Qin Zhenzhen has been in a particularly good mood lately, so good that even when she sees a stray dog baring its teeth on the roadside, she feels that the dog is smiling at her.
The reason was simple: her sweet and gentle Zhao Zhao wanted her to refine some small magical artifacts before the Cloud Terrace Immortal Market, and preferably each one would have the added effect of purifying the mind and warding off evil.
Since Zhao Zhao has spoken, she naturally has no choice but to take the initiative. But, family members!
Her Zhao Zhao actually stayed with her the whole time she was refining magical artifacts!
Those beautiful eyes, sparkling like they were filled with scattered stars, gazed curiously at the various refining materials in her hands.
The voice was clear and crisp, like a little bird hopping around people begging for food. Every "Senior Sister" made Qin Zhenzhen's heart tremble.
Does Zhao Zhao like her?!
This alluring little sparrow deserves to be pinned down and teased by her senior sister!
As Qin Zhenzhen hummed an off-key tune, her fingers flew across the paper, and several inconspicuous scraps quickly took shape under the tempering of the flames in her palms and her spiritual techniques.
Murong Xiao, unusually, didn't stick to his brother's side. Instead, he squatted in the corner of the weapon-refining room, holding his little face, watching with great interest.
He wasn't particularly interested in weapon crafting itself; he was mainly thinking about whether he could learn a little bit of the craft so he could make some novel gadgets for his brother later.
Shen Zhaozhao was handing Qin Zhenzhen a piece of cooled star-patterned iron when she turned her head and saw the unusually quiet Murong Xiao. She casually asked, "Why aren't you sticking to your brother today?"
Murong Xiao pouted, her tone tinged with a hint of resentment: "My brother, he's just a worrywart."
"He was worried that the Yuntai Immortal Market, an annual grand event in Lingzhou, was a mixed bag, and that some fools might cause trouble."
“Especially the area near Liuyunchuan, that place is too close to the Yellow Springs Netherworld, so the seal needs to be closely monitored. He personally went to inspect it, saying it was to ensure that nothing went wrong.”
As Murong Xiao said, the entire Lingzhou continent is structured from top to bottom like an upside-down giant tree.
At the very top of the tree canopy lies the Nine Heavens Palace, which governs the Three Realms, shrouded in celestial energy and possessing the purest and most abundant spiritual power.
Adjacent to it is the Cloud Court Heavenly Domain, where the celestial officials of the upper realm reside and perform their duties. Although the spiritual energy here is not as great as that of the Heavenly Palace, it is still far superior to that of the mortal world. After ascending to immortality, most cultivators from Lingzhou settle down here.
Further down lies the vast continent of Lingzhou itself, where spiritual energy has become thin and mixed, making it the foundation for cultivators to struggle for survival and seek breakthroughs.
Below Lingzhou lies the Yellow Springs Netherworld, which connects the mortal realm and the underworld. The spiritual energy here is almost depleted, and the air is thick with ghostly energy.
Bordering the Netherworld of the Underworld is the Otherworld – a deep abyss where turbid energy sinks and gathers.
The demons here cannot absorb any spiritual energy at all; they can only rely on their innate ferocity to absorb demonic energy and fall into depravity to cultivate.
It is precisely because of the harsh environment and extremely scarce resources in the Demon Realm that there are always resentful demons who will take risks and try to sneak into Lingzhou to plunder through the occasional gaps between the Yellow Springs Netherworld and Lingzhou.
Murong Xiao inwardly complained a little about his brother's busy life, then turned his head and asked curiously, "By the way, Senior Sister, what are you planning to do with these little gadgets that you had Senior Sister Zhenzhen make?"
Shen Zhaozhao smiled and said, "Of course, it's to open up the market!"
Murong Xiao: "?"
Qin Zhenzhen: "?"
Looking at the two faces before her, both bearing a clear yet foolish expression, Shen Zhaozhao's eyes gleamed with a strange light as she coaxed them, "Look, our sect already has Second Senior Brother's pill market. What else do cultivators in the entire Lingzhou need besides pills to protect themselves?"
“Talismans and magical artifacts.”
"Although our sect does not have any talisman cultivators yet, Senior Sister's magic weapons are exceptional. Naturally, we should take this opportunity to seize the magic weapon market dominated by the Divine Weapon Pavilion."
Although Qin Zhenzhen was completely confused by terms like "seizing the market," she found it really adorable to see her Zhaozhao looking so confident and radiant... *hiss*... She subconsciously moved closer to Chen Zhaozhao.
Murong Xiao frowned deeply upon hearing this. "No, has Senior Sister Zhao Zhao gone mad?"
Does he want to steal Shenbingge's business?
"Senior sister, this is different from the pills of second senior brother."
Although his time in the lower realm was short, Murong Xiao was born in the Ninth Heaven and naturally had some knowledge: "The cost of a single pill is limited. Even if the effect is slightly inferior, the loss is not significant for cultivators to try the supplies outside Medicine King Valley."
"But the magical artifacts of the Divine Weapon Pavilion are different; they mostly accept commissions from cultivators to refine their natal magical treasures."
"The crafting of such artifacts, which are crucial to the foundation of one's cultivation path, requires cultivators to go bankrupt by providing their own rare and precious materials. The cost is enormous, and few cultivators in Lingzhou dare to gamble their natal magic weapon on an unknown new artifact crafter."
Shen Zhaozhao seemed to have anticipated the little brat's question. She smiled and shook her slender fingers as if weighing an invisible bargaining chip: "Do you know what the most crucial thing is when trying to steal business from major sects like Medicine King Valley or Divine Weapon Pavilion?"
Murong Xiao: "?"
Shen Zhaozhao shook her finger mysteriously: "It's the desire to explore~"
Murong Xiao: "???"
Murong Xiao looked on in shock, as if to say, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
Shen Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow meaningfully, deciding to use some "knowledge" that her junior brother could understand: "Let me give you an example."
"It's like you're trying to seduce your brother and want to show off your body."
"But if you just use a recording stone to snap a video of yourself shirtless wielding a sword and send it over, doesn't that seem too deliberate and cheap?"
Murong Xiao's face flushed red instantly, his eyes darted around, and he subconsciously wanted to refute, but he opened his mouth but didn't dare to utter a sound, while his ears perked up honestly.
Ignoring his flushed face, Shen Zhaozhao continued her "shrewd business lesson": "So what should you do?"
“You need to spark your brother’s curiosity! You need to casually text him first, saying, ‘Bro, I found a kitten, it can do a backflip, let me show you!’”
"Then, use the recording stone to record a video of that kitten doing a somersault and show it to him."
"When recording, you have to 'just happen' to place a polished, gleaming mirror next to the kitten, and you, just happen to be wearing that figure-hugging thin shirt, so that your profile is just barely visible in the mirror..."
"Do you understand?"
Shen Zhaozhao paused, her eyes gleaming with even more cunning. "The thing is still the same thing, but the former was something you threw to him willingly, while the latter was something he 'discovered' himself."
"Even if the meat reflected in the mirror is the same piece as the meat shown to him directly, can the secret, self-discovered satisfaction that the latter brings be the same?"
"Competing for business is the same principle. The products are all the same, but the key is how you sell them."
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