Chapter 563: Joy And Sorrow Are Not Shared
The moment the price of his hoarded materials doubled, He Zhenghao's worries faded as naturally as they had arisen.
One hundred million contribution points. That's one hundred million contribution points! His eyes were bloodshot, his whole body trembling.
Watching the prices climb without pause was like a drug. His head swam, light as air, and he felt as though he were drifting among clouds. He Zhenghao swore he had never felt such exhilaration in his life.
When the Secretary-Envoy handed me the materials list, he mentioned offhandedly that since I was handling this fundraising operation, my profit share was being raised from one percent to ten percent.
In a single day, I've earned more contribution points than I could have managed in a lifetime.
Heat surged to his head. He felt as if his body were boiling from within.
Boundless courage swelled in his chest. The ironclad laws of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, which he had always held in fearful reverence, suddenly seemed far less terrifying.
Keep rising, damn it! At this rate, I can't be the only one driving up the price. The law can't punish everyone!
Besides, if the sky falls, the Secretary-Envoy is there to hold it up. I'm just following orders. He definitely won't blame me!
He Zhenghao talked himself into certainty without much difficulty. Not a shred of fear remained. All that was left was the wild euphoria of immense profit.
He was far from alone in his elation. Across the Myriad Immortals Alliance, quite a few cultivators were just as jubilant.
Somewhere, in an unknown space.
"A bountiful harvest, a truly bountiful harvest! This round of profits has not only recouped our previous losses but left us with a surplus!"
"What did I tell you? I knew that Li Fan fellow had real skill. We bet right this time! Following in his wake, we get to feast on the meat!"
"Heh, Fellow Daoist Lu, if I recall correctly, you were quite vocally opposed last time?"
"Nonsense! You must be misremembering!"
Zhou Kebao looked at the ecstatic faces around him and felt his own excitement rise. He had earned nearly two million contribution points in profit so far. He didn't know the exact figures for the others, but their expressions said plainly enough that their gains were nothing to scoff at.
"Li Fan's divination abilities are truly terrifying. To have predicted a war that erupted without any warning..."
As for why the Myriad Immortals Alliance had suddenly declared war, Zhou Kebao and the others were still making inquiries. A clear answer had yet to come.
I was still too cautious. If only I'd invested more back then...
Just then, a voice spoke up.
"Hmm? Why isn't Fellow Daoist Long here?"
The room fell quiet.
"That's right. He was very decisive this time, spending at least five million contribution points stockpiling materials in advance. He should be making an absolute killing!"
"Could he still be in seclusion, unaware that prices have gone crazy?"
"I'll contact him right now with the good news!"
To everyone's surprise, every message they sent vanished without a trace, swallowed like clay oxen into the sea. Not one reply came back.
They exchanged puzzled glances.
Just as their unease was growing, Long Yueyou finally appeared among them.
He looked utterly devastated. His eyes were bloodshot, his face pale as a corpse.
A faint but unmistakable dread settled over everyone present.
It was Zhou Kebao who finally broke the silence. "Fellow Daoist Long, what on earth has happened? Why are you..."
Long Yueyou seemed utterly distraught.
Zhou Kebao had to call his name several times before he finally snapped back to awareness. He looked at the faces around him, his lips trembling. It seemed to take every ounce of his strength to slowly utter the words: "My elder brother... has fallen."
Boom!
It was as if a massive hammer had struck each of them behind the eyes. The room reeled.
Long Jiuyuan, who had only just reached the Dao Unity Immortal Venerable realm, had fallen?
For a moment, the chamber was as silent as a tomb.
Every scrap of joy they had felt from their earnings dissolved on the spot.
No amount of contribution points could ever compensate for the loss of a Dao Unity cultivator. They knew that much.
Alongside their overwhelming shock came a deep, creeping dread. The great war had barely begun, and already a Dao Unity cultivator had perished. The scale of this conflict was likely to far exceed anything they had imagined.
How many more would die?
Even these profit-driven cultivators felt a chill move through them.
Meanwhile, the Administration Hall of Congyun City was in utter chaos. The Myriad Immortals Alliance had issued a war preparation announcement, but no one could reach the Secretary-Envoy.
Li Fan had announced to the world a month ago that he was entering deep seclusion. But something this monumental had just occurred. For him to simply drop everything and leave this mess to his subordinates...
Wasn't that a bit much?
The cultivators present grumbled, though they kept it to themselves.
"Everyone." Gao Yuan rapped the table and looked at their varied expressions. "With the Secretary-Envoy absent, the moment to prove ourselves has come." His tone was grave.
"The situation remains unclear, but there is no question that this war will not end quickly. We must be mentally prepared. Our Congyun Sea shares a border with the Five Elders Council. We must maintain constant patrols and stay vigilant against their cultivators."
He paused, noting the worry written across their faces, and felt the need to offer some reassurance. "That said, there's no cause for excessive alarm. When the sky falls, there are taller people to hold it up. Our Congyun Sea has never fully recovered since the Five Elders Council last wiped us out. We're short on Nascent Soul cultivators. With combat strength like this, it's unlikely they'll send us to the front lines."
The reasoning settled somewhat reassuringly over the room.
Yet Gao Yuan kept one thought buried, unsaid.
If it ever reached the point where the survivors of the Congyun Sea had to take the field themselves, then the ferocity of this war...
He suppressed a shudder.
***
While the entire Myriad Immortals Alliance churned in turmoil over the sudden war preparation announcement, Li Fan was perfectly at ease.
He drained his cup of luminous azure nectar in one go and raised his thumb in appreciation. "Excellent wine! A fine vintage, and Fellow Daoist Sima's accounts of the thrilling events from a thousand years past to go with it... What more could one ask for?"
Sima Changkong's face was pleasantly flushed. "Although Fellow Daoist and I have only just met, I feel as though we've been friends for years. Fate is a marvelous and ineffable thing! Come, another cup!"
He tilted his head back and poured the wine down his throat. "Now then, which chapter of the Xuanhuang World's past would you like to hear next? The ancient era is largely lost, but regarding the history since the Myriad Immortals Alliance was re-established, I, Sima Changkong, still know a thing or two..." His face was flushed, his tone brimming with pride.
"I've heard that roughly five hundred years ago, there was an event where the minor worlds united and launched a collective assault against the cultivation world," Li Fan said, his expression half-drunk with wine and curiosity. "Tell me more about that, Fellow Daoist."