I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals - C.164: War Profiteering

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Since Zhao Siyao was in seclusion, Lan Chang'an didn’t visit her this time.

After leaving Jin Yun Valley, he didn’t immediately return to Wuqi Mountain. He planned to visit nearby marketplaces and immortal cities to see if he could purchase some materials and supplies at relatively low prices.

The news of the sects’ impending expedition wasn’t known to the lower and middle levels of the cultivation world, even some of the higher echelons did not dare to be certain.

Currently, the increase in material prices wasn’t too drastic, and there was still some margin for profit.

Lan Chang'an’s first stop was the "Five Peaks Market Town" south of Jin Yun Valley.

Years ago, Lan Chang'an had visited the Five Peaks Market Town’s "Hundred Fragrance Immortal Pavilion" with Li Erqing to enjoy a musical performance and had also helped Zhao Siyao repair a superior-grade magical weapon.

This marketplace was considered quite large, ranking just below an immortal city.

Lan Chang'an took the identity of an ordinary young man with the "Hundred Illusions Mask," and on top of that, he made slight adjustments to his appearance to add another layer of disguise.

Maintaining the cultivation of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, he received VIP treatment at the large shops in the Five Peaks Market Town.

After half a day, Lan Chang'an purchased a batch of goods, primarily materials for talismans, pills, and puppets.

While material prices had increased significantly, they hadn’t risen as much as finished products.

The supply shortage of various war supplies was also limited by the availability of skilled craftsmen, especially for the high-quality ones.

The price transmission to materials had a slight delay. Once the news of the war was confirmed and materials became scarce, their prices would undoubtedly surge.

During his shopping spree, Lan Chang'an also visited the "Spirit Herb Pavilion" at the Five Peaks Market Town.

Years ago, on his first visit to the Five Peaks Market Town, Lan Chang'an had been secretly followed by the Spirit Herb Pavilion's shopkeeper, who was later scared off by Lan Chang'an’s spiritual sense transmission.

After so many years, the shopkeeper hadn’t advanced to Foundation Establishment and had long since passed away.

After some inquiries, Lan Chang'an learned that one of the shopkeeper’s descendants, a late Qi-Refining stage cultivator, now worked as a pharmacist at the Spirit Herb Pavilion.

Lan Chang'an wasn’t petty enough to hold a grudge.

There was no need to go after the shopkeeper’s descendants or the Spirit Herb Pavilion over a trivial incident from years ago.

That would be making a mountain out of a molehill. After all, the shopkeeper had only set his sights on him and hadn't acted on it.

Half a day after Lan Chang'an’s departure, an interesting story spread around the Five Peaks Market Town.

It was said that several precious medicinal herbs stored in the Spirit Herb Pavilion had mysteriously gone missing, and the loss was quite large, causing the owner to fly into a rage.

Only some extremely tiny residues were left behind at the scene, and it was suspected that a mysterious spirit beast had snuck in and eaten them.

...

Two thousand li away from the Five Peaks Market Town, Lan Chang'an was flying and glanced at his spirit pet pouch.

Inside, a plump orange-purple rat demon was lazily stretching its limbs and letting out contented burps after feasting on the precious herbs.

Lan Chang'an couldn’t help but smile. The Earth Burrowing Rat had eaten more precious medicinal herbs in a single day than it had in the past few years combined.

Ten days later, Lan Chang'an arrived at the Zijing Immortal City on the west side of Jin Yun Valley.

This immortal city, located near the Liang Kingdom’s border, had trade relations with the "Jing Kingdom" in the western region.

The Jing Kingdom was a small cultivation country, with poor spiritual vein resources, and its most powerful cultivation force was only a Core Formation sect.

The country bordered the northern branch of the Black Fog Mountain Range and was sandwiched between the Chen Kingdom and the Liang Kingdom.

Although Zijing Immortal City was in a remote location, the value of materials there was slightly higher than in the Five Peaks Market Town.

Lan Chang'an speculated that the large forces in the immortal city were more sensitive to the winds of change.

Some high-ranking members of certain merchant associations might have caught wind of the impending war, but they didn't dare gamble too heavily.

If the situation in the Feng Kingdom changed or the Liang Kingdom’s top leaders abandoned the idea of war, those who had invested too much could lose everything.

After his purchases in Zijing Immortal City, Lan Chang'an flew to Liaoyuan Immortal City, stopping briefly at the Mu Family of Feiyue Lake along the way.

...

At the Mu Family, Lan Chang'an met with Li Erqing and Mu Bingyun.

It had been many years since they last saw each other, and Mu Bingyun had matured significantly, appearing to be in her mid-twenties. She now had the confident demeanor of a family patriarch and a Foundation Establishment female cultivator.

Over the years, the Mu Family has grown steadily, expanding its industries and opening several shops in Bamboo Leaf Mountain, Five Peaks Mountain, and Huanglong Immortal City.

Regarding the reason for the rise in material prices, Lan Chang'an hinted at it but didn’t spell it out for them.

Before leaving, Mu Bingyun transmitted a message, requesting to speak with Lan Chang'an privately to ask for guidance on cultivation and talisman-making.

Lan Chang'an glanced at the slender, elegant woman in a green dress, whose starry eyes shimmered with anticipation, reverence, and a hint of unspoken emotion.

Citing his busy schedule, Lan Chang'an declined Mu Bingyun’s request for a private conversation.

By the lakeside at Feiyue Lake, Mu Bingyun stood, slightly disappointed, watching the white-robed figure disappear into the distance.

As she thought of something her master had told her on her deathbed, she clenched her delicate fists, and took a deep breath, trying to muster up the courage, only to be overwhelmed by confusion and frustration.

Li Erqing, seeing the lonely figure by the lake, couldn’t help but sigh.

It was as if the image overlapped with someone from his memories.

He couldn’t help but lament: The two most outstanding and beautiful women of the Mu Family couldn’t capture that man’s heart.

...

After leaving Feiyue Lake, Lan Chang'an visited Bamboo Leaf Mountain briefly.

The Bamboo Leaf Mountain Market Town had declined in status and was no longer as prosperous as it was during Lan Chang'an’s first auction visit.

The market’s owners, the Maple Leaf Huang Family, now had two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The original Foundation Establishment female cultivator, Huang Yingchun, had gradually distanced herself from her late-stage Foundation Establishment partner, who was said to be old and nearing the end of his lifespan. The partnership between the two sides was slowly fading.

The materials Lan Chang'an sought had quality requirements, and his harvest at the Bamboo Leaf Mountain Market was minimal.

A month later, Lan Chang'an continued to visit Liaoyuan Immortal City, Huanglong Immortal City, and other places.

Liaoyuan Immortal City had the highest prices, and Lan Chang'an reluctantly purchased some high-quality materials for talismans and puppets.

In Huanglong Immortal City, besides ordinary demonic beast parts and pelts, other materials were also not cheap.

Finally, after completing his large-scale purchases, Lan Chang'an returned to Wuqi Mountain. During his procurement trips, Lan Chang'an didn’t use his true identity.

In truth, the eastern and southern regions of the Liang Kingdom, as well as areas north of the Black Fog Mountain Range, also had larger markets and even immortal cities.

However, with the continued rise in material prices, Lan Chang'an took advantage of the situation and only visited relatively nearby areas.

...

A year later.

Lan Chang'an, now back in Wuqi Mountain, heard some rumors from the outside world.

It was said that the cultivation world of the Liang Kingdom was on the brink of war.

The specific reasons varied.

One of the most outlandish rumors claimed that the Endless Sect of Yan Kingdom had already forced Feng Kingdom to surrender, and it would be Liang Kingdom's turn in two years.

When the news of the war had spread so widely that even Lan Rou, his maid, knew about it, it was clear that it had become common knowledge everywhere.

Some uninformed low-level loose cultivators, feeling anxious and fearful, began panic-buying war supplies.

Some unscrupulous merchants and shops claimed that if people didn’t buy now, prices would double once the war started.

As a result, the already high prices of war supplies surged even further.

Materials that had previously lagged in price also saw a sharp increase, matching the prices of war supplies as sellers hoarded their stocks.

In response, the three Peak Masters of Wuqi Mountain gathered to discuss the situation.

Lan Chang'an and Ye Fei had made substantial profits.

Talismans and pills were both consumables during wartime.

"Formation prices haven’t risen as much, so I didn’t make as much as the two of you," Shi Manrong said warmly, smiling.

Formations weren’t consumables, and since the war wasn’t happening in the Liang Kingdom, their prices had only risen slightly along with certain materials.

"Haha, if formation prices were to skyrocket, that wouldn’t be a good thing! Fairy Shi, you shouldn’t hope for that," Ye Fei laughed, downing a cup of wine and making a joke.

"When I’ve made enough spirit stones, I’ll ask Fairy Shi to enhance the formations on Little Turtle Peak. I hope you’ll give me a discount," Lan Chang'an said thoughtfully, making an early request.

The peak masters of Wuqi Mountain had made considerable profits, which wouldn’t go unnoticed by those with ill intentions.

The more one earns, the less one should skimp on protective measures.

Fairy Shi’s formation skills had now advanced to the point where she could set up quasi-third-rank formations.

"Fellow Daoist Lan is a loyal customer; I couldn’t be happier to oblige," Shi Manrong said, lightly brushing her hair aside, raising her glass of spirit wine with a charming blush on her silver-moon-like face.

Ye Fei glanced at Lan Chang'an and Shi Manrong.

He noticed that these two senior peak masters occasionally exchanged glances and seemed to have a good rapport.

It had been over thirty years since Shi Manrong lost her memory.

Even as they "reintroduced" themselves, Lan Chang'an and she had grown closer, sharing similar worldviews, which naturally led to mutual affection.

In recent years, Shi Manrong had occasionally met Lan Chang'an privately, showing more warmth and familiarity than in the past when she was more reserved and dignified.

However, Lan Chang'an still remembered that when she returned from hunting a great demon with Huanglong Mountain years ago, she had mentioned recovering fragments of memories of the ancient ruin. She hadn’t brought up the matter since then.

...

In the next two years, the information about the war became increasingly certain.

The upper echelons of several major sects had reached a consensus and began coordinating with the seven great families, major immortal cities, and merchant associations.

In the year or two leading up to the war, Lan Chang'an traveled to various immortal cities under different identities, gradually selling off the materials he had hoarded.

Priority was given to materials below second rank, followed by those unrelated to his craft.

Lastly, he sold some old and slightly inferior quality second-rank talismans and puppets.

Through war profiteering, buying low and selling high, and crafting and selling war necessities, Lan Chang'an amassed enormous wealth.

Before he knew it, his spirit stone savings had exceeded thirty thousand, and that didn’t even include the stockpile of superior-grade talismans and puppets he still held.

In previous years, much of the spirit stones Lan Chang'an earned were spent on purchasing materials for crafting puppets.

Excluding some hidden cards, Lan Chang'an’s net worth exceeded that of many Fake-Dan Immortals.

Take Xiang Jinglong, for example. After achieving Fake-Dan, he spent all his accumulated wealth on buying a magical treasure, leaving him with little spare cash.

Xiang Jinglong had even occasionally moonlighted as a robber to earn spirit stones. Yet, despite this, his efficiency in earning spirit stones couldn’t compare to Lan Chang'an’s.

Lan Chang'an’s accounting revealed that talismans had earned him more spirit stones than puppets.

This was primarily because puppet-making had a long production cycle, high prices, and fewer buyers.

Moreover, without being a puppet master or having exceptional spiritual sense, one couldn’t fully utilize the true power of a puppet.

...

One day, in the secret room of Little Turtle Peak.

"126 years old, Foundation Establishment sixth level," Lan Chang'an opened his ink-like eyes, slowly ending his cultivation session as his white robe fluttered.

The Evergreen mana within him had increased by twenty to thirty percent compared to when he was at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment.

Since it wasn’t a breakthrough of a minor realm, the quality of his mana hadn’t changed much.

His power in using magic weapons or spells wouldn’t see a significant increase, mainly affecting his endurance in prolonged battles.

If he advanced further, breaking through to the seventh level of Foundation Establishment and entering the late stage, he would become a great cultivator of this realm, achieving a qualitative leap in strength.

Whoosh!

A large green turtle, nearly fifteen feet wide, rubbed against Lan Chang'an’s aura, affectionately seeking his attention.

Lan Chang'an understood what it meant.

After exiting his seclusion, he sat on the back of the Profound Water Turtle.

The Profound Water Turtle, carrying its master, joyfully leaped out of the cave, swaggering as it showed off to the nearby Earth Burrowing Rat.

The Earth Burrowing Rat glanced at the big turtle with disdain, baring its teeth slightly, feeling a bit jealous.

Squeak!

Standing on its hind legs, the Earth Burrowing Rat approached the Profound Water Turtle, towering over it by a good margin, and presented a letter in a humanoid fashion.

It was a letter from Zhang Tieshan.

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The contents of the letter left Lan Chang'an slightly moved.

"The Liang Kingdom’s sects have announced their expedition. Jin Yun Valley will be sending out the first batch of cultivators..."

(End of chapter)