At the first pill shop Ian visited, the manager listened to his staff’s report, lips curled in contempt. "An ascended Golden Immortal thinks he can bargain with us? Ridiculous!"
This little pet Immortal Beast shop usually scraped by with a thousand immortal stones a month. Ian’s offer of a hundred thousand for rent left the girl speechless.
"No need. He won’t cause any waves," the manager said, waving it off.
The next morning, Ian walked into a shop specializing in pet-type Immortal Beasts. Behind the counter stood a young woman in green—Sierra Yanshi, late-stage Human Immortal.
"Good morning, sir! Are you here to buy a pet?"
She greeted him, all smiles and energy.
"Who runs this place?" Ian asked, straight to the point.
The girl frowned slightly. "What’s your business, sir?"
"I want to rent your shop for a month," Ian said bluntly.
At that, Sierra tensed up and tugged at Cliff’s sleeve. A hundred thousand immortal stones—selling pet Immortal Beasts, they’d need ten years to make that much.
Letting Ian use the shop for a month? No-brainer. They couldn’t lose.
Cliff laughed it off. "Just joking, sir. We’ll do it your way—one hundred thousand for the month!"
She gestured for Ian to wait, then hurriedly ran off toward the backyard.
Moments later, Cliff Yanshi—a young man at early Earth Immortal realm—walked out with Sierra.
"Sir, you want to rent our shop for a month at a hundred thousand immortal stones?"
The young Earth Immortal got straight to the point.
"That’s right," Ian nodded.
"How about you add a little more?" The young man’s eyes glinted with greed.
Ian’s face darkened. "A hundred thousand is already more than generous. If you won’t take it, I’ll find another shop!"
Hearing this, the girl tensed up, tugging nervously at the young man’s sleeve. A hundred thousand immortal stones—selling pet Immortal Beasts, they’d need at least ten years to earn that much.
Now all they had to do was let Ian use the shop for a month—no matter how you looked at it, they couldn’t lose.
The young Earth Immortal laughed. "Just kidding, sir. Of course, we’ll do it your way—one hundred thousand a month!"
They signed the contract on the spot. Ian paid a deposit of ten thousand immortal stones, with the remaining ninety thousand due once they handed over the shop the next day.
The next day, Ian brought Diana Toba and Lila Li to the pet Immortal Beast shop. Everything not related to the new business had been cleared out, and Cliff and Sierra Yanshi had even given the place a thorough cleaning.
That’s right—the shop owners were siblings: Cliff Yanshi, the older brother, and Sierra Yanshi, the younger sister.
After receiving the remaining ninety thousand immortal stones, Cliff and Sierra Yanshi left promptly and without any fuss.
Ian scribbled a sign and hung it out front: "Top-grade Immortal Yuan Pills, 200 immortal stones each. Limited supply—first come, first served!" (Note: 1 immortal stone is the standard currency; top-grade Immortal Yuan Pills are the best basic cultivation pill for Human Immortals, usually scarce and expensive.)
Since the pill shops wanted to play the bully, Ian figured he’d just cut the ground out from under them.
Top‑grade Immortal Yuan Pills were the best cultivation pill for Human Immortals, but they were always scarce and hard to find.
So, less than fifteen minutes after Ian hung the sign, a young Human Immortal customer showed up.
"Are you really selling top‑grade Immortal Yuan Pills for just two hundred immortal stones each?" The young Human Immortal asked skeptically.
"No tricks, no markup. But there’s a limit—ten pills per person!"
Diana Toba explained with a friendly smile.
Lila Li chimed in, "Little brother, you’re already at the peak of early Human Immortal. If you take these top‑grade Immortal Yuan Pills, you’ll break through in no time!"
"Can I see the pills first?" the young man asked.
"Of course!"
Diana handed him a top‑grade Immortal Yuan Pill. After inspecting it, the young man was convinced—it was the real deal, and he was immediately tempted.
In the end, he steeled himself and bought five.
As the saying goes, getting started is the hardest part. With that first customer, more and more people began flocking to the little shop.
Because the pills were sold in limited quantities, everyone instinctively assumed Ian’s stock was small. They rushed to tell friends and family, and business exploded.
By midday, they’d already sold ten thousand pills.
Ian had every reason to believe sales would be even higher in the afternoon.
Everyone loves a bargain—even Immortals. Buying ten top‑grade Immortal Yuan Pills from Ian saved two hundred immortal stones, so even the stingiest old cultivators who usually refused to splurge on pills tightened their belts and bought the full ten.
By afternoon, business was booming. Ian called in Lena Wei and Chuxue to help with the rush.
By closing time, total sales of top‑grade Immortal Yuan Pills had reached more than fifty‑six thousand. But Wildlands City had a population of over ten million, at least half of whom were still Human Immortals—meaning his potential customer base was at least five million.
And today, only about ten thousand people came to buy pills.
Meanwhile, every pill shop in the city had heard about Ian selling top‑grade Immortal Yuan Pills for two hundred immortal stones each. The impact on their business was limited for now, but if this continued, they’d definitely take a big hit.
The first shop Ian tried to sell his top‑grade Immortal Yuan Pills to was Dragon‑Tiger Pill Hall.
Right now—
The pill shop manager’s face was full of regret. Top‑grade Immortal Yuan Pills were always in short supply. If he’d known Ian had so many, he wouldn’t have offered such a low price. According to the rumors, Ian sold over fifty thousand pills in a single day. If the manager had accepted his offer, the shop could’ve made hundreds of thousands of immortal stones in profit.
A huge loss!
The manager was visibly unwilling to accept it.
After a brief hesitation, he decided to pay Ian a personal visit.
"My name is Bian Cheng. Greetings, Mr. Ian!"
The manager’s arrogance was gone—he was no longer looking down on anyone.
"What brings you here, Manager Bian?"
Ian smiled.
Bian Cheng stared at Ian. "Let’s not beat around the bush, Mr. Ian. However many top‑grade Immortal Yuan Pills you have left, our Dragon‑Tiger Pill Hall will take them all!"
"Not many, just a little over three thousand left," Ian replied.
Hearing this, Bian Cheng looked deeply disappointed. Still, even a little was better than nothing, so he offered to trade for them at a rate of one hundred eighty immortal stones apiece, paying with medicinal herbs.
Ian didn’t refuse.
After sending Bian Cheng off, Ian let out a cold chuckle. All the medicinal herbs Bian offered were just first‑grade.
The next day—
When the shop opened again, even more people came for top‑grade Immortal Yuan Pills. Ian simply called in all the girls to help with sales.
As soon as sales began, Bian Cheng got wind of it and was instantly furious. He knew Ian had played him for a fool.
With all the girls working as shop assistants, today’s sales doubled, hitting a staggering one hundred eighty thousand.
When Bian Cheng heard the numbers, his eyes practically turned green with envy—all he could see were piles of immortal stones slipping away.
If he’d sold those pills himself, even at a profit of twenty immortal stones per pill, one hundred eighty thousand pills would’ve netted him three million six hundred thousand immortal stones.
Meanwhile, every pill shop in Wildlands City was stuck with unsold top‑grade Immortal Yuan Pills. Normally, even the worst shop could sell a few thousand, but today, the best barely sold a hundred, and the worst didn’t move a single pill—because it was right next to Ian’s shop.