64: Chapter 64 Amassing War Wealth

"Ahem, Fellow Daoist Cen, you know what I mean, right?"

Shen Moyan gave a light cough.

"Of course, but... this business is a bit too big." Cen Boliang looked hesitant, his mind wavering.

If they were discovered, they'd end up on the Guardians of Orthodoxy's blacklist.

"Fellow Daoist Cen, are you scared? Well? Are we doing this or not? Give me a straight answer." Shen Moyan said in a provoking tone.

"Do it! Of course we're doing it!"

"What kind of storm haven't I, Cen Boliang, weathered?! It's just fleecing the Holy Court, right? Fleece them! We'll take as much as we can before the war ends!"

"A crude provocation, but remarkably effective. Fellow Daoist Ren, are you satisfied now!" Cen Boliang said, his tone intense.

"Hehe..." Shen Moyan's gamble had paid off.

He had bet that Cen Boliang had contacts in the Mythical Tree Province who could transport goods from Langya Province there.

To encourage Cultivators to go to the front lines and slay demons, the Holy Court's official policy was to purchase Demon Cores from the Mythical Tree Province for at least five hundred Spirit Stones each.

The human heart is unpredictable. Human nature and morality simply cannot withstand the challenge of immense profit.

"However, we still need to prepare an escape route." Cen Boliang calmed down.

"Correct. If we are the only ones doing this, we are highly likely to draw the attention of the Guardians of Orthodoxy." Shen Moyan clarified the stakes.

"Fellow Daoist Cen, Demon Cores are selling for sky-high prices in the neighboring Mythical Tree Province. Do you know why the smuggling business in Langya Province has always been lukewarm?" Shen Moyan asked.

"Naturally, it's because no one wants to go to the Mythical Tree Province to die. Also, Langya Province is remote, the Wanbao Net's entry barrier is too high, and few Cultivators know about this." Cen Boliang blurted out.

Although the base number of Cultivators in Langya Province was large, ninety percent didn't have access to the Wanbao Net and were unaware of the war in the Mythical Tree Province or the soaring price of Demon Cores.

"Demon Cores on the Langya Province market are still at normal prices, not as crazy as on the Wanbao Net..."

Suddenly, Cen Boliang froze.

He looked at Shen Moyan, his eyes full of admiration.

"You want to manipulate the Langya Province market?"

"Not at all. The Langya Province market has been sluggish for a long time. I just want to inject a little vitality into it." Shen Moyan smiled, looking kind and harmless.

"Well now, I, Cen Boliang, certainly didn't misjudge you."

Cen Boliang narrowed his eyes slightly and immediately got up to close the windows and doors tightly.

What a terrifying person. Doesn't he fear the Guardians of Orthodoxy knocking on his door?

"We need to cast a wide net and get other Cultivators involved too." Shen Moyan lowered his voice.

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"Spread the news, but not on the Nine Songs Net or the Wanbao Net. That would make it easy for the authorities to track."

"No problem, leave it to me."

Cen Boliang closed his eyes. His paper figure Clones scattered in various locations all began to act, spreading information about the Mythical Tree Province battlefield and casually mentioning the Holy Court's high-price purchase of Demon Cores on the Wanbao Net.

A storm takes time to brew. All they could do was wait patiently.

Before the news spread widely, Shen Moyan and Cen Boliang bought up Demon Cores in large quantities from other merchant houses.

At that time, a First Tribulation Demon Core sold for only 50 Spirit Stones, and a Second Tribulation one for just 400.

A few more days passed. Cen Boliang, along with merchants who sensed the changing winds, began opening Money Shops everywhere.

They adjusted the Interest to a flat five percent per month—not too high, not too low—but the purpose was to allow Qi Gathering Realm Cultivators to take out loans, with the personal credit limit set precisely at one thousand Spirit Stones.

This enabled even the lowest-status Qi Gathering Realm Cultivators to access the Wanbao Net, verify the news, and take action.

Meanwhile, Shen Moyan was tirelessly tinkering with the Six Senses Fireflies. At first, he only produced a few hundred low-quality First Tribulation Demon Cores per day.

But as the number of large fireflies increased, he obtained at least several thousand Demon Cores daily.

"Excellent. Now the price of Demon Cores across the entire Langya Province is rising. A single First Tribulation Demon Core costs 200 Spirit Stones." Cen Boliang had just checked the market price, unable to hide the delight in his eyes. "The market price for Demon Cores has taken off."

Seeing the market price soar, Deng Jinhua frowned slightly.

He also took the Spirit Stones he had earned over the years and registered a Wanbao Net account.

"Someone is buying Demon Cores to resell in the Mythical Tree Province... Hiss, such an opportunity. How can I miss it?"

"Buy Demon Cores!" Without a second thought, Deng Jinhua placed an order.

In Langya Province, out of a hundred Cultivators who received the news, ninety-nine remained unmoved, but there was always one who wanted to seize the opportunity.

Given the massive population of Cultivators in Langya Province, this was a terrifyingly large number.

These days, more and more Cultivators were heading to the Mythical Tree Province via the Cross-Province Teleportation Arrays.

Even Qi Gathering Realm Cultivators were joining in.

Of course, this was exactly what the Holy Court authorities hoped to see.

At first, they thought their policies were working.

But after a while, the number of resisting Cultivators on the Mythical Tree Province front lines did not increase significantly and was even steadily retreating. The higher-ups sensed something was wrong.

Why were Cultivators carrying hundreds, even thousands, of Demon Cores through the teleportation arrays to the Mythical Tree Province?

Wrong! This is smuggling!

Hai Jiao Merchant House.

"Hahaha! Now a First Tribulation Demon Core in the Mythical Tree Province costs 600 Spirit Stones!"

"Even if the market price in Langya Province has risen to 400 Spirit Stones per core, with a 200 Spirit Stone price difference between the provinces, I'm still making a profit!"

Cen Boliang roared with laughter to the heavens.

"Go ahead, authorities, try to stop buying Demon Cores at high prices! Hahaha!"

This was an open conspiracy.

If the authorities terminated the high-price purchases in the Mythical Tree Province, it would inevitably demoralize the frontline demon-fighting forces.

But if they didn't stop the high-price purchases, the smuggling would continue unabated.

"Fellow Daoist Cen, were those twenty thousand mixed-quality Demon Cores of mine sold in the Mythical Tree Province this week?" Shen Moyan confirmed with the other man.

Up to now, he, Shen Moyan, had already earned over sixteen million Spirit Stones—a staggering sum.

What is exorbitant profit? This is exorbitant profit!

"Of course, sold. Net profit close to four million. According to our split, three for me, seven for you."

Receiving another 2.8 million Spirit Stones, Shen Moyan stored them away, his expression unchanged.

During these days, Shen San, carrying the Inscription Stones secretly delivered by Shen Moyan and using a breath concealing talisman, loitered around the cross-province Teleportation Grand Array.

Shen San's Divine Sense swept over the entire array as he silently activated his power, carefully copying the Array Patterns onto the stones.

Shen Er, using a breath concealing talisman, lay in wait for three days, knocked out a student from the Academy, disguised himself as him, and successfully infiltrated the Academy.

Shen Yi was also nearing Kongsang Prefecture.

The paper figure Clones were acting according to plan. Everything was proceeding methodically.

"Fellow Daoist Cen, it's time to exit."

Originally, Shen Moyan had planned to leave three years later.

But given the current situation, if they stayed any longer, the Guardians of Orthodoxy investigating the smuggling would trace it back to them within a few months.

"What do you mean 'exit'? I guarantee the price of Demon Cores on the front lines will keep rising!"

Cen Boliang grew agitated.

"My contacts on the front lines have seen it. This war can keep going! As long as it's not over, the price of Demon Cores won't drop for a single day!"

"Fellow Daoist Ren, hold steady! Keep the Demon Cores coming!"

Watching Cen Boliang's eyes grow increasingly greedy, Shen Moyan remained silent.

He knew that in his previous life, the Mythical Tree Province had fallen completely.

No matter how large the price difference between Demon Cores in Langya Province and the Mythical Tree Province was now, they would eventually equalize completely.