Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 617: Chapter 617: Inviting Me to Be the Leader of the Outer Dao?

Inside the Righteous Banner, Lü Yang sat cross-legged.

Across from him, Demon-Vanquishing Perfected stood with a sword in hand, his eyes slightly closed. He was reviewing the Divine Sense Lü Yang had just sent him, which detailed his current situation.

After a long while, Demon-Vanquishing Perfected slowly looked up.

"Daoist, I generally understand what you are doing now."

He was from the Sword Pavilion, after all, and possessed the fundamental qualities of a Sword Species. Thus, with just one look, he had grasped the operational logic of the Celestial Mansion.

However, it was precisely because of this that he frowned deeply.

’Although the Wuyou Talisman you’ve issued keeps rising in value, it’s bound to collapse sooner or later. The only result is that it’s continuously absorbing funds from Lower Cultivators.’

’Once it crashes, the consequences will likely be irreversible. You might be able to amass a fortune from this, but the Foundation Establishment, Qi Refining, and even mortal cultivators below will lose everything. They’ll forfeit their fortunes and their very lives... The karmic sin from this slaughter would be immense. Daoist, are you truly going to do this?’

Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s expression was grave.

As the Banner Spirit of the Righteous Banner, he shouldn’t have said such things. But he said them anyway, calmly voicing his doubts to Lü Yang.

’Did I misjudge him?’

’A storm like this would cause a slaughter no less devastating than a great massacre, and all without spilling a drop of blood... It’s just too clean, too perfect.’

That’s right. Even Demon-Vanquishing Perfected had to admit that Lü Yang’s execution was brilliant. Yet, the more brilliant it was, the more horrified he became. His gaze on Lü Yang was more solemn than ever, as if he wanted to dissect him, to peer into his heart and understand his true intentions.

The next second, Lü Yang smiled.

"Rest easy, Daoist. I have no interest in the poor."

Lü Yang said with a sincere expression, "What is there to squeeze from the poor? If you’re going to squeeze someone, squeeze the rich. Those Immortal Monarchs in the upper echelons are my real targets."

As he spoke, Lü Yang took out the [Celestial Mansion Pass].

Through it, one could observe and manipulate the exchange rates, spreads, and transactions of all Immortal Talismans in the entire Celestial Mansion, essentially reflecting the overall market trend.

"The Wuyou Talisman has been rising for a long time."

Lü Yang lightly tapped the [Celestial Mansion Pass] and said with a smile, "By now, most of the Lower Cultivators have already been forced out of the game by the great lords above."

After all, the Wuyou Talisman was just too expensive now.

It was so expensive that individual investors could no longer afford to play. Most of the Wuyou Talismans were now concentrated in the hands of the upper-echelon Immortal Monarchs, and they were the ones still driving up the price.

Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s gaze gradually brightened. "Are you saying..."

Lü Yang continued, "Daoist, what do you think the goal is for those Immortal Monarchs from the Celestial Mansion’s Sixth Layer and above to concentrate the Wuyou Talismans in their own hands?"

Demon-Vanquishing Perfected thought for a moment before stating with certainty, "To harvest the lower levels, still."

Although the individual investors are out, they’re only one part of the lower levels. There are still numerous Immortal Races and Sects. Besides, if they can’t afford it, can’t they just take out loans?

"Exactly."

Lü Yang nodded. "What they want to do is simply drain all the funds from the lower levels, leaving behind a massive pit, and make a huge profit for themselves."

"But there will be a window of opportunity in all this."

"Right before they’re about to exit the market, after having collected the vast majority of the Wuyou Talismans, if I can make the price of the talismans plummet..."

"...then they’ll be stuck holding the bag!"

At this point, a vicious smile finally appeared on Lü Yang’s face. After this one move, he would have enough funds to purchase the Fruit.

After hearing Lü Yang’s plan, Demon-Vanquishing Perfected thought it over again, then shook his head.

"No, that’s not right. Given the Wuyou Talisman’s current trend, how can you control its crash? They’ve basically already taken control of the Wuyou Talisman’s exchange rate."

The vast majority of Wuyou Talismans on the market are controlled by the upper echelon, so the price is subject to the whims of those Immortal Monarchs. As long as the Immortal Monarchs holding them don’t sell, continue to hold, and stabilize the price, the Wuyou Talisman will have a hard time falling—unless something happens to Lü Yang himself.

"Because of that, there are definitely people watching you."

Demon-Vanquishing Perfected’s brow was tightly furrowed. "You won’t have any ’accidents’ before they start their harvest. And even if something did happen, the news would be immediately suppressed."

"I know."

Lü Yang smiled and revealed his plan. "That’s why I plan... at the critical moment, to issue another one billion units of Wuyou Talismans into the market!"

A billion! A whole billion!

Demon-Vanquishing Perfected reacted instantly. "A billion? You’re going to release them all at once?"

"No, in batches." Lü Yang shook his head. "Fishing requires a gradual approach. You have to know when to let out the line. Releasing them in batches will make them keep raising the stakes."

Speaking of which, Lü Yang couldn’t help but rub his chin. "Besides, those Immortal Monarchs at the top would never expect me to issue a billion Wuyou Talismans. Just producing Immortal Talismans on the scale of a billion takes a lot of time... What a pity. They have sorely underestimated my world-shaking intellect."

For this, Progenitor Tingyou has been working unpaid overtime for two years straight.

"Once a billion Wuyou Talismans flow into the market, the upper-echelon Immortal Monarchs won’t be able to prop it up. The price of the Wuyou Talisman will inevitably plummet, triggering a chain reaction."

In the end, a total collapse!

However, the ones affected by this crash won’t be the cultivators at the bottom, but those high and mighty lords who think they can harvest the masses!

"As expected of someone from the Stain Sect..." Demon-Vanquishing Perfected couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

"You flatter me, you flatter me." Lü Yang waved his hand dismissively.

The Stain Sect had used similar methods on Qi Refining Talents many times before. Lü Yang just hadn’t specialized in this area, so his methods were a bit crude.

If it were one of the true masters of speculation, their methods would be more subtle and much more elaborate.

’From this, I can see that the Celestial Mansion’s [Money Fruit Position], and indeed its entire market system, isn’t yet perfect. That Taiyin Immortal Venerable hasn’t held the Void Certificate for long...’

Just then, Lü Yang suddenly felt something and looked up.

Immediately after, a streak of Flying Light landed outside his Quiet Chamber of seclusion. A Divine Sense transmission arrived: "Fellow Daoist Ming He, Zhi Lei of the Outer Dao Alliance has come to pay a visit."

The Outer Dao Alliance? An Outer Dao True Monarch?

Lü Yang’s eyebrow twitched. He immediately put away the Righteous Banner, ambled out of the Quiet Chamber, and said with a smile, "So it is Daoist Zhi Lei. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Before him stood a man with rugged features.

The man gave a stiff bow and said, "In response to the Daoist... no, Lord Ming He, this humble one has come on behalf of the Perfected Lords of the Outer Dao Alliance to show our sincerity."

"Sincerity?" Lü Yang’s interest was piqued.

"Indeed." Zhi Lei nodded, then said gravely, "Our Alliance Leader, Mountain Mover, has voluntarily stepped down from his position due to poor market plays."

"Afterward, we had a discussion."

"And we unanimously agreed that the position of Alliance Leader should be held by the strongest, most cultivated, and wealthiest of the Outer Dao True Monarchs—you, Lord Ming He!"

The moment he finished speaking, Lü Yang was stunned.

’Why does this feel like I’m being handpicked... Choosing me to be the spokesperson for the Outer Dao in the Celestial Mansion?’

’This isn’t good, is it?’

Seeing the hesitation on Lü Yang’s face, Zhi Lei’s heart tightened. He hurriedly said, "My lord, there are actually benefits to joining our Outer Dao Alliance!"

Lü Yang shot him a glance and thought to himself:

’A bunch of Outer Dao members. What benefits could you possibly have?’

Seeing Lü Yang’s disbelief, Zhi Lei took a deep breath and continued, "My lord, please don’t be skeptical... The history of our Outer Dao Alliance can be traced back to the very beginning of the Celestial Mansion!"

"Among the Outer Dao True Monarchs who founded the Outer Dao Alliance, several lines have been passed down through the generations. The earliest among them is said to have arrived when the Celestial Mansion was first established. He personally witnessed the scene of its creation and recorded it in what is called the [Path Opening Map]—it is the supreme treasure of our Outer Dao Alliance!"

At these words, Lü Yang’s eyes finally narrowed.