Chapter 481

On the other side.

Ruined Heaven World, Heavenly Capital.

The top floor of the Gu Family Bank headquarters, a towering nine‑hundred‑and‑ninety‑nine stories, even more majestic than the Immortal Dynasty's imperial palace.

Gu Lingjiang stood with his hands behind his back before the huge glazed window, his expression indifferent as he looked down upon the city below, already plunged into apocalyptic panic.

On the streets, countless cultivators were like madmen.

They frenziedly assaulted one Gu Family Bank branch after another, already emptied of people, hoping to exchange their lifetime savings of immortal crystals.

They rushed into shops once filled with dazzling goods, only to find the shelves empty, or the few items left had skyrocketed to astronomical prices they could not afford even if they lost everything.

The Gu Family banknotes in their hands turned into a pile of waste paper overnight.

The magic treasure flying swords they prided themselves on, due to overdue loans from the Gu Family Bank, had their formation patterns remotely locked in an instant, turning into scrap iron.

The cave dwellings and sects they relied on for survival had their property deeds and formation disks mortgaged to the Gu Family Bank.

It took only a day to fall from the clouds into hell.

"Senior Elder…… this…… have we gone too far?"

Lin Feng stood behind Gu Lingjiang, looking at the desperate, twisted, hate-filled faces below, his voice trembling slightly.

Although he had long known this day would come, when it actually arrived the sweeping despair and destruction of the world still sent waves of palpitations through him.

"Despair?" Gu Lingjiang turned his head, calmly looking at him, "When they greedily enjoyed the one‑percent monthly interest, staking everything on the gambling table, they should have anticipated this day."

"The essence of finance is plunder; it's merely more concealed and efficient than swords."

Gu Lingjiang said lightly: "We haven't killed a single person, nor spilled a drop of blood, yet we have taken everything from this world."

Just then.

Boom—!

A tremendous roar shook the entire glazed treasure pagoda violently.

A venerable and angry pressure, like a tsunami descending from the heavens, instantly enveloped the entire Heavenly Capital.

"Gu Family Chamber of Commerce! Get out here and die, this seat!"

Accompanied by an angry roar, a figure in ancient imperial robes, beard and hair white, tore through the void and appeared outside the pagoda.

Nine pure‑gold divine dragons, condensed from pure national fortune, coiled around him, each exuding the terrifying aura of a True Immortal.

"The Immortal Dynasty's forefather?"

Lin Feng's face turned pale; under this pressure he felt his very soul would be crushed.

"Just an old thing that's lived who knows how many tens of thousands of years, relying on devouring national fortune to eke out a miserable existence, and yet dares to act arrogantly before this seat."

Gu Lingjiang's face showed not the slightest ripple.

He adjusted his robes, took a step forward, stepped outside the pagoda, and stood far opposite the Immortal Dynasty's old ancestor.

"Who are you? Dare to overthrow my Immortal Dynasty's foundation!" The Immortal Dynasty's old ancestor stared fixedly at Gu Lingjiang, his eyes brimming with killing intent.

"Gu Family, Gu Lingjiang." Gu Lingjiang calmly announced his name.

"Excellent!" the Immortal Dynasty's old ancestor laughed furiously, "This seat doesn't care what Gu Family you are; today, you and the forces behind you will be buried with my Immortal Dynasty's billions of subjects!"

Before his words finished, the Immortal Dynasty's old ancestor ruthlessly struck out.

The nine nation's‑fortune divine dragons behind him let out a roar, merged into one, forming a purple‑gold dragon claw that covered half of Heavenly Capital, and viciously snatched at Gu Lingjiang!

This claw contains the remaining national fortune of the entire Ruined Heaven World; its power is already infinitely close to a strike from an Immortal King!

However, facing this heaven‑and‑earth‑destroying strike, Gu Lingjiang merely slowly raised his right hand.

In his palm, a thin banknote shimmering with a faint golden light appeared out of thin air...

Exactly the Gu Family banknote that all cultivators of the Ruined Heaven World regard as waste paper.

"On this seat's territory, you want to compare wealth with me?"

Gu Lingjiang's mouth curled into a sneering arc.

He flicked his finger.

That banknote silently floated out.

Hum—

At the moment the banknote left his hand, the heavenly dao laws of the entire Ruined Heaven World rumbled!

An ineffable supreme power, purely condensed from wealth and concept, instantly empowered that tiny banknote.

In the Immortal Dynasty old ancestor's astonished and desperate gaze, that light banknote swelled against the storm!

One trillion!

Ten trillion!

One hundred trillion!

Three hundred trillion top‑grade immortal crystals!

That was no longer just a banknote; it was the sum of all wealth created in the Ruined Heaven World over the past six months!

It was the ultimate manifestation of power under this world's unique heavenly dao!

Under this heavenly dao.

Whoever burns enough money... the stronger their battle power becomes!

Boom!

The golden heavenly canopy formed from the banknote violently collided with the purple‑gold dragon claw.

The nation's‑fortune dragon claw, capable of crushing a True Immortal, instantly shattered into countless specks of light upon contact with the golden heavenly canopy.

"Pfft!"

The Immortal Dynasty's old ancestor, as if struck by lightning, violently spat out a mouthful of blood, his figure recoiling tens of thousands of feet; the nine nation's‑fortune divine dragons surrounding him directly collapsed eight of them, and the remaining one dimmed and lost its luster.

"How... how is this possible?!"

The Immortal Dynasty Old Ancestor looked at his own slightly trembling hand, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He could feel that the power contained in that strike was not superior to him in level, but in quantity it overwhelmed him by thousands, even tens of thousands times!

"I said before, in this world, you don't have as much money as I do."

Gu Linjiang stepped forward and instantly appeared before the Immortal Dynasty Old Ancestor.

He extended two fingers, lightly pinching the Immortal Dynasty Old Ancestor's neck as if holding a fly.

"Now, you and your so-called Immortal Dynasty are bankrupt."

Crack!

A crisp sound.

The ultimate foundation that had guarded the Immortal Dynasty for countless eons was effortlessly crushed by Gu Linjiang, who snapped his throat bone, and together with his divine soul and Dao fruit, all turned into flying ashes.

The Ruined Heaven World fell into utter silence at that moment.

All cultivators who witnessed this scene fell into deep despair.

Even the last guardian deity was defeated, and defeated so easily, so absurdly.

They no longer had any hope of resistance.

However, just as Gu Linjiang was about to announce that the Gu Family would formally take over this realm,

Rip—

The Heavenly Dome of the Ruined Heaven World was torn open by a domineering bloody sword light, creating a huge rift stretching millions of li.

A terrifying pressure, far surpassing that of the Immortal Dynasty Old Ancestor and filled with slaughter and destruction, descended violently from that rift.

"What an interesting world, what an interesting Heavenly Dao."