You'd Better Watch Yourself!

Luo Chen had no idea that someone was preparing to give him another generous gift. After sending Mi Junping away, he threw himself back into his busy work. Tables, chairs, tea sets, custom porcelain cups, charcoal stoves... Under his coordination, all these mundane, inexpensive, yet troublesome items were gradually gathered and prepared. Throughout the process, the bodyguards assigned to him by the Mountain Breaker Gang rendered great service, taking charge of running errands. By contrast, Feng Xia, whom he intended to make the shop manager and milk tea attendant, took no part in these chores. All she needed to do was familiarize herself with brewing the tea soup and concocting the milk tea according to Luo Chen's recipe. Aside from that, Luo Chen also enlisted Gu Caiyi's help. Cultivators invariably harbored an affection for refined elegance. Whether drinking wine or savoring tea, simply pouring it down their throats was not enough; it required an air of graceful technique. In other words, a sense of ritual. This taste for refinement was particularly pronounced among wealthy cultivators. For instance, a certain someone loved fanning himself with a folding fan at every turn, oblivious to how cold it was in the dead of winter. Tianxiang Pavilion was an expert in such matters, and having been immersed in that environment for so long, Gu Caiyi was naturally skilled at it as well. Whenever she had free time, Luo Chen had her teach Feng Xia a few visually appealing tea-brewing techniques. Or rather, it had transcended mere technique. It was a harmonious blend of posture, poise, gaze, and hand gestures. In short, what finally presented itself before Luo Chen was a serene tableau of a virtuous woman preparing tea with delicate hands. A slender, form-fitting Daoist robe accentuated her shapely figure to perfection. A plain white padded coat draped over her shoulders added an extra touch of quiet elegance. Her hair was tied into a slightly raised bun beneath the Miaochang crown commonly worn by female Daoists. Beneath two fluttering green ribbons, fine wisps of loose hair framed a face that was not breathtaking, yet was enduringly pleasant to look at. With an elegant motion, Feng Xia added the fuzhu deer milk, pre-blended with herb-infused spring water, and a steaming cup of fuzhu milk tea was successfully prepared. "Brother Qin, care to give it a taste?" Qin Liangchen waved his hands frantically. "No, no, not even if you beat me to death would I drink that stuff again." "Never mind then, I'll do it myself!" Luo Chen took the patterned porcelain cup and took a sip using a bamboo straw whittled by his bodyguards in recent days. Feng Xia watched him nervously, while Qin Liangchen waited for a laugh. Over by the east wing, Duan Feng reclined halfway on a rocking chair, observing the scene with curiosity as well. Luo Chen did not keep everyone waiting long. He gave a slight nod. "It works. It's almost identical to the milk tea I concocted." Hearing him say that, Feng Xia let out a sigh of relief. She tugged awkwardly at her form-fitting Daoist robe. "Then when do we open for business?" "Tomorrow! Isn't there a batch of death-row convicts fighting demon beasts then? There will definitely be enough potential customers!" Luo Chen settled on the opening date. The matter had already dragged on long enough. There was no better day than the soonest one. The earlier they opened, the sooner they could turn a profit. "Also, let me give you a quick word of advice. Sister Xia, speak as little as possible when the time comes. Just concentrate on making and selling the milk tea." Feng Xia naturally understood why she needed to keep quiet. Even so, she was still a bit worried. "Will it really work?" "Don't worry, I've arranged everything!" Luo Chen was full of confidence, wearing a calm smile of certainty. Seeing his assurance, the others were infected by his mood and grew less anxious. *** "Little Duan, we might be very busy today. I've already brewed your medicine; just heat it up at noon." Just as dawn broke, a raspy voice drifted into the main room. Duan Feng opened his eyes and gave a muffled grunt of acknowledgement. He knew that the small shop named Mixue Bingcheng was opening for business today. Luo Chen was the owner, and Feng Xia was the manager. In truth, Feng Xia would be running the shop inside and out by herself from now on. Even so, he was happy for her. Sister Xia was a good person, and having a job to support herself was undeniably wonderful. And as for the man who provided this job... Duan Feng's gaze fell upon the empty jade vial beside his bed, and a warmth suffused his heart. *** Out on White Stone Square, dawn was breaking. Many people were already bustling about, including Yuan Xiaoyue, who had set up her stall early. As the Dao Discussion Platform grew increasingly popular, the commercial atmosphere in White Stone Square was turning vibrant. Even on ordinary days without major matches, the small peddlers here habitually set up their stalls. Occasionally, those peddlers would cast their eyes toward the nearby closed shops, daydreaming about how long it would take to earn enough spirit stones to rent a shop of their own. *Keep working hard; life will only get better!* Today, however, the vendors noticed that one of the small shops had opened its doors early. Several uniquely arranged flower baskets stood on either side. "Is that a new shop?" Above the storefront, a wooden sign had already been hung. "Mixue Bingcheng." "What does it sell?" Listening to the familiar vendors beside her discussing the shop, Yuan Xiaoyue felt immense anticipation. The milk tea had originally been entrusted to her to sell, but because it had been too crude and lacked good flavor, she had never sold much. Now Brother Luo Chen had changed his approach and launched it in such a "grand" fashion. She truly hoped it would become a booming success! As more people gathered in the square, several took note of the shop named Mixue Bingcheng. Not knowing what it sold, they showed little interest at first. Suddenly, an exceedingly sweet voice began to sing. "You love me, I love you, Mixue Bingcheng is sweet as can be. You love me, I love you, Mixue Bingcheng is sweet as can be." The crowd paused in surprise, listening to those few repeating lines of lyrics. They were simple and easily understood by anyone, yet the song still did not explain what was being sold. Even so, after hearing it for a while, people found their minds and mouths subconsciously humming along. In a corner of the square, Luo Chen watched the sparse storefront and let out an initial sigh of relief. The Heavenly Sound Orb bought from Wanbao Pavilion was indeed useful. After recording the singing voice of that lady from Tianxiang Pavilion, activating it with spirit stones allowed it to play this plagiarized commercial jingle at any time. Still, relying on this little gimmick alone was far from enough to make the shop thrive. His gaze shifted to the dozen or so familiar cultivators standing before him. "You've all had an exhausting time lately, haven't you?" Tang Quan scratched his head. "Not really. We haven't been refining pills lately, so we've had it quite easy." Mi Li, Luo Erduo, and the others nodded in agreement. "If I say you're exhausted, you're exhausted!" Luo Chen glared at him. "I'm going to reward you all now—my treat for milk tea!" Under everyone's bewildered gazes, Luo Chen handed each of them five spirit stones, distributing nearly a hundred spirit stones in total. Everyone was overjoyed! The Hall Master was so generous today! He was actually handing out spirit stones. "Now, go over to Mixue Bingcheng and buy milk tea, one cup each, lined up in an orderly queue. "After buying it, drink it out in the square. Praise how wonderful and delicious the milk tea is as you drink, and make sure your voices are loud! "Once you finish, take a loop around the side and return to the queue to buy more. Keep going until you spend every last spirit stone I gave you! "Understood?" The cultivators stared blankly. After all that, it wasn't a reward of spirit stones after all! Even so, the Hall Master was having them buy that blasted milk tea, and they were the ones who got to drink it. At one spirit stone a cup, they were eager to taste what it was like! Under normal circumstances, early and mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators like them rarely held many spirit stones. Though they had heard that a meal at Zhongding House easily cost dozens or hundreds of spirit stones, they had only ever heard tales of it. Now, unable to afford Zhongding House, enjoying a cup of milk tea in the square was a luxury of its own. Before long, they swarmed over and formed a long queue outside Mixue Bingcheng. The first to buy was Tang Quan, who had run the fastest. "Shopkeeper, what do you have here?" Feng Xia glanced at him, then pointed to a wooden plaque in front of the door. Carved upon it were the words: "Fuzhu Milk Tea, one spirit stone per cup." Without hesitation, Tang Quan handed over a spirit stone. "Give me a cup." "Hot or cold?" "Hot, of course! Who drinks cold milk tea in the dead of winter?" Feng Xia nodded and began concocting the drink. Bored, Tang Quan looked around idly. His attention naturally went to the shopkeeper first. Nothing extraordinary, but her figure was quite nice! Next, his gaze shifted to the wall behind the counter, which was covered in several lines of text. "Fuzhu Milk Tea: crafted with premium milk from the first-rank demon beast, the fuzhu deer. The tea is carefully brewed from thousand-year spiritual tea trees of the Guyuan Mountain Range, delicately prepared..." Reading through it, Tang Quan could not help rubbing his eyes. What kind of beverage had such an illustrious pedigree? Demon beast milk, thousand-year spiritual tea leaves, an ancient spiritual tea formula, and prepared by a tea master—all for just one spirit stone? Before he realized it, a patterned porcelain cup was handed to him. Taking the cup, he stepped out of line and walked into the square. Taking a sip, he found the flavor somewhat unusual. It possessed a rich milky fragrance, yet tasted light and sweet upon the palate. After swallowing, a lingering aroma remained on his lips and teeth. Remembering Luo Chen's instructions, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Delicious!" This drew the gazes of nearby cultivators. Tang Quan's eyes lit up. He deliberately walked past them, loudly declaring as he went, "To sell such fine spiritual tea for only one spirit stone a cup is truly a steal for me! I'm coming back for another tomorrow!" Before long, he strolled to the corner of the square. Luo Chen did not look at him; his eyes remained fixed outside Mixue Bingcheng. Apart from the plants he had sent, one or two unfamiliar cultivators had already joined the back of the queue. Turning back, Luo Chen patted Tang Quan on the shoulder with a smile. "Well done! Go back and join the queue in a little while!" Praised by Luo Chen, Tang Quan grinned broadly. He took another sip of the piping-hot milk tea, wondering what an iced milk tea might taste like when he tried it later. Afterward, Luo Chen praised several other Pill Hall cultivators, urging them to keep up the good work. Then he quietly slipped into the crowd, gathering customer feedback. "As expected of an ancient tea formula! To harmonize so well with beast milk without a trace of gaminess." "The last time I drank milk was when I was a child. Drinking it again after so long really has a unique flavor!" "Did you notice? The shopkeeper's tea-making artistry is rather extraordinary!" "Hmph, you missed the real highlight. See this cup of chilled milk tea in my hand? Do you know what the shopkeeper used to chill it?" "You didn't notice, did you? She actually used a top-grade ice-attribute flying sword!" "Hiss, using a top-grade artifact to prepare milk tea?" "To be honest, I didn't believe the marketing claims at first. But when I saw her using the chill of an ice-attribute flying sword to cool it, I started to believe. Without such rigorous methods, how could one concoct such spiritual tea!" Bits and pieces of chatter reached Luo Chen as he gathered a wealth of feedback. After tallying it all, he let out a sigh of relief. As things stood, the newly formulated fuzhu milk tea was acceptable to cultivators. These days, anything remotely connected to spiritual qi had a market to some degree. The cost of fuzhu milk tea was actually extremely low. The beast milk was cheap; Ke Yuelin had simply been extorting him by demanding three hundred spirit stones a month. The tea leaves were similarly inexpensive. The Medicine Hall had discovered several tea trees, and in the worst case, he could swap them for ordinary tea leaves. As for the medicinal ingredients, Feng Xia could secure quality materials at low prices from her former colleagues. All told, materials costing one spirit stone could easily yield five cups of fuzhu milk tea. After deducting rent, custom porcelain cups, and miscellaneous expenses, the profit margin remained quite substantial. *It's hard to calculate how many spirit stones it can earn each month, but with careful management, it certainly won't operate at a loss.* Having an estimate in mind, Luo Chen stopped dwelling on it. Feng Xia was an experienced female cultivator, and with Yuan Xiaoyue nearby to look out for each other, the shop would manage to keep going. Moreover, a laid-off female cultivator returning to work brought a level of enthusiasm that no ordinary hired hand could match. Returning leisurely to his courtyard, he discovered that someone was already waiting for him. Mi Junping sat on a stone chair in the courtyard, her face sour. Opposite her sat Duan Feng, pale and dragging his ailing body as he brewed medicine. "Can't you show some compassion? Can't you see it's inconvenient for an injured man?" Luo Chen hurried over and helped Duan Feng set down the heated medicine pot. Duan Feng nodded to him and whispered via voice transmission, "That woman has been waiting for you for a long time." Luo Chen gave an acknowledging hum, helped him back into the room, and clapped his hands as he walked back out. The moment he emerged, Mi Junping stood up abruptly. "Are you done with your business?" "For rogue cultivators like us, toiling restlessly for the Grand Dao, when is there ever a day without work?" "You!" Mi Junping took a deep breath. Dispensing with nonsense, she slapped her storage bag. Five formation flags of different colors appeared in her hand. Slapping them onto the stone table, she sent a voice transmission and turned to leave. "This is the Minor Spirit Gathering Formation my father lent you. You'd better watch yourself!" Luo Chen's eyes lit up. A spirit gathering formation! He had long admired that name. Picking up the formation flags with delight, he was grinning from ear to ear. "I will certainly watch myself! Most certainly!" *** Inside the room filled with the scent of herbs, Duan Feng set down his porcelain bowl. He felt a warm current flowing through him, gradually spreading into his limbs and bones. The frost qi that had originally filled his body grew scarcer and scarcer. "Come out!" He opened a pouch, and a colorful pheasant stepped out. The pheasant was quite large, nearly half the height of a man. The moment it emerged, it slumped listlessly beside Duan Feng, devoid of its usual vigor. Seeing this, Duan Feng sighed. Recovering from his injuries lately had left him unable to feed this first-rank Yangwu chicken. If it starved much longer, it might starve to death. Taking a handful of spirit rice from his storage bag, he fed it to the bird. Duan Feng uttered several rhythmic sounds, and upon hearing them, the Yangwu chicken clucked twice in response. Seeing this, Duan Feng hesitated no further. He sat cross-legged on the bed and began circulating his cultivation technique. As the Yangwu chicken pecked at the spirit rice, it kept a vigilant guard beside him. Thanks to the small vial of Mending and Nourishing Meridian Liquid Luo Chen had given him, the damage to his meridians was mostly healed. Some frost qi still lingered in his body, which could not be dispelled by medicinal decoctions alone. He had to use spiritual power to purge the frost qi promptly so that his damaged bones and internal organs could mend. Yet after circulating his technique for a short while, Duan Feng noticed something amiss. *Why is the external spiritual power so thin?* *** "Is this a Spirit Gathering Formation?" Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling thoroughly refreshed. Looking at the formation flags arranged in five directions around him, Luo Chen fell into contemplation. Activating this Minor Spirit Gathering Formation was very simple. One only needed to insert five spirit stones into the bases of the formation flags, which would last for about a dozen uses. Once activated, the formation flags would actively draw in the ambient worldly spiritual qi and concentrate it within a small perimeter. Cultivating within this zone would yield twice the results with half the effort. *However, most of the spiritual qi in the inner city is swallowed by those sect factions. Even with a Minor Spirit Gathering Formation, I can't compete against them.* The sects' spirit gathering formations were bound to be far superior to the set Mi Shuhua had given him. Even after testing it just now, Luo Chen felt that the surrounding spiritual power density had only increased by thirty to forty percent compared to normal. Yet another property of the Spirit Gathering Formation stirred Luo Chen's interest. *Spiritual qi possesses the duality of yin and yang, but it also belongs to the five elements. With this Spirit Gathering Formation, by utilizing control incantations and prioritizing one flag as the core, one can actively absorb the corresponding single element of spiritual qi.* *My foundational technique is the Eternal Spring Art, which belongs to the wood element.* *If I use the Minor Spirit Gathering Formation in a place rich in spiritual qi to convert a massive amount of wood-attribute spiritual qi, my cultivation speed will be unparalleled!* And Luo Chen did possess a location rich in spiritual qi. Namely, the spirit vein cave beneath Crescent Moon Valley. That was a tributary branch of the first-rank spirit vein of Fallen Phoenix Mountain, ordinarily sufficient to support his solitary cultivation. What if he added the Minor Spirit Gathering Formation to it? *** That evening, Feng Xia returned to the courtyard in high spirits and sought out Luo Chen. "Here are today's earnings! "Two hundred spirit stones in total! "Luo Chen, the milk tea shop is actually so profitable!" Soon, however, Luo Chen poured cold water on her excitement. He explained that a portion of the customers had been arranged by him as shills. Once Mixue Bingcheng developed a steady clientele, those shills would be withdrawn. "After deducting those hundred spirit stones, the remainder is today's true profit. "Moreover, not every day will feature high-profile matches like today, so the earnings won't always be this high." Only after hearing this did Feng Xia's excitement calm down. Even so, she was still thrilled. Luo Chen took back his hundred spirit stones and left the rest with Feng Xia. "The shop's earnings will be settled once a month from now on. "I'll arrange for the raw materials to be delivered to the shop. "From now on, I'll be troubling you, Sister Xia." Feng Xia shook her head repeatedly. "It's no trouble at all. After all, I'm earning spirit stones too." Beyond that, her gaze toward Luo Chen was filled with gratitude. Luo Chen was not overly invested in this cultivation world version of "Mixue Bingcheng." Just like the Chenyue Snack Stall, it was merely a small side venture he had put together on a whim. His primary focus still had to be on pill refinement. Compared to the several-fold or tens-of-fold returns of pill refinement, both snacks and milk tea paled in comparison. Therefore, just as with the Chenyue Snack Stall, Luo Chen granted Feng Xia a share of the milk tea shop's profits on top of her fixed wage. It was not much—only five percent—just to fuel her work enthusiasm. "What about these artifacts?" Feng Xia brought out three artifacts: a pot, an orb, and a sword. The Wave-Swallowing Sea-Ingesting Pot, the Heavenly Sound Orb, and the top-grade ice-attribute flying sword. "Keep them all. You need them for running the shop anyway. In the future, I'll try to find a heating artifact so you won't need to cast the Fireball Art constantly." Using the Fireball Art to prepare milk tea consumed spiritual power. Activating the flying sword for cooling did the same. This was another reason Luo Chen gave Feng Xia a profit share; if she earned too little, it would not compensate for her expenditure of spiritual power. "If the milk tea shop takes off, we might recruit more people later. When that time comes, you'll be the true manager." Luo Chen smiled slightly. Next, he discussed several operational precautions with Feng Xia. He specifically reminded her to deliver some milk tea to the cultivators of Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion periodically. Whether they liked it or not, the gesture had to be made. Such goodwill might not show its worth in ordinary times, but in critical moments, someone who viewed you favorably would always be willing to lend a hand. *** The next day! At the city gate, Luo Chen, dressed in a top-grade green dharma robe draped with a white fox coat, set out toward Crescent Moon Valley under the escort of two bodyguards. Flying slowly through the sky, Luo Chen checked on Liu Qiang, who had returned after recovering from his injuries, and then glanced ahead and behind. Noticing his gaze, Zhou Yuanli explained in a low voice, "Two brothers are scouting ahead to ensure no one has set up an ambush or trap. "I placed Dongfang Liang at the rear, tasked with checking for tails." Luo Chen gave a thumbs-up. His bodyguards were growing increasingly proficient in their duties! From Zhou Yuanli, he also learned that Mi Shuhua had issued a top-grade esoteric artifact specifically designed to detect large fluctuations of spiritual power. This reassured Luo Chen even further. If someone were to prepare a formation trap in advance, its spiritual power fluctuations would be difficult to conceal. Detecting it early meant he would not walk blindly into danger. *It seems Mi Shuhua has truly invested great effort into my safety!* Luo Chen mused inwardly. Soon, they arrived at Crescent Moon Valley. Several bodyguards melted into the shadows to keep watch, while another group emerged from the valley in unison to welcome Luo Chen. Looking at the familiar faces of Qu Hancheng, Mi Li, and the others, Luo Chen wasted no words and waved his hand grandly. "Begin refining Jade Marrow Pills! Every division, get to work!" With that command, everyone sprang into action. Even the most idle pill tenders wiped every jade vial clean, ready at any moment to store the newly refined pills. Watching the Pill Hall regain its vitality, Luo Chen nodded to himself. It was time to get busy! After such a long period of failures and massive resource investment, the returns on the Jade Marrow Pill were finally bearing fruit. With his current Master-level proficiency, low-grade and mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills were practically within easy grasp. Even for high-grade Jade Marrow Pills, if he focused his mind, he could achieve a fifty percent success rate. One could say that the Pill Hall, having run at a loss for so long, was on the verge of reaping its harvest. This was plainly evident from the way Mi Shuhua repeatedly demonstrated how much he valued Luo Chen. In fact, it was precisely having this leverage that emboldened Luo Chen to act with such privileged confidence. Without Luo Chen even asking, Mi Shuhua had sent the Minor Spirit Gathering Formation and repeatedly bolstered his security detail. *Perhaps in the entire Mountain Breaker Gang right now, the person Mi Shuhua values most, besides Mi Junping, is me.* *No!* *To a man like Mi Shuhua who yearns to form his Golden Core, perhaps even the worth of his kin falls below mine!* Stepping into the pill chamber, Luo Chen set down the Four Elements Cauldron, his mind filled with such thoughts.