260: Bai Qing, Wan Wan

Taking a single step, Gu Liangyuan appeared within Shui Mu City.

Under the operation of Chaos Qi, Gu Liangyuan gradually merged with the world, walking through the streets of Shui Mu City, yet no one noticed his presence.

Even when a pedestrian occasionally bumped into Gu Liangyuan head-on, it was as if they had collided with air, passing right through him.

Gu Liangyuan scanned both sides and saw a Supreme Lottery Station on the left side of the city entrance.

Cultivators formed a long line in front of the lottery station.

At a glance, there were Cultivators from Qi Refining to Soul Transformation.

The Qi Refining Realm Cultivator at the front of the line took out a Low-Grade Spirit Stone from his Pregnant and placed it on the counter.

After stating his preferred numbers, the lottery station manager took out a wooden token corresponding to his numbers and gave it to him.

This wooden token seemed simple, but Gu Liangyuan sensed Li Daoyou's aura on it.

Clearly, this was a security measure Bai Qing had devised.

Gu Liangyuan had only mentioned the business concept of a lottery station to Bai Qing, but he hadn't expected Bai Qing to be so intelligent and apply the concept broadly.

Now that Li Daoyou had reached Body Integration, unless a powerful individual with a much higher cultivation was present, no one could forge this.

The first prize of this lottery station was merely one thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones.

One thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones was equivalent to one million Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

These Spirit Stones, for a Loose Cultivator, were definitely a huge sum.

But for Cultivators above Void Refining, it could only be considered a small fortune.

To risk offending the Supreme Sacred Ground for this small fortune was clearly a very unprofitable business.

Therefore, this anti-counterfeiting method was considered stable.

Gu Liangyuan observed for a moment and could roughly estimate that this lottery station sold around 100,000 tickets a day.

For a grand prize of one million Low-Grade Spirit Stones, 100,000 tickets meant a huge loss.

However, Gu Liangyuan was very pleased, because he knew the prospects of the lottery station too well.

One must give before one can take.

It seemed like a loss in the early stage, but as the lottery station's reputation grew, the revenue it brought would surely far exceed the current losses.

Withdrawing his gaze, Gu Liangyuan continued forward.

Not far ahead, he saw another Magical Artifact shop.

However, this Magical Artifact shop was different from other Magical Artifact shops; it only sold Magical Artifacts for female Cultivators, primarily female Cultivator clothing.

These Magical Artifacts were all produced by Wuji Peak, and their quality far exceeded the Magical Artifacts on the market.

Most importantly, these clothes were extremely luxurious and came in various styles.

Although not many female Cultivators entered and exited, each one was a Prodigy from various sects, and their spending in the shop was considerable.

Gu Liangyuan knew that Bai Qing had deeply understood the books he had given her.

The practicality of these Magical Artifacts was one aspect; more importantly, it was about using brand effect to satisfy vanity.

Gu Liangyuan was about to leave when he suddenly heard a female shop assistant in the store introduce something to one of the female Cultivators:

“Sister, your taste is truly excellent; this is our shop’s new arrival.”

“Sister, you know the quality of our Splendid Garment Pavilion, and you’ve seen the styles and such. The most important thing is that there’s a hidden mystery inside.”

The female Cultivator asked curiously, “What mystery?”

The female shop assistant leaned close to the female Cultivator’s ear and pointed to an area inside the clothing, saying:

“Sister, do you see this faintly discernible black butterfly?”

“I see it. What about it?”

“The material used to weave this butterfly is no ordinary item; it’s woven from our Cult Master’s hair.”

Seeing the female Cultivator’s surprised expression, the female shop assistant knew that this female Cultivator didn’t quite understand the background of their shop, so she proactively explained:

“This entire Shui Mu City is the property of our Supreme Sacred Ground, managed by Junior Martial Uncle Bai Qing of Forget-Love Peak.”

“Junior Martial Uncle Bai Qing’s Master is Cult Master Gu Liang.”

“Junior Martial Uncle Bai Qing obtained these strands of hair with great difficulty. I heard that a single hand-carved Spirit Stone of the Cult Master is now being sold at an exorbitant price. Wouldn’t these strands of hair be even more precious than a Spirit Stone?”

“Furthermore, as a person who practices Dual Cultivation of both body and technique, the Cult Master’s Physical Body is comparable to a Spirit Treasure!”

“After being refined by the Senior Brother of Wuji Peak, a single strand of this hair can withstand a full-strength attack from a Cultivator below the third stage of Nascent Soul.”

“Worn over the heart, it can save one’s life at a critical moment.”

After listening, the female Cultivator’s eyes gradually brightened.

Gu Liangyuan, who could make treasures pile up like mountains!

After saying that, the female shop assistant added:

“It’s the original scent, too.”

Listening to the assistant’s introduction, the female Cultivator vaguely recalled Gu Liangyuan’s spirited appearance when he underwent his Soul Transformation tribulation.

“What original scent or not original scent!”

“Whether it’s hair or not isn’t important. I mainly like that it can block Nascent Soul attacks. I’m buying it!”

The female shop assistant chuckled:

“I understand, I understand everything.”

Gu Liangyuan did not continue to watch the subsequent transaction content. Looking at what was indeed his hair, his expression was a bit strange.

At his Realm, as long as he didn't want to, he naturally wouldn't lose hair.

He remembered these strands of hair; Lü Qingmei had grabbed them when she thought he wasn't paying attention.

At the time, he was puzzled but didn't think much of it. Although there were curse techniques in the Cultivation World that used hair, Gu Liangyuan had already tried it and found that the heavenly secrets on his body were Chaos, so these curse techniques were useless against him.

He only thought it was due to Lü Qingmei’s emotional excitement.

He never expected it to be used for this.

Looking at the two women smiling at each other, although Gu Liangyuan didn't want to use the word 'perverted' to describe a female Cultivator, he indeed found it a bit hard to bear.

Considering the development of Shui Mu City, Gu Liangyuan simply pretended not to see it and continued forward.

Along the way, he saw rare shops in the Cultivation World, such as escort agencies and beast-fighting arenas, which Bai Qing was now managing very successfully.

He also saw the Supreme Bank, but few people went there to deposit or withdraw Spirit Stones.

Gu Liangyuan understood that this was a manifestation of people’s pessimism regarding the current situation of the Supreme Sacred Ground.

When the Supreme Sacred Ground no longer had external enemies and was at its zenith, these banks would gradually unleash their inherent power.

Trust and reputation are not built overnight.

After walking a short distance, Gu Liangyuan stepped into the City Lord's Mansion.

Upon entering the City Lord's Mansion, Gu Liangyuan immediately saw Bai Qing, who was seated at the head of the table.

At this time, her cultivation had already reached the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment.

Although she held the seemingly perpetually young Wan Wan in her arms, she did not lose her dignity.

On both sides, over a dozen people who looked like managers sat upright, listening carefully to Bai Qing’s conversation.

“The development of Shui Mu City has been good during this period; the revenue is more than three times higher than before.”

“This is not my achievement alone, but the result of everyone’s collective efforts.”

“Starting today, all your monthly salaries will be doubled.”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s faces showed satisfied smiles.

Before they could express their gratitude, Bai Qing continued:

“However, we cannot become complacent because of this.”

Saying this, Bai Qing put down Wan Wan from her arms and cupped her hands towards Forget-Love Peak, saying:

“Revered Master’s ambition lies in the entire Eastern Continent!”

“Revered Master has a good saying: ‘Troops and horses have not moved, but provisions and fodder go first.’ ”

“I absolutely will not allow financial problems to hinder Revered Master.”

“Do you all understand?”

Everyone stood up: “We understand.”

Bai Qing waved her hand:

“Proceed with your actions according to the finalized plan. If we can achieve our goal this year, I will personally ensure that each of you receives a Nascent Soul Medicinal Pill.”

Ordinary Cultivators could advance to Nascent Soul through their own efforts.

However, for Cultivators with mediocre Aptitude, Medicinal Pills were necessary for assistance.

These managers were once Inner Sect Disciples of the Supreme Sacred Ground; it was precisely because they could not advance further in their cultivation that they were assigned to manage the Supreme Sacred Ground's properties.

Therefore, only a Nascent Soul Medicinal Pill could help them Breakthrough.

For Prodigy Disciples, Breakthrough meant getting closer to Immortal Ascension.

But for them, Breakthrough meant being able to live for several hundred more years.

Upon hearing Bai Qing make such a promise, everyone was excited and expressed their determination to achieve the goal.

Gu Liangyuan looked at Bai Qing, who was decisive and skilled at managing her subordinates, and felt that she was like a completely different person from her obedient demeanor on Forget-Love Peak.