Told You I Can Turn Back Time
Chapter 301 - 237: Whirlwind (20)

Chapter 301: Chapter 237: Whirlwind (20)

"From prosperity to decline?"

Lin Xing looked at the small buildings before him and the crowded people within, asking, "Could it be that the land prices here are about to fall?"

Tianlian nodded, matter-of-factly saying, "The owners of the ley lines believe that land prices can always rise, so they keep buying and selling ley lines."

"The generations of talents from the Ming Mountain Sect also believed that land prices would always increase, so they were willing to bet the results of their cultivation for the next few decades on purchasing ley lines."

"But there’s nothing in the world that can keep increasing in price forever, and land prices are no exception..."

As they spoke, they had already passed the long street and arrived in front of a vast group of magnificent palaces, precisely the luxurious palaces established by the Ming Mountain Sect in this mountain city.

Looking at the expansive land that featured a building every five steps and a pavilion every ten steps, Lin Xing could not help but sigh slightly at the disparity between people in this mountain city.

Lin Xing said, "Are the people of the Ming Mountain Sect within? The so-called decline in land prices, the turn of fortune from prosperity to decline... So the target you talked about, who can collect fortune, that Qingming City Lord, is he the one who keeps buying and renting land, continuously driving up land prices?"

Tianlian smiled faintly and said, "At most, this can only be called land speculation, but he is also a speculator who goes with the flow, someone who can be considered a person of great fortune."

She pointed at the crowd constantly coming in and out of the palace, saying, "Look at these, they are all people buying, selling, and leasing ley lines."

"Guess who they are borrowing money from to trade the ley lines within the Ming Mountain Range, and to whom they are borrowing money to lease ley lines?"

Lin Xing reflected and said, "The Ming Mountain Sect?"

"Correct."

"The landlords collect a majority of the land price as rent in one lump sum, then borrow some money to put together and continue buying and renting land, renting and buying land."

Tianlian said, "The Ming Mountain Sect is the one lending money to landlords to buy land, and the Ming Mountain Sect is also lending money to tenants to lease land, and still, it is the Ming Mountain Sect that sells the ley lines to collect money."

"All the money goes out from here and comes back in here. Land prices seem to be rising every year, but have those landlords who bought the ley lines really seen an increase in their money?"

"The landlords own more and more ley lines but also owe an increasing debt to the Ming Mountain Sect."

Seeing that Tianlian was about to head towards the palace, Lin Xing curiously asked, "Are we just going to walk straight in?"

Tianlian said, "Our temple has some minor methods to conceal ourselves from others’ eyes. Moreover, this place is nothing but the Qingming City Lord Mansion, not the true stronghold of the Ming Mountain Sect; there are no great experts inside. Young Master Lin, you can rest assured and just follow me."

Lin Xing followed behind Tianlian and found that as they entered the palace, it was as if they were entering a place without people.

Whether it was the guards watching over the palace, the hurried Ming Mountain Disciples, or the people buying, selling, and leasing ley lines, they weren’t invisible to Lin Xing and Tianlian, but rather, they ignored them completely. Some guards even showed a friendly smile toward them, as if they recognized them.

Feeling Lin Xing’s surprise and curiosity, Tianlian smiled lightly and casually explained, "Our Zen Sect monks from the temple have always been not very skilled in fighting techniques, so we use some small methods to confuse minds to avoid conflict."

Little Lin Xing, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "This is no minor method, it is one of the Shi Lin Temple’s extraordinary skills, capable of altering perceptions, turning friends into enemies and enemies into friends."

He remarked, "The world is like this; sometimes, those who fight best are not necessarily the strongest, and the strongest are not necessarily the ones who fight best."

Hearing this, Lin Xing’s gaze shifted, reminded of Ma Hong who had been eliminated in the Demonstration Martial Arts Arena, falling defeat in the middle of his fight with Monk Ming Jing from Shi Lin Temple when his venomous insects surprisingly backfired.

Little Lin Xing crossed his arms, floating in front of Tianlian and observing her, "But you needn’t worry, this method isn’t so easily effective; certain conditions must be met."

"However, these fellows from the Shi Lin Temple, they may not deceive you for your benefit."

"Yet sometimes when they do deceive you, it could actually be helping you."

As he said this, he couldn’t help but laugh.

Lin Xing frowned slightly, wanting to know if Shi Lin Temple was deceiving him now.

But he saw Little Lin Xing at that moment, face to face with Tianlian, intensely staring into her eyes and casually said, "Do you want to know if Shi Lin Temple has deceived you?"

"Why be so anxious? What if you have been deceived?"

"Others might be afraid of being used and deceived by them, but we should be indifferent. Right now, you should just enjoy watching how they play their game; it’s rare entertainment."

Meanwhile, Lin Xing and Tianlian had already entered deep into the palace, seeing various antiques and paintings, treasures of heaven and earth, and numerous magical artifacts being refined day and night, all displaying immense luxury.

Standing at the scene of a ley line transaction, Tianlian smiled at both parties and said to Lin Xing, "In the past, because land prices were continuously rising, landlords could occasionally sell some ley lines to pay off debts."

"But once land prices begin to fall, the debts they owe will be far beyond their ability to repay."

"If the landlords can’t pay back the money, the tenants won’t get their security deposits back either, and they will also owe a large debt to the Ming Mountain Sect."

"And when both the landlords and the tenants can’t pay back the debts, land prices will continue to plummet, and a large number of ley lines... will be taken back by the Ming Mountain Sect."

"By that time, both landlords and tenants will need to toil for decades, or even centuries, to pay off their debts to the Ming Mountain Sect."

Master Tianlian and Lin Xing arrived at a cultivation field.

There they saw name after name of Ming Mountain Sect disciples situated above a spirit-rich land vein, each practicing their Taoist arts and martial skills.

Looking at these diligent Ming Mountain Sect disciples, with eyes full of hope, Master Tianlian sighed and said, "Besides the landlords and tenants, those talented disciples of the Ming Mountain Sect who have bought land veins in the past decades have also had their share of bad luck."

"These disciples with exceptional talents, they do not speculate on land prices but righteously purchase the land veins for cultivation."

"Since their birth, the land prices within the Ming Mountain Sect have been skyrocketing, leading them to believe this surge would go on forever."

"So, they took Blood Oaths with the Ming Mountain Sect, willing to trade the fighting power of their future decades to acquire the Sect’s land veins and to cultivate with the power of those land veins."

"But when the landlords and tenants are doomed one after another and the land prices plummet... what should these talented disciples do then?"

"How many decades does one have in life? The land veins they’ve traded decades for evaporate in value in the blink of an eye, only then will they realize that the Ming Mountain Sect’s land veins never needed their lifelong sacrifice, that they’ve been played."

"They spend decades cultivating, and in the end, the fruits of their labor can only be sold to the Ming Mountain Sect at a meager price, toiling for the Sect."

At this point, Master Tianlian turned to Lin Xing and said, "Lin Xia, do you think there’s a problem with us taking their fate and fortune from such a Ming Mountain Sect?"

Lin Xing pondered for a moment, then said, "So the target you mentioned, this Qingming City Lord, is the one playing them?"

The two arrived in front of a study and saw a pudgy middle-aged man with a somewhat ethereal figure sitting behind a desk, seriously scrutinizing the document in his hand.

"Xuanyin actually lost? The Sect has nurtured him for so many years, only to be defeated by a native of a secret realm."

The chubby man shook his head: "It’s also uncertain whether he can draw in the spirit mechanism and cultivate the land veins within the secret realm..."

Suddenly, he looked up at Master Tianlian and Lin Xing and said with a smile, "Master Tianlian, what breeze has brought you here today?"

Master Tianlian ignored him, instead addressing Lin Xing, "Lin Xia, what do you make of this man? Does he have luck that overshadows all, immense fortune as vast as the sky?"

At that moment, Lin Xing’s mind shook with a vision, and a rune representing heaven’s secrets glittered in and out, sensing the Qingming City Lord before him.

And in Lin Xing’s perception, a strong attraction emanated from the Qingming City Lord, as if a dense aura of fortune awaited Lin Xing’s harvest.

But Lin Xing did not act immediately, a hint of strangeness crossing his mind.

Because in his perception, he could not feel any strong power from the other party.

The fat man before him was just like any old man from a random village in Mirror World, extremely weak.

Thus Lin Xing asked, "Are you the Qingming City Lord?"

The middle-aged man nodded and replied amiably, "That’s right, sirs, what business do you have with me?"

Master Tianlian explained beside him, "Within the Ming Mountain Sect, the authority has always been in the hands of three major families; numerous accomplished disciples have always been serving them."

Lin Xing then inquired, "The soaring land prices, do they have anything to do with you?"

The middle-aged man, who had been pleasant and kind-faced, upon hearing this, instantly turned cold and was about to send them away.

Suddenly, Master Tianlian spoke, "My young friend here doesn’t quite understand the rules of the Ming Mountain Sect. Please, City Lord, forgive him and explain a bit to him."

The middle-aged man looked at Master Tianlian, his face once again softening into a gentle smile. After pondering for a moment, he finally said, "The land veins accelerate cultivation; everyone competes to purchase them. How can the prices not rise?"

"Furthermore, whether it’s teaching disciples or cultivating land veins, doesn’t each and every expenditure require silver coins and materials?"

"Were it not for our Sect’s vigorous cultivation of the land veins throughout the years, would the Ming Mountain Range be as prosperous as it is today?"

"The common folk up and down the mountains, everyone now can cultivate on the land veins, and this is our Ming Mountain Sect’s contribution."

"How many people on this mountain have now grasped the inheritance? Without the land veins fostered by our Sect, would they possess even a tenth of their current power?"

"Were it not for our Sect providing huge loans of silver coins to the people all over the mountain, how could they have their current cultivation results?"

"And how many talents have been discovered by us? Ask them if they are grateful to our Ming Mountain Sect."

Listening to his impassioned words, Lin Xing used his spiritual sense to feel the study and the pavilions and treasures outside, as well as all the magical artifacts.

He could even sense that although this Qingming City Lord before him had extremely weak power, he had at least eight magical artifacts on him.

Even the brush he had just held in his hand was a treasure imbued with a rich spirit mechanism.

Lin Xing suddenly asked, "What’s the use of this brush?"

The Qingming City Lord picked up the brush with a smile and began to proudly introduce, "This brush is no simple tool; the bristles are made from Northern snow rabbits, while the handle is made from Thunder Sandalwood brought especially from overseas, consecrated for a full hundred years..."

Listening to the other party’s endless introduction, Lin Xing abruptly interrupted, "So after spending so much effort and resources, you’re telling me this magical artifact of a brush doesn’t need ink?"