Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 622: Chapter 622: Immortal Monarch Bankrupt, Body and Dao Annihilated

The collapse of the Wuyou Talisman wasn’t a sudden avalanche, but a gradual process, because this world has never been short of sharp, intelligent people.

Everyone was watching from the sidelines.

Because anyone with a bit of foresight could see that the one billion Wuyou Talismans entering the market wouldn’t affect them. The impact would be felt by the masters of the upper echelons—the lofty Immortal Monarchs.

So, even when some started selling off, trying to cash out and exit the market, these Loose Cultivators didn’t bite. They just watched coldly from the sidelines, causing the price to fall further. The Immortal Races and Sects that held large quantities of Wuyou Talismans began to dump them. They were no longer trying to make a profit; just breaking even would be a blessing from an Immortal Venerable.

Yet, still, no one stepped up to buy.

Thus, the price of the Wuyou Talisman continued to fall, plummeting from a high of 987 to below 500 before some retail investors finally decided to jump in.

However, on that very day, the price of the Wuyou Talisman began to rebound.

At the same time, a flood of information was released, hyping this up as the perfect time to buy the dip and claiming the Wuyou Talisman would inevitably make a strong comeback to its previous highs.

This was the handiwork of Immortal Monarch Gu Ming.

It was also his last-ditch, do-or-die effort. He had used leverage, taken out loans, and mortgaged his assets—nearly bankrupting himself just to scrape together enough money to pull the price back up.

It was all for this one push.

’Go back up, damn it, go back up!’

’As long as it goes back up to 600, I’ll sell immediately and get out. That way, even if I take a loss, it will be a small one... It won’t be enough to bankrupt me, to make me fall from my Immortal Monarch rank...’

However, Immortal Monarch Gu Ming’s hopes were ultimately dashed.

The price of the Wuyou Talisman had rebounded for less than half an Hour when a new wave of capital entered the market. Massive quantities of Wuyou Talismans were dumped, once again forcing the price down.

”No—!”

In an instant, Immortal Monarch Gu Ming gritted his teeth so hard one of them shattered. The imagery around his body grew increasingly unstable, and the Qi trace that was once close to [Financial Freedom] began to plummet.

”Who is it? Who the hell is it!?”

Immortal Monarch Gu Ming performed a quick divination, and his eyes widened. ”...The Outer Dao Alliance... True Monarch Minghe... It’s you again! Bastards! A pack of Outer Daos plotting against me!”

That’s right. He’d figured it out.

The source of this new capital was none other than the Outer Dao Alliance. The Wuyou Talismans they were dumping were the very ones they had taken as a loan from him by mortgaging their property!

At that moment, Immortal Monarch Gu Ming felt as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss. ’First, they mortgaged their property to borrow Wuyou Talismans. Then they sold them at a high point, waited for the price to crash, and then bought them back to repay me... It’s a setup! A trap laid specifically for me, built on the certainty that the Wuyou Talismans were bound to collapse!’

Beasts!

........

”Keep the price falling! Don’t give them any breathing room!”

Under Lü Yang’s direction, the Outer Dao Alliance went all out, smashing the Wuyou Talisman’s price down to 100, effectively resetting it overnight to where it all began.

Meanwhile, in the Celestial Mansion Sixth Layer and above, the Immortal Races, Sects, and the few Immortal Monarchs who had hoarded vast quantities of Wuyou Talismans could only watch helplessly. They watched their wealth evaporate into thin air, their Dao Hearts enduring the agony of a thousand cuts, yet even as they racked their brains, they could find no way to stop it.

RUMBLE!

In that instant, the heavens above erupted in a Splendid Light.

Countless Cultivators looked up and saw a brilliant star: [Jueyin]. Beneath it, a magnificent figure slowly materialized.

It was none other than Immortal Monarch Gu Ming.

As one of the Immortal Monarchs in the Celestial Mansion closest to achieving [Financial Freedom], Immortal Monarch Gu Ming was very famous. Many Loose Cultivators recognized this great master.

But now, they saw this once-envied, magnificent Immortal Monarch looking like a walking corpse. His face was deathly pale, as if dusted with snow. His eyes were hollow, and his teeth chattered faintly. What was left of his Immortal Monarch bearing? He looked worse than a common mortal from the city streets.

And in fact, that was the truth of it.

For Immortal Monarch Gu Ming was now a thing of the past... Bankrupt, burdened with massive debt, and deemed incapable of repayment, he was no longer an Immortal Monarch.

The next second, [Taiyin] flared to life.

Instantly, endless Illusionary Colors emerged. A bright moon hung high in the sky, and Heaven and Earth filled with the sweet scent of osmanthus. At the same time, a great darkness swept over everything.

Taiyin commanding the Heavens, Yin alone holding dominion!

Where the Sun does not rule, the Killing begins!

In that moment, all the ambient imagery between Heaven and Earth melted away inch by inch, like spring snow. Before that single, brilliant moon, all other Illusionary Colors dimmed and faded.

”Immortal Venerable!”

Seeing this, Immortal Monarch Gu Ming strained to look up at the sky, letting out a wretched howl. ”I’m not bankrupt! I still have the ability to repay my debts!”

”I was framed by scoundrels!”

”I’m innocent! I won’t accept this!”

”I...”

Immortal Monarch Gu Ming’s voice cut off abruptly.

The next second, his figure was swallowed by the pristine moonlight, vanishing without a trace. All his Cultivation, Profound Mysteries, and Abilities were stripped away, reduced to nothing!

Then, [Jueyin] flared brilliantly!

An Immortal Monarch went bankrupt, his Fruit liquidated. An Immortal Monarch who once commanded Heaven and Earth, a master of grand strategy, had just fallen. Not even a trace of his Soul was left behind.

At this very moment, watching this horrifying scene, the Loose Cultivators—those who had once frantically bought Wuyou Talismans but had been forced out, and those who still held some and had lost a great deal of money—all had the same, irrepressible thought: ’Thank god! Thank god that’s not me!’

「Meanwhile, within the Outer Dao Alliance.」

”He’s dead...”

Mountain Mover stared blankly at the masterless [Jueyin], the image of Immortal Monarch Gu Ming flashing in his mind. In truth, he was not unfamiliar with this particular Immortal Monarch.

He had even once considered trying to curry favor with the man. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

But forget currying favor—he couldn’t even get past Immortal Monarch Gu Ming’s front gate. Even the Foundation Establishment disciple acting as a doorman had dared to give him a dirty look.

Yet now, this same lofty Immortal Monarch had been bankrupted by their backroom dealings, ultimately suffering a miserable death by liquidation!

More importantly, they had engineered the death of an Immortal Monarch, yet the Outer Dao Alliance hadn’t suffered the slightest loss. In fact, by shorting the Wuyou Talisman, they had made an absolute killing!

”Shorting... so this is what they call shorting?”

What a lesson.

In a daze, Mountain Mover suddenly realized that the omnipresent [Money] Fruit, which permeated Heaven and Earth, seemed to have changed because of this Wuyou Talisman storm.

Likewise, Lü Yang also looked up.

’Interesting...’

If even Mountain Mover could sense it, how could Lü Yang—the one personally running the whole operation—not feel it? ’This [Money] Fruit seems to have become more complete.’

To be honest, he had been prepared for this short-selling gambit to fail. After all, Taiyin Immortal Venerable resided in the Celestial Mansion and could use a ”visible hand” to forcibly end everything at any moment. Yet, it now seemed that Taiyin Immortal Venerable actually supported the Wuyou Talisman storm he had unleashed.

’In a way, I even helped him.’

After all, the [Money] Fruit was manifested through Taiyin Immortal Venerable’s Void Certificate. The more complete and powerful its concept became, the stronger Taiyin Immortal Venerable would naturally grow.

”...Forget it.”

The next second, Lü Yang’s brow smoothed. What did it matter if Taiyin Immortal Venerable grew stronger? That was a headache for the Perfected Lords of the Immortal Pivot, not him.

Better you than me!

With this thought, Lü Yang immediately mounted a beam of Flying Light. He raised his palm, and in an instant, a massive torrent of the concept of [Money] began to converge on him!

’After speculating on Wuyou Talismans for so long, I can finally reap the harvest.’

He was going to purchase a Fruit!

[Sun in the Spring]!