Chapter 627: The Current Landscape

"Esteemed senior, with your cultivation level so high, you really don't have to pretend to be a disciple of the Mount Shu Sect," Qi Lingshan said consolingly.

"Why would I pretend to be a disciple of Mount Shu?" Chu Liang replied helplessly. "If I were to fake it, wouldn't pretending to be from one of the other sects in the Divine Nine make more sense?"

As soon as he said this, the others looked at him with even more bewilderment.

"Perhaps you are not pretending," Qi Lingmu suggested. "Maybe it's just that you have been away from Mount Shu for a long time and haven't ventured into the martial world?"

"That's true," Chu Liang nodded.

"Since the rise of Red Cotton Peak and the victory of the Mount Shu Sect in the Assembly of Immortal Sects, the sect has grown rapidly over the past few years, with its disciples being treated much better than before," Qi Lingmu explained. "Although other immortal sects tried to emulate this success, none could create a second Red Cotton Peak. The Mount Shu Sect, despite lacking a legendary artifact, could now offer its disciples far better benefits than the other sects of the Divine Nine."

"Better than Taotie City?" Chu Liang asked.

"When we were younger, we heard that Taotie City was the largest market in the world of immortality cultivators. Now, it's almost dropped to third place," Qi Lingshan replied.

"Third?" Chu Liang said, puzzled. "Being surpassed by Red Cotton Peak is one thing, but who else could compete with Taotie City?"

"The Immortals' Square," Qi Lingyue added. "Ever since the Sixth Princess of the Yu Dynasty took charge a few years ago and made big changes, it has quickly become a surprising success."

Through his chat with the three, Chu Liang got a clear picture of the recent changes in the business world of immortality cultivation.

At first, Red Cotton Peak became popular and took a share of the Southern Regions' market. Taotie City didn't think much of it and even invested in Red Cotton Peak, earning them big profits in return. From a financial standpoint, it was a great deal for Taotie City.

But when considering other factors, the decision might not have been so smart.

At first, Red Cotton Peak just copied Taotie City's business model and couldn't outdo them because Taotie City had the advantage of being the first in the game. But later, Red Cotton Peak changed its approach and focused on offering high-end services.

They trained a team skilled in sword-flying techniques specifically for door-to-door delivery.

Any registered sects within the Yu Dynasty, big or small, as well as nearby minor kingdoms, could use Red Cotton Peak's exclusive delivery service.

On top of that, Red Cotton Peak kept track of each client's cultivation level and technique needs, offering personalized cultivation plans tailored just for them.

In the world of immortality cultivation, independent cultivators willing to spend on expensive resources were already a rare group, as most resources were used by sects and factions. By focusing on these high-end clients, Red Cotton Peak captured a large portion of the market, expanding beyond the Southern Regions and starting to encroach upon the land of the nine provinces.

Eventually, even cultivators who weren't associated with any sects could spend enough to qualify for personalized services.

In the past, disciples of immortal sects would have to travel to Taotie City to buy items, often wasting time and effort searching through its massive marketplace. As Taotie City expanded, finding what they needed became even harder, not to mention the risks to their safety.

Now, Red Cotton Peak delivered items straight to their doorstep, making it possible to get what they needed without stepping outside. Sometimes, they even guessed what customers might want before they even realized it themselves by sending a letter with the recommended products.

Physical stores took a major hit. Shops partnered with Red Cotton Peak could adapt and change their business models, but those in Taotie City struggled greatly, and many ended up shutting down.

As a result, Taotie City became less attractive to immortal sect disciples, who now only visited occasionally for leisure or sightseeing.

Even in terms of leisure, though, Red Cotton Peak outshined them. They moved away from focusing on shopping and instead emphasized entertainment, hosting grand celebrations, fireworks shows, and festive events during major holidays. They even introduced mascots like the five-colored koi and the celestial beast Baize, drawing crowds of tourists every day.

Red Cotton Peak had transformed into a massive hub that combined dining, entertainment, and shopping all in one place.

From every perspective, cultivators no longer felt the need to visit Taotie City, leading to the rapid decline of the once-mighty city of the Northern Regions.

If Red Cotton Peak had been the only rival, it might not have been enough to bring about Taotie City's rapid downfall. After all, Taotie City had accumulated vast resources over the years and still offered many products that Red Cotton Peak couldn't provide.

But then, the Immortals' Square suddenly launched its own wave of reforms.

Under the leadership of the Sixth Princess of the Yu Dynasty, the Immortals' Square abandoned most of its high-end market and focused on affordable goods, such as highly demanded pills, talismans, and replicas of high-grade enchanted tools. Using the imperial court's strong supply chains, they quickly took over the low-cost market in the world of immortality cultivators.

With competition from both the high-end and low-end markets, Taotie City was nearly pushed out of existence.

Taotie City didn't give up without a fight. Three years ago, the city lord declared war on Red Cotton Peak, ordering all shops in the city to operate only within Taotie City and cut all ties with Red Cotton Peak. The city worked aggressively to gather resources across the nine provinces, believing that rare resources were limited—if Taotie City got them, Red Cotton Peak couldn't. To do this, they even offered to buy these resources at an extremely high price.

Using a "hurt the enemy more, even if it hurts us" strategy, Taotie City stubbornly held on, relying on its strong foundation to outlast Red Cotton Peak.

Red Cotton Peak fought back by launching an advanced credit system called Red Cotton Credit.

Even if you didn't have money now, you could shop at Red Cotton Peak. Based on your sect's background and your previous spending, you were assigned a credit limit. If you couldn't repay on time, you could settle the debt with other resources or items.

This system let many cultivators stuck at bottlenecks get the resources they needed for breakthroughs right away and pay back later. Since there was no interest, it was a huge advantage, which naturally encouraged even more spending.

Of course, for those who chose not to repay their debts, Mount Shu had plenty of professional "debt-collecting teams" ready to handle the situation.

With this move, the Mount Shu Sect managed to hold its ground against Taotie City's destructive tactics.

Over the three years of competition, neither side had an easy time. However, for suppliers like the High Moon Kingdom, it was a golden era.

Originally, their Crimson Moon Celestial Grass was sold at a fixed price, no matter who the buyer was. Now, with both sides fighting to outbid each other, the price kept going up every year, bringing them huge profits.

A new batch of Crimson Moon Celestial Grass would soon mature, and both Red Cotton Peak and Taotie City considered it a big deal. They each sent top representatives to negotiate with the High Moon Kingdom.

...

Listening to their explanation, Chu Liang wasn't particularly shocked.

Most of these strategies were ones he had originally set in motion and had discussed with the members of Silver Sword Peak. However, the idea of targeting the low-end market had somehow ended up being adopted by the Immortals' Square.

After a brief moment of thought, he realized it was a brilliant move.

Taotie City had decades of resources built up, making it far too powerful for Red Cotton Peak, which was still new and growing, to compete with directly. To level the playing field, Red Cotton Peak gave up part of the market and even helped Immortals' Square grow stronger so they could work together against Taotie City.

It was like teaming up with a smaller ally to take on a much stronger opponent, similar to how forces once joined the Kingdom of Wu to fight the warlord Cao Cao.[1].

However...

With the intelligence of his old companions, continuing the strategies he left behind would already have been challenging enough. To build upon them and innovate further? There had likely been a business expert guiding them behind the scenes.

He couldn't help but ask, "Who's in charge of Red Cotton Peak now?"

"The main affairs are managed by the Four Overlords of Mount Shu," Qi Lingyue replied. "The person ranked above them and overseeing everything is Di Nufeng, the peak master of the Silver Sword Peak of the Mount Shu Sect!"

As Qi Lingyue mentioned Di Nufeng, her eyes sparkled with admiration. Clearly, she greatly envied such a combination of beauty and brilliance.

But Chu Liang immediately and decisively said, "That's absolutely impossible."

He knew exactly what his teacher was like. Having her physically defeat Taotie City? That wouldn't be difficult. But having her outmaneuver opponents in business? That would most likely devolve into a physical conflict eventually.

If Qi Lingyue told him that Di Nufeng led a debt-collecting team, Chu Liang would believe it. But leading all of Red Cotton Peak? Chu Liang wouldn't believe that no matter what.

Just as he was about to ask more questions, a dragon's roar echoed from afar.

Roar—

The roar was filled with a chilling aura of death and violent qi.

"A demonic dragon!"

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The three from the High Moon Kingdom instantly became alert upon hearing the dragon's roar.

"Esteemed senior, we're here to investigate the princess's whereabouts. We must attend to this urgent matter, so we'll have to continue our conversation another day," Qi Lingmu said, gazing into the distance.

Hearing the demonic dragon's roar, Chu Liang sensed that its qi wasn't weak. These young people likely wouldn't be able to handle it. Having just emerged from seclusion, he was eager to test the power of the dragon cultivation legacy.

"Fine," he said, rising abruptly. "Since we're getting along so well, let me give you a hand."

1. The author used a Chinese idiom that translates to allying with Wu to resist Cao and originates from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms ☜