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Zhen Ji, among her fellow Inner Disciples, wasn't as famous as the disciples in the top ten of the Inner Ranking system. Due to her outstanding physique for a lady, lean but fairly muscular attractive body, firm buttocks, and attention-grabbing height, she was quite famous among the council of far-gone degenerate men and Yin-loving women. Undoubtedly, she could easily pass as someone who practiced the usually ignored body cultivation techniques and that's what made her quite unique among a populace that mostly followed the cultivation of spiritual energy.
The Dao of Body Refinement was a resource-hog and Zhen Ji would always walk around the Exchange Hall to look for suitable resources to supplement her cultivation. As someone who is in dire need of resources, in addition to the 10 substandard primal crystal stones that Inner disciples receive every month, Zhen Ji took on various sect missions to earn more money to buy what she needed the most. Spiritual Pills were a luxury that each Inner Disciple would receive every two to three months except the Elder-bound disciples who were well-catered for. She, Zhen Ji, didn't have a backer so she had put on more effort for survival and made do with rare quasi-spiritual pills in the market — as low as their quality was.
Tonight, she had just finished her meditation session and decided to hit the night market to look for something that might catch her interest. It was then that she noticed the eye-catching perfect strokes of calligraphy written on those labels from afar with her excellent visual senses that separated her from her peers. As extraordinarily beautiful as the seller was, with a face that carried a passive cupid arrow to pierce the hearts of women, Zhen Ji's attention had mostly been occupied by the magnetic allure of the pill bottles.
Her long legs had moved on their own and soon, with a charming smile of her own, she had gone straight to business due to her innate curiosity towards the goods on display.
'Hmm, everything is meticulously well-labeled but the buyer is still asking about the goods as if she has yet to see anything. If it's not my cue to increase her buying impulse, then when is it going to be?' Zhao Wei chuckled internally.
"A beautiful woman like you to be interested in my pills, if this is not the deliberate handiwork of fate and destiny, then what is?" Zhao Wei complimented his first customer, who had the inherent qualities of a seasoned female warrior who liked to dance with life and death.
He donned an amiable smile that increased his favorability with Zhen Ji.
'His words are simple and cliched, something that I have heard from quite a number of my pursuers, yet I feel my warrior's heart excited since it comes from his mouth.' Zhen Ji thought in admiration while trying to calm her thumping heart. She swore she could hear it beating in her ears.
'What a good tactic. He's already won my curiosity.'
Even though she tried to hide it, Zhen Ji still had her cheeks reddening in embarrassment. Her current image blended unnaturally well with her warrior-like demeanor to create something heartwarming. She looked like an innocent maiden, carefreely walking the fields of wheat and barley.
Satisfied by his lethal charismatic move, Zhao Wei then proceeded to effectively advertise his products. He decided to make them as appealing as possible.
Taking a random pill bottle in the section labeled Marrow Cleansing Pills, he began.
"These are Marrow Cleansing Pills which you are already aware of. They are common and saturated in the market but what if I say my pills are different from the rest?"
"I wouldn't easily believe you as all the pills that I have tested in the market are either of the same slightly average quality or are even worse." Zhen Ji furrowed her thin brows, a doubtful expression marring her delicate features.
Even though Zhao Wei had already captured her utmost attention, it didn't mean that she would naively believe whatever came off his mouth. However, she was still curious about what made him so confident in his pills. Zhen Ji didn't know Zhao Wei's identity as Old Man Guan's temporary disciple just like most of the disciples. But through the subtle scent of herbs and pills that was only present in Alchemists, Zhen Ji knew that Zhao Wei's identity wasn't a ruse. He was possibly an apprentice alchemist or more, a talented one to boot. That was her honest evaluation of him.
"Haha, as expected of a brilliant warrior, you are right to have doubts. However, I am positive about my alchemical creations. They are the best you could ever find in the market. For example, these Marrow Cleansing Pills..." Zhao Wei continued with unshakeable momentum as he deftly moved the pill bottle back and forth, creating a hypnotic feeling to his actions.
Zhen Ji watched, her black eyes akin to a moonless night, never leaving Zhao Wei's hands.
"It is commonly known that they are only effective to those below the Ascended Realm. The Marrow Cleansing Pills I have on hand don't discriminate between those of the Consolidated Realm and Ascended Realm." A spellbinding gleam shone in his silver eyes, his tone unbelievably persuasive. Zhen Ji felt drawn in by his tempo.
"You are a Body Refinement practitioner, right? And you are looking for a pill that may effectively remove the flaws you made before your ascension? You are seeking perfection. You want to be unordinary."
'How did he know about me wanting to amend the flaws?'
Zhen Ji's lips visibly trembled as her black eyes widened in disbelief.
The corners of Zhao Wei's lips tugged into a victorious grin, his pupils mirroring the bright moon.
'I simply know more than you, belle.'
With calculated movements, Zhao Wei entered the finale and opened the lid of the pill bottle.
A subtle but rich medicinal scent hit Zhen Ji's senses.
'I want the pill. I need it.'
She felt her body instinctually desire for those Marrow Cleansing Pills inside the bottle. She clenched her hands into fists just so she could resist the urge to act like a plebeian. How she wanted to snatch that bottle off Zhao Wei's hands.
"If it is perfection that you seek, then you have already found it. In my hands, I hold your answers!" Zhao Wei telekinetically lifted a single pill from the bottle, intentionally hovering it within the beauty's reach.
Zhen Ji could feel that the pill was special even before she had the chance to negotiate the price.
"For being my first customer, I will give you the pill for free. You will have a taste of the effects yourself and be the final judge." Zhao Wei expressed his magnanimity, building his trustworthiness, however, only he knew that it was a beautiful trap. A trap that Zhen Ji wasn't going to escape from and she would willingly allow herself to be ensnared.
Without dilly-dallying, she snatched the Marrow Cleansing Pill—like a water-deprived traveler who has seen a mirage of an oasis—before elegantly placing it on her wet, pink tongue.
She then closed her eyes, savoring the process of the pill melting into a rush of raw and potent medicinal power that gradually seeped into every inch of her muscular but attractive body.
Mmmn~
She barely restrained a satisfied moan but she was lucky that only Zhao Wei heard her, much to his amusement.
The medicinal efficacy was top-notch, its leakless potency remaining unwasted throughout the body. Zhen Ji felt her cultivation realm of the 2nd Sky of the Ascended Realm edge closer to the peak.
'This is only one pill. Then how will the effects of the rest of them be?' Zhen Ji immersed herself in the afterglow after the pill was completely absorbed in a matter of minutes.
She slowly opened her eyes, coming face to face with an expectant but sure gaze of a handsome devil. Irrefutably, she was ready to sell her soul. After all, the Devil's deal was too good to pass up.
"How much for the whole bottle?" She crossed her arms, causing her muscles to flex beautifully. It was just pure art.
Zhao Wei couldn't help but admire her as she reminded him of Kivye, the envoy of the Goddess of Darkness from the Survival Story of a Sword King in a Fantasy World.
But profits simply preceded admiration.
'A normal Marrow Cleansing Pill costs 5 substandard primal crystal stones but my pills should be twice that. Yeah, I want to create a monopoly.' Zhao Wei thought.
"Just 50 substandard primal crystal stones for the whole bottle... will do," He said slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. 50 substandard primal crystal stones were the price of about five Low-Class Mortal Skills in the market as for a True Spiritual Pill, it was ten times higher than a typical mortal-limit pill.
Without bargaining, Zhen Ji removed the exact amount and gave it to the surprised Zhao Wei who couldn't believe her firm resolution.
Zhao Wei restrained himself from smiling like a greedy merchant after an extortion deal. His first customer was quite a rich young lady.
"Do you have any more body tempering pills?"
"At the moment, I only have..." Zhao Wei gave a detailed explanation of the remaining pills on his stall.
Zhen Ji's lips twitched in disappointment. It was a pity.
"Tomorrow, there will be more surprises, dear customer. I will procure what you need ASAP." Seeing her disappointment, Zhao Wei gave her hope.
Her face immediately lit up in anticipation and excitement.
"By the way, I have a favor to ask from you," Zhao Wei suddenly spoke in a low, quiet voice as if he was about to share a secret.
Instinctively, Zhen Ji leaned forward, only for his calming body scent to invade her small nose.
She moved back to her original position after realizing her actions. An embarrassed smile gradually spread on her face.
Zhao Wei chuckled lightly, adding more fuel to her embarrassment.
"Uh, I want you to just spread my reputation among your friends. Just a little bit of marketing."
Zhen Ji followed suit with a low chuckle of her own.
"That was embarrassing. Do you usually tease numerous women like this?" Zhen Ji grumbled while putting the jade pill bottle in her pocket.
"Don't worry. I will tell my friends. See ya!" Zhen Ji clicked her tongue before quickly leaving with a wave of her hand. Zhao Wei smiled at her receding figure until she disappeared into the crowd.
Some nearby disciples, after witnessing the interaction between the two, threw all their doubts out of the window and decided to flock to Zhao Wei's stall.
"Hello, what do you desire?" He smiled warmly at his new customers. It was going to be a busy night. There was no rest for the devil.
***
That night, Zhao Wei left the Exchange Hall with a contented smile after amassing a lot of money. He had amassed almost a thousand substandard primal crystal stones. That was around 1 billion taels of silver outside the Broken Moon Sect, back in the 'mortal' world.
His abrupt rise in wealth easily made a lot of disciples feel jealous but they could only swallow back their indignation, believing that it was only due to luck.
Anyway, Zhao Wei didn't care about them. Why should he? The business world will always be ruthless and naturally competitive.
'Tomorrow, I have a meeting scheduled with Vice Head Zhang. I find the Dao of Formations even more interesting than Alchemy,' Zhao Wei remarked with a loud yawn as he snuggled deeper into his bed covers. It was time to rest his mind and body after hours of engaging different customers.
***
Enjoy!
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Author's Note: Currently, researching and building up ideas for the Great Dao of Arrays. It's fun and complicated. There's lack of solid novels about formations so I have to create some twists and my own input. Hope you guys will like it.