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Chapter 468: Red Moon Pavilion

Initially, it had been Jiang Yuebai\'s idea, but she didn\'t have the time to manage it on her own. When Xu Hongqiu heard about it, she immediately volunteered. Since the Whale Gang had already opened numerous shops, adding one more wouldn\'t make much of a difference, so they decided to partner up.

However, Jiang Yuebai\'s idea was to open a restaurant due to her secret love for food.

However, food businesses were less likely to make a profit in the marketplaces of the world of immortality cultivators.

Ordinary ingredients wouldn\'t sell for much; no one would waste spirit stones on simple beef, mutton, or vegetables. The large restaurants in Taotie City served medicinal feasts, spirit plant feasts, or spirit beast feasts. To justify their high prices, the dishes had to be truly extravagant.

This also required highly specialized sources of ingredients and advanced cooking techniques, neither of which could be arranged quickly.

The thought of starting this restaurant business was still in its early stages, with many specifics yet to be discussed. After a brief discussion, the three of them thought they would ask Chu Liang for advice as he was very smart. There was a chance he could offer some useful ideas.

Chu Liang came over with Little Chu Yi.

After hearing their ideas, Chu Liang smiled and suggested, "Since you and Miss Xu are partners, why not call it Red and White Celebrations[1]?"

It could even specialize in open wedding and funeral banquet services... he silently added.

Jiang Yuebai immediately glared at him.

"Hmph!" Hongqiu Xu scoffed, clearly disapproving of the name Chu Liang had suggested. However, she quickly changed her mind and added, "How about we take one character from each of our names? We could call it Red Moon[2] Pavilion?"

"That works..." Jiang Yuebai said with a gentle nod.

"Heh," Chu Liang laughed, "That\'s a great name for an elegant hot pot restaurant."

"Hot pot?" The group looked at him.

In the world of immortality cultivators, there really hasn\'t been a specialized hot pot restaurant.

Generally, if a business wasn\'t already being done, the first question to ask was: why hadn\'t anyone else tried it yet? Instead of assuming you were clever enough to have discovered an untapped market.

They had talked about this before. Compared to the extravagant dishes made with rare spirit plants and beasts, hot pot didn\'t seem particularly special. Every Mount Shu disciple knew how to make hot pot, so why would they bother visiting a restaurant for it?

Chu Liang said, "Hot pot has a long history at Mount Shu; it\'s a trademark of our sect. Every disciple knows how to make it, so why would they come to a restaurant for it regularly?"

"But think about people from outside Mount Shu," he deduced with a smile. "They might not have the habit of eating hot pot. Visitors come for the sights, but if they could also try our signature dish, wouldn\'t that be great? Food is a part of our culture too."

"As for the problems you mentioned," Chu Liang continued, "we don\'t have to use ordinary hot pot ingredients. Instead, we can use premium spirit plants and beasts. We can source them from the market or even grow them ourselves. It\'ll take some effort in the beginning to find high-quality ingredients, but fortunately, I have a friend who specializes in this.

"He knows what\'s safe to eat, what isn\'t, and what tastes good. With his help, choosing ingredients in the beginning will be easy."

"Oh, you mean..." Jiang Yuebai\'s eyes widened as the realization hit her. "That fellow disciple from Cloud Horizon Peak!" she exclaimed.

"Exactly." Chu Liang nodded.

Chu Liang was indeed referring to Lackey B.

With such a wide variety of hot pot ingredients, choosing the right ones was crucial. Lackey B had always been a foodie, so if he were tasked with taste-testing, he\'d likely be more than willing.

"With that key issue solved, our main focus for everything else should be the service," Chu Liang added.

"Service?"

"Exactly." He continued, "Our biggest worry is that hot pot alone might not be worth the spirit-stone coins. But good service can change that. If we can train a team to make guests feel truly at home—welcoming them with smiles at the door, serving tea and snacks attentively, offering dried fruits and sweets, providing games for fun, doing even things like eyebrow shaping, nail painting, and hosting celebrations..."

"If we can perfect all these aspects, then even if the guests are eating the most ordinary ingredients, they won\'t mind paying a bit more," Chu Liang explained.

As he spoke, the three friends listened intently, feeling as though they had been enlightened. Everything Chu Liang said made perfect sense.

As they listened, little Chu Yi also nodded along with a serious expression on his face.

Seeing this, Xu Hongqiu couldn\'t help but find it amusing. She teased, "Does this little one understand as well?"

"This little brother of mine is quite smart," Chu Liang replied.

Chu Yi sat upright on the stool, cupped his hands respectfully, and said, "Ladies, I, Chu Yi, am already six years old. I am not some mere three- or five-year-old child. I do understand these matters."

...

Chu Liang provided them with the ideas, but the specifics would be up to them to implement.

In fact, Chu Liang believed that they could run the restaurant successfully even without his help, as they were all smart and capable individuals.

Not to mention, with Senior Sister Jiang\'s reputation alone, cultivators from all over would surely come to try it.

While surveying Red Cotton Peak, he shared various bits of knowledge with little Chu Yi before dropping him off at the Hall of Conservation.

Whenever he wasn\'t around, he would have Chu Yi learn from the square-faced Senior Brother Yuan.

Senior Brother Yuan\'s square-shaped head was filled with knowledge, and even the smallest bit he shared could keep Chu Yi learning for a long time. Moreover, he was a man of integrity, and setting a good example for a child was far more important than many words.

It was certainly better than staying on Silver Sword Peak and picking up bad habits from a certain someone.

That very day, Chu Liang arrived at Myriad Poison Mountain in the southwestern region.

The mountain wasn\'t far from Mount Shu, so he made it there quickly. Hovering in mid-air, he could already sense the sinister, eerie aura rising from below.

This place in the Southern Regions was even more terrifying than Southern Bastion Mountain.

While Southern Bastion Mountain was shrouded in mystery, filled with hidden realms and treacherous spots, its dangers were uncertain. Myriad Poison Mountain, however, was different—its danger was predictable. It was poison.

Almost every venomous creature in the Nine Provinces and Four Seas could be found here. Even the records kept by the Divine Nine sects, the Terrestrial Ten, and the Yu Dynasty\'s palace couldn\'t list every venomous and poisonous being lurking in its depths.

Even seventh-realm Eminent Ones wouldn\'t dare venture into the depths of Myriad Poison Mountain. There was a real chance that they could die.

Years ago, the immortal sects joined forces to seal off Myriad Poison Mountain, stopping its poisonous miasma from spreading. Without this barrier, the miasma would have spread, wiping out all life within a thousand li.

Only then did the immortal sects set up outposts around Myriad Poison Mountain, killing any venomous and poisonous creatures that managed to escape its borders. On rare occasions, they ventured into the mountains to hunt, but they only dared to stay near the outskirts.

Chu Liang\'s destination was the Demon Spider Forest, which was on the westernmost edge of Myriad Poison Mountain and the nearest to the Red River Sect.

Before venturing into the mountain, he made thorough preparations, bringing along more than a dozen antidotes. These should be enough to handle the danger in the outermost area of the Myriad Poison Mountain.

With a rustling sound, Chu Liang landed in the eerie forest.

Contrary to what he had imagined, the Demon Spider Forest wasn\'t crawling with Scarlet Demon Spiders. Instead, they hid among the dark red trees and foliage, spinning webs of silk that blended seamlessly into their surroundings.

It was difficult to detect any anomalies even when he was scanning the area with his divine sense.

These Scarlet Demon Spiders hunted not only insects but also birds and beasts. Anyone who touched the webs of the Scarlet Demon Spider would immediately feel dizzy and faint.

They would then be wrapped in a large cocoon-like structure and left to corrode, leaving not even a skeleton behind.

Although the Scarlet Demon Spiders weren\'t very powerful on their own, when they worked together, they could inflict significant damage on powerful demonic beasts.

Facing such cruel and cunning venomous creatures, Chu Liang decided to go with a more cautious way of hunting.

He first activated the immortal art Army of Beans. He then had the clone he created move slowly through the forest.

After the clone had moved only a short distance, faint hissing sounds reached his ears.

The clone\'s limbs had already brushed against two strands of spider silk. Even though it was merely a clone created from a bean, the surface of its limbs started turning a darker shade of color.

Moments later, two Scarlet Demon Spiders emerged from different directions.

After a brief standoff, the smaller spider turned and scurried away.

The larger spider crawled closer, preparing to wrap the clone in a cocoon.

Swoosh.

In that moment, Chu Liang sprang into action, unleashing a wave of sword qi that struck down both Scarlet Demon Spiders.

The eerie atmosphere made him cautious; he didn\'t dare let his Dustless Sword come into contact with the venomous creatures, fearing it might be contaminated with poison and he would end up coming into contact with the poison.

With the same method, he killed seven or eight Scarlet Demon Spiders on the same spot.

However, that number was probably not enough for Wen Yulong to do enhancements on the Demon-Binding Rope, so he decided to move on in search of another location.

Just then, he heard faint cries coming from deep within the forest.

"Helpppppppppppp..."

"Helppppppppppppppppppp..."

1. The "bai" in Jiang Yuebai means White and the "Hong" in Xu Hongqiu means Red. ☜

2. Because "Hong" in Xu Hongqiu means Red and "Yue" in Jiang Yuebai means Moon ☜