Chapter 64: War Materials Contract Trading, Clear Stream Market Horse Racing Festival |
Seven years was a long time. Yet for cultivators, it was nothing more than climbing a minor realm, refining a single magic treasure, or the mere beginning of a war.
Yes, it was merely the beginning. Over the past seven years, Wondrous Peak Mountain and the Valley Spirit Sect had fought so viciously that their brains were nearly bashed out, showing absolutely no intention of stopping.
Perhaps they couldn't stop even if they wanted to. Both sides continuously escalated the conflict and raised the stakes, to the point where the Valley Spirit Sect had once pushed all the way down to Wondrous Peak Mountain's sect gates.
Wondrous Peak Mountain had also widely distributed hero invitations, borrowing the aid of several thousand Qi Refining cultivators within the Red Lantern Illumination Sect to push the front lines back across the Hidden Dragon River.
However, the biggest winner of this war was Wang Xianzhou of the Wang Clan of Anbei Kingdom. He had slain over a hundred Qi Refining cultivators in battle, and along the way, he had effortlessly taken the life of a blind Foundation Establishment cultivator who had crossed his path.
Under the rules and regulations of the Immortal Alliance, Old Ancestor Xianzhu used his Peak Qi Condensation realm strength to teach both the Valley Spirit Sect and Wondrous Peak Mountain a harsh lesson. Faced with Wang Xianzhou's battle achievements, no matter how unwilling Wondrous Peak Mountain was, they could only obediently pay up.
But none of this had much to do with Yulou. He had solidly holed himself up in Clear Stream Market for seven long years.
What he did every day was nothing more than running his own shop, following Hongmei to study the artificing path, and exchanging insights with various Fellow Daoists. That was all.
In the main hall of Forge Peak Residence, a female cultivator wearing a lotus-pink magical robe pushed open the door and entered. Today, it was Yu'an's turn to tend the front of the shop.
Of course, this was only in front of outsiders. Around his eldest brother, Yu'an could always remain a carefree youth.
Seeing that Wang Yu'an was ignoring her, Cuiguo crossed the room in two or three steps, marching right up to slap the book out of his hand.
"Where is your brother?" Cuiguo asked, her face tight with irritation.
Wang Yu'an didn't get angry. He simply rolled his eyes and drawled, "Fellow Daoist, you are already walking the path of death. You must speak and act with caution, do you understand?"
Cuiguo was no longer the naive, scatterbrained little handmaiden of the past. With Zhou Yingxi backing her up, she pointed at Yu'an imposingly, put her hands on her hips, and angrily barked, "Don't change the subject, Wang Yu'an! That Wondrous Peak Mountain-Valley Spirit Sect war materials contract trading your brother and the Yang Clan are running—is there some kind of insider manipulation going on? My lady listened to your brother and bet two thousand eight hundred spirit stones, gambling that the two sides would remain locked in a stalemate for the next few months and that the prices of all those contracts would drop. But now, Wondrous Peak Mountain has pushed the front lines back, and the Valley Spirit Sect almost had to fight a second defensive battle for Hidden Dragon Market! This isn't what was agreed upon! Your brother has to give us an explanation!"
Over these past few years, although Yulou had refused the temptation to marry into her family, perhaps because they were peers of the same age, he and Zhou Yingxi had actually become quite good friends.
As for the Wondrous Peak Mountain-Valley Spirit Sect war materials contract trading, it was a special kind of futures market. The main commodities traded were items commonly required during magical combat by Qi Refining stage cultivators, such as Flying Fire Talismans and other standard talismans, Great Vitality Blood Pills, Spirit Opening Pills, and various other common medicinal pills and spiritual materials.
Initially, Yulou had merely used it to help the Wang Clan lock in the future prices of their goods, utilizing Wang Xianzhou—a human bulldozer capable of swaying the front lines by himself—to profit off the price difference.
For example, on the first day of the fifth month, the Wang Clan would place an order with Wu Jinyan's family for ten pieces of ninth-grade purple copper. The two sides would sign a purchase contract setting the price at 180 spirit stones per piece, with a delivery date set for the first day of the seventh month. But at the exact same time the order was placed, Wang Xianzhou would pull the Wang Clan's forces back from the front lines to rest. As a result, Wondrous Peak Mountain's front lines would immediately begin to destabilize.
By the middle of the fifth month, Wondrous Peak Mountain would find itself unable to hold out and would be forced to up the stakes, frantically issuing hero invitations to recruit Qi Refining cultivators. The price of purple copper would instantly spike by 10% or more. Consequently, the purple copper contracts in the Wang Clan's hands would appreciate by 10%.
Later, Yulou realized that this concept was practically identical to the futures markets of his past life, and that if utilized properly, it held massive potential. Once he confirmed that Wondrous Peak Mountain's unlucky sect master, Li Haiping, was determined to break through to the Purple Palace realm no matter how difficult it might be, Yulou pushed the Wang Clan to join forces with the Yang Clan to pull off an even grander scheme.
On the surface, the two Foundation Establishment Immortal Clans dispatched manpower to help Wondrous Peak Mountain stabilize the front lines. Behind the scenes, however, they quietly established this specialized war materials contract trading network. They set up a commodities exchange right next to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. Ostensibly, they were selling large quantities of war supplies at wholesale prices, but internally, they made their real fortune by matching clients together for contract trades and raking in transaction fees. Both families collected so many fees that their hands grew soft from counting profit.
While Wondrous Peak Mountain's front lines were facing a tight squeeze, Clear Stream Market was gorging itself in the rear. Since everyone was a colleague under the roof of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, there was no need to act like strangers.
"What do you mean it's not what was agreed upon? Don't spout nonsense!" Yu'an could only try to fob off this unreasonable girl. "Besides, I've also lost a ton of money recently. Cuiguo, you don't see me throwing a tantrum at my brother, do you?"
"You lost money too?" Cuiguo looked Yu'an up and down suspiciously.
Yu'an frowned, tilted his head slightly, and leaned back into his chair, immediately adopting a deeply sarcastic tone. "Right, right, right. I was wondering why you were acting like you swallowed a bomb today. Of course, how could someone of Fellow Daoist Yingxi's status get genuinely upset over less than three thousand spirit stones? It's obviously because you, Cuiguo, secretly followed her lead and bought in on your own, which is why you're in such a frantic rush."
Seeing that Yu'an had completely exposed her petty secret, Cuiguo's face instantly flushed crimson. "Don't spit venom at people! Just hurry up and tell me where your brother went. My lady really is looking for him!"
Yu'an sprang up from his chair, gave a few quick instructions to the shop assistant, and then turned back to Cuiguo.
"The racetrack. Come on, I'll go with you. Today is Clear Stream Market's once-every-three-months horse racing festival."
With that, he strode ahead, heading straight out the door. Looking at Zhou Yingxi lingering by the doorway, Yu'an felt slightly awkward.
"Senior Yingxi, it's been a while."
Zhou Yingxi was also somewhat embarrassed. Her expression tightened slightly beneath her veil as she replied in a cold, clear voice.
"Cuiguo has been lacking in discipline. Additionally, it would be better if Fellow Daoist Yu'an refrained from calling me 'senior.'"
Yu'an was past the age of adolescent awkwardness. Facing Zhou Yingxi—who was undeniably beautiful even with her face concealed, and whose voice carried a naturally bewitching charm—he effortlessly maintained an easygoing attitude.
"Two racehorses from the Sky Serpent Sect's vassal factions have come to the Clear Stream Market horse racing festival this time. Big brother and Yang Qi are taking it very seriously; he's been at the racetrack all day."
A hint of surprise flashed through Zhou Yingxi's eyes. That scoundrel Wang Yulou really did have some skill.
The Hundred Treasures Pavilion was flourishing, raking in gold by the bucketload every day. Their war materials contract trading had attracted the attention of everyone under the Red Lantern Illumination Sect's banner, even alarming the Zhou family's old ancestor.
He casually collaborated with the Yang Clan to set up the Clear Stream Market horse racing festival, which was originally nothing special. But now, who knew where this scoundrel had managed to procure two racehorses raised by the Sky Serpent Sect's vassal factions?
Over the years, the rogue cultivators and small-family cultivators near Clear Stream Market had accepted quite a few of Wondrous Peak Mountain's hero invitations, heading to the front lines of the war between the two sects only to act as cannon fodder.
It could be said that they had an immense interest in the Sky Serpent Sect—though, naturally, this was not a positive interest. Yulou bringing in two of the Sky Serpent Sect's racehorses was like gifting a pure maiden to an old bachelor who had been single for seventy years; it completely ignited the fiery passion in the audience's hearts.
Yet this was actually the little business genius's most spectacular failure. Seven years had passed, and the once dilapidated and crude racetrack had completely transformed.
A colossal timber and stone structure formed a massive ring, resembling a large stadium, its towering walls completely blocking the view of any freeloaders outside.
Although Clear Stream Market restricted flight, preventing cultivators from watching from the sky, anyone who truly wanted a free show could still stand outside and watch using their divine sense. However, generally speaking, no one actually did this.
After all, most people still cared about their face. Yu'an considerately bought tickets for Senior Yingxi and the somewhat impolite Fellow Daoist Cuiguo, and the three of them entered the Clear Stream Market racetrack together.
Inside the stadium, the track had been completely upgraded. Yulou had led the Hundred Treasures Pavilion to collaborate with the Yang Clan, investing a full eight thousand spirit stones to buy into Clear Stream Market's horse racing enterprise and claim fifty percent of the shares.
These spirit stones had basically all been spent on upgrading the track. Obstacle formations, trap formations, starving demonic beasts, and various shortcuts that were shorter but far more treacherous—these new features pushed the spectacle of Clear Stream Market's horse races to new heights.
"There are so many people today?" Cuiguo asked in surprise, looking at the crowd filling nearly half the grandstands.
Yulou had redefined horse racing, but even now, he hadn't recouped his initial eight thousand spirit stone investment. The grandstands at the racetrack had never once been full.
Filling half the seats this time was already a new record. Yulou had overestimated the financial power of the local cultivators.
Because of this, he had only come up with the upgraded event—the Clear Stream Market horse racing festival—in the past two years, just to make the spectators willingly part with their spirit stones for tickets.
"Everyone is here for those two horses from the Sky Serpent Sect. In the past, at most two or three hundred people were willing to fork out spirit stones for a ticket,"
Yu'an explained with a smile. In reality, business wasn't that bad. Those who bought tickets would generally gamble a bit, and selling the distribution rights for the betting pools helped Yulou recoup his losses.
For example, Lao Gui from the Beast Medicine Shop previously only paid the Yang Clan two hundred spirit stones a year. Things were different now; the price of the distribution rights had outright doubled.
Perhaps in another two years, that hefty investment of eight thousand spirit stones he had spearheaded would finally break even. Even so, this remained Yulou's biggest investment failure in this life.
He had tried to innovate a business model, but ended up almost trapping himself. This made Yulou realize that many experiences from his past life could not simply be copied blindly.
Upon receiving Yu'an's sound transmission talisman, Yulou quickly hurried over.
"Senior Yingxi, what brings you here so suddenly?" Yulou asked.
Zhou Yingxi sighed helplessly. "I've told you several times to call me Fellow Daoist. Why can't you remember? Isn't today the horse racing festival? The races are about the only interesting thing in Clear Stream Market, so I came over to take a look. We didn't disturb you by coming so suddenly, did we?"
Mu Changze coming to Clear Stream Market to serve as the Town Guardian Cultivator was mainly to make it convenient for Zhou Yingxi to borrow the Clear Stream of Qin Rhyme's spiritual resonance for her cultivation. However, the spiritual resonance accumulated slowly and was consumed quickly, so Zhou Yingxi was often very bored.
"Of course you didn't disturb me," Yulou replied, sitting down beside Yu'an to explain. "Senior martial sister—oh, I mean Senior Martial Sister Ningyao—is already prepared. The horse race is about to start."
As he spoke, Senior Martial Sister Ningyao appeared on the second-floor platform of the preparation area. "Fellow Daoists, the once-every-three-months Clear Stream Market horse racing festival begins now!"
"First is the racehorse showcase segment. The first horse: Azure Qilin, High-tier Miscellaneous Demon Realm, with a record of taking first place twice!"
After the Wang Clan bought shares in the racetrack, the position of the race host had been changed from the old coot Yang Qi to the youthful and beautiful Zhong Ningyao. Yulou simply couldn't accept the former arrangement.
Letting an old man host the event—no matter how he thought about it, it was just too absurd. As Zhong Ningyao's words fell, the impatient Azure Qilin charged out from the preparation area and began to show off on the track.
It held its head high, effortlessly breaking through the many obstacles on the track. Even with an Ironbone Wolf in pursuit, it ran with great composure.
As miscellaneous demons, these green-steed horses all possessed intelligence. Putting on a serious performance, the Azure Qilin knew full well that this was no longer the era where the Yang Clan solely controlled the board.
If it could win, this shareholder Wang Yulou was truly willing to hand out rewards. Soon, as racehorse after racehorse finished their showcases, the two racehorses from the Sky Serpent Sect prepared to make their appearance.
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