Chapter 180: Chapter 82: Reunion with the Ugly Woman

Li Jizhou didn’t plan for any opening ceremony, as this type of shop mainly relies on patience and returning customers, and the current inventory was too limited to necessitate such an event.

Unexpectedly, the merchant alliance of the city sent a floral basket and a red envelope.

Several neighboring shops also sent gifts, casually purchasing some pills and talismans to liven things up.

Having no choice, Li Jizhou asked Xiaoguo to book a banquet at Linxian Tower across the street.

“I am new here, I would appreciate your guidance and support, many thanks, let’s drink to that!” Li Jizhou raised his glass in gratitude.

“Shopkeeper Li, you are too kind. We are all in business on the same street, we must look out for each other, haha.”

Everyone was polite and courteous.

The merchant alliance has rules on shop placements, with similar businesses being at least five shops apart, so none of the well-wishers were direct competitors.

One was an effeminate cultivator selling robes, an old man specialized in herbs, a straightforward man dealing in materials, a robust man running a security escort service, an elegant female cultivator selling spirit wine, and a charming female cultivator running a brothel and song house.

During the gathering, everyone tactfully avoided digging into personal histories, merely acknowledging Li Jizhou’s name and letting it be.

Most of the conversations revolved around business matters and occasional gossip about the Immortal City.

Some even offered Li Jizhou strategic advice,

saying he should keep an eye on the surrounding families and sects, and whenever there is conflict, bring products like pills, talismans, magical artifacts, and puppets, as they become increasingly valuable and easier to sell amid chaos.

The merchant alliance representative also mentioned recent disputes among various sects and families.

From this, Li Jizhou gained a deeper understanding of the merchant alliance.

In the Yan Kingdom, everyone knows that the merchant alliance has a strong background, capable of standing on par with the two ancient Nascent Soul sects, the Profound Celestial Sect and the Carefree Palace, and has a presence in all Immortal Cities, even acquiring many Spirit Vein Dojos from declining sects and families.

However, the merchant alliance never claims to be the ruler of the Yan Kingdom, nor do they take on this identity or uphold order outside the Immortal Cities.

On the contrary, the more chaos and strife there is between sects and families, the happier they are.

During the banquet, Li Jizhou also inquired about Core Formation situations.

He was informed that within the merchant alliance, there were specialized Core Formation cultivators who charged fees to impart experience, which brought a small delight to Li Jizhou’s heart.

For loose cultivators without elders from a sect, the biggest disadvantage, compared to sects and families, is actually the lack of cultivation experience,

as not everyone is a genius capable of carving out their own path.

The safest route for the vast majority is to tread the paths paved by countless predecessors.

In his previous life, Li Jizhou failed at Core Formation not just because of talent, resources, or conditions but also due to a lack of experience and charging forward blindly.

Well satisfied and in high spirits, they returned home.

With the shop’s initial opening, as expected, business was quiet, with only a dozen customers visiting each day.

After all, the items sold at Li Jizhou’s shop were crucial for cultivators; they would typically return to familiar shops for repurchases and wouldn’t opt for an unfamiliar shop unless necessary.

Nevertheless, although daily footfall was low, relying on Li Jizhou’s skills, particularly in talismans, there were daily sales.

Even Bai Yi’s pills began attracting repeat customers.

Pills refined with True Flame, though matching others in appearance, had subtly superior efficacy compared to those refined with ordinary Pill Fire.

Li Jizhou had long expected that Bai Yi’s pills would have a high repurchase rate.

Of course, to make substantial profits, it was unlikely to rely solely on Bai Yi’s alchemy or on Li Jizhou’s personal production.

These activities were merely transitional for the early stage.

With growing clientele, Taobao Pavilion would primarily sell products from others.

Even though daily customer numbers were few, Li Jizhou instructed Guo Ruoyu to register each customer who spent Spirit Stones on products and gave them free silver memberships, granting them a ten percent discount as honorable guests during future Taobao Pavilion purchases.

Moreover, Li Jizhou found time to produce a batch of two-way Communication Jade Talismans, each capable of supporting ten communications within a range of ten thousand miles,

with a production cost of about two Spirit Stones,

and had Xiaoguo distribute them free of charge to customers with repeat purchase behavior, facilitating advance stock notifications for needs or enabling fee-based delivery by passing security escorts.

During this period, Li Jizhou also hastily crafted several Tier One Puppet Warriors, responsible for delivering Bai Yi’s refined pills to the front shops and cleaning within the shop.

Thereafter, Li Jizhou stopped overseeing shop matters, waiting patiently for accumulation.

A year elapsed casually.

At the annual summary, results were generally in line with expectations, barely securing a foothold.

Throughout the year, besides cultivating, half of Li Jizhou’s time was dedicated to studying arrays, successfully advancing to a Tier Two Array Master and setting up a Tier Two protective array around the entire shop.

Some practice arrays were all moved to front shop sales.

The surplus time, due to sufficient and cheap Tier Two talisman materials available in the Immortal City, was spent crafting a significant number of Tier Two talismans to replenish the front shop’s inventory.

In addition, regarding puppets, the Fake Pill Level Divine Sense gave him hope of advancing to a Tier Three Puppet, but puppetry was so time-consuming; progress was limited.

Moreover, given the relatively high price of puppets, their sales at the front shop weren’t great, so replenishment wasn’t pursued aggressively.

Over the year, membership registration reached seven hundred, and one hundred eighty-six communication talismans were distributed.

The repurchase rate was quite impressive.

Li Jizhou rewarded Xiaoguo with a Middle Grade Spirit Stone red envelope as encouragement.

In the second year, Li Jizhou instructed Xiaoguo to post a notice outside the store: The shop supports the consignment of various goods.

The price is set by the owner, but the quality of the goods must be truthfully posted. Regardless of the value, the shop only charges a fee of one Spirit Stone upon transaction.

The owner can also take back the goods at any time.

There are many artisans in the Immortal City. Although most work for certain employers, aside from fulfilling tasks, they often produce extra goods. Just as Li Jizhou did previously in the Qi Kingdom, after satisfying the honored guest elder’s task requirements, whatever he made himself would be sold to Miaodan Tower at a wholesale price.

Moreover, since the sect-family in Yan Kingdom hasn’t established commodity markets, some goods are also sold in the Immortal City. Those with large quantities might set up their own shops, while those with smaller quantities are usually wholesaled to shops.

Initially, when the announcement was posted, no one understood what kind of plan Li Jizhou was hatching, but everyone understood there’s no free lunch. So, basically, no one believed it.

Li Jizhou was indifferent to this.

It wasn’t until half a year later that someone, with a skeptical attitude, took a bottle of self-made pills worth thirty Spirit Stones to the store to test the waters.

Xiaoguo, following Li Jizhou’s instructions, carefully checked the condition of the pills and compared them with Bai Yi’s pills, noting the differences. Then he suggested a price according to the market price.

The owner compared it to the price they get from the Pill Workshop; the suggested price was a bit higher, found it reasonable, and accepted it.

Subsequently, Xiaoguo took out a Communication Talisman and sent out information about this pill, explaining that the quality was inferior to the previous ones, but the price was thirty percent cheaper.

In less than a quarter of an hour, someone confirmed to take it.

——-

Two years later,

Li Jizhou successfully set up a Tier Two advanced Teleportation Array.

This demonstrated that Li Jizhou became a senior Tier Two Array Master.

However, the Tier Two Teleportation Array is somewhat impractical, with a transmission distance of only a thousand miles, and requires five Middle Grade Spirit Stones to activate once, which is not worth the cost.

Li Jizhou also wouldn’t use it. It was merely for the research of a chessboard teleportation array and preparing to draw a Teleportation Talisman when advancing to a Tier Three Talisman Master.

Apart from the teleportation array, he also successfully set up an Illusion Array,

which, once again, was of no use to him, far inferior to Gua Gua’s inherent illusion domain.

Afterwards, he also set up a Fire Gathering Array, hoping to enhance Bai Yi’s True Flame to smelt the Tier Four precious material to create his own life-bound Magical Artifact.

But still, he failed. It seems at least a Tier Three Fire Gathering Array’s support is needed.

Regarding this, he wasn’t disappointed. Already a senior Tier Two Array Master, how far can Tier Three be?

On this day, just after finishing his routine cultivation, a Communication Talisman in his storage bag slightly trembled.

“A 500-year-old Seven-Orifice Lotus!”

This is precisely one of the main ingredients he needed for the Crystal Condensing Pill.

Over the past three years, he had also frequently roamed in the Immortal City, and he had seen plenty of the two main ingredients for the Crystal Condensing Pill.

However, he hadn’t been in a hurry to make a move, because most of them were not aged enough or had defects.

In such cases, the quality of the refined Crystal Condensing Pill could not be guaranteed.

So, he specifically entertained a key person from the business alliance a few times, asking them to keep an eye out; and now, news had finally come.

However, this time the matter was at an auction.

He had attended several auctions in the past two years but never placed a bid.

Most things auctioned were quite sought-after, competing with a group of Core Formation Stage didn’t suit his nature.

But this time, the main ingredient for the Crystal Condensing Pill was mostly contested by those in the Foundation Establishment Stage, so he found it necessary to contend.

Before heading out, Li Jizhou glanced over the recently ordered Red Dust Pavilion report, confirming that Liuyun Immortal City remained as solid as a rock, with no signs of danger.

While passing by the outside shop, Xiaoguo was lecturing three newly hired stewards.

“Boss!”

“Hmm.”

Li Jizhou nodded, said nothing, and walked out.

Upon arriving at the Central Auction House, Li Jizhou presented his Taobao Pavilion owner Jade Talisman, settled comfortably in the front row, even skipping the asset verification.

As the auction was about to begin, Li Jizhou scanned the room, noting that there were eight True Core Masters present today, and twenty-seven Fake Pills, slightly fewer than in previous sessions.

Then he casually glanced at the eight True Core Masters, seeing if any were acquaintances from the past two years.

Upon glancing at the third True Core Master, he paused slightly.

Life limit of four hundred eighty-seven, definitely True Core.

And that face, he had seen twice before.

It was actually Yu Ziyu!

This time, she had not used any exotic treasures to disguise herself, likely not wary of being discovered by the business alliance. Her true face might never have been exposed, so she acted with impunity.

Li Jizhou had long confirmed that she was indeed a member of the Misfit Celestial Sect, the only one in Yan Kingdom daring to oppose the business alliance.

But he hadn’t expected her to be so bold as to attend the auction in the business alliance’s Immortal City.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep