Chapter 112: You

Luo Chen did not know that someone else was about to present him with a grand gift.

After sending Mi Junping away, he became busy once again.

Tables and chairs, tea sets, custom-made porcelain cups, charcoal stoves...

Item by item, these things were not particularly valuable, but they were tedious; under his supervision, they were gradually prepared.

During this process, the few bodyguards arranged for him by the Poshan Gang performed great service, specifically responsible for running errands.

By contrast, Feng Xia, whom he had designated as the shop manager and milk tea girl, did not participate in these tasks.

All she had to do was familiarize herself with brewing tea soup and mixing milk tea according to Luo Chen’s recipe.

Besides this, Luo Chen also found Gu Caiyi to help.

Cultivators always had some degree of refined taste; whether drinking wine or tea, simply gulping it down wouldn't do—it required some elegant techniques.

That is to say, a sense of ritual.

This refined taste was extremely evident in wealthy cultivators.

For instance, some people just liked to play with a folding fan for no reason, not knowing how cold it was in the middle of winter.

Tianxiang Pavilion understood this very well, and Gu Caiyi, having been influenced by it, naturally knew it too.

He had Gu Caiyi specifically teach Feng Xia a few graceful tea-brewing techniques during her spare time.

Or rather, it was no longer just about technique.

It was a combination of posture, bearing, gaze, hand gestures, and so on.

In short, what was finally presented before Luo Chen was a scene of a virtuous woman brewing tea with her slender hands in a quiet atmosphere.

The extremely form-fitting Daoist robe highlighted her graceful figure to the fullest.

The plain white sleeves draped over her added a touch of tranquility.

Her hair was combed into a slightly high bun, and she wore the Miaochang bun often worn by female Daoists.

And beneath the two cyan ribbons, strands of fine hair revealed a face that was not stunning, but very pleasant to look at.

As Feng Xia gracefully added the Fuzhu deer milk, which had been blended with herbal spring water, a cup of steaming Fuzhu milk tea was complete.

"Brother Qin, would you like to taste it?"

Qin Liangchen hurriedly waved his hands, "No, no, even if you beat me to death, I won't drink this stuff again."

"Forget it, I'll do it myself!"

Luo Chen took the floral porcelain cup and took a sip using a bamboo straw that the bodyguards had recently whittled.

Feng Xia watched him nervously, while Qin Liangchen waited to see a joke.

In the east wing, Duan Feng lay half-reclined on a rocking chair, also curiously watching this scene.

He didn't keep everyone waiting too long; Luo Chen nodded slightly.

"It's fine; it's almost exactly the same as the milk tea I mixed."

Hearing him say this, Feng Xia couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

She tugged at her form-fitting Daoist robe, feeling a bit uncomfortable, "Then when shall we open for business?"

"Let's make it tomorrow! Isn't there a batch of death-row prisoners who are going to fight against spirit beasts? There will definitely be enough potential customers by then!"

Luo Chen set the opening time; it had been dragged out long enough recently.

There is no time like the present; it is better to open early and start making a profit sooner.

"Also, let me add two more instructions. Sister Xia, try to speak as little as possible when the time comes; just focus on making and selling the milk tea."

Feng Xia naturally understood the reason for speaking less.

But she was still a little worried, "Will it really work?"

"Rest assured, I have arranged everything!"

Luo Chen was incomparably confident, revealing a smile of certainty.

Seeing him so confident, the others were also infected and felt less worried.

"Little Duan, we might be very busy today; I've already brewed your medicine for you, just heat it up at noon."

As the sky was just beginning to brighten, a hoarse voice came from the living room.

Duan Feng opened his eyes and gave a muffled grunt of acknowledgment.

He knew that the small shop named "Mixue Bingcheng" was opening today.

The boss was Luo Chen, and the shopkeeper was Feng Xia.

In reality, Feng Xia would be the only one busy inside and outside that shop from now on.

But even so, he was happy for Feng Xia.

Sister Xia was a very good person, and being able to have a job to support herself was undoubtedly excellent.

And that man who provided this job...

As his gaze fell upon the empty jade bottle by the bed, Duan Feng felt a warmth in his heart.

On the White Stone Plaza, the sky was gradually brightening.

Many people were already busy, including Yuan Xiaoyue, who had set up her stall early.

As the Dao Discussion Platform became increasingly popular, the commercial atmosphere on the White Stone Plaza also gradually became lively.

Even when there were no particularly popular battles, the small vendors here would habitually set up their stalls.

Occasionally, those small vendors would also cast their gaze toward the nearby closed storefronts.

In their hearts, they fantasized about how long they would have to earn spirit stones before they could rent a shop of their own.

Keep working hard; life will only get better!

However, today, those small vendors noticed that one small shop had opened very early.

Several uniquely shaped flower baskets were placed on both sides.

"Is this a newly opened shop?"

Above the storefront, a wooden plaque had already displayed the sign.

"Mixue Bingcheng"

"What is this selling?"

Listening to several acquaintances nearby discussing the shop, Yuan Xiaoyue also felt incomparably expectant in her heart.

Milk tea had originally been handed to her to sell first, but because it was too crude and the taste was not good, she hadn't sold much.

Now that Brother Luo Chen had changed the method and launched it so "grandly."

She hoped it would sell like wildfire!

As more and more people gathered on the plaza, some also noticed the Mixue Bingcheng shop.

They didn't know what the shop was selling, so they had no interest.

Suddenly, an incomparably sweet voice rang out.

"You love me, I love you,

Mixue Bingcheng is sweet,

You love me, I love you,

Mixue Bingcheng is sweet,

..."

Everyone was stunned, listening to these few repetitive lyrics.

It was very simple, and everyone could understand it, but they still didn't know what was being sold.

It was just this song; after listening to it for a long time, their brains and mouths were subconsciously humming along.

In a corner of the plaza, Luo Chen watched the deserted shop entrance and first breathed a sigh of relief.

The Heavenly Sound Orb bought from the Wanbao Tower was indeed useful.

After recording the singing voice of that sister from the Tianxiang Pavilion, and then activating it with spirit stones, it could sing this advertising song he had plagiarized at any time.

However, relying solely on this method was far from enough to run the shop.

His gaze fell upon the dozen or so cultivators before him who were very familiar.

"You've all been tired lately, right!"

Tang Quan scratched his head, "Not tired, we haven't been refining pills lately, we've been very leisurely."

Mili, Luo Erduo, and others also nodded one after another.

"If I say you're tired, then you're tired!"

Luo Chen glared at him, "Now I'll give you a reward; I'm treating you to milk tea!"

Under the confused gazes of the crowd, Luo Chen gave everyone five spirit stones each, scattering nearly a hundred spirit stones in total.

Everyone was overjoyed!

The Hall Master was so generous today!

He was actually giving out spirit stones.

"Now, go to that Mixue Bingcheng and buy milk tea, one cup per person; go buy it in a line."

"After buying it, drink it on the plaza; while drinking, praise how good and delicious the milk tea is; you must be loud!"

"After finishing it, go around the side, then come back and continue to queue. Until you have spent all the spirit stones I gave you!"

"Do you understand?"

The crowd was stunned; it turned out it wasn't a reward of spirit stones after all!

However, the Hall Master told them to buy that thing called milk tea, and they could drink it themselves.

Milk tea for one spirit stone a cup; they wanted to taste what it was like!

Usually, these early and middle-stage Qi Refining cultivators didn't have many spirit stones in their hands.

Even though they heard that a meal at Zhong Ding's house cost dozens or hundreds of spirit stones, they only heard about it.

Now that they couldn't afford to eat at Zhong Ding's house, drinking a cup of plaza milk tea could be considered an enjoyment.

Soon, they swarmed over and formed a long line outside the small Mixue Bingcheng shop.

The first one to buy milk tea was Tang Quan, who ran the fastest.

"Shopkeeper, what do you have here?"

Feng Xia glanced at him and then pointed to a wooden sign in front of the door.

It read, "Fuzhu Milk Tea, one spirit stone per cup."

Tang Quan didn't hesitate and handed over a spirit stone, "Give me a cup."

"Do you want it hot or cold?"

"Of course hot; who drinks cold milk tea in the middle of winter."

Feng Xia nodded and began to mix the milk tea.

Tang Quan was bored and looked around casually.

At first, his attention was naturally on the shopkeeper; she wasn't particularly stunning, but her figure was quite good!

The second time, his gaze fell on the wall behind the shop, where several lines of text were written densely.

"Fuzhu Milk Tea, uses high-quality milk source from the first-order spirit beast Fuzhu deer. The tea leaves are selected from thousand-year-old spirit tea trees in the Guyuan Mountains, carefully blended..."

After reading it, Tang Quan couldn't help but rub his eyes.

What kind of drink was this; its origin was actually so grand!

Spirit beast milk, thousand-year-old spirit tea leaves, ancient spirit tea recipe, blended by a tea master, and it only sold for one spirit stone?

Unknowingly, a floral porcelain cup had already been handed to him.

After taking the cup, he stepped out of the line and came to the plaza outside.

He took a sip; the taste was a bit strange.

The rich milky taste was light and sweet upon entering the mouth, and after drinking it, the fragrance lingered on his lips and teeth.

Thinking of Luo Chen's instructions, he shouted loudly.

"Delicious!"

It attracted the attention of nearby cultivators.

Tang Quan's eyes lit up, and he deliberately walked past them, saying loudly while walking: "Such spirit tea, only one spirit stone a cup; it's truly a bargain for me, I'll come back to buy a cup tomorrow!"

Before long, he paced to the corner of the plaza.

Luo Chen didn't look at him; his gaze fell outside the Mixue Bingcheng shop.

Except for the shills he sent, one or two strange cultivators had already started to line up at the end of the queue.

Turning back, Luo Chen smiled and patted Tang Quan on the shoulder.

"Well done!"

"Go queue up again in a while!"

Getting Luo Chen's praise, Tang Quan chuckled.

He took another sip of the hot milk tea, thinking that he might as well try the cold milk tea later to see what it tasted like.

Next, Luo Chen praised several other cultivators from the Pill Hall and urged them to keep up the good work.

Then Luo Chen quietly mingled into the crowd, collecting feedback from the customers.

"It really is an ancient tea recipe; it can actually blend so well with beast milk without a hint of fishy smell."

"The last time I drank milk was the last time. It's been a long time since I've had it; it has a unique flavor!"

"Have you noticed, the shopkeeper's tea-making skills are also quite extraordinary!"

"Pfft, you haven't discovered the real good stuff. Look at this cup of milk tea of mine that's steaming with cold air; do you know what the shopkeeper used to make the milk tea cold?"

"You didn't notice, did you? She actually used a high-grade ice-type flying sword!"

"Hiss, using a high-grade magic tool to make milk tea?"

"To be honest, I didn't believe those gimmicks at first, but when I saw her using the cold air from the ice-type flying sword to cool it, I believed it a little. If there weren't such harsh methods, how could she blend such spirit tea!"

With one sentence after another, Luo Chen collected a lot of feedback.

After summarizing it at the end, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

As far as the current situation was concerned, the Fuzhu milk tea with the new recipe could still be accepted by cultivators.

In this day and age, anything that had to do with spiritual energy would have a market to some extent.

The cost of Fuzhu milk tea was actually very, very low.

Beast milk wasn't valuable; it was just that Ke Yulin was asking for a lion's share, wanting three hundred a month.

Those tea leaves weren't valuable either; the Medicine Hall had discovered several tea trees, and if that didn't work, they could be replaced with other ordinary tea leaves.

As for medicinal materials, Feng Xia could still obtain high-quality, affordable supplies from her former colleagues.

Overall, materials costing one spirit stone could easily be used to prepare five cups of Fuzhu milk tea.

After deducting miscellaneous expenses like rent and custom-made floral porcelain cups, the profit was still quite considerable.

"It's hard to calculate exactly how many spirit stones we can earn in a month right now, but if we manage it carefully, we certainly won't lose money."

With a rough idea in mind, Luo Chen stopped dwelling on it.

Feng Xia was also a female cultivator with rich life experience, and with Yuan Xiaoyue nearby, the two could look out for each other, so the shop would surely hold up.

Moreover, the work enthusiasm of a laid-off female cultivator returning to the workforce was incomparable to that of a random employee.

He returned to the Sihe Academy in a leisurely mood, only to find someone already waiting for him.

Mi Junping sat on a stone chair in the courtyard, her expression sour.

Opposite her, Duan Feng, dragging his sickly body, was brewing medicine, his complexion pale.

"How can you be so heartless? Can't you see it's inconvenient for a patient?"

Luo Chen trotted over to help Duan Feng take down the heated medicinal soup.

Duan Feng nodded at him and transmitted his voice softly: "This woman has been waiting for you for a long time."

Luo Chen gave a grunt of acknowledgment, helped him back into the room, and only then clapped his hands and walked out.

Seeing him emerge, Mi Junping stood up abruptly.

"You're done with your business, right!"

"We rogue cultivators, for the sake of the Dao, are always busy; when is there ever a day when we're truly done?"

"You!"

Mi Junping took a deep breath, skipped the small talk, and patted her storage bag.

Five formation flags of different colors appeared in her hand.

She slapped them onto the stone table, sent a voice transmission, and then turned to leave.

"This is the Small Spirit Gathering Array my father lent you. Take care of yourself!"

Luo Chen's eyes lit up—a Spirit Gathering Array!

He had long admired this name.

He picked up the formation flags, unable to put them down, his mouth stretched into a wide grin.

"I will certainly take care of myself, I will!"

…….

…….

In the room filled with the smell of medicine, Duan Feng set down the porcelain bowl.

He felt a warm current flowing through his body, gradually spreading to his limbs and bones.

The freezing energy that had filled his entire body was also becoming increasingly sparse.

"Come out!"

He opened a bag, and a colorful pheasant walked out.

The pheasant was quite large, nearly half a person's height.

As soon as it emerged, it lay listlessly beside Duan Feng, devoid of its usual spirit.

Seeing this, Duan Feng sighed.

He had been recuperating lately, leaving him unable to feed this first-tier Yangwu Chicken; if it went hungry for much longer, he feared it would be starved to death.

He took a handful of spirit rice from his storage bag to feed the Yangwu Chicken.

Duan Feng uttered a few syllables, and hearing this sound, the Yangwu Chicken responded with two "coos."

Seeing this, Duan Feng hesitated no longer; he sat cross-legged on the bed and began to circulate his cultivation technique.

The Yangwu Chicken pecked at the spirit rice while keeping a vigilant watch nearby.

Thanks to the small bottle of Pulse-Moistening Fluid Luo Chen had given him, his meridian injuries were nearly healed.

Now, the remaining freezing energy in his body could not be expelled by medicinal soup alone.

He had to use his spiritual power to expel the freezing energy as soon as possible to recover from the injuries to his bones and internal organs.

However, after circulating his technique for a while, Duan Feng sensed something was wrong.

"Why is the spiritual energy in the outside world so thin?"

……

"Is this the Spirit Gathering Array?"

Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and felt refreshed.

His gaze fell on the formation flags surrounding him in five directions, and he fell into deep thought.

The activation method for this Small Spirit Gathering Array was very simple.

One only needed to insert five spirit stones into the ends of the formation flags, and it could be used about ten times.

Once activated, the flags would actively swallow the free-roaming spiritual energy of heaven and earth nearby, confining it within a small area.

Cultivators practicing in this area would achieve twice the result with half the effort.

"But most of the spiritual energy in the inner city is swallowed by those sect forces; even if I use the Small Spirit Gathering Array, I can't compete with them."

The sect's Spirit Gathering Arrays would only be better than the set Uncle Mi gave him.

Even after testing it just now, Luo Chen felt the concentration of spiritual energy in the surroundings was only about thirty to forty percent higher than usual.

However, another effect of the Spirit Gathering Array made Luo Chen feel tempted.

"Spiritual energy has yin and yang, but it also has five-element attributes. As long as one performs the control incantations for this Spirit Gathering Array, using one of the flags as the primary, one can actively absorb a single type of five-element spiritual energy."

"My core cultivation technique is the Changchun Gong, which belongs to the wood element."

"If I were in a place rich in spiritual energy and used the Small Spirit Gathering Array to convert a large amount of wood-attribute spiritual energy, the effect during my cultivation would likely be beyond compare!"

And Luo Chen did have one place rich in spiritual energy.

That was the spiritual vein cave beneath Xieyue Valley.

That was a branch of the first-tier spiritual vein of Mount Luofeng, which was usually enough to support his solo cultivation.

What if he used the Small Spirit Gathering Array on top of that?

…….

That evening, Feng Xia returned to the courtyard in high spirits and sought out Luo Chen.

"These are today's earnings!"

"Two hundred spirit stones in total!"

"Luo Chen, the milk tea shop is actually this profitable!"

However, Luo Chen quickly poured a bucket of cold water on her excitement.

He explained that a portion of the customers were brought in by him—they were shills.

Once the Honey Snow Ice City had a stable customer base, these shills would be withdrawn.

"Deduct these one hundred spirit stones; the rest is the actual profit for today."

"And not every day will have popular matches like today, so the earnings won't always be this high."

After hearing this, Feng Xia's excited mood stabilized.

Even so, she was very happy.

Luo Chen took away one hundred spirit stones, leaving the rest with Feng Xia.

"From now on, the shop's earnings will be settled once a month."

"I will arrange for someone to deliver various raw materials to the shop."

"From now on, I'll leave it to you, Sister Xia."

Feng Xia shook her head quickly, "It's no trouble, after all, I'm earning spirit stones too."

Not only that, but the look she gave Luo Chen was also full of gratitude.

Luo Chen didn't put too much stock in this "Honey Snow Ice City" version of the cultivation world.

Just like the Chenyue snack stall, it was just a small business he had set up on a whim.

His main profession still had to be alchemy.

Compared to the several-fold or even dozens-fold returns of alchemy, both snacks and milk tea were far too insignificant.

Therefore, just like with the Chenyue snack stall, Luo Chen gave Feng Xia a share of the milk tea shop's profits in addition to her fixed salary.

It wasn't much, just five percent, purely to motivate her work enthusiasm.

"What about these magic tools?"

Feng Xia took out three magic tools: a pot, a ball, and a sword.

The Wave-Swallowing Sea-Holding Pot, the Heavenly Sound Ball, and a high-grade ice-type flying sword.

"Keep them all; after all, they are needed for running the shop. Later, I will try to find a magic tool that can heat things up so you don't have to constantly cast the Fireball Technique."

Using the Fireball Technique to prepare milk tea also consumed spiritual power.

Driving the flying sword for refrigeration was the same.

This was why Luo Chen wanted to give Feng Xia a share; if the earnings were too low, compared to the consumption of spiritual power, it wouldn't be cost-effective.

"If the milk tea shop takes off, we might hire more people later, and by then, you will be the true Shopkeeper."

Luo Chen smiled slightly.

Next, he discussed some precautions for the shop with Feng Xia.

He specifically instructed her to regularly send some milk tea to the cultivators of the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion.

Regardless of whether they liked it or not, the attitude had to be there.

Usually, you can't tell the difference, but at critical moments, if others find you agreeable, they will always lend a hand.

…….

The next day!

At the city gate, Luo Chen, having changed into a high-grade cyan magic robe and wearing a white fox fur coat, set off for Xieyue Valley under the escort of two bodyguards.

Flying slowly in the sky, Luo Chen offered condolences to Liu Qiang, who had returned after recovering from his injuries, and then looked ahead and behind.

Sensing his gaze, Zhou Yuanli explained in a low voice:

"Two brothers are scouting ahead to rule out any ambushes or traps."

"I've arranged for Dongfang Liang to be at the back, responsible for checking if anyone is tailing us."

Luo Chen gave a thumbs up; his bodyguards were becoming more and more professional!

From Zhou Yuanli, he also learned that Uncle Mi had issued a high-grade exotic magic tool specifically for detecting large-scale spiritual power fluctuations.

This made Luo Chen feel even more at ease.

If someone set up a formation trap in advance, it would be difficult to hide the spiritual power fluctuations.

By detecting it in advance, he wouldn't have to worry about stepping into it.

"It seems Uncle Mi has truly put a lot of thought into me!"

Luo Chen sighed inwardly.

Soon, they arrived at Xieyue Valley.

Several bodyguards hid in the shadows, responsible for keeping watch.

Another group of people came out of the valley together to welcome Luo Chen.

Looking at familiar faces like Qu Hancheng and Mi Li, Luo Chen didn't waste words and waved his hand.

"Start refining the Jade Marrow Pills; all departments, get to work!"

At his command, everyone sprang into action.

Even the most leisurely pill-nurturers wiped clean the jade bottles, ready to store the pills being refined at any moment.

Luo Chen looked at the Pill Hall, which had regained its vitality, and couldn't help but nod to himself.

It was time to get busy!

After experiencing such a long period of failure and the investment of so many resources, the returns on the Jade Marrow Pills were already beginning to show.

With the addition of his current master-level proficiency, low-grade and mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills were almost within his grasp.

Even for high-grade Jade Marrow Pills, if he set his mind to it, he could have a fifty percent success rate.

It could be said that the long-suffering Pill Hall was about to usher in a time of harvest.

This point could be seen from the fact that Uncle Mi had repeatedly shown his importance to Luo Chen.

In fact, it was precisely because of this capital that Luo Chen dared to "rely on favor to act spoiled."

He didn't even have to ask; Uncle Mi was already sending him a Small Spirit Gathering Array and repeatedly increasing his security.

"Perhaps now, in the entire Po Shan Gang, the person Uncle Mi values most, besides Mi Junping, is me."

"No!"

"For Uncle Mi, who longs to form a Core, perhaps the value of relatives is also below mine!"

Luo Chen stepped into the pill room, set down the Four-Image Cauldron, and thought this to himself.