State Preceptor of Yuan Yang Palace had brought a great deal of treasures from the Immortal Realm. The news had spread half a year in advance, and now Shi Feiyang had really returned with three large ships loaded with treasures. Officials and wealthy rchants from the Capital and surrounding regions, all those with power and influence, had all co.
They were still half skeptical, imagining in their hearts that it was most likely just Taoists deceiving people with elixirs and tricks. But upon arriving here, they were suddenly enlightened.
Who had ever seen pigeon-egg-sized multi-colored pearls? Or black pearls the size of grapes, yellow pearls as big as longan fruit - and the most difficult aspect was that they were all perfectly round and uniform in size!
According to common sense, finding even one pearl of such quality was already very rare, and many pearls when harvested ca in all sorts of shapes, not always round.
But they did not know that these pearls had been specially bred by the great Clam Clan according to the thods and specifications designated by Shi Feiyang. There were special Clam Demons responsible for cultivating pearls; when they grew to such a size, they would be spit out and handed over to the clan, hence all being both large and round.
Apart from the various colored pearls, there were also coral trees taller than a person, which was unprecedented and unheard of!
For a ti, these officials and wealthy rchants all went crazy buying. Many mbers of the Royal Family and Princes from other regions, unable to leave their territories, sent their stewards with people to purchase goods.
Once inside Mingyu Immortal Market, these "country bumpkins" thought everything was wonderful and bought in large quantities.
Others saw a business opportunity, coming here to stock up in bulk and then reselling in other areas.
In just one short month, the bank had collected mountains of gold and silver. A large number of Dragon Coins were exchanged and through transactions ended up in the hands of rchants from Yu Country.
The gold and silver currency of the Great Ming Dynasty was mainly in the hands of these large landowners and rich rchants; the lower-class commoners didn’t have much in the way of copper coins.
Shi Feiyang sold luxury items. The cheapest pearl, one as big as a longan and white, cost three hundred taels of silver, and pearls of other colors and qualities were even more expensive.
Shi Feiyang also held auctions on the fifteenth of every month, presenting rare treasures for auction to the highest bidder.
Many officials couldn’t be seen squandering openly and secretly sent people to find "white gloves" to buy on their behalf; they competed fiercely and flaunted their wealth against each other.
The wealthy in the Capital soon adorned themselves with many ornants - so inlaid pearls on their hats, so sewed jade onto their boots, so hung Nine Dragon Coins on their belts. There were even those who bought large quantities of wood for construction and renovation, such as using Crystal Jade Wood to build a "Crystal Palace," using Jia Wood to create a "Golden Throne Hall," and using Xuanxiang Wood to build a "Bai Xiang Pavilion"...
The goods brought from the Outer Heaven Divine Mountain were only considered "primary agricultural products," but in the hands of the Great Ming elites, they were transford into piece after piece of artwork.
Soon after, various novel wood carvings appeared across the country, with Bodhisattvas carved from Crystal Jade Wood, Guan Gong carved from Yuan Yang Wood, and nine-tier Pagodas carved from coral. There were also pearl shirts made from black pearls, Nine Dragon Coin treasure swords braided with red strings, and Xuanxiang Wood temple incense burners...
By the second spring of the following year, Mingyu Bank had acquired gold, silver, and copper coins totaling over thirty million taels of silver!
This was equivalent to the accrued taxes of the Great Ming Dynasty over many years, and it was all extracted from the hands of officials, wealthy rchants, and the Ming Royal Family!
Shi Feiyang kept extracting gold and silver from the Great Ming Dynasty and began buying things with Dragon Coins.
His plan was to disseminate the Dragon Coins mainly through two thods.
The first was buying land.
In the Jingjin region, he purchased vast amounts of farmland and various kinds of luxury estates and manors.
All were registered under Yuan Yang Palace, becoming part of Daoist temple property, with hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land bought in a very short ti.
Dragon Coins could be freely exchanged for gold and silver. So who received Dragon Coins ca to exchange them for gold and silver, which Shi Feiyang promptly satisfied.
To give Dragon Coins purchasing power, they couldn’t only buy luxury products.
Shi Feiyang then released the food brought over from the Outer Heaven Divine Mountain.
Generally, the larger the diurnal temperature variation, the tastier the food produced.
The rice and wheat from Outer Heaven Divine Mountain, constantly sun-baked, ripened five tis a year, not as good as the grain produced in the southern Central Earth, let alone compared to the North.
But now, the price was cheap, one-third cheaper than the market price for rice and grains.
At this ti, the lower-class commoners only cared about filling their bellies; they weren’t concerned with taste or texture. Whether they had Dragon Coins or copper coins, upon hearing there was cheap grain available, they all ca to buy.
Shi Feiyang’s ships also carried various sea products, hundreds of pounds of dried octopus and squid at, as well as sea cucumber at, wheel-sized crabs, and lobsters as thick as a thigh... those that could be kept alive were sold fresh, and those that couldn’t be kept alive were made into various dried goods.
Besides these, there were many tropical fruits. Although tropical staple food wasn’t very tasty, the fruits were usually exceptionally sweet.
With a large number of goods for support, Dragon Coins quickly spread and gained popularity.
Senior officials collectively petitioned the Emperor in court, impeaching Shi Feiyang for ten major cris, accusing him of occupying commoner’s land, trafficking people, oppressing the populace, and minting private currency, among other charges. They called for the Emperor to capture and imprison Shi Feiyang and subject him to interrogation and punishnt.
The Emperor shelved the morial without issuing a decree, and Shi Feiyang, upon hearing the news, did not take it seriously. He continued to extract gold and silver from the Great Ming Dynasty and scattered as many Dragon Coins as possible.
So many rare and precious treasures appeared among the people, many of which were rarely seen by the Sword Immortals of Central Earth.
In Sichuan, there was a drunk Taoist walking the Human World with a giant wine gourd on his back, also a disciple of Master Changi, albeit his mana ranked behind the seven immortals of Luo Fu. Usually, his brothers let him run errands.
He didn’t cultivate quietly in a cave; he often wandered out in the Human World. This day, he was lounging on the street side, gulping down wine from a big red gourd.
Suddenly, he saw a young master with a large Black Pearl inlaid on his silk hat, from which spiritual energy emanated strongly even from a distance. Astonished, he knew it had been refined with Immortal Law into a Magical Treasure.
The drunken Taoist thought to himself that this must be the son of so high official or powerful noble. He had no idea what fortune led the young master to such a Black Pearl.
Such a pearl in his hands was truly casting pearls before swine. Flaunting it in public was like a baby wandering a bustling market with treasures—if by chance he encountered any evil beings, they would just slash with a sword, snatch the pearl, and flee.
Moreover, such treasures were likely acquired by wealthy or powerful families who must have squeezed imnse profits and oppressed the common people to obtain them.
Taking this pearl today would be my destiny, and it would also save you from a calamity.
The drunken Taoist had so chivalrous spirit in him and often robbed the rich to aid the poor. With this thought, he walked straight towards the black-clothed young master.
Reaching him, the Taoist suddenly staggered, crashing into the black-clothed young master’s embrace, his mouth wide open, vomiting all the wine he had just drunk, drenching the front of the young master’s robe.
The black-clothed young master shouted angrily, and his servant also ca over to shoo the drunk away.
While he bent down to deal with the dirt on his chest, the drunken Taoist quickly snatched the Black Pearl from the top of his head. Then, grinning drunkenly, with his face flushed, he staggered away amidst the shouts and curses of the young master and his entourage.
When he reached a safe distance, he took out the Black Pearl to look at it, indeed a rare and fine treasure.
His mana wasn’t high; he was so poor he barely made a sound, owning only a Flying Sword of less-than-top quality, one that could be corrupted by evil magic.
Now with this Black Pearl, he could refine a Magical Treasure that could be used both to confront enemies and protect against calamity.
He was still marveling at his luck when he overheard the black-clothed young master and his entourage speaking.
They had already discovered the pearl was missing and couldn’t find the drunken Taoist, cursing furiously, "It must have been that dog of a Taoist who stole it, a turtle son drunk on wine—if I see him again, I’ll break his dog legs!"
The drunken Taoist listened, unfazed, ready to slip away quietly when he heard the black-clothed young master say, "Forget it, no use getting angry over a turtle Taoist. I still have quite a few at ho; I’ll just take another and sew it onto my hat."
The drunken Taoist was about to leave when he heard this. He was both shocked and curious upon hearing there were more pearls at ho.
Such pearls were not found in Central Earth or even in the nearby sea areas. Only in the deep seas, more than a hundred thousand miles away, could the millennia-old Clam Clan nurture them.
Even one pearl was extrely rare, yet that person claid to have quite a few at ho?
So the drunken Taoist followed the black-clothed young master ho and, using an Invisibility Technique, snuck inside quietly.
He soon laid eyes on the other Black Pearls—a total of eleven, kept in a sandalwood box wrapped in red cloth, the pearls themselves black as ink but with a sheen of sunlight on their surface, sparkling as they turned.
The drunken Taoist was stunned. As an Ei Sword Immortal, with many years of cultivation, he had never possessed such a Black Pearl, and now there were twelve in a re mortal’s ho!
The revelation was brutal, a direct assault on his spirit.
Too brutal!
How could this be?
Not only did this household own twelve Black Pearls the size of pigeon eggs, but there was also a Pixiu beside them. At first glance, it seed carved from jade, yet it radiated dense Jia Wood Essence Energy.
Clearly, it was another treasure. If refined with Immortal Law, it would reveal its wondrous uses.
He took no part in Ei Sect’s decisions, often tasked with running errands and delivering ssages and not cultivating in ancient caverns. He loved to mix among people in the Human World.
He keenly felt that sothing wasn’t right. Rather than taking the pearls and Pixiu imdiately, he continued to stay invisible within the residence. After several days, he finally understood the situation.
All these items had been brought from the Immortal Realm by a State Preceptor nad Shi Feiyang.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the drunken Taoist rushed to take the items and then returned to the mountains to report and discuss with his fellow disciples.
While Immortals were in seclusion, refining Elixirs and Sword Scriptures, often not seen for months or even years, Shi Feiyang had been active in the Human World for a long ti. Yet, the Ei Sect scattered throughout the world had only just found out today.
Besides the drunken Taoist, there was also the marvelous immortal fairy Xu Feiniang. Skilled in diplomacy, a cal trader across nine nations with the broadest connections. Though newly arrived, all were top Sword Immortals. She also frequently journeyed to the Human World, mainly because she wanted to recruit disciples in anticipation of the third swordfight.
Xu Feiniang was surprised to discover various rare and precious materials in the hands of mortals. Upon learning that the source traced back to Shi Feiyang, she took flight on her sword towards Tianjin.
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