"You!" Zhao Mingfeng would be frothing at his mouth from high blood pressure at his rebellious son's behaviour if not for the side-eye his wife was giving him.
Unlike Mingfeng, Wanting thought it was a great opportunity for Yihao to experience the world and find something he liked. Unlike her other children, Yihao was rather awkward. When he was younger, he loved to meet the expectations of others to gain attention. However, after giving birth to Anji, Wanting had less time and energy to give to her other children. Unlike Mingshen and Ruiting, who were more independent and knew what they wanted to do, Yihao was still a young boy who needed a lot of guidance the busy adults could not provide. Part of her felt guilty for not being able to fulfil the role of a mother adequately. However, she also wanted her son to find his path in life without letting the weight of the family's expectations weigh him down more than it already was.
"I don't think it's a horrible idea," she coaxed her husband. "We can discuss this with Yihao and Sect Leader Bai after the banquet. You know how poor Yihao's basic foundation is. It would be great if he had a teacher like Sect Leader Bai to guide him."
Knowing that his wife had a point, Mingfeng relented. Although many people respected him as the leader of the Rainbow Alliance and the leader of the Celestial Dragon Sect, he could never hope to win the wits of his wife. She was never wrong in her judgement, and he trusted her, even if he felt uneasy about the situation.
"Forget it," Mingfeng resigned to fate and faced the White Tiger Sect leader. "Sect Leader Bai, I'll leave my son in your care. Let's discuss the details after the banquet."
Sensing that the storm was finally over, Hong Nian Niang giggled. It was finally her turn to shine.
"Aiyah, if it weren't for your capable mother, you would never have found such a wonderful teacher. Young boy, you picked the right master. Bai Dajin is known to be the strongest warrior in the Murim world. You must work hard to uphold his expectations from now on."
Sauntering over to Zhao Mingfeng's wife, the lady in the sensual red dress beckoned to her servants to present her gift for the hardworking and underrated wife of the Celestial Dragon leader.
"Here, sister Wanting. This pearl rouge is good for the skin and can make you appear younger. I thought it would be the perfect gift for you since the men only know how to speak with their swords. I hope you can accept the small token."
Accepting the gift of goodwill, Zhao Wanting opened the box to admire the colour when she noticed something different. This was no ordinary pearl rouge. A box of ordinary pearl rouge was already expensive. However, the generous Vermillion Bird sect leader went a step further by grinding up a spiritual pearl for this cosmetic.
"This is too expensive!" Wanting to refuse the gift, Hong Nian Niang was having none of it. Truthfully, she had already anticipated this reaction.
"What are you talking about?" she tutted. "It's a sample product. Although I've been using it, I needed someone else to become a walking endorsement for my new investment. Consider it a down payment for the advertisement fee, sister Wanting."
Even with her explanation, Zhao Wanting felt burdened by the expensive gift. Hence, Hong Nian Niang divulged a little of her secret.
"The truth is, this spiritual pearl did not cost much. My sect accidentally discovered a way of manufacturing low-grade to medium-grade spiritual pearls. It was a more cost-effective way of training, and I was finding another use for this. With your help, many female cultivators will be lining up to buy my cosmetic products. However, the methods of farming these pearls remain a trade secret."
Farming spiritual pearls? This was a surprising news. For centuries, cultivators would spend a fortune on spiritual pearls or medicine because of their rarity. Unlike spiritual plants that absorb the qi from highly dense areas usually used for secluded cultivation training, spiritual pearls are similar to a human's cultivation core found in animals or monsters that live in these highly dense qi territories. Many of these animals and monsters with spiritual pearls can live for hundreds of years and are very dangerous to hunt. Raising animals that produce spiritual pearls is a revolutionary discovery. The Vermillion Bird sect would be very prosperous for many years if they perfected their methods of spiritual pearl farming.
"But raising monsters is impossible," Liu Yanxia frowned. In her twenty-five years of life, she had never heard of beast tamers. "Don't tell me you've turned to demonic arts to farm these pearls!"
Appalled by the accusation, Hong Nian Niang quickly defended herself.
"Absolutely not! These spiritual pearls were not farmed from animals or monsters!"
After the reveal, the Vermillion Bird sect leader quickly noticed the change in everyone's expression as they assumed the worst. The demonic sect created the blood pearl by sacrificing many human lives. If she claimed that the spiritual pearl her sect manufactured was not harvested from animals or monsters, it would be natural for anyone to assume she employed a similar method.
"Hong Nian Niang, please explain things clearly. Was this spiritual pearl farming method created from humans, then?" Zhao Mingfeng asked carefully, keeping his tone neutral. She was still a respected ally he wanted to believe in. Despite her whimsical character, Hong Nian Niang was not someone who would compromise what was right for personal gains.
Unable to refute that statement, Hong Nian Niang admitted that the pearl was created from humans. However, there was a major difference between the spiritual pearl she farmed and the blood pearl the demonic sect created.
"This pearl is extracted from cultivators who channel qi into a special loom that guides the energy like threads and condenses everything into a furnace boiled over the lava lake near our sect. We did not sacrifice anyone for it! The energy is converted into a spiritual pearl after refining it in boiling lava, which enhances the body's effectiveness in recovering depleted qi! It's not the same as the blood pearl at all."
After hearing part of the secret manufacturing process, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Although the method sounded strange, they fully supported Hong Nian Niang's business if no human lives were sacrificed to produce these pearls.
"In that case, I will gratefully accept the gift. Thank you for such a thoughtful present."
Before the Vermillion Bird sect leader could brag, Liu Yanxia quickly placed a pre-order for five cartons of spiritual pearl rouge.
"Why do you need so many?" Bai Dajin scoffed. "Do women eat cosmetics or something?"
Offended, the young sect leader of the Heavenly Phoenix Sect scowled.
"Half of that is for my aunt! The rest is for the female cultivators undergoing closed-door training. I know you don't need to eat during your closed-door cultivation training. However, don't you have to bathe or sleep?"
Laughing loudly, Bai Dajin boasted about sleeping only every ten days and taking a bath every once a month when he cultivated behind closed doors. Hearing that, Hong Nian Niang quickly distanced herself from the White Tiger sect leader.
"Isn't once a month too little? Even I have to bathe once every week and wipe down once every three days. I'm sure the ladies in the Heavenly Phoenix sect will appreciate the rouge, especially when it increases qi absorption through the skin."
Coughing to divert everyone's attention about personal hygiene preference for isolated cultivation practices, Yan Ping, who had remained silent the whole banquet, finally spoke up.
"As much as I find the new rouge fascinating and appealing, I have an important announcement to make at this banquet. It's regarding a vision I saw during my closed-door cultivation."
Hearing that the Mystical Qilin leader had an important vision to share, Zhao Mingfeng invited the sect leaders to a different room for a private meeting and left the rest of the banquet to his wife.
"Sect leaders, this way, please."