2. The Wonders of the World Are the Ruin of the Nation!
Although this man, Lin Jiashen, spent the entire journey describing Ruohuai Daoist Mountain’s former glory, its ancient splendor, and its brilliant past…
The problem was…
Only the vegetation and buildings near the entrance looked decent.
Everywhere else was overgrown with weeds and covered in moss, looking desolate, as if no one had been there for a long time.
So, while Lin Jiashen was recounting the current Sect Master’s achievements, Gong Yiling suddenly interjected, “Are you out of money and people?”
“Pfft—” Lin Jiashen almost spat out blood. “How… how is that possible! We are… we are…”
He trailed off, and before he could say another word, he burst into tears. “Waaah… waaaaah… waaaaaah…”
What?
What what what?
Why was he crying?
Gong Yiling was bewildered. Even if she was right about them being broke, was it necessary to cry so dramatically?
“Senior, don’t just cry. Say something!”
“The wonders of the world are the ruin of the nation, the ruin of the nation, no, the ruin of the sect!!!”
Gong Yiling’s lips twitched. “Wonders? What wonders?”
Lin Jiashen finally caught his breath, his hand on his forehead, his expression one of utter despair. “Sometime ago, a rumor spread about a treasure called the Taiyin Li Yuan Stone appearing somewhere. If placed on the sect’s mountain, it could strengthen the earth’s meridians, gather spiritual energy, and greatly increase the spiritual energy concentration.”
Wait… Taiyin Li Yuan Stone. Miss Gong remembered this.
When it first appeared, it was a giant rock that looked like an artificial mountain. It was acquired by a sect a thousand years ago, but after that sect declined, it disappeared until recently.
But here’s the catch.
This thing was too old, and there was nothing to compare it to. So, unless you bought it and buried it in the ground for a while, there was no way to tell if it was real. As a result, the market was flooded with fakes.
Later, various auction houses, fearing for their reputation, labeled all such items as “blind flow” items.
Yes, those worthless, unauthenticated items where buying a genuine one was a matter of pure luck.
“And… then what?”
Miss Gong had a bad feeling.
“The Sect Master heard that this item appeared in the No-Fakes Auction House of the Baiyao Dynasty. Many people thought it was real, and the price was driven up. No one dared to spend five hundred thousand taels of silver on something that couldn’t be authenticated.”
“Our Sect Master wanted to take a gamble. He borrowed a lot of money, a total of four million, but when he arrived, he found out someone had already bought it a few days ago. He was disappointed, but soon, news broke that it was a fake.”
Wait… she had included this item in the list she gave to those Hehuan Sect cultivators.
Although they were all “blind flow” items, she knew which ones were real. She had specified the exact auction house and location, so the person who bought the Taiyin Li Yuan Stone was, unsurprisingly, herself.
And she had deliberately spread the rumor that it was a fake to avoid attracting attention.
“And… then?” Gong Yiling’s sense of foreboding grew stronger. “But the item was gone.”
“It was gone, but the Sect Master received a tip that the real Taiyin Li Yuan Stone was in an underground auction house. All the participants were prominent figures, and the auction was held in an abandoned building, completely hidden from view.”
“The Sect Master ended up spending all four million to obtain it. But after the transaction, the seller disappeared, and the Sect Master later discovered he had bought a worthless rock.”
“Pfft—!!!”
Gong Yiling couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The other girls also tried to suppress their laughter.
Not that she was taking pleasure in his misfortune, but… how could the Sect Master be so easily deceived?
Lin Jiashen, oblivious to their reactions, continued, his voice growing more and more agitated.
“The Sect Master couldn’t pay back the money and, in a fit of rage, lost a pre-arranged duel with the Baiyue Daoist Mountain, losing the sect’s best cultivation caves. As a result, over half the disciples left, and the sect became… like this…”
He looked like he was about to cry again.
“The other party was very mysterious, right? And their method of communication was very sophisticated.” Gong Yiling sighed. “And all the participants at the auction had to wear black masks and similar clothes, acting very arrogant?”
Lin Jiashen stopped crying and nodded silently. “How did you know?”
“Your Sect Master didn’t believe them at first, but the auction house presented many genuine items, and the other participants had seemingly authentic but untouchable identification?”
He nodded again. “Yes, he didn’t touch them. He wouldn’t have thought to.”
“And during the auction, a fight almost broke out, and the auction house acted as if they didn’t care, making your Sect Master believe them?”
Lin Jiashen’s head was now bobbing up and down like a metronome.
“Isn’t that obviously a scam?” Gong Yiling said bluntly. “Did your Sect Master get his head stuck in a door? He should have at least verified the bidders’ identities. Even a small troupe of actors could pull off such a stunt.”
“Stuck in a door… pfft—”
This time, he spat out a mouthful of real blood.
Then, he collapsed to the ground, his eyes rolling back.
They had reached the top of the mountain. Seeing him fall, a few cultivators at the entrance rushed over, shouting, “Sect Master! Sect Master!”
Ah, this…
The novel never mentioned the name of Ruohuai Daoist Mountain’s Sect Master, but it was easy to guess.
Who else would react so strongly to such a story?
Her words, especially the last bit of mockery, had ruthlessly torn open the old man’s wounds, probably causing a stroke.
Just as absurd as his own actions.
