Chapter 468: Red Moon Pavilion

Chapter 468: Red Moon Pavilion

"What's a good name?" Jiang Yuebai wondered aloud, resting her chin on her hand as she stood in front of the still-empty restaurant that had yet to open.

Beside her were Xu Hongqiu and her junior sister, Mu Yueting. This restaurant was a joint venture, a collaboration among the three friends.

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.

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 ☜