Dragon's Origin

Chapter 326: Beauty Salon Opens (Part 2)

Originally, Song Yan's technique on Wang Sheng was meant to stimulate his cultivation within a six-month timeframe, boosting his spiritual Qi cultivation speed by at least 50%.

However, after consuming the Blood Ginseng Spirit Nourishing Pill, Wang Sheng discovered that while his spiritual Qi cultivation speed remained unchanged, his Yuan Soul strengthening speed had at least doubled.

Previously, observing a single pill refining process or inhaling a set of medicinal fragrances would only slightly solidify his giant cauldron. But after taking the pill, this speed more than doubled. One pill now yielded the effect of two.

This meant that Wang Sheng no longer needed to observe over three hundred new pill refining processes. Observing just over one hundred and fifty would be enough to completely solidify the giant cauldron and complete the Suanni Transformation.

Because of Wang Sheng's unreserved investment, the changes in the Marquis's estate were obvious. The spiritual Qi gathering formations alone, spread throughout the estate, cost at least twenty million gold coins. Ordinary food and drink expenses amounted to millions more, a level of luxury that was astounding.

The alchemists also knew this was a rare opportunity. Not only were the cultivation conditions so extravagant, but the main ingredients were top-grade medicinal herbs from the Thousand Absolute Lands, personally handled by the Clear Spirit Old Daoist. These factors combined would improve the effectiveness of the refined pills by at least 50%. If all the ingredients were from the Thousand Absolute Lands, increasing the efficacy by a factor of two wouldn't be surprising.

Wang Sheng, meanwhile, continuously solidified his giant cauldron and enhanced his cultivation during the refining process, awaiting the arrival of the Suanni Transformation.

The Marquis's estate was now extremely secure. At least fifty young experts from the Old Lord Temple were stationed within the estate every day as guards. Moreover, the Clear Spirit Old Daoist and Clear Dust Old Daoist were enough to withstand any expert comparable to the Blood Blade Worldly One, buying Wang Sheng time. And that didn't even include the protective formations spread throughout the estate. Anyone who understood the situation of the Marquis's estate would not dare to target Chang Sheng Marquis's estate or Wang Sheng.

While Wang Sheng was holed up in the Marquis's estate, recuperating and cultivating, a small workshop quietly opened outside the imperial palace. The workshop wasn't large, only about a hundred zhang long from front to back, and a little over two hundred zhang deep. After deducting the surrounding buildings, the remaining space inside wasn't much.

However, this small workshop was very secluded. One side was close to the imperial city's moat, and the other side was near the central avenue leading to the imperial palace's main gate, but it didn't face the street. There was no entrance or exit on the central avenue side, making it very safe.

The only entrance and exit were on the side away from the imperial city, but even that wasn't a direct entry. Instead, one had to pass through a paifang and a small open space before entering through a gate.

This small workshop wasn't large enough to become a street like the Heavenly Craft Workshop. Originally, it was a small barracks used to garrison guards protecting the imperial palace. Later, it was abandoned. Because it was close to the imperial palace's main gate, it was considered inappropriate for residential use or ministers' residences. Thus, it was acquired by Mei'er and the Empress.

Anyone else wouldn't even dream of acquiring this land. But with the Empress's intervention, it was a trivial matter, especially with the Emperor's approval behind the scenes. Everything was completed quietly.

For the past few months, the ministers passing by on their way to court had been curious. Construction had been going on here for almost half a year, demolishing the original buildings and rebuilding on the same site.

What made people even more curious was that the newly built structures were truly eye-catching. From the outside, they were similar to the imperial palace and the residences of the officials, but the occasional glimpse of the overhanging eaves and ridges was slightly different, appearing very exquisite from a distance.

This was the architectural complex that Wang Sheng had designed for Mei'er. The outer gatehouse was the main entrance, and the open space inside was a parking lot for carriages and palanquins, as well as uniform stables. The buildings around the parking lot were for the servants, coachmen, and palanquin bearers of the guests, providing food, drink, and entertainment. Another sign indicated that someone would take care of them, so as not to delay the masters' affairs.

The gate inside was the real entrance. However, starting from this gate, there were guards outside, and experts protected the surroundings. Once inside, there were no more men, and all the guards were women.

The street inside was planned by Wang Sheng into a uniform commercial street, with a large garden in the very center.

There were at least forty or fifty shops in the commercial street, each selling only one type of item. Those selling rouge only sold rouge, those selling perfume only sold perfume, and those selling lipstick only sold lipstick.

Wang Sheng gave Mei'er suggestions based on the cosmetics and cleaning and maintenance products from Earth. After his transmigration, Wang Sheng's memory became excellent, and he remembered everything he saw on Earth. There were so many different types of foundation, eye cream, masks, lip glosses, etc., probably dozens of categories, all of which Wang Sheng listed for Mei'er.

Based on these categories, the Empress found a group of people, using her experience and Wang Sheng's various suggestions, and spent more than half a year experimenting with various products in a secret manor outside the capital. Each type was divided into dozens or even hundreds of kinds, according to different skin attributes, different styles, and different levels.

Just the types and colors of lipstick alone numbered no less than four or five hundred. The perfumes collected almost every fragrance that could be found. It was estimated that only Wang Sheng's nose could distinguish so many different scents.

In particular, Wang Sheng added some modern designs to these items, various exquisite packaging, and ingenious small designs, such as twist-open lipsticks, press-and-spray perfume bottles, etc. Each store was beautifully and neatly arranged, colorful, and even modern women from Earth would linger after entering.

As for the garden, it was as exquisite as a small park, but it was a real beauty salon, divided into several different levels of areas, which could accommodate more than two hundred customers at the same time. Even if there was a queue, there were various exquisite beauty and cosmetic publications and comfortable rest rooms.

All the guards, shop assistants, makeup artists, maids, etc., as long as they were active people, had only one gender, all women. Moreover, they were all women with good looks, carefully selected by Mei'er and the Empress together, with no ugly women.

These people each performed their duties, and in the later two months, they constantly learned these new maintenance, makeup, and beauty knowledge and skills, waiting for the day of opening.

Without notifying anyone, from one day on, two concubines from the imperial palace could leave the imperial palace every day and enter this beauty world called "Run Zi Fang," which was unanimously recognized by Mei'er and the Empress.