266: Chapter 264 Do you know who you've messed with?

A figure, his entire body wreathed in purple lightning, looked as if he had been kicked down from upstairs. Accompanied by a shrill scream, he plummeted straight toward the ground.

"Bang!!!"

The figure crashed heavily in front of the Long Zhantian brothers, smashing a human-shaped crater into the hard white jade square, sending dust flying everywhere.

Long Zhantian's six Flying Swords instantly froze in mid-air. He stared wide-eyed at the purple-robed old man who was struggling to crawl out of the pit, his face covered in grime and coughing up blood.

"Lei... Venerable Lei Yan?!"

Long Zhantian sucked in a breath of cold air, his brain completely shutting down.

This powerhouse, a half-step Late Stage Body Integration expert who had just been talking grandiosely and acting insufferably upstairs—how could he have fallen down in such a posture?!

Venerable Lei Yan was practically going insane at this moment.

He had been sitting in his private box sipping spiritual tea, listening to the farce downstairs, and was just preparing to put on airs and head down to back up the Aotian Sect.

Suddenly, he felt one... no, two terrifying auras capable of destroying heaven and earth erupt from beside that young man, directly locking onto his Divine Soul!

That was definitely not some Soul Transformation or Body Integration!

That was the Mahayana Stage pressure that surpassed common sense, something he had only ever felt in rumors throughout his life! And there were two of them!

Before he could even react, the words "Get down here" rang in his ears.

In the next second, the spiritual energy in his body surged uncontrollably. It felt as if an invisible giant hand had seized him by the neck and tossed him directly from the top floor!

"Ven... Venerable! What happened to you?!"

Long Zhantian still hadn't grasped the situation. He hurriedly stepped forward, wanting to help Venerable Lei Yan up. "Was there a villain who ambushed you? Do not fear, I will call the Sect right now..."

"Slap!!!"

A resounding slap echoed.

Summoning strength from who knows where, Venerable Lei Yan delivered a fierce slap to Long Zhantian's face.

This slap was delivered with full force, sending Long Zhantian, who was in the Early Stage of Body Integration, spinning three times on the spot. Half his teeth flew out, and his face instantly swelled up like a pig's head.

"Shut up! You blind beast! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!!"

Venerable Lei Yan roared with eyes nearly splitting. Then, under the horrified and world-shattering gazes of Long Zhantian and Long Aotian...

This Grand Elder of the Zixiao Holy Land's outer Sect.

This man, the greatest backer of their Aotian Sect.

Actually scrambled on all fours until he reached Su Lin and Gu Qiuyue.

"Thud!"

He dropped to his knees.

His head slammed heavily against the white jade floor, making a loud thumping sound. His voice carried an unmaskable fear and trembling.

"Lei Yan of the Zixiao outer Sect... kow... kowtows to the Great Proprietor of Jiuzhou! Kowtows to the Senior!"

"This lowly one did not know of Senior's arrival. I deserve ten thousand deaths! Ten thousand deaths!"

"..."

The surrounding Cultivators all had their mouths wide open, stunned like wooden chickens.

Long Zhantian clutched his swollen cheek, watching Venerable Lei Yan kowtowing like he was pounding garlic. He felt as if the entire world had gone mad.

"Ven... Venerable, what... what are you doing?"

Long Zhantian's voice trembled, still clinging to a final thread of unrealistic fantasy. "They... they are just..."

"Shut up!!"

Venerable Lei Yan whipped his head back, his gaze looking as if he wanted to swallow Long Zhantian alive.

"You fool! Do you know who you have offended?!"

"Standing before you is the Great Proprietor of the Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce, who controls seventy percent of the banks and Spiritual Veins in the cultivation world! With a single word, she could leave the Zixiao Holy Land with nothing!"

He pointed a trembling finger at Su Lin. "And this Senior... even I am nothing more than an ant before him!"

"If your Aotian Sect wants to die, do not involve me!"

Hearing these words, Long Zhantian's legs finally lost all their strength.

"Thud."

He and his troublemaking brother, Long Aotian, collapsed to the ground together.

It was over.

They had kicked a steel plate.

And this steel plate was not only hard, but could also bury their entire Sect alive with money.

Su Lin looked down at the three people kneeling on the ground, his eyes indifferent, without a single ripple of emotion.

A breeze blew past, fluttering the hem of Gu Qiuyue's purple-gold gown. The hidden copper coin patterns, embroidered with extremely rare gold thread, shimmered with a cold and extravagant luster in the afterglow of the setting sun.

She didn't speak, just stood quietly by Su Lin's side.

But those who knew her well were aware that this Great Proprietor of the Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce—this Southern Yu Goddess of Wealth who usually greeted everyone with a smile and prioritized harmony for profit—was currently enraged to the extreme.

Extreme anger.

For today, for the chance to be alone with her Revered Master in Tianzhou City, how much effort had she put in?

She had used the astronomical price of ten million Top-Grade Spirit Stones to shut Su Hongling's noisy mouth.

She had used the Yin and Yang Pool, enough to drive a half-step True Immortal mad, to send Luo Ximei away.

And she had used a peerless poison Gu to lock that troublemaker Chu Weiwei in a secret room.

Aside from Mu Qingxue, who was beside her and couldn't be shaken off—frozen to the floor like ten-thousand-year-old ice and insisting on following—she had achieved near perfection!

She had mobilized six Soul Transformation Stage Cloud-Treading Jade Lions and put on her finest clothes, all to showcase her commercial Empire before her Revered Master, to show him that she, Gu Qiuyue, could not only make money but also provide him with the world's most top-tier enjoyment.

She wanted her Revered Master to know that although she couldn't protect him like the other disciples, she could use endless wealth to pave a path to heaven lined with Top-Grade Spirit Stones for him!

But now?

They had just reached the entrance, hadn't even stepped over the threshold of Luoxian Pavilion.

Some brainless playboy who had popped out of nowhere actually pointed at her nose, demanding to forcibly buy her carriage and wanting her to remove her veil to accompany him for drinks?

This wasn't just a slap to her face; it was grinding Gu Qiuyue's dignity and her meticulously prepared date into the ground!

"Sixth Junior Sister."

Amidst this suffocating silence, Mu Qingxue, who had been standing on Su Lin's other side, suddenly spoke coldly.

Her snow-white flowing celestial gown fluttered slightly in the wind, and the air around her condensed into tiny ice crystals due to the fluctuations in her emotions.

"The rules of your Tianzhou City seem less effective than the ones Revered Master taught us back then."

"Flies are buzzing right in Revered Master's face. If you cannot handle this well, I wouldn't mind cleaning house for you, Junior Sister.

If I freeze this entire street into a glacier, these noisy wastes will naturally fall silent."

Gu Qiuyue took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently.

She turned her head, her golden eyes above the veil staring intently at the three people kneeling on the ground—Long Zhantian, Long Aotian, and the Grand Elder of the Zixiao Holy Land's outer Sect, Venerable Lei Yan.

*Click.*

Gu Qiuyue's slender fingers lightly flicked the pure gold abacus at her waist.

An abacus bead clicked, producing an extremely crisp sound.

In the deathly silent square, this sound was like a death knell.

"Lei Yan."

Gu Qiuyue's voice wasn't loud, yet it carried the cold, soul-piercing pressure of a Mahayana Stage Cultivator. Every word felt like it was being carved into Venerable Lei Yan's bones with a knife.

"This... this old one is here! What are the Great Proprietor's orders? I will not hesitate even if it means ten thousand deaths!"

The dignified half-step Late Stage Body Integration Venerable Lei Yan was now like a lowly cur, lying prostrate on the ground. His forehead was pressed tightly against the cold white jade tiles, and he didn't even have the courage to look up at the tips of Gu Qiuyue's shoes.

He knew the terror of the woman before him all too well.

People in the cultivation world only knew that the Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce was as wealthy as a nation, but few knew how ruthless this Great Proprietor's methods were. If she could use Spirit Stones to bribe the Heavenly Tribulation, she could naturally use them to buy the lifeblood of any Sect.

"You seemed to be drinking quite happily upstairs just now?"

Gu Qiuyue walked slowly to Venerable Lei Yan and looked down at him.

"Did you think that by leaning against the great tree of the Zixiao Holy Land, you could allow these two wild dogs to bark incessantly on the Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce's turf, and even expect me and my Revered Master to go up and offer you a toast?"

"No, no, no! Great Proprietor, please be discerning! Even if I had ten thousand times more courage, I would never dare to have such rebellious thoughts!"

Venerable Lei Yan trembled violently with fear, cold sweat instantly soaking through his purple-gold Daoist robe. He kowtowed frantically, the thumping sounds echoing, and a startling patch of blood soon stained the white jade tiles.

"It was Long Zhantian! It was this beast who deceived me!

I was resting with my eyes closed upstairs and had no idea what was happening down here!

I beg the Great Proprietor to investigate! I beg Senior Su to spare my life!"

"You didn't know?"

Gu Qiuyue gave a cold laugh, and the gold abacus in her hand clicked once more.

"The interest on the loan for your Zixiao Holy Land's outer Sect last month was 1.2 million Top-Grade Spirit Stones. You have delayed payment, yet today you have the leisure to accept a banquet from the Aotian Sect.

Do you dare say you weren't eyeing the Aotian Sect's offerings, intending to use their money to fill your own hole, and thus tacitly allowed them to bully others using your influence?"

Venerable Lei Yan's breathing instantly stalled.

His secrets were stripped bare by Gu Qiuyue in front of all the Cultivators in Tianzhou City.

"Since you enjoy calculating, then today I shall settle this account with you properly."

Gu Qiuyue held the abacus in one hand, her fingers flying like a blur of gold.

"Lei Yan, Grand Elder of the Zixiao Holy Land's outer Sect, owes my Nine Provinces Bank a principal of eight million Top-Grade Spirit Stones. It is three months overdue. According to the contract's maximum heavenly penalty interest rate, with compound interest, the total principal and interest come to 13.5 million Top-Grade Spirit Stones."

"Furthermore, you allowed your subordinates to offend my Revered Master. Not only is this a capital offense, but it is also a massive blow to the reputation of my Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce. Mental distress fees, reputation compensation, and depreciation fees for wasting my Revered Master's precious time..."

Gu Qiuyue's fingers came to a sudden halt, and the final abacus bead fell heavily.

"In total, fifty million Top-Grade Spirit Stones."

"Wha... What?!"

Venerable Lei Yan whipped his head up, his bloodied old face filled with disbelief.

Fifty million Top-Grade Spirit Stones?! Even if he sold the entire outer Sect of the Zixiao Holy Land, he couldn't scrape together that much cash!

This wasn't settling an account; this was highway robbery! This was driving him to his death!

"Great Proprietor... this... this amount..."

"What? You think it's too much?"

Gu Qiuyue's gaze was ice-cold, leaving no room for negotiation.

"A single hair of my Revered Master is more precious than your entire Zixiao outer Sect combined. Asking you to pay fifty million is already showing consideration for your old bones having some cultivation."

She turned her head toward Money Abundant, the manager of Luoxian Pavilion, who had been kneeling nearby and was already pale with fright.

"Money Abundant."

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Bring the Heavenly Dao Blood Contract."

Gu Qiuyue's voice sounded like a judgment from the depths of Hell.

"Lei Yan, since you cannot pay back the money, I shall act according to the Chamber's rules."

"Effective immediately, you are stripped of your status as an Elder of the Zixiao Holy Land's outer Sect, and the Meridians in both your arms are abolished.

Sign this Heavenly Dao Blood Contract and be exiled to the deepest part of my Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce, the [Abyssal Demon Mine]."

"There, you will serve as a laborer for ten thousand years. Only when you have mined enough to cover these fifty million Top-Grade Spirit Stones will your remnant soul be allowed to reincarnate."

"Should you resist, you will suffer the backlash of the Heavenly Dao, and your soul and body will be utterly destroyed!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire audience was in an uproar.

Ten thousand years as a laborer in the Abyssal Demon Mine!

That was a place where even Integration Stage Cultivators would be tormented by Evil Qi until they wished for death. Ten thousand years—this was a hundred times more cruel than killing him outright!

This was the consequence of offending the Goddess of Wealth! To kill the heart after the person, and then squeeze out every last drop of remaining value!

"No... please, no! Great Proprietor, have mercy! Senior Su, have mercy!"

Venerable Lei Yan completely broke down. This dignified half-step Late Stage Body Integration powerhouse was now crying like a desperate child.

He wanted to resist, to self-detonate his Nascent Soul and take everyone with him.

But he discovered in terror that the surrounding space had been completely sealed off by an extreme chill at some point.

Mu Qingxue had drawn her crystal-clear ice sword at some unknown moment, its tip pointing directly at the center of his forehead.

If there was even the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy within him, that absolute zero temperature, capable of freezing time, would instantly turn his Nascent Soul into dust.

"Sign."

Gu Qiuyue threw a contract emitting a blood-red light in front of Lei Yan, her tone chilling.

Venerable Lei Yan's hands trembled as he looked at the Heavenly Dao Blood Contract, his eyes full of despair and regret.

Trembling, he bit his fingertip and humiliatingly pressed his lifeblood and a sliver of his soul onto the contract.

The contract took effect, transforming into a blood-red shackle that instantly sank into Lei Yan's body.

He felt his whole body shudder as the Meridians in his arms were crushed inch by inch by an invisible force, and his towering cultivation was forcibly suppressed to the Nascent Soul Stage.

"Drag him away and send him to the mine. Don't let him die on the way."

Gu Qiuyue didn't even spare him a glance, simply waving her hand.

Two Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce Shadow Guards appeared like ghosts and instantly dragged the once-lofty Venerable Lei Yan into the shadows of Luoxian Pavilion like a dead dog.

Having dealt with Lei Yan, Gu Qiuyue's gaze finally landed on the culprits—the brothers Long Zhantian and Long Aotian.

By now, the Long brothers were so terrified they couldn't even speak.

They had watched with their own eyes as their backer, a half-step Late Stage Body Integration powerhouse, was stripped of everything in less than half a tea's time by this purple-gowned woman's few words, turned into a cripple destined to mine for ten thousand years.

This sense of despair, akin to a dimensional strike, completely destroyed their psychological defenses.