363: Business Alliance Merger

Rather than saying the Beast Taming Sect intended to support the Liu Family's business, it was more accurate to say that the Liu Family's business had caught the Beast Taming Sect's eye!

Doing business openly meant that almost the entire process was public; a simple investigation was all it took to find out everything about the Liu Family's business.

With an annual profit of tens of millions—and this was only the beginning; if investment were increased, there was still room for growth—such massive profits would even attract the attention of True Lord Haoran.

According to Qin Mo, Third Senior Sister Yun Xian wasn't just coming to protect him and Yun Xi; she would also bring a large number of Alchemists and Artifact Refiners, as well as personnel from the South Courtyard Merchant Alliance, to assist in developing the Liu Family's business.

Consequently, the benefit was that everyone in the Liu Family Merchant Alliance could obtain status within the Beast Taming Sect and receive recognition and protection. Furthermore, the entire Liu Family business would skyrocket many times over due to the joining of the South Courtyard Merchant Alliance.

There were also downsides: profits would be divided, the Liu Family might not necessarily earn as much as before, and power would be diluted—the business would no longer be solely up to Liu Xuan to decide.

"Junior Brother Liu, rest assured. I, Yun Xian, am not someone who takes things by force. The Pill Refining Tower and Artifact Refining Hall will still be completely under your control; my South Courtyard Merchant Alliance will only handle business matters."

Third Senior Sister Yun Xian indeed acted fairly. By not touching the Pill Refining Tower and Artifact Refining Workshop, this merger with the Beast Taming Sect brought only benefits. Liu Xuan couldn't have asked for more!

Liu Xuan's expectations were actually quite low; even if Yun Xian wanted most of the profits and management rights, he wouldn't have refused.

For the Liu Family, the most important things were safety and development; losing some profit for this was perfectly acceptable.

"Thank you, Third Senior Sister!" Liu Xuan bowed with his hands cupped. "I will have Xiao Ran and the others fully cooperate with the Merchant Alliance merger. Shall I first take you to see the Pill Refining Tower and Artifact Refining Workshop?"

"Very well!"

"After you, Third Senior Sister!"

Liu Xuan walked ahead to introduce things, while Yun Xian and the crane girl, Yun Yao, followed behind, listening and observing.

Yun Xian stopped in front of the Pill Refining Tower, looking up at the 'Great Sun' atop the building and exclaiming, "What a marvelous Formation! What pure spiritual fire!"

The Origin of the Great Sun True Fire was restrained; usually, it only appeared to have a pure attribute, leading Yun Xian to mistake it for mere spiritual fire.

Her focus wasn't on the spiritual fire, but on the Formation that ingeniously utilized it throughout the Pill Refining Tower and Artifact Refining Workshop!

Yun Xian was a Formation Master herself. The more carefully she examined it, the more she felt it was exquisite. Liu Xuan's Formation attainment had likely reached the third-rank level as well.

"Third Senior Sister, you flatter me. It's not that exquisite; it's just a nesting of some basic Formations combined with a bit of Yin and Yang convergence rules."

Liu Xuan smiled modestly. "If you're interested, I can break it down and teach you bit by bit!"

Liu Xuan knew Yun Xian was very interested in the Dao of Formations. To ensure a pleasant relationship in the future, he planned to start with Formations to get closer to her.

Yun Xian nodded slightly. "Explain it patiently, and I will pay you a fee afterward!"

"Uh... alright then!"

Liu Xuan almost forgot that his Third Senior Sister always liked to pay for things.

Back at the Red Pine Sect, when she observed Liu Xuan's Dual Cultivation, she had given a bottle of divine oil as compensation. It seemed that to her, everything was a transaction.

"This Formation looks complex, but aside from the core involving the Yin and Yang parts, much of it is the application of basic Formations. For example..."

As Liu Xuan explained, he controlled the Formation to demonstrate its actual operational logic.

Yun Xian's attention was quickly drawn to the Formation. Like a studious pupil, she occasionally asked questions about things she didn't understand.

"Boring!"

While Liu Xuan and Yun Xian were chatting fervently, the crane girl found it utterly boring, like listening to someone chanting scriptures... A few days later.

The large group of Alchemists and Artifact Refiners brought by Yun Xian arrived, totaling 388 people, including one Second-Rank Alchemist and one Second-Rank Artifact Refiner.

Their numbers were slightly more than the previous total of the Pill Refining Tower and Artifact Refining Workshop combined. To ensure that Alchemy and Artifact Refining proceeded normally, Liu Xuan had to arrange for them properly.

The Artifact Refiners were easy to handle. Liu Xuan had designed a new second-rank 'Great Sun Flying Boat' and simply assigned the task of refining the components to them.

The Alchemists were a bit more troublesome and needed to be divided into two groups: those willing to refine Beast Pills would be under his occasional guidance and instruction, while those unwilling would continue refining the Medicinal Pills they were skilled in, with him charging a site fee and a portion of the commission.

Most of these Alchemists and Artifact Refiners who were dispatched were mediocre, or rather, they provided low efficiency for the Sect. Not many people had objections to Liu Xuan's arrangements.

Once they learned about the Liu Family's situation in detail and realized that a big figure like Liu Xuan—a Third-Rank Alchemist and at least a top-tier Second-Rank Artifact Refiner—would occasionally give lectures personally, they were all overjoyed.

For an Alchemist or Artifact Refiner, the most important thing wasn't actually making money, but the opportunity to learn more Advanced techniques!

The Liu Family frequently held exchanges between Alchemists and Artifact Refiners, and they could even get the chance to hear Liu Xuan's lectures. It was practically like being raised as Disciples, and the treatment was much better than when they were at the Beast Taming Sect!

Liu Xuan scrutinized the level of this batch of Alchemists and Artifact Refiners and couldn't help but shake his head repeatedly.

They either only knew how to make obscure pills or had very low success rates. 'No wonder Yun Xian transferred them all to me at such a low price.'

Most of the 388 Alchemists and Artifact Refiners were not free agents; they were trained by the Beast Taming Sect's South Courtyard under contract.

When they were transferred to the Liu Family, the contracts were transferred as well. They didn't even have the freedom to leave the Liu Family. If anyone left without permission, the Beast Taming Sect would track them down using their residual aura and capture them without Liu Xuan even having to act; severe cases could even result in execution.

The Beast Taming Sect was not a charity. They spent time and resources training Alchemists and Artifact Refiners, so they naturally wouldn't give them the right to leave freely after gaining benefits.

The transfer price for the 386 first-rank Alchemists and Artifact Refiners averaged 20,000 Spirit Stones each, totaling 7.72 million.

The one Second-Rank Alchemist and one Second-Rank Artifact Refiner were different; they weren't transferred but were under a standard employment relationship. Liu Xuan not only had to pay them based on their refining results but also had to hand over a portion to the Beast Taming Sect.

Regardless, Liu Xuan profited from this. Refining Beast Pills already had low requirements, and with the Great Sun True Fire improving success rates and efficiency, even those with poor abilities could make money!

After the Merchant Alliance merger, Liu Xuan didn't have to worry about various raw Materials; Third Senior Sister Yun Xian could handle them.

In just one month, the Pill Refining Tower's output more than doubled, and the Artifact Refining Workshop even refined the first second-rank flying boat: the 'Great Sun Flying Boat!'

Medium Grade Second-Rank Great Sun Flying Boat: entirely golden, the main material was refined gold, possessing both metal and fire attributes.

It was excellent in both attack and defense, and its greatest advantage was that it could absorb solar essence to maintain operation, greatly reducing operating costs.

Large flying boats were good in every aspect, but their maintenance and operating costs were extremely high. Even if not in combat and just used for travel, they required Spirit Stones as fuel. The energy-saving attribute seemed unremarkable, but in the long run, the cost-performance ratio was extremely high.