67: Chapter 67 The Secret Chamber Heavenly Palace

Lingxiao Heavenly Palace, Secret Chamber.

Jin Wusuan sat cross-legged in the center of a pile of ledgers, his fingers flying as he rapidly flicked the abacus in his hands.

Floating before him were dozens of Recording Stones, each projecting dense arrays of numbers and charts.

"Revered Master."

Jin Wusuan didn't even look up, his voice calm.

"I have fully grasped the Demon Venerable Hall's capital chain."

Bai Yu stood behind him, looking at the data that was so complex it made one's head spin.

"Get to the point."

Jin Wusuan pushed up his glasses and pointed to one of the Recording Stones.

"On the surface, the Demon Venerable Hall has thirty-seven strongholds, but in reality, there are only three true financial hubs."

"The 'Ten Thousand Demon Merchant Guild' in the North Region is responsible for the circulation of Spirit Stones."

"The 'Blood Moon Auction House' in the East Region is responsible for money laundering."

"And then there's the 'Tianji Bank' in the Central Region..."

He paused.

"Responsible for lending to major forces and collecting high interest."

"These three places control over ninety percent of the Demon Venerable Hall's cash flow."

Bai Yu's gaze sharpened.

"In other words, as long as these three lines are cut..."

"The Demon Venerable Hall will be instantly paralyzed," Jin Wusuan interjected, a cold sneer curling his lips.

"Without money, they can't afford to maintain their assassins."

"Without money, their strongholds will collapse on their own."

"Without money..."

He looked up, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

"They won't even be able to afford the ritual to resurrect the Demon Venerable."

Luo Bingli walked in, holding a Jade Slip in her hand.

"Revered Master, news has come from Qian Ji."

"She has already infiltrated the Ten Thousand Demon Merchant Guild and obtained their core ledgers."

Bai Yu took the Jade Slip.

His Divine Thought swept over it.

His brows quirked slightly.

"Interesting."

"In the last three months alone, the Ten Thousand Demon Merchant Guild has funneled over twenty billion Spirit Stones to the Demon Venerable Hall."

"And the source of this money..."

He looked at Jin Wusuan.

"...is entirely high-interest loans borrowed from the Tianji Bank."

Jin Wusuan smiled.

"Exactly."

"The Demon Venerable Hall has expanded too quickly these past years and has long been spending beyond its means."

"They look impressive on the surface, but in reality, they're drowning in debt."

"And the financial backer behind the Tianji Bank..."

He paused.

"...is my Eternal Vault."

The room fell silent.

Gu Dusheng's eyes widened.

"Fourth Junior, you mean..."

"That's right." Jin Wusuan stood up.

"Half of the funds for the Demon Venerable Hall's expansion over these years were lent to them by me."

"And now..."

He walked up to Bai Yu and knelt on one knee.

"Revered Master, your Disciple requests to initiate the 'Heaven and Earth Net' plan."

Bai Yu looked at him.

"Speak."

Jin Wusuan took a deep breath.

"In these three years, in the name of the Eternal Vault, I have lent over fifty billion to the Demon Venerable Hall and its partner forces."

"All loans have been set with 'Chain Guarantee' clauses."

"Which means..."

A cold light flashed in his eyes.

"As long as I demand repayment from all debtors simultaneously, they must pay off all debts within three days."

"Those who cannot pay..."

"...the Eternal Vault has the right to directly take over all their assets."

Luo Bingli gasped.

"Fourth Junior, you're planning to..."

"Catch them all in one net," Jin Wusuan's voice was calm.

"Of the thirty-seven strongholds of the Demon Venerable Hall, twenty-three owe money to the Eternal Vault."

"Among their partner forces, forty-seven are on my debt list."

"With just one command from me..."

He looked up, his eyes full of confidence.

"Within three days, the Demon Venerable Hall's commercial Empire will completely collapse."

Bai Yu was silent for a moment.

Then he reached out and patted Jin Wusuan's shoulder.

"Fourth Junior."

"Revered Master, please give your orders."

"Well done."

Bai Yu turned and walked toward the main hall.

"Pass down the order."

"Initiate the 'Heaven and Earth Net'."

"Three days from now..."

A piercing killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"I will make the Demon Venerable Hall lose even their coffin money."

North Region, Ten Thousand Demon Merchant Guild.

The Merchant Group Manager, Demonly Boundless, was sitting in the main hall, drinking Spirit Tea.

"Business has been good lately."

He looked at the ledgers and nodded with satisfaction.

"This month alone, we've made three billion just from Spirit Stone circulation."

"At this rate, by the end of the year, we can..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

The main door was suddenly pushed open.

A group of Cultivators dressed in golden robes walked in.

Leading them was none other than Jin Wusuan.

"Manager Demonly."

Jin Wusuan pushed up his glasses, a gentle smile on his face.

"Long time no see."

Demonly Boundless's expression changed.

"Vault Master Jin? What are you doing here?"

Jin Wusuan pulled a contract from his robes.

"I'm here to collect a debt."

"According to the loan contract signed three years ago, the Ten Thousand Demon Merchant Guild borrowed five billion High-Grade Spirit Stones from the Eternal Vault."

"It was agreed that the principal and interest would be returned after three years."

"Now..."

He glanced at Demonly Boundless.

"The three-year term is up."

"Manager Demonly, please return the five billion principal plus two billion in interest within three days."

"A total of seven billion High-Grade Spirit Stones."

Demonly Boundless's face turned ashen.

"Jin Wusuan! Are you crazy?!"

"Didn't we agree that it could be extended?!"

Jin Wusuan shook his head.

"Manager Demonly, there is no 'extension' clause in the contract."

"Furthermore..."

He pulled a large stack of contracts from his Storage Ring.

"It's not just the Ten Thousand Demon Merchant Guild."

"The Blood Moon Auction House owes eighty billion."

"The Tianji Bank owes one hundred and twenty billion."

"And..."

He read them out one by one.

With every name read, Demonly Boundless's face grew a shade paler.

"Your twenty-three strongholds owe a total of forty-five billion High-Grade Spirit Stones to the Eternal Vault."

"Please pay it all off within three days."

Demonly Boundless trembled all over.

"Impossible!"

"We simply cannot produce that much money!"

Jin Wusuan smiled.

"Can't produce it?"

"Then according to the contract, use your assets to settle the debt."

He waved his hand.

The golden-robed Cultivators behind him immediately rushed into the merchant group and began inventorying assets.

"What are you doing?!"

Demonly Boundless tried to stop them.

But Jin Wusuan simply produced the contract and pointed at one of the clauses.

"Manager Demonly, you signed this yourself."

"In black and white."

"What, trying to welsh on the debt?"

Demonly Boundless ground his teeth.

"Jin Wusuan! You just wait!"

"Lord Demon Venerable will not let you off!"

Jin Wusuan shrugged.

"Then I shall wait and see."

---

At the same time.

East Region, Blood Moon Auction House.

Central Region, Tianji Bank.

And the twenty-three strongholds of the Demon Venerable Hall in the Upper Realm.

All had their doors blocked by people from the Eternal Vault.

"Pay back the money!"

"If not paid within three days, assets will be used to settle the debt!"

The entire Upper Realm instantly exploded with the news.

Countless Cultivators gathered to watch.

"What is the Eternal Vault trying to do?"

"Demanding so many debts all at once?"

"I heard the Demon Venerable Hall owes them over forty billion!"

"Over forty billion?! That's an astronomical figure!"

"The Demon Venerable Hall is finished this time..."

Demon Venerable Hall Headquarters, deep within the Demon Abyss.

A man wearing black armor slammed his hand onto the table.

"Useless!"

"A bunch of useless trash!"

"How could we owe so much money?!"

Demonly Boundless and the others kneeling below trembled in fear.

"Lord Demon Venerable... we... we also didn't expect..."

"...that Jin Wusuan would suddenly demand repayment..."

The black-armored man snorted coldly.

"Suddenly?"

"This is clearly a scheme by Bai Yu!"

"He wants to use financial means to strangle our capital chain!"

He stood up, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

"Pass down the order."

"Activate the 'Blood Sacrifice Fund'."

"At all costs, stabilize the situation first."

"Yes!"

Lingxiao Heavenly Palace.

Jin Wusuan was inventorying the seized assets.

"Revered Master."

He looked at the ledgers, his brows furrowed.

"The Demon Venerable Hall's reaction this time is a bit strange."

Bai Yu looked at him.

"How so?"

"Logically, their capital chain should have already snapped."

Jin Wusuan pushed up his glasses.

"But in these three days, they actually managed to scrape together twenty billion Spirit Stones to pay off part of the debt."

"And..."

He paused.

"I cannot trace the source of this money."

Bai Yu's gaze sharpened.

"Untraceable?"

"Correct." Jin Wusuan nodded.

"These Spirit Stones are as if they appeared out of thin air."

"There are no circulation records whatsoever."

"The only possibility..."

He looked at Bai Yu.