"Beauty salon?" Chen Jiuge could understand an Elixir Pharmacy, but what on earth was a beauty salon?
"It’s where she takes some beautifying elixirs, turns them into face masks, and modifies some internal elixirs for external use, requiring a medicinal bath for absorption."
"She even arranged for numerous Medicine Rabbits to massage those people and employed female monkeys from the Great Saint Army. It’s simply a waste of resources," Da Bai lamented, grief-stricken.
Chen Jiuge looked at Da Bai with a strange expression. Your expression makes me think you’re just envious.
However, the beauty salon did pique Chen Jiuge’s curiosity. After hurriedly downing a few beers and munching on some skewers, he decided to go and experience it for himself.
Yue Meng and Da Bai were different. As a bona fide Alchemy Master, Yue Meng lacked nothing—Spirit Stones were plentiful, and elixirs abounded. In short, she was a real tycoon, with loads of money.
The Moonlight Beauty Salon was situated exceptionally close to the core of Horn Shadow City. It occupied a vast space, roughly combining seven or eight adjacent stores, and rose seven stories high, looking far more upscale than Da Bai’s snack bar.
Upon entering the quaint and charming store, a partially transformed Medicine Rabbit with an adorable smile greeted him, "Guest, what service would you like?"
The Medicine Rabbit widened its eyes at Chen Jiuge, then suddenly let out a piercing shriek, "Boss Lady! Boss Lady! The Master is here!"
Moments later, Yue Meng appeared, her face still flushed and looking somewhat flustered. "Master, why have you come?" she asked Chen Jiuge.
"I just visited Da Bai’s snack bar up front. He told me you opened some beauty salon, so here I am to check it out."
"So, it was that scoundrel Da Bai who snitched."
"No, Master. Let me treat you to our top-end package." Yue Meng quickly shelved her little schemes, deciding to appease Chen Jiuge first.
"What about me?" Mo Yu suddenly spoke up.
"Of course, it’s the same for you, but our services are separated by gender here." The rıghtful source is NoveI-Fire.ɴet
Milk baths, bunny-girl massages, female monkey foot rubs—after this whole series of treatments, Chen Jiuge found it truly memorable. Isn’t this just a cultivation-themed club?
Inside the sauna, Yue Meng and Mo Yu reverted to their beast forms, panting with their tongues lolling out.
"Is this a Light-gathering Array?" Chen Jiuge asked, looking with surprise at the array patterns on the sauna room walls.
"Yes. I almost went bankrupt because of this beauty salon," Yue Meng said pitifully.
"Alright. I didn’t forbid you from opening it."
"You’re the best, Master. Take your time and enjoy yourself. I’ll take Mo Yu out for some fun."
Watching the two Spiritual Beasts dash off, Chen Jiuge shook his head with a resigned smile. Horn Shadow City was in dire need of revitalization, so he was more than happy to see more shops opening. I wonder if other Spiritual Beasts have also opened shops?
On the outer edge of Horn Shadow City, Li Kui, Ming Yujing, and Bali gathered in a remodeled martial arts gym. Li Kui announced, "The official opening of our Three Beasts Gym is soon! Does everyone know what we’re supposed to do?"
The recruited monkeys responded with stern faces, "We know! To fight and teach combat skills to those who come through the doors to learn."
"Very good. Meeting adjourned. No one be late tomorrow," Ming Yujing said with satisfaction.
Mo Yu hurried to an exquisite courtyard in the city’s outer district after finishing the inspection with Chen Jiuge.
Bai Ya, in the courtyard, complained upon seeing Mo Yu, "You finally came! If you hadn’t arrived, I wouldn’t have known what to do!"
"I was accompanying Brother Chen on his inspection, so I got a little delayed. How did things go?" Mo Yu explained.
"It’s already taken care of. All that’s left is your finishing touch with the ink. Hurry up! Da Bai even invited me for drinks tonight," Yu Heng complained, popping out from nowhere.
"Alright. Where are the items? I’ll get to work on them now; the grand opening is tomorrow."
In the backyard, Mo Yu looked at the various strange jade carvings filling the courtyard and asked, "Is this all of them?"
"How many more do you want? Making these somewhat spiritual jade carvings is exhausting!" Yu Heng grumbled. If I weren’t so short on funds, I’d never do such tiring work, even if this industry does seem promising.
Subtle ink rose from Mo Yu’s side, gently touching the eyes of each jade carving—this was the Great Divine Power: "Bringing Life with a Brush Stroke."
The previously inanimate jade carvings began to move slowly. This didn’t mean they were alive; the divine skill had merely gathered the spirituality within them into a focal point. To put it another way, they were more like animated figurines.
"If we were to invest heavily in infusing these figurines with more spirituality, they might actually come alive," Yu Heng marveled. This wasn’t a technique of the Jade Clan, nor was it influenced by Creation Power; it was purely an augmentation of existing spirituality.
"It’s definitely possible, but the spiritual energy cost would be immense," Mo Yu said, his face somewhat pale.
This particular divine skill consumed a vast amount of energy. Even for a True Immortal like Mo Yu, the burden was significant. Fortunately, these figurines possessed only a trace of spirituality. Any more, and he feared he might collapse from exhaustion.
The Spiritual Beasts had thought of seizing the initiative in Horn Shadow City, and naturally, other clans had the same idea. She Wanbang, for instance, had already established numerous specialty shops for the Snake Clan even before the entire clan relocated.
The Gray Elephant Clan didn’t have many goods to sell. Instead, they offered their services for transportation, manual labor, construction, and other odd jobs.
The Purple Butterfly Clan also saw a business opportunity. Their Clan Leader, Ziyi, even rushed over overnight to purchase numerous shops, dedicating them to selling the Purple Butterfly Clan’s specialty products.
As for the Asura, Chen Jiuge directly assigned them to form the city’s Law Enforcement Team. To prevent incidents during enforcement, he specifically separated the Asura. Each Asura was assigned to lead a squad from the Horn Shadow Clan, ensuring that no single team had two Asura, which might lead to them fighting amongst themselves.
As Horn Shadow City rapidly developed, a message disrupted Chen Jiuge’s leisure time.
"Jiuge, the Netherworld King Clan requests a meeting with you, ostensibly to avoid any case of mistaken identity later."
Chen Jiuge read the message, somewhat speechless. ’Mistaken identity’? They just want to probe our strength. Still, I am quite interested in this Netherworld King Clan, said to be as formidable as the Asura. "However, I need to inform Brother Luo about this to prevent any mishaps."
Before long, Luo Wencheng, reeking of barbecue and beer, appeared in the grand hall. Chen Jiuge frowned and said, "Brother Luo, how long have you been at the bar?"
Chen Jiuge had opened the bar himself, initially just for the experience. Unexpectedly, it became extremely popular among the city’s residents. If not for the high prices, it would have been packed to bursting by now. Chen Jiuge was already planning to expand the bar, as it was running out of space. This would also provide some business for the Gray Elephant Clan, who were currently short on work.
"Not long. Only about a month," Luo Wencheng replied, sitting down on the floor.
"I’ve only been open for a month, haven’t I? Anyway, never mind that. Brother Luo, there’s something I need to tell you: the Netherworld King Clan plans to pay us a visit."
"The Netherworld King Clan? Must be those two I sensed last time. Anyway, it’s not important. That old fellow, Luo Kuisan, is arriving tomorrow. He’s incredibly strong. As long as we don’t encounter a Half-Step Dao Yi expert, absolutely nothing will go wrong," Luo Wencheng said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
The Great Leader had already informed Chen Jiuge about Elder Luo Kuisan’s impending arrival; Chen Jiuge just wasn’t very familiar with the names of the Asura Elders.