Chapter 81 : Time to Split the Money
Chapter 81: Time to Split the Money
By noon of the second day, the entire Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect had been shrouded in an atmosphere of extreme tension laced with barely concealed fervor.
From the several affiliated towns and marketplaces at the foot of the mountains, to the cloud-wreathed spiritual peaks of the various lineages, almost everyone was discussing the same matter—the impending war with the Wuyi Sect.
Because the news of Nan Yuchen obtaining the recognition bond of the Azure Phoenix was still under the highest level of secrecy, the vast majority of disciples and outsiders believed that the sect had been thoroughly bullied by the Wuyi Sect this time.
As a result, public sentiment ran hot, and the desire for battle was exceptionally high.
Among them were hot-blooded blockheads who genuinely wanted to vent their anger on behalf of the sect; ambitious schemers hoping to make a name for themselves on a newly opened battlefield and seize fortuitous opportunities; and, of course, shrewd businessmen eager to take advantage of the turbulent situation to reap enormous profits from war.
Naturally, those with slightly clearer heads all understood that this conflict would most likely be all thunder and little rain, ending in nothing more than small-scale skirmishes.
After all, the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect’s primary focus at present lay on a fragment of a small world in the northwest, where a troublesome extraterritorial Heavenly Demon battle group demanded their full attention.
On the Wuyi Sect’s side, they likewise needed to deploy heavy defenses, remaining constantly vigilant against the Gong Clan Dragon Race in the sea, as well as the terrifying beast tides that periodically erupted from the great swamp.
In truth, neither side could easily free up enough strength to launch a full-scale war.
While the outside world was in an uproar, Long Tao’s relatively secluded little courtyard presented an entirely different scene.
He and Dong Jiayuan sat facing each other at a stone table, fully focused on tallying up the astonishing profits earned from reselling supplies over the past few days.
“Good heavens, Old Dong,” Long Tao said as he picked up a crystal coin shimmering with flowing light, his tone filled with amazement.
“I seriously think that compared to slogging away at cultivation, you’re far more suited to being a merchant. This haul is even bigger than I estimated!”
“Haha, you flatter me.” Dong Jiayuan could not hide the pride on his face as he fiddled with the spirit stones on the table and laughed.
“To be honest, I only realized this time that I might really have a bit of crooked talent for business. I’ve already started thinking—if I can build up some family assets this way in the future, I might as well buy a good feng shui plot within the sect, build a big residence, and bring my whole family over.”
He paused, his smile fading slightly as he lowered his voice.
“As for Qinglin Town… although the City Lord stands on the side of our Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect, there are still quite a few clan forces underneath that support the Wuyi Sect. They’re deeply entrenched. To be frank… leaving my family there long-term never really puts my mind at ease.”
Hearing this, Long Tao was reminded of the land deed Zhu Huaisu had previously given him.
He seemed to have never found the time to go take a look at it.
Once his younger sister successfully entered the sect as well… perhaps he really should consider bringing the whole family over and settling them here.
After all, what Dong Jiayuan said made sense.
At present, they were merely minor Qi Refining disciples, likely beneath anyone’s notice.
But once they successfully established their foundations and gained some standing within the sect, their families would inevitably become leverage that hostile forces could exploit.
“Forget it—thinking about this now is still a bit premature.” Long Tao shook his head, pulling his thoughts back to the matter at hand.
“Let’s sort this out properly first. Let me see… nine third-grade Nine-Xia Crystal Coins, eighteen mid-grade spirit stones… goodness. And this is only the profit from selling a bit more than half of our stock? This round really was a massive windfall.”
In this world, a single mid-grade spirit stone could usually be exchanged for one hundred low-grade spirit stones.
As for high-grade and even higher-tier spirit stones, they had almost completely ceased to circulate as currency.
This was not due to their scarcity in mining, but rather because a vast number of artifacts, puppets, and even the various types of cloud vessels that sects relied on for their operations—manufactured by the Tiangong Pavilion—required high-quality spirit stones as their core energy source.
Especially high-grade and supreme-grade spirit stones, which, due to their stable energy output and massive reserves, had long been regarded by major sects as critical strategic resources and were strictly controlled.
Coupled with the fact that high-level cultivators themselves needed them for cultivation, they naturally became unsuitable for everyday transactions.
This was precisely why the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect had gone to such lengths to develop and promote the “Nine-Xia Crystal Coin” as a substitute currency system.
A single third-grade Nine-Xia Crystal Coin had purchasing power roughly equivalent to ten mid-grade spirit stones.
As for even higher-grade second- and first-grade crystal coins… well, Long Tao and Dong Jiayuan had yet to see such things with their own eyes.
They were typically used only in large-scale trade or to exchange for immensely powerful magical artifacts.
Following the previously agreed-upon ratio, the two of them efficiently sorted and stored the enticingly gleaming crystal coins and spirit stones by category.
Afterward, Long Tao asked about how to deal with the remaining batch of goods.
With war about to break out, would anyone still be willing to risk entering secret realms?
“Don’t worry,” Dong Jiayuan said confidently.
“Sect conflicts are sect matters. They have nothing to do with those desperadoes who live by the blade, or with independent cultivators desperate for resources. Besides… since when has this world ever lacked people unafraid of death who want to gamble for wealth? The only thing is, prices definitely won’t be able to be driven up like before. The major shops have surely restocked through other channels by now, and the Tiangong Pavilion will also take the opportunity to release some inventory to stabilize prices.”
“All of that’s within expectations,” Long Tao nodded.
“As long as we can keep things going steadily afterward, that’s good enough. I finally broke through to the sixth layer this time—I should relax and enjoy myself a bit.”
“Haha! I was wondering why you’d been acting all mysterious and disappearing these past few days. So you were bottling up a breakthrough! That’s great news—why didn’t you just say so!”
Long Tao inwardly cried injustice.
He had calculated everything when he went out this time—except for breaking through right on the spot.
Still, the matter had conveniently given him an excuse for his absence over the past few days.
“Gotta leave you a bit of surprise,” Long Tao said with a laugh, brushing it off.
He casually picked up the latest sect gazette that Dong Jiayuan had brought and flipped through it.
“Tsk… what kind of trash news is this?” He read one item aloud.
“Two independent cultivators who obtained a dual cultivation technique deceived innocent villagers in West Mandarin Duck Village and established a ‘Hehuan Sect.’ They have now been eliminated by two Foundation Establishment disciples dispatched by our sect… honestly, here we go again. How many ‘Hehuan Sects’ have been wiped out in the past two years now?”
“Lost count. Third or fourth?” Dong Jiayuan curled his lip.
“These lechers really have no creativity when it comes to naming. Can’t they come up with something different?”
In fact, there truly existed a legitimate, large-scale Hehuan Sect in this world.
Although the sect primarily cultivated yin–yang dual cultivation techniques, it was not quite as sordid or chaotic as outsiders imagined (though it certainly could not be called law-abiding either).
Even so, such sects generally did not enjoy a particularly glorious reputation in the eyes of most people.
And just as the gazette reflected, there were always some lowlife nobodies who, after obtaining a crude dual cultivation manual from who-knew-where, dared to run off to remote countryside areas and commit evil deeds under banners like “Hehuan Sect.”
This left the authentic Hehuan Sect with grievances they could not voice, their reputation suffering severe collateral damage.
That said, the orthodox Hehuan Sect did indeed have some laughable figures.
For instance, it was said that two female elders from the Hehuan Sect would, without fail every year, come openly to the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect to express their admiration for True Lord Luohong and propose dual cultivation, leaving everyone involved thoroughly awkward.
With a hint of gossip-fueled curiosity, Long Tao continued browsing the assorted trivial news in the gazette while chatting idly with Dong Jiayuan.
Suddenly, an inconspicuous piece of news caught his attention.
The sect’s new town by the river had officially begun construction.