War was never a good thing. Wondrous Peak Mountain and the Valley Spirit Sect had been fighting for so long that several generations of their Qi Refining disciples had already been wiped out and replaced.
This entire affair was like raising Gu. The two sects served as the Gu-raising pits, absorbing the Gu bugs from within the Sky Serpent Sect and the Red Lantern Illumination Sect.
Using Qi Refining cultivators as the Gu and the flesh-and-blood grinding mill to refine them, success ant changing one's fate, while failure ant losing one's life.
The cruelty did not lie in the resulting deaths, but in the fact that neither side could control the direction of the war. There were many underlying causes for this conflict, none of which they could dictate or alter.
Naturally, the Sky Serpent Sect supported the Valley Spirit Sect's escalating stakes in order to interfere with Mang Xiang's attempt to attain the Golden Core realm.
The forr sect master of Wondrous Peak Mountain, Li Haiping, wanted to break through to the Purple Palace realm. Due to a generational blood feud, the Ning clan—a Purple Palace family within the Valley Spirit Sect—had to prevent him from succeeding.
At the sa ti, Wondrous Peak Mountain was one of the two sects under the Red Lantern Illumination Sect with the most Purple Palace cultivators. Their desire to add another Purple Palace cultivator to their ranks displeased certain individuals within the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, as well as Wondrous Peak Mountain's potential rivals.
For these reasons and more, they had no choice but to fight. However, the effects of the war were bound to overflow and expand.
Since the two sects went to war, the prices for all sorts of war materials across the entire Wunan Basin had been steadily rising.
Of course, the Red Lantern Illumination Sect overdrawing on future harvests to spur a wave of rogue cultivators reaching Foundation Establishnt was also a major factor driving up prices.
However, the Heavenly Dao was balanced.
While many suffered losses due to the chaos, certain factions were quietly feasting until their bellies were round and their mouths glead with oil.
The pri example was the Wang clan. Wang Yulou's ventures into the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and the Great Goods Store, playing with war material futures, perfectly capitalized on the turning point of this era.
The Hundred Treasures Pavilion absorbed the demand left by the disappearance of Hidden Dragon Market, while the war futures fed entirely on the dividends of war.
With these two combined, in another two years, Wang Yulou would be able to earn a fresh set of Foundation Establishnt resources for the Wang clan.
Aside from the Wang clan, the Wu clan, a Qi Refining immortal family, was another representative that had secretly gorged themselves.
Back when the Wu clan was being heavily exploited by the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, things were so dire that even their Patriarch had to personally set up a street stall in the ghost market of Clear Stream Market. They had truly been struggling back then.
But the Wu clan possessed a rank-nine spiritual resource, the Rubble Well, which could produce various tal and stone materials.
Take purple copper for example. Seven years ago, its price had more than doubled. Today, each piece had soared to over two hundred spirit stones.
It could be said that Wu Jinyan's ability to reach Foundation Establishnt was entirely thanks to reaping the war dividends and promptly cashing in the future expectations the Wu clan had exchanged from the rit Hall of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect.
"Who did you hear this from?" Yulou asked, looking toward Wang Yu'an.
"After the Patriarch returned from visiting Mu Changze, the people from the Wu clan found out the Patriarch was in Clear Stream Market and imdiately submitted a visitation card. I don't know what they want to discuss."
Wang Yulou shook his head, harboring a few guesses.
A minor Qi Refining clan like the Wu clan had never produced a Foundation Establishnt cultivator before. Wu Jinyan was their first, aning he had very little backing within the hierarchy of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect.
The Wang clan of Anbei Kingdom had interacted a lot with the Wu clan, and Wu Jinyan's close friend, Hongi, had even beco the master of Yulou and Yu'an.
Therefore, right after reaching Foundation Establishnt, Wu Jinyan's visit to Wang Xianmao was likely just to build connections and pave the way for his future developnt.
After all, now that he was in Foundation Establishnt, he would have to join the Red Lantern Illumination Sect system under the Immortal Alliance to work. How could he not pay his respects to the local powers?
Behind the Wang clan stood the Mangxiang lineage, a single faction boasting three Purple Palace cultivators. Their power was even greater than that of Wondrous Peak Mountain—the three Purple Palace seniors of Wondrous Peak Mountain certainly lacked the grand ambition to attempt attaining the Golden Core realm.
"Alright, how are things going with contacting the talisman masters like I asked?"
Yulou didn't feel much regarding Wu Jinyan's Foundation Establishnt breakthrough. He only hoped Wu Jinyan would go mad and slaughter that animal Gao Jian.
However, given Wu Jinyan's temperant, he probably wouldn't be that foolish.
Gao Jian was rely the chamber pot of the Town Guardian Cultivator, fundantally used to resolve base needs.
Killing him would yield little to no benefit and carried the risk of offending the Town Guardian Cultivator. It wasn't worth it.
"The suppliers and supplying families for the Hundred Treasures Pavilion have already started spreading the word. On the other hand, the signs at the racetrack have been completed. Anyone watching the horse racing will see them.
Additionally, the Patriarch's intent is that among the guest elders bearing different surnas in the Wang clan, two are Qi Refining stage talisman masters. We absolutely must invite those two."
Over the years, Yulou's cultivation speed had been locked down by the altered rules of heaven and earth, but he hadn't slacked off in other areas.
The Hundred Treasures Pavilion and the racetrack were booming, and correspondingly, more and more people and factions shared mutual interests with the Wang clan.
The amount of assistance Yulou could leverage was steadily growing.
Cultivating to immortality was, of course, a personal matter.
But under the system of the Immortal Alliance's Ten Sects, it wasn't entirely a personal matter either.
No one could defy the system, the very system established by the great cultivators.
What Yulou was doing now was gradually finding ways, starting from the fringes, to join and influence that system.
Furthermore, he could establish a small sub-system of his own, belonging to the Wang clan.
In other words, make as many friends as possible, and reduce enemies to a minimum.
In fact, he had already succeeded; the Hundred Treasures Pavilion's Talisman Master Competition was a pri example.
Even though it hadn't started yet and no one knew how well it would run, within the system Yulou had established, those partners whose cultivation bases far exceeded his own naturally chose to lend him a hand.
The Patriarch's thoughts weren't complicated. Since the Hundred Treasures Pavilion was hosting a Talisman Master Competition, mbers of the Wang clan definitely couldn't participate. After all, there were prizes involved, and the Wang clan needed to maintain a respectable appearance.
But just because the Wang clan's own children couldn't join didn't an the guest elders couldn't.
—
At dusk, Yulou returned to Fortune Source Residence earlier than usual.
With Egret watching over the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and the Great Goods Store, no major problems would occur.
After all, Clear Stream Market was Red Lantern Illumination Sect territory. No matter how high soone's cultivation base was, as long as it wasn't higher than Mu Changze's, they wouldn't dare cause trouble.
Arriving at the door to the Patriarch's quarters, Yulou noticed it was open. Wang Xianmao and Wu Jinyan were conversing inside, and Hongi was also present.
"...Brother Xianmao, the more I think about joining the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, the more apprehensive I feel.
Listening to your explanation today has finally given so direction. My heart is finally at ease."
Wang Xianmao laughed heartily. He pulled a sheet of bitter mulberry paper from his robes, used his spiritual energy as a pen, and swiftly wrote down a line of text.
Then, he handed the inscribed bitter mulberry paper to Wu Jinyan.
"It's nothing. The first Foundation Establishnt cultivator of every family goes through this.
Here, take this. When you leave your aura mark at the Red Lantern Illumination Sect's Immortal Alliance branch, you'll be led to the Outer Sect Elders Hall.
The Outer Sect Elders Hall is overseen by a Purple Palace cultivator from the Red Lantern Illumination Sect and manages the affairs of the outer sect Foundation Establishnt deacons. The deacons in the hall will assign you a task, and theoretically, whatever you receive is what you must do.
Just tell them you are looking for Linghu Qishang. He is a good friend of mine, and the Linghu family is an old friend of our Wang clan.
Show him this bitter mulberry paper, hand over a sum of spirit stones, and you will be able to choose from a selection of tasks."
Wu Jinyan was instantly overjoyed and offered a barrage of profound thanks.
The outer sect deacons of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect had many different types of tasks, and he absolutely did not want to go demon hunting in the West Sea.
Indeed, while the Wang clan had to send Qi Refining cultivators to hunt demons in the West Sea, factions like the Red Lantern Illumination Sect and Wondrous Peak Mountain sent Foundation Establishnt cultivators instead.
As for Purple Palace cultivators, they belonged to the upper echelons of the Immortal Alliance system. They were the tier that divided the choicest cuts of at, so naturally, they wouldn't be sent off as expendable fodder, nor did anyone possess the authority to send them as such.
The logic was simple. If a Purple Palace cultivator hid inside a minor grotto-heaven, their lifespan was nearly limitless.
Forming a blood feud with a Purple Palace cultivator ant massive trouble. This was also one of the reasons a monstrosity like the Immortal Alliance had developed in the first place.
Among the three of them, Wang Xianmao was very pleased with Wu Jinyan drawing closer to the Wang clan, Wu Jinyan was ecstatic to have found a guide, while only Hongi's heart was filled with bitterness.
The Wang clan had been a vassal of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect for many years and indeed possessed deep foundations. His initial idea to align with the Wang clan hadn't been wrong.
But later on, step by step, he had walked that path of life straight into a dead end.
If he hadn't acted so foolishly back then, the first person smiling in front of Wang Xianmao wouldn't have been Wu Jinyan, but him.
"To think Senior Wu reached Foundation Establishnt so quickly," Yulou sighed with a touch of emotion after Wu Jinyan and the luckless Hongi left.
Wang Xianmao was equally moved.
"His luck is quite good. He wasn't even fully prepared for root and qi harmonization, yet he succeeded on his very first attempt at Foundation Establishnt."
Fate was an incredibly fickle thing. For a Peak Qi Condensation realm cultivator to attempt Foundation Establishnt, root and qi harmonization was the foundational requirent.
Of course, if one couldn't achieve root and qi harmonization, they could use auxiliary spiritual pills to simulate a state close to it, or attempt Foundation Establishnt multiple tis to increase the success rate.
Tie Qinhuo only succeeded on his second Foundation Establishnt attempt.
Wang Rongjiang was currently on his second attempt as well, and whether he would succeed still depended on luck.
Even with root and qi harmonization, the probability of success varied from person to person. It could be said that the success rate was heavily influenced by both the depth of one's accumulation and the quality of their luck.
As a cultivator from a minor Qi Refining family, Wu Jinyan's accumulation was obviously average, but that couldn't stop his incredible luck. This was sothing others couldn't envy even if they tried.
Wang Rongjiang had perfect root and qi harmonization and was maxed out on auxiliary spiritual pills, yet he failed his first attempt.
Wu Jinyan had average accumulation, relying entirely on spiritual pills and luck, yet sohow succeeded in one go.
"Uncle Rongjiang should succeed this ti, right?"
Yulou was actually a bit anxious. The prices for Foundation Establishnt resources were rising fiercely.
There were too many closed systems in Wunan, and all of them held dominant market positions. Consequently, Foundation Establishnt resources faced a Davis Double Play on pricing, caused by severe supply shortages overlapping with explosive surges in demand.
Under these circumstances, let alone eighty thousand spirit stones for a single portion, Yulou wouldn't even be surprised if the price skyrocketed to one hundred thousand spirit stones in the future.
If Wang Rongjiang ended up needing three attempts to succeed, then even with the clan discount for his own people, he would probably be paying off his debt to the Wang clan for the rest of his life.
"Let's hope so. I called you over because there is an important matter. I've already discussed the situation with Mu Changze. That dog is still acting like a complete bastard, speaking nine lies for every truth.
I've sent a ssage to Jingyi. We will wait for her reply before deciding on a new strategy.
But the confrontation between the Sky Serpent Sect and the Red Lantern Illumination Sect has little to do with us. After all, our family is weak and small.
As for Xianzhou's matter, I will negotiate properly with Wondrous Peak Mountain. Things are getting increasingly chaotic, and he is actually better suited to guarding the clan grounds.
It's just... Yulou, we have to hand over that Great Goods Store."
Between his words, the Patriarch's deep regard for Yulou was fully apparent.
Yulou's teoric rise in Clear Stream Market could be said to have won him respect from all sides, step by step.
Zhou Yingxi saying he looked more like a Town Guardian Cultivator was just one facet of it. One must rember, Zhou Yingxi was the daughter of the actual Town Guardian Cultivator.
Zhou Yingxi admired Yulou's capabilities, his business partners respected his comrcial prowess, and even the Patriarch valued his intellect.
Yet, Yulou still felt a sense of regret.
The war futures business was acutely sensitive. He had long anticipated this day, but he just hadn't expected it to arrive so soon.
For a single 'Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Patriarch' from higher up, he was forced to surrender the business he had painstakingly built.
Yulou wanted to ask 'Why?', but the words wouldn't leave his mouth.
Hadn't the Patriarch just said it? Our family is weak and small. Our family is weak and small.
"Who is taking over?"
Seeing Yulou's tense expression, Wang Xianmao thought about it for a mont, understood, and smiled.
"Did you think it was being violently seized from us? Hahaha, rest assured."
He pulled a silver decree of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect from his storage bag, held it up, and read it aloud.
"By order of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect's Sect Master, Huang Qiusheng: The Comrce Hall of Elders shall take over all affairs of the Wang clan's Great Goods Store in Clear Stream Market. The Wang clan is ordered to handle the handover.
The Wang clan of Anbei Kingdom has perford ritoriously in their operations. They are hereby specially rewarded with one Foundation Establishnt Pill, one bottle of Spirit Marrow ridian Cleansing Pills, one high-grade spiritual artifact, a legacy reward of two inner sect disciple quotas, and a legacy reward of ten outer sect disciple quotas!"
A Foundation Establishnt Pill, regardless of which spirit root it belonged to, now had a starting price of over twenty thousand spirit stones. It was an item solely ant to help cultivators reach Foundation Establishnt.
Spirit Marrow ridian Cleansing Pills were a type of spiritual pill used for healing and advancing one's cultivation base. They could treat ridian damage and even repair the Dao foundation. Yulou didn't know exactly how much they cost, but they definitely weren't cheap, belonging to the most expensive category of specialized spiritual pills.
A high-grade spiritual artifact... Yulou didn't know its exact value, but he was certain it wasn't rely ten tis the price of a high-grade magical artifact. This item would fetch at least thirty thousand spirit stones.
Two inner sect disciple quotas corresponded to a value of eighteen thousand each, totaling thirty-six thousand. Ten outer sect disciple quotas corresponded to three thousand two hundred each, totaling thirty-two thousand.
Selling that damn Great Goods Store had netted them at least one hundred and twenty thousand spirit stones!
Yulou snapped out of his shock and daze, asking nervously, "Patriarch, did we misunderstand the Patriarch?"
"Hahaha, indeed we did. We must forever rember the grace of Patriarch Mangxiang, hahahaha."
Laughing, Wang Xianmao handed the Red Lantern Illumination Sect decree over to Yulou.
The decree wasn't made entirely of silver. Its base was crafted from rank-nine white elm spirit wood, only coated with an outer layer of mirror-silver. The mountain gate scenery of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect was carved into the mirror-silver, giving it a very imposing appearance.
In each of the decree's four corners was a small red lantern. When Yulou touched it with his finger, he felt a burst of warmth, unsure of how it was crafted.
After carefully reading the Sect Master's order on the decree twice, Yulou's heart completely settled.
This wasn't a violent seizure. Rather, Huang Qiusheng was collaborating with the Wang clan—or more accurately, the Wang clan acting as a part of the Mangxiang lineage, with the Sect Master's help, was poaching the foundation of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect.
Not only had the Wang clan not taken a loss, they had made a massive profit!
Looking at the decree in his hands, Yulou realized sothing.
This wasn't a decree at all; this was entirely Patriarch Mangxiang's profound grace!
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