Chapter 53: Bundled Sales

When the first ray of morning sunlight filtered through the lattice window into the room, Lin Chuan was sitting cross-legged on a straw meditation mat, surrounded by a faint aura of spiritual energy.

Ever since his breakthrough to the first layer of the Xuanwu Realm, he could clearly feel that the spiritual power within his body was several times more robust than before, but at the same time, he realized that his foundation was somewhat unstable.

"Chuan'er, the circulation of your spiritual power is like a drunken man walking, tilting and staggering."

Little Fatty's voice resounded in his mind with a hint of disdain, "The Lingwu Realm is the stage for building your foundation. Since you were in such a rush to break through, you are reaping the bitter consequences now, aren't you?"

Lin Chuan did not refute, only slowly exhaling a breath of turbid air.

He knew Little Fatty was right. Over the past month, he had been too focused on making money, and his cultivation had become somewhat eager for quick success.

"Not going out today?"

Seeing him remain silent, Little Fatty asked again.

"Waiting for news."

Lin Chuan answered briefly, "Zhang Lin went to inquire about the sale of the plots of land, and Elder Zi is helping Zhang Yida split new sub-souls. I'll just use this time to consolidate my cultivation realm."

He took out an improved Gathering Spirit Pill and swallowed it, immediately feeling the circulation of spiritual power in his body become much smoother.

"You brat, you're still so stingy even when taking your own pills, you can't even bear to use middle-grade spirit stones?" Little Fatty teased.

Lin Chuan rolled his eyes. "This is called testing the medicine on oneself, understand? Besides, what's wrong with lower-grade spirit stones? Every little bit adds up—isn't a fortune of seven hundred million built this way?"

Little Fatty snorted and said no more. Lin Chuan closed his eyes again, concentrating on guiding the spiritual power within his body to circulate along his meridians.

Meanwhile, in the stone chamber on the other side of the Earth Fire Courtyard, Elder Zi was holding a Soul-Refining Sphere with a focused expression.

Zhang Yida's true body sat cross-legged opposite him, his face pale but his gaze resolute.

"Seventy sub-souls, you really are risking it all, kid."

Elder Zi shook his head. "Although the Soul-Refining Sphere can alleviate the pain, splitting so many at once—anyone else would have gone mad long ago."

Zhang Yida managed a forced smile. "It's worth it."

Elder Zi said no more. The Soul-Refining Sphere in his hand blazed with intense light, and wisps of soul threads were extracted, twisting and entangling in the air until they finally formed tiny specks of light.

As each speck of light fell into a prepared spirit puppet nearby, that puppet seemed to come alive, opening its eyes.

This process lasted for a full three hours.

When the final sub-soul split was complete, Zhang Yida was already too exhausted to speak, but his eyes flashed with an excited light.

"It's done!"

Elder Zi let out a long breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Seventy sub-souls, plus the previous twenty-nine, a total of ninety-nine spiritual-grade alchemists who can share their experience with you. Your alchemy realm will soar from now on."

Zhang Yida nodded weakly and was helped away to rest by two sub-souls.

As for the seventy new sub-souls, they quickly threw themselves into work, starting to familiarize themselves with the three new pill recipes improved by Little Fatty.

By evening, Lin Chuan finished his cultivation and walked out of his room, running right into Zhang Lin, who was returning from outside.

"Brother Lin!"

Zhang Lin was beaming with excitement. "I've found out clearly. In the West District of the Outer City of Tianyun City, there are three contiguous plots of land up for sale, with a total area of over fifty mu!"

Lin Chuan's eyes lit up. "And the price?"

"They are asking for eighty thousand lower-grade spirit stones per mu, which is twenty percent higher than three months ago." Zhang Lin looked somewhat worried. "However, it is said that quite a few factions are eyeing this land."

Lin Chuan pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "No rush, let them fight over it first. We have more important matters at hand right now."

Lin Chuan patted his shoulder. "Starting today, we are no longer just selling Gathering Spirit Pills."

He handed Zhang Lin three pill recipes. "These are the Returning Spring Pill, the Concentrating Spirit Pill, and the Storing Spirit Pill improved by Little Fatty. Their effects are identical to similar products on the market, but their production cost is only fifty percent of theirs. I want you to spread the news about these three new pills while promoting Lingxiao Real Estate."

Zhang Lin quickly scanned the pill recipes, then looked up at Lin Chuan. "Brother Lin, will these three types of pills be sold five spirit stones cheaper than other medicine shops, just like before?"

"Not just five stones cheaper."

The corners of Lin Chuan's mouth curved into a crafty smile. "We are going to do bundle sales."

He explained the promotional strategy in detail: purchasing any of the four types of pills individually costs fifteen spirit stones each; buying two simultaneously reduces the price by one spirit stone per pill; buying three reduces it by two; and buying four reduces it by three.

After listening, Zhang Lin was completely stunned. "This... isn't this forcing customers to buy our complete set of pills? How are the other medicine shops supposed to survive?"

"We want to make sure they can't survive."

A sharp glint flashed through Lin Chuan's eyes. "The alchemy market of Tianyun City is far too outdated; it's time for a revolution."

The next day, the news that the Lingxiao Medicine Shop was about to launch three new pills spread like wildfire through the alleys and streets of Tianyun City.

What was even more shocking was the unprecedented bundle-sales strategy. Almost every lower-tier cultivator who heard the news was calculating in their mind how many spirit stones they could save.

"If you buy all four types, it comes down to only twelve spirit stones per pill! That's eight spirit stones cheaper than the Myriad Medicine Pavilion!"

"The Lingxiao Bank lends us money to enter the mystic realms and change our destinies, and now they are selling such cheap pills—they are truly great benefactors!"

"I heard that those three pills, like the Returning Spring Pill, are just like the Gathering Spirit Pills previously sold by the Lingxiao Medicine Shop—their effects are identical to those of other medicine shops, but the price is only sixty percent!"

Similar conversations played out in every corner of Tianyun City.

In just three days, the reputation of the Lingxiao Medicine Shop transformed from "that shop that sells cheap Gathering Spirit Pills" into a synonym for a "conscientious medicine shop."

Half a month later, when nearly a million pills of all four types were launched simultaneously, a line stretching for miles formed in front of the headquarters of the Lingxiao Medicine Shop in the West District of Tianyun City.

Zhang Lin had to temporarily hire fifty guards to maintain order.

"No shoving! Purchase is limited to twenty pills per person!"

Zhang Lin shouted from a high vantage point, "Purchasing the four types of pills as a bundle is the most cost-effective!"

The people in line had already done the math, and the vast majority chose to buy all four types.

Some clever ones even teamed up for group purchases to further split the costs.

At noon, the final batch of pills sold out.

Looking at the empty shelves and the staggering figures in the account book, Zhang Lin's hands were trembling slightly.

"Brother Lin, they're... they're all sold out!"

He rushed back to the Earth Fire Courtyard, where Lin Chuan was leisurely sipping tea. "In just half a day, we've made a net profit of over ten million spirit stones!"

Lin Chuan calmly set down his teacup. "As expected. Tell Yida's side to go all out in production, and release another five hundred thousand pills in seven days."

Just as Zhang Lin was about to speak, a core guard hurried over. "Young Master Lin, a faction in the East District of Tianyun City is looking to sell a large tract of land at a price twenty percent cheaper than the West District!"

A brilliant flash crossed Lin Chuan's eyes. "We've finally waited for it."

That night, the Earth Fire Courtyard was filled with the clinking of wine cups and laughter, every face glowing with joy.

...

Amidst the merrymaking, no one noticed a dark shadow quietly slipping away outside the courtyard, vanishing into the night.

Meanwhile, on the top floor of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, the most luxurious tavern in the inner city of Tianyun City, a dozen middle-aged men in opulent attire sat around a table, the atmosphere chillingly heavy.

"Half a day! Just half a day! The sales of our Myriad Medicine Pavilion were directly cut in half!"

A man with a goatee slammed the table and stood up, his face turning ashen. "If this continues, in less than three months, we will all have to shut our doors for good!"

"Shopkeeper Zhao, calm down."

An elderly man with a sinister expression said in a measured tone, "Have you found out who is standing behind this Lingxiao Medicine Shop?"

A younger man beside him handed over a dossier. "I found out long ago. The owner is a young man named Lin Chuan who suddenly appeared in Tianyun City three months ago. First, he established the Lingxiao Medicine Shop, and subsequently, when Shopkeeper Zhao of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion sent people to deal with them, those people were dealt with instead."