Volume 1, Chapter 36: All Expenses Paid by Yours Truly!

A pair of cultivators walked between two shops.

"So many people? How long are we going to wait? Let’s buy from this side instead!"

The male cultivator looked at the Langya Chamber of Commerce on the left, which was packed with people and required a long queue, then glanced at the empty, desolate Penglai Chamber of Commerce on the right. He stepped toward the Penglai shop immediately.

Seeing this, the manager of the Penglai branch felt a surge of joy. His first sale of the day was about to happen. He put on a welcoming smile, but before he could even speak, he watched as the male cultivator was dragged away by his companion.

"Why go over there? Let’s buy at the Langya Chamber of Commerce. It costs the same, and we can donate a little, do some charity, and accumulate some merit... If we buy over there, isn't it a total waste?" the female cultivator said earnestly.

The male cultivator scratched the back of his head. That made sense, so he obediently went to join the queue.

The manager of the Penglai branch, seeing the customer who had reached his doorstep fly off to the Langya side, was so angry his face twisted. How could it be considered a waste? You pay money, I give you goods—how could that be a waste? It was just missing out on a tiny bit of merit! You only donate one spirit stone for every hundred spent; why do you care so much? You might not even collect a full bottle of pills after half a month of buying!

But how could he have known? To the customers, although buying a hundred spirit stones' worth of goods only donated one spirit stone to the foundation, that single spirit stone was donated in the customer's name—it was essentially free! Free things are naturally sweet, especially when it involves being generous with someone else's resources. Spending someone else's money to do good and enjoying the pleasure of helping others—that feeling was something that, once experienced, was impossible to give up.

...

"This is impossible, this business is impossible to run!"

It wasn't just the Penglai Chamber of Commerce that was suffering. The branches of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce and the Cloud Palace Chamber of Commerce—the other two of the North Territory's four major chambers—were in the same situation on this island. They hadn't seen a customer in half a day. Everyone on the island who needed to buy something headed straight for the Langya Chamber of Commerce without exception.

Why? Because shopping at the Langya Chamber of Commerce earned you merit! At other chambers, it was just spending money. What a loss! Every hundred spirit stones spent meant one spirit stone wasted. If you average five hundred spirit stones in monthly spending, that's a loss of five spirit stones! In ten months, that's fifty! In a year, five hundred! In ten years, five hundred thousand! In a hundred years, five hundred million! What kind of sensible cultivator would be so wasteful?

Don't buy! We absolutely refuse to spend a single spirit stone at other chambers!

...

Not long after, a jade tablet was hung at the entrance of the Langya branch. As the manager channeled his spiritual power into it, the characters on the tablet flickered and changed constantly!

[August 21st, Merit Ranking — First Place, Zhang Yunye, 3 Spirit Stones!]

But soon, this name was brushed away, replaced by the name of a female cultivator with five spirit stones. She didn't stay at the top for long, either, before being pushed down by someone else. Before long, hundreds of names appeared densely on the jade tablet.

"This won't do. By the time it’s my turn, all the goods inside will be cleared out. What’s the point then?" A gorgeously dressed young master, fanning himself with a folding fan, frowned. "No, I’m cutting in line!"

No sooner had he spoken than his servant pulled him back. "You can't, Young Master! This is the Langya Chamber of Commerce, not some small shop; you can't cut in line! If you break the rules, they might not even let you through the door!"

Young Master Yan’s frown deepened. "Then what do I do?"

The servant rolled his eyes, whispered something into his ear, and Young Master Yan’s eyes lit up instantly. "You little rascal, you really are a talent! Go, go!"

The servant left quickly and soon returned, hauling several huge chests filled with glittering spirit stones that were particularly eye-catching.

"Ahem, ahem..." Young Master Yan folded his fan and announced loudly, "Fellow Daoists and colleagues present, listen up! All your purchases at the Langya Chamber of Commerce today are on me! If you want to buy something, come and take the money!"

Young Master Yan’s request was simple: if they used his money, the merit earned from the donation should count as his. The crowd hesitated slightly before agreeing. After all, while getting free merit without spending one's own money was sweet, what could be sweeter than spending someone else's money to buy your own goods? Besides, the money they saved could be used to earn even more merit!

In an instant, although Young Master Yan hadn't even reached the front of the queue, his name was already at the top of the Merit Ranking. He beamed with joy. If he took the top spot on the Merit Ranking today, his old man would surely be overjoyed and reward him handsomely.

"Damn it, how shameless!" Nearby, the Young Master of the Liu family, who was also in line, saw this and couldn't stand it. Only your Yan family has money? Who doesn't?

Soon, a similar chest appeared before the young master of the Liu family. He stepped on a stool and shouted boldly, "Everyone, we’re all brothers here! Feel free to spend this money!"

"Wow—" Another round of cheers erupted.

Before long, Young Master Liu’s ranking caught up, showing a clear trend of surpassing Young Master Yan.

"Damn it! Liu, you’ve been at odds with me on normal days, but you’re competing with me on doing good deeds today too?"

"Heh, what do you mean competing? It’s just that my Liu family’s benevolence is a little bit greater than your Yan family’s!"

"Pah!" Young Master Yan spat at his rival and waved his hand, ordering his men to bring over two more chests of low-grade spirit stones—about several thousand! "Keep going!"

...

On Heavenly Absolute Island.

"Young Master, the revenue for the last two days from the branches in the Azure Cloud Archipelago and surrounding islands has been calculated. Would you like to see it?" Nie Tingting walked quickly toward Wang Mu, her long, slender legs moving with purpose. Her cheeks were flushed, her chest heaved with excitement, and the joy in her eyes was nearly overflowing.

Wang Mu smiled. "No need, send it to the chamber headquarters."

Nie Tingting was surprised. "You don't want to see it?"

Wang Mu replied, "I had confidence from the start. Seeing your expression, I already have an idea. As for the specific figures, there's no need to know!"

Nie Tingting was stunned. "You anticipated that those people would be crazy enough to buy things at our chamber just to make donations? I always thought cultivators were quite cold-hearted and that few would be interested in charity. I didn't expect I was wrong!"

Wang Mu smiled slightly. "Cultivators are indeed quite cold-hearted! But no matter how cold-hearted a cultivator is, they are still human, not true immortals! Being human, one can hardly escape the bounds of human nature... vanity, greed... even Earth Immortal-level powerhouses are no exception! If you think someone has no desires, it just means something that can move them hasn't appeared yet!"

Nie Tingting’s eyes sparkled. She took out a small notebook and started taking notes while listening. "That makes sense, the Young Master is so right, let me write that down..."

Wang Mu: "..."

...

At Langya Headquarters.

Ren Pingsheng was flipping through the ledgers. Suddenly, he pulled one out, a look of satisfaction on his face. "The revenue from the Azure Cloud Archipelago this month is quite good! It’s doubled compared to previous months!"

Beside him, an attendant had a strange expression. "Manager Ren, this... this isn't for a month! It's for three days!"

"Oh, three days..." Ren Pingsheng nodded, then suddenly remembered something. His expression turned to one of horror as he picked up the ledger again. "Three days?"

His voice rose several decibels, startling everyone else in the room. They gathered around one after another.

"What three days?"

"What happened to the Azure Cloud Archipelago these past three days?"

"Three days of revenue equals the past two months!"

"I thought you meant what... wait, two months... two months???"

"Damn! Two months?"

"Damn!"

"..."

The room was filled with cries of shock.

"No, I must take this to show the Elder and the President!" Ren Pingsheng’s face turned bright red as he grabbed the ledger and dashed out.

Everyone else: "..."

...

Meanwhile, at the Penglai Chamber of Commerce headquarters, Tang Qian, along with the heads of the Four Seas and Cloud Palace Chambers, looked at the fresh intelligence that had just arrived. Their faces turned darker than the ink-colored sea.