Chapter 305: Any Friends Who Visit Shall Will be Welcomed With Fine Wine

Seven days later, the Berry Wonderland at Silver Sword Peak officially opened.

Currently, the Berry Wonderland offered a few activities, mainly focusing on berry picking.

Over the past few days, Chu Liang and his team worked diligently to develop the unused half of Silver Sword Peak. They focused on transplanting the dense Golden Vein Flowers into the sparse forest, spacing them out so that one had to walk a few steps to find a stalk of flowers with berries, making the berry-picking experience more entertaining.

After all, the most abundant resource at Silver Sword Peak was the empty land.

They had temporarily stopped selling berries a few days in advance, so that the people who were interested in the purchase could come pick the berries themselves.

They also widely promoted this inside and outside Mount Shu, mainly by distributing flyers and posting advertisements at various peaks...

The day before Berry Wonderland opened, Chu Liang was worried the event might not be successful, so he specifically asked Yun Chaoxian to bring some people from the Great Astral Sect to help. They didn't need to do anything; they just had to stand there and form a queue, making the event seem more popular than it actually was.

Yun Chaoxian, being a very loyal and faithful friend, brought a group of brawny men. There were a dozen of them, all muscular and robust, with bulging muscles and strong physiques.

When Chu Liang saw this, he gave a thumbs-up.

The brothers at the Great Astral Sect truly exemplified the loyalty and faithfulness of brotherhood!

He also sent a letter to Xue Lingxue, inviting a somewhat famous musician girl from South Melody Conservatory to perform before the opening of Berry Wonderland.

Xue Lingxue responded with much enthusiasm. If she hadn't been on tour, she might have come by herself.

Chu Liang gave another thumbs-up, finding the sisters from South Melody Conservatory reliable as well.

Of course, Chu Liang paid these people for their help, but without connections, it would be hard to hire them even with money.

The day arrived quickly.

The event's popularity exceeded his expectations. Half an hour before the park opened, the queue was already very long. Many interested onlookers saw the line and quickly called their friends to come early and join, making the crowd grow even larger.

Surprisingly, half of the visitors were from other regions, mostly drawn by the allure of the garden that even members of the diabolical sects had risked their lives to steal from. While the Mount Shu disciples were familiar with the Golden Vein Berries, they were very interested in the park, eager to see what new ideas Chu Liang had introduced.

Seeing the growing crowd, Chu Liang quickly called over the men he had asked to line up as fake customers to boost the event's popularity. He instructed them to change into security uniforms. The group of muscular men then stood in two rows at the berry wonderland entrance, looking imposing and formidable.

The Golden-Furred Hou, a sixth-realm vicious beast, stood obediently to the left of the entrance to Berry Wonderland. It had a large embroidered ball hanging from its chest and it looked a bit dazed. On the right stood the Baize youngling, also with a small red embroidered ball, appearing equally confused.

"Welcome to Berry Wonderland. Tickets are ten sword coins per person. Once inside, you pay the regular price for the berries you pick. Today, for the grand opening, everything is half off for the first three days! Please store your enchanted storage tools here and trust the security in this wonderland. See the person sitting over there? Know who she is? Good..." Lin Bei said, pointing to Di Nufeng.

"Everyone exiting Berry Wonderland will receive a Koi-Blessing Jade Talisman specially crafted on Silver Sword Peak," Shang Ziliang announced, holding up the finely crafted talisman. "Only 500 are available for the grand opening. First come, first served!"

Someone in the crowd exclaimed, "Wow, this looks so beautiful! Wearing this will make me look respectable!"

Chu Liang had roped in his small team to help, and by now, they were so accustomed to his somewhat unconventional methods that they hardly batted an eye.

Chu Liang had Shang Ziliang charge entry fees outside the park, Lin Bei act as a guide inside, Liu Xiaoyu'er and the young Baize serve as mascots, Lackey A direct people at the information counter. As for Lackey B, he was just reminded not to eat secretly[1].

Everyone performed their duties enthusiastically.

As the opening time approached, Chu Liang stepped onto a stage they had set up earlier. Seeing the long queue in front of him, he couldn't help but feel emotional.

It seemed that some things would never change, no matter where he was.

Something that initially had little value can become a popular trend and be praised by many through persistent marketing, packaging, and framing.

Because human values were not as strong as imagined and were often quite fragile, they could be easily influenced or changed.

He briefly said a few welcoming words, and then a red ribbon was pulled open on both sides. His teacher, Di Nufeng, stepped onto the stage to cut it.

Di Nufeng ascended the stage, looking around with an air of arrogance.

"This fruit garden is run by my disciple and is the property of Silver Sword Peak. Friends who visit shall be welcomed with fine wine, but anyone with ill intentions looking to cause trouble..."

Whoosh—

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The red ribbon was instantly burned to ashes by a flash of purple-gold flame.

Then she added, "Don't let me catch you."

Chu Liang's eyelids started twitching; it was the first time he had seen a ribbon-cutting done so thoroughly.

He quickly escorted Di Nufeng off the stage and, with a reassuring smile, called out to the crowd, "No need to be afraid, everyone. As long as no one breaks the rules, my teacher is quite gentle and amiable."

The crowd looked at Chu Liang, then at Di Nufeng, who was baring her teeth at the Golden-Furred Hou, causing it to tremble in fear. For a moment, they felt doubtful.

Fearing that any further delay would scare people away, Chu Liang quickly waved his hand and announced, "Berry Wonderland is officially open!"

...

Obviously, the higher-ups of the Mount Shu Sect naturally knew about the Berry Wonderland that Chu Liang had set up on Mount Shu.

It was hard not to notice, with Silver Sword Peak's flyers almost plastered on the windows of Boundless Palace; they were visible everywhere.

However, the Mount Shu Sect's regulations had no rules regarding the posting of advertisements, so there was no way to penalize him. The Discipline Master was pondering whether to discuss with the sect leader about drafting a new regulation to maintain the sect's appearance and prohibit random postings.

Regardless, Chu Liang had already exploited this loophole.

It must be said that Chu Liang's presence on Mount Shu had indeed brought many new challenges to the higher-ups of the Mount Shu Sect.

These were minor issues compared to the bigger problem.

Recently, there was a shortage of sword coins!

There was already a very healthy cycle of sword coins in Mount Shu. The sword coins functioned like contribution points; disciples would complete tasks for the sect and exchange the coins for items within the sect.

Even if disciples engaged in some trading among themselves, such as the trading of enchanted tools and pills, the coins would eventually be used to purchase items in the sect, keeping the circulation of sword coins undisrupted.

But Chu Liang basically appeared out of nowhere. Since then, he had been using sword coins purely for commercial activities. During the Mountain God Memorial Ceremony, he used some clues to earn tens of thousands of sword coins.

During the Mount Shu Summit, most of the berries were sold for sword coins, and he also converted other forms of spirit-stone payments into sword coins. Over many days, he amassed another large sum.

In terms of sword coins alone, almost no peak master among the thirty-six peaks of Mount Shu was richer than him!

Peak masters had to distribute their sword coins to their disciples, ensuring the circulation of sword coins within the sect. However, Chu Liang, apart from buying a few techniques earlier, had hardly spent any. He had been hoarding the coins.

For the opening of his Berry Wonderland, Chu Liang aggressively promoted sword coin transactions by offering attractive discounts. Cultivators from other immortal sects who wanted to visit first had to exchange their own currency for sword coins at Mount Shu. Even before the wonderland officially opened, a significant number of sword coins had been exchanged on Mount Shu.

Although the sword coin reserves of an immortal sect wouldn't run out immediately, it was foreseeable that they would eventually be depleted if this continued!

The Weapon Master, responsible for minting sword coins, was troubled and immediately reported the issue to the higher-ups of Mount Shu.

"This is sheer nonsense," the Weapon Master complained. "If this continues, how many more sword coins will I have to mint? The number of coins minted in the past ten years combined doesn't compare to the amount needed this year alone."

The Conservation Master smiled, "This Chu Liang is truly interesting."

The Alchemy Master shrugged and said, "I can't do anything about this. Back when Di Nufeng and I had a disagreement, you all sided with her. Now I dare not provoke her."

Of course, the Alchemy Master was just making a minor complaint. Given his current relationship with Chu Liang, he certainly wouldn't target him like before.

The Discipline Master pondered for a moment and said, "I'm not afraid of Di Nufeng. I'm just wondering... is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

Venerable Wen Yuan listened to their discussion and, after some thought, said, "Let him be. Weapons Master, mint more sword coins. If ten years' worth isn't enough, mint twenty years' worth. Increase the allocations for all peak masters by thirty percent, so they can give more to their disciples... except for Di Nufeng's. Raise prices by thirty percent in the Hall of Alchemy, the Hall of Weapons, the Hall of Conservation, and the Sword Exchange Pavilion. If people from other sects come to exchange their spirit-stone coins for sword coins, let them exchange as many as they want. Then, use those coins to buy resources from other sects."

"This is excellent!" The Conservation Master was the first to agree. "This way, although the large amount of sword coins in Chu Liang's possession won't decrease, the value of sword coins will depreciate. Then, more people from other sects will come to exchange for sword coins, and we can trade the extra minted coins for resources. Essentially, we will be exchanging our spirit-stone coins for their precious treasures of nature!"

For spirit-stone coins to retain their value, they had to be exchanged for resources. No matter how the situation was viewed, using the extra minted spirit-stone coins to trade for external resources would be a profitable exchange.

"Brilliant!" The Weapons Master exclaimed, clapping his hands in realization. The impact caused his hand to throb with pain from the black-iron hand, but he grinned and said, "The trouble started by that kid will actually benefit the Mount Shu Sect greatly! This is truly a blessing in disguise!"

"Did he really not plan this?" the Alchemy Master suddenly asked with a subtle smile on his face.

"Either way, it's a good thing," the Discipline Master said.

"Yes, it's just a minor commotion among the disciples." Venerable Wen Yuan shook his head, not wanting to discuss the matter further. He then turned to the Alchemy Master and asked, "Have you finished interrogating your disciple?"

At the mention of this, the Alchemy Master's smile instantly vanished.

It would be a lie to say there wasn't a bond with the disciple he had spent years training. The realization that this disciple was a spy hit him hard, filling him with a turbulent mix of sorrow and anger he couldn't easily shake.

"He confessed everything," the Alchemy Master replied after a pause. "There is indeed a powerful force behind Lu Chengchou. They were the ones who supported him over the years, gathering the orphans of Mount Shu's enemies to go against our sect. They provided the resources exchanged with the Dark King Sect. However, Lu Xun never had direct contact with the higher-ups and he only heard Lu Chengchou mention the name of this sect...

"It's the Celestial Charm Sect."

1. LD: LOL someone got caught. ☜