Retracting his consciousness from the Immortal Nexus, Lu Yang frowned tightly.
Only after a long time did he couldn't help but curse in a low voice within his heart:
What a bastard!
He didn't dare to say it out loud.
After all, heaven knew if the Saint Sect ancestor was watching him. If he cursed out loud and the ancestor heard it—what if he made his life difficult?
Up to this point, Lu Yang had figured it out—Back then, he was plotted against by the Pure Land, ambushed by Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao, and finally chose to flee to the [Celestial Court]. Behind this, there was very likely a mastermind, and this mastermind, unexpectedly, was his most respected Saint Sect ancestor.
This is wanting me to cause trouble in the [Celestial Court].
Lu Yang sighed in his heart: The thousand-year great tribulation is approaching. The Saint Sect ancestor threw me behind enemy lines to sabotage. In a sense, he thinks highly of me.
Besides, this was also beneficial to him.
After all, the Six Qi Dao Fruits of the Celestial Court and the Immortal Nexus were like two sides of Yin and Yang, complementing each other. Moreover, the Celestial Court followed rules, which was truly a good place for him to develop.
I do the tasks, I bear the risks.
The Celestial Court gives the benefits, the Celestial Court compensates for losses.
The ancestor is indeed the ancestor. After this set of schemes, he doesn't need to pay anything himself, and I still have to thank him when I return.
However, on second thought, this could be considered the Saint Sect style.
I gave you the opportunity. If you can't get it and die, you can only blame yourself for lacking ability. The Saint Sect doesn't raise trash; only those who compete and survive are Saint Sect people.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang began to inspect himself internally again.
In the past two years, he had absorbed a large amount of dao comprehension relying on [Disciple Becomes the Master's Standard], only lacking a critical point. He felt he could refine a second true treasure soon.
This critical point is perfected lord-level dao comprehension.
I need a disciple to achieve the status of an Orthodox immortal lord of the [Celestial Court], preferably of the Taiyang lineage, so I can synchronize their dao comprehension and go a step further.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang finally shifted his attention.
How is the market for the Carefree Talisman?
To cultivate an Orthodox immortal lord of the [Celestial Court] in a short time, the Carefree Talisman, which had skyrocketed in value, was the key. He had high hopes for this.
However, he soon frowned.
"Growth rate... declined."
Originally, after the upper-layer immortal lords entered the market, the exchange rate of the Carefree Talisman shot straight towards the 900 mark. But the closer it got to 900, the slower the growth rate became.
Although it was still rising, Lu Yang had already seen something was wrong.
"It's approaching saturation."
Lu Yang stroked his chin. Given the current popularity of the Carefree Talisman, the decline in growth was certainly not because people woke up and felt the Carefree Talisman was going to fall.
But because the idle capital were empty.
"1:854. This exchange rate has absorbed almost all the idle capital below the sixth layer of the Celestial Court. Even cultivators above the sixth layer should have invested a lot."
In other words—no one had money anymore.
The vast majority of cultivators had exchanged their Unorthodox immortal talismans for Carefree Talismans, so even if they wanted to continue raising the price, they didn't have that much money.
"It's about to reach the end."
"Under these circumstances, unless cultivators above the sixth layer are also dragged in, bringing Orthodox immortal talismans into the battle, it will be difficult for the price of the Carefree Talisman to rise further."
Thinking of this, Lu Yang's eyes brightened slightly.
"After rising to this point, there is obviously a problem. It should be the immortal lords above the sixth layer intervening, wanting to use the Carefree Talisman to harvest a wave of leeks?"
If that were truly the case, then perhaps it would come soon.
"I can see that the Carefree Talisman is approaching its limit. I believe the perfected lords above the sixth layer can also see it clearly. Unless unexpected, they are about to close the net soon."
At this moment, someone must already be selling Carefree Talismans.
However, the other party should be doing it very carefully, shipping in batches to avoid triggering a crash in advance... Once they finished shipping, it would be the beginning of the thunderclap.
The problem was, how would they make the price crash?
Let nature take its course? That would be too passive. Since they had left the market, they naturally wanted to trigger a crash immediately; otherwise, if the price continued to rise, wouldn't they earn less?
"They want to pit me big this time..."
Lu Yang sneered, stroking the Carefree Talisman in his hand: "...Perfect. Since you came, then don't leave. Leave all your money behind!"
In the next second, Lu Yang suddenly felt something and looked up:
"...Ha!"
As he expected.
…
Unorthodox Alliance, Outside Mengwei City.
At this moment, thousands of rays of brilliance fell from above the sixth layer, accompanied by a towering figure. Like the rising sun patrolling the sky, it hung with a boom above Mengwei City.
"Ah! It's an Immortal Lord!"
"Immortal Lord descends!?"
Instantly, the endless light made the cultivators in Mengwei City cover their eyes, shedding scalding tears amidst the burning pain.
At the same time, from the sixth layer of the Celestial Court downwards, concepts appeared in the sky of every layer. A large number of immortal talismans were spent to buy a full-screen broadcast below the sixth layer. Iridescent colors interwove in each layer, steaming the sea of clouds, and finally projected and announced everything happening in Mengwei City.
"I am Qingyang!"
Above the dome of the sky, Immortal Lord Qingyang's gaze was calm—his voice like thunder. Lu Yang could see the reason for the Carefree Talisman's slowed growth, and naturally, he could see it too.
So he was very clear:
The leeks have grown enough; it's time to harvest.
Now, the exchange rate of the Carefree Talisman to the Unorthodox immortal talisman was over eight hundred times. This was already the standard that an immortal talisman issued by a mid-stage immortal lord of the [Celestial Court] could reach.
Extremely overvalued.
Under these circumstances, unless there was new good news and new retail investors entering the market, a crash was destined. Even the Immortal Venerable couldn't save it.
If not harvest now, then when?
"Where is Fellow Daoist Ming He?"
With this thought, Immortal Lord Qingyang continued immediately, "Fellow Daoist trespassed into the [Celestial Court] and issued the Carefree Talisman. You need to come with me to the sixth layer to accept an investigation."
This was a casual excuse.
The key was not the investigation, but destroying cultivators' confidence in the Carefree Talisman, letting them see clearly the fact that behind it was merely an Unorthodox perfected lord.
If the other party went with him, the market would inevitably sell off on a large scale in panic, and the Carefree Talisman would crash.
If the other party didn't go with him, then he would attack directly, beating the other party into a dead dog in public. In the end, the speed of the Carefree Talisman's crash would only be faster.
For this reason, Immortal Lord Qingyang specifically purchased the full-screen live broadcast below the sixth layer, just to drive down the price of the Carefree Talisman at the fastest speed.
At the same time, smart people had already realized his sinister intentions.
Inside the Unorthodox Alliance.
"Carefree Talisman, it's finished!"
Banshan sighed deeply. "It was indeed premeditated. An upper-layer immortal lord personally taking action... Fellow Daoist Ming He probably won't even be able to afford the residency fee in the future."
Soon, similar news spread rapidly.
"Was the Carefree Talisman originally refined by an Unorthodox perfected lord? I saw the quality was so good, I thought it was an Orthodox immortal lord... Unorthodox perfected lords aren't worth anything!"
"Fake news! It's all fake news!"
"Don't be afraid, just normal fluctuations, just a technical adjustment... So what if it's an Unorthodox perfected lord? Might not necessarily be incomparable to an Orthodox immortal lord!"
"Sell! I want to sell everything!"
At this moment, everyone had the same thought:
The Carefree Talisman is going to crash!
And amidst this rapidly spreading storm of falling prices, Lu Yang walked out of the seclusion hall and looked toward Immortal Lord Qingyang in the sky.
(End of Chapter)