Seven years was a long ti. Yet for cultivators, it was rely the ascent of a minor cultivation realm, the refinent of a single magic treasure, or the opening salvos of a war.
Indeed, it was only the beginning. Over those seven years, Wondrous Peak Mountain and the Valley Spirit Sect fought so viciously they nearly tore each other's brains out, showing absolutely no intention of stopping.
Perhaps they simply could not stop anymore. Both sides continuously escalated and raised the stakes, and the Valley Spirit Sect had even pushed their front lines directly beneath the mountain gates of Wondrous Peak Mountain at one point.
Wondrous Peak Mountain had also issued widespread hero recruitnt orders, borrowing the strength of thousands of Qi Refining cultivators from within the Red Lantern Illumination Sect to push the front lines back across the Hidden Dragon River.
However, the greatest victor of this war was Wang Xianzhou of the Anbei Kingdom's Wang Clan.
He personally slew over a hundred Qi Refining enemies in battle, and along the way, he even decapitated a blind Foundation Establishnt cultivator who had crossed his path.
Under the rules and regulations of the Immortal Alliance, Elder Xianzhou, relying on his peak Qi Refining strength, taught both the Valley Spirit Sect and Wondrous Peak Mountain a severe lesson. Faced with Wang Xianzhou's battlefield achievents, no matter how reluctant Wondrous Peak Mountain was, they could only obediently pay up.
But none of this had much to do with Yulou, who had firmly nested himself within Clear Stream Market for seven years. What he did every day was nothing more than running his own shop, studying the artificing path under Hongi, and exchanging insights on cultivation with various fellow Daoists—nothing more, nothing less.
In the main hall of the Forge Peak Residence, a female cultivator dressed in a lotus-root-pink spiritual robe pushed the door open and walked in.
Today it was Yu'an's turn to attend to the front counter. Catching sight of the newcor, he did not move an inch, remaining seated in his reclining chair to continue reading his book.
Having spent so much ti with Yulou, Yu'an's temperant had gradually shifted from flighty to composed. Even his current posture of slacking off while reading a book was learned directly from Yulou.
Of course, this was only in front of outsiders. In front of his elder brother, Yu'an could forever remain a carefree youth.
Seeing that Wang Yu'an was ignoring her, Cuiguo took three steps in two, marched forward, and swatted the book right out of Wang Yu'an's hands.
"Where is your brother?" Cuiguo asked, her face showing a trace of faint anger.
Wang Yu'an did not get angry either. He swayed his head back and forth, offering a calm critique.
"Fellow Daoist, you are already walking the path to your own demise. You must watch your words and actions, do you understand?"
Cuiguo was no longer the tiger-headed, simple-minded little maidservant of the past. With Zhou Yingxi backing her up, she put on quite an air, pointing at Yu'an with her hands on her hips as she snapped back in annoyance.
"Don't change the subject, Wang Yu'an! Is there any insider manipulation in that Wondrous Peak Mountain-Valley Spirit Sect war materiel contract trading that your brother and the Yang Clan put together?
"My young mistress listened to your brother's words and wagered two thousand eight hundred spirit stones, betting that both sides would remain deadlocked over the next few months and that all the contracts would drop in price.
"Now Wondrous Peak Mountain has pushed the front line back, and the Valley Spirit Sect almost had to fight a second defense battle for Hidden Dragon Market. This is completely different from what was promised! Your brother must give us an explanation!"
Over the past few years, although Yulou had rejected the temptation of marrying into her family, perhaps because they were peers, he had instead beco friends with Zhou Yingxi.
As for the Wondrous Peak Mountain-Valley Spirit Sect war materiel contract trading, it belonged to a special type of futures. The main categories traded were items frequently required for magical combat by Qi Refining cultivators, such as commonly used talismans like Flying Fire Talismans, common dicinal pills like Great Blood-Qi Pills and Spirit-Opening Pills, as well as various spiritual materials.
In the beginning, Yulou had only used it to help the Wang Clan lock in the prices of future goods, leveraging Wang Xianzhou—a human bulldozer capable of shifting the front lines—to earn the price differences.
For instance, on the first day of the fifth month, the Wang Clan placed an order with Wu Jinyan's family for ten pieces of grade-nine purple copper, with both sides signing a purchase contract. Each piece of purple copper was valued at one hundred eighty spirit stones, with a delivery date set for the first day of the seventh month.
Yet at the exact mont the order was placed, Wang Xianzhou would lead the Wang Clan's squad back from the front lines to rest. Consequently, Wondrous Peak Mountain's front lines would imdiately begin to destabilize.
By mid-fifth month, Wondrous Peak Mountain could no longer hold the line and was forced to raise the stakes, wildly issuing hero recruitnt orders to gather Qi Refining cultivators. The price of purple copper would imdiately jump by ten percent or even more. The purple copper contracts held by the Wang Clan would thus appreciate by ten percent.
Later on, Yulou realized that this thing was actually quite similar to futures, and if utilized correctly, it held imnse potential.
After confirming that the unfortunate Li Haiping of Wondrous Peak Mountain would attempt to open his Purple Mansion no matter how difficult it beca, he urged the Wang Clan to join forces with the Yang Clan to pull off a massive venture.
On the surface, the two Foundation Establishnt Immortal Clans sent people to help Wondrous Peak Mountain stabilize the front line, but behind the scenes, they quietly established this special war materiel contract trading system.
They opened a commodities exchange right next to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. On the surface, it sold large quantities of various war-required goods at wholesale prices, but internally, its main revenue ca from collecting transaction fees by introducing custors to trade order contracts. Both families were making so much from the transaction fees alone that their hands were growing numb.
While the front lines of Wondrous Peak Mountain were tight, the rear at Clear Stream Market was gorging itself. Since everyone was a colleague under the roof of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, there was naturally no need to treat each other like strangers.
"What do you an 'different from what was promised'? Don't speak nonsense! Besides, I also lost a lot of money recently. Cuiguo, you don't see throwing a tantrum at my brother, do you?" Faced with this unreasonable girl, Yu'an could only try to deflect.
"You lost money too?" Cuiguo looked at Yu'an suspiciously.
Yu'an knitted his brows, turned his head slightly, leaned back into his chair, and spoke with a touch of sarcasm.
"Fine, fine, fine. I was wondering why you looked like you swallowed gunpowder today. Indeed, how could a person like Fellow Daoist Yingxi get angry over less than three thousand spirit stones? It must be that you, Cuiguo, secretly followed her lead and bought so yourself, which is why you're in such a rush."
Seeing that Yu'an had seen through her little secret, Cuiguo's face instantly flushed crimson. "Don't make false accusations! Hurry up and tell where your brother went, it's the young mistress who is looking for him!"
Yu'an jumped up from his chair, exchanged a few words with the shop assistants, and then looked toward Cuiguo.
"The racetrack. Co, I'll go with you. Today is the tri-monthly Clear Stream Market Spirit Horse Racing Gala." As he spoke, he took the lead and walked straight out the door.
Catching sight of Zhou Yingxi at the entrance, Yu'an felt a slight touch of awkwardness.
"Senior Yingxi, long ti no see."
Zhou Yingxi was also sowhat embarrassed. The face behind her veil tightened slightly as she replied in a clear, cold voice.
"Cuiguo has indeed been a bit lacking in discipline lately. Furthermore, it's better if Fellow Daoist Yu'an doesn't call senior."
Yu'an had already passed the age of youthful awkwardness around won. Facing Zhou Yingxi, whose face remained hidden but was clearly beautiful and whose voice possessed an inherently captivating quality, he managed to respond with ease and composure.
"For this Clear Stream Spirit Horse Racing Gala, two racehorses from a vassal force of the Sky Serpent Sect have arrived. Big Brother and Yang Qi attach great importance to it, so he has been soaking himself at the racetrack the entire day."
A look of surprise flashed across Zhou Yingxi's eyes. Wang Yulou, that clever fellow, truly had a remarkable set of skills.
The Hundred Treasures Pavilion was flourishing and bringing in mountains of wealth daily, and the war materiel contract trading had captured the attention of everyone under the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, even alarming the old ancestors of the Zhou family.
His casual cooperation with the Yang Clan to establish the Clear Stream Spirit Horse Racing Gala had originally been quite ordinary. But now, no one knew from where the clever fellow had managed to pluck two racehorses raised by a vassal force of the Sky Serpent Sect.
The rogue cultivators and small family cultivators near Clear Stream Market had accepted many hero recruitnt orders from Wondrous Peak Mountain over the years, heading to the front lines of the war between the two sects to serve as cannon fodder.
It could be said that they possessed an imnse interest in the Sky Serpent Sect, though it certainly wasn't a positive kind of interest.
Yulou bringing over two racehorses from the Sky Serpent Sect was like presenting a beautiful young maiden to an old bachelor who had been single for seventy years; it instantly ignited the volcanic emotions within the spectators' hearts. And yet, this was rely the least successful business venture of that young business genius.
Seven years had passed, and the broken, crude racetrack of yesteryear had completely transford. A massive wood-and-stone structure ford a giant ring, resembling a large stadium, its towering walls blocking the view of any freeloaders.
Although flying was restricted within Clear Stream Market, eliminating the possibility of cultivators freeloading from the sky, those who truly wished to watch for free could still use their divine sense to stand outside and observe. However, generally no one did that. After all, most people still valued their reputation.
Yu'an thoughtfully purchased tickets for Senior Yingxi and the sowhat impolite Fellow Daoist Cuiguo, and the three of them entered the Clear Stream Market Racetrack together.
Inside the venue, the racing tracks had been thoroughly upgraded. Under Yulou's guidance, the Hundred Treasures Pavilion had partnered with the Yang Clan, investing a full eight thousand spirit stones to take a fifty percent stake in the Clear Stream Market racing business.
These spirit stones had basically all been spent on upgrading the racing tracks. Obstacle formations, trap formations, starved demonic beasts, and various shorter but far more difficult pathways—these new additions raised the entertainnt value of the Clear Stream Market horse racing to a whole new level.
"Why are there so many people today?" Looking at the crowds that nearly filled half the spectator stands, Cuiguo asked in surprise.
Yulou had redefined spirit horse racing, but up until now, the eight thousand spirit stones invested hadn't even broken even. The spectator stands of the racetrack had never been completely full; filling half the stands this ti already marked a new record.
Yulou had overestimated the financial capacity of the cultivators. Thus, it was only two years ago that he created the upgraded tournant known as the Clear Stream Market Spirit Horse Racing Gala, solely to make the spectators willing to part with their spirit stones to buy tickets.
"Everyone is here for those two horses from the Sky Serpent Sect. In the past, at most two or three hundred people would be willing to spend spirit stones on tickets," Yu'an explained with a smile.
However, business wasn't actually that bad. Because those who bought tickets to co inside would generally place a few wagers, and selling the betting distribution rights helped Yulou recoup his funds.
For instance, Old Ghost from the Beast dicine Shop used to pay the Yang Clan only two hundred spirit stones a year. Now it was different; the price for the distribution rights had directly doubled.
Perhaps in another two years, that massive investnt of eight thousand spirit stones he directed would finally break even. However, even so, this remained the most unsuccessful investnt of Yulou's life.
Attempting structural innovation had almost left him trapped in his own venture. This also made Yulou realize that many experiences from his past life could not simply be copied over blindly.
Having received Yu'an's transmission talisman, Yulou quickly rushed over.
"Senior Yingxi, what brings you here so suddenly?"
Zhou Yingxi said helplessly, "I've said it several tis, call Fellow Daoist. How can you never rember? Isn't today the Spirit Horse Racing Gala? Clear Stream Market is only mildly interesting when the races are on, so I ca to take a look. Our sudden arrival didn't disturb you, did it?"
Mu Changze had co to Clear Stream Market to serve as the Town Guardian Cultivator primarily to make it convenient for Zhou Yingxi to utilize the spiritual resonance of the Clear Stream of Qin Rhy for her cultivation. However, the spiritual resonance accumulated slowly but was consud quickly, leaving Zhou Yingxi bored most of the ti.
"Of course it's no disturbance. Senior Sister—oh, I an Senior Sister Ningyao—she is already prepared, and the horse race is about to begin," Yulou explained to the group as he sat down beside Yu'an.
As he spoke, Zhong Ningyao appeared on the second-floor platform of the racehorse preparation area.
"Fellow Daoists, the tri-monthly Clear Stream Market Spirit Horse Racing Gala begins now! First is the racehorse presentation segnt. The first horse, Azure Qilin, high-tier miscellaneous demon realm, has achieved first-place finishes twice before!"
The position of host for the horse racing events had changed from the old fellow Yang Qi to the young and beautiful Zhong Ningyao after the Wang Clan took a stake in the racetrack.
Yulou could not accept having an old man serve as the host; no matter how he thought about it, it was simply too absurd.
As Zhong Ningyao's words fell, the impatient Azure Qilin charged out from the preparation area, beginning to showcase itself along the track.
It held its head high, easily breaking through the nurous difficulties on the track, running with great composure even under the pursuit of Iron-Bone Wolves.
As miscellaneous demons, these Green-Steed Horses possessed intelligence. The seriously performing Azure Qilin knew that this was no longer the era when the Yang Clan manipulated the gas behind the scenes. If it could win, Wang Yulou, this shareholder, was truly generous with his rewards.
Soon, as the racehorses were showcased one by one, the two racehorses from the Sky Serpent Sect were about to make their appearance.
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