Li Fan’s avatar’s eyes flashed as he laughed. “Haha, Fellow Daoist—did you manage to clean out the ruins of the entire Medicine King Sect? How many did you get your hands on?”
Jiao Xiuyuan chuckled cheerfully. “Not quite. But I was fortunate enough to unearth what remained of the workshop. Most of it consisted of discarded, defective products that were no longer usable, yet I still managed to find twenty-eight intact Mini Medicine King Cauldrons.”
“Twenty-eight?” Li Fan was inwardly startled. He had not expected there to be so many. The number far exceeded his expectations.
Recalling the scene from his twelfth life, when he had been hunted down over the two Mini Medicine King Cauldrons stored in his ring, Li Fan fell into deep thought.
That Nascent Soul cultivator had locked directly onto his position. Clearly, he had used some method to detect the presence of the Mini Medicine King Cauldrons.
Perhaps it was a secret technique. Or perhaps it was because that cultivator also possessed Mini Medicine King Cauldrons of their own.
The competition over these artifacts was obviously tied to the imminent return of the true Medicine King Cauldron.
The opportunity hidden within the Medicine King Cauldron must be closely connected to these mini cauldrons left behind by the Medicine King Sect.
My being hunted back then was likely just one scene in a much larger, fiercer struggle.
However, in this life, the more Mini Medicine King Cauldrons, the better it is for me!
His thoughts raced, and in the span of a breath, Li Fan had already formed a plan.
Only then did he resume speaking to Jiao Xiuyuan.
“Fellow Daoist Jiao, your luck is truly remarkable,” Li Fan said with a smile. “But I don’t need that many cauldrons. For ordinary cultivation, two are sufficient. Even buying two more as backups would already be more than enough.”
Jiao Xiuyuan immediately shook his head. “Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. I’ve personally appraised these Mini Medicine King Cauldrons. They truly are artifacts from the ancient great sect. Their effectiveness in nurturing spirit plants is far beyond anything these crudely manufactured modern tools can match. Not to mention their long history, and the fact that they possess—”
Li Fan smiled and interrupted him. “Heh. Fellow Daoist, we’ve endured hardships together. Let’s speak frankly. You’re worried that with herb prices so low right now, these Mini Medicine King Cauldrons will be difficult to sell. That’s why you’re so eager for me to buy more, isn’t that right?”
Jiao Xiuyuan hadn’t expected Li Fan to be so straightforward. He gave an awkward laugh, trying to mask his embarrassment.
Just as he was about to explain himself, Li Fan continued calmly, “Don’t worry. Since I was the one who asked you to find these Mini Medicine King Cauldrons, I naturally won’t let you take a loss.
“In my view, selling these mini cauldrons for a hundred times, or even a thousand times, their current price won’t be difficult at all.”
His tone was arrogant, yet filled with absolute confidence.
Jiao Xiuyuan couldn’t help but feel intrigued. “I would very much like to hear your esteemed opinion.”
Li Fan smiled faintly. “Fellow Daoist, you must understand that the price of a commodity has very little to do with its intrinsic value.
“The final price depends solely on how much the buyer is willing to pay.
“Take these Mini Medicine King Cauldrons as an example. If they were just artifacts used to cultivate spirit plants, then no matter how much one exaggerated their effects, a price slightly above one thousand contribution points would already be the ceiling. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Jiao Xiuyuan nodded slowly. “That’s true. Even selling them for over a thousand contribution points would already be an optimistic estimate. With the herb market collapsing as it is, we’d be lucky to sell one for five or six hundred contribution points.”
“So, if you want to sell the Mini Medicine King Cauldrons at a high price, we must uncover their other value...” Li Fan said slowly, his tone faint and enigmatic.
“Other value?” Jiao Xiuyuan blinked in confusion. “These mini cauldrons don’t have any other use, do they?”
“Heh. If they have no value,” Li Fan replied with firm conviction, “then we create value for them.”
“Fellow Daoist, are you aware of the legend of how Liu Ruchen of the Medicine King Sect once used the cauldron as a vessel to lead his entire sect through the void?” Li Fan asked.
Jiao Xiuyuan nodded. “Naturally. I’m well aware of that matter...”
Then he suddenly grasped Li Fan’s implication. His voice rose in astonishment. “Fellow Daoist, are you saying that—”
Li Fan chuckled softly. “What if the true Medicine King Cauldron, after wandering beyond the world for thousands of years, is on the verge of returning to the Xuanhuang World? And what if only those who possess a Mini Medicine King Cauldron are qualified to enter it?
“Fellow Daoist,” Li Fan continued calmly, “what do you think the price of these Mini Medicine King Cauldrons would be then?”
Jiao Xiuyuan pondered briefly before his tone abruptly turned excited. “If that were truly the case, if it involved secrets of an ancient great sect from before the descent of the Great Reformation...
“Then the value of the Mini Medicine King Cauldrons would be incalculable. Even if I priced each one at one hundred thousand contribution points, there would still be countless cultivators eager to buy.”
Li Fan responded without hesitation, “Exactly.”
After further thought, Jiao Xiuyuan frowned. “But wouldn’t this be deception? That goes against my principles of doing business.
“Moreover, cultivators are all shrewd people. They won’t simply believe whatever we say.”
Li Fan let out a light laugh and explained patiently, “That depends on how it’s handled, Fellow Daoist. As the saying goes, when three people spread a rumor, it becomes a tiger. Repeat a lie enough times, and eventually someone will accept it as truth.
“When the time comes, we can spend heavily to bribe several divination powerhouses to spread the message. At that point, people will have no choice but to believe it.”
“As for calling it deception...” Li Fan suddenly sneered coldly. “What is business, if not buying and selling through mutual consent? Besides, the return of the true Medicine King Cauldron isn’t necessarily false information.
“Therei s a slim chance that the Medicine King Cauldron that departed in ancient times will return to the Xuanhuang World. Even if that probability approaches zero, as long as it isn’t zero, then across an infinite span of time, this event is guaranteed to occur.
“As for how many kalpas that might take, or whether the Xuanhuang World will still exist by then, that’s an entirely different matter.”
Li Fan’s words struck Jiao Xiuyuan like a seismic shock.
The philosophy they embodied stood in stark contrast to the commercial principles he had always upheld.
By the Heavenly Venerable as his witness, while he, Jiao Xiuyuan, might occasionally seek small advantages in trade, he had never engaged in such blatant, open false advertising. Thousand Li Hall had always operated with integrity as its foundation.
Yet, faintly, Jiao Xiuyuan sensed that Li Fan’s words contained profound wisdom.
For many years now, the scale of Thousand Li Hall’s business had been constrained, long stuck at a bottleneck. His cultivation in the Myriad Puppets Dao had likewise stagnated, and he was unable to break through.
By extension, this method isn't limited to Mini Medicine King Cauldrons alone. Every commodity under heaven could be manipulated this way. When that time comes...
Just imagining such possibilities caused Jiao Xiuyuan to tremble with excitement, as if his very soul were quivering.
Then he heard Li Fan continue:
“To maintain the popularity of the Mini Medicine King Cauldrons, Fellow Daoist, you can periodically hold auctions and release a small number of them through bidding.
“This will not only maximize profits, but also further promote Thousand Li Hall’s business. A single move that achieves multiple advantages."