Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 206

A few days later.

Leaving aside the construction matters of the Heaven Treasure Pavilion, the number of people seeking out City Lord Wang reached a new peak. The Northern District, Scent-Perceiving Sect, Ink-Water Sect, Purple Dragon Mountain, Jiang Clan, and Guan Clan all came one after another.

Naturally, their visit was about the Heaven Treasure Pavilion.

For those whose development relied on Jade Spirit City, having an additional giant trading chamber was a major event tied directly to their sect’s future. It was a great thing.

New power, new channels.

How to divide the profits was a matter that had to be settled among this interest alliance centered around Wang Yu, and how to respond to Golden Abundance Tower’s questioning was also critical.

For example, the Guan Clan managed the business of paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones. Originally, a small portion of their production was sold to itinerant cultivators or supplied to their own clan stores to nurture younger generations.

However, most of their goods were sold to Golden Abundance Tower, which transported them to various regions to earn the price difference. That was the advantage of the platform.

As for the Jiang Clan, their products were generally first-rank pills, talismans, formations, and artifacts, following the route of small profits and large sales. They also had vast spiritual fields outside the city where they cultivated Spirit Rice.

These were mostly consumed by cultivators of Jade Spirit City, with only a small number of finest items being purchased by Golden Abundance Tower.The Ink-Water Sect’s unique painting scrolls, Purple Dragon Mountain’s spirit beast trade, and the Scent-Perceiving Sect’s various rare incenses—all of these sects had survived until now not merely because of strength.

Their ability to manage businesses and generate resources to nurture stronger cultivators was the key to their lasting prosperity and inheritance.

With the establishment of the Heaven Treasure Pavilion, they could now compare markets and sell to more cities. Two mighty tigers fighting—if just a bit of profit leaked out—it would be enough for them to thrive.

To seize the market, if they could not destroy the rival, they would simply throw spirit stones at the problem. They were desperate to hear Wang Yu’s opinion, since nominally, he was the leader of the Jade Spirit Interest Alliance.

Thus, their visit was both a show of goodwill and a gesture of allegiance. There was also some gratitude mixed in—perhaps through this opportunity, their sect might even produce one or two Core Formation Real Personage.

But... Wang Yu truly could not meet them.

He had arranged for the Heaven Treasure Pavilion to be built right beside Golden Abundance Tower. The provocative intent was obvious. If he took the chance to profit from both sides’ losses, that would be unwise—it could easily offend both major chambers of commerce.

Therefore, he ordered Xu Ruzhou to see no one.

This was not only to avoid Han Jia, who might visit, but also to avoid all these people.

Let each of them secretly take their share of benefits—what was there to discuss anyway?

He had already made arrangements on the City Lord’s Mansion side: they would take only the profits from the Central District, while the four other districts—east, south, west, and north—would be left to the alliance’s other factions.

They should not feel shortchanged. Whatever benefits they obtained would still be based on trade, and Wang Yu would collect taxes. A temporary 5% increase in the tax rate would cover handling fees.

After all, this move expanded Jade Spirit City’s market share and absorbed the full production of the Scent-Perceiving Sect, Purple Dragon Mountain, and Ink-Water Sect within the city.

This was a massive tax income. The longer the two major chambers fought, the wealthier the city would become.

At such a time, he must not step forward—lest it be misunderstood.

When they could not see him and noticed that the City Lord’s people were only active in the Central District while also increasing taxes, they immediately understood Wang Yu’s intentions.

There was no need for further discussion; they tacitly divided the four districts among themselves.

Thus—

A spectacular commercial battle began.

……

“The Heaven Treasure Pavilion’s Jade Spirit City branch is now open!”

“Golden Abundance Tower sells spirit pills for five hundred spirit stones, but we only sell for four hundred. Limited to one thousand bottles, first come, first served!”

“Hurry up! If you don’t grab the bargain, you’re a fool!”

“Finally, it’s Jade Spirit City’s turn. They say the fight in Cloud Mist City was fierce. I think the price might drop further if we wait.”

“Really?”

“If I’m lying, I’m not from Jade Spirit City.”

“Then I’ll trust you this once, fellow Daoist.”

That afternoon—

The female attendants of Golden Abundance Tower, dressed more provocatively than courtesans, stood on the streets, calling out to passing cultivators.

“Fasting Pills, Spirit Recovery Pills, only two hundred spirit stones per bottle, nine pills each, refined by second-rank alchemist Master Tong Yan—fair and honest trade.”

Next door, Pavilion Master Han Jia, sensing this with divine sense, cursed under his breath.

But upon touching the five million spirit stones earned from Wang Yu, his confidence in Jade Spirit City’s potential and market surged again. He immediately instructed his subordinates:

“Ice Talisman, Water Armor Talisman, Wood Vine Talisman, Fireball Talisman, Golden Blade Talisman—a full set of basic five-element talismans, thirty in a bundle.

“Bundle them with Fasting Pills, Spirit Recovery Pills, and Healing Pills, nine pills per bottle, total price three thousand spirit stones.

“Oh, and include a free first-rank formation flag: Wind-Breath Mortal Transformation Formation.”

Han Jia’s orders left his subordinates dumbfounded. It was a bit too cheap. That combination was practically the most complete Qi Refining adventure set, especially with a formation included.

This thing was unbelievably expensive, yet it was actually being given away.

“Go handle it quickly. Whether we can seize more of the market depends on whether this packaging method learned from the Taihu Spiritual Domain will work.”

“Yes.”

The subordinate had just left when Han Yinfeng knocked on the door and entered.

“Father, the masters of the Guan and Jiang families have come to pay a visit.”

“Quickly, invite them in.” Han Jia’s face lit up with joy upon hearing this.

Once these two sides began to compete, the entire city’s attention was immediately drawn. Even nearby cities had heard of it, and many cultivators hurried over overnight, waiting for the battle between the two sides to reach its peak, so they could spend their entire fortunes to buy in.

Later, they could resell in other regions and make a huge profit.

It was just like the stock market in Wang Yu’s previous life.

Buy low, sell high. Everyone understood this principle, but whether one could seize the right moment and profit from the two major trading chambers depended entirely on one’s insight and judgment.

Not everyone had the qualification to even sit at the table.

In recent days, the most furious person was none other than Ye Qing. He considered himself diligent and had done his utmost to fulfill every request made by Lord Wang of the city.

Yet despite that, he still drew his old rival’s attention. How was he supposed to survive now?

A late Core Formation cultivator had opened a third-rank branch hall. Ye Qing was only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Even if the powers backing them were of equal tier, when it came to connections, trade channels, financial strength, internal resources, or cultivation base, he was no match at all.

Even if Ye Qing wanted to compete, it should have been with the Foundation Establishment protectors of Heaven Treasure Pavilion, not with the elder of Cloud Ridge’s main hall.

“This is going to kill me.”

Ye Qing tried to meet with Wang Yu, but the latter still refused to see him.

Heaven Treasure Pavilion was invited by him. How could he possibly stop them? Moreover, his main dealings were with Jin Miaoshan, and Ye Qing was merely the unfortunate one caught in between.

The last person, someone surnamed Qian, had met the same fate.

Jade Spirit City needed to grow, Wang Yu’s pockets were empty and he needed spirit stones, and Golden Abundance Tower could not provide them. Thus, Wang Yu had to find his own path and certainly could not sympathize with Ye Qing.

Unable to meet him, and burdened by Jin Miaoshan’s orders, Ye Qing had no choice but to grit his teeth and spend his last savings to hold on.

This citywide price war, which had attracted everyone’s attention, lasted only half a year before ending in Golden Abundance Tower’s defeat.

Han Jia had organized an auction specifically for Core Formation cultivators. When the True Personage Qingyang bid on the final third-rank equipment, he announced that he would go into seclusion to refine his life-bound magic treasure.

Thus, the half-year-long benefits gradually came to an end.

But for those within the Jade Spirit Interest Alliance, the real gains were only beginning. Their supply contracts with Han Jia had a minimum duration; half a year was far from over.

It was precisely because of their defection that Heaven Treasure Pavilion was able to quickly seize enough market share, eventually holding an auction and delivering the final blow to Ye Qing.

According to the pattern and tacit understanding between the two great powers in their past struggles, Golden Abundance Tower should have withdrawn at this point.

The market of Jade Spirit City should now belong entirely to Heaven Treasure Pavilion.

However, something unexpected happened. Even though only a little over ten percent of the market remained, not enough to cover basic expenses, Ye Qing stubbornly refused to leave.

He simply stayed put.

This made Han Jia furious. He wanted to confront him but had no real grounds to do so, since their past rivalry and unspoken agreements were merely conventions, not actual rules.

He could only ignore it.

Wang Yu watched from the shadows. Seeing Ye Qing’s decision, he finally relaxed. To him, the best outcome was coexistence between both sides. Only through competition could progress be made.

With that, he could enter seclusion with peace of mind.

Away from the turbulent market tides, Wang Yu returned to his tranquil harbor and quietly focused on improving himself.

In the second year, his life returned to normal. Outwardly, he maintained frequent social contact, often hosting banquets with Han Jia to display closeness.

In truth, he used Han Jia’s connections to meet the masters of Heaven Treasure Pavilion’s branch halls in neighboring cities, as well as the City Lords affiliated with the Blood Reversal Sect.

By the third year, a network of city lords had begun to take shape. Most shared similar approaches to Wang Yu. Those with strong backgrounds were often Foundation Establishment geniuses who rarely left their own territories, draining the lifeblood of their cities.

Some were even bold enough to withhold spirit stones owed to their sects. Those with weaker backgrounds were usually Core Formation cultivators, who moved about more freely.

They would talk about news from all corners of the continent and the internal struggles within their sects. As city lords stationed outside, their loyalty had to remain firm.

Thus, Wang Yu mainly interacted with people from the Zhuo, Yu, and Zuoqiu family factions—not necessarily the main houses but also their affiliated clans. Through them, he learned many secrets about Cloud Ridge Prefecture.

In the fourth year, he began deploying people through his network as City Lord Wang, inviting heroes from all sides to prepare for the second Fragrance Appreciation Gathering.

Considering that this time Core Formation cultivators might attend, he deliberately sent a message to Zhuo Shouqing, asking him to help procure some third-tier spirit incense.

The high-grade incense produced by the Scent-Perceiving Sect might not be sufficient, so he also prepared five hundred hand warmers. Each attendee would be able to smell the rare fragrance up close. Since he did not know how many people would come, he decided to overprepare.

It was bound to be a grand event, something only someone backed by the Blood Reversal Sect could organize. If he were merely a rogue cultivator, he would probably still be hiding in some remote mountain valley.

The fifth year arrived.

In the twenty-fifth year of Wang Yu’s service as Deacon, during the third month, after a five-year gap, the second Jade Spirit Fragrance Perceving Gathering was held as scheduled.

That day.

Inside his secluded meditation chamber, the tangible killing intent radiating from Wang Yu’s body gradually receded. Aside from the shortcut of slaughter, steadily cultivating the Lesser Asura Killing Fist also allowed him to condense killing intent.

Thus, what had once been a vague aura had now become an integral part of him.

In terms of cultivation progress, he had refined three supreme-grade Ice Spirit Pills, gaining 420 drops of true essence. His dual Idle Slots added another 186 drops, and through normal cultivation he gained over 60 drops.

In total, his true essence increased by 666 drops. Together with his original 800 drops, his Spirit Sea now held 1,466 drops.

A year earlier, he had successfully broken through to the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment.