61: How to earn spirit stones

Zhang Qingxiao had recently visited the marketplace in the Outer Sect Disciple residential area a few times, so he had some understanding of the prices for Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and Magical Artifacts.

Basically, they were not much different from the prices in the marketplace within the Utility Disciple residential area.

He truly could not see where the profit would come from in this kind of reselling process.

"Yes, Brother Zhang."

"I plan to have my subordinates go directly to the Utility Disciple area to find Alchemists, Talisman Makers, and Artifact Refiners, provide them with Materials, and then acquire these finished products at a low price..."

Luo Fei explained the plan he had pondered in detail to Zhang Qingxiao.

"Not bad, there is potential..."

The more Zhang Qingxiao listened, the more strange he felt; to summarize it in one sentence, this was a modern version of contract manufacturing.

I provide the Materials, hire people to process them, produce the finished goods, and then I sell them at market prices.

In this world, he truly had not heard of anyone doing it this way.

Once it gets started, it could really earn Spirit Stones.

But thinking about it carefully, there were also many problems within it.

Cultivators capable of Alchemy would not be so destitute that they lacked Spirit Stones to purchase medicinal ingredients and would be willing to sell their Medicinal Pills at a low price.

This was even more so for Talismans and Magical Artifacts; low-grade Talismans were basically unwanted and very difficult to sell.

Body Protection Talismans, Golden Light Talismans, and Light Body Talismans—these slightly better Talismans were indeed popular, but their prices were very transparent.

To acquire these items, basically no Cultivator would be willing to sell them at a low price.

Take him for example; when he first started, he would rather spend more time setting up a stall in the marketplace than sell them to a Medicinal Pill shop at a cheap price.

The success rate for Alchemy, making Talismans, and crafting Magical Artifacts was already not high, and having to sell at a low price meant these Cultivators simply could not earn any Spirit Stones.

If this operation continued, problems would arise sooner or later.

"Brother Zhang, are you supporting me in doing this?"

A look of excitement flashed in Luo Fei's eyes; with Zhang Qingxiao's support, he dared to be a bit bolder.

"It can be done, but it cannot be done the way you described; the method needs to be slightly changed."

"If you do it according to your method, it will likely be hard to get off the ground, and it will also cause those Cultivators who know Alchemy, Talisman making, and Artifact Refining to resent us."

Zhang Qingxiao already had a better idea in mind.

"Brother Zhang, do you have a better way?"

Before coming here, Luo Fei had considered a lot, and he also knew that his approach would leave behind hidden troubles.

It was just that he had gotten used to having an income of several dozen Mid-Grade Spirit Stones every month.

He had been continuously reclaiming wasteland for these past few months and had zero income.

And he did not want to take on Sect missions like before.

If things continued like this, he might not even be able to afford the Medicinal Pills needed to Cultivate.

"My method is very simple: do not forcibly require those Cultivators who know Alchemy, Talisman making, and Artifact Refining to sell their items."

"Instead, switch to a method that everyone can accept."

"Do you remember the conditions I gave you when I asked you to sell Medicinal Pills before?"

"It is that form."

"You help these Cultivators purchase Materials and can collect a certain commission; help them sell Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and Magical Artifacts, and then collect another commission."

"As long as there are enough Cultivators willing to cooperate, the profit will also be quite considerable."

"These Cultivators do not need to go through the trouble of going to the marketplace to buy Materials, nor do they need to spend their own time selling items; it saves time and effort, and also reduces many risks."

"As long as the fees are within a reasonable range, so that these Cultivators' income is not too much worse than selling it themselves, there will be a foundation for long-term cooperation."

"At the same time, we can also train our own people to learn Alchemy, Talisman making, and Artifact Refining..."

Zhang Qingxiao poured out some of the concepts from before his Transmigration.

He could even see a bright path of Spirit Stones; once it was done well, he would never have to worry about Spirit Stones again.

"Brother Zhang, this idea of yours is much better than what I thought of."

"It simply makes me enlightened."

The more Luo Fei listened, the more excited he became; this method was far better than what he had imagined.

At this moment, the way he looked at Zhang Qingxiao became fervent.

With this method, one might not be able to earn too many Spirit Stones from a single Cultivator, but as long as there were enough cooperating Cultivators, the profit would be quite immense.

From Zhang Qingxiao's line of thinking, he also generated even more ideas.

"Whether this line of thinking I mentioned will actually work is not certain yet; I need you to do some investigations."

"I want to understand the approximate monthly income of these Cultivators who know Alchemy, Talisman making, and Artifact Refining, as well as their selling prices, including the method of sale—whether they set up their own stalls or sell to Medicinal Pill shops, Talisman shops, or Magical Artifact shops..."

"At the same time, you must also understand the market prices, the types of popular items, and so on."

"Once these are clearly understood, we will then create a more detailed plan."

Zhang Qingxiao did not want Luo Fei to just go and do it recklessly; doing some investigation first could also save a lot of trouble.

"Brother Zhang, I will go and do the investigation with them right away."

After Luo Fei finished speaking, he prepared to get up and go investigate the things Zhang Qingxiao mentioned.

Suddenly thinking of something, he spoke again: "If this matter succeeds, I will still give seventy percent of the profit to Brother Zhang, just like before."

"I ask that Brother Zhang please do not refuse."

He was very clear that there would still be many areas in the follow-up of this matter that would require Zhang Qingxiao's guidance.

After making it big, others would inevitably be jealous, and he also needed a powerful backer for support.

Although Zhang Qingxiao had only just reached the Qi Refining Stage Seventh Level, he had a good relationship with the Li Family; as long as he was not targeted by other Foundation Establishment families, there would be no problems.

"Good, go and investigate; when you are done, give me a detailed result."

Zhang Qingxiao naturally would not refuse; even if Luo Fei did not bring it up, he would have proactively mentioned it once the matter was finalized.

After sending Luo Fei away and eating breakfast, Zhang Qingxiao immediately went to his bedroom, picked up paper and pen, thought for a moment, and wrote down the general plan for this matter.

As for the specific plan, that would have to wait until the investigation results came out before it could be created.

After finishing these, he started doing the things he had to do every day.

Practicing the Manhuang Refinement Body Art, and then Alchemy, Talisman making, and Cultivating his Cultivation Technique.

He had a foundation in Body Refining, so his progress in cultivating the Manhuang Refinement Body Art was very fast.

It was not a case of gaining one point of proficiency for every practice session.

Instead, every practice session would increase his proficiency by a few points or even a dozen points.

In seven days, he had cultivated this Body Refining Cultivation Technique to the level of proficiency.

Besides the progress in the Manhuang Refinement Body Art, he took Qi Condensation Pills every day, along with Spirit Stones to Cultivate, so the speed of his Realm growth was also very fast.

Cultivating for four hours every day, he could increase his proficiency by one point every two days.

Ever since his Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, it had been a long time since he had experienced this kind of Cultivation speed that felt so satisfying.

Every time he thought that he would only need a little over half a year to reach the Cultivation Level 8, he was full of motivation and filled with hope for Foundation Establishment.

In the blink of an eye, over half a month passed, and Luo Fei brought the detailed investigation data to Zhang Qingxiao's home.

After the investigation, he was even more confident in making this matter a success.