Chapter 427: Officially Closing Shop (2/3)

Regardless of whether the Wujian is a Calamity.

Or perhaps a product of a Calamity mixed with other things.

But judging from the current manifestations, the power of the Wujian clearly possesses a great sense of order, has specific rules, and can be utilized.

And this Wujian Shopkeeper has clearly exploited a loophole in the rules.

Since a loophole exists, then it cannot be that only one person can exploit it; he pondered for a while, then spoke these words.

Just as he expected, the Wujian responded.

He pondered in his heart that the Wujian is more like a Strange compared to a Calamity; after all, he had never encountered a Calamity that could engage in direct, rational communication.

"How much money do you want?"

Li Heng spoke with a smile while thinking.

What he currently lacked the least was Underworld Money; relying on the vast amount of Source Power on his person, combined with the similarity between Underworld Money and Buying Life Money, he could print it anytime, anywhere.

Counterfeiting right in front of the issuer, and the original owner could not even tell.

The highest realm of counterfeiting.

He even thought about whether he could use these counterfeit bills he made, through the Trading Balance he had obtained earlier, to buy this Wujian directly—equivalent to buying the bank that issues the currency with counterfeit money.

But when he sensed the price, he immediately dismissed the thought.

The price of this Wujian was too expensive, with no end in sight at a glance.

In any case, it was definitely not a price belonging to the Creation Realm level; it was suspected to be Creation Realm Above. Even by leveraging the Trading Balance and using Source Power to force a purchase, it would not work.

Even if he wanted to buy it, he would have to wait until later.

"I do not want your money, but you need to prove that you have money."

"This duel must be fair."

The voice of the Wujian sounded again.

Li Heng nodded; he understood what the Wujian meant.

As long as he could produce wealth matching the status of this Earth-Rank Shopkeeper, with both sides having equal stakes, then his cultivation could return, and this Life and Death duel would become fair again.

If he could even exceed the wealth of the Earth-Rank Shopkeeper, then it would mean his life and assets had become more important, and it would switch to the Wujian Shopkeeper gambling with small stakes to win big, needing to bear the cost.

However, there was one point he was doubtful about.

Does the Wujian really not need his money?

Although, according to general common sense, the Wujian might be the bank that issues Underworld Money and prints it, theoretically, it would not care at all about the wealth on a retail customer.

The Reason is indeed such a Reason, and the words are indeed spoken as such.

But Reality is always different.

Underworld Money is not just a piece of waste paper, but an equivalent commodity with some kind of credit guarantee; rather, it is a special substance possessing some kind of miraculous power, equivalent to the Buying Life Money he had subdued earlier.

And this Wujian is also more than just a pure bank.

So Li Heng had reason to suspect that this Wujian wanted to catch a big fish.

For example, if he inherited the identity of this Wujian Shopkeeper, while it would be a step to the heavens in a sense, he would also be under the control of the Wujian.

All the wealth on his person would, in a sense, also belong to the Wujian, which is why the Wujian would say it does not care now.

Having thought it through, Li Heng smiled dismissively and did not mind.

He was quite curious about this Wujian.

It resembles a Calamity, yet also resembles a Strange; it is clearly involved with all sorts of hells, yet it also touches upon the aspects of monetary trade—it is worth investigating.

Perhaps he could learn the truth about the changes in the Ascension Road from it.

Besides, let's see if this Wujian can even control him first.

"The identity of the Earth-Rank Number Three Inn Shopkeeper is worth one billion Underworld Money."

The Wujian voice sounded again, calmly stating the fact.

The Wujian Shopkeeper opposite Li Heng felt his whole body go cold upon hearing these words, and he felt some fear in his heart; could this guy really be able to produce so much Underworld Money!

He held a glimmer of hope in his heart.

But he also knew that since the Wujian had appeared here.

That meant this person's net worth was definitely not as simple as it appeared on the surface!

Sure enough, Li Heng quickly produced one billion Underworld Money.

"Good, it is indeed one billion Underworld Money."

"Your seal is lifted."

The Wujian was silent for a long time, as if a computer had crashed; it was only after a long while that it sounded again, and its tone had a subtle change, seemingly surprised and suspicious of where Li Heng got so much money.

Li Heng sensed the rule-based power that had imprisoned his own cultivation dissipate and smiled slightly. This Wujian is truly interesting; printing counterfeit money in front of the original owner to see, and it actually succeeded?

Is this because it cannot tell, or because it does not care?

He twisted his neck, his bones cracking, feeling relaxed all over, and then looked with a smile at the gloomy-faced Wujian Shopkeeper opposite, "Why, Shopkeeper, why has your expression become so ugly? Are you surprised that I could produce so much money?"

The Wujian Shopkeeper was sullen.

He knew he had capsized in the gutter.

Clearly possessing no aura of the Wujian, yet able to cause the Wujian to appear, and also able to produce so much Underworld Money.

This is not Reasonable!

However, not wanting to lose face even if he lost the battle, he could only stare fixedly at Li Heng and speak coldly. "I admit I have fallen, but so what? Even if you recover your cultivation, can you beat me?"

"Before I died, I had charged into the middle stage of the Emperor Road!"

"Do you know what level of genius I was in the past!"

The Wujian Shopkeeper did not hide the fact that he was a dead person.

"Is that so? Then how did you die in the past?"

Li Heng smiled slightly.

"You aren't qualified to know that, go to hell!"

The Wujian Shopkeeper knew that the longer this Weird, incomprehensible situation dragged on, the more variables would arise; he had no choice but to temporarily use thunderous means, even if it meant consuming his own True Spirit origin, to completely crush this person to death, otherwise he would truly be finished.

He struck immediately, and behind him, a Zhanchang Heaven and Earth filled with yin energy, littered with white bones, and scattered with weapons emerged, displaying the cultivation of an Eight Tribulations Heaven and Earth, seemingly on the verge of breaking through to the Ninth Tribulation.

Within this Zhanchang Heaven and Earth, the yin energy condensed into yin spirits, baring fangs and brandishing claws, while white bones crawled up, picked up weapons, and formed endless oceans of skeletons, possessing extreme deterrent power.

Li Heng was somewhat surprised; so it was still an Eight Tribulations Heaven and Earth?

If this person had neither progressed nor regressed since his death, wouldn't that mean only an Eight Tribulations Heaven and Earth could reach the middle stage of the Emperor Road? Thinking about it this way, this Emperor Road hegemony seemed quite valuable.

If one were to speculate this way, wouldn't the end of the Emperor Road require the Ninth Tribulation?

Or perhaps even above the Ninth Tribulation?

However, thinking about it this way, the little golden dragon didn't seem very valuable.

That guy was a Heavenly Court Envoy.

Of course, it was also possible that the guy had been dead for too long, the Dragon Corpse had rotted, and his cultivation had leaked away; perhaps he didn't have only that much cultivation while alive, or perhaps he was just a second-generation heir, born standing at the finish line.

Since he was already standing at the finish line, what did it matter if he was a bit of a waste?

Sigh, Eight Tribulations Heaven and Earth, a bit strong.

Can't beat him, can't beat him, I am too "weak".

Forget it, "weak" as I am...

Li Heng sighed in disappointment.

Immediately after, he spoke.

"Wujian, don't leave yet, I still have money."

In an instant, Wujian descended once more, and the Jingjichang, which had already resumed flowing, fell silent again. It was fortunate that this Jingjichang had no spirit, otherwise, being frozen and paused again and again, without the slightest thrill of battle, it would probably want to curse.

All of the Wujian Shopkeeper's attacks were once again stifled.

His expression was one of astonishment, feeling incredibly stifled.

What was going on? Could this person still have money!

"You still have money?"

Wujian also asked with rare, emotional astonishment.

"Of course I do."

With a thought from Li Heng, a stack of Underworld Money appeared in his hand again.

Wujian fell silent.

Was there really so much Underworld Money issued and printed by itself?

"Your wealth far exceeds the value of an Earth-Rank Shopkeeper's status; it is judged that the former Earth-Rank Shopkeeper used a small stake to win big, and he must bear the cost, having a portion of his cultivation suppressed, dropping to the Seven Tribulations Heaven and Earth."

Wujian announced the verdict.

The Wujian Shopkeeper's cultivation responded accordingly, dropping directly from the peak of the Eight Tribulations Heaven and Earth to the Seven Tribulations Heaven and Earth; his aura withered by more than half, and those yin spirits and the ocean of skeletons were directly reduced by more than half.

The Wujian Shopkeeper sensed the suppression within his body and was stunned.

However, he still harbored a glimmer of hope in his heart.

Because his foundation was still deep, as long as this person's wealth did not exceed his by too much, his own cultivation would not be suppressed too much, and in that case, he would still be able to fight.

Even if a portion of my strength is sealed and I am burdened with debt.

I am still invincible in this world! he roared in his heart!

Then, Li Heng took out another stack of Underworld Money.

Wujian's voice sounded again, and the strength of this old shopkeeper was suppressed once more, dropping from the Seven Tribulations to the Six Tribulations Heaven and Earth; this time, he was completely stunned.

"Shopkeeper, don't blame me, after all, I am too weak."

Li Heng smiled slightly.

Upon hearing this, the Wujian Shopkeeper was so angry he vomited blood; what a load of crap! Too weak? Do you really think I can't sense your aura? You damn guy has at least the strength of a Six Tribulations or Seven Tribulations Heaven and Earth!

At this point, he gave up on everything and stared fixedly at Li Heng.

"If you have the ability, keep adding money; I don't believe you can suppress me into a mortal! I'll tell you honestly, if you can't suppress me into a mortal, even if I'm finished, I won't let you have an easy time!"

He directly made a ruthless threat.

This was truly too stifling.

He had thought he had calculated everything, but this person unreasonably took out so much money, repeatedly using money to break his schemes, and even causing him to fall to this state!

This kind of guy really deserved to die.

He felt hateful in his heart; if it were the Emperor Road of the past.

He would kill every single one of these rich idiots he saw.

"This is what you requested, I didn't force you."

Li Heng's reply exceeded the Wujian Shopkeeper's expectations.

A bad premonition suddenly rose in the Wujian Shopkeeper's heart; could this guy really be able to take out enough wealth to suppress him into a mortal? That order of magnitude of wealth would be enough to buy several Wujian Inns!

Is this guy really not the one responsible for printing Underworld Money?!

The answer was that he had guessed correctly.

Li Heng was indeed the one printing Underworld Money; counterfeit bills were money too.

And so, stack after stack of Underworld Money appeared in Li Heng's hands, while the Wujian Shopkeeper's cultivation plummeted rapidly: Creation Realm, Void Dao Realm, Void Heaven Realm...

Even free fall wasn't that fast.

Soon, the Underworld Money on Li Heng's side piled up like a mountain, while the Wujian Shopkeeper's cultivation had already fallen below the Innate Realm, completely reduced to a minor ghost.

He still harbored a glimmer of hope, holding onto a shred of expectation.

However, Li Heng easily took out another stack of Underworld Money.

In an instant, he fell into despair.

"No! You cannot!" he roared.

Yet the voice of Wujian sounded once more, beginning to pass judgment.

"Wealth has completely exceeded the original Dizi Kezhan manager; it is judged that the manager's cultivation level shall drop by another notch!"

In an instant, the Wujian manager fell to the level of a mortal.

The next moment, the Wujian manager dissipated completely, turning into nothingness.

Li Heng's expression was calm, and he was not surprised. After all, this Wujian manager was a dead person to begin with, merely lingering on by relying on his own cultivation and the external environment.

But now that his cultivation was gone, he could only die completely.

And the wildly surging Source Power he gained also revealed this fact.

Incidentally, he also gained two extra Golden Source Points.

The total number of Golden Source Points had already reached as many as forty-nine.

It is ironic to say, but the Source Power he harvested from the death of this Wujian manager was far more than the consumption he used to print the Underworld Money with Source Power; from this point of view, he even made a profit.

Li Heng sensed this omnipresent Wujian and sighed with emotion.

As expected, not having a middleman to earn the price difference is the best.

"You surprise me."

Wujian spoke again.

"What surprises you?" Li Heng responded with a smile.

"These Underworld Money were not printed by me, yet they are real."

"However, I will not pursue this any further. Now that you are the Wujian manager of that Dizi Kezhan, you must manage it well in the future. Every month, you must hand over fifty percent of the earnings as tribute."

Wujian indicated that it was very magnanimous.

"What if I don't do that?"

Li Heng asked back, dancing on the edge of the rooftop.

"You may do so, but you must bear the consequences, outsider."

After Wujian finished warning Li Heng, it disappeared and spoke no more.

At the same time, as the power of Wujian departed, this temporarily formed Jingjichang also slowly disappeared, and Li Heng returned to that Wujian Inn once again.

The difference was that he was now the manager of this inn.

At the same time.

He perceived the capabilities of this inn more clearly, as well as the restrictions and benefits that the identity of a Wujian Inn manager brought him.

The restrictions were nothing more than the same old routine: loyalty to Wujian Road, not being allowed to leave the inn at will, having to pay tribute to Wujian, and so on.

And the benefits were probably that there was a discount for eating food using this inn, and he also had a share of the Underworld Money obtained from the revenue.

How should one describe these restrictions and benefits?

For ordinary beings, especially the various dead people of Wujian Road, these benefits outweighed the restrictions. But for Li Heng, the benefits were too insipid.

A discount for eating?

Just kidding, he never thought about paying!

Having a share of the revenue's Underworld Money.

Just kidding, he could print Underworld Money himself.

Even the "bank" praised his skill in making counterfeit money.

In this way, only the restrictions remained for this identity.

And not to mention that he was not traveling this road to be some manager, but to move forward along the road toward the Central Great World, the land of the Heavenly Court; how could he possibly stay?

If it weren't for the fact that the manager identity was forced upon him by Wujian.

Unless he used Source Power, he simply could not refuse it with his own personal strength, otherwise he would not have wanted to accept it.

But this identity was not entirely useless. The things produced by this Wujian Inn, when eaten, provided him with a Source Power boost, which could allow him to fleece this Wujian Inn.

However, he would eventually have to set off and leave.

So he still had to find a way to fleece it anytime and anywhere.

After thinking for a moment, Li Heng immediately came up with a plan.

At this time, everyone in the inn, whether it was the waiter, that group of guests, or the little golden dragon, was very confused, not knowing what had happened; why did that Wujian manager suddenly disappear?

Could it be that there was a ghost haunting the place just now?

Ah! No, they were ghosts themselves.

Then they heard Li Heng speak with a smile.

"I announce,

Wujian Inn is officially closed!"