After the destruction of the Immortal Realm, I took in the fallen fairy.

"Alright! Fifty spirit stones it is, it's a deal, I want half a box."

Ultimately, after careful consideration, Aunt Xue accepted Lin Heng's offer.

After all, the Vigorous Grass is a spiritual herb.

In the Demon Calendar, the conditions for cultivating spiritual herbs no longer exist.

In their view, as long as they can buy spiritual herbs and generate profits for their industry, they are not entirely unwilling to accept these robust herbs even if they are slightly overpriced.

However, in the end, Aunt Xue still gave Lin Heng a long, wistful look and said, "Young man, shall I send someone to take inventory?"

"Um."

Lin Heng nodded calmly and said to the other three people around him, "Since you have all agreed on the quantity, then each of you should send someone to count it."

"Alright! As we agreed before, I'm taking a whole box of 'Strong Grass'!"

"Then let me check mine too..."

The four wealthy merchants present all began to call their men from outside the mansion to count the items.

Lin Heng also gave Mu Tinglan a look, signaling her to keep an eye on things a little.

Although given their status, it's unlikely they would intentionally omit or underestimate the numbers.

However, Lin Heng is currently in dire need of spirit stones...

"By the way, little teacher, I noticed that Fairy Mu and Fairy Yun beside you seemed to show some hostility when they saw Shen Zu?"

Suddenly, Tian Qianchen asked Lin Heng from the side.

"We met him yesterday and learned a little about the businesses he runs," Lin Heng said vaguely.

"Hehe, actually I think they have a good eye for people. After all, the two fairies are now your fairy servants, so it's normal for them to empathize with other fairies who are also fairy servants."

Tian Qianchen narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on Shen Zu: "Moreover, that old fat man can be said to have squeezed the value of the immortal slaves to the extreme."

"Elder Tian seems to know something?"

Lin Heng did not directly mention that Shen Zu had made the fairy drink mineral water yesterday.

"That happened decades ago."

Tian Qianchen waved his hand and said, "When I first came to Golden Deer City, that guy had just set up his Xuanji Mine in the northern suburbs, so I happened to witness his use of the Immortal Slaves..."

"Don't let his rugged appearance fool you, he's actually a scholar."

"He studied the cultivation notes passed down from his predecessors even more thoroughly than the cultivators of the past, and he also knew about the spiritual root characteristics of the fairies."

After a pause, Tian Qianchen glanced at Mu Tinglan, who was supervising the wealthy businessman's men.

"For example, water spirit root fairies were very popular among male cultivators during the Immortal Ancient Era because of their unique spiritual root characteristics."

He turned to look at Lin Heng: "Although we have now entered the Demon Calendar Year, the depletion of spiritual energy also means the disappearance of spiritual root characteristics. However, he can use spirit stones to forcibly stimulate the spiritual root characteristics of immortal slaves to generate profits for his business."

"For example?"

Lin Heng nodded slowly.

Yesterday they saw that Shen Zu was using the immortal slave's fire spirit root to smelt mineral water.

Tian Qianchen said, "That time in the mine, I saw him forcibly activate a fairy's water spirit root characteristic with spirit stones, making the fairy hug the ore day and night to remove the poison and spirit moss attached to the ore."

Lin Heng frowned. "But the spiritual energy in the spirit stone is only temporary. Given the harmfulness of those toxins, it might cause permanent damage to the body, right?"

"certainly."

Tian Qianchen nodded and said, "When I saw that water spirit fairy, damn it, this beautiful fairy was covered in pustules and poison sacs... Ugh, I still feel disgusted just thinking about it now."

As he spoke, even the old man couldn't help but wave his hand.

"Actually, the main point is that the job isn't finished after the water spirit fairy removes the poison."

"besides?"

"Nonsense! She's a water spirit root fairy, practically born with a seductive nature. Besides, places like mines are full of male cultivators who've been dragged there to work day and night."

Tian Qianchen rolled her eyes at Lin Heng. "Guess how they reacted when they saw a water spirit fairy in front of them that night, after they finished their work grumbling and cursing?"

"Holy crap?"

Lin Heng was stunned, although he did know that the water spirit root fairy's spirit root characteristics could indeed make people feel very comfortable.

But if the whole body is covered in pustules and vesicles...

"How could they do this?"

"It's a mine, pitch black at night. Who the hell cares what kind of creature the other person looks like? As long as the spiritual root is comfortable, that's all that matters!"

"..."

After Tian Qianchen said this, Lin Heng finally understood that behind the glamorous fairy industry in Jinlu City, it was far darker than he had imagined.

Although Linxian City didn't treat its immortal slaves as human beings, they didn't go to the extreme of torturing them to death like this.

The biggest difference is that impoverished cities are simply focused on satisfying desires.

In wealthy cities like Jinlu City, and even among knowledgeable individuals like Shen Zu, the value of the immortal slaves was utilized to the fullest extent.

"Anyway, when others ask about those celestial slaves, Shen Zu's people just say they were celestial slaves transported from other places. But who knows if those celestial slaves actually came from other places?"

Tian Qianchen shrugged.

Clearly, this elder of the General Administration was well aware of the truth behind the Fairy Maiden industry chain.

"Actually, in recent years, our General Administration Division has also introduced some truly useful protection regulations for immortal slaves, and some of them have already begun to be implemented in the capital."

Tian Qianchen's expression turned serious: "After all, in this chaotic world of the Demon Calendar, no one knows what the human realm will eventually become. What if the tide turns and the spiritual energy truly recovers? Those slave masters who have gone too far now will all be finished then."

After a pause, he said to Lin Heng with some emotion, "So, little teacher, I've always felt that your way of managing the immortal slaves is very farsighted... That's why I've always regarded your Oasis in the Clouds as my final retreat."

"As long as Elder Tian doesn't break the rules of my Cloud Oasis, he can stay if he wants."

Lin Heng didn't seem to care, and instead asked, "By the way, Elder Tian, ​​you just said that the mine in the northern suburbs of Golden Deer City is the Xuanji Mine operated by Shen Zu?"

This morning, the old shrew had mentioned it to him.

"You're also interested in the mine?" Tian Qianchen was taken aback.

"Let's talk about this later."

Lin Heng shook his head, because Mu Tinglan had already walked back from the middle of the hall.

"Owner."

After Mu Tinglan came over, she said to him softly, "The statistics have all been completed. We sold a total of 43,000 spirit stones."

"Okay, I understand."

Lin Heng nodded and smiled at the four wealthy merchants, saying, "Then I'll trouble you all to deliver the spirit stones to my territory."

"No problem, I'll go back and find someone to take care of it."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

After all, with such a large oasis suddenly appearing outside Golden Deer City, people of their status would naturally have known about it long ago.

"It seems young friend Lin Heng has finished his business negotiations?"

At this moment, Mi Yuanzheng walked in through the side door.

"Owner."

Yun Qinghe frowned and immediately stepped forward.

She whispered in Lin Heng's ear, "The direction from which this person came has a large amount of spiritual energy, and this spiritual energy is exactly the same as the spiritual energy stored in the spirit stone."