Chapter 119: Opening a Specialty Store
Chapter 119: Opening a Specialty Store
The Southern City Market at Two Realms Mountain was recovering, with many vacant shops up for rent.
After learning that Lu Hangzhi planned to open a store specializing in Spirit Honey, Zhao Qian wasted no time. He secured a shop on the busiest main street and registered the shop under the name of Lu Hangzhi, a member of the Reinforcement Department’s special operations team, saving him a large sum of money.
Lu Hangzhi generously gave Zhao Qian two large bottles of Spirit Honey in return.
After receiving his new Identity Tablet, Lu Hangzhi pushed the door open and stepped into the shop.
The shop was fully equipped with counters and a concealing Magic Formation…
“How is it? Not bad, right?”
Zhao Qian followed behind him and pointed proudly at the shop’s layout, saying:
“Everything is here. There’s even a yard connected at the back. This is all your property. You just need to hire a helper and put up a sign, and you can open right away!”
“A helper won’t be necessary.”
Lu Hangzhi examined the shop’s layout and facilities, nodding with satisfaction. “As for the sign, just write something simple. Good wine needs no bush, especially since this is a main street store… The opening time is now.”
“Ah? R-right now?”
Zhao Qian blinked, thinking he had misheard.
Lu Hangzhi smiled and explained, “Since Lady Honglian wants to use Spirit Honey to attract more Cultivators to the Southern City, the sooner we open, the better. It would be too troublesome to wait for Lady Honglian to return, so we might as well open now. However, I’ll have to trouble you, Brother Zhao, with the promotion.”
Zhao Qian understood immediately and thumped his chest, promising, “Leave it to me!”
After saying that, he turned and left the shop.
Lu Hangzhi knew Zhao Qian was going to promote the shop and attract the first batch of customers, so he busied himself inside…
First, he summoned the five Sword Spirit elders.
“The Xuanxin Sect now has a large number of Spirit Condensation Stage Cultivators, but there are very few corresponding resources for the Spirit Condensation Stage.”
“Brat, speak clearly!”
After appearing, the five Sword Spirits whirled around the shop, vaguely sensing something was wrong.
Lu Hangzhi smiled and took out the Qiankun Pouch containing bottles and jars of Spirit Honey, placing it on the counter.
“I want to use this Spirit Honey to exchange for Spirit Condensation Stage resources from the major sects at Two Realms Mountain, to quickly improve the overall strength of the Xuanxin Sect. Today is the grand opening, and we must make the shop famous in one go! So… Hangzhi earnestly requests the five elders to lend their full support.”
“Tch… Trying to use us as labor again.”
Sword One looked resentful and gritted his teeth, but his movements showed no hesitation. He sank down and hovered over the Qiankun Pouch, summoning out bottles of Spirit Honey one by one and arranging them inside the counter…
Sword Two, Sword Three, Sword Four, and Sword Five wore helpless expressions.
Every time there was hard labor, Lu Hangzhi would come up with grand reasons, either about the survival of the Xuanxin Sect or its future development strategy, making them grit their teeth in frustration but unable to refuse.
“Who made you the Sect Master of Xuanxin Sect now?” Each of the hundreds-of-years-old Artifact Spirits hung their heads and began doing the work of shop assistants…
The five Sword Spirits flew up and down inside the shop.
Bottles of Spirit Honey quickly floated out of the Qiankun Pouch, forming neat, orderly assembly lines in the air before being steadily placed into the counters.
In a short while, several sets of counters were fully stocked!
“What next?”
The five Sword Spirit elders flew angrily in front of Lu Hangzhi, glaring at him.
Lu Hangzhi selectively ignored the elders’ displeased and warning looks and commanded calmly:
“After the first batch of customers arrives, you will be responsible for counting and collecting money…”
“Lu Hangzhi!”
“You brat!”
“You actually dare to call us out to show our faces in public…”
“How annoying!”
“Who let me be just a regular Eighth-grade Epiphany Stage Cultivator? I’m doing this to maintain an air of mystery and protect the safety of the Xuanxin Sect’s assets.”
Facing the anger of the five Sword Spirit elders, Lu Hangzhi brought out his pre-prepared excuse.
1 vs 5!
The five Sword Spirits were completely defeated.
…
Near the auction house, the atmosphere gradually became livelier.
Many shopkeepers vigorously urged their assistants to shout promotions:
“Don’t miss out, passersby! Imperial Wine Sect’s Nectar Immortal Elixir, Yuding Sect’s Magic Formation diagrams, we have everything! Come in and take a look!”
“Esteemed Cultivator, how about a Spirit Beast? With Black Tortoise bloodline, its defensive capabilities are super strong! The value definitely surpasses high-grade Defensive Magical Devices…”
“All kinds of Elixirs and poisonous powders, to save lives or kill instantly! Take a look!”
“Honored Venerable One, please come inside!”
“…”
On the street, the number of Spirit Coalescence Elders gradually increased.
However, what puzzled many merchants was that these Mind Focusing Cultivators went from shop to shop, asking right away: “Do you have Spirit Honey?” “Do you sell Spirit Honey?” “Do you know where the shop that sells Spirit Honey is?”
A group of merchants were completely baffled!
Spirit Honey?
Wasn’t that the rare spiritual item only available at the auction house?
Their answers were all the same:
Not clear…
Don’t know.
Haven’t seen it!
The most malicious answer came from a strange old man with slanted eyebrows and droopy eyes: “Spirit Honey? That was something available before the Southern City Market was attacked. Hmm… It’s been a while since I’ve seen it. I guess the Cultivator who made the Spirit Honey got eaten by Monster Beasts… How about checking out my Elixirs? The effects aren’t worse than Spirit Honey.”
The middle-aged Spirit Coalescence Elder who asked didn’t say another word and turned to go to the next shop.
The news about Spirit Honey opening a shop on the Southern City’s main street was personally spread by Zhao Qian from the Reinforcement Department branch. It had already spread throughout the entire Reinforcement Department branch, so it couldn’t be false information!
Whether it was true or not, it was worth checking out.
Ever since the Two Realms Mountain defense line was broken through by Monster Beasts, the danger at Two Realms Mountain had increased significantly. The risk of fighting deep in the War Zone had skyrocketed.
Now, almost all Spirit Coalescence Elders hoped to get some Spirit Honey to keep on them, to increase their control time over the Matrix Tower and improve their chances of survival.
Just then, the middle-aged Spirit Coalescence Elder noticed a golden miniature Sword Spirit darting out from a shop ahead, very eye-catching.
Sword Spirits were quite rare, even among the Seven Great Sects!
It was generally hard for ordinary Spirit Coalescence Elders to nurture a Sword Spirit or gain its recognition…
The appearance of the Sword Spirit immediately attracted the attention of many Spirit Coalescence Elders on the main street.
The next second.
Someone in the crowd let out a suppressed exclamation:
“Look at what it’s holding!”
“Spirit Honey!!”
“Over there!”
“That is the shop!”
In an instant, the main street burst into chaos.
Hundreds of Mind Focusing Cultivators surged in from all directions, rushing towards the shop with Sword Spirit inside at the speed of a hundred-meter sprint. Sword One, who had been worrying about how to attract customers, was so frightened he almost dropped the Spirit Honey in his hand…
Humans were truly terrifying!
After completing his task, Sword One quickly drew back into the shop and hid behind the counter.
A group of Spirit Coalescence Elders who came for Spirit Honey naturally chased into the shop, and then—seeing five Sword Spirits radiating Spirit Concentrating aura lined up behind the counter—they all turned to stone, gaping and dumbstruck…
“No way!”
“So extravagant?”
“My goodness… Sword Spirits acting as shop assistants—that’s impressive. I give it full marks.”
“Shh! Maybe it’s some powerful expert from the Seven Great Sects personally guarding Southern City…”
“Mhm, mhm.”
All the Spirit Coalescence Elders, whether orthodox or Evil Cultivators, restrained their auras, slowed their pace, and walked very cautiously to the counter, and then…
“Holy crap!”
“Th—these… all of these… are Spirit Honey?!”
“Ahhh! Spirit Honey? It’s all Spirit Honey! Am I seeing this right?”
The Spirit Coalescence Elders, who had been trying to stay calm just a moment before, transformed on the spot—several even lost their dignified air entirely and pressed themselves against the countertop.
The five Sword Spirits observed the demeanors of these lofty Spirit Coalescence Elders and felt deep contempt from the bottom of their hearts.
“How much?”
Finally, someone came to their senses and asked the price.
“Each bottle costs one hundred Ninth-Grade Monster Cores, or ten Early Spirit Concentration Stage Demon Beast Inner Cores, or one Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage Demon Beast Inner Core.”
“Similar to auction house prices—give me one bottle… oh no, two bottles!” A Spirit Coalescence Elder changed his mind mid-sentence and took out two Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage Demon Beast Inner Cores, flaunting his wealth without restraint.
“I’ll take one too!”
“I want one bottle!”
There was plenty of Spirit Honey in the counter, but there were also many Spirit Coalescence Elders who had heard the news.
The five Sword Spirits quickly became busy.
While checking and judging the Inner Cores for quality, they handed over Spirit Honey for the trades…
The Spirit Honey in the counter rapidly decreased.
“I want ten bottles!”
“…”
“Give me twenty bottles—here are two Late Concentration Stage Demon Beast Inner Cores.”
With large orders coming one after another, the Spirit Honey sold faster and faster, making the Cultivators in the back of the line more and more anxious.
Several Evil Cultivators gritted their teeth impatiently and urged repeatedly, but considering that the shop attendants were five Sword Spirits and there might be a powerful figure behind them, they could only follow the queue obediently.
Very soon!
Two hundred bottles of Spirit Honey were sold out…
“Noooooo! I haven’t got any yet!”
“How can it be sold out already?”
“Can you restock? Please! I’m going up the mountain tomorrow…”
Those who hadn’t bought Spirit Honey pleaded with the Sword Spirits.
Sword One helplessly spread his hands:
“Sorry, the stock for today is sold out. You’ll have to come back two days from now. In two days, our master will refine a new batch of Spirit Honey.”
“We have to wait two days?”
“Oh no!”
“Is there really none left? I can pay more!” The Spirit Coalescence Elder who said he would go up the mountain tomorrow stared at Sword One, unwilling to give up.
“A higher price isn’t necessary, but if you are really going to Two Realms Mountain tomorrow, you could go ask at Southern City’s Reinforcement Department. Lady Honglian from Southern City’s Reinforcement Department made an agreement with our master. Our master promised that part of the Spirit Honey he refines from now on will be prioritized for Southern City’s Reinforcement Department. I heard it will be sold to you all at a discounted price.”
Sword One recited the lines that Lu Hangzhi had instructed him beforehand.
It was like a huge bomb had been dropped into a calm lake…
The crowd completely erupted!
Hidden in the crowd, those who had ill intentions towards the current Inspector Envoy changed expressions abruptly, then quickly slipped away.