Chapter 157: The VIP Card Is Ready

The VIP card was finally finalized. All that remained was to wait for Xiao Tianchi to contact a sect capable of setting up spiritual arrays, after which mass production could begin. To save time, Xiao Tianchi decided to find a nearby sect specializing in spiritual arrays, while he would take charge of the crafting process.

Back at the inn, Lin Dong finally felt at ease. Although he spent more time checking on the inn’s business, he still devoted most of his time to cultivation.

Over ten days later, Lin Dong stopped cultivating. But instead of getting up to eat, he took out a fiery red wooden box from the mobile cabinet.

When he opened the box, inside were two Wanhong Fruits.

These Wanhong Fruits were a surprise gift from Ren Qingsong when Lin Dong reached the fifth level of the Lingdong Phase. Consuming one could increase the capacity of one’s dantian by about 50%.

A larger dantian meant a longer time before reaching the next level. However, if taken just before a breakthrough, even though the dantian was 50% larger, it wouldn’t waste many days. Once the breakthrough occurred, the dantian would return to its original size, but the spiritual energy gained from the previous level would become the foundation for the new level, greatly accelerating cultivation speed. In other words, while consuming a Wanhong Fruit wasted a few days at the previous level, it could save nearly a month at the next level.

Wanhong Fruits were seventh-tier spiritual fruits of immense value. If it weren’t for their role in helping him rise quickly in rank, Ren Qingsong would never have given them to Lin Dong.

Of course, these fruits weren’t given for free. Most spiritual fruits used to assist cultivation had limits—after consuming a certain amount, further consumption would be ineffective. Thus, the later these Wanhong Fruits were consumed, the better. According to Lin Dong, it would be ideal to consume them only after becoming a peak expert, as the time saved would not be just a month or two but rather ten or twenty years.

Unfortunately, Ren Qingsong had set conditions: the two Wanhong Fruits had to be consumed at the seventh and eighth levels of the Lingdong Phase. This would save time during the cultivation of the eighth and ninth levels. Consuming them too early wouldn’t yield significant savings, while consuming them too late meant Ren Qingsong giving them away for free—no matter how much time Lin Dong saved in cultivation, it wouldn’t affect his promotion.

Bringing the Wanhong Fruit to his mouth, Lin Dong bit down hard. The richly fragrant red flesh melted instantly upon contact with his tongue, and a powerful energy stream rushed down his throat, reaching his dantian in an instant.

Compared to the Qinglan Fruit, the Wanhong Fruit’s medicinal effects were clearly ten to a hundred times more potent. Lin Dong bit into it without even discerning its taste, only to feel the energy flow in his dantian increasing steadily, expanding it several times over in an instant. When the dantian stopped expanding and everything returned to calm, a strong sweet flavor appeared on the tip of his tongue. Stunned, Lin Dong glanced at the Wanhong Fruit in his hand and immediately devoured it greedily. Almost immediately after eating it, the dantian stopped expanding again. Roughly estimating, it had indeed expanded by about 50%, just as Ren Qingsong had said. Not daring to waste time, Lin Dong sat cross-legged right away. With a mere thought, the spiritual energy, surrounded by the energy flow, successfully flowed out of his dantian without any obstruction. As the spiritual energy circulated through his meridians once, nothing abnormal occurred either. Now at ease, all the remaining distractions in Lin Dong’s mind vanished, and he began to focus intensely on his cultivation. Less than a few hours later, a knock at the door disrupted his concentration. Thinking it might be someone from the restaurant or the Yingfeng Tower bringing important news, he opened the door only to find it wasn’t Ma Chun, but Xiao Tianchi. Nine out of ten times, it was Ma Chun; once, it was either Lin Shuang or Wang Liuzhi. So, upon seeing Xiao Tianchi standing outside, Lin Dong was momentarily confused and didn’t understand why he was knocking on his door. Before he could figure it out, Xiao Tianchi bowed and said with a smile, “Congratulations, Manager Lin!” Confused, Lin Dong instinctively bowed back and replied, “Congratulations to you too!” Xiao Tianchi didn’t dwell on Lin Dong’s reaction. With a flip of his right hand, he produced a bundle of brass-colored metal cards tied with ox sinew. As if waking from a dream, Lin Dong stared at the metal cards, his eyes burning with an intensity capable of melting anything. The VIP cards had been made. “Please, Master Xiao, come in,” Lin Dong quickly stepped aside to invite Xiao Tianchi into the room. After placing the bundle of metal cards on the table and then taking out several more bundles of the same color along with a bundle of silver-colored cards, Xiao Tianchi said, “These are the first batch—500 copper cards and 100 silver cards. It took some time because I don’t have much connection with the Lingzhen sect of Huangmei Mountain. The second batch should arrive in three to five days, and by then we can produce a few gold cards as well. Manager Lin, I wonder if these will be enough to last three to five days?” “Yes, they should be.”

Lin Dong nodded hurriedly. At the Autumn Wind City Inn, there were already over ninety tables on the second floor every day, meaning more than ninety cards were needed daily. If you added the over sixty tables fromXilan City City as well, supplies might run out in less than three days. But since promotion would start only in Autumn Wind City, five hundred copper cards and one hundred silver cards would be sufficient for five days.

“That’s good,” said Xiao Tianchi, taking out a small porcelain bottle from his storage ring. “Inside is a medicinal liquid made from Purple Water Lily. Just one or two drops per pot of water is enough. To remove the liquid from your fingers, grind two taels of Plantain Seed and eight qian of Poria into powder, boil them in five bowls of water to get one bowl, and soak your fingers in it for a while to remove the residue.”

Lin Dong quickly took the porcelain bottle and thanked him repeatedly.

After seeing Xiao Tianchi off, Lin Dong eagerly found a new inkstone, poured some water into it, then unscrewed the bottle cap and dropped a small drop of purple liquid into the water. The moment it touched the water, the purple liquid spread rapidly, instantly turning all the clear water in the inkstone purple.

He then placed a piece of cotton in the inkstone. Once the cotton had absorbed all the purple liquid, Lin Dong removed all the copper and silver cards. He pressed his thumb onto the wet, purple cotton and then firmly pressed it onto the smooth back of the copper cards. When he lifted his thumb, a clear purple fingerprint was visible. After blowing it dry, Lin Dong used his black iron knife to scrape the fingerprint several times—without any damage.

Without hesitation, Lin Dong pressed his thumb again and again. In less than half an hour, all five hundred copper cards and one hundred silver cards had a distinct, elegant, and grand purple fingerprint on their backs.

He put the porcelain bottle and the inkstone with the cotton into the mobile counter, along with the six hundred VIP cards, then rushed out of the room excitedly.

Outside, the warm breeze made people feel drowsy, but Lin Dong’s enthusiasm remained undiminished. He went to the lobby and called Ma Chun, explaining the matter regarding the VIP cards. Ma Chun, though skeptical due to the nearly 10% loss in profit, became more motivated upon seeing Lin Dong’s excitement. He put in extra effort, flashed a smile that revealed his slightly white teeth, making people feel warm, and followed Lin Dong upstairs.

Upon reaching the upper floor, he glanced around. Although it wasn’t dinner time yet, there were still three groups of guests at the twenty-five dining tables.