"This is where your thousands of puppets come in handy, Daoist friend."
Li Fan offered a mysterious smile and whispered in his ear for a moment.
Upon hearing his words, Jiao Xiuyuan's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly.
At the same time, throughout the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals—within garrison cities and across the ruins of ancient sects in remote wildernesses—countless identical faces began recounting a story to those around them.
The protagonist of the tale was an ancient Heavenly Mechanism Sect cultivator who had only just awoken after slumbering for a thousand years.
Endowed with the sect's secret arts of divination and wielding the supreme treasure known as the Heaven and Earth Qiankun Die, this man could commune with yin and yang and perceive creation itself.
Even more, he could pierce through time and foresee the future.
If one could obtain his guidance, fortunes of every kind were practically within arm's reach.
To say nothing of defying heaven to change one's fate, striking it rich overnight was mere child's play.
He Zhenghao of the Congyun Sea was living proof.
Anyone who doubted it had only to make a few inquiries to find out!
In short, Jiao Xiuyuan depicted Li Fan as a miraculous figure, comparable to the transcendent powerhouses of antiquity.
Naturally, most cultivators scoffed at such exaggerated claims.
Shaking their heads, they dismissed it as just another gimmick orchestrated by some second-generation immortal trying to drum up fame.
Yet a tiny minority grew intrigued by Li Fan.
One after another, they sought out Jiao Xiuyuan to probe for details.
At that point, however, Jiao Xiuyuan clammed up and refused to say another word.
Once curiosity was piqued, how could it be so easily extinguished? Unable to resist the itch in their hearts, many cultivators reached out to friends in the Congyun Sea.
To their astonishment, they discovered that this might not be sheer fabrication after all.
In the Congyun Sea, there truly was a group of cultivators who had made enormous fortunes thanks to Li Fan's guidance.
Unable to contact Li Fan directly, they settled for the next best thing and tracked down He Zhenghao, along with the other cultivators who had taken part in Li Fan's first fundraising drive.
He Zhenghao was thoroughly dazed at this moment, overwhelmed by the endless stream of inquiries popping up one after another.
He had no choice but to reply reflexively.
The other cultivators who had joined the drive did the same.
And so, the rumors were confirmed.
Some were sorely disappointed, for the first drive had raised a paltry two hundred thousand contribution points.
It looked like nothing more than the age-old trick of robbing Peter to pay Paul—a scheme they could easily pull off themselves.
Others, however, secretly rejoiced after studying the roster of participants, believing they had stumbled upon a rare opportunity.
Among the names, they had spotted a cultivator called Zhou Peng.
Though Zhou Peng's cultivation was modest, he had deep ties to Elder Gongsun of the Congyun Sea's Heavenly Secret Hall.
The name Gongsun Qixuan was well-known even to cultivators beyond the Congyun Sea.
If Li Fan were truly a swindler, would Zhou Peng have walked into the trap so foolishly?
Judging by how Zhou Peng had staked virtually his entire fortune in every single fundraising drive, this ancient Heavenly Mechanism Sect cultivator was almost certainly the real deal!
Consequently, after another round of filtering, though fewer cultivators sought Li Fan's contact information, those who remained grew far more fervent.
Inside Thousand Li Hall, listening to the reports relayed by Jiao Xiuyuan, Li Fan sat secure as a master angler, his face calm and unreadable.
He let the buzz ferment for more than ten days until public discussion about him gradually began to dwindle.
"Daoist Jiao, it seems we can proceed with the next phase of the plan," Li Fan said in a low voice.
"Indeed. Daoist friend, just watch and see what I can do." Jiao Xiuyuan chuckled slyly, and his presence fell dormant once more.
Simultaneously, across the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, whether onlookers seeking entertainment or cultivators desperately begging for a way to reach Li Fan, all received new word from Jiao Xiuyuan.
So many cultivators had come knocking lately that Master Li Fan was utterly harassed.
Moreover, faced with widespread accusations of being a "fraud," Li Fan had resolved to prove his abilities.
He had entrusted Jiao Xiuyuan to deliver a public announcement.
The date was set for three days hence.
The moment the news broke, it sparked a sensation.
Those who believed in Li Fan harbored faint anticipation.
Those who had considered him a con man from the start sneered in disdain, eager to watch him make a fool of himself.
Believers and skeptics alike contributed to the fever pitch of discussion.
Add to that the sheer masses of spectators, and virtually every low-to-mid-tier cultivator in the Alliance was looking forward to Li Fan's performance in three days.
As for those at Soul Formation and above, they paid little heed to such trivial squabbles.
Only a handful of idle eccentrics cast a passing glance in that direction.
Amid relentless debate, the appointed day finally arrived.
Outside Thousand Li Hall, where visitors had once been few and far between, a dense crowd now packed the street.
Craning their necks, they stared intently at Jiao Xiuyuan, waiting for Li Fan's proclamation.
Countless puppets of Jiao Xiuyuan moved in unison, wearing identical expressions.
His gaze swept across the crowd, solemn and grave.
Clearing his throat, Jiao Xiuyuan said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist Li Fan has declared that to prove he is no fraud and to defend the honor of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, he has spared no expense to his own lifespan to invoke his secret art. And once again, he has successfully foreseen the future!"
Jiao Xiuyuan paused slightly, holding the undivided attention of everyone present.
After a beat, he cried aloud, "He saw that very soon, an item known as the Puxian True Leaf will skyrocket in price!
"It will even send shockwaves throughout the entire Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals!"
With that, absolute silence fell over the square.
Before the crowd could recover from their shock, Jiao Xiuyuan ducked back inside Thousand Li Hall in a flash.
Then, with a resounding boom, the heavy doors slammed shut.
No matter how loudly the onlookers shouted from outside, there was no further response.
"Puxian True Leaf? What on earth is that? Skyrocket in price? Is that for real...?" Most of the spectators were bewildered and skeptical.
Yet several quick-witted cultivators had already retreated into the Heavenly Profound Mirror, hurriedly searching for its price.
To their amazement, the moment Jiao Xiuyuan made the proclamation, the price of Puxian True Leaf shot straight up from 265 points.
"Stay rational, everyone! The price is only rising because too many people are buying it at once!"
"That fraud Li Fan must have stockpiled a massive hoard long ago. He's just waiting for everyone to bid the price up so he can dump his stock!"
A self-proclaimed expert offered a confident breakdown, rationally trying to dissuade the cultivators around him.
Yet the price surge was unfolding right before their eyes.
Even if the price would crash later, wouldn't buying now and selling before the drop yield a tidy profit?
Watching the price climb higher and higher, more and more cultivators finally gave in and bought a small amount to test the waters.
Perhaps each individual bought only a modest quantity, but the sheer number of cultivators involved was staggering.
As a result, the upward trajectory of Puxian True Leaf accelerated further.
In a short span of time, it rocketed from 265 points to 300 points.
While Li Fan and Jiao Xiuyuan were likewise frantically sweeping the market, inside a certain courtyard in Tianshu Province...
"Daoist Tantai! Disaster has struck! Look at the price of Puxian True Leaf! 310..."
"No, 320 now!"
By the time Tantai Can came to his senses, the price had already reached 340 points.
"Damn it!"
"Forget the price—buy up every last Puxian True Leaf on the market!" he roared in exasperation.
Chapter 457