「Yunzhou.」

Chen Che arrived at the agreed-upon location, but when the appointed time came, Ding Fei was nowhere to be seen.

’Could he have had a change of heart and run off with the goods? Unlikely. That kid doesn’t seem like the type to be blinded by greed...’

Chen Che thought to himself.

He decided to wait for another hour. If the other man didn’t show up, he would go directly to his home.

「About a quarter of an hour later.」

Ding Fei arrived, panting for breath.

"My apologies, Senior."

Having interacted with him before, he had some understanding of this young Senior and knew he disliked excuses. So, he immediately explained, "I was by the Red Water River today. It took quite a while to buy this for you."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, revealing a black turtle strung up with a grass rope.

It was as black as ink and quite striking.

"A Profound Ink Turtle?" Chen Che raised an eyebrow.

After they began their partnership, Chen Che had not only asked the other man to collect Spirit Herbs but also to purchase some Spiritual Objects that could replenish Qi and Blood.

He could only barely activate the thirteenth move of his True Martial Seventeen Scattering Hands.

Even if he could execute the remaining moves, they would lack power due to his insufficient Qi and Blood.

Relying solely on Spirit Rice to replenish his Qi and Blood was far too slow, so he needed to supplement it with nourishing items. Although such things were sold on the Earth Element Star, they were all artificially farmed. Not only were they not old enough, but they were also ripened with Arrays, making them exorbitantly expensive and their nourishing effects rather poor.

"Exactly!"

Ding Fei nodded quickly. "A man named Ah Shui caught it. He waited by the river for the better part of half a month just to catch this Profound Ink Turtle."

"How much?" Chen Che asked.

"You’re embarrassing me, Senior. You’re helping me get rich, how could I ask you for money? This is a gift to show my respect..."

Ding Fei quickly handed over the Profound Ink Turtle.

Chen Che cut him off directly. "Business is business, and personal matters are personal matters. Even blood brothers must keep clear accounts. Just do your part well. You don’t need to go to such lengths to flatter me or try to guess my every thought."

"Yes!"

Ding Fei nodded hurriedly.

However, he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. The other man might seem ruthless, but he was extremely principled in his dealings. He didn’t seem like the type to exploit people for all they were worth.

With that in mind,

he handed over an account book. "Only four Pills were sold these past few days. Please, take a look..."

"That’s a bit low."

Chen Che frowned slightly as he flipped through the account book.

They had sold twelve in the last cycle.

"It’s because the Foundation Establishment Tomb has already been plundered, and the dust has now settled..." Ding Fei quickly explained. In the last few days, four Loose Cultivators at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer had joined forces to break into the tomb of that Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

They took the treasures from inside and left.

The saga of the Foundation Establishment Tomb, which had lasted for the better part of a month, thus came to an end.

"I see."

Chen Che nodded.

With the tomb gone, the fighting ceased.

The Cultivators’ demand dropped, so the market naturally cooled down.

However, he wasn’t worried. After opening that side hall, he had no shortage of Pill Formulas or Pills.

Thinking of this, he suddenly raised an eyebrow and asked, "How is Hu Yao doing?"

"He’s been very down lately. I heard that on the day the tomb was opened, he went to try his luck. After immense trouble, he managed to obtain a Cultivation Technique. Before he could even warm it in his hands, another Late-stage Qi Cultivation Cultivator snatched it away, and he was injured in the process."

Ding Fei sighed.

Chen Che secretly shook his head.

He had expected as much. When faced with an opportunity, which low-level Cultivator wouldn’t fight tooth and nail for it?

"In that case, let’s go see him,"

Chen Che decided.

...

「A moment later.」

In a private room of a tavern within the Market.

Chen Che saw Hu Yao, who hadn’t shown his face in days, and noticed he was pale and even walked with a limp.

"Your injuries are quite severe, Brother!"

Chen Che couldn’t help but comment.

Several days had already passed. With a Cultivator’s recovery speed, a minor injury would have healed long ago.

"I was wondering who invited me to a meal. I didn’t expect it to be you, Fellow Daoist!" Hu Yao sighed as he reached the table. "It’s more than just a severe injury; I nearly lost my life. If that Cultivator hadn’t been in a hurry to flee after getting the Cultivation Technique, I’m afraid I would have died on the spot."

"Do you know who did it?"

Chen Che asked.

"I don’t know him. By the time I came to my senses, he was already gone. I only remember what he looks like," Hu Yao said, slowly shaking his head.

"Brother, have some Spirit Wine to wet your throat and cool your temper."

Ding Fei stepped forward to pour a cup of wine and said with a smile, "Once your Cultivation improves, Brother, you can seek him out for revenge."

Hearing this, Hu Yao’s expression softened considerably, but he still sighed.

After all, the other person was at least at the Sixth Layer and had now obtained a new Cultivation Technique. As the saying goes, one step ahead means always ahead. He feared that even if they met again in the future, he still wouldn’t be a match for him.

Thinking of this, he looked at Chen Che. "Fellow Daoist, why did you seek me out this time?"

"I’m preparing to sell Pills in the Market, and I was hoping you could lend some support, Fellow Daoist. In return, I will give you ten percent of the profits."

"We get along well, Fellow Daoist. I would have helped you out regardless. You’re being too formal."

Seeing the other man’s casual attitude, Chen Che took out a bottle of Pills.

"Is this... a Qi Gathering Pill?"

After opening it, Hu Yao let out a surprised gasp. He quickly scraped off some powder with his fingernail, touched it with the tip of his tongue, and his eyes suddenly widened. "Such high quality! Fellow Daoist... where did you get these Pills?"

"I am an Alchemy Master,"

Chen Che said faintly.

Hu Yao’s expression froze. He was silent for a long moment before finally sighing, "Fellow Daoist, you certainly kept me in the dark..."

The status of an Alchemy Master was not low.

And all this time, he had been treating the other man as an ordinary Loose Cultivator.

"I want a shop, but it’s not easy to establish a foothold in the Market. Relying on Ding Fei alone won’t be enough to keep others in line. Besides, I need to focus on my Alchemy Dao on a daily basis and don’t have the extra energy to manage it."

Chen Che raised his wine cup and said calmly,

"Fellow Daoist, are you willing to work with me?"

Hu Yao quickly raised his cup.

He had narrowly escaped death at the Foundation Establishment Ancient Tomb and thought his opportunities were gone. He never expected such a turn of events! "How could I refuse? I should be thanking you for giving me this chance, Fellow Daoist!"

Although ten percent of the profits might not seem like much, as long as the shop continued to operate, he would have a steady stream of income.

"Good. You’re a straightforward man, Fellow Daoist!"

Chen Che nodded in satisfaction.

...

Wealth stirs the heart, and the promise of profit was a powerful motivator.

The very next day, Hu Yao found a vacant shop in the Market. The storefront was over twenty feet wide and came with a small courtyard and two small rooms in the back. The monthly rent was fifty taels of Spiritual Sand, equivalent to one Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

Most importantly, there was only one other Elixir Shop on this street, so competition wasn’t stiff.

「The next few days.」 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Chen Che was busy with renovations.

He had observed before that the Elixir Shops in the Market were all more or less the same, with rows of drawers, each labeled with its contents on red paper in black ink.

Of course, he wasn’t going to do that. First, he found several skilled carpenters and had them custom-build a row of open-fronted shelves. These shelves were divided into small compartments, and a small Lighting Array was installed in each one.

Of course, the cost was also considerable.

These few rows of shelves alone cost fifty taels of Spiritual Sand.

Today, those shelves had just been delivered.

"This is way too extravagant..."

Following Chen Che’s instructions, Ding Fei placed the Jade Bottles containing the Pills into the compartments. As he injected his True Essence, beams of light immediately struck the Jade Bottles from different angles, instantly creating a high-end, luxurious, and even surreal feeling.

Ding Fei, who had just been thinking Chen Che was being wasteful, immediately changed his tune.

Just as he was marveling at this, Hu Yao’s voice came from behind him:

"Excellent methods, Fellow Daoist! This elixir shop is truly unique and impressive."

"Fellow Daoist!"

Chen Che stepped forward to greet them.

Behind Hu Yao were several other disciples from Jinyun Valley. They, too, were looking around the shop with astonishment. Clearly, this level of design was so far ahead of its time that it completely overwhelmed their sense of aesthetics.

"This is actually an Elixir Shop?"

"I never would have imagined..."

"It feels like a dream!"

Hearing their comments, Hu Yao felt extremely proud. He stepped forward and whispered, "I brought some disciples from the Valley to give you some business."

Clearly, for that ten percent of the profits, Hu Yao had already started to leverage his personal network.

An even wider smile spread across Chen Che’s face. "Fellow Daoists, thank you for gracing my humble shop with your presence. I have already prepared food and wine in the backyard. Please, this way."

...

However, at that very moment, an angry shout came from another shop down the street:

"What did you say?"

"That washed-up loser Ding Fei dares to open an Elixir Shop on this street? Did he even bother to check with me first?"