The Price War

On the morning of the sixth day since the furnace had been extinguished, Xu Xian woke up. He sat up at the head of the bed and let out a long yawn.

His eyes were still bleary with sleep, yet his spirit felt refreshed.

With a deadpan expression, he exhaled, "That’s the stuff!"

The tiny book spirit sitting on his shoulder followed suit, letting out its own yawn. "I feel good too..."

Xu Xian glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, his expression turning strange.

Listen to that.

What kind of suggestive choice of words was that?

What did it mean by 'I feel good too'?

The little book spirit seemed to perceive the suspicion in Xu Xian’s gaze and hurriedly said, "Master, don’t look at me like that. Do you think I’ve been living comfortably this past year?"

Xu Xian remained silent, his brow furrowing slightly.

The little book spirit complained, "You have the Pupil of Insight active every single moment of every single day. What do you think I’ve been doing?"

The Pupil of Insight.

It was not a supernatural power belonging to the youth himself, but rather derived from the book spirit’s visual sharing.

Xu Xian nodded thoughtfully.

"Fair point."

"Hmph~"

The little book spirit pouted arrogantly, its lip sticking out far enough to hang a bottle of oil from.

"Time to get to work."

Xu Xian muttered to himself, rising to push open the door.

In the main hall outside, Wen Qingxue was slowly sipping tea, Yao Zhijian was rocking back and forth in a reclining chair, and Liu Qinghui was leaning against the window, dozing off...

It was the dead of winter.

There were gaps in the building’s structure.

A whistling cold wind blew through the hall; even indoors, it looked like a scene of ice and snow.

However, the group was dressed only in thin layers, completely undeterred by the severe cold.

Xu Xian was the same.

Cultivation had at least one great benefit: one no longer feared the cold or the heat, and things like headaches or colds were gone forever.

"Hmm... you all seem quite leisurely?"

Wen Qingxue’s clear eyes moved slowly as she asked in a measured tone, "Want some?"

Xu Xian shook his head.

Yao Zhijian said lazily, "You’re finally awake."

Xu Xian smiled but didn’t respond.

Liu Qinghui jolted awake. He looked confused for a second, then his eyes cleared as his fatigue vanished instantly. He stood up and approached. "Little Grand-Uncle, you’re finally awake."

Xu Xian said calmly, "It was just a short nap."

"It’s been six days. You call that a short nap?"

"Watch your emotions. Stay calm!"

"Uh!"

Hearing the commotion, Yao Xiaoxiao came over from the pill shop holding a stone pestle used for grinding herbs. A few flakes of frost and snow were caught in her long white hair. She stood before Xu Xian, tilting her head up and saying excitedly:

"Little Grand-Uncle, you’re finally out of bed!"

Xu Xian’s gaze was bright. He brushed a finger against his own cheek and said, "There’s..."

Yao Xiaoxiao was confused. "Huh?"

"There’s something dirty..."

Yao Xiaoxiao, still dazed, raised her hand to wipe her face.

"Here?"

Xu Xian reached out, his thumb sliding across her cheek. He gave a gentle smile. "There, it’s clean now."

Yao Xiaoxiao’s face flushed red, the heat spreading all the way to her ears.

Clearly.

The young girl had been freezing.

In winter, it was only natural.

Xu Xian acted as if he hadn't noticed. He stepped past Yao Xiaoxiao and strode out the door. "I’m going out for some fresh air."

Yao Xiaoxiao touched her cheek, secretly delighted, and ran after him.

Liu Qinghui hurriedly followed.

Yao Zhijian caught the scene out of the corner of his eye, closed his eyes, and grumbled, "The Little Grand-Uncle really knows what he's doing, doesn't he?"

Wen Qingxue suddenly asked, "Knows what?"

"Flirting, obviously?"

"Heh..." Wen Qingxue let out a mocking laugh.

"What are you laughing at?"

Wen Qingxue said indifferently, "Nothing. I just find it strange hearing those words come out of your mouth."

"Are you taking a jab at me?"

Wen Qingxue said nonchalantly, "If you say so."

Outside.

In front of the door.

The ground was covered in thick snow. Every step made a crunching sound that was strangely therapeutic.

In the six days the forging workshop had been closed, the world had turned a frosty white.

He raised his eyes.

Looking into the distance.

The sky was vast and grey, snow falling in flurries as the cold wind howled, occasionally swirling the snow into towering drifts.

Xu Xian stretched his arms and stood with his hands behind his back, a slight smile playing on his lips. He asked cryptically, "Do you hear it?"

Yao Xiaoxiao was bewildered.

Liu Qinghui was equally confused.

"Hear what?"

"The wind?"

Xu Xian recited leisurely, "Winter is best with heavy snow; there is the sound of shattering jade!"

Yao Xiaoxiao blinked, her little mouth pouting.

Liu Qinghui was stunned for a moment before forcing a compliment. "Little Grand-Uncle, how elegant."

Yao Xiaoxiao exhaled a cloud of white mist and said softly, "Little Grand-Uncle, you really are thick-skinned. Even at a time like this, you’re still in the mood to show off."

Xu Xian rolled his eyes at her, his poetic mood ruined. He changed the subject. "The snow has blocked the mountains and the winter is harsh. I wonder how the demon hunters are doing in the Demon Suppression Abyss?"

Liu Qinghui frowned and answered honestly, "During the winter solstice, harvests are usually a bit lower than usual. However, the Demon Suppression Abyss is very lively this year. Many people have gone, and I heard many beasts have appeared as well. It should be fine..."

Xu Xian curled his lips and smiled. "Then when spring comes, won't there be a massive harvest?"

Liu Qinghui didn't deny it and nodded subconsciously in agreement.

Yao Xiaoxiao found it all very strange. Why talk about this now? This wasn't the time for such things.

She muttered, "You’re still waiting for spring? The whole of Demon-Slaying City is saying that the Little Grand-Uncle of the Wendao Sect was defeated and has already slunk back to the Northern Borders in disgrace."

Xu Xian chuckled, not surprised at all. He simply laughed and said, "I didn't expect the cultivation world to engage in a public opinion war as well."

A public opinion war?

Yao Xiaoxiao didn't understand that, but she knew about business wars—Xu Xian had mentioned them before. She asked, "Little Grand-Uncle, didn't you say a few days ago that you were going to start a business war? Are we actually doing it or not?"

Liu Qinghui cast an urgent look his way, also unable to hold back. "Yes, Little Grand-Uncle, are we still fighting?"

Xu Xian’s gaze swept back and forth between the two, a familiar glint of cunning flashing in his eyes. "We are. Of course we are."

Liu Qinghui’s eyes suddenly brightened.

Yao Xiaoxiao was full of spirit. "How are we going to fight?"

Xu Xian said profoundly, "By giving them a taste of their own medicine."

The two were suspicious.

"Hmm?"

"The Three Sects are suppressing prices, and the other three sects and one merchant are joining the fray. Then we shall lower ours too. We’ll drop them straight to the bottom."

Liu Qinghui asked tentatively, "Is Little Grand-Uncle planning to start a price war?"

"Exactly!"

Liu Qinghui had some concerns.

Yao Xiaoxiao, however, didn't care about the risks. She clapped her hands and cheered, "Yes! Let's have a price war with them! Who's afraid of who? We should have done this long ago!"

Liu Qinghui hesitated. At this point, if they wanted to reclaim their ground, this seemed to be the only path left.

However, it was one against seven. The disadvantage was obvious; it might not be a sustainable long-term plan.

Xu Xian had his own plans. He said to Liu Qinghui, "However, I’ll need the people from the Merchant Hall to lend me a hand."

Liu Qinghui pondered for a moment before immediately stating his stance. "Little Grand-Uncle, just give the word. My Merchant Hall will cooperate fully."

Actions followed words.

Xu Xian didn't waste any time and immediately shared his initial ideas with Liu Qinghui.

He told Liu Qinghui to spread the news for him.

Starting today.

At Demon-Slaying City's Number One Forging Workshop, forging a low-tier earth weapon would only cost three fifth-rank beasts. A mid-tier earth weapon would only cost five, and a high-tier earth weapon would only cost eight fifth-rank beasts.

He was driving the prices straight into the ground.

Hearing this made Yao Xiaoxiao’s blood boil with excitement.

"Awesome! This is great! Now it's their turn to have their orders canceled, hehe!"

Liu Qinghui, however, said worriedly, "This is indeed effective, but can Little Grand-Uncle even break even?"

Xu Xian smiled without a word.

He possessed the method to forge synthetic immortal gold from spirit ore, and he was the only one who could do it. There was no such thing as not breaking even.

There was only the question of how much profit he would make.

He told Liu Qinghui to just get the word out.

Furthermore, he took out all the profits he had earned over the past year—several million spirit stones—and gave them to Liu Qinghui.

He instructed him to arrange for people to stand at the city gates starting now and buy up fifth-rank beast corpses at high prices.

He gave one specific, emphatic instruction.

They were to buy only, and never sell!