"Young master, may Yuan'er come in?"
Ye Yuan'er called from outside, her voice soft and cautious, afraid of disturbing Gu Wuchen's rest.
Gu Wuchen got out of bed and opened the door. "Sister Yuan'er, you've finished absorbing it. How do you feel?"
Seeing that Gu Wuchen had not rested yet, Ye Yuan'er excitedly threw her arms around him. "Young master, thank you. This Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone gave me two Soul Bone Skills, and both are quite powerful."
Sure enough, the feeling and the Soul Bone Skills a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone brought were different.
"Sister Yuan'er, there's no need to be so polite."
Ye Yuan'er let go. "Young master, I'll go cook now."
Gu Wuchen took the Soul Beast meat out of his Storage Soul Tool and gave it to Ye Yuan'er to cook.
Afterward, Gu Wuchen began working on the second form of Dustless Sword Song.
Now that Ye Yuan'er had advanced to Titled Douluo and absorbed a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, he could consider dealing with the Blue Silver Emperor.
He walked out of the room and sat beneath a tree, holding his breath and focusing his mind. Gu Wuchen was looking forward to seeing what effect the second form would have.
He kept trying to construct the second form, but even when Ye Yuan'er finished cooking the Soul Beast meat and its aroma wafted over, he still had made no progress.
"Young master, eat first. There's no rush to cultivate. You're already a Soul Grandmaster at seven and a half, ahead of almost every Soul Master on the continent."
Ye Yuan'er came over carrying several large bowls of Soul Beast meat and set them on the wooden table one by one.
The Snow Empress's voice rang out in his mind. "Little Wuchen, have Ye Yuan'er save a few extra portions. I want some too."
"No problem."
After replying, Gu Wuchen told Ye Yuan'er to save a portion, and the two sat under the tree and ate to their hearts' content.
The meat was firm. At the first bite, Ye Yuan'er's eyes widened. "As expected of meat from a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast. It's so delicious."
Gu Wuchen said, "Hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast meat isn't easy to come by. I still have plenty in my Storage Soul Tool. Eat up, Sister Yuan'er. We'll be busy with business tomorrow. Another shipment of goods has arrived."
"Another one? Young master, is there anything suitable for me?" Ye Yuan'er blinked.
Looking at her, Gu Wuchen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "There'll be something for you, Sister Yuan'er."
"Thank you, young master." Ye Yuan'er smiled sweetly, delighted.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Gu Wuchen carried the Soul Beast meat left in the kitchen back to the main room.
The Snow Empress appeared and immediately picked up a piece of leg meat. She took a small bite with her red lips and chewed. It tasted quite good.
The Snow Empress ate happily while Gu Wuchen continued cultivating on the bed. Once he had formed the second form, he planned to challenge a Soul Elder and see just how big the gap was.
Early the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Gu Wuchen brought Ye Yuan'er to the busiest central street in Heaven Dou City, where the Gu Clan's main shop stood.
The shop had just opened when Su Wen, who was in charge of business in Heaven Dou City, hurried out and bowed to Gu Wuchen. "Young master, you're finally here. The goods from the Far North headquarters just arrived at the city gates this morning."
Gu Wuchen nodded and was just about to go inside when he heard the steady beat of hooves in the distance.
Ten carriages bearing the Gu Clan's Ice Lotus emblem pulled up in a grand procession before the shop. The guards jumped down and began unloading the goods in an orderly fashion.
Besides the regular Wuchen Lotus Soap restock, the most eye-catching items were dozens of exquisitely packaged wooden boxes bearing icy jade patterns.
Shopkeeper Wu hurried forward and opened one of the wooden boxes. Inside, twelve bottles of fragrance were arranged neatly, their bodies as translucent as icy jade.
A minimalist Ice Lotus pattern was engraved on each bottle, making it look exceptionally elegant.
"Young master, this is the Ice Lotus Wuchen Fragrance line you designed earlier. Following the formula you gave them, headquarters used Ultimate Ice to cold-extract the essential oils at low temperature and purified the impurities with a Wuchen Lotus Martial Soul. The entire first batch is here."
Gu Wuchen picked up a bottle of luminous blue fragrance, gently brushed his fingertips over it, and pulled out the stopper.
A crisp, clean Ice Lotus scent instantly spread through the air, without the heavy, pungent quality of traditional incense. The top note was the delicate sweetness of Far North edelweiss, the middle note the clarity of Ice Lotus, and the base note carried a faint, cool fragrance of ice-soul plum blossoms. Its layers were distinct, and the scent instantly calmed the mind.
"Good, just as I expected." Gu Wuchen nodded with satisfaction and handed the fragrance to Ye Yuan'er beside him.
Ye Yuan'er took it and sprayed a little on her wrist. Her eyes instantly lit up. "What a soothing scent! It isn't sharp at all."
"This is the crisp variety, made especially to resist enchantment and purify the mind."
Gu Wuchen smiled as he explained, then picked up several other bottles and introduced them one by one:
"This sweet one is the women's fragrance, suitable for noble young ladies. The woody one is the men's fragrance, composed and understated. The one in the clear bottle is the calming variety; use it while cultivating to clear away distracting thoughts. The one in the purple bottle is the soothing variety; use it before bed to help you sleep and settle your mind."
As soon as he finished speaking, quite a few people gathered at the shop entrance.
They were all noble young ladies and madams from Heaven Dou City. They had originally come for the Gu Clan's custom-made clothing, but when they smelled the fragrance drifting out of the shop, they could not resist coming over and asking questions all at once.
"What is that? It smells so wonderful!"
"There's one that helps you sleep? I've been lying awake every night lately. How much is it?"
"The one that resists enchantment-my boy is a Soul Master. He could use it while cultivating!"
Seeing the shop instantly fill with customers, Su Wen beamed and hurriedly called the clerks over to attend to them.
Inwardly, he could not help admiring his young master's cleverness. Every new product he designed attracted plenty of buyers.
Gu Wuchen instructed Shopkeeper Wu:
"Put them on sale in batches and open preorders first. Also, send a complete set to Dugu Manor for Miss Yanyan."
"Yes, young master, I'll take care of it right away!" Su Wen promptly answered and turned to make the arrangements.
Ye Yuan'er picked up a set and handed it to the other person. "Sister Yuan'er, this is a complete set. Take it and use it!"
Ye Yuan'er accepted without hesitation, turning the bottles over in her hands, unable to put them down. "Thank you, young master!"
They also needed to see how the market responded to the first batch. If the response was good, they could produce more batches; if not, they would need to make some improvements.
The quality had to meet the standard. Falling short would not do.
"As expected of Young Master Gu. Wuchen Soap was only introduced recently, and you've already launched another new product."
Hearing the voice, Gu Wuchen looked over and saw Qian Renxue dressed as a man.
"Your Highness, Crown Prince." Gu Wuchen smiled. "What wind blew you here?"
"Those words make us sound like strangers, Young Master Gu. Can't I come take a look?" Qian Renxue said with a smile.
With something this good, of course I had to come take a look.
At a glance, a long line had already formed at the Gu Clan's shop. It was filled with young ladies and young masters from the noble families, as well as quite a few young couples.
"One doesn't visit a temple without a reason. Your Highness, I assume you came to ask about the products as well?" Gu Wuchen said.
"That's right. The residents of Heaven Dou City can't get enough of your products, Young Master Gu, so I came to have a look. I wonder, do you have any extra stock for me to try?"