Chapter 412: Divide into Four Steps

At the same time.

Clear Wind City, Gu Clan Merchant Association.

In a private room on the third floor, the accountant's hand trembled—not from fatigue, but from fear.

"Lin… Lin Chairman…"

The accountant's voice choked with tears as he stammeringly handed the report to Lin Feng,

"You… you'd better look yourself, old man… I've never seen this much money in my life."

Lin Feng took the jade slip and probed it with his divine sense.

Boom!

A string of numbers so long it took his breath away made him almost forget how to breathe.

Thirteen billion seven hundred sixty-five million low-grade immortal crystals.

This was merely the total of depositors who had deposited one million immortal crystals to become permanent VIPs.

And the combined total of casual depositors who had put in one hundred thousand or two hundred thousand was probably several times this figure.

Lin Feng's head buzzed, going blank.

He recalled the storage ring that the Grand Elder had produced, which contained ten thousand so‑called low‑grade immortal stones.

According to his estimate, the total value was at most a hundred billion!

It sounded like a lot, and in fact it really was a lot.

But so far, the actual consumption was probably less than ten billion!

In other words, they leveraged less than ten billion of capital to move hundreds of billions of cash flow!

This isn't arithmetic—it's immortal arts! It's a miracle!

Lin Feng's hand, gripping the report, shook even more violently than the accountant's.

He forced himself to stand and staggered up to the third floor.

Inside the private room, tea fragrance lingered.

Gu Linjiang continued to sip his tea leisurely, as if the bank‑run storm outside that could drive any merchant association mad were merely a drizzle beyond the window.

"Grand Elder…"

Lin Feng's voice was hoarse and dry as he presented the jade slip, his whole mind lost in a great daze.

Gu Linjiang didn't even glance at the jade slip; he merely gave the window a casual look.

In the direction of the Spirit Qi Bank Headquarters, several powerful auras shot up into the sky, only to be blocked by an invisible barrier in mid‑air, flailing about like headless flies, their furious roars audible even halfway across the city.

"The time is about right."

Gu Linjiang set down his teacup and nodded to the Azure Phoenix beside him.

The Azure Phoenix understood, stepped lightly over to Lin Feng, and handed him another jade slip.

"This is the third step," she said, her voice cold and unruffled.

Lin Feng took it trembling and probed it with his divine sense.

This time he wasn't frightened by the astronomical numbers of immortal crystals.

What he saw were rows of carefully cultivated spirit roots, emitting a soft glow.

Human‑character spirit roots.

At the end of the jade slip was a line of small text.

"Human‑character spirit roots, priced at one hundred thousand low‑grade immortal crystals, with thirty‑year interest‑free loans, crafted by the Gu Clan Merchant Association's chief alchemist who gathers heaven‑and‑earth spirit qi, supplements it with a hundred kinds of spirit plants, and pours painstaking effort into their cultivation; their stability and growth far exceed the earth‑grade spirit roots rented from the Immortal Dynasty, second only to the heavenly grade."

Lin Feng's pupils contracted sharply.

He jerked his head up to look at Gu Linjiang, his eyes filled with unprecedented shock.

If the free spirit qi and earth‑rank cultivation arts before were merely cutting flesh from the Immortal Dynasty's giant beast, then the appearance of these human‑character spirit roots is a dagger plunged straight into its heart!

Spirit‑root leasing!

This is the core, fundamental business by which the Immortal Dynasty rules the Thirty‑Three Heavens!

Without a spirit root, one cannot cultivate.

They monopolized the source of spirit roots, set high rents and endless extra fees, turning every low‑level cultivator into a lifelong beast of burden working for them.

And now, the Gu Clan Merchant Association aims to smash their rice bowl at the root!

"Go."

Gu Linjiang's voice was terrifyingly calm,

"Tell everyone that my Gu Clan Merchant Association not only wants them to have cultivation methods, but also to have a foundation."

……

When the news of the Gu Clan Merchant Association's "artificial spirit roots" spread throughout the city, all of Clear Wind City descended into chaos.

Countless cultivators flocked to the Immortal Dynasty's various spirit‑root rental offices; their faces no longer showed fawning or meekness, but the anger and resentment suppressed for countless years.

"Refund!"

"I'm not renting anymore! Return my deposit!"

"You blood‑sucking beasts! I've rented earth‑grade spirit roots for three hundred years, paying back principal and interest worth millions of immortal crystals, yet I still don't even qualify for Foundation Establishment!"

The entrance of the spirit‑root rental office was packed tight by an angry crowd.

The usual overseers and guards, high and mighty, were now like tiny boats in a storm, liable to capsize at any moment.

West of the city, the Heavenly Spirit‑Root Rental Office.

This is Clear Wind City's largest spirit‑root supplier; its behind‑the‑scenes boss is said to have countless ties with a certain bigwig of the Second Heaven.

At this moment, the hall that used to be thronged with visitors stood empty, its doors able to catch sparrows.

A middle‑aged cultivator in splendid robes, his aura at the peak of Foundation Establishment, stared grimly at the light‑screen showing a precipitous drop in the performance report.

He is called Qian Wanshan, the manager of this rental office, and also the paternal uncle of Qian Youde, the manager of the Spirit Qi Bank.

Rebelled! Everything's rebelled!

Qian Wanshan smashed the jade stone desk before him with a single palm, his anger uncontainable,

A mere man-made trash spirit root dares to challenge the heaven-and-earth spirit root of the immortal dynasty?!

"Manager, we have already filed a complaint with the Tax Bureau, reporting that the Gu Merchant Guild is engaging in malicious competition and disrupting market order!" a subordinate reported, trembling with fear.

What's the result?!

The Tax Bureau... the Tax Bureau says...

That subordinate's face was worse than if he were crying,

They said, the Gu Merchant Guild is a major taxpayer of Qingfeng City, and just now they paid... a sum... of money...

How much?!

It amounts to... the total tax revenue of our rental office for the next ten years... a huge tax sum.

Qian Wanshan's vision went black, he staggered back two steps, and plopped down onto the ground.

Major taxpayer...

He understood.

They've paved the road.

From the start, this has been an unsolvable open scheme.

And they, having poured all the collected rental money into other industries, simply cannot recoup it in the short term.

The bank... probably can't even protect itself.

One day later, a piece of news spread through the city like a plague.

Qingfeng City's largest spirit root supplier, the Heavenly Spirit Root Rental Office, announced bankruptcy.

Third-floor private room.

Lin Feng watched the tide-like crowd outside the window, surging like mountains and seas; the shock in his heart had long gone numb, replaced by an unprecedented feeling as if he had personally forged history.

He turned his head, looking at the Grand Elder who had remained calm and composed from beginning to end.

"Grand Elder, what should we do next?"

Gu Linjiang drained the last sip of tea from his cup, slowly rose, walked to the window, and looked down upon the city that was collapsing and being reborn.

The corner of his mouth finally curled into a meaningful arc.

"The fourth step."

He lightly uttered two words.

"Acquisition."