On the official road, there sped a Spirit Beast Carriage.
Jiang Tang pulled aside the carriage curtain and looked out, feeling a strange sense of familiarity as he saw the distant red walls and glazed tiles.
This place, could it be...
"Driver, where are we?" Jiang Tang asked the coachman.
"Young master, this is Sunside City, one of the most bustling great cities in the Northern Region," the coachman answered loudly.
Jiang Tang nodded.
After descending the mountain, to speed up his journey, he had gritted his teeth and spent a considerable sum to rent a Spirit Beast Carriage, telling the coachman to hurry to the nearest large city.
And so this scene unfolded.
The coachman drove the Spirit Beast Carriage to the city gate, brought it to a stop, and leisurely left after Jiang Tang got off.
Jiang Tang looked at the most bustling palace within Sunside City; the more he looked, the more familiar it became.
After inquiring, he learned that the palace was called Purple Forbidden City, the imperial capital of the former Qing dynasty. The Celestial Dynasty was established later, with its capital in Central Realm Chang'an, leading to this place's decline. Despite its decline, it was still one of the busiest and most lively great cities in the world.
Just like that.
Jiang Tang didn't have the time to care for the magnificent and vast scenery of the former imperial city. As soon as he entered the city, he started looking everywhere for a suitable place to open a shop.
After searching for most of the day, Jiang Tang finally found a teahouse in an alley that was up for lease.
He went with the shopkeeper to the Government Office to change the land deed and pay the Silver Taels, and then Jiang Tang entrusted the teahouse owner to find two people with clean backgrounds to serve as the Shopkeeper and the accountant.
Afterwards, Jiang Tang made a trip to the market, found some good-looking and capable lads, and brought them back to the courtyard he had purchased. He handed the keys over to the Shopkeeper and, after training them on their conduct, began to prepare for opening the shop.
Having closed himself in to produce enough Pills for half a year and cultivated many Spirit Grasses and Spiritual Medicines, Jiang Tang, with his greasy hair, sought out the Shopkeeper, the accountant, and the lads.
Talking to them in detail, Jiang Tang asked, "If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me."
The few shook their heads, clear about everything in their hearts.
Jiang Tang thus said no more, gave a few reminders, and sent them off to rest early.
After everyone left, Jiang Tang quietly took out a piece of Talisman Paper.
Dipping it in Vermilion Sand, Jiang Tang closed his eyes for a long time to settle his thoughts.
Until, at a certain moment when inspiration struck, Jiang Tang suddenly opened his eyes, picked up the Vermilion Sand Brush, and quickly made his strokes, completing it in one breath.
It is said that everyone, when they receive a Saint Sect Talisman, will have an epiphany and write their own Talisman.
Therefore, every Saint Sect Talisman is different.
Today, his Saint Sect Talisman, succeeded!
Looking at the ugly Talisman that looked like a ghost's drawing, Jiang Tang silently put down the Vermilion Sand Brush.
He really wasn't the type to impress all with a stroke of the brush.
In the end, unwilling to discard it, Jiang Tang posted the Talisman in the main hall, then returned to his room to continue producing Pills.
The next morning, in the cold and deserted alley, due to the commotion and drumming of a Lion Dance Troupe, it became lively.
Countless passing tourists stopped in their tracks, flocking into the alley to watch the lion dance and the music.
"Distinguished guests who are passing by, don't miss out! Have a look, take a gander! Today, Holy Pavilion opens with great fortune, selling all Pills and Spirit Grasses at half the market price!" The Shopkeeper walked out from Holy Pavilion, cutting the red ribbon and greeting everyone with smiles and bows from all directions.
The tourists listened with curiosity.
But what they were even more interested in were the Pills.
"Is this pill possibly counterfeit?" one of the men asked.
"Esteemed guest, please look, what sect symbol is that hanging beside the Holy Pavilion's golden plaque?" In response to the customer's suspicion, the shopkeeper was nonchalant, pointing to the signboard overhead with a smile.
The crowd looked up together.
Beside the prominent words "Holy Pavilion," there was a white symbol of the Auspicious Cloud Immortal Crane.
If one looked even closer, they would notice that the symbol was faintly shimmering.
"The white Auspicious Cloud Immortal Crane... is it the Immortal Sect? The Holy Pavilion is backed by the Immortal Sect?!" The customer was immediately shocked.
This symbol was the emblem of the Immortal Sect, and it was also printed on the robes of the Immortal Sect.
One could not fake such a symbol—for if it were to be discovered one day, it would enrage the entire Immortal Sect. And the Immortal Sect was the foremost cultivation sect of the Mortal Realm; the consequences of angering it, no single power could afford.
Even the Imperial Xuanyuan Clan.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the First Rank Elixirs inside are all of the finest quality, and the quantity is limited. First come, first serve," the shopkeeper said smilingly, his eyes gleaming like a wily fox.
Now, the onlookers couldn't stay put.
Elixirs, after all, were an industry monopolized by the noble clans of the Mortal Realm. Common folk couldn't afford them; they were delicacies only the upper class could enjoy.
To them, mere mortals, even the most inferior pill, even one adulterated with scraps, was considered a supreme honor.
Not to mention these openly sold, legitimate pills.
One person entered the Holy Pavilion first, then emerged shortly after with a smile brimming in his eyes, excitedly proclaiming, "It's true! Their pills are of excellent quality, not something ordinary people could refine!"
The crowd's eyes lit up, and they no longer hesitated, rushing inside.
In less than half a day, everything in the Holy Pavilion was sold out.
The shopkeeper did not hold onto any stock. When the noon hour came, he closed the door leisurely, under the earnest and surprised gazes of the people.
Despite this attitude, the reputation of the Holy Pavilion for its good quality and low prices spread far and wide.
In the following days, often it wouldn't take more than half a day, even less than two hours, for the Holy Pavilion's goods to be sold out completely.
Most buyers were commoners who couldn't afford pills on a regular day. They would line up early, purchasing pills to save for future use.
Some had severe illnesses at home that needed immediate attention.
These comings and goings, those who had bought pills and Spiritual Medicine, tasted the benefits and naturally boasted everywhere about the Holy Pavilion's good quality and low prices. Thus, word spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, and the Holy Pavilion became the hottest shop in Sunside City.
Those who were jealous behind the scenes and thought of foul play upon seeing the backing of the Immortal Sect, they wimped out.
After all, it was just a shop too small to be any smaller, with strange and archaic rules, closing at noon—offending the Immortal Sect for such a tiny shop seemed somewhat unwise.
And not worth it.
So, they all quietly dismissed the idea.
Little did they know, years later, the Holy Pavilion would spread across the world, no longer just a tiny shop.
But that is a story for another time.
In these days, Jiang Tang had been tirelessly refining a batch of pills and cultivating some Spirit Grass. Then, he summoned the shopkeeper and carefully instructed him before he left.
"My lord, why close the doors halfway through the day?" Out of curiosity, the shopkeeper finally crossed the line and couldn't help but ask.
Jiang Tang grinned: "Sometimes, the fewer the items, the better they sell. A surplus diminishes their value, and naturally, no one bothers with them. It's like everyone thinking exotic delicacies are good just because they're rare."
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper fell into thought.