If this were back in that wretched place, the Immortal Nexus, Lu Yang would absolutely never dare to have such thoughts. After all, his own journey to attain the golden core and ascend to his position had been extremely arduous.
However, in the [Celestial Court], it was a different matter entirely.
Because dao fruits in the [Celestial Court] can be bought!
Although the price is astronomical, I happen to have a project in hand that can accumulate funds rapidly. Given time, it might not be impossible to afford one.
Besides, I don't need him to hold it for a long time. Even if he can hold it for a single breath, as long as he can use it to become an orthodox perfected lord of the [Celestial Court], my [Disciple Becomes the Master's Standard] talent will activate, synchronizing all the perfected lord-level dao comprehension corresponding to that dao fruit, turning it into my own foundation.
With this thought, Lu Yang's heart burned with anticipation.
Meanwhile, with the second additional issuance, the explosive popularity of the Carefree Talisman swept through the first to fifth layers of the [Celestial Court]. Countless stories of overnight riches were born from it.
A large number of cultivators began to enter the market.
Soon, the Carefree Talismans on the market were once again snapped up in a frenzy. The price climbed like a soaring giant dragon, further igniting the enthusiasm of the cultivators.
After all, no one would turn down money.
However, as the scale grew larger, this storm became more and more exaggerated, finally reaching the heavens and alarming the immortal lords on the upper layers of the [Celestial Court].
Eighth Layer of the [Celestial Court].
Apart from the ninth layer, which served as the dao domain of Immortal Venerable Taiyin, the eighth layer was the decision-making level of the [Celestial Court], a place used by the major immortal lords for discussions.
At this moment, inside a grand hall on the eighth layer.
As streaks of divine sense broke through the void and lit up the dao platforms, the originally empty hall instantly manifested one towering figure after another.
Except for the Taiyin seat which remained empty.
Immortal lords governing the other five dao lineages of the [Celestial Court]—Taiyang, Yangming, Shaoyang, Shaoyin, and Jueyin—were all present. Their number had clearly exceeded ten.
"There has been a lot of activity in the lower realms recently."
"Have you heard? Those Unorthodox cultivators in the lower realms seem to have come up with something new recently called the Carefree Talisman. The price has been speculated quite high."
"Still talking about the lower realms? Shaoyin is dead! Daoyan is also dead!"
"Qingyang, you seem very sad. Were you close to them?"
"Close my ass! I heard they were going to the Immortal Nexus to execute a mission as the vanguard, so I heavily invested in their immortal talismans. Now I've lost everything!"
An immortal lord said angrily. His name was Qingyang, and he was also a Taiyang position immortal lord. However, unlike Immortal Lord Daoyan, he was in the intermediate position of Taiyang Residing in the Spring.
In the [Celestial Court], a dao lineage was divided into Governing Heaven and Residing in the Spring.
Governing Heaven was above, Residing in the Spring was below. This was a watershed. Then, within the same position, there was a distinction between primary position and intermediate position, which was another watershed.
And the intermediate position of Residing in the Spring was the trashiest position in a dao lineage. Placed in the Immortal Nexus, it would be a fourth-grade perfected lord, only slightly stronger than an Unorthodox perfected lord.
So for Immortal Lord Qingyang, his biggest dream was for the price of the Qingyang Immortal Talisman he issued to skyrocket, allowing him to afford a dao fruit of the primary position of Residing in the Spring. For this, he had invested a lot of money in immortal talismans under various immortal lords' names, especially Immortal Lord Shaoyin and Immortal Lord Daoyan.
But now, not only was it all gone, but it even affected his own Qingyang Immortal Talisman.
Although he could still make new immortal talismans, the drop in value meant he had to make up for it with quantity, significantly increasing the energy and cost required.
After all, unlike Unorthodox immortal talismans, the immortal talismans of Orthodox immortal lords contained a trace of dao fruit concept. In large amounts, they were helpful to a perfected lord's cultivation; otherwise, they wouldn't have such a high price, and these perfected lords wouldn't need to hoard immortal talismans issued by others.
Thinking of this, Immortal Lord Qingyang sighed again.
Seeing him like this, another immortal lord laughed. "Qingyang, if you've lost too badly recently, I think you should pay more attention to the lower realms."
"What do you mean?"
Immortal Lord Qingyang was stunned. Then he saw the speaking immortal lord wave his hand, and a streak of divine sense explained the recent sudden emergence of the Carefree Talisman in detail.
"I have to admit, a talent has appeared in the Unorthodox Alliance."
"I checked. The other party is a newcomer, quite capable. He's a first-generation Unorthodox perfected lord who attained the dao himself, more powerful than those we raised domestically."
"This Carefree Talisman..."
Immortal Lord Qingyang pondered carefully for a moment, then smiled. "Interesting. Speculating on the price? Can it really be speculated to the same price as an Orthodox immortal talisman?"
"In my opinion, it's very possible."
"At least [Daoyan]'s immortal talisman has already been surpassed by it. Shaoyin is just a matter of time. And this result will inevitably further boost market confidence."
"However, the essence of this Carefree Talisman is still Unorthodox. Its value cannot compare to our Orthodox immortal talismans which contain dao fruit concepts. It's rising so rapidly now only because enough people are entering the market. It can't last forever. Once it reaches a critical point, I believe it will crash immediately."
"So what?"
"Whether the price of this thing crashes or not is actually up to us. As long as we coordinate well, we can completely take this opportunity to make a huge profit."
Immortal Lord Qingyang's eyes grew brighter and brighter:
"After all, an immortal talisman is endorsed by the immortal lord behind it. The stronger the immortal lord's strength and the deeper their cultivation, the higher the value of the immortal talisman naturally is."
"So, wanting to suppress the price of this Carefree Talisman and make it crash is actually very simple. As long as any one of us steps out and publicly defeats that Unorthodox perfected lord who issued the Carefree Talisman, humiliating him severely, the price of the Carefree Talisman will inevitably crash that very night."
"And this timing is up to us."
"Before that, we can completely go with the flow and actively promote the growth of the Carefree Talisman... The higher its price, the more we earn!"
"Wait until we collect the money and leave the market, then strike down its price."
"However, this is an Unorthodox immortal talisman after all. Although it will fall below the issue price, it will definitely rebound afterward. We can just buy another batch when it's at rock bottom."
"When it rebounds, whether we resell it or hold it for a long term... it will be enough to easily manipulate this newly arrived Unorthodox perfected lord."
Amidst the words, an opportunity took shape.
For the immortal lords of the [Celestial Court], these were customary methods. Every once in a while, they would use similar methods to harvest the lower layers.
Every time the immortal lords of the upper layers were short on cash, they would use this invisible giant hand. The effect was tried and true.
"Not bad, not bad."
The immortal lords present nodded one after another, approving of this plan.
Finally, the leader of this meeting, an old man who looked kind and benevolent with white hair and a youthful face, spoke up. He smiled at Immortal Lord Qingyang:
"Qingyang, I'm at ease when you handle things."
"Then let's do it this way. However, with Shaoyin and Daoyan fallen, we still need to focus our energy on military matters recently. You handle this matter."
"This subordinate accepts the order!"
Immortal Lord Qingyang hurriedly cupped his hands in agreement.
After all, the old man was named [Duxuan]. Despite his appearance, he was actually the head of the subordinates under Immortal Venerable Taiyin, the veritable second-in-command of the [Celestial Court].
An immortal lord of the Taiyang Governing Heaven intermediate position.
If not for the fact that the Taiyang Governing Heaven primary position belonged to a supreme dao fruit and couldn't be bought even with great dao immortal talismans, this Immortal Lord Duxuan might also be an Immortal Venerable.
Soon, the meeting ended, and streaks of divine sense withdrew.
…
Sixth Layer of the [Celestial Court]. Immortal Lord Qingyang opened his eyes inside his seclusion cave abode, his gaze burning: "Being of the same Taiyang lineage, it seems there is still some sentiment."
"Immortal Lord Duxuan knows that I've hurt my vitality and lost too much this time, so he deliberately gave me a chance to make a huge profit through that Carefree Talisman in the lower layers. Moreover, with Daoyan dead... the Taiyang Residing in the Spring primary position is vacant. Immortal Lord Duxuan might even have thoughts of letting me replace him."
Thinking of this, Immortal Lord Qingyang instantly became excited.
Looking at the price of the Carefree Talisman again, he only hated himself for not paying attention to the lower layers earlier and buying late. Otherwise, buying earlier, wouldn't he have earned even more?
"Time waits for no one, I must invest heavily!"