Dao of Money

Chen Ren could only berate himself for not thinking of the strategy sooner.

The moment he announced that the Divine Coin Pavilion would be giving people a chance to win maps leading to hidden treasures, it was as if some invisible floodgate had burst open. In the span of a few short hours, nearly every cultivator in the city seemed to want a ticket for the lottery.

He had expected interest but not this.

Anji had been the one put in charge of preparing the lottery tickets, and between them they had already made more than ten thousand. Even that had turned out to be barely enough. Climbers were not buying one at a time either. Many grabbed several at once, convinced that stacking their chances was the only sensible move when treasure was on the line.

The news had spread through Goldspire in less than an hour.

Soon the cultivators became so loud, so unruly, that trying to manage them in the open street stopped being practical. They had pulled everything back into the shop instead, but that solved very little. The building was already packed to the edges, and every few moments more climbers forced their way into the crowd while city guards struggled outside to keep the street from descending into complete chaos.

The sight brought back memories of the day they first opened the shop.

This was far worse.

That first crowd had been impressive. This one was something else entirely. It felt as though the whole city had been seized by the same thought at once and driven straight to his doors. Every face had the same sharp hunger and every hand reaching for tickets seemed willing to pour whatever tokens it had into the chance of pulling a treasure from the pagoda’s hidden depths.

And in truth, Chen Ren could not even blame them.

One hundred tokens was not such a high price anymore. For many cultivators, it amounted to only a couple of days of work in the city, or the value of hunting down one or two beasts if they were fortunate enough to manage it. Compared to the chance of obtaining a treasure, it was cheap. Suspiciously cheap, perhaps, but still cheap.

That mattered even more because so many of the climbers had been trapped on this floor for weeks already.

The more capable cultivators—the Guardian sect disciples, the empire’s stronger talents, the people who had the means and strength to keep rising—had long since moved upward. The ones still crowding Goldspire were the rest. The ones who had remained here all this time, scraping together tokens, trying to earn enough for the lift, trying to claw their way into some better fortune before the pagoda left them behind.

Part of the frenzy came from fear.

News of the sixth floor had already spread down to Goldspire, passed from mouth to mouth until even the cultivators who had never seen it for themselves knew enough to dread what waited there. By now, most of the climbers stuck on the fifth floor understood that if they wanted to keep ascending, they would need more than tokens—they would need strength.

A treasure was exactly that.

If they managed to get even one worthwhile item, then the floors ahead might become just a little less impossible. And if the treasure did not help them inside the pagoda, then they could always take it back into the real world when they left. By this point, everyone knew the same thing: anything brought out of the pagoda carried value.

Watching the crowd surge through the shop and hearing the constant noise of climbers scrambling for tickets, Chen Ren could not help feeling pleased that the lottery was working exactly as he had hoped.

It helped that the pagoda itself made the scheme possible.

Some of the treasures hidden through its floors seemed to appear again and again. These were usually herbs or other natural materials—things that did not look especially dramatic at first glance, but were still valuable enough that any climber who found them could sell them in the city for far more than the price of a lottery ticket. Chen Ren still did not fully understand the mechanism behind it, but the book had been clear enough. The treasures of the pagoda were divided into spawnable and non-spawnable types. The first category returned over time. The second did not.

And the pagoda had another habit as well.

Whenever a cultivator died inside it, the pagoda seemed to reclaim whatever valuables were on that person and feed them back into the system, turning old possessions into future finds for someone else. It was an ugly way, but an efficient one.

Then there were the treasures Chen Ren had added himself.

Not all of them were truly rare. In fact, quite a few were things he had already collected and dismissed as too basic for his own use—useful enough for weaker climbers, but nothing he felt was worth keeping close. Those were the easiest to repurpose, especially when they could be duplicated or imitated well enough to pass as worthwhile rewards.

The manuals were the same in principle.

Tau Liu and his fellow disciples had gone through more than one dangerous trial to recover them. In one case, they had even fought beasts inside a dimensional space and dragged back dozens of manuals covering all kinds of techniques. Most were not extraordinary, but to the average climber on this floor, they were more than good enough to stir greed.

Chen Ren had taken those and used Wang Jun’s help to produce inferior copies.

After that, he had them placed back into the pagoda as artificial treasures, mixing them in with everything else until no ordinary climber would have any way to tell what had been hidden there by the pagoda itself and what had been planted by him.

Those manuals were still valuable enough.

Most of them fell somewhere around peak mortal grade or low earth grade, which meant little to someone like Chen Ren now, but for the cultivators crowding his shop, they were the sort of thing that could become treasured family heirlooms in the years to come. He doubted any of them would complain if that was what they found.

And the manuals were not the only thing he had hidden away for the lottery.

In a few locations, Chen Ren had also placed written information on the future floors—notes he had put together himself based on what he already knew. Even that alone would be worth a great deal to many of the climbers. Information was often more useful than treasure, especially in the pagoda, and plenty of people would pay well just to know what sort of dangers waited above.

For that reason, he doubted anyone would be too upset by what he had done.

The truly valuable treasures, the things he had no intention of giving away, were already set aside for himself and his sect. The lottery only needed to feel rich enough to stir greed. It did not need to empty his best stock into the hands of strangers. And in any case, no one outside the sect really knew how much he had held back.

Well—almost no one. Li Xuan knew, of course.

But Chen Ren doubted the man had a particularly loose tongue.

In the end, the strategy was simple. He only needed to let a few cultivators win, wait for them to retrieve their prizes, and then let word spread through the city on its own. People would always exaggerate once treasure was involved. Once that happened, the next lottery would become even easier to run. And if he was right, then he—

“What are you thinking, Chen Ren?” The voice cut cleanly across his thoughts. He turned and saw Li Xuan looking at him with an odd expression.

“Nothing much,” Chen Ren said. “Just the continuation of the plan.”

Li Xuan nodded, though his expression did not soften.

“It’s just,” he said slowly, “you had a rather unsettling look on your face.”

Chen Ren raised a brow.

Li Xuan went on, “Like a grave robber who just stumbled across something valuable.”

At that, Chen Ren could almost feel Wang Jun wanting to laugh besides him. But he kept his face still and replied, “It’s nothing like that. I was just thinking that by the end of the day, we’ll have made more tokens than I’ve ever earned before, and I also meant what I said earlier. Out of everything we uncovered, you can choose any one treasure for yourself.”

With his own sect members, he could be flexible. He could use them as he pleased for now and reward them later once everything settled. That was part of being a sect leader. But Li Xuan was different. The man was not under him, and despite that, he had still helped recover nearly forty percent of the treasures they now had piled away. Chen Ren could not simply keep using him and offer nothing in return.

Li Xuan, however, shook his head. “That’s alright,” he said. “I’m not in a hurry to choose anything. I’m more interested in what you plan to do about the [Grand Aegis Array].”

Chen Ren raised a brow. “You want to be there when the assault actually happens?”

Li Xuan nodded at that. “Yes. I’ve seen the array with my own eyes, and my father always told me that no one could break it. Yet you’re moving through all this with the confidence of someone who already believes he can.” He held Chen Ren’s gaze. “So I’m curious whether it’s actually possible.”

“We’ll find out soon enough whether it’s possible or not,” he replied back. “For now, getting a mountain of tokens is only the first phase of the plan.”

Li Xuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “And the next phase?”

That drew a smile from Chen Ren.

He glanced around the shop, where the noise had only gotten worse. Cultivators jostled against one another, voices rose from every side, and the whole place seemed one bad moment away from turning into a riot despite the city guards outside trying to keep things in order.

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“Why don’t I show you?” Chen Ren said. “I doubt I’m needed here this second.”

With that, he gestured toward the back door.

The two of them slipped away from the front of the shop and made for the rear exit, both more than happy to avoid the thickening crowd outside the main street. But when they stepped out into the back street, they found little relief there. Even the alley behind the shop was crowded with cultivators, and the moment Chen Ren and Li Xuan appeared, a few of them immediately started moving in their direction.

They were probably hoping for an easier way back into the shop and a quicker chance at the tickets.

Chen Ren did not indulge them.

The moment he and Li Xuan stepped through, he turned, shut the back door behind him, and locked it. Li Xuan threw the approaching cultivators a hard enough look that none of them tried anything further, and after that the two of them moved off toward the main street.

As soon as they stepped onto it, Li Xuan asked, “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” Chen Ren said. “It won’t take long.”

They made their way through the city streets at a steady pace, slipping around heavier knots of people whenever they could. Even while walking, Chen Ren kept catching fragments of the same conversation from every direction.

About the lottery.

It seemed as though every second climber they passed was talking about it. Some were arguing over whether they should spend all their tokens on tickets. Others were already imagining what kind of treasure they might win. A few looked suspicious, but even those usually sounded as though they were trying to talk themselves out of joining rather than truly dismissing it.

For a while, Chen Ren found himself wondering how many tokens the whole thing would bring in by the time the rush ended.

He had hoped for around a million. Now it seemed possible they might blow straight past that.

He had underestimated just how badly the lower-realm climbers wanted something—anything—that looked like a hand pulling them forward. A branch to grab before they sank further behind the stronger talents already moving up the pagoda. If the numbers kept rising like this, then by the end of it he might even be able to buy more than one item from Merchant Shrey’s top hundred list.

The thought stayed with him until he spotted a tram moving along the street ahead.

Without hesitation, he changed course toward it, and Li Xuan followed. The two of them jumped aboard just before it rolled past, joining the cultivators and workers already packed inside. The machine rattled along the street beneath them, carrying them deeper through Goldspire, and if Chen Ren was right, it would take them close enough to where he wanted to go.

About halfway through the ride, Li Xuan’s expression changed. Realization slowly began to creep in on his face as he looked around the area they were in.

“What exactly do you have in mind, Chen Ren?” he asked finally.

Chen Ren smiled at that. “Well,” he said, “if I’m going to break the greatest array in existence, then I’ll need a proper amount of firepower. So I’m going to recruit whoever I can.”

Li Xuan looked as though he had several things he wanted to say, but none of them seemed to settle into words. In the end, he simply let out a breath and said nothing.

Neither of them talked much after that.

Only when the tram finally rounded a corner and slowed enough for them to jump off did they move again, stepping down into another street and heading straight for their destination.

City Lord Xiangrui’s castle.

As they approached the guards stationed outside, both men stepped forward at once. The guards’ expressions shifted slightly when they recognized Chen Ren, some of the initial stiffness easing.

One of them frowned and asked, “Why are you here again? Did the City Lord call for you?”

Chen Ren shook his head. “No. I came of my own accord. There’s something I want to speak to him about. Given our past dealings, I’m sure he’ll at least hear me out.”

The guards exchanged a glance. Then one of them gave a short nod. “Wait here.”

He turned and disappeared through the doorway behind them.

While they waited, Li Xuan glanced at Chen Ren and asked, “You’ve been here before?”

“Twice,” Chen Ren said. “Both times with Princess Yanyue.”

Li Xuan looked toward the castle gates, then back at him. “Is that why you’re so confident he’ll agree to your plan?”

Chen Ren let out a quiet, wry breath. “Not really,” he said. “City Lord Xiangrui isn’t easy to move, and there aren’t many things that can make him change his mind. But I have a few ideas, and I’m planning to see whether any of them work.”

By the time he finished speaking, the guard had returned.

Without a word, the man gestured for them to follow. Chen Ren smiled faintly at that. At least they had not been turned away at the gates.

The guard led them through the same corridors Chen Ren remembered from before, their footsteps echoing softly against the polished stone as they passed deeper into the castle. Before long they reached the lift that rose to the upper levels, and once inside it, the climb began.

As the platform moved, Chen Ren glanced sideways and noticed Li Xuan’s discomfort almost immediately.

The man kept looking down at his own clothes, adjusting them slightly, then looking away again, as though only now becoming fully aware of where he was. It was written plainly enough on his face that he felt underdressed, perhaps even out of place, standing inside a place like this to meet someone who, within the pagoda at least, held the same weight a noble might in the outside world.

Chen Ren did not bother telling Li Xuan that his clothes would make very little difference either way.

No matter how well a person dressed, City Lord Xiangrui was not the sort to be impressed by appearance alone. At best, proper presentation might keep the man from sounding openly dismissive. Beyond that, it changed very little.

Soon the lift came to a stop.

The two of them stepped out into the hallway and continued on, moving first through the broad corridor and then up the stairs beyond it. As they went, Chen Ren noticed Li Xuan’s gaze drifting from one detail to the next. There was clear wonder in the man’s eyes, even if he tried not to show too much of it. For the son of a baron, he still did not seem especially accustomed to this kind of open luxury. To be fair, even Princess Yanyue herself had not looked entirely at ease here the first time.

Still, they kept moving until they reached the same room where Chen Ren had met the city lord before.

The guards outside did not stop them. They simply opened the way and ushered both men in.

When Chen Ren stepped through the doorway, he found City Lord Xiangrui in much the same position as last time, seated on the same sofa, one arm resting easily against the side as if the whole room had been arranged only for his convenience.

Chen Ren and Li Xuan both bowed out of courtesy and offered their greetings, but Xiangrui waved a hand at once.

“There’s no need for that,” he said. “Why are you here again, Chen Ren? Have you finally decided to accept my offer and work for the betterment of the city?”

Chen Ren put on his best smile. “No, City Lord Xiangrui,” he said. “But I am here to speak with you about something important.”

That drew a slight lift off the man’s brow. “And what would that be?”

Chen Ren did not waste time and spoke clearly, “I would like your help in breaking through the [Grand Aegis Array] on the eighth floor, my lord.”

At once, some of Xiangrui’s easy composure slipped at once, and the look he gave him afterward was so sharp it was almost as if Chen Ren had proposed something entirely unreasonable—like asking for his hand in marriage.

His eyes went for Li Xuan for a brief moment and back at Chen Ren.

“And why,” the city lord said slowly, “would I ever do that?”

Chen Ren felt Li Xuan’s stare drilling into his back, and he knew very well that whatever he said next might decide the fate of the whole plan. So he took a moment, chose his words carefully, and then said, “I have several reasons, my lord. But the most important one is simple.” He met the city lord’s eyes directly. “You would become the first person in history to accomplish something like this.”

***

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