Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 621: Chapter 621: Collapse

Celestial Mansion, Outer Dao Alliance.

Lü Yang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, calmly gazing at the world above the sixth layer. He could see the manifestation of the Fruit of Money gathering there.

It was a vast and mighty tide, like a great ocean.

And behind him stood the various Perfected Lords of the Outer Dao Alliance.

Mountain Mover, Zhi Lei, Wu Daoxuan... all seven Outer Dao True Monarchs were also looking up at the upper layers of the Celestial Mansion, their eyes filled with pity and scorn.

This was especially true for Mountain Mover.

As the former Alliance Leader of the Outer Dao Alliance, he had once held the Immortal Monarchs above the Celestial Mansion’s sixth layer in the utmost reverence. His greatest dream had been to move into the sixth layer himself.

Now, however, his perspective had changed. He had personally witnessed Lü Yang meticulously weave a man-eating net, and he had watched as those lofty lords above the sixth layer walked into it step by step, of their own free will. Now they were on the verge of death, yet remained utterly oblivious.

At that moment, a sudden realization dawned on him.

The so-called Fruit of Money was, in truth, just a tool.

It had no intrinsic value; all of it was artificially assigned. Its entire purpose was to serve as an instrument for extortion and the harvesting of resources.

Just like now.

With a mere wave of his hand, Lü Yang could bankrupt countless people, causing them to lose their entire fortunes... The real wealth was never the Immortal Talismans themselves.

”Let’s begin.”

Suddenly, Lü Yang spoke.

That single phrase brought looks of excitement to the faces of all the Outer Dao True Monarchs behind him. Even Mountain Mover couldn’t help but feel a surge of anxious anticipation.

For this would be the first great spectacle in the Celestial Mansion since the birth of the Fruit of Money.

In the next instant, all the Outer Dao True Monarchs took out their Celestial Mansion Passes. Under the collective operation of the Outer Dao Alliance, the market was thrown into turmoil.

* * *

In a meeting hall on the eighth layer of the Celestial Mansion.

Led by Immortal Monarch Gu Ming, several Immortal Monarchs, including Cyan Yang Immortal Monarch, had gathered to discuss the recent market fluctuations.

”We’re almost there.”

Immortal Monarch Gu Ming said, full of smug satisfaction, ”999 is asking too much. After all, no matter how much we hype the Wuyou Talisman, it can’t be compared to the Taiyin Immortal Talisman.”

”It’s already at 987.”

”Just three more points. Once it hits 990, we sell everything and exit the market. When that happens...”

Immortal Monarch Gu Ming was painting a rosy picture of the future for the Immortal Monarchs present. After all, they were his partners in this scheme to inflate the price of the Wuyou Talisman.

If it were just him, he wouldn’t have been able to buy up so many Wuyou Talismans.

However, with several Immortal Monarchs combined, it was no problem. Moreover, Immortal Monarch Gu Ming was privately acquainted with a Mid-stage Immortal Monarch who possessed the Fruit of Financial Freedom.

Through this connection, he had successfully secured a massive loan from the Heaven and Earth Immortal Journey.

With these funds, he was able to acquire eighty percent of the Wuyou Talismans on the market, inflating their price into the sky-high bubble it was today.

Immortal Monarch Gu Ming already saw this as his hope for breaking through to the Mid-phase.

But at that very moment, the manifestation of the Fruit of Money before them suddenly fluctuated violently, startling the Immortal Monarchs from their daydreams.

”It’s dropping! It’s dropping!”

”So soon?” Immortal Monarch Gu Ming was stunned, a look of confusion on his face. ”It shouldn’t be. It hasn’t hit 990 yet, has it? Did someone get impatient and sell early?”

”I don’t know.”

Cyan Yang Immortal Monarch was the first to react, immediately taking out his Celestial Mansion Pass. ”Don’t panic. Let me check. It might just be a temporary fluctuation.”

Soon, however, a second fluctuation occurred.

”It dropped again!”

Immortal Monarch Gu Ming’s brow furrowed even deeper. A sense of foreboding rapidly filled his heart. They held most of the Wuyou Talismans on the market.

If they weren’t selling, how could the price be dropping?

For a moment, the other Immortal Monarchs all turned to look at him, their gazes filled with suspicion. Cyan Yang Immortal Monarch, still operating his Celestial Mansion Pass, had a grim expression that was dark to the extreme.

”...Calm down.”

Immortal Monarch Gu Ming took a deep breath and forced a smile. ”It must be the Immortal Race, the Sects, or other Immortal Monarchs on the sixth layer selling. After all, the price of the Wuyou Talisman has reached its peak. We didn’t buy out the entire market; about twenty percent is still in the hands of outside Cultivators.”

”What do we do then?”

”No rush. Let’s play with them a bit first!”

As he spoke, confidence returned to Immortal Monarch Gu Ming’s face. ”Let it drop. We’ll raise more money, and when it falls, we’ll buy back in.”

”Then, the price will still be ours to command!”

As he finished speaking, the other Immortal Monarchs nodded. After all, this was how they had operated before, and the results had been excellent. Naturally, they would repeat the same trick now.

Hearing this, Cyan Yang Immortal Monarch also nodded in agreement, then began operating his Celestial Mansion Pass even faster.

Soon, as the price of the Wuyou Talisman continued to fall, Immortal Monarch Gu Ming made his move again. He bought in with all his might, pulling the price back to its original level.

However, just as everyone thought this was just another technical correction—

RUMBLE!

In an instant, throughout the entire Celestial Mansion, a massive amount of the Fruit of Money’s manifestation gathered, evolving into a vast scene. A real-time broadcast had been activated across all nine layers of the Celestial Mansion.

”Is that the Outer Dao Alliance?”

”It’s that True Monarch Minghe... To actually create a real-time broadcast that can cover all nine layers of the Celestial Mansion, he must be paying a fortune to the Ninth Layer.”

”What is he trying to do?”

Just as everyone was wondering, Lü Yang, who was in the real-time broadcast, spoke:

”The situation with the Wuyou Talisman is excellent. To give back to the vast community of Cultivators, I am pleased to announce that, effective immediately, we will be issuing an additional one billion Wuyou Talismans to the market!”

A single sentence plunged the world into silence.

And on the eighth layer of the Celestial Mansion, the moment Lü Yang’s words fell, Immortal Monarch Gu Ming—who had been glowing with vigor, his qi trace soaring—froze on the spot.

He was an Immortal Monarch, his Dharma Body supposedly impervious to heat and cold, yet at this moment, he felt a profound chill. For an instant, even his heart stopped beating.

’It’s over...!’

As a veteran Immortal Monarch who had been deeply involved in the Immortal Talisman market for many years, Gu Ming knew exactly what would happen when one billion new Wuyou Talismans entered the market under these circumstances.

He was going to be bankrupt!

Especially since he had raised funds from all over and taken out significant loans to swallow the vast majority of Wuyou Talismans on the market. If he got stuck with them now...

’Stop him! I have to stop him!’

Immortal Monarch Gu Ming’s lips parted slightly. His first reaction was to refute Lü Yang’s so-called announcement, to claim that the one billion new talismans were fake news... but facts don’t lie.

Block the news? That would be very difficult now.

”Damn Outer Dao... You beast!”

Immortal Monarch Gu Ming finally couldn’t stop himself from cursing out loud. Lü Yang’s move had been too sudden, giving him no chance to react. This was a death sentence!

The next second, Immortal Monarch Gu Ming looked at the other Immortal Monarchs present.

”Don’t panic! We still have a chance!”

”Everyone, if you don’t want to lose all your money, we have to buy them all! Everyone think of a way, raise funds, take out loans! We have to absorb all one billion of these Wuyou Talismans!”

He continued speaking while frantically buying Wuyou Talismans:

”As long as we can absorb them and stabilize the price, we’ll still have a chance to find someone else to take the fall! Otherwise, if the price drops below the line and triggers a massive sell-off, we’ll be truly finished! All our money will go down the drain... At this moment, the most important thing is for us to stick together...”

Before Immortal Monarch Gu Ming could finish his sentence—

”Whew! Finally done!”

Cyan Yang Immortal Monarch, who had been operating his Celestial Mansion Pass this whole time, finally looked up. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly in a smile of pure relief and candor.

Seeing this, Immortal Monarch Gu Ming paused, stunned. ”Fellow Daoist Qingyang...”

Before he could finish, Cyan Yang Immortal Monarch shot him a scornful glance, then his figure dissipated. He had left the meeting hall without another word.

Only then did it dawn on Immortal Monarch Gu Ming:

”Fuck! That bastard... he’s been using his Celestial Mansion Pass to dump his Wuyou Talismans this entire time! He’s already sold everything and fucking cut his losses and ran!?”

Wait, he just finished selling his Wuyou Talismans.

Then the Wuyou Talismans I was just buying...

Immortal Monarch Gu Ming’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

”AHHH!!!”

My money—!

The next second, the manifestation of the Fruit of Money that had been lingering around Immortal Monarch Gu Ming’s body exploded, symbolizing the complete and utter collapse of the Wuyou Talisman market!