Chapter 197: 197. Chapter 195: Preparing to Set Out

197. Chapter 195: Preparing to Set Out

Li Xuan carefully placed the Heaven-Shaking Hand Cannon back into the box, then put the remaining shells together with the box that held the Heaven-Shaking Cannon, and then loaded them into his Small Cave Heaven.

These shells are especially easy to trigger; a moment of carelessness would cause them to explode outright, and Li Xuan can't afford to be careless, because with his current cultivation level he definitely couldn't withstand it.

"Xuan Ge'er, these shells are extremely easy to trigger, so you must be extra careful when using them, lest you hurt yourself," Luo Gao said earnestly to Li Xuan. As the maker of the shells, Luo Gao clearly knows how powerful this thing is; even this Soul Saint would be seriously injured if it detonated close to him, let alone Li Xuan, a kid at the thirtieth rank.

"Got it, got it, Elder Luo!" Li Xuan hurriedly replied to Luo Gao, and after seeing the box safely settled inside his Small Cave Heaven, he finally let out a breath of relief.

"By the way, Elder Luo, I've noticed your material consumption has been quite high lately; do you need any ores? I can go to the Blacksmith Guild to procure them for you," Li Xuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and casually asked Luo Gao.

Upon hearing Li Xuan's words, Luo Gao didn't hesitate and took a list from his pocket, handing it to Li Xuan.

"Xuan Ge'er, these items are what I need recently; just procure them within a month, that's all. You're right— to make the Fifth Order Shock Heaven Cannon we need to conduct a large number of experiments, so the required materials are many. I have many types of materials here, but not many in quantity, so I need Xuan Ge'er to help me purchase some," Luo Gao said, pointing at the list in Li Xuan's hand.

"When you get to the Blacksmith Guild, just hand the gold Soul Coin and the list to Si Long; he'll be able to find a special channel to procure those supplies," Luo Gao reminded Li Xuan.

"No problem, Elder Luo, I'll pack my things right away and get ready to set out," Li Xuan nodded at Luo Gao, and after saying so he turned to leave, heading to procure the supplies.

"Xuan Ge'er, wait a moment, I have something I want to discuss with you," Luo Gao suddenly stopped Li Xuan who was about to leave, his voice urgent.

Hearing Luo Gao's words, Li Xuan was momentarily stunned, then looked at Luo Gao with puzzlement, wondering if there was anything he hadn't mentioned.

"Xuan Ge'er, when I had free time these past two days I toured your domain; it's vast, but there's only expenditure and no income. How do you plan to make money in the future? It's impossible for you alone to sustain the whole domain, so I wanted to ask about your plans," Luo Gao said earnestly to Li Xuan.

Luo Gao is quite fond of Li Xuan, already treating him as his own child.

That's why he asks; if it were someone he didn't know well, Luo Gao wouldn't bring it up.

"Elder Luo, I haven't decided yet, but broadly I'm thinking of farming and brewing. I have some special rice seeds of exceptional quality, and there's a brewing Soul Master Family; these can all become sources of income in the future," Li Xuan stroked his chin and shared his plan with Luo Gao.

The domain will focus on four main activities in the future: cultivation, brewing, forging, and Alchemy.

Cultivation will center on Dragon Tooth Rice and various simple medicinal herbs, used to Alchemy some First Grade or even Second Grade pills for profit.

Brewing will be overseen mainly by the Tao Family, and Li Xuan can also Alchemy some Spiritual Wine for sale.

As for forging, Li Xuan will later assign some trusted subordinates to learn Luo Gao's techniques, crafting various magical artifacts and Soul Guide Devices, responsible for the camp's security.

The final Alchemy is Li Xuan's personal craft; it may be passed on in the future, but certainly not to many people.

Only Spiritual Wine and Alchemy Pills can be sold.

However, Alchemy Pills cannot be sold now; they're too conspicuous. They must wait until the Fifth Order Shock Heaven Cannon is manufactured before they can be officially sold.

Suddenly, Li Xuan thought of something.

"Hold on, have I fallen into a misconception? The pills that boost cultivation can't be sold, but other pills can be sold—Detox Pill, Fasting Pill—these can be disguised as products of food-type martial souls, so selling them wouldn't draw too much attention," Li Xuan suddenly realized that not all his pills are unsellable.

Fasting Pill can serve as emergency rations, and Detox Pill can be used as a temporary antidote when hunting Soul Beasts.

After all, there are only so many support-type Soul Masters with detox ability; it's impossible for every Soul Master squad to be equipped with such a support Soul Master.

More importantly, these two pills cost almost nothing; selling them to Soul Beasts could yield profits of hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands!

Detox Pill is a lifesaver; one for a gold Soul Coin isn't pricey, considering the cost is only a few Copper Soul Coins!

Thinking that, Li Xuan couldn't help but let out a silly laugh.

"Xuan Ge'er, snap out of it! What are you thinking? That's so lewd!" Luo Gao waved his hand in front of the laughing Li Xuan and said.

"Huh? Ah! Elder Luo, I thought of something and got distracted, sorry," Li Xuan recovered, gave Luo Gao a sheepish grin and said apologetically.

Li Xuan could already picture his own goofy laughing self; it was indeed overly clumsy.

"It's fine, what did you think of? Why so happy?" Luo Gao asked curiously.

"I thought of two profitable deals; if the conditions are right, I think I could make a fortune," Li Xuan said excitedly to Luo Gao.

"What kind of business is it? Can you tell me?" Luo Gao raised an eyebrow and asked Li Xuan, as an elder wanting to help guide him.

"Here, Elder Luo, take a look," Li Xuan said without hesitation; with a thought, two small porcelain bottles materialized in his hand, and he handed them to Luo Gao.

"This pill is called Detox Pill; it can neutralize simple toxins. This one is called Fasting Pill; after taking it you can go a day without eating. These two are what I plan to sell; I intend to try selling them to Soul Masters in the Soul Beast Forest, which should earn money," Li Xuan introduced the two pills to Luo Gao without hesitation.

Luo Gao nodded, then reached out, took the two bottles, opened them, and stuffed the pills into his mouth.

After feeling the pills' effect, Luo Gao's eyes lit up; he nodded with satisfaction. He had eaten many food-type Soul Masters' dishes, but none matched the effect of Li Xuan's two pills.

"Good stuff. If production is high enough, it truly is a decent source of income. If you want to do it, go ahead; this business is viable," Luo Gao said, nodding happily to Li Xuan.

"That's fine, Elder Luo. There's a Soul Master town a hundred kilometers beyond our domain; I plan to open a small shop there, buying Soul Beast flesh and selling pills," Li Xuan said after thinking.

"Alright, you kid, go ahead. I trust you won't lose," Luo Gao said with a smile, shaking his head.

Luo Gao has no experience in commerce, so he can't give Li Xuan any valuable advice, only some encouragement.

"Then, Elder Luo, I'll go procure the supplies now, and while I'm at it, I'll head to the Star Luo Empire to see if I can buy some shops to sell outside the Soul Beast Forest," Li Xuan nodded. "Alright, I won't keep you. You can do business, but don't neglect cultivation; your talent ranks among the continent's top, don't waste it. In this world, strength is the fundamental factor that decides everything," Luo Gao said earnestly to Li Xuan.

Hearing Luo Gao's words warmed Li Xuan's heart; Luo Gao truly treated him like family, sincerely advising him.

"Don't worry, Elder Luo, I'll just procure some shops; once the business stabilizes, those shops will be handed over to the shopkeepers for daily management, and it won't affect my cultivation speed," Li Xuan said, nodding to Luo Gao.

"Then that's good. Hurry and go," Luo Gao nodded and waved his hand.

Li Xuan bowed to Luo Gao, then turned and left.

The Heaven-Shaking Cannon is now in hand, so Li Xuan can go out and have some fun, but he still needs to cultivate some disguising herbs; when traveling, he must conceal his identity.

After all, he's still on the wanted list of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect and the Chrysanthemum Douluo.

After leaving the firing range, Li Xuan returned to the temporary camp outside Ladi Canyon.

Sitting in the camp, Li Xuan took out all the Fasting Pills and Detox Pills from his Small Cave Heaven; there were tens of thousands, enough to sell for a while.

But as Li Xuan's shops increase, those tens of thousands of pills won't be enough.

"From now on, Ladi Canyon will mainly cultivate the herbs needed to make Fasting Pills and Detox Pills," Li Xuan muttered, writing these items on paper.

Dragon Tooth Rice must be planted; the soil's nutrients have been completely absorbed by the Mysterious Pool's heavy water, so planting Dragon Tooth Rice is needed to restore field vigor before mass cultivating herbs.

"We also need to procure more supplies, including some overseer slaves; farming is about to start, and we need someone to supervise these slaves in cultivation," Li Xuan stroked his chin and muttered.

Ladi Canyon has many slaves, but none are Li Xuan's trusted subordinates, so he needs to prepare some overseers to handle the farming.

Additionally, Li Xuan plans to raise a herd of Soul Beast cattle and Soul Beast donkeys for plowing fields and grinding grain.

All of these tasks require Li Xuan to do personally.

Soon, Li Xuan completed all preparations and recorded everything on a list, intending to do it after leaving Ladi Canyon.

However, if Li Xuan is to travel far, he still needs to communicate with the Yellow Turban Warrior, since this trip may take a long time, and if any problem arises in Ladi Canyon, he won't have time to return.

Thus Li Xuan left his room directly, drove the carriage toward the Yellow Turban Warrior.

At this point, Ladi Canyon had already taken shape; after a month of construction, some surface buildings were finished, but there was still a long way to go before all buildings were completed.

"Greetings, Immortal Master!" the Yellow Turban Warrior said, bowing to Li Xuan as soon as he saw him arrive.

"Greetings, Warrior, let's talk in our camp," Li Xuan also jumped down from the carriage, bowed to the Yellow Turban Warrior, and then led the Yellow Turban Warrior to a nearby temporary camp.

The two sat down, and Li Xuan spoke first.

"Warrior, I'm preparing to be away for a while; is there anything you need me to procure?" Li Xuan asked the Yellow Turban Warrior.

"No longer needed; the supplies the Immortal Master purchased last time are sufficient for all the buildings in Ladi Canyon's territory," the Yellow Turban Warrior said, nodding at Li Xuan.

"Then is there anything you need me to do?" Li Xuan asked the Yellow Turban Warrior.

"That's all. This place should be finished in about half a year; after completion we will return to the Talisman Script, but we need the Immortal Master to come back personally to receive the territory. Once that's done, we will contact you through the Talisman Script," the Yellow Turban Warrior said, nodding at Li Xuan.

"No problem!" Li Xuan said, nodding.

"Since there's nothing else, I'll leave now; see you in half a year!" Li Xuan clasped his fists to the Yellow Turban Warrior, then turned to leave.

"Brother, take me out with you!" Bang Chui suddenly ran in from outside the camp, looking at Li Xuan with longing in his eyes.

Li Xuan thought it over; this trip to the Soul Beast Forest should not encounter a Title Douluo, so bringing Bang Chui along would be relatively safe.

"Alright, come with me. However, bring the book I bought for you; besides cultivation, you must study it." Li Xuan patted Bang Chui's head and then went to ready the carriage.

"Oh… got it, brother…" hearing Li Xuan's words, Bang Chui slunk out of the room, dejected.

The territory's library had been completed, so Li Xuan assigned learning tasks to both himself and Bang Chui in order to acquire more knowledge. Although this world values strength above all, a strong person without knowledge is still far behind, so Li Xuan could not allow himself to stop learning or improving.

Bang Chui was only eight years old, at the age of playful curiosity; being forced by Li Xuan to read every day was unwilling and reluctant. He had hoped that going out to do business would let him skip reading, but now he still had to bring a book, and Bang Chui felt his life had lost its brightness.

Li Xuan looked at Bang Chui's expression, smiled helplessly, and recalled that he himself had been the same when he was young, disliking study.

"Warrior, farewell!" Li Xuan bowed again to the Yellow Turban Warrior, then turned and left.

After sitting in the carriage for a while, Bang Chui grabbed a Soul Guide Device, came to the carriage, and, puffed up, jumped onto it.

"Ha ha, let's set off!" Li Xuan cracked the whip, urging the carriage to move.

Bang Chui returned to the carriage compartment, took out a book, and began reading.

One hundred kilometers; with the aid of a hundred‑year‑old Soul Beast horse, it should take less than two days to arrive.

(End of chapter)