Chapter 115: The Holy Emperor Appears, Samsara Collapses!

Primordial merit made into currency—speaking of its value… this truly means wealth can reach the heavens!

Fengxi singled out one coin from that handful of primordial merit coins, weighing it in his hand, and said, 'I suppose an ordinary Great Luo, upon obtaining such a treasure, would have already used it for his own cultivation, right?'

I didn't expect Lord Houtu would actually choose to circulate it?

He felt somewhat doubtful.

"No need to be surprised." Yuzhen laughed, explaining, 'This is nothing more than a scheme of money making money... Cast a long line to catch big fish; long-term investment yields long-term returns.'

Yuzhen, or rather the great expert behind him, clearly understands this principle, has rich experience, and instantly sees through Houtu's plan.

"Indeed, primordial merit coins like this do help cultivation, no doubt." Yuzhen said, 'But once used up, they're really gone... If you want more, you can only wait for the luck dividends generated by your own little stall.'

"But if we treat it as chips, lure other Great Luos, maneuver horizontally and vertically, gallop in the Honghuang market, expand business, someday we may hope to reap profits several times the cost!"

"So, anyone with a bit of financial acumen sharpens their mind to dive in here, rather than scraping by on a hand-to-mouth wage."

Yuzhen explained it very clearly and down-to-earth; he didn't treat primordial merit as some lofty existence, but bluntly equated it with money, and all operational actions were equivalent to market investment.

"This also has risk, right?" Fengxi thought for a moment and said, 'The market has risk; investment requires caution!'

"If one is not careful, the merit poured in could go to waste, or someone might take the money and not deliver, or the invested market could face a crisis... so many possibilities!"

"Not bad." Yuzhen nodded, then countered, 'But if you want huge returns while wanting to discard risk... where could such a good thing exist?'

"That's true." Fengxi smiled ruefully, 'It's my greed.'

"Your mindset is also normal." Yuzhen chuckled, 'You know, many newly ascended Great Luos are increasingly confident—they want everything!'

"They always think they're the special one, rushing recklessly into the grand Honghuang market, certain to achieve great feats, earn a fortune, have primordial merit pour down basket after basket, then their cultivation skyrockets, from then on they reach the pinnacle of life."

"They observe market trends for a while, think it's a great bull market, a chance to make a killing... So they call in friends, smash pots and sell iron, borrow and mortgage, raise capital, then charge in headfirst!"

"The result..."

"What result?" Fengxi was very interested.

"The result is those bookmakers just wait for someone to take over... Once you're in, you're trapped!" Yuzhen spread his hands, 'The principal gets locked in, while outside they're stuck with high-interest loans.'

"Each novice Great Luo, when charging in, is full of fighting spirit; later, when eating dirt to repay debts, they become tearful and miserable."

"This is still considered good."

"Those who still can't pay are even worse off, forced to sell themselves to repay debts, miserably losing even their freedom."

Yuzhen sighed with emotion, hearing Fengxi blink in disbelief, 'Really?'

"After all, they're Great Luos... yet they could end up this miserable?"

"What's so special about being a Great Luo?" Yuzhen shrugged, 'The gap among Great Luos isn't necessarily smaller than the gap from Great Ultimate to Great Luo!'

"Some powerful beings with malicious intent constantly scheme against novices... What can novices do? There's nothing they can do!"

"Even worse, sometimes the bookmakers collude with lenders, utterly shameless!"

"Facing such a lineup, if one harbors even a hint of greed, they're already ensnared, hard to escape... In the end, they lose personal freedom, and the big boss tells them to run errands, so they must run errands."

"Without a powerful backing, even a Dao-attained Great Luo struggles to move forward, must keep eyes wide open for any deal, careful not to be trapped."

Yuzhen expounded on these hidden secrets, his face showing deep feeling, causing Fengxi to exclaim that his horizons were greatly broadened.

The struggle among Great Luos is also very dark and evil.

"Tsk, what has this world become? Everyone schemes against each other—can't we be more tolerant and honest?" Fengxi shook his head, 'No trade, no harm.'

"Is making money really that important?"

He sighed, standing on the moral high ground, instantly feeling his virtue and integrity rise without limit, surpassing those Great Luos who hold heavenly mandate.

"Of course it's important." Yuzhen smiled faintly, taking out primordial merit coins one by one from the box before Fengxi and laying them beside him—these are the expenses for driving the disciples and grandchildren of the Three Pure Ones' Heavenly Lords, and also need to earn a living!

"What do you think, why do those Great Luos who hold heavenly mandate, knowing full well the huge risks here, still keep jumping into the pit?"

"Because there are real cases to back it up!"

"For ordinary Great Luos, this is a shortcut to the level of powerful beings!"

"For powerful beings, this is the fastest road to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Dao Ancestor Hongjun!"

Yuzhen pinched a primordial merit coin, gently blew a breath, and immediately a humming sound rang out, clear and distant—'Tsk... not bad!'

"Lord Houtu still has a conscience; the proportion of primordial source qi mixed in these coins is so-so, not exceeding standards, and the merit is pure and proper, not counterfeit."

"Although privately minted, its value is not bad either."

Fengxi stared blankly, only feeling that Yuzhen looked very experienced... he didn't even know how to interject.

"Because I don't understand!"

Every word Yuzhen spoke, when broken down, he understood clearly.

But put together, it was just a foggy mess.

Especially the motion of appraising the primordial merit coins—it was smooth and flowing.

After Yuzhen picked out a hundred Houtu primordial merit coins, he stopped his hand motions, gestured one-two to Fengxi, and said, 'This price counts as a discount... when you later report the account to Lord Houtu, she'll understand.'

"Oh oh oh." Fengxi could only utter 'oh'.

"Where did I leave off just now?" Yuzhen stacked the Houtu coins together, a hundred neatly piled, 'Hmm... I was talking about the speculation of powerful beings.'

"Why, despite the risk, do they all eagerly rush in?"

"Because as long as one can become the greatest, laugh last, then any risk ceases to be risk!" Yuzhen said, somewhat envious and somewhat yearning, 'You can imagine... if someone could use benefits to rally and unite all the great powers and heavenly mandates of the Honghuang world, raising funds to the utmost extent...'

"What does that mean?"

"It means it's no longer an individual's petty squabble, but openly can act as the spokesperson for the entire world's luck and merit system!"

"No longer private operation, but a public instrument, the supreme currency issuance institution of Honghuang!"

"Is there any problem with that?" Fengxi, bewildered, 'Does this mean one can then embezzle everyone's merit?'

"Not exactly, but not far off." Yuzhen smiled, 'One who can set market game rules, determine the standard system, operate reasonably so wealth circulates orderly, continually accumulating... their prestige and strength would rise to what extent?'

"Hard to imagine!" He sighed lightly, 'Luck and merit are essentially resources, extra profit from the interaction of heaven and humanity in the world... that's why Great Luos engage in all sorts of schemes.'

"Those who run sects, in building reputation and expanding inheritance—because they bring more sentient beings into the system, shear their profit wool, middlemen earn the spread."

Managing the clan, vying for supremacy over the universe, is also to enable the clan's sentient beings to exert greater influence on the world.

Even if Houtu establishes reincarnation, she merely sets up reincarnation, which is actually useless; the key is that sentient beings accept it, with souls passing through her reincarnation realm—although this is akin to a charitable cause, it also brings soft revenue, involving heavenly-human interaction.

But sects, clans, and public welfare—compared to such institutions, what are they worth? Yuzhen clicked his tongue. "A slight adjustment, simply sorting out the various factions, can make money roll in easily."

And if there were a bit more foresight and ability to manage the universe, persuading the Great Luos to open their own treasuries, storing the merit they keep hidden for their operation and use, that would be even more extraordinary!

Yuzhen flipped a Houtu coin up and down, catching it repeatedly, his face calm as water, saying, "The Way of Heaven reduces excess and makes up for deficiency."

Using the surplus of the Great Luo to make up for the myriad races' deficiencies, directing the world's operation, mobilizing each clan and civilization's enthusiasm, macro-regulating, so that the myriad races flourish, Heaven and Earth prosper, and the entire era strives upward.

The sheep are raised—still worried there's no wool to shear? Yuzhen said. "The wool produced is more; the controller can harvest the portion that doesn't affect the overall situation, treat it as a dividend to distribute to each contributing Great Luo."

This is great! Fengxi pondered. "Why isn't everyone doing this? Establishing such an ultimate institution, developing the era—steady gains, in the long run each person's earnings would be greater."

But the leader earns more... everyone are sensible people! Yuzhen shook his head. "Everyone can see clearly the huge profits behind this, all want to vie for the leader's position."

After all, behind every great calamity is nothing more than uneven distribution of interests, each with their own ideas—yet no one holds decisive power, so it seems everyone has a chance to win.

Everyone thinks I can win... and relying on being a Great Luo, no matter how mischievous, there will be a day to turn things over, so why not go all out and indulge?

Who knows, if we give it a try, we might just take off right where we stand?

Yuzhen, in a few words, explained the true essence of the great calamity, leaving Fengxi speechless.

What a realistic world!

Thinking of the era of various monsters and demons contending, Fengxi also felt drunk.

Just imagining that scene, one can feel a single word—

Chaos!

However, as he thought, he suddenly furrowed his brows, his expression solemn, 'Not good!'

Huh? What's wrong? Yuzhen looked over. "Startled and alarmed?"

You just said that, and I suddenly realized that the 'Hidden Virtue Blessings' strategy I planned for Lord Houtu has a serious flaw!

Oh? Really? Yuzhen caught the falling Houtu coin, his curiosity piqued. "Come, tell me!"

It can deal with many opponents, but it cannot deal with a certain kind of person... Fengxi sighed long. "Most afraid of meeting the Holy Emperor; meeting him would cause collapse."

Why? Because the foundations overlap, being completely crushed.

Fengxi sighed without end. "Believers in reincarnation, put simply, are—afraid of death, and also suffering in this life."

But if a Holy Emperor appears, with calm seas and clear rivers, using his ability to manage the Honghuang, strengthening the weak and compensating the weak, eliminating all suffering, making sentient beings live well... also attending to the construction of thought, or entertainment to delight the heart, or learning and cultivation, letting sentient beings' thoughts be unobstructed, this life without regret.

Thus, the pillar of reincarnation would be broken.

And as for longevity?

The ways to solve it are even more... no need to become immortal.

The faithful entrust their true spirits; later generations worship ancestors' heroic souls; merit judgment brings posthumous deification... Fengxi's mouth turned bitter, having deduced this far, he felt he might have no way to answer to Houtu, reincarnation has too many loopholes—"Reincarnation also requires cleansing memories; one can exploit rule loopholes, why not do so?"

That Holy Emperor figure, further acting in these aspects, issuing orders to sects, commanding them to bow and submit; issuing orders to ancestral spirits, to come under his command and control...

Tsk... feeling that if this series of operations continues, Lord Houtu's reincarnation will explode any minute!

You say, if I were to now report these omissions to Lord Houtu... me, who just wants money and people, would I not be slapped to death?

Fengxi gulped with difficulty, looking at Yuzhen, the two stared at each other.

Fengxi, don't scare yourself... it's fine. Yuzhen calmed his mind. "If such a Holy Emperor really appears, he would first take on the Demon Race—in terms of being terrible, the Demon Race far surpasses the Wu Clan!"

After the Demon Race falls, then it's the Wu Clan's turn!

Houtu establishing reincarnation isn't just to win the Wu-Demon war?

Look, we aren't helping to achieve this?

After-sales issues, that's another matter.

Furthermore... Yuzhen patted Fengxi's shoulder. "We must believe in Houtu the ancestral witch; she has wisdom and ability, facing such a Holy Emperor she won't be defeated!"

And besides, she might just treat this reincarnation as a stopgap?

After using it, just jump ship ashore, and she becomes the Holy Emperor herself!

If you really care, just help fill the gaps in this process... no need to rush to be scolded, criticized for inefficiency, submitting unfinished plans—do you still have any conscientious attitude toward work?

Yuzhen spoke calmly, feeding Fengxi a calming pill.

And Fengxi pondered—

That's also right!

He rested his chin on one hand, lost in thought. 'If such a Holy Emperor really exists, I don't know how many years in the future it would be.'

No matter what, it has nothing to do with the present.

Moreover, Lord Houtu is so wise and outstanding, how could he not see the hidden dangers in reincarnation? He must have already drafted a plan.

Currently supporting my promotion of reincarnation is merely for the war against the Demon Race.

After pondering this, Fengxi became completely at ease, chatting and laughing with Yuzhen again, throwing this matter behind his back.

The group has been set up, group number: 947660838, password: shen gun, welcome everyone to join the group to discuss the plot!

(End of chapter)