Chapter 474: Yinxi Millionaire

Lewis, a random Lotus Informant, felt the rising excitement in the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion's largest Trade Hall as he returned from his break. Having been assigned to work in the Trade Hall decades ago, he had never felt this level of anticipation before from the merchants.

"Hey," he whispered to a nearby merchant.

It wasn't the correct protocol, but Lotus Informants were naturally information-hungry people with insatiable curiosities. What had caused the mood in the room? He needed to know.

The merchant glanced over his shoulder. "What do you want?" he whispered back.

"What is happening?" Lewis asked, leaning over the counter.

The merchant raised a brow. "You, of all people, don't know? Lewis, I'm disappointed in you," the merchant he had interacted with many times before said with a toothy smile. "I'll fill you in... for payment, of course."

Lewis winced—he had said that exact same line many times. After all, it was his job to be an information broker.

"Fine," Lewis whispered, pushing a few Yinxi Coins across the counter.

The merchant sneakily grabbed the coins and leaned in to spill the tea. "Rumour has it the Princess of the Ashfallen Sect will be arriving here any minute now."

Lewis raised a brow. "The Ashfallen Sect? That Divine-level sect that appeared recently?"

"Indeed, and you know what else?" he smirked. "She is filthy rich."

Lewis slowly nodded. There had been many rumors and stories floating around about the Princess—but ultimately, very little was known about her. However, the Ashfallen Sect was famed as a powerhouse in the pill industry who, in a single year, managed to make the Golden Dragon Alchemy Guild, which had dominated the market until now, seem second class.

"What is she doing coming here?" Lewis wondered. As the heiress to such a powerful sect, what could she possibly need from the Trade Hall?

The merchant shrugged. "No idea, but with the beast tide arriving any day now, we all have stock we wish to dispose of. I'd even be willing to sell some pieces at a massive discount at this point."

Lewis nodded. Not all of them could afford spatial rings like the noble cultivators, and the airships didn't have any space on them for warehouses full of unsold inventory. He leaned back, now understanding the mood in the room.

A golden goose was about to walk in and may offer them a lifeline.

He glanced around. Beside the awaiting merchants, the Trade Hall was empty. All the customers had evacuated through the portals to the new city.

The merchants are playing a dangerous game here. There's no telling when those portals will close and if they will be stranded here. He glanced around the room. I assume some have struck backroom deals to get aboard the last of the airships, but still. Do they really think one person is going to come in here and buy up everything? For that to happen, they would have to be a Yinxi millionaire.

Lewis sat back and waited. A while passed, and the mood in the Trade Hall became restless. Overhearing a few murmurs, it seemed a few merchants were starting to have doubts that such a VIP would really show up to the Trade Hall themselves.

He had to agree. The Trade Hall was the kind of place cultivators would send their subordinates. It was a loud and disorganized place. Not somewhere a sheltered princess of a Divine-level sect would bother to tread.

Hold on.

Lewis wasn't a high-stage cultivator, but anyone would notice the sudden pressure coming from outside. Everyone stared intently at the open doorway as a cultivator effortlessly touched down—without the aid of a flying sword.

A Nascent Soul Realm cultivator? Lewis thought with surprise. Most people went their entire lives without witnessing so much as the shadow of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. They were the people of legends.

The cultivator pulled back their hood—their identity was unmistakable.

It was the Celestial Warden of the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion. Having given a speech while floating about the city, his appearance was now well-known even among the merchants.

Lewis ran out from behind the counter and felt the eyes of everyone in the Trade Hall on him. Pausing a respectful distance away, he threw his body into a still 90-degree bow. "Lotus Informant greets the Celestial Warden. Welcome to the Trade Hall."

"Raise your head, Lotus Informant."

He did as instructed in time to see a second cultivator touch down beside him, or was it a mortal? Lewis couldn't feel any Qi from them at all, yet they were using a flying sword. In their arms was some small creature with bright blue eyes that was undoubtedly in the Star Core Realm.

The second cultivator pulled back the tattered hood of their cloak, revealing a young woman with a flawless face, short blonde hair, and sharp pink eyes. He also noticed red maple leaf earrings dangling from her ears and an intricate-looking black pendant hanging from her neck.

Is she...?

"I'm here to accompany the Ashfallen Sect's Princess on her shopping trip," the Celestial Warden said, answering his unasked question.

Excitement exploded through the room—the rumors had come true.

The Princess stepped forward and set the little monster down. Straightening back up, she scanned the room. "Merchants," she said in a more commanding tone than anyone had anticipated, and the room fell deathly silent. "I want to buy every single spirit stone. If you deal in spirit stones, step forward now."

A few merchants standing beside carts full of spirit stones stepped forward, but one took center stage. Lewis knew him as the largest seller of spirit stones in the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion.

"My name is Oswin the 4th, and I represent the Wilson family." A portly man gave a deep bow. "Princess, we have millions of high-grade spirit stones still in stock. How many do you wish to purchase?"

"Did I not make myself clear? I want all of them," the Princess replied without hesitation, with annoyance in her tone.

Oswin rubbed his hands together, a hesitant look on his face. "Princess, our entire inventory is valued at three million spirit stones. Do you have the means for such a purchase?"

Amazed whispers spread throughout the room. Such an exorbitant amount of inventory was why the Wilson family could dominate the spirit stone market. Who else could possibly compete with so much stock?

But that also means he's the one at risk of losing the most. I'm not sure how much he had stored in Nightshade City, but the beast tide is bound to wipe out a solid amount of their stock.

"Tsk," the Princess clicked her tongue. As expected, the amount was too much for her. "You really have so little?" She pointed at the other merchants standing behind him. "How much do all of you have combined?"

The room was stunned into silence.

"Not going to answer me?" The Princess was getting increasingly annoyed.

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The merchants exchanged a look, and after muttering some numbers, one of them gave the figure. "About a million Yinxi Coins' worth, Your Highness."

"Mhm," she tapped her chin, "I suppose that might be enough."

Lewis was in disbelief. He knew the Ashfallen Sect sold a lot of pills, but who the hell had four million Yinxi Coins to throw around? Forget being a Yinxi Coin millionaire—she seemed to have enough wealth to move mountains!

"I want to buy all of them," she said casually. "Go on, bring your stock here."

Oswin seemed too stunned to speak. His eyes were wide, his mouth opening and closing, yet unable to string together a sentence.

A younger merchant standing behind him stepped forward with resolve. "Princess, bringing such a vast amount of stock here is simply impossible. It will take weeks to fulfill such a giant order—time we don't have."

Lewis found himself nodding in agreement. Moving millions of spirit stones was no small matter. The logistics behind such an order would require a significant amount of planning and time to fulfill. Her demands were too unreasonable.

The Princess let out a long sigh. Waving her hand in the air, one of her many silver spatial rings flashed, and a dozen communication jades appeared, floating in the air. Flicking her finger, the communication jades flew and paused before the merchants.

"Take these with you to wherever you are storing the spirit stones. Speak into it, and someone on the other end from the Ashfallen Sect will arrange the transportation." She raised her finger. "However, since your incompetence burdens us, I will only pay 3 million for all of the spirit stones."

That ultimatum snapped the Wilson family merchant out of his stupor. "What?!" Oswin shouted. "Such a massive discount is not possible."

"Do you think I'm a fool?" The Princess said, crossing her arms. "You just admitted yourself that you don't have enough time to move all the spirit stones. But I do. Either you sell them to me or surrender them to the beasts."

"But such a discount..." the merchant cursed under his breath.

"2.5 million now," the Princess said, smirking. "Keep complaining, and it will drop further."

"I'll take the deal!" the younger merchant said quickly.

"Good," the Princess nodded. The communication jade that floated in the air before that merchant lowered and dropped into his waiting hand. "Anyone else?"

The other merchants soon caved under the pressure. It was true; they had no choice but to accept whatever scraps the Princess offered them. The only one left resisting was the Wilson family merchant.

"You're a devil," Oswin hissed through his teeth.

Lewis blinked, and the Princess vanished from where she had been standing in a flash of white. Frantically looking around, he saw her behind the Wilson family merchant.

"Trust me, I can be far worse," she whispered in his ear, making the man freeze in place—terror gripping his features. "If I were you, I'd accept my generosity while I'm still being nice. Besides, it's not like you can take these Yinxi Coins to the afterlife... trust me, I've seen it."

With that, she returned to where she had been standing a moment ago as though nothing had happened. Meanwhile, the Wilson family merchant had gone as white as a sheet, and his hands were trembling.

"I..." he gulped. "The Wilson family accepts the offer. But I need payment upfront—"

The Princess snapped open her gem-encrusted pendant. "Done," she said a few seconds later, closing it again. "You have all been paid."

In disbelief, the merchants opened their pendants, and their expressions were all the confirmation Lewis needed. The Princess had so casually transferred 2.5 million Yinxi Coins, a truly eye-watering sum.

"Go on now," she gestured for them to shoo. "Get me my spirit stones."

The merchants scurried off.

She then crouched before the little blue-eyed monster and passed it her gem-encrusted pendant. "You have a budget of two million Yinxi Coins, okay? Buy whatever you need. I'm heading home."

Reality suddenly began to ripple and fracture behind her as though unseen claws from beyond the veil were tearing the very fabric of existence. A portal yawned open—not one born of spatial Qi, but a spiraling abyss of desolation collapsing inward.

The Princess glared at all the remaining merchants while patting the monster's head. "Treat my subordinate here with respect—I don't wish to return here and deal with any more nonsense." With that said, she strode through the portal.

Yet moments passed, and the portal stayed open.

Lewis slowly backed away from it. For some reason, he had a bad feeling...

His intuition turned out to be correct as what could only be described as a horde of those blue-eyed monsters poured through. Some were waving around parchments that, at a glance, appeared to be shopping lists.

Retreating behind the counter, Lewis watched the chaos unfold as the monsters switched between haggling with merchants and threatening them. He even saw a few trying to steal stock while nobody was watching. Piling items on their heads, they ran through the still-open portal, only to return a moment later to buy more.

"Somehow, I feel like the Princess was easier to deal with than this," he muttered to himself. Today would undoubtedly go down as a legend in the Eternal Pursuit Trading Hall's history.

For all the wrong reasons.

***

Stella hadn't actually gone home. Instead, she was silently stalking her prey through the aether—a particular pot-bellied merchant from the Wilson family. Violence within the pavilion was naturally banned, and with the Celestial Warden accompanying her, she had remained calm and collected.

However, outside the pavilion? Anything was fair game. When she had teleported behind him and whispered in his ear, she had also inserted a slither of her aether Qi into his clothes to track him.

She laughed to herself. This was like a treasure hunt.

"I still don't get it. How are you so sure Oswin Wilson is going to take the Yinxi Coins and run?" Ash asked her curiously.

"I don't know for sure," Stella said honestly. "It's mostly a hunch based on how he acted, as I don't think he had the authority to auction off so many spirit stones for that cheap. The fact he eventually accepted the deal, but only if I paid upfront, made me suspicious."

"I somehow doubt that. There's no way he really thinks he can double-cross our sect and get away with it."

"I've heard of the Wilson family before. They are titans of the Wilderness spirit stone market and big players within the Tainted Cloud Sect. While we did wipe out the Lunarshade family, the rest of our feats haven't reached their ears yet," Stella paused. "Actually, even if they did, I bet they would use the Tainted Cloud Sect as a shield and run for the hills."

"So you plan to deal with it before it comes to that?"

Stella nodded. "Yeah, I'm just going to cut to the chase and rob them."

"...rob them? Even if they don't plan to double-cross us?"

Stella didn't understand Ash's questioning tone. "Yeah, of course! Why should I have to spend my hard-earned Yinxi Coins on spirit stones?"

"Hard-earned?" Ash laughed. "Douglas was the one who did all the heavy lifting."

Stella frowned. "I was the one who had to suffer through a meeting to land that deal. Douglas just commanded the Mudcloaks to construct some houses. I'd argue we are even."

"Fine. What about the other merchants? Are you going to rob them too?"

"Of course not," Stella replied. "That sounds like way too much of a hassle for so many small fry. Did you not see how there were at least ten of them? I'll just deal with the biggest one and accept that I've paid the others a below-market price for their spirit stones."

"I guess that makes sense..."

"Hold on, I think we are here," Stella said. It had taken almost a full day of tailing an airship, but they had arrived at a nondescript mountain far from Nightshade City. She emerged from the aether a fair distance away and hid within the canopy of a random tree. Due to her Phantom Veil Amulet, she didn't give off any Qi signature, so she wasn't worried about being spotted. Peering through the leaves, she watched as the airship carrying the merchant from the Wilson family she had made a deal with, along with numerous guards, docked with a random stone pillar jutting out the mountainside.

"Are we still within your root range, Ash?"

"Yeah, just about. Hold on, there's a lot of cultivators hiding around the mountain."

"I'd also heavily guard a place that contains millions of spirit stones. How many are we talking?"

"Let me see... at least a few dozen Star Core Realms and layers of defensive and Qi-detecting formations covering the entire mountain. No wonder I never detected this place. It's a total dead zone."

Stella clicked her tongue in annoyance. The presence of cultivators didn't bother her, but the formations would make entering and leaving quietly a hassle. While she did plan to rob them, it would be ideal if word of it being the Ashfallen Sect didn't get out.

A good reputation was important, you know?

"Wait, Ash, can you break in and steal the spirit stones?"

"Not without tripping the Qi detection formation."

"I see," Stella said, silently jumping down to the forest floor below like a cat. Rolling her shoulders, she grinned. This was going to be a fun challenge. "Don't move in just yet, Ash—let me hunt the merchant and retrieve my money first," she said, withdrawing her sword and fading back into the aether.

"After that, we can take them for everything they have."

***

Oswin Wilson docked with his family's largest stronghold. Not because he was coming here to retrieve any spirit stones, but to arrange their escape.

"What an idiot that Princess was," Oswin chuckled as he strode down a stone tunnel that pulsed softly with a silver glow from the many formations. "Did she really think I would sell so many spirit stones for below market price? So long as I make it to the settlement in the Qi-deprived lands far away from the Ashfallen Sect's clutches, there is nothing she can do about it but get scolded by her daddy for wasting so many Yinxi Coins."

He spat to the side in disgust. "What a stupid brat. I hope she and the rest of that sect continue being fools and try to survive the beat tide. That way, they will be dealt with."

While he recognized that stealing from the Ashfallen Sect was risky... If everything went right, he would have almost doubled his family's fortune without losing anything in the process.

He grinned. "That Princess was way easier to steal from than I expected."

While absorbed in his own world and victories, Oswin overlooked the cultivators behind him, vanishing without a trace.