Petrified Bone was greatly shocked, and even the usually silent and stoic Huo Huashen couldn’t maintain his façade.
Everyone had seen the booming business of the barbecue restaurant; demand far exceeded supply, and profits were made faster than robbing a bank.
Even at closing time, people were still queuing outside, illustrating just how popular it was.
As a Unity-stage cultivator, Petrified Bone had tasted all kinds of worldly delicacies, many far superior to these skewers, made from ingredients so rare that they couldn’t be bought even with Spirit Stones.
Yet, this barbecue restaurant used ingredients that could be found at any market.
The ingredients were ordinary, but the prices were astronomical, and the profits were immense.
The profit from a single barbecue restaurant wouldn’t be enough to mobilize Spirit Transformation Stage or Unity Stage cultivators.
But what if there were barbecue restaurants all over the central continent?
The profits would be enormous, tempting to anyone.
Moreover, he was burdened with a billion spirit stone debt. If he didn’t repay it, he would be struck by lightning once a month.
He desperately needed money!
Fortunately, Petrified Bone was mature and cautious, not showing too much excitement. He suppressed his agitation and said, “Your sect’s barbecue business is certainly excellent. Our Nine Nether Sect also has industries, but they are far inferior to this.”
Whether it was smuggling or running a zoo, none of it compared to the barbecue business, which had dozens of times the profit.
The key was that it was a legitimate business, not subject to investigation, unlike their Nine Nether Sect, which mostly ran illegal businesses. The only legitimate business they had was in the funeral industry.
Even the funeral industry was risky; one high-ranking member of the Nine Nether Sect, who was skilled in corpse refinement, had the bright idea of digging up buried bodies to refine them.
Somehow, the customers found out and reported them.
Fortunately, the Nine Nether Sect acted quickly, disassociating from the fool entirely.
“But how can we promote this across the entire continent? I’ve eaten a lot of barbecue, but nothing compares to what I had today. Your sect must have unique grilling techniques, recipes, and, most importantly, the virility-boosting secret method. Can these be promoted as well?”
Sect Leader Bone’s sharp insight quickly grasped the challenges of nationwide promotion.
Lu Yang chuckled, “Our barbecue recipes come from ancient times. It’s normal that Sect Leader Bone hasn’t tasted them before.”
“Please follow me.”
Lu Yang stood up and led Petrified Bone to the backyard, where he showed him the automatic barbecue grills and the automatic skewer array, leaving Petrified Bone in awe.
As expected of the Heavenly Court Sect’s young Sect Leader, he was well-prepared.
“The automatic barbecue grill was crafted by Protector Many Treasures, and as for the automatic skewer array...” Lu Yang displayed a meaningful smile.
Otherwise, why would they develop a new type of true fire specifically for barbecue?
“Young Sect Leader, these things shouldn’t be shown to outsiders. This is originally part of our Heavenly Court Sect’s expansion strategy and intelligence network!” The Fifth Elder frowned and advised.
Lu Yang didn’t appreciate the Fifth Elder’s remarks and countered, “It’s no problem. In ancient times, the Heavenly Court and Nine Nether were closely related. Now, seeing the Nine Nether Sect, it makes sense to help them restore their ancient glory. Even if the Sect Leader and my master knew about this, they wouldn’t blame me.”
“Moreover, the Heavenly Court Sect has few members. Even if we mobilized everyone, how many barbecue restaurants could we open?”
The Fifth Elder fell silent. Since the Young Sect Leader was willing to take full responsibility, as a protector of the Heavenly Court, he had no more to say.
Petrified Bone was greatly moved, never expecting their Nine Nether Sect to have such wealthy relatives.
This Young Sect Leader was noble and selfless, willing to risk being reprimanded by the Sect Leader and Bean Celestial to help the Nine Nether Sect.
Lu Yang turned around, smiling as if he hadn’t just had a disagreement with the Fifth Elder, and said, “Sect Leader Bone, as you heard, although I am a disciple of the Celestial, I can’t make all decisions. However, this doesn’t affect our cooperation.”
“I can provide your sect with the methods for mixing the barbecue sauce and the array for the automatic skewer for free.”
The principles behind the barbecue sauce and the automatic skewer array could be discerned with spiritual sense, so Lu Yang saw no need to withhold them. It was better to give them freely and earn goodwill with the Nine Nether Sect.
“As for the automatic barbecue grill and the fire seed, I can provide them regularly and in limited quantities, but our Heavenly Court Sect will need sixty percent of the profits.”
The automatic barbecue grill was restricted by the Fifth Elder and couldn’t be reverse engineered.
The fire seed required Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou’s involvement.
Since opening the barbecue restaurant was primarily the Heavenly Court’s initiative, it made sense for them to take the larger share of the profits, which Petrified Bone understood.
However, considering his status, he couldn’t directly accept Lu Yang’s proposal: “You take forty, we take sixty!”
“Our Heavenly Court Sect takes sixty percent,” Lu Yang insisted calmly.
“Let’s split it fifty-fifty!”
“Our Heavenly Court Sect takes sixty percent.”
Lu Yang remained firm, leaving Petrified Bone no room for negotiation.
Realizing he had no advantage in this aspect, Petrified Bone gritted his teeth and accepted Lu Yang’s terms.
They discussed some details and quickly finalized the contract.
“Happy cooperation,” Lu Yang said with a cheerful smile as they shook hands.
(End of the chapter)