Chapter 112: You

Luo Chen did not know that someone else was about to send him a big gift.

After sending Mi Junping away, he became busy again.

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

One by one, items that were not very valuable but were tedious to handle were gradually prepared under his supervision.

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

In contrast, Feng Xia, whom he had intended to be the shop manager and milk tea girl, did not participate in these tasks.

What she needed to do was to familiarize herself with brewing tea soup and mixing milk tea according to Luo Chen's recipe.

Besides this, Luo Chen also asked Gu Caiyi for help.

Cultivators, to a greater or lesser extent, still had some refined habits; whether drinking wine or tea, just drinking it directly wouldn't do—it required some elegant methods.

This was what is called a sense of ritual.

This kind of refined habit was extremely obvious in wealthy cultivators.

For example, some people 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 seen and heard so much, naturally knew it too.

He asked Gu Caiyi to specifically teach Feng Xia a few good-looking tea-brewing techniques during her spare time.

Or rather, it was no longer just techniques.

It was a combination of posture, demeanor, 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 the quiet.

The extremely form-fitting Daoist robe accentuated 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 Daoist priests.

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

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

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

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

"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 looked at him nervously, while Qin Liangchen waited to see a joke.

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

He didn't keep everyone waiting too long before 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 somewhat uncomfortably, "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 on for too long recently.

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

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

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 being well-prepared.

Seeing him so confident, the others were also infected and were not so worried anymore.

"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 "en."

He knew that the small shop named "Mixue Bingcheng" was going to open 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 on the empty jade bottle by the bed, Duan Feng felt a warmth in his heart.

On Bai Shi Square, 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 more and more popular, the commercial atmosphere on Bai Shi Square gradually became lively.

Even if there were no very popular battles on ordinary days, the small vendors here would habitually set up their stalls.

Occasionally, those small vendors would also cast their eyes on the nearby closed shops.

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

Work hard; life will only get better and better!

However, today, those small vendors discovered 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 shop front, 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 was originally entrusted to her to sell first, but because it was too crude and the taste was not good, she had never sold much of it.

Now that Brother Luo Chen had changed his approach and launched it so "grandly."

I hope it sells like wildfire!

As there were more and more people on the square, some people also noticed this shop, Mixue Bingcheng.

They didn't know what this 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 and sweet.

You love me, I love you,

Mixue Bingcheng is sweet and sweet.

..."

Everyone was stunned, listening to these repetitive lyrics.

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

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

The Heavenly Sound Ball bought from Wanbao Tower was indeed useful.

It had recorded the singing voice of that sister from Tianxiang Pavilion, and then by using spirit stones to activate it, it could sing this advertising song he had plagiarized at any time.

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

His gaze fell on the dozen or so cultivators before him who were incomparably familiar.

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

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

Mi Li, 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'll treat you to milk tea!"

Under the puzzled 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 actually so generous today!

Actually giving out spirit stones.

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

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

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

"Do you understand?"

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

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

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

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

Even if they heard that a meal at Zhong Ding's house cost dozens or hundreds of spirit stones, it was just hearsay.

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

Soon, they swarmed over and lined up in a long queue outside the small shop of Mixue Bingcheng.

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

"Shopkeeper, what do you have here?"

Feng Xia looked at him, then pointed to a wooden plaque in front of the door.

On it was written, "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.

The first thing, of course, was his attention on the shopkeeper; she wasn't very stunning, but her figure was quite good!

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

"Fuzhu Milk Tea, uses first-grade spirit beast Fuzhu deer, high-quality milk source. The tea leaves are selected from the 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 actually only sold for one spirit stone?

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

Taking the cup, he stepped out of the queue and came to the square outside.

After taking a sip, the taste was a bit strange.

The rich milky taste, but the entrance was light and sweet; after drinking it, the lips and teeth remained fragrant.

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

"Delicious!"

It attracted the attention of the cultivators nearby.

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

Before long, he paced to a corner of the square.

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

Besides the shills he had sent, one or two strange cultivators had already started queuing at the end of the line.

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.

Taking another sip of the hot milk tea, he thought that it might be better to try the iced milk tea later to see what it tasted like.

Next, Luo Chen praised several other cultivators from the Alchemy Hall, urging them to keep up the good work.

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

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

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

"Have you noticed, that shopkeeper's tea art is also quite extraordinary!"

"Pfft, you haven't discovered the real good stuff. See this cup of milk tea of mine that is 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, but when I saw her using the cold air of an 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 new recipe Fuzhu milk tea could still be accepted by cultivators.

In this day and age, anything that had to do with spirit energy would more or less have a market.

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

Beast milk wasn't worth much; it was just that Ke Yulin had opened his mouth like a lion, asking him for three hundred a month.

Those tea leaves weren't worth much 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 and such, Feng Xia could also get high-quality and inexpensive materials from her former colleagues.

Overall, the materials for one spirit stone could completely blend five cups of Fuzhu milk tea.

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

"How many spirit stones can be earned in a month is not easy to calculate at the moment, but if managed carefully, it will never lose money."

Luo Chen had a count in his heart, so he no longer put his mind on this.

Feng Xia was also an experienced female cultivator, and with Yuan Xiaoyue not far away, the two of them looking after each other, this shop would always be able to hold on.

Moreover, for laid-off female cultivators re-entering the workforce, their work enthusiasm was not something that a casually found employee could compare to.

Leisurely returning to the Sihe Academy, he discovered that someone had already been waiting for him.

Mi Junping sat on the stone chair in the courtyard, her face looking sour.

Opposite her was Duan Feng, who was dragging his sick body and brewing medicine, his face looking pale.

"How can you be so heartless? Can't you see that 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 whispered via sound transmission: "This woman has been waiting for you for a long time."

Luo Chen gave an "en" and helped him back to the room before clapping his hands and walking out.

Seeing him come out, Mi Junping stood up abruptly.

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

"We loose cultivators, for the sake of the Dao, are busy and bustling; when is there a day when we are done?"

"You!"

Mi Junping took a deep breath, and without wasting words, she patted her storage bag.

Five array flags of different colors appeared in her hand.

She slapped them onto the stone table, sent a sound transmission, and then turned and left.

"This is the Small Spirit Gathering Array my father lent you; you'd better take care of yourself!"

Luo Chen's eyes lit up; Spirit Gathering Array!

He had long admired this name.

He picked up the array flags, unable to put them down, his mouth smiling so wide he couldn't close it.

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

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

He felt a stream of heat flowing through his body, gradually spreading to his limbs and bones.

The freezing energy that had originally filled his whole body was also becoming less and less.

"Come out!"

He opened a bag, and saw a colorful pheasant walk out.

The pheasant was quite large, almost half a person tall.

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

Seeing this scene, Duan Feng sighed.

Recently, he had been recuperating, so he couldn't feed this first-grade Yangwu chicken; if it went hungry for another period of time, he was afraid it would be starved to death.

Taking a handful of spirit rice from his storage bag, he fed it to the Yangwu chicken.

Duan Feng spat out a few syllables, and upon hearing this sound, the Yangwu chicken gave two "gu gu gu" responses.

Seeing this, Duan Feng didn't hesitate anymore, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began to circulate his cultivation technique.

That Yangwu chicken pecked at the spirit rice while keeping a vigilant watch beside him.

Thanks to that small bottle of Pulse-Moistening Liquid that Luo Chen gave him, his meridian injuries were almost healed.

Now there was still some freezing energy left in his body, but it wasn't something that could be dispelled just by relying on medicinal soup.

He had to use spirit power to dispel the freezing energy early, so that he could recover from his bone and visceral injuries.

But after circulating his technique for a while, Duan Feng noticed something wrong.

"Why is the external spirit energy so thin?"

"Is this the Spirit Gathering Array?"

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

As his gaze fell on the array flags surrounding him in five directions, Luo Chen 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 array flags, and then it could be used ten or so times.

Once activated, the array flags would actively swallow the free spirit energy of heaven and earth nearby, gathering it into a small range.

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

"But most of the spirit energy in the inner city has been swallowed by those sect forces; even if I use the Small Spirit Gathering Array, I can't snatch it from them."

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

Even though he had just tested it, Luo Chen only felt that the concentration of spirit energy around him was three or four parts more than usual.

It was the other effect of the Spirit Gathering Array that made Luo Chen somewhat tempted.

"Spirit energy has yin and yang, but also five-element attributes. This Spirit Gathering Array, as long as one performs the manipulation technique, with one of the array flags as the main one, can actively absorb the corresponding single five-element spirit energy."

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

"If I am in a place rich in spirit energy and use the Small Spirit Gathering Array to convert a large amount of wood-attribute spirit energy, then when I practice, the effect will probably be good beyond measure!"

And Luo Chen did have a place rich in spirit energy.

That was the spirit vein cave below Xieyue Valley.

That was a branch of the first-grade spirit vein of Luofeng Mountain, which was enough to support his solo practice on ordinary days.

What if he used the Small Spirit Gathering Array again?

That night, Feng Xia returned to the courtyard excitedly and found Luo Chen.

"This is today's earnings!"

"Two hundred spirit stones in total!"

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

However, soon, Luo Chen poured a basin of cold water on her.

He said that a portion of the customers were brought by him, and those were shills.

After Mixue Bingcheng had a stable source of customers in the future, these shills would be withdrawn.

"Deducting these one hundred spirit stones, the rest is today's earnings."

"And it's not every day that there will be popular competitions like today, and the earnings couldn't possibly be as much as today."

After hearing these words, Feng Xia's excited mood stabilized.

But even so, she was very happy.

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

"The earnings in the shop will be settled once a month from now on."

"I will arrange for people to send various raw materials to the shop."

"From now on, I'll trouble you, Sister Xia."

Feng Xia shook her head repeatedly, "No trouble, after all, I also have spirit stones to earn."

Not only that, her gaze toward Luo Chen was also full of gratitude.

For this "Mixue Bingcheng" version of the cultivation world, Luo Chen didn't put too much trust in it.

Just like the Chen Yue snack stall, it was just a small business he had casually set up.

His main business was still alchemy.

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

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

Not much, just five percent, just to stimulate her work enthusiasm.

"Then 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 the high-grade ice-type flying sword.

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

Using Fireball Technique to mix milk tea also consumed spirit power.

Activating a flying sword for cooling also did the same.

This was why Luo Chen gave Feng Xia a share; earning too little, compared to the consumption of spirit power, would result in expenses exceeding income.

"If the milk tea shop takes off, we might recruit more people later; by then, you will be the real 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 Yuding Sword Pavilion.

Whether they liked it or not, the attitude had to be there.

Usually, you couldn't tell the good from the bad, but at critical moments, if others found you pleasing to the eye, they would always help out.

The next day!

At the city gate, Luo Chen, who had changed into a high-grade cyan magic robe and was covered in a white fox fur coat, stepped onto the road to Xieyue Valley under the escort of two bodyguards.

Flying slowly in the sky, Luo Chen expressed his condolences to Liu Qiang, who had returned from his injuries, and then looked forward and backward.

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

"Two brothers are scouting ahead to rule out anyone lying in ambush or setting traps."

"I arranged for Dongfang Liang to be at the back, responsible for looking for anyone tailing us."

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

From Zhou Yuanli, he also learned that Mi Shuhua had issued a high-grade exotic magic tool specifically used to detect large-scale spirit power fluctuations.

This made Luo Chen even more at ease.

If someone set up an array trap in advance, the spirit power fluctuations would be hard to cover up.

By detecting it in advance, he wouldn't step into it.

"It seems Mi Shuhua has really put a lot of thought into me!"

Luo Chen sighed inwardly.

Soon, they arrived at Xieyue Valley.

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

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

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

"Start refining the Jade Marrow Pill; let all departments get busy!"

With an order, everyone moved.

Even the most leisurely pill-nurturing masters wiped clean the jade bottles, ready to store the refined pills at any time.

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

It was time to get busy!

After such a long period of failure and the investment of so many resources, the profits of the Jade Marrow Pill were already beginning to show results.

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

Even for high-grade Jade Marrow Pills, if he had the mind, he could have a fifty percent success rate.

It could be said that the Alchemy Hall, which had been losing money for a long time, was about to welcome a time of harvest.

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

In reality, it was precisely because of this capital that Luo Chen dared to be "spoiled and arrogant."

He didn't even need to open his mouth; Mi Shuhua had already sent a Small Spirit Gathering Array and repeatedly increased his security.

"Perhaps now in the entire Poshan Gang, the person Mi Shuhua values the most, besides Mi Junping, is me."

"No!"

"For Mi Shuhua, who is eager to form a core, perhaps the value of relatives is also below me!"

Luo Chen stepped into the alchemy room, put down the Four-Image Cauldron, and thought so in his heart. ===== CHAPTER 113 =====