After Hu Tu arrived at the Xuanhua Spiritual Incense Shop, despite his efforts, the shop was in a remote location with few pedestrians on the street, leading to less than ideal sales.
Yuan Ming had no choice but to adjust his sales tactics.
He first drew a portrait of Xuanhua Zhenren, a figure of immortal bearing, and hung it prominently in the main hall of the shop, placing an ordinary incense burner in front of it and lighting a stick of Qingxuan Incense.
Then he instructed the two men as follows: when encountering cultivators representing sects for purchases, offer them a rebate. If a customer refers another customer, give a rebate to the referring customer. Both Muyang and Hu Tu were quick-witted and grasped the concept immediately.
After giving his instructions, Yuan Ming went to the back room, took out the Stealing Heaven Cauldron, inserted the Qingxuan Incense, and lit the spiritual smoke. Under his guidance, the fragrance spread out into the street.
Two cultivators walking by the street smelled the incense and felt their spirits lifted. They talked to each other and found their way to the shop.
In a restaurant, several cultivators put down their wine cups and hurried downstairs.
***
Before long, dozens of cultivators gathered in the shop inquiring about Qingxuan Incense, and Muyang and Hu Tu suddenly became very busy.
Hu Tu was even whispering to a cultivator on the side.
All the stock was sold out that day.
Subsequently, the first month's profit reached more than a thousand spirit stones, and the second month even reached twelve hundred. Then, it stabilized at around fifteen hundred spirit stones per month.
Seeing the business of spiritual incense so prosperous, Yuan Ming was greatly relieved. He rewarded Hu Tu and Muyang with a bottle of Qi refining stage elixirs each and took an evening to answer their questions and resolve their doubts.
He also purchased some elixir recipes and improved the manufacture of several new spiritual incenses with different effects. Based on one of the beauty elixir recipes, he created a beauty incense that could help beautify the complexion and whiten the skin. After placing it on the shelves, and with Hu Tu's eloquent sales pitch, it was also popular among female cultivators, leading to another increase in profits.
Everything was going well with Hua Zhi as well, with the territory expanding considerably, and the supply of spiritual materials sent back each month continued to increase.
Despite the huge monthly expenses for purchasing spiritual materials, making incense, and buying elixirs, the number of spirit stones in his storage ring was also increasing.
The only thing that troubled Yuan Ming was that the best ash from the incense burned at Xuanhua Guan was almost used up, and he only had the ash from Jiuli Temple left.
Having gotten used to the high-quality ash from the sect, he had become somewhat disdainful of mundane substances.
***
Two months later.
Inside the Xuanhua Incense Shop, Yuan Ming sat in a chair, flipping through the shop's ledger, his face beaming with joy as he read.
"Hu Tu, Muyang, this month has been good," Yuan Ming said with a smile, putting down the ledger.
"It's mainly because the boss has good strategies. The spiritual incense has selling points, and here in Xiaohu City's market, it's unique. The sect purchases make up the bulk," Hu Tu genuinely admired Yuan Ming and was full of flattery.
Yuan Ming pointed to the newly written signs outside and said, "Hang these two signs up."
The two conspicuous wooden signs hanging outside the shop read:
"Qingxuan Incense is limited to 100 sticks per day, purchase while stocks last."
"Beauty Incense is scarce, available by reservation only."
"The boss's tactics are really clever. The scarcer it is, the more they want to buy. This way, we won't worry about next month's orders," Hu Tu rubbed his hands together and chuckled.
Yuan Ming glanced at Hu Tu, thinking that with his pig-like face, he was indeed suited to be a shopkeeper.
Hu Tu, with his thick eyebrows, big eyes, and dark skin, looked like a simple and honest man from the Southern Border, but he had the temperament of a shrewd merchant.
"It's only Qingxuan Incense and Beauty Incense that can be sold like this, one for aiding cultivation and the other targeting the desires of female cultivators. The demand is high, so we can operate this way. Other products haven't reached the point where everyone is scrambling to buy," Yuan Ming said. "So in the future, we'll bundle sales. We'll make a loyalty book for regular customers. Buying incense can earn points, and those with high points have priority to purchase Qingxuan Incense and Beauty Incense."
"Boss, is that really okay?" Muyang asked.
"Muyang, what's wrong with that? Those with high points also get discounts. Business is all about giving a little here and taking a little there, and everyone understands that," Hu Tu said.
"Where did the boss learn these tricks?" Hu Tu asked.
"I figured them out myself. I used to have a bookstore, and when business was bad, I came up with these methods. Later, when the bookstore took on partners and became famous, I gradually stopped using these tactics," Yuan Ming recalled with a smile. "Doing business is all about the small ways, you just focus on cultivating your great path."
"Sure, boss. To be honest, I'm already very content with the life I have now," Hu Tu said sincerely.
"How is your Biluo Technique coming along?" Yuan Ming asked.
Hearing this, Hu Tu showed an embarrassed expression and said, "I can barely sense the presence of mana, which should be the first level of Qi refining as described in the technique."
"If you have any cultivation problems in the future, you can also ask Muyang. I've taught him the Biluo Technique as well," Yuan Ming said.
"Boss, after I switched to the Biluo Technique, I really feel it's better than the technique my master passed on to me," Muyang chimed in.
The origin of the Biluo Technique was unknown, but as the main technique of Bi Luo Cave, it was indeed much better than the techniques of rogue cultivators, which is why Muyang said so.
Hearing this, Hu Tu said, "I feel like using these Qingxuan Incense is a waste."
"Reaching the first level of Qi refining in about half a year is completely normal. There are many who take years to cultivate mana. Since you have a spiritual root, you already have a connection to the immortal path. A small Qi refining cultivator can live for so long, and if you're lucky enough to reach Foundation Establishment, living over two hundred years is no problem," Yuan Ming rolled his eyes and said.
"Two hundred years? I'll cultivate diligently!" Hu Tu quickly changed his tune after doing the math.
After chatting for a while and resolving some of their cultivation doubts, Yuan Ming left his spiritual incense shop and headed straight for the Shengye Sect's store.
After reaching Foundation Establishment, his cultivation speed with the Nine Elements Formula had greatly decreased. Over the past half year, the elixirs he had saved up were all used up, and his cultivation progress was minimal, still far from the middle stage. He had to go and buy some more.
He went straight to Qingmu Tower and bought ten bottles of Four Spirits Elixir, then left.
On his way back, Yuan Ming took a detour and visited Zhenling Pavilion again.
After observing and visiting both openly and secretly for some time, Yuan Ming had a grasp of Zhenling Pavilion's reputation and felt that their conduct was fairly trustworthy and upright. He decided to entrust his spirit beast egg to Zhenling Pavilion for incubation.
As soon as Yuan Ming stepped into Zhenling Pavilion, the manager who had served him last time immediately came to greet him.
"Esteemed guest, we've been waiting for you. Please, come with me to the private room on the second floor," the manager said, leading Yuan Ming upstairs without further ado.
Just as Yuan Ming was puzzled, he heard hurried footsteps and a familiar voice approaching.
"Brother Ha-Gong…"
With the familiar voice, a dark-skinned, weathered-faced, one-armed old man, resembling a farmer from the fields, entered.
The moment the two saw each other, they couldn't help but size each other up.
The one-armed old man asked uncertainly, "Could it be Brother Ha-Gong?"
"Brother Gu," Yuan Ming smiled and nodded.
When they had met in the ghost market, one was wearing a cloak that concealed his aura, and the other was wearing a mask that hid his face, so neither knew what the other truly looked like.
"It's been years since we last met. Brother Ha-Gong's demeanor and aura are completely different from before, making it hard to recognize you," Gu Qiuming exclaimed.
"Brother Gu still has the same charm as always," Yuan Ming exchanged pleasantries with a smile.
"When I came back, I heard from the manager that someone was looking for me. I couldn't guess who it would be, so I asked him to keep an eye out for your return. I didn't expect to actually run into you. How did you end up in Leizhou?" Gu Qiuming sat down opposite Yuan Ming and poured tea for both of them.
"It's all fate," Yuan Ming said with a smile.
"Ha ha, Brother Ha-Gong, what brings you here? Do you have some good items to sell, or are you looking to buy something?" Gu Qiuming didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.
"Now that Brother Gu is back, things will be easier. I've come to Zhenling Pavilion because I have a spiritual beast egg that I'd like you to take a look at," Yuan Ming said.
"Sure, sure, let's have a look," Gu Qiuming said eagerly, his eyes lighting up.
Yuan Ming waved his hand, and a blood-red egg the size of a bowl appeared in his hand.
He handed the blood egg to Gu Qiuming, who didn't take it but instead pointed at the table, indicating that Yuan Ming could place it there.
After Yuan Ming did so, Gu Qiuming moved his chair closer and began to examine it carefully.
After a moment, he didn't say a word, but his brows furrowed more and more.
"Brother Gu, what's wrong? Is there something amiss with this egg?" Yuan Ming asked with a frown.
Gu Qiuming didn't answer but took out an oval-shaped transparent crystal from his sleeve and looked through it at the egg, examining it once more.
"How strange…" Gu Qiuming muttered, shaking his head.
"Brother Gu, don't keep me in suspense. What's the matter?" Yuan Ming grew even more curious.
"This blood egg, judging by its size, shape, surface patterns, and texture when touched, should be an egg of the winged bird. But the problem is that winged bird eggs are usually sky blue or deep blue. I've never heard of a blood-red one," Gu Qiuming said.
"It was like this when I got it. Could the red be dyed?" Yuan Ming, knowing the origin of the blood egg, subconsciously thought that the spiritual beast egg had been soaked in blood for a long time and had absorbed the color.
"What are you joking about? Winged bird eggs have faint, twisted patterns on the shell with a soft luster. It's impossible for them to be dyed. Moreover, this red color clearly penetrates deep into the shell, the same as the beast inside," Gu Qiuming said.
"Brother Gu, what could have caused this?" Yuan Ming asked.
"It's hard to say. It could be a mutation or some other reason," Gu Qiuming nodded.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan