Cultivating Immortality Through a Hundred Lifetimes: I Possess the Heavenly Book of Merit

That's interesting.

Yu Yan played with the imitation jade pendant in his hand, feeling the spiritual energy fluctuations flowing within it.

A first-grade high-quality magic weapon that can simulate the aura of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. Although it's just for bluffing, it might actually come in handy if taken out at a crucial moment.

He looked up at Gu Cheng, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Based on the fact that the other party had previously sold those Rejuvenation Pills with severe side effects in Baicao Lane, Yu Yan had a pretty good idea of ​​what the other party was thinking.

Seeing his expression, Gu Cheng chuckled and, without mincing words, went straight to the point:

"Young friend, I've seen your Yin-Yang Harmony Talisman in Hundred Herbs Alley. It's a treasure! It can unblock the flow of spiritual energy and neutralize the side effects of pills. It's practically tailor-made for those cheap-looking cultivators."

He took a step forward and lowered his voice:

"Think about it, the Spirit Recovery Pill from Wanhuo Store costs fifty low-grade spirit stones. It's effective, but expensive! How many of us low-level cultivators can afford to take it every day?"

"But this time, my Spirit Pill only costs five spirit stones. Although it has a few minor flaws, when paired with your Yin-Yang Harmony Talisman, its effect is no worse than that of the All-Purpose Store's pills, and may even be better!"

Yu Yan nodded without saying anything, just quietly looking at him.

Gu Cheng continued:

"Let's cooperate. I'll sell the Spirit Recovery Pills, and you'll sell the Yin-Yang Harmony Talismans. What if those greedy cultivators buy my pills and find that their spiritual energy is not circulating properly, or even suffer from qi deviation? They'll have to buy your talismans to resolve it."

"Conversely, if your talismans sell well, everyone will know that using my Rejuvenation Pills with your talismans is much more cost-effective than buying pills from the general store alone. At that point, sales on both sides will skyrocket!"

He spoke with great enthusiasm, gesturing wildly, his thin figure casting a comical shadow on the ground.

"Young friend, think about it. This is a huge, long-term business! How many low-level cultivators are there in Yunmeng Immortal City? Hundreds of thousands! Even if only one-tenth of them buy our products, that's still a market of tens of thousands of people!"

"If each person buys ten pills a month, that's millions of pills! If one talisman lasts a month, that's tens of thousands of talismans! We're making a killing!"

As Yu Yan listened to his description of the future, he stroked his chin and was indeed somewhat tempted.

Although the initial methods were not very friendly to the lower-level cultivators, his Yin-Yang Convergence Talisman could make up for it, only requiring them to spend a little more spirit stones.

Moreover, even if you combine the talismans and Gu Cheng's Rejuvenation Pills, the price still isn't as high as the items from Wanhuohang.

All three parties benefit, so there's absolutely no problem.

Moreover, Yu Yan does indeed need spirit stones.

To acquire a Foundation Establishment cultivation technique at the auction a year from now, the required spirit stones will likely be considerable.

A decent Foundation Establishment cultivation technique would cost at least tens of thousands of spirit stones, and possibly even hundreds of thousands. My savings are simply not enough.

He raised his head and looked at Gu Cheng:

"Brother Gu's idea is indeed excellent. However..."

He paused, a hint of scrutiny in his eyes:

"Brother Gu, you could do this business on your own, right? Why do you have to drag me into it?"

Gu Cheng paused for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile:

"Young friend, what you say is unbelievable. How can I do it alone? The side effects of my Rejuvenation Pill need your Yin-Yang Harmony Talisman to neutralize them."

"Without your talisman, selling my pills would be harmful to people, and sooner or later someone would come knocking on my door to beat me to death. With your cooperation, we can make this a long-term business."

He sighed, his gaze becoming sincere:

"Besides, I'm just a rogue cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining. I've been in this Cloud Dream Immortal City for decades. What storms haven't I weathered? You can't go it alone for long. Only mutual benefit and win-win cooperation can lead to long-term success."

Yu Yan nodded; that reason made sense.

He pondered for a moment and asked:

"So, Brother Gu, how do you plan to cooperate?"

Gu Cheng's eyes lit up, and he quickly said:

"Simple! You'll be in charge of drawing the talismans, and I'll be in charge of selling the pills and talismans. I have a small shop on the third floor below. It's not big, but the location is decent, and there's a lot of foot traffic every day. We'll put the two items together and sell them side by side. People who buy pills will recommend talismans, and people who buy talismans will recommend pills. That way, we can boost each other's sales."

He paused, then said:

"Of course, we also need to make the benefits clear."

"The pills are mine, the talismans are yours; we each sell our own, and we don't interfere with each other. But to encourage each other, we can offer a discount—buy five pills and get one talisman free, or buy three talismans and get one pill free. We'll each cover half of this discount, how about that?"

As Yu Yan listened, his mind raced with calculations.

Each selling their own goods and not interfering with each other is fair. Sharing the discounts and concessions equally is also reasonable.

But that's not what he cares about.

"Brother Gu, let's put the profit sharing aside for now. I want to know, just how severe are the side effects of your Spirit Restoration Pill? Could it cause anyone's death?"

Gu Cheng's expression turned serious, and he waved his hand:

"Don't worry, young friend, I know what I'm doing. The side effect of my Rejuvenation Pill is that for about an hour after taking it, the flow of spiritual energy will be somewhat sluggish, affecting the smoothness of spiritual energy by about 30%. In severe cases, it may cause qi deviation, but as long as you have your talisman, there will be absolutely no problem."

He paused, then said:

"The combination of the two not only prevents cultivation from going mad, but also accelerates the cultivation speed. What low-level cultivator could resist such an effect?"

Yu Yan nodded, feeling reassured.

Affecting the flow of spiritual energy by 30% is indeed a significant side effect. However, for lower-level cultivators who cannot afford expensive pills, this side effect is completely acceptable as long as no one dies. Moreover, they have their own talismans to neutralize it.

He thought for a moment, then asked:

"Brother Gu, what is the cost of this pill? If it sells for five spirit stones, how much profit can you make?"

Gu Cheng chuckled and lowered his voice:

"Young friend, this is my specialty, and I shouldn't be revealing it. But since we're going to cooperate, I won't hold back. The cost of these pills is less than two spirit stones, and I sell them for five, making a profit of more than three spirit stones per pill. If I sell a few hundred a day, that's over a thousand spirit stones in income."

Well, the defective Rejuvenation Pill is far inferior to the first Rejuvenation Pill that Li Lingying refined in her previous life, but it has become Gu Cheng's signature skill.

but--

Yu Yan raised an eyebrow.

The cost is less than two yuan, but it sells for five yuan; the profit is indeed considerable. No wonder Gu Cheng was willing to give himself a replica of Wei Pei; he seems to be someone who isn't short of money.

He pondered for a moment, then finally asked the most crucial question:

"So, how will the spirit stones from the sales be divided?"

Gu Cheng had clearly thought this through long ago, and answered without hesitation:

"I said, we each sell our own products and each takes our own profits."

"However, to encourage each other, we can offer a joint discount. For example, five pills plus one talisman would normally cost twenty-five plus ten, a total of thirty-five spirit stones. We can sell it for thirty, giving you a discount of five. You pay two and a half, and I pay two and a half, how about that?"

Yu Yan did some mental calculations.

The main costs of my own Yin-Yang Harmony Talisman are the talisman paper and spiritual energy. Each talisman paper costs one spirit stone, and with the spiritual energy consumed, the cost is just over one spirit stone. Selling it for ten spirit stones, I can make a profit of more than eight spirit stones. If I offer a discount, I can earn two and a half spirit stones less per talisman, but still make more than five spirit stones.

Moreover, with Gu Cheng's elixirs driving sales, sales will definitely increase significantly. Even if the profit per unit decreases, the total revenue will be much higher than it is now.

He nodded:

"Can."

Gu Cheng was overjoyed and grabbed Yu Yan's hand:

"Brother, you're very straightforward! Then it's settled!"