Person's expression twisted in conflict.

Three hundred shi was nearly a hundred spirit stones.

That sum was not insignificant even for Jiushan Sect's marketplace.

Especially for Qianhe Sect, which was growing ever more desperate.

Otherwise, Qian True Person wouldn't have come here to sneak and learn.

"Zheng True Person... this price is far too low."

"Qian True Person," Zheng Fa's expression was firm: "The Hundred Immortal Alliance isn't short of sects that grow spirit rice. I can go elsewhere."

"Wait!" Qian True Person hurriedly said: "We can negotiate—I'll report to the Sect Master, we can definitely negotiate!"

When Qian True Person left, his face bore a mixture of sorrow and joy—he wasn't sure whether the Sect Master would scold him or praise him for bringing back such a massive order.

But both Zheng Fa and he knew Qianhe Sect would accept.

Jiushan Sect had nearly drained all nearby customers.

For Qianhe Sect to avoid losses, it had no choice but to become Jiushan Sect's supplier.

Though profits were smaller, volume would compensate.

Watching his retreating figure, Yuan Shijie turned to Zheng Fa: "Zheng Shidi, why insist on ordering Huangya Rice from them?"

Several other Shixiongs in the small pavilion stared at Zheng Fa, equally puzzled.

"Our marketplace's products are too limited—we need more diverse, attractive goods," Zheng Fa explained. "Besides, wasn't it you, Yuan Shijie, who said Huangya Rice tasted good?"

Hearing this, Yuan Shijie couldn't help but laugh.

Huangya Rice had indeed been her personal selection—Zheng Fa had tried it and found it excellent.

"But three hundred shi—isn't that too much? What if we can't sell it?"

Yuan Shijie still worried.

"Yuan Shijie, have you calculated how much spirit rice Jiushan Sect consumes monthly?"

"Hmm?"

"Jiushan Sect has over a thousand disciples, not counting their families or attendants," Zheng Fa calculated. "Each disciple consumes about five to six liang of spirit rice daily—that's one-fifth of a shi per month. Even without family, we need over two hundred shi monthly. Add in relatives, and three hundred shi is barely enough."

According to Xuanwei's measurements, one shi was roughly nine hundred liang—so even just for disciples, three hundred shi would be nearly exhausted.

"You mean... these spirit rice are for the disciples?"

"Yuan Shijie, have you noticed the price of spirit rice in our marketplace has risen?" Zheng Fa said softly.

"Huh?... Yes, it has." As a Jin Dan cultivator, Yuan Shijie hadn't been sensitive to it—after thinking carefully, she frowned. "Those merchants!"

"Not necessarily intentional," Zheng Fa shook his head. "Lately, everyone's made money—not just spirit rice, but all goods have increased in price."

Exaggeratedly speaking, Jiushan Sect was experiencing a minor bout of inflation.

But it wasn't a bad thing.

After all, it meant Jiushan Sect's disciples were richer than before.

"I think not everyone has grown wealthy—some disciples, especially new ones, earn nothing and survive only on monthly stipends," Zheng Fa explained. "These affordable Huangya Rice are exactly what they need."

Zheng Fa ordered Huangya Rice from Qianhe Sect to consolidate Jiushan Sect's current advantage—once a marketplace draws crowds, it needs flagship products; otherwise, people just keep buying spirit talismans.

It would be a waste of all the theater Zheng Fa had organized.

But the main reason was that he'd noticed some lower-tier disciples hadn't grown richer with Jiushan Sect's development.

Instead, they were struggling even more.

In this wave of Jiushan Sect's growth, only the wealthy families behind the shops and the vendors with connections and capital had prospered.

The poorest, however, gained almost nothing.

Instead, they bore the brunt of rising prices.

In essence, this was Zheng Fa's version of a "vegetable basket" project.

Inside the room, the Shixiongs' gazes toward him slowly shifted—some seemed almost resentful.

"Shixiongs, why are you looking at me like that?"

"... hidi, you were born too late!" one Yang Shixiong suddenly sighed.

"?"

At Zheng Fa's home, he sat on a meditation cushion, preparing to condense his fifth Yuan Fu.

This time, he would condense a yin fire-element Yuan Fu—the Ju Xia Fu.

Fire-element Yuan Fu were mostly offensive.

But Zheng Fa didn't need them much now.

The Ju Xia Fu suited him perfectly—it allowed a cultivator to transform into a beam of colored light and fly through the sky, making modern travel convenient.

After all, modern society had radar and other detection systems—other flight methods might be mistaken for unidentified flying objects.

With the aura of light as cover, it was far safer.

Now, condensing Yuan Fu was second nature to him. After swallowing the Ning Yuan Dan, less than a stick of incense later, the Ju Xia Fu appeared within his dantian.

What surprised him was—once the Ju Xia Fu formed, the five yin Yuan Fus merged into one and began slowly rotating within his dantian.

A golden lotus platform appeared in his dantian, its petals inscribed with the Zheng Li Wu Ying Fu, Shuang Ren Fu, Yang Shen Fu, Chang Qing Fu, and Ju Xia Fu.

But what drew Zheng Fa's gaze most was a faint shadow of another lotus platform growing beneath it—though only wisps of golden lines, the shape of the lotus seat and petals was unmistakable.

He couldn't help but recall Zhang Shijie's words about yin-yang mutual generation.

As his spiritual sense sank into his dantian, a cascade of five-colored auroras suddenly descended from the sky above his courtyard.

The auroras surrounded the chamber where Zheng Fa cultivated, drawing the attention of every nearby cultivator.

"Han Shidi, what's this?"

Li Shixiong asked Han Qi.

Today was the day Han Qi planned to introduce Zheng Fa.

"Nothing to worry about—Zheng Shidi's cultivation has advanced again."

Han Qi replied, a look of pride on his face: "Zheng Shidi is a dual-element cultivator, but I've heard his progress is the fastest among all new disciples—even surpassing single-element cultivators."

Li Nuo nodded, but his expression grew even more uneasy.

The more talented Zheng Fa was,

the more he worried Zheng Fa might not even notice him.

Years of cold shoulders at Jiushan Sect had nearly destroyed his confidence.

Han Qi saw his expression and guessed what he was thinking; suddenly he asked, "Brother Li, did you buy a new set of clothes today?"

Li Nuo smiled shyly and said, "There was a special sale on Huangya rice at the market today—I saved some coins and thought I'd dress neatly, so Zheng Brother wouldn't think I'm disrespectful…"

"That Huangya rice was bought by Zheng Brother specifically for us disciples to eat."

"Huh?"

Han Qi smiled at Li Nuo. "I don't know if Zheng Brother will care about the talisman seal, but Brother Li, Zheng Brother isn't the type to look down on us."

Li Nuo glanced at his new clothes, fell silent for a moment, then finally laughed, his face now calmer.

…

"Zheng Brother, this is Li Nuo, Brother Li."

Han Qi brought Li Nuo before Zheng Fa and introduced him.

"Brother Li, a pleasure."

Zheng Fa, seeing Li Nuo's awkward expression, bowed to him first.

Li Nuo froze, hastily returned the bow to Zheng Fa—he hadn't been spoken to like this in a long time.

"Han Brother, why did you bring Brother Li here?"

Han Qi glanced at Li Nuo. "Let Brother Li speak for himself."

"I… I'd like to borrow some spirit stones from Zheng Brother," Li Nuo said after a long silence.

Borrowing money?

Zheng Fa blinked, glancing at Han Qi with confusion—was this man his relative?

"…" Han Qi was momentarily speechless. "Zheng Brother, understand this—Brother Li isn't borrowing for himself, but for research."

"Research?"

Zheng Fa finally became interested—few in Jiushan Sect cared for research.

Looking at Li Nuo, who struggled to speak clearly, Zheng Fa asked, "What kind of research?"

"Talisman seals."

Li Nuo pulled from his sleeve a blood-red square, engraved with the pattern of the Golden Armor Talisman.

"Talisman seal?"

Was this talisman printing?

Zheng Fa took the square, studying Li Nuo, his eyes glinting faintly: "Only this one?"

"Only this one succeeded—the others… exploded."

Zheng Fa's hand trembled—why didn't you say so sooner?

Li Nuo spoke sadly: "My father died in an accident while researching talisman seals."

"…Brother Li, do you have a courtesy name?"

"My courtesy name is Shicheng," Li Nuo replied, puzzled.

Good—his name isn't Bell.