Told You I Can Turn Back Time
Chapter 313 - 247: Whirlwind (30)

Chapter 313: Chapter 247: Whirlwind (30)

As Lin Xing and Tianlian discussed current issues, a mountain city gradually came into their sight not far away.

This city was different from Qingming City where Lin Xing had followed Tianlian before; it still had many construction sites and buildings under construction.

Seeing this scene, Lin Xing was surprised and said, "Is this a newly built fortress?"

Tianlian replied, "This mountain city is called Cangjiang City, recently renovated and rebuilt by the Ming Mountain Sect. The terrain of the Ming Mountain Range changes every year, so the Ming Mountain Sect also expands its territory based on the terrain changes..."

As Tianlian was introducing Cangjiang City to Lin Xing, several men in robes approached, smiling warmly.

"Are you two interested in buying some land?"

"The newly opened ley lines of Cangjiang City, are you interested in learning about it?"

"I have a newly built building on the river’s ley line here; the owner sincerely wants to sell at a 20% discount. Let me show you around."

"I have a set of cultivation chambers here; the owner needs money urgently and is selling it really cheap. Do you want to take a look? There’s a carriage over there, I’ll take you into the city."

Watching these people coming forward to pitch land sales, Tianlian gave a slight smile and said, "Gentlemen, we are not buying land, please let us through."

Following Tianlian’s slight smile, the people who had gathered around them seemed momentarily to ignore the existence of Lin Xing and Tianlian and dispersed, soon enthusiastically crowding around other passersby.

Walking into the newly built Cangjiang City, Lin Xing saw many people standing on the streets inviting others to buy land and houses. Curious, he asked, "So many people selling land, could it be that it’s hard to sell here?"

Tianlian responded, "The land prices of the Ming Mountain Sect have soared to the skies and are due for a fall."

"The ones who can afford to buy land have also more or less noticed this, naturally unwilling to invest more money."

"Even this newly built Cangjiang City has been affected; many construction sites under construction have halted work."

Upon entering Cangjiang City, Lin Xing could immediately sense through his spiritual perception that this fortress was far more desolate compared to Qingming City he had been to previously.

The streets were vastly empty, and passersby hurried along while row upon row of brand new cultivation chambers were deserted, small partitions like empty honeycombs.

Lin Xing could also see many signs posted on the exterior walls of the cultivation chambers, all banners advertising property sales.

The whole of Cangjiang City seemed to be abandoned.

Tianlian said, "Lin Xia, your target for acquiring destiny this time is named Zheng Tu, a household head of the Zheng Family of the Ming Mountain Sect. Even the Sect Leader of Ming Mountain Sect has to call him uncle."

Lin Xing nodded slightly, recalling that the City Lord of Qingming City he had previously visited to acquire destiny was also from the direct line of the Zheng Family.

The Zheng Family is one of the three major families in the Ming Mountain Sect, its ancestors were among the founders of the Ming Mountain Sect, and it has always occupied a pivotal position within the sect for its long lineage.

"Zheng Tu controls a lot of lands, owning seven fortresses on Ming Mountain alone, including this Cangjiang City."

"Now that the land prices of Ming Mountain are about to fall, Cangjiang City is bearing the brunt, and it also represents the gradual decline of his destiny, making it a good time to collect it."

"However, as the household head of the Zheng Family, Zheng Tu is always guarded day and night by a third generation powerhouse, which makes collecting his destiny no easy feat."

Lin Xing was surprised and said, "A third-generation powerhouse guards him day and night?"

In Lin Xing’s impression, each third-generation powerhouse is a hegemon, capable of traversing the world by their own might.

He had never imagined that a third-generation powerhouse would be willing to guard someone like a bodyguard, day and night.

Tianlian gave a faint smile and explained, "Each of the nine major sects has its unique mysteries, and the prodigies of every generation in the Ming Mountain Sect rely on the ley lines cultivated and built by the sect for their cultivation."

"Moreover, every powerful master who wants to master the ultimate techniques and break through to a third-generation inheritance needs to refine an entire ley line."

"Hence, nearly every powerhouse in the Ming Mountain Sect who has broken through to the third generation has to make a trade with the sect and swear a Blood Oath, purchasing a ley line with their future combat capabilities and realms."

Tianlian sighed, "That is why in the Ming Mountain Sect, you will find third-generation powerhouses serving the upper echelons of the sect like servants."

As the two exchanged information about the Ming Mountain Sect, they heard an argument ahead.

It was many citizens blocking the front of the City Lord Mansion, shouting something.

"When I bought the land, you promised that the newly repaired ley lines were abundant with spiritual mechanisms, the best in the mountain for cultivation effects, and that the prices would rise again in the future, why are you lowering the prices now!"

"I borrowed so much Silver from the Ming Mountain Sect to buy the cultivation chamber, and now you just slash the prices whenever you like, you’ve ruined our life’s work."

"The ley line to the west of the city has not been repaired yet; how much longer are you going to drag this out? Our family paid the money a long time ago!"

Lin Xing, sensing with his spiritual perception, faintly realized what was happening.

Tianlian sighed beside him, "After the land prices in Cangjiang City fell, those who bought land and houses couldn’t sit still."

"For ordinary people who borrowed money to buy land, once the land prices dropped, it was as though all the money they would earn for the next few decades had evaporated."

"For those big households who bought and rented out land, the drop in land prices made it impossible for them to repay their debts, causing them to lose everything and end up in servitude to the Ming Mountain Sect."

Just then, Tianlian looked at a nine-story high tower within the City Lord Mansion and said, "Lin Xia, look, that’s Zheng Tu at the top of that tower."

...

Atop the tower.

A slightly chubby man with fair skin, dressed in luxurious clothes, stood on the tower overlooking the scenery of Cangjiang City.

There wasn’t a trace of labor on the man’s face or hands... not even a trace of cultivation.

His delicate skin and silky hair did indicate that he took good care of his body.

His corpulent figure made him stand out among the several strong Ming Mountain Sect members surrounding him.

This finely dressed man was Zheng Tu, the current head of the Zheng Family of the Ming Mountain Sect.

Zheng Tu looked at the rioting people outside the City Lord Mansion and snorted coldly, "A bunch of bumpkins, earning a few pieces of broken silver each day, buying a palm-sized plot of land or a room, and then foolishly dreaming they can cultivate successfully and someday stand equal to my Zheng Family?"

"They don’t understand that all their cultivation skills were granted by us so that when it’s time to repay their debts, they can contribute more to our Ming Mountain Sect."

"They even think that after cultivating for twenty or thirty years, they can catch up with the five hundred years of accumulation my Zheng Family has?"

"Isn’t that right, Xuanyin?"

After speaking, he turned to the Xuanyin Taoist standing beside him.

The Xuanyin Taoist nodded slightly and said, "Elder Zheng, what do you need me for this time?"

Zheng Tu smiled and said, "You may take care of the land veins of Cangjiang City."

...

Outside the City Lord Mansion.

Watching the figures in the tower, Lin Xing said, "Could it be that the weakest in there is Zheng Tu?"

Tianlian nodded, "The Zheng Family controls many strong practitioners of the Ming Mountain Sect; even without cultivating, this head of the family still dominates."

Lin Xing, out of curiosity, asked, "The Ming Mountain Sect has been established for hundreds of years, hasn’t the land price fluctuated before now?"

Tianlian said, "Lin Xia, you can’t view the land prices of the Ming Mountain Sect’s lands merely as simple buying and selling transactions because the Ming Mountain Sect is one of the nine major sects, possessing enough martial prowess to sweep through regions."

"Over the past few hundred years, there have been more than one drastic drop in land prices, but the Ming Mountain Sect has always come through unscathed, largely due to their overwhelming martial prowess."

"Every time the land prices soared, the Ming Mountain Range prospered, always attracting many people to come live and cultivate in the mountains."

"They dream of leveraging the benefits of the land veins to become regional experts, hoping to work hard every day, endeavoring through decades of effort to have a land vein of their own in Ming Mountain, even risking their lives by borrowing money from Ming Mountain to buy land and houses."

"As more people come in and land prices rise to their limits and then start to decline, the value of the land or houses these people exchanged a lifetime of struggle for instantly vanishes, and they themselves end up as slaves due to their debts to the Ming Mountain Sect."

"That’s when they realize that from the beginning, the Ming Mountain Sect had been toying with them; they would never own a place in the Ming Mountain Sect, merely becoming servants of the sect after decades of labor."

"Of course, this isn’t absolute. Some exceptionally talented individuals who succeed in their cultivation are taken in by the Ming Mountain Sect, and the most outstanding among them might even join big families like the Zheng Family, becoming part of this behemoth."

"And after absorbing a new batch of slaves and geniuses, the Ming Mountain clears out again, gradually drawing in new people, and the land prices start a new round of surges..."

"In round after round of this operation, what the Ming Mountain Sect relies on is its strong martial power to suppress any dissent."

Hearing Tianlian’s words, Lin Xing could envision in his eyes the past several hundred years, with the Ming Mountain Sect squeezing batch after batch of people rushing forward, dreaming of changing their lives.

And as he gazed at Zheng Tu atop the tower, he could faintly sense an incredibly dense and profound fortune emanating from him.

This fortune was so concentrated and profound, it could be considered the deepest he had seen since he began practicing the Six Secrets Immortal Refining Technique.

The fortune he had collected from the Qingming City Lord seemed negligible in comparison.

"No wonder he controls many of Ming Mountain’s land veins; his fortune is indeed extraordinary."

"To capture the fortune from this person, I might need to devise a clever plan..."