The Benefits of Intense Competition

"This is... smoked meat?" Wang Long asked hesitantly.

It wasn't that he couldn't recognize the Smoked Spirit Meat, but rather that he could sense the Spiritual Power within this piece of smoked meat, and it was clearly an unranked piece of meat.

This made it somewhat unbelievable to him.

Anyone with some understanding of the Spirit Chef path knew that smoking Spirit Meat required specific Spirit Wood as fuel, and even the cheapest Spirit Wood that met the requirements was hundreds of times more expensive than this unranked Spirit Meat.

No one would use precious Spirit Wood to smoke Spirit Meat of this quality!

Therefore, low-grade Smoked Spirit Meat was practically unheard of.

Li Xiuchang smiled and said, "Senior Brother Wang, try it."

Wang Long didn't know what Li Xiuchang was up to, but he still tore off a strip of meat and put it in his mouth. He chewed for a few moments, reluctant to swallow.

"Delicious!" he praised.

After swallowing, he closed his eyes for a few breaths, then opened them and said, "The piece I just ate has the effect of one Grain-Aversion Pill... and it seems to have replenished some Mana as well."

"Senior Brother Wang, how much do you think that piece of meat you just ate would sell for in the market?"

Wang Long immediately became wary, thinking, He's not going to ask me to pay Spirit Stones, is he?

As a seasoned First-tier Talisman Master, he had truly experienced poverty and was exceptionally sensitive to financial matters.

But then he thought that Li Xiuchang wasn't that kind of person, and he calmed down. "Although this smoked meat has excellent texture and aroma, it's still unranked Spirit Meat. Its effect is too poor. It would probably sell for twice the price of a Grain-Aversion Pill."

"It can sell for twice the price?!"

Li Xiuchang was pleasantly surprised. Senior Brother Wang had been in the sect for some years and his judgment on prices was certainly more accurate than his. It was probably not far off.

Wang Long nodded. "There shouldn't be a problem selling it for twice the price. People who buy Spirit Delicacies are usually not short on Spirit Stones and are willing to spend a little more for the taste.

"Cultivators who are truly struggling financially have to ration even their Grain-Aversion Pills."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but think of himself, feeling a pang of sympathy.

But then Li Xiuchang's next words made him tremble.

"Senior Brother Wang, if I can continuously supply this Smoked Spirit Meat, I'll supply it to you at a price of three low-grade Spirit Stones for twenty strips. Would you be willing?"

The effect of one strip of meat was equivalent to one Grain-Aversion Pill. Twenty strips would be equivalent to two bottles of Grain-Aversion Pills, which was about 1.5 times the price of a Grain-Aversion Pill.

This still left Wang Long with a considerable profit margin.

"Junior Brother means you can provide this smoked meat stably for a long time?" Wang Long asked incredulously.

Li Xiuchang didn't keep him in suspense. It wasn't a secret that he had cultivated Mana with the Charcoal Attribute. He then told Wang Long about how he had coincidentally managed to smoke the Spirit Meat.

After listening, Wang Long fell into a daze. He couldn't help but sigh that some people were truly favored by destiny.

He had been in the sect for twenty years, and one wrong step had led him into the deep pit of being a Talisman Master, from which he still hadn't climbed out.

Li Xiuchang, who had only arrived a little over ten days ago, had already found a stable way to earn Spirit Stones.

Comparing oneself to others is enough to drive one mad...

Although he was so envious that his Dao heart was turning purple, he still shook his head. "Junior Brother Li, if you sell this smoked meat yourself in the market, the price will be even higher. I cannot accept unearned rewards; I cannot take this advantage from you for nothing."

Li Xiuchang smiled and shook his head. "Senior Brother, you misunderstand. I'm not giving you Spirit Stones for free. I genuinely need someone to help me sell it.

"I don't want to waste my time setting up a stall to sell meat and delay my cultivation. If I sell it directly to a shop, they'll also offer a lower price. In that case, it's better to let you earn this profit."

Li Xiuchang spoke frankly, but Wang Long understood. Li Xiuchang could have cooperated with anyone, yet he chose him, which showed his trust.

"Thank you, Junior Brother!" Wang Long said sincerely.

"No need to be so polite, Senior Brother. I've also received your care during this time."

Although he had agreed, Wang Long still felt that if he couldn't help Li Xiuchang do something in return, earning these Spirit Stones would feel like holding hot coals.

He pondered for a few breaths and asked, "Junior Brother, what's your current production of this smoked meat? If more people helped, could the output be increased?"

Li Xiuchang had also planned to increase production, but Wang Long's question opened up a new train of thought for him.

He had originally planned to buy two more stoves. With multiple stoves smoking meat simultaneously, the output would naturally increase severalfold.

However, there were difficulties involved.

Each stove required Li Xiuchang to use his Charcoal Attribute Mana to start the fire and produce smoke. Afterward, he needed to inject Mana into the stove at regular intervals to maintain the flame.

Even if Li Xiuchang did nothing else but smoke meat, he could probably only maintain three stoves at most.

After all, his cultivation was shallow, and any more would exceed his Mana capacity.

Three stoves operating at full capacity sounded good, but the problem was that smoking Spirit Meat took several days. Li Xiuchang also had to consider the time cost.

If all three stoves were running, Li Xiuchang would have little time to practice other skills.

It was somewhat a case of diminishing returns.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if he could hire people to help him with these tasks?

He could earn Spirit Stones and free up his hands to do other things.

The stoves only required Li Xiuchang's Charcoal Attribute Mana to start the fire. Afterward, any attribute of Mana could be used to maintain the flame.

After all, the stove was a magical tool specifically designed to maintain a heat source. As long as Mana was injected, it could be used.

Li Xiuchang only needed to be responsible for starting the fire; the rest could be left to others.

Moreover, this had another advantage: by hiring more people, multiple furnaces could be operated simultaneously, breaking through the production limit.

Let alone three furnaces, even three hundred would be no problem!

Thinking of his smoked meat forming an industrial chain and Spirit Stones rolling in, Li Xiuchang's mind was filled with only four words: grow big and strong!

Although the vision was beautiful, there were still two problems that needed to be solved.

First, where to find cheap and reliable labor?

Second, Li Xiuchang had limited funds and couldn't buy furnaces and artifacts in bulk.

Li Xiuchang voiced his two problems and discussed them with Wang Long.

Unexpectedly, Wang Long immediately provided a solution.

"Both these problems are easy to solve."

"There are plenty of first-tier Talisman Masters in the Outer Sect who are always hoping for Spirit Stones from the sect next month. If you give them one low-grade Spirit Stone a day, I guarantee they'll fight over it! These people are fellow disciples, so they're completely reliable."

"As for the furnaces, that's also easy to solve. There's no need to buy them. Our Outer Sect has so many first-tier Artifact Refiners who have accumulated countless furnaces and artifacts from practicing. We can just rent them. I'll negotiate the price, and with bulk rentals, there will definitely be discounts. One Spirit Stone could probably rent a low-grade artifact furnace for a year!"

Li Xiuchang hadn't expected that the difficulties he perceived were not issues at all for Senior Brother Wang Long.

Li Xiuchang suddenly realized that the sect's internal competition also had its benefits.