Hearing Ye Linyuan's answer, Du Busi fell silent for a long while.
Then he took a deep breath and sighed. "You brat, you really are a monster!"
"Your talent as a Soul Master is terrifying enough, yet you can even figure out business without anyone teaching you. It's simply unbelievable!"
"Once this Buffet Model is launched, hotpot's unique flavor will probably stir up quite a wave in Heaven Dou City!"
He paused, then asked, "Since this is your invention, have you decided what to call the restaurant?"
A smile curved Ye Linyuan's lips. He had clearly prepared for this long ago. "It will be called Lake Bottom Fishing!"
"Lake Bottom Fishing?"
Du Busi froze for a moment, then pictured diners using chopsticks to fish food from a bubbling red broth. He immediately slapped the table in admiration.
"Treating the soup pot as a lake and fishing ingredients out of it... brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"
"Vivid, easy to understand, and easy to remember. A fine name!"
Ye Linyuan added, "To open the first shop in Heaven Dou City, we'll still need some startup capital."
"When you return this time, Master, you can select some Spirit Herbs from the valley and sell them through an auction house or other reliable channels in exchange for our first batch of Gold Soul Coins."
"With the quality of the Spirit Herbs in the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well, even the lowest-grade ones here would be priceless treasures in the outside world. They'll be more than enough to raise our startup funds."
Du Busi readily agreed. "That will be easy. I'll handle it."
He was in an excellent mood. The financial troubles that had plagued the sect for years had actually found a solution after just a few words from his young disciple.
It could also deepen their cooperation with the Heavenly Soul Royal Family without allowing them too much involvement in the sect's internal affairs. Killing two birds with one stone!
After carefully putting away all the Spirit Herbs and the Lake Bottom Fishing business proposal, Du Busi cast another uneasy glance at the three largest hundred-thousand-year Plant Spirit Beasts in the valley.
"Linyuan, while I'm gone these next few days, you'll be staying here alone..."
Ye Linyuan understood his concern. He calmly swept his gaze over Youyou, Ajiao, and Bajiao. "Rest assured, Master. Though my cultivation is still shallow, I'm no helpless soft target."
"If anyone truly harbors ill intentions while you're away, that's fine."
"When you return, simply pull up every last flower and blade of grass in the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well by the roots. Leave not a single one behind."
His tone was calm, as though he were discussing something utterly insignificant.
Yet the icy chill contained in his words made the Three Great Plant Spirit Beasts shudder in unison.
Aromatic Silk Beauty hurriedly shook her enormous blossom, sending out urgent spiritual fluctuations. "We sincerely wish to follow Linyuan so that we may break the shackles binding Spirit Beasts. We would never dare harbor the slightest disloyalty!"
Infernal Delicate Apricot and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass quickly followed with solemn vows, their attitudes more submissive than ever. "Exactly, exactly!"
"Please rest assured! While you're away, we will protect Linyuan and never let the slightest mishap befall him!"
Seeing this, Du Busi relaxed somewhat.
He carefully reminded Ye Linyuan of several things to watch out for in his cultivation, then solemnly warned the Three Great Plant Spirit Beasts once more.
Only then did he transform into a streak of dark green light and shoot into the sky, vanishing beyond the horizon in an instant.
After seeing Du Busi off, Ye Linyuan stood alone in the valley. Looking over this blessed haven he had snatched away, he let out a long breath of stale air.
According to the original storyline, it would still be a long time before Huo Yuhao came here.
Before then, no one should come to this place.
That was why he dared let Du Busi return to handle matters while he remained here alone to cultivate.
His gaze swept over the Ice Fire Twin Springs. Feeling his steady heartbeat, Ye Linyuan's eyes blazed with fighting spirit.
"Come on, let the pain be even more intense!"
Elsewhere.
Du Busi traveled at breakneck speed and returned in less than a day to the Body Sect, located deep within the Royal Hunting Ground of the Heaven Dou Empire.
"The Sect Master has returned!"
The news quickly spread, and many sect disciples gathered by the lake.
Du Busi's gaze swept across the faces below. Long Aotian, Wang Yanfeng, Chen Yu, Chen Lü, and other elite disciples of the younger generation were all present.
Even Princess Weina, who had only recently returned from the Imperial Palace, stood quietly among the crowd, watching him curiously with her autumn-water eyes.
Du Busi did not waste words and went straight to the point. "During this trip, under Linyuan's guidance, I found an ancient blessed haven and gained quite a harvest."
"That blessed haven should have belonged to Linyuan alone, because without him, I could never have found it."
"However, mindful of his ties to the sect, Linyuan specially selected several Heavenly Treasures from the blessed haven to reward disciples who cultivate diligently and possess exceptional talent."
The entire crowd erupted in uproar.
"What? More Heavenly Treasures?"
"And the Young Sect Master contributed them himself?"
"How old is the Young Sect Master? He can already help the sect find treasures?"
Amid the crowd's astonished gazes, Du Busi waved a hand. Several Immortal Spirit Herbs, gleaming with precious radiance and overflowing with spiritual energy, appeared out of thin air and floated in the air.
"Aotian, you need to comprehend the secret technique of unity between heaven and man. This Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid can lend you a hand." Du Busi pointed, and a snow-white magnolia flew before Long Aotian.
Long Aotian's body trembled, and irrepressible excitement burst from his eyes. He said solemnly, "Thank you, Master!"
"Please also tell my junior brother that Aotian will never forget this kindness!"
Du Busi smiled faintly and nodded lightly.
"Wang Yanfeng, you are steady by nature and your foundation is solid. This Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone has gentle yet rich medicinal properties. It can consolidate one's foundation, nourish vitality, and purify Soul Power. It suits you perfectly."
"Chen Lü, your Martial Soul is unique and requires powerful vitality to support it. This Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng can greatly replenish your blood and vitality and strengthen your meridians. Take it."
"I will give the remaining Spirit Herbs to Vice Sect Master Jin Peng. If anyone else possesses outstanding talent and makes rapid progress, they may apply to him as well."
One Immortal Spirit Herb after another, enough to make Soul Masters outside fight desperately over them, was bestowed by Du Busi before everyone's eyes.
Every disciple whose name was called was both shocked and delighted, their faces flushed with excitement. They all bowed from afar toward Ye Linyuan's brand-new little villa, which he had only occupied for a few days.
They had already thought highly of Ye Linyuan. Now that they had received his favor, their former fondness was joined by gratitude and reverence.
Standing among the crowd, Weina's beautiful eyes were already filled with profound shock and disbelief.
Born into the royal family, her knowledge far surpassed that of ordinary Soul Masters. Naturally, she could better recognize the extraordinary nature of those Spirit Herbs.
Those were genuine supreme treasures!
Even the royal treasury did not contain a single rare treasure like them!
"Didn't that Young Sect Master awaken his Martial Soul only recently? How did he learn of a blessed haven containing so many Immortal Herbs?"
A storm raged in Weina's heart, and she grew ever more curious about the Young Sect Master she had yet to meet.
At the same time, a trace of admiration and worship arose within her, so faint that even she had not noticed it.
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