The one who finally gave birth to the immortal

Chapter 603: The Ultimate Accumulator of Immortal Cultivation

"My Dao lies in [Commerce]. It lies in [Profit]."

Jiao Xiuyuan said with some emotion, "All under heaven bustle for profit. The Dao of Commerce flows abundantly through the world."

"Thus, I refined thousands of Puppets, observing the profits and losses of the mortal Realm to cultivate through it."

"The accumulation of assets is always extremely rapid at the start. Almost every day brought a new level, and my Realm climbed step by step alongside it."

"However, after reaching a certain point, the expansion of Qianli Hall slowed down."

"My cultivation remained stagnant for a long time. I originally hoped to leverage the insights from this massive profit to force a breakthrough in one go. But I didn't expect that, in the end, I was still a bit lacking."

"As the saying goes, 'looking at a mountain can ride a horse to death.' I thought it was right before my eyes, only to find thousands of mountains and ravines ahead."

Listening to Jiao Xiuyuan's sighs, Li Fan recalled the huge gap between different Dao Integration Cultivators he had seen not long ago, and then thought of the vast chasm between the Dao Integration Realm and the Longevity Realm.

He couldn't help but agree in his heart and nodded slightly.

Just then, Jiao Xiuyuan continued, "Besides, I have realized that the Dao of Commerce, having reached my current level, is already constrained on all sides and struggling to move forward. To take another step further is truly fraught with immense difficulty!"

Before Li Fan could ask, Jiao Xiuyuan answered his own question, "Take the recent pu xian true leaf incident, for example. Under ideal conditions, we could have definitely earned far more. From a purely [Commercial] perspective, the price of Samantabhadra True Leaf had skyrocketed at the time. Meanwhile, the Myriad Immortals Alliance controls the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, which has a vast abundance of pu xian true leaf. They could have easily profited from it as well, yet they issued an official announcement that brought everything back to square one."

"Claiming it was for stability… isn't it just for their own interests…" Jiao Xiuyuan muttered.

Hearing this, Li Fan grew thoughtful, "Fellow Daoist Jiao, you mean that profit must be earned from others. Once you reach a certain point, advancing further inevitably leads to conflict with other people."

"Precisely so!" Jiao Xiuyuan praised.

"If the other party is weak, one can naturally crush them directly. But if the other party is a solid wall, running into them will only leave oneself bruised and battered."

"At that point, one has no choice but to go around the wall."

"Yet this world is ultimately ruled by the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Association. Avoiding their constraints is far easier said than done."

"Dancing in shackles is naturally a hundred times harder."

Hearing this, Li Fan chuckled and said, "So to speak, it is truly not your fault, Fellow Daoist. It is the fault of this world!"

"Being restrained at every turn is truly frustrating. Why don't you join me in overthrowing the Myriad Immortals Alliance and recreating a new world? How about it?"

Jiao Xiuyuan fell silent abruptly.

He looked at Li Fan with a strange gaze.

For a moment, a weird silence fell between the two.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist, you jest."

"Haha, just a joke. Fellow Daoist Jiao, you didn't take it seriously, did you?"

A moment later, their voices sounded simultaneously.

Exchanging a glance, both chose to move past this topic.

"Speaking of which, in your heart, Fellow Daoist, what would your Dao look like if developed to its absolute peak?" Li Fan asked.

Jiao Xiuyuan pondered for a moment before slowly replying, "The total assets in the world are limited. The surplus grows wealthier, while the deficit remains eternally poor."

"If I continue to profit and the world's wealth flows unceasingly to me, then one day…"

"Perhaps my wealth alone will be greater than that of everyone else in the world combined."

Jiao Xiuyuan's eyes showed a look of longing.

Unexpectedly, Li Fan let out a quiet laugh after hearing this.

Jiao Xiuyuan raised an eyebrow. "What? Does Fellow Daoist have a better insight?"

"Small. Your vision is too small. I originally thought Fellow Daoist Jiao was one of the most brilliant figures under heaven, but who would have thought…" Li Fan shook his head slightly, putting on a deeply regrettable look.

"Hmm?" A flicker of gloom flashed in Jiao Xiuyuan's eyes.

"If it were truly at its peak, why would the people of the world still possess any assets at all?" Li Fan smiled faintly.

"Shouldn't it be that all things under heaven belong to you, and everyone else is in debt to you?"

"You must know, Fellow Daoist, that the total wealth in this world definitely has an upper limit. But…"

Li Fan's tone turned chilling, "The wealth others owe you has no upper limit whatsoever."

"Tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, billions—it can accumulate endlessly."

"Not only in this lifetime, but for generations upon generations, countless future descendants will have to toil eternally just to repay the debt owed to you!"

Li Fan's words were like a bolt of thunder, striking Jiao Xiuyuan instantly.

The haze in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a look of utter shock.

"It…"

"Can it even be done like this?"

Li Fan's words seemed to open up a brand new world for him.

At first, his eyes were filled with confusion, but then they grew brighter and brighter, increasingly excited.

Before long, it was as if he had experienced an Epiphany.

"Yes, yes!"

"Profit gained in a single moment or a single lifetime is ultimately limited."

"But time is infinite. If I distribute the goal I want to achieve across the Time River…"

Jiao Xiuyuan became immersed in his own imagination, his eyes brimming with brilliant light.

"Fellow Daoist Li Fan, is this the future Dao you deduced for me?"

After a long while, he finally returned to his senses and looked at Li Fan.

Li Fan shook his head. "I wouldn't dare call it guidance. It was merely a glimpse of a possible future scene I saw during my daily deductions one day."

"I felt in my heart that this world might be beneficial to your Dao, Fellow Daoist Jiao, so I recorded it."

"Meeting you today, I simply shared it with you."

"As long as Fellow Daoist Jiao doesn't find my thoughts absurd!"

Jiao Xiuyuan's eyes flickered, "Your deductive ability is truly unmatched throughout the ages. To actually be able to foresee such a bizarre future."

"However, you sought me out today and specifically gave me advice…"

He looked at Li Fan with some doubt.

Li Fan chuckled, "I said you got rich and turned your back on old friends, yet you refused to admit it."

"Could it be that you forgot my previous request?"

Jiao Xiuyuan froze for a moment, then came to a realization.

"You mean…"

"With your cultivation, it is naturally impossible to forget. But since you haven't replied after so long, I suppose there must be some difficulty. Yet, this matter happens to be somewhat important to me. So, I could only brazenly intrude upon you, Fellow Daoist Jiao!" Li Fan cupped his hands and spoke solemnly.

Looking at Li Fan, Jiao Xiuyuan's expression changed in an instant.

Five years ago, he agreed to help Li Fan inquire about the identity of the ancient Cultivator that the Myriad Immortals Alliance was searching for by excavating ancient Sect ruins everywhere.

He indeed did so.

Originally, he hadn't taken it too seriously, only intending to casually inquire about some news to fulfill his promise.

However, what surprised him somewhat was that the Myriad Immortals Alliance, which was usually leaking like a sieve and could hardly keep any secrets…

…had actually done an unexpectedly good job with secrecy this time.

Even he had spent a full year or two making inquiries without gaining any harvest.