8: The treasury is depleted, targeted intelligence is being used, and hoarding is rampant!

"Disciple greets Old Ancestor," she still saluted as she always had.

Lu Yuan looked at her, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Still calling me Old Ancestor?"

Gu Qingxue's body stiffened slightly.

She looked up, meeting Lu Yuan's playful gaze, and a blush once again crept onto her exquisite face.

She bit her lower lip, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum, yet it clearly reached Lu Yuan's ears.

"Husband."

These two words seemed to have exhausted all her strength.

Lu Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

"Speak, what is the matter?"

Gu Qingxue then explained her purpose: "Husband, the Sect's treasury... is almost empty now."

A hint of worry crossed her face: "Whether it's the rewards for the upcoming Inner Sect Disciple Grand Competition for promotion to True Disciple, or the cultivation resources for the True Disciples this month, they are almost impossible to distribute."

Lu Yuan frowned upon hearing this.

He knew that the Sect's treasury being depleted to such an extent had a lot to do with him.

Firstly, the Sect had consumed a large amount of treasury resources to support his cultivation to the Nascent Soul Late Stage.

Secondly, to extend his Lifespan previously, he had further emptied centuries of the Sect's accumulation, purchasing a large quantity of rare longevity pills.

The Eternal Youth Technique of the Azure Wood, which he primarily cultivated, should have given him a Lifespan far exceeding Cultivators of the same Rank.

However, his path of cultivation had been too perilous.

In his early years, to compete for resources and engage in combat with others, he often burned his vital blood essence and used secret techniques.

Over time, this led to a severe depletion of his Origin. Had he not cultivated the Eternal Youth Technique of the Azure Wood, he might not have even lived to the Nascent Soul Stage Lifespan limit of two thousand years.

One must know that ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivators, due to hidden injuries from early years or losses from combat, are considered long-lived if they reach eighteen hundred years.

"I understand."

Lu Yuan nodded: "I will resolve this matter myself."

After Gu Qingxue left, Lu Yuan fell into deep thought.

The three pieces of intelligence refreshed daily were not stable in quality.

Moreover, the value corresponding to white intelligence was not high, and the achievable profit was within a certain range.

And the System required a full one hundred thousand Destiny Points to upgrade from Rank One to Rank Two.

Relying on daily random refreshes, he wouldn't know how long he would have to wait.

Lu Yuan looked at his existing twelve thousand Destiny Points and made a decision.

Instead of passively waiting, it was better to take the initiative.

He decided to consume Destiny Points to obtain a piece of targeted intelligence.

[Please set the direction for intelligence acquisition.]

"Intelligence on how to earn a large amount of Spirit Stones in the Zhao State within a short period," Lu Yuan silently recited in his mind.

[Targeted intelligence acquisition Rank set to: Purple.]

[Destiny Points required: 1000 points.]

[Confirm?]

"Confirm."

As Lu Yuan's thought moved, one thousand Destiny Points instantly disappeared.

The next moment, a brand new piece of purple intelligence appeared before his eyes.

[Purple Intelligence: Three days later, Qingyangzi, a Rank 3 Alchemist from the Four Seas Merchant Guild in the Zhao Kingdom Capital, will publicly announce a new Rank 2 Foundation Establishment Pill Formula he obtained from an ancient Cultivator's Immortal Cave.

This Pill Formula has stronger medicinal effects and a higher pill formation rate. Its two main medicinal ingredients, Dragon Blood Vine and Phantom Star Grass, are both common Rank 2 Spirit Medicine, but the demand will be enormous.

To monopolize the market, the Four Seas Merchant Guild has already secretly hoarded almost all the Dragon Blood Vine and Phantom Star Grass on the market in advance.

After the Pill Formula is announced, they will control the market by gradually releasing small quantities, and it is estimated that the price of the two main medicinal ingredients can be pushed up a hundredfold in a short period. The intelligence includes two undiscovered coordinate addresses, both located deep within the Ten Thousand Mountains, that are rich in Dragon Blood Vine and Phantom Star Grass. [Click to view coordinates]]

After reading this intelligence, a glint flashed in Lu Yuan's eyes.

It was the Four Seas Merchant Guild again.

It seemed his connection with this merchant guild was quite deep indeed.

However, their scheme of hoarding for profit and manipulating the market was truly brilliant.

If he didn't have the System, he probably would have been severely exploited like everyone else.

But now...

A faint smile curled Lu Yuan's lips.

He immediately used his Divine Thought to summon Gu Qingxue again.

Before long, Gu Qingxue arrived at the Immortal Cave.

"Husband," she softly called, her serene face carrying a hint of inquiry.

"Qingxue, I need you to do something immediately." Lu Yuan's tone was serious: "You are to immediately gather all Golden Core Elders, Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators, and Inner Sect Disciples above Qi Refining Rank 7 within the Sect. Have them drop everything they are doing and proceed to the Ten Thousand Mountains with the utmost speed."

As he spoke, he handed over two Jade Slips.

"These two Jade Slips respectively record two sets of coordinates. You will personally lead the team and have them collect all Dragon Blood Vine and Phantom Star Grass within the scope of these two coordinates, at all costs."

Gu Qingxue took the Jade Slips, swept them with her Divine Sense, and a hint of confusion flashed in her eyes.

Dragon Blood Vine and Phantom Star Grass.

These two were merely the lowest-grade Rank 2 Spirit Medicine. Ordinarily, aside from being auxiliary ingredients for some low-grade Medicinal Pills, they were almost ignored and held very little value.

Why would Old Ancestor suddenly order such a large-scale collection of these two Spirit Medicine?

But she did not ask.

She merely nodded solemnly: "Disciple understands."

"One more thing," Lu Yuan added: "This matter must be kept strictly confidential. To prevent any leaks, there is no need to inform Grand Elder Jiang Wuya, Second Elder Zhao Wuji, and Third Elder Liu Mengxi.

If they ask, use the excuse of guarding the Sect against external enemies to keep them within the Sect."

Gu Qingxue's heart tightened upon hearing this.

She was exceptionally intelligent and immediately realized that there might be a problem with these three Elders.

A chill rose in her heart.

But she still didn't ask further, simply silently noting the matter.

"Disciple will go now."

Gu Qingxue's efficiency was extremely high.

In less than half an hour, all Cultivators in Azure Cloud Sect who met the conditions, except for the three Elders deliberately left behind, had assembled.

Under the personal leadership of Sect Master Gu Qingxue, they flew majestically towards the Ten Thousand Mountains.

For the next two days, Lu Yuan remained in his Immortal Cave, stabilizing his cultivation.

The daily refreshed intelligence, as he expected, were all low-value white intelligence, which he casually skipped over.

By the morning of the third day.

Gu Qingxue led the Sect's large contingent back.

Every Disciple's face showed a hint of fatigue, but more so, excitement and confusion.

They handed over all the Spirit Medicine they had collected over the past two days.

When Lu Yuan saw the two mountain-like piles of Spirit Medicine before him, even he couldn't help but show a satisfied expression.

There were over ten thousand stalks of Dragon Blood Vine.

And more than eight thousand stalks of Phantom Star Grass.

This was practically equivalent to completely emptying those two coordinate points.