Fairy, don't go! I have a mod.

Mu Tianmiao gasped.

"My sister's mouth is really sharp..."

The light screen of the Yin-Yang Harmony Technique in his sea of ​​consciousness was still flickering slightly, and pleasant data was jumping next to the MOD icon that could increase cultivation by a hundredfold.

He looked up at the ceiling of the lounge, feeling a tingling sensation, and exclaimed in his heart... This system is fucking amazing.

When the door of Dan Pavilion was knocked on, the two had already been apart for some time.

Mu Tianmiao was leaning against the material counter, her robes had been rearranged, except that the collar was slightly loose.

Tang Ruoyin stood beside him, her face mostly covered by a veil, revealing only her eyes.

The spring-like feeling in the corners of her eyes had not completely faded, but no one could see it under the veil.

She raised her hand to tidy up the stray hairs by her temples, her movements composed, as if nothing had just happened.

"Elder Tang, your disciple has come to deliver this month's account books."

A crisp female voice came from outside the door.

Tang Ruoyin tucked the edges of her veil in again, making sure it was completely covering her face, before speaking:

"Come in."

A female disciple dressed in a light blue disciple's robe pushed open the door and entered, carrying a stack of account books in her arms.

With delicate features, he first bowed respectfully to Tang Ruoyin upon entering, and then turned to bow to Mu Tianmiao.

"Greetings, Elder Tang. Greetings, Eldest Brother."

Then her gaze became fixed on Mu Tianmiao and she couldn't take it off.

Mu Tianmiao stood by the window, a ray of morning light shining directly on him.

Having just experienced a passionate encounter, he still exuded a languid aura, his lips slightly upturned, making him incredibly charming.

Although the robes had been straightened, there was a faint red mark on the small patch of collarbone that was exposed at the neckline.

The female disciple stared at the red mark, her mind already wandering.

Why does my senior brother look exceptionally handsome today? That lazy feeling is completely different from his usual heroic spirit. And that slightly upturned corner of his mouth, is he smiling at her?

No way, but he's so gentle. What's that mark on his collarbone? Never mind, anyway, Senior Brother is so handsome. I really want to have a little cultivator with him...

"cough."

Tang Ruoyin coughed lightly.

The female disciple snapped out of her daze, her face flushed red, and she hurriedly handed over the account book.

"Elder, please take a look."

Tang Ruoyin took the ledger and flipped through it page by page, her brows furrowing slightly.

The monthly output of pills was listed clearly, but the income of spirit stones noted afterward consistently fell short of her expectations.

While Tang Ruoyin was looking down at the account book, the female disciple secretly turned her gaze back to Mu Tianmiao.

The female disciple reluctantly left the Pill Pavilion, turning back to look at Mu Tianmiao one last time before she left, almost tripping over the threshold.

Mu Tianmiao pretended not to see it.

Although he has good luck with women, he is not a ravenous wolf who will devour every woman he sees.

If he ruins all the female disciples in the sect, the Immortal Shadow Sect might as well be renamed the Joyful Union Sect...

The master would probably drag him to the square and physically castrate him in front of the entire sect...

He shuddered, banished the thought from his mind, and moved closer to Tang Ruoyin to look at the account books.

Upon seeing this, his brows furrowed.

The ledgers were filled with detailed records of the production and sales of pills over the past few months.

The output of Dan Pavilion is quite considerable. Common pills such as Blood Clotting Powder, Spirit Gathering Pill, and Foundation Building Pill are produced one batch after another, and the quality is definitely not bad.

Tang Ruoyin's alchemy skills are renowned throughout the Central Continent, and the disciples she trains are all highly skilled.

The quality and efficacy of the elixir are absolutely top-notch among those of the same grade.

Looking at the sales records, the problem becomes obvious.

Sales were dismal.

None of the various types of pills sold well; even the Foundation Establishment Pill, a highly sought-after commodity, only sold a handful of bottles each month.

The Spirit Gathering Pill is slightly better, but it's still far from enough to cover the operating costs of the Pill Pavilion. As for the high-grade pills, they are almost completely ignored.

What's even more striking is that at least half of the purchase records belong to disciples of the Immortal Shadow Sect.

They produce and sell their own products, transferring them from one hand to the other, and the sect's stipends are then earned back with these pills.

This isn't called buying and selling; it's called internal circulation.

Mu Tianmiao flipped through a few pages, then looked up and asked.

"Didn't our pills sell quite well before? I remember that before I left, the Spirit Gathering Pill was always a hot commodity in the market."

Tang Ruoyin removed her veil, revealing a face that was both cool and weary.

She leaned back in her chair, rubbed her temples with her fingers, and spoke with a deep sense of helplessness.

"The past is the past, and the present is the present. Medicine King Valley has been expanding rapidly since two years ago, with dozens of pill shops opening in various markets and towns."

"Their medicines are indeed of better quality, more stable in effect than ours, and at a lower price."

"The rogue cultivators only have a few spirit stones, so they'll definitely buy from Medicine King Valley. Who would recognize our Immortal Shadow Sect's brand?"

She sighed and pointed to a few lines of numbers in the ledger.

“Look here, several large merchants in the market who used to regularly purchase goods from us every month have stopped doing business with us since last year.”

“I sent someone to ask, and they were quite honest. They said that Yaowang Valley offered them a wholesale price that was 20% lower than ours, and they also included door-to-door delivery.”

How should we proceed?

Mu Tianmiao frowned: "Isn't Medicine King Valley losing money by doing this?"

"They are the number one sect in alchemy, with a large and powerful family and business. They can afford to burn spirit stones in the market."

"Our Immortal Shadow Sect only has this one alchemy pavilion. If we engage in a price war with others, we're just courting death."

Tang Ruoyin shook her head.

"Moreover, none of the major markets in the vicinity have Medicine King Valley's presence recently."

She pursed her lips, her tone full of resentment.

"They can steal the market even without any physical presence, which shows that our pills are completely uncompetitive in terms of price."

Chapter Ten: Minion Fish!

Mu Tianmiao stared at the ledger and flipped through a few more pages, his brows furrowing more and more tightly.

His gaze swept back and forth across the lines of numbers several times before suddenly stopping.

"wrong."

Tang Ruoyin tilted her head to look at him: "What's wrong?"

Mu Tianmiao pointed to the sales records of the most ordinary blood-clotting powder and spirit-restoring pills in the ledger.

"Look, these two kinds of pills are priced similarly to the others, but we still manage to sell quite a few each month, even if it's just a few here and there, the sales volume is at least moving."

"If it were really a price issue, these affordable pills shouldn't be selling well either."

He tapped the ledger with his knuckles and continued his analysis.

"This shows that it's not a matter of price. The fact that independent cultivators are willing to buy our Blood Clotting Powder shows that they still recognize the Immortal Shadow Sect's reputation."

"The problem lies elsewhere."

Tang Ruoyin looked down at the ledger, then looked up at Mu Tianmiao, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

Last time this kid came to Dan Pavilion, he was only focused on being affectionate with her, but today he's gotten serious.

"So where do you think the problem lies?"

Mu Tianmiao pondered for a moment, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

The methods that businesses used in the past—membership cards, points, discounts for spending a certain amount, and rebates for stored value—seem to be something that no one in the cultivation world has ever done before.

"I have an idea."

He pulled up a chair and sat down opposite Tang Ruoyin, leaning forward slightly.

"Let's implement a membership system."

"Membership system?"

Tang Ruoyin blinked; this was clearly the first time she had ever heard of this term in the cultivation world.

"Yes, any cultivator who buys pills from our Pill Pavilion can register as a member for free. Members accumulate points by buying pills, and these points can be exchanged for items..."

"VIP members who deposit a lump sum of spirit stones will receive a direct discount on purchasing pills; the more you buy, the greater the discount..."

"Top-tier members receive an extra small gift each month, such as a free bottle of Rejuvenation Pill or a few communication talismans—not expensive, but practical..."

Mu Tianmiao spoke more and more fluently, her fingers tracing patterns on the table as if sketching an invisible blueprint...

After listening, Tang Ruoyin did not speak immediately. She tilted her head slightly, staring at Mu Tianmiao with her clear, cold eyes for a long while, as if re-examining the man in front of her.

"Where did you learn these ideas?"

"It was my own idea."

Mu Tianmiao remained unfazed.

Tang Ruoyin remained silent for a moment, then closed the ledger, placed it on the table, and a smile slowly bloomed on her lips.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll talk to the sect leader tomorrow and see if it works at the nearest pill shop in the market.”

Tang Ruoyin put away the account book, turned around and looked at Mu Tianmiao, a half-smile playing on her lips.

"If this method really works, you'll have helped both me and your master."

She reached out and gently poked his chest with her finger.

"The sect leader has been troubled by the matter of spirit stones for so long. If you can handle this matter, she will definitely remember your kindness even if she doesn't say it."

Mu Tianmiao chuckled and tried to put his arm around her waist again, but Tang Ruoyin deftly dodged him.

"Alright, I won't keep you any longer."

She gestured with her chin toward the door, her tone slightly mocking.

"You've had your fun, now it's time to get down to business. Go find Lin Yanluo, she's probably getting impatient."

"Don't even think about touching me again, you'll corrupt my resolve!"

The male protagonist scratched his head, chuckled awkwardly, and retreated.

When Mu Tianmiao arrived at the weapon refining pavilion, he heard deafening hammering sounds even before he entered the door.

The sound was extremely rhythmic, one hammer blow after another, each strike precisely hitting the same frequency.

A series of crackling sonic booms echoed in the air, like muffled thunder exploding in one's ears, causing the ground beneath one's feet to tremble slightly.

The copper bell hanging at the entrance of the weapon-refining pavilion jingled loudly, and two female disciples passing by covered their ears and ran away to avoid it.

Mu Tianmiao pushed open the door to the main building and went inside, immediately spotting Lin Yanluo.

A petite figure, barely over 1.5 meters tall, stood before a massive forging platform, wielding a giant hammer taller than herself.

The hammerhead was as big as a tabletop, jet black, and covered with flame patterns. Each strike emitted a ring of orange-red spiritual light.

Her slender arms looked like they could break at any moment, yet she swung the two-meter-long hammer with tremendous force.

The hammer traced a semi-circular arc in the air, and the moment it struck the iron ingot, it exploded into a visible shockwave.

The sonic boom comes from here.

Lin Yanluo swung the hammer with extreme focus, her eyes shining brightly, and there was even a hint of enjoyment on her lips.

A small patch of her dark blue, narrow-sleeved dress was soaked with sweat and clung to her slender back.