Immortality begins with Becoming an Alchemy Grandmaster

Chapter 12: My Great River District City Has Its Own National Conditions Here_1

In front of the bluestone slab, an old man clutching spicy beef jerky looked on with an insatiable thirst for knowledge.

In front of him stood a tall, handsome, and dashing man, one hand holding a long strip of beef jerky as he spoke eloquently.

"Don't understand? Let me teach you!"

"The so-called brand value is the extra value artificially added to a product on top of its inherent value."

"Still don't get it?"

Seeing the old man looking confused, Luo Chen sighed and gestured with his beef jerky to the spread-out market for rogue cultivators.

"On this market, there are at least three vendors selling low-tier talismans regularly, right?"

"Hmm, Lu Heng, Crow, and plus me. We all are always selling talismans." Elder Chen quickly chimed in when he found a chance to speak.

"Then, what do you think of them and yourself?"

Elder Chen snorted disdainfully, "Lu Heng is a youngster with inadequate skills. He even sources talisman paper from me. Not worthy of mention!"

"What about Master Crow?"

"A late convert, his skills are not inferior to mine but he is ninety-three, practically a skeleton in the grave!"

"Then, what about you, Friend Chen?"

Elder Chen stroked his white beard confidently and said, "I've been working at the Shen Fu Pavilion since I was twenty, learned the art of talisman paper making in five years, and entered the way of talismans after another fifteen years. Since I set up my shop sign, I've been running this stall for twenty-five years. I'm vigorous and skilled, my crafting almost divine. When rogue cultivators come to the market, if they want to buy talismans, they must come and see mine first!"

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Luo Chen applauded, revealing a gratified smile.

"Friend Chen, that's right! Your talismans have established a basic brand value. It is formed from your experience of working in Shen Fu Pavilion, your reputable twenty-five-year-long stall operation, and the consistent quality of your talismans."

Elder Chen looked quite pleased with himself, but after thinking a little, he felt something was amiss.

"But these decades, I haven't been able to sell my talismans for a high price, have I?"

"Indeed, the sales at high prices are limited, but compared to others, aren't your prices generally higher?"

"It seems so, but not as high as the Shen Fu Pavilion. Those who want to buy a large number of talismans still favor the Shen Fu Pavilion."

Luo Chen rolled his eyes, "The Shen Fu Pavilion has the backing of one of the six Ascendant Sects of the Far East Six Realms–The Shen Fu Sect. Their brand value is endowed by the numerous Golden Core Ascendant Masters and Nascent Soul True Masters. Can you compare to them?"

"True." Elder Chen regained his self-awareness at this point.

"So, the branding of your stall can only go so far. In such a situation, you need to find an alternative!"

"Such as?"

"Give your individual products brand value."

"Can you be more detailed?"

"Craft stories for them!"

Chen Xiuping was shocked, "Allure Pill? Yun Zhonghe? Ascendant Master Yun He of the Hehuan Sect?"

"You can be taught!"

Nailed it!

Gotcha again!

He scored another point!

After reveling in his success, Elder Chen entered a state of enlightened clarity.

"You're saying that I need to give my talismans a background, like you did, crafting stories for them?"

"Yes."

"It is as simple as that?"

"It is as simple as that!"

"Then why all the unrelated blabber earlier!"

"If I didn't speak much, I wouldn't have earned your fifty Spirit Stones fee, would I?"

Huff! Inhale!

Deeply inhaling, Elder Chen decided not to be angry - he was sixty-five years old, after all. Health comes first.

"But how to craft these stories?"

Luo Chen looked around the stall. He could easily list out all the types of talismans Elder Chen had to offer.

There were a total of six, from the lowest tier Cleaning Talisman and Wind Riding Talisman, to mid-tier Fireball Talisman and Earth Thorn Talisman, and Earth Wall Talisman and Concealing Qi Talisman as well.

The most sold are the Fireball Talismans and Earth Thorn Talismans, but they are low priced, at one and a half Spirit Stones each.

The most expensive are the Earth Wall Talismans and Concealing Qi Talismans.

The former costs two Spirit Stones each, the latter starts at three Spirit Stones, and when the market is good, they can sell for five to six Spirit Stones or even higher.

Talismans have a big market among lower order Cultivators.

Their power is slightly less than a technique, but their release speed is fast, and they consume very little Spirit Power.

Especially those related to defense and life preservation, are very popular.

Pointing at the Concealing Qi Talisman, Luo Chen thought of a story outline based on the "Records of the Customs of Six Realms" he had read before.

But for the specific details, Elder Chen himself had to fill them in, as his experience was greater than Luo Chen's.

Luo Chen also suggested that he tell new customers stories, but stick to the old ones for the regulars.

However, the Concealing Qi Talisman needs to be repackaged, it can't be so gray anymore. Without affecting its use, paint two gold edges on it.

This way, even without telling stories, he could try to raise the price for the regular customers.

After giving his advice, Luo Chen could no longer hold back.

Like a gust of wind, carrying a fortune, he burst into the Rogue Cultivators' market.

Purchase! Purchase! Madly purchasing!

...

The night was deep, and the moonlight cast a bright light on the ground.

A young man, carrying two huge snake-skin bags, walked briskly down the road.

The bags were made of genuine snakeskin, tough and capable of holding much!

Today's market was delayed because of selling the Allure Pills, plus discussing matters with Elder Chen, causing it to be very late.

After finishing purchasing in the evening, it was already this late.

Walking on the dried yellow dirt road, Luo Chen's breath was a bit heavy.

Despite his quick pace, his eyes were constantly scanning the shadows between the wooden houses.

Fighting was strictly forbidden in The Great River District, but this only applied to the Inner City.

For the Outer City and its Rogue Cultivators, they didn't care.

The Spirit Stones collected every month were for the powerful people of the Inner City to resolve Demon Beasts invasions, that's it.

Therefore, strong people often robbed and killed on the roads of the Outer City.

These things happened even during daytime, but they were even more rampant at night.

Well, this is just how things are in The Great River District.

Luo Chen currently had no Spirit Stones on him, all his belongings were inside the two snake-skin bags on his back.

But to be honest, the value was only about a hundred Spirit Stones.

Moreover, they were loose items, it would also be troublesome to sell them off.

Whether he feels so or not is one thing, whether others would be tempted by it is another.

"Damn it, once I have Spirit Stones, I must move to the Inner City!"

Luo Chen muttered to himself, anxiously walking down the dirt road.

Perhaps it was because the moon was bright tonight, or possibly because he was dressed in rags, even the two snake-skin bags on his back were ugly.

Regardless, Luo Chen safely made it home.

Sometimes, when a person is humble to a certain degree, even robbers look down on them.

Luo Chen didn't feel bitter, after catching his breath, he sorted out the various materials from the bags onto the shelves.

With a hundred Spirit Stones, he bought materials for nineteen batches of Allure Pills, costing ninety-five stones.

Of the remaining five stones, three bought some Fasting Elixir materials, according to his success rate, he could refine at least thirty bottles of Fasting Elixir. Selling them, at one stone for five bottles, he could make six stones. The net profit is about half, three stones.

The other two stones, one bought ten kilograms of Spirit Rice, and one paid two months' rent at the city Lord's Mansion.

Yes, his house at the very outer edge, rents at half a stone a month, so he pays every two months.

After pouring the Spirit Rice into the rice bucket, Luo Chen collapsed onto the living room wooden chair, smelling the medicinal fragrance filling the room, and smiled.

Although he was very tired, he felt really good.

Tomorrow, production can finally be expanded!