Protect Our Clan Leader

Chapter 1564: Chapter 90 Rich Flaunts Power! A Series of Poisonous Schemes_3

Tests revealed that although the overall cost of this new type of battle armor is considerable, its mass production could substantially reduce costs. Particularly, its significant reduction in Xuan Iron ingot consumption greatly decreases the dependency of the Black Armor Department on Xuan Iron ingots.

This also means that from now on, Xuan Iron ingots will no longer be guaranteed to sell as soon as they are mined.

Meanwhile, a “confirmed rumor” began to circulate secretly in Immortal City. It was privately disclosed by an insider that the Jing’an Wei Family holds over 600,000 units of Xuan Iron ingots!

Far exceeding the demand of the Black Armor Department!

The supply-demand relationship has been completely reversed.

In an instant, the prominent families who had been observing and hoarding Xuan Iron ingots, unwilling to sell, could no longer sit idly by. They scrambled to sell off their Xuan Iron ingots, trying to cash in while the price was still high to avoid having them depreciate in value while in their possession.

But while everyone wanted to sell, no one wanted to buy. Major families could only reduce prices to facilitate transactions.

The most direct result was a market crash. The price of Xuan Iron ingots, which had soared to its peak, began plummeting within mere half a day. It first dropped from 1,300 Immortal Crystals to 600, but even 600 failed to hold; it quickly collapsed further to 400, then 350…

The Wei Family was caught completely off guard and left dumbstruck.

Before they could sell, the price of Xuan Iron ingots had already plummeted beyond recovery at lightning speed.

Six hundred thousand units—this accounted for the majority of the entire Immortal Dynasty’s stock. If they dumped it all into the market, no one could predict what kind of price collapse would ensue.

The Wei Family’s senior leaders were immediately thrown into a panic. They quickly “rushed back overnight” to the main residence in Jing’an State to convene a family crisis meeting.

[True Flame Residence]

The first Old Ancestor of the Wei Family, Wei Dongyu, who had weathered countless storms throughout his life, was deeply shaken upon hearing the course of events.

Amidst old wounds and fresh turmoil, his face turned ashen and grief-stricken. “Mingyu, how much did our Wei Family spend this time?”

Wei Mingyu, equally pale-faced, held the accounting ledger before the Family Head Wei Wentao and various elders as he reported, “Our Wei Family originally held 250,000 units of Xuan Iron ingots in stock. Later, we acquired 150,000 units from the Helan Han Clan at a cost of 1.7 billion Immortal Crystals. In this latest purchasing effort, we gradually acquired another 210,000 units for a total expenditure of 2.2 billion Immortal Crystals.”

“Currently, we have a total of 610,000 units of Xuan Iron ingots. The total investment for this operation amounts to 3.9 billion Immortal Crystals, of which 50 million Immortal Crystals are sourced from our Wei Family’s liquid assets. The remaining 3.5 billion Immortal Crystals were raised through mortgages with various merchant guilds and banks.”

Wei Dongyu staggered, blood seeping from the corner of his lips.

Three point nine billion—Immortal Crystals, not Gold Coins!

The most terrifying part is that the current market price of Xuan Iron ingots has already plummeted near 300 Immortal Crystals. Even if all inventory were sold, it would barely recover 1.8 or 1.9 billion Immortal Crystals. This is a colossal loss.

Moreover, such a large inventory flooding the market would inevitably escalate prices to collapse even further.

Realizing this, the expressions on everyone’s faces turned extraordinarily grim.

At this point, even Wei Qingyun didn’t bother chastising Wei Mingyu; his expression was instead filled with urgency as he said, “Respected elders, this time, our Wei Family is clearly caught in a trap. These 600,000 units of inventory must not be sold. As long as we hold onto them, once this turmoil subsides and everything calms down, the price of Xuan Iron ingots will likely rebound, and we can gradually liquidate the stock over the following centuries.”

“Indeed, while the new variant of battle armor co-developed by the Black Armor Department and Dongqian does save on Xuan Iron, it does not eliminate the need for Xuan Iron altogether,” Wei Deming nodded in agreement. “If our Wei Family and Helan Han Clan collaborate to seal off the existing Xuan Iron mine veins, the prices should inevitably recover over time.”

That may be true, but everyone in the Wei Family understood clearly: the era of windfall profits from Xuan Iron ingots had reached its conclusion. This proposal merely transforms catastrophic losses into manageable losses.

The Wei Family, being large and well-established, was confident they could weather this storm.

“Then let it be.” Old Ancestor Wei Dongyu declared gravely, “Proceed to implement this plan for remediation. I shall personally join forces with Deming—and as two Void Realm experts, we will put aside our pride and negotiate with various banks and merchant guilds to extend the repayment deadlines. Starting from now, our Wei Family must enter a phase of ‘belt-tightening.’”

The Wei Family has a legacy spanning over ten thousand years. It was impossible to assume everything would always run smoothly. Catching the wind during prosperous times and hunkering down defensively during difficult times were strategies long employed by prominent families. And with the Wei Family’s robust foundation, as long as they kept a low profile, the future would eventually pave a path to recovery.

Unfortunately, the Wei Family underestimated the complexity of the situation.

Before their strategy even began, further incidents occurred.

A booming voice erupted above the Wei Family’s main residence: “Wei Dongyu, stop playing the turtle! Come out and face this True Monarch at once!”

The voice of the elder thundered across the skies like an explosion, causing the Mountain Protection Array of the Wei Family’s main residence to reverberate violently.

Fire Sovereign Wei Dongyu’s expression immediately shifted: “It’s the Immortal Palace’s Wu Dao True Monarch! He has personally come!”

Wu Dao True Monarch held a revered position in the Immortal Dynasty. Even Immortal Supremes and the Immortal Emperor addressed him respectfully as “Senior.” Wei Dongyu dared not display the slightest negligence toward someone of such stature.

Without hesitation, despite his injuries, he ascended into the sky above the main residence to greet Wu Dao True Monarch. Bowing deeply, he spoke courteously and heartily, “Dongyu pays respects to Senior Wu Dao. Your esteemed arrival is an honor to our Wei Family, and I beg your forgiveness should we fall short of proper hospitality.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com