Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 53 Pass Evidence
"Junior Song Xian pays his respects to senior." Song Xian stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

The maid who walked in first had already placed a scroll of paper on his desk, which contained his personal information.

The maid retreated silently, and with a creak, the stone door turned and closed again.

"Friend Song, are you here to ask for a pass to Muhe Grassland?" Yang Jinzhang's voice was magnetic and he seemed pleasant.

Seeing him being so direct and speaking so clearly, Song Xian was a little surprised, but then he thought it was reasonable. Yang Jinzhang had to meet so many people a day, so he didn't have time to play around with him, so he quickly responded.

"Yes, I hope Senior will help me. Since our clan came to Bianxia Town, we have no income from industry. After much deliberation, this is the only way to go."

Yang Jinzhang stroked his short beard. "I know that Lonely Child Mountain is a place I know. It's indeed a bit remote and not very suitable for development. You are so young and your cultivation level is not high, yet you have become the head of a sect. It's quite rare. Well! Considering that you have come a long way, I will grant you a pass."

"Thank you, senior." Song Xian didn't expect him to agree so readily. He was overjoyed and thanked him quickly.

"Tell me how much spirit stones you are prepared to put out as capital?"

"My sect is small and weak, and I can't offer much for the time being. At most, I can only offer two to three thousand spirit stones for business."

"If it's only two or three thousand spirit stones, I won't make much money this trip." Yang Zhang picked up the teacup and took a sip, his tone still neither light nor heavy, neither hurried nor slow: "Don't play tricks on me, I won't tolerate any sand in my eyes."

"How dare I lie in front of you, Senior? Our sect can only offer so many spirit stones."

"Take out three hundred spirit stones and ask Yuling to approve a pass. Take all the goods you import from the Muhe Grassland to our sect's shop. Isn't there a market in Bianxia Town now? Our sect also has a shop there. You can deliver the goods directly there. If you want to go to Bianxi City, that's up to you. But there's only one rule: the goods must be sold in our sect's shop. Do you understand?"

"Yes, this junior understands."

"I helped you this time. What will you do next time if I need your help?"

"Senior, if you have given me an order, I will not hesitate to go through fire and water to refuse."

Yang Jinzhang smiled and said, "Okay, go ahead!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the stone door opened again.

"Junior takes his leave." Song Xian left the room, and an old man followed Yang Jinzhang out.

At that time, there was a man talking to Yang Yuling in front of her. The old man motioned Song Xian to wait aside until the man left, and then brought him over.

The old man handed the scroll of personal information that the maid had handed in to Yang Yuling and said, "The master has instructed that a pass be issued to him to go to the grassland."

Song Xian immediately took out three third-level spirit stones from his storage ring and presented them with both hands.

Yang Yuling took the spirit stone, took out a paper roll made of animal skin, and stamped it with a seal.

"This pass is only valid for this year. If you encounter any Tianshan Sect monks along the way, show them the token. Keep this pass safe and return it to me next year. Don't say I didn't warn you, don't try to be clever, or you'll suffer the consequences."

"I understand." Song Xian took the animal skin paper scroll and left the hall. He unfolded it and saw a line of text on it, which meant to release the pass, and the date was marked.

After leaving Yang's house, he returned to the inn. It was not until late at night that Zhong Wenyuan came back with a large bag of various spices.

"Master, that top-grade magic weapon has already been sold for 1,800 spirit stones. Also, I went to all the spice shops in Bianxi City and bought all the spice I could find. There are dozens of varieties here."

Song Xian took out the spices from the bag one by one. The spices were packaged differently, and most of them were packed in palm-sized wooden boxes.

He opened the spice boxes one by one and sniffed the scents one by one. Most of the spices had extremely bland smells. Although a few spices had some light and rich fragrance, they were far inferior to those refined by Qi Xiaobai.

"How much did you spend on these spices?"

"Not much, the total price is less than two spirit stones. The cheap spices here are less than one or two taels of silver, and the most expensive ones are only twenty or thirty taels."

"Smell the spices refined by our Junior Brother Qi and see how they compare to these?" Song Xian took out a black porcelain bottle from the storage ring, opened the bottle cap, and instantly an extremely rich and fragrant aroma wafted into his nose.

Zhong Wenyuan sniffed and nodded slightly: "It is indeed much better than the spices on the market."

"He made this from a special product from Carissa's hometown called Panlong Incense, combined with various spiritual flowers and herbs. It's incomparable to these mundane things."

"So, the cost is not low!"

"Panlongxiang itself is not valuable. In Carissa's hometown, it is used by mortals as a common medicinal material. Those spiritual medicines are also low-level and cheap, and the quantity is not large."

"Master, if you want to sell it as a product, how much would you like it to cost?"

"I haven't decided yet, but it shouldn't be less than ten spirit stones."

"Ten spirit stones?" Zhong Wenyuan instantly raised his voice, his eyes wide. "If it were me, I would never buy such a useless thing. How could anyone spend ten spirit stones on it?" "As long as it's well-promoted and packaged, people will buy it. There's no shortage of wealthy people in this world. Once a brand becomes a status symbol, its inherent value becomes unimportant."

"Package?"

"If it were sold as a spice, it would certainly be difficult for people to accept, because the monks have a fixed impression that spices are cheap goods. But if you change the packaging, give it a high-sounding name, and add some deceptive slogans, it will be completely different."

"Will this work?" Zhong Wenyuan still looked unconvinced.

"There are actually quite a few examples like this in the cultivation world. For example, the Spirit Essence Pill is nothing more than an aphrodisiac. In the ordinary world, aphrodisiacs are sold for only a few taels of silver, at most a dozen or so. But if you change its appearance and refine it into a pill, you can sell it for the price of three spirit stones."

"Master, do you want to refine these spices into pills and sell them?"

"Since the cultivation world has a fixed impression that spices are cheap and elixirs are expensive, why not follow their lead and refine them into elixirs? Doesn't our sect already have an excellent alchemist? The raw materials remain the same, it's just that they were refined into powder before, and now they're refined into pills."

Zhong Wenyuan shook his head. "I still find it hard to imagine who would spend ten spirit stones to buy this thing."

Song Xian smiled and said, "As long as the product is well promoted and widely known, revenue and sales will naturally improve. Brother Zhong, you've been tired all day, go and rest! We will return to the mountain gate tomorrow."

Although Zhong Wenyuan was still puzzled, he did not ask any more questions and got up and left the room.

.........

After the two rushed back to the mountain gate, Song Xian immediately gathered everyone together and started a meeting, with everyone sitting in a circle.

"This time, Senior Brother Wenyuan and I traveled to Bianxi City and finally fulfilled our mission. We finally met Senior Yang of the Beast Taming Sect and obtained a pass to the grassland. Without further ado, I have decided to head to Muhe Grassland immediately. Now, I will explain everyone's tasks."

"First, we need to go to the Muhe Grassland. We need a large number of camels. Preferably, they are the hybrid blood camels bred by the Beastmaster Sect. These camels are taller and more durable than ordinary camels. They can carry more goods and travel faster in the desert. I heard that the independent cultivator caravans all use blood camels as their means of transportation."

"Brother Zhong Yang will be in charge of this matter. Brother Zhong, your task is to purchase ten blood camels. The market price for a blood camel is four spirit stones. You will receive forty spirit stones and also find some reliable mortals who frequently interact with blood camels and are familiar with their habits."

"We also need to find a few mortals who frequently travel to the Muhe Grassland to serve as guides. The number of people should be kept within twenty."

"Okay." Zhong Yang nodded in response.

"We shouldn't have too many people on this trip to Muhe Grassland. Brother Zixiang, let's go together!"

George Lam nodded.

"Junior Brother Qi, Junior Sister Carissa, you are familiar with the situation on the Muhe Grassland, so come with us!"

The couple looked at each other, and Qi Xiaobai nodded and said, "Okay, I've been to Muhe Grassland many times and have had a lot of dealings with caravans. I know which shops they buy from most often, and I have a rough idea of ​​the prices."

Song Xianxi said happily, "That's even better. I was thinking of finding a caravan to go with me. Now that this is the case, there's no need to find another caravan to accompany us. We can set off as soon as we're ready. During my absence, the sect affairs will be handed over to Senior Brother Zhong Wenyuan, and everyone will follow his instructions."

"Brother Wenyuan, Brother Ningyuan may not be able to handle the Nanyuan Valley shop alone. Please send someone to check the situation. If it is busy, leave one more person there."

"I know." Zhong Wenyuan nodded in response.

"Okay, if you don't have anything else to do, let's go and do our own things!"

Song Xian announced the end of the meeting and everyone left.

"Junior Brother Qi, Junior Sister Carissa, come with me." The three of them came to the room in the backyard, and Song Xian invited them to sit down.

"This trip to the Muhe Grassland is only about earning spirit stones through trade. I also want to visit Junior Sister Carissa's hometown to collect Panlong incense and promote it as a brand for our sect. I need your help."

"If it weren't for the Master's righteous help, Carissa would have been blind. My husband and I are where we are today, all thanks to the Master's kindness. Since the Master has given us instructions, we dare not fail to repay them with all our might. However..."

"Junior Brother Qi, feel free to speak frankly if you want to. There's no need to be shy."

"Then, with all due respect, are the things the Sect Leader said a bit too fanciful? Although I spent some time preparing this spice and added some spiritual herbs, it's not something rare or precious. Can this thing be sold in the cultivation world? I think it's unlikely."

"We have to give it a try! What if it works?" Song Xian smiled faintly, not bothering to explain further: "Even if it can't be sold, it's no big deal. It won't be a big loss for us. But if it succeeds, it will be the lifeline of our sect."

"Junior Brother Qi is well aware of our sect's current situation. We are extremely poor, with no resources or territory under our jurisdiction, and no industrial income. If we only rely on traveling to the Muhe Grassland to make some spirit stones, we won't be able to hold out for long."

"If we want to gain a foothold and develop, we must have an industry with a wide range of sources of income. Although we have opened a shop in the market town of Bianxia, ​​it is impossible to support the sect with just that one shop."

"Selling spices may have been a fleeting idea, but it's also a long-term strategy for building my fortune."

"If we can get Junior Brother Qi's full support, I believe we can do it."

(End of this chapter)