"So, we must only let the Liu imperial family make a fortune, while everyone else must go bankrupt. This is our primary objective…"
"In this game, there is only one winner in plain sight, and that is the Liu imperial family. This is our ultimate goal."
"After several months, our total spirit stones have tripled, which is enough."
…
"Brother Yu, according to the information I've gathered, some of the major families in the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty have joined forces and want to seize control from us."
Yu Hong, having heard Ye Yu's explanation, was still somewhat uneasy. The white stone in his hand remained unplaced, clearly showing his worry.
"Once the rhythm is disrupted, your plan will fail, Brother Yu. At best, you'll have made some spirit stones."
…
Yu Hong's tone was full of doubt.
…
"It's fine, I've considered all these things. It's just that my killer move will take some time to reveal. Let them profit a bit for now."
"In a few days, they'll realize they have a lot more to learn in this regard, but they won't have another chance to gamble."
Ye Yu's voice was filled with certainty.
…
Upon hearing Ye Yu's words, Yu Hong's pupils constricted, his willow-like brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed, a smile appearing on his face.
…
Subsequently, Yu Hong played a risky move, disregarding the fate of his own large dragon and relentlessly attacking Ye Yu's upper-left formation.
Ye Yu found this play somewhat perplexing, but he showed no mercy, directly slaying the dragon mid-game and ending the match.
…
Seeing that he had lost, Yu Hong stuck out his tongue, shrugged, and clearly paid no mind to the outcome of the game.
A few days later, in the market of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, Foundation Establishment Pills were swept clean. Ten thousand spirit stones were not enough to buy one.
The Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages are crucial transitional phases in a cultivator's journey.
It is precisely for this reason that Foundation Establishment Pills are the most fundamental and essential items for the continuation and inheritance of a sect.
Ye Yu had not initially targeted Foundation Establishment Pills. He had merely raised the prices of the main ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills sequentially, thereby disrupting the market.
Other families had merely followed suit, raising the prices of various minerals, treasures, magical artifacts, and Dharma tools, selling rapidly at their peak and buying quickly at their lowest points to profit from the price difference.
They had no intention of monopolizing any single item, perhaps out of fear of offending too many people, or perhaps not being sufficiently ruthless. None of them had done so.
Within days, countless cultivators began purchasing Foundation Establishment Pills in large quantities.
Many speculators, sensing the shift, started acquiring them in bulk, and numerous families joined the fray.
The price of Foundation Establishment Pills rose again, beyond anyone's control.
After months of groundwork, Ye Yu's extensive network of subordinates had long since secured numerous shops in various important cities across the one hundred and eight domains.
The hidden arrangements were already in place, making manipulation all the easier.
Buy, buy, buy in large quantities. Everyone was buying. The Foundation Establishment Pills in the hands of alchemists were bought out by everyone.
More and more were stockpiled!
Half a month later, following the previous disturbances and gaining some experience, the families felt that the time was ripe.
In the past, other treasures would typically drop in price after a week, half a month, or at most a month.
Thus, they began to sell off their holdings, making a substantial profit in spirit stones.
However, this time, to everyone's utter astonishment, the price of Foundation Establishment Pills continued to rise, and rise wildly.
Even if a large number of alchemists produced an abundance of Foundation Establishment Pills, it was useless.
As soon as a single Foundation Establishment Pill entered the market, it was immediately bought out. The families who had sold their pills early regretted it immensely, pounding their chests and lamenting as if they had lost half their lives…
Those who hadn't sold held on even tighter, their eyes burning red as they stared at the market.
Buy, buy, buy. More and more people continued to buy. After a month, even if all the alchemists stopped refining other pills and focused solely on Foundation Establishment Pills, it still wouldn't be enough for people to purchase.
Fifty times the normal price, fifty times more expensive Foundation Establishment Pills left everyone stunned.
Many cultivators felt their hearts could barely take it, while others believed they were dreaming.
How could the price of Foundation Establishment Pills skyrocket this high? It was unrealistic!
The families holding large quantities of Foundation Establishment Pills hoped the price would continue to climb, ideally indefinitely, to maximize their profits.
Meanwhile, the families and rogue cultivators desperately needing Foundation Establishment Pills wished for the price to drop quickly.
This way, they could afford them.
This situation became like a race, a contest to see who would break first. Whoever couldn't hold on would be utterly defeated and plummet into ruin.
Across the one hundred and eight domains of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, the markets held their breath. Countless eyes were fixed on the price of Foundation Establishment Pills.
Some wished for it to rise, others for it to fall.
Those who wanted it to rise hoped for an astronomical price.
Those who wanted it to fall wished for it to become as cheap as cabbage.
On January 20th.
It fell. It fell at a loss, dropping more than forty percent below the usual price.
The families holding large quantities of Foundation Establishment Pills, their eyes bloodshot and filled with murderous intent, watched the price of Foundation Establishment Pills plummet, feeling as though they could devour people.
Strangely, when prices were rising, everyone bought and no one sold. When prices fell, everyone sold and no one bought.
However, with everyone selling, the market suddenly had more supply than demand. This imbalance continued to grow.
Within days, the price of Foundation Establishment Pills dropped to below the cost of raw materials.
Even under these circumstances, a significant number of people were still dumping Foundation Establishment Pills.
Alas, the more there was, the less it was worth.
Within days, the price of Foundation Establishment Pills truly hit rock bottom, becoming as cheap as cabbage, with a few dozen spirit stones buying one.
Consider that the value of a hundred-year-old spirit herb or medicine was not less than a few dozen spirit stones, making it evident how cheap Foundation Establishment Pills had become.
This immediately ruined not only the noble families but also all the alchemists.
After spending so much time and effort, they couldn't even sell their products for the cost of the raw materials. One could imagine how devastating it was.
It was terrifying. Instantly, countless people were ruined, and even some deeply established families couldn't sustain themselves.
Foundation Establishment Pills were worthless. The raw materials were more expensive than the pills, and the alchemists were spitting blood in anger.
After all, they had never encountered such a situation, working for free and even losing money. Who could endure this?
Some more radical alchemists even swore oaths to the heavens, vowing never to refine Foundation Establishment Pills again.
In the one hundred and eight domains of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, the flow of cultivators was extremely active.
Many cultivators thought that if they couldn't sell at a high price locally, they would go elsewhere.
However, this was not a regional price drop, but a price reduction across the entire cultivation world.
Even if you went to another region, what difference would it make? Wasn't every place the same?
The entire market, both buyers and sellers, was in complete disarray. Now, as long as you were willing to acquire Foundation Establishment Pills at a not-too-low price, people would call you father and grandfather.
Just as everyone was frantically offloading their Foundation Establishment Pills, two massive forces were secretly scouring the market for these extremely cheap pills.
The price of Foundation Establishment Pills began to warm up again.
Keep in mind that the Ministry of Revenue of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty was the national treasury. Ye Yu also held a considerable amount of spirit stones.
With the simultaneous efforts of the two parties, the effect was remarkably significant.
After waiting for four or five days, when the Foundation Establishment Pills on the market were no longer being sold at a loss, cultivators in the cultivation world were astonished to discover that the price of Foundation Establishment Pills was about to rise again.
It rose, and it rose as madly as before.
The few families who hadn't sold and were preparing to buy at the bottom patted their chests, secretly feeling fortunate.
As for the families and cultivators who had rushed to sell, their eyes had now turned completely crimson.
They drew their swords and searched everywhere, looking for who was orchestrating all of this, vowing to tear the mastermind to shreds.
…
Soaring to the heavens, truly soaring. The price of Foundation Establishment Pills once again returned to fifty times its peak.
Some shrewd families, at this point, began to sell.
After so many ups and downs, they simply couldn't bear it anymore. What kind of heart could withstand so much turmoil?
But the price continued to rise. Another half month passed, and the price of Foundation Establishment Pills surprisingly reached a hundredfold.
…
A hundredfold profit! Kinship, friendship, love, all emotions were empty in the face of such astonishing profit.
…
Everyone went mad, buying like lunatics.
Even though they had suffered heavy losses before and were bankrupt, they still kept buying, hoping for one more gamble.
…
These people, without Ye Yu's intervention, began to self-hypnotize and convince themselves.
Even when fatal crises loomed, they turned a blind eye, solely focused on making a bit more profit.
…
And at this very moment, the price of Foundation Establishment Pills dropped again, plummeting straight down like into an abyss tens of thousands of feet deep, at a speed faster than a flying sword.
…
It fell! The price of Foundation Establishment Pills fell!
Now, not only rogue cultivators but even noble families couldn't hold on.
Many families, due to differing choices within their ranks, had accumulated significant internal conflicts during this process.
This incident acted as a catalyst, and they decided to go their separate ways and split the family.
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