Chapter 186: A Plan for the Immersive Martial World

“I plan to set the scenes for this xianxia drama in Oasis 23!”

Xu Hao drew a spot on the sandbox with a laser pointer.

“Oasis 23?”

Seeing the area Xu Hao had chosen, Zhu Qiang and Luo Peng exchanged surprised glances.

They had expected Xu Hao to gradually advance, setting the xianxia scenes in Oasis 4, the one closest to Wudi City. Instead, he directly picked Oasis 23.

Oasis 23 is located to the northwest, at least fifteen kilometers in a straight line from Qixia Town.

“The reason I chose this spot is that its lake looks completely different from the others!”

After a brief pause, Xu Hao explained his reason.

“A lake? Wait—just as Brother Hao said, the small lakes around this oasis have a unique color.”

At this, Zhu Qiang suddenly recalled something and quickly interjected.

During the surveying and sandbox modeling, the drone cameraman had mentioned a particularly stunning small lake. From high above, its shape resembled a pulsating heart set in the vast desert. White salt rock plates outlined countless small pools, with the rosy lake water dyeing them gracefully. Under the sunlight, its mesmerizing gleam was simply breathtaking.

But at the time, all projects focused on Oasis 1, and since that spot was too remote, it was slated for later development. Eventually, it was only marked as Oasis 23, and time flew by until it slipped one’s mind.

“Well, since this drama is xianxia, authentic red lakes will perfectly accentuate its magical atmosphere!”

Xu Hao nodded.

He had actually discovered this uniquely beautiful small lake while reviewing the site materials during a break.

“That’s great, Brother Hao. Do you think the construction crew can get started after the New Year?”

Beside him, Luo Peng’s eyes lit up as he quickly added.

Simply put,

the more fantastical the scene, the more riders his quirky mounts would attract!

“Most importantly, with the Qingming Scroll project now entering its finishing phase, and with large machinery available, let’s first clear the road to Oasis 23. I’ll then carefully work on the design. The xianxia backdrop mustn’t resemble those of Qixia Town or Wudi City.”

Xu Hao glanced again at the sandbox.

The road would simply stretch straight ahead along the end of Qixia Town’s commercial street.

“Understood!”

“By the way, Brother Hao, I have something to discuss.”

With the filming location for the xianxia drama decided, Zhu Qiang rested his chin on his hand and continued.

“Go on!”

“Here’s the situation. Our annual event will kick off a new round of vegetation spraying. What about the Longmen Inn behind the Vermilion Bird Building? Just now, Mr. Fang mentioned that the film’s presale box office far exceeded expectations! Soon, tourists will come by for photo ops; if the desert surrounding the Inn turns green with lush grass and trees, we’ll lose that unique atmosphere.”

Zhu Qiang voiced his concerns.

He envisioned a massive greening project after the New Year; by the end of next year, Oasis 1 and the ten-kilometer radius around it would be blanketed in grass and trees—no more yellow sands.

“We won’t do the spraying here. Instead, the two-kilometer radius around Longmen Inn will remain an exclusive desert zone.”

Xu Hao waved his hand in agreement.

After all, many tourists come to guesthouses to admire ancient architecture or to experience the rugged charm of the northwest desert. Fully developing everything would erase some of its unique character.

It’s better to leave a special area untouched.

This way, when visitors stroll along Vermilion Bird Street and suddenly encounter an expanse of desert, they’ll be pleasantly surprised, even feeling as if they’ve stepped back in time.

“Brother Hao, leaving an exclusive desert zone is fine, but isn’t two kilometers a bit much? A single Longmen Inn might not be enough to support it.”

Zhu Qiang nodded, albeit hesitantly.

The sand dunes over there are towering, while the Inn stands isolated on a flat patch—it looks too lonely from afar.

“Not enough? Then we can simply shoot more martial arts films set in the desert!”

Xu Hao turned to look at Zhu Qiang.

“Huh? More desert-themed martial arts films?”

This time,

not only Zhu Qiang and Luo Peng were taken aback, even Fang Hou was momentarily stunned.

As the sun rose in the east and set behind the western hills, the family dinner began. Over in Mingsha, festivities were in full swing at the taverns of the Vermilion Bird Building, Qixia Town, and Wudi City, where toasts flowed freely.

Xu Hao, Xu Xin, Zhu Qiang, and other top executives began their New Year’s greetings.

Mingsha Tourism officially switched to New Year mode.

However, some were superstitious about New Year’s Eve. They said that on this night the gates of hell would open, so you had to light a huge fire in your courtyard to ward off evil! Others believed you must keep the lights on all night and never see darkness; some even insisted that when you hear a dog barking, you should light an oil lamp.

Yet others thought it was just another holiday.

While most spent New Year’s Eve staying up, they’d already taken seats in the cinema to catch this year’s Spring Festival films.

Meanwhile,

professional film critics were preparing to share their immediate reviews online for likes and follows.

Then, as the New Year’s bell rang, several Spring Festival films began their screenings.

On the MAX screen of a certain cinema, a line of small text slowly appeared: “Late Ming Dynasty, Eunuchs in Power.”

Within a minute or two—soon by 1:30 a.m.—the first batch of viewers exited the cinema and moved to different venues.

At that moment,

in Ning’an, Qi Haoyong lay in bed, scrolling incessantly on his phone.

Though his family had long gone to sleep, he couldn’t rest thinking about the films. By nightfall, both New Moon Legend and Longmen Inn’s presale box office hit around 120 million each, with no clear winner.

“Let’s see what Longmen Inn has to offer!”

Taking a deep breath, Qi Haoyong opened the film forum.

He felt like he was about to win the lottery—the reviews after a premiere almost predicted the future box office trends.

He knew New Moon Legend inside and out, so he was eager to check on his competitor.

Meanwhile,

a film critic had already set up a dedicated thread: “Longmen Inn tells the story of how, during the late Ming Dynasty, the eunuch-dominated Eastern Depot’s Cao Shaoqin faked an imperial edict to execute the loyal Yang Yuxuan, planning to wipe out his descendants. The chivalrous Qiu Moyan, the righteous Jianghu warrior He Hu, and others risked their lives to rescue Yang’s progeny before fleeing to the desert-bound Longmen Inn to join forces with Zhou Huai’an, a subordinate of Yang Yuxuan.”

“In reality, Longmen Inn is nothing more than a shady establishment. The proprietress, Jin Xiangyu, exploits the chaos with her beauty and allure to lure in victims, amassing wealth through murder and robbery. Yet she finds herself genuinely moved by the dashing Zhou Huai’an.”

“To uncover a secret escape route hidden within the Inn, Zhou Huai’an played along, agreeing to marry Jin Xiangyu. On their wedding night, tensions simmered as Zhou and Jin secretly competed with each other, while below, Qiu Moyan and He Hu engaged in a covert struggle against the Eastern Depot’s henchmen.”

The critic’s introduction of Longmen Inn was lengthy!

After spending two minutes reading, Qi Haoyong suddenly felt a wave of relief.

“It’s all the usual martial arts tropes—nothing groundbreaking! No wonder people say martial arts films carry a box office curse. The audience’s reaction is bound to be average.”

Muttering to himself, Qi Haoyong clicked to view the next set of reviews.

But before long, his brows furrowed in dismay.

At this point,

the reviews had swelled to over a thousand comments, with more still being added—and, alarmingly, there were almost no negative reviews, contrary to what he had expected.

“Vast skies, sweeping sands, swift horses… So reminiscent of Mingsha! I love this scene!”

“And the soundtrack is superb! It’s all in that traditional Dragon Country style!”

“The film itself is fantastic. The storyline is rather typical, yet the execution is so captivating that you can’t look away—even if you can predict the ending.”

“The acting is stellar! When Jin Xiangyu appears on screen, it’s simply stunning! She brings out a seductive charm that should be in every acting textbook at the Dragon Country Film Academy.”

“Exactly! And there are many more classic scenes. That moment when Chef Dazi carved the Eastern Depot official’s calf, leaving nothing but bones—it nearly scared me to death!”

“Hahaha, I thought I was the only one terrified. I watched it in the MAX theater; the scenes were simply epic!”

“I’d rate Longmen Inn no less than a nine out of ten! The martial arts sequences are fluid, visually striking, and thrilling. Traditional martial arts films just can’t compare.”

“I agree—this is the true martial arts film. It’s been so long since I felt this exhilarated!”

“I want to watch it again tomorrow. Once isn’t enough!”

“Who would have thought a martial arts film could reach such heights. I’m impressed.”

“Wait, doesn’t everyone have one burning question?”

“What question?”

“At the end of the film, the proprietress sets the Inn ablaze and leaves in search of her lover. The scene is so realistic—could it be that Haofang Culture actually burned down the Inn?”

One viewer commented just that.

“Hahaha, relax. This afternoon, Haofang Culture officially posted on Weibo inviting everyone to visit Longmen Inn after the New Year. They even mentioned that the Hei Wan wine is ready and waiting! Come on, do you think Haofang Culture would really say it burned down?”

“True enough—I was overthinking it.”

By this point, Qi Haoyong’s spirits were sinking, and he no longer felt like reading on.

If one or two netizens voiced such opinions it wouldn’t be remarkable, but now large numbers of viewers felt the same—it was clear that Haofang Culture’s film had strong lasting appeal.

“What’s going on? I hope our film gets more likes. Otherwise, the box office battle might be lost!”

After a moment of thought, Qi Haoyong clicked on the reviews for New Moon Legend.

Previously, they were only available during private screenings with friendly sponsorships, so the reviews served only as a reference. Now was the real test.