Mastering Profit or Being Mastered by It
Hey, Little B, why don't you take a look at what you're saying?
This isn't Red Refining Mountain, nor is it the Black Market; this is Qingyang City!
Moreover, Shen Yuerong is an ally.
Lu Ping felt that during this period, Little B had been following him, killing his way from Red Refining Mountain to the Black Market, and had become somewhat obsessed with killing.
Lu Ping chose A.
[You chose A.]
You calmly nodded, walked to the head seat, and sat down, as if all of this was nothing more than a casual move to you.
"Your ability to gain this insight is due to your own fortuitous opportunity."
Seeing your calm and composed demeanor, Shen Yuerong's admiration for you grew even stronger.
[She and the Azure Dragon Merchant Association both made a fortune from the Mystic Marrow Jade incident.]
[As a result, her status within the Lineage rose significantly, and she gained access to the coveted resources for Nascent Soul formation.]
[After catching up, you get down to business and push a list across the table.]
"Prepare the goods according to this order."
Shen Yuerong took the list and glanced at it. Besides a huge amount of materials for Qi-Gathering Pills, there were also many materials for high-level Talisman and Formation Technique.
[The Azure Dragon Merchant Association in the Azure Yang Central Region nowadays, the items in its warehouse are indeed a bit insufficient for you.]
"Don't worry, senior, I'll take care of it right away."
[You watched her walk away, lost in thought.]
[Qi-Gathering Pills remain the most widely circulated form of currency in the cultivation world.]
[Above the Qi-Gathering Pill, there are also Qi-Consolidating Pills and Qi-Returning Pills, but the cost-effectiveness of refining those is too low.]
The materials for refining Qi-Consolidating Pills require high age and are rare in themselves, making it impossible to support the consumption of daily cultivation.
More importantly, the same medicinal herbs can be used to refine other functional Pills, increasing their value several times over.
Using rare and precious spirit medicine just to replenish Spiritual Qi is an extravagant and wasteful act.
Therefore, even Spirit Transformation cultivators primarily rely on Spirit Stones and Qi-Gathering Pills for daily cultivation.
However, if one were to use Qi-Consolidating Pills for daily cultivation, one high-grade Pills- Qi-Consolidating Pill is equivalent to four hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stone Equivalent. This is four times more than the Mid-Grade Pill -Qi-Gathering Pill, roughly equivalent to a four-fold increase in cultivation speed.
[With all your advantages and a net worth of Forty Million, even Qi-Consolidating Pill isn't out of your reach.]
[What's limiting you is that there simply aren't enough high-grade medicinal herbs available on the market to refine Qi-Consolidating Pills.]
This world has already limited your development.
[Shortly after, Shen Yuerong returned and handed you a Storage Bag.]
"Senior, all the materials you requested are here."
[You casually took out some Talisman and Formation Plates that you no longer needed.]
"Calculate the value of these."
Shen Yuerong took it, scanned it with her Divine Sense, and wasn't particularly surprised.
[Although these Talisman Formation Plate are exquisitely crafted, far surpassing others of the same rank, it's not surprising that they were made by you.]
[After all that, the Spirit Stones in your Storage Bag haven't decreased much.]
Finally, Shen Yuerong said,
"Also, the Merchant Guild still has a few portions of the Nine-Pattern Snow Ginseng that you requested, Senior. However, this Jadegreen Spirit Vine is extremely rare; it's a rarity even in the entire Azure Dragon Domain."
[You nodded; it wasn't surprising.]
[I'm already considered lucky to have managed to gather about 70-80% of the materials for the pseudo- Taiyi Origin-Returning Pill.]
[Options pop up.]
[A: A few words of advice to maintain good relations.]
[B: Tiny Golden Core...]
[C: Hand her a copy of the "Company Equity Incentive Plan" you just drew: "Xiao Shen, this is the blueprint. When you come back from Baodi City, let's change the world together."]
To maintain his relationship with Si Wangshu, Lu Ping personally helped her repair a low-grade magic Law Treasure.
So, Shen Yuerong, who also cooperated well in several simulations...
Lu Ping chose A.
[You chose A.]
[You packed your things, but didn't leave immediately; instead, you looked at Shen Yuerong.]
[You recall Shen Sifeng, the representative of the Shen Household, in Baodi City during the last simulation.]
[One second you're cooperating with Yan Xuanyao to "violently lay off" you, the next second you meet Si Wangshu and immediately repackage it as "a farewell gift for an outstanding employee on paid further training."]
"Fellow Daoist Shen."
[Shen Yuerong was about to bow to see the guest off when she heard this, she quickly stopped, her expression solemn.]
"Please speak, senior."
Your voice is flat and emotionless.
"The Shen Household is skilled in strategy, and everyone from top to bottom is adept at calculation. There is nothing wrong with pursuing profit; the workings of heaven and earth, and human relationships, are all inseparable from the concepts of 'power' and 'profit.'"
You paused, your tone slightly somber.
"However, whether you use people to control profit or people are controlled by profit, you should think it over carefully once you return to your clan."
Shen Yuerong suddenly stopped.
[Using people to control profit, and people being controlled by profit...]
[Shen Yuerong repeated those words, her eyes somewhat unfocused.]
[After a moment, she seemed to have figured something out; a glimmer of light flashed in her eyes, then returned to clarity.]
She took a half step back, her expression solemn, and with her hands clasped together, she bowed deeply to you.
"Your words of wisdom, senior, are like a wake-up call... Yuerong, will certainly remember them and never forget them."
You didn't say anything more, and turned to leave.
[You have arrived at the Teleportation Hall of Qingyang City.]
[This area is directly under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Certification Alliance and is heavily guarded.]
[You hand over your credentials, and the cultivator in charge of verification doesn't even dare to glance at you before respectfully leading you into the core Teleportation Array.]
[Nascent Soul True Lord is ultimately different.]
[You think to yourself, the feeling of having money and status is so simple and unpretentious.]
[You step onto the Teleportation Array, Spirit Stones at the edge of the Formation Technique light up one by one, emitting a buzzing sound.]
[A flash of White Light engulfs you completely.]
[After an unknown amount of time, the blinding light slowly faded.]
[You leave the Teleportation Hall.]
[You see three large characters written simultaneously in High Antiquity demonic script and Human Race script on the plaza.]
[Cangxuan City.]
[You are walking on the Main Street.]
[On the street, black-hyenas carrying baskets trotted along.]
[In mid-air, several Azure-Feathered Black Eagles, carrying huge cargo crates, flew towards shops throughout the city.]
[Higher up in the clouds, several Snow-Covered Spirit Vultures pulled a gigantic Cloud Boat, hundreds of feet long, breaking through the mist and soaring into the sky.]
If Qingyang City is a city where mortals and cultivators live together, then Cangxuan City is a city where Demon Beasts and Human Race live together.
[However, most of the Demon Beasts in the city wore Beast-Taming Rings, clearly indicating they weren't Spirit Beasts bound to cultivators.]
They were forcibly controlled by Law Artifacts and forced to serve as laborers in the city.
This city is practically a cultivation metropolis built on the back of Demon Beast.
You hardly see any ordinary people on the streets.
[While Demon Beasts have certainly replaced some of the manual labor that cultivators disdain, they have also deprived many more mortals of the opportunity to remain in Cangxuan City.]
[Options pop up.]
[A: Go to the Azure Dragon Merchant Association.]
[B: Let's wander around Cangxuan City and experience its unique charm...]
[C: Find a stall, sit down, and hang up a sign: "Professional Demon Beast psychological counseling, specializing in treating job burnout, Performance Assessment stress, and relationship issues with their owners. First consultation is free."]