Chapter 271

Chapter 271: Insane Wealth

"Each age brings forth genius on this noble land; and each one rules his realm for ages long."

Li Ruoyu smiled faintly. "The master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion issuing the Star Yuan currency to unify money across the Yuan Realm is truly a great boon for all its inhabitants."

"Besides, the Ancient Heavenly Court fell long ago. Its past glories have all turned to smoke. Taiyue, you are far too persistent."

Pang Taiyue’s body trembled faintly.

He stared blankly at Li Ruoyu—that was a world personally forged by their master! With the Heavenly Court destroyed and its glory gone, could Li Ruoyu truly let go?

The two of them walked into Heaven’s Machine Bank.

"Halt, you two!"

A cultivator guarding Heaven’s Machine Bank stepped forward, blocking Li Ruoyu and Pang Taiyue—it was a Heavenly God, unmistakably Zhao Cheng, Chief of the City Lord’s mansion.

Due to the bank’s opening, the City Lord of Linglong had assigned him to maintain order here.

"Do you possess an Invitation?" Zhao Cheng inquired. "Without one, you must wait awhile. Heaven’s Machine Bank is set to open without restrictions in one hour."

"Hmph!"

Pang Taiyue scoffed coldly. "Such a grand display from Heaven’s Secret Pavilion! Am I barred entry just for lacking an Invitation?"

Li Ruoyu merely stood with arms crossed, looking entirely at ease.

"Senior, please do not make this difficult for me." Zhao Cheng’s expression darkened.

Swish!

Pang Taiyue strode toward the bank’s interior. Enraged, Zhao Cheng instantly mobilized his divine laws to strike him.

However, Zhao Cheng held back a lethal blow—intending just to restrain him.

Pang Taiyue remained impassive. At a mere thought, an esoteric power radiated from him. In that instant, Zhao Cheng and two other cultivators froze rigidly in place.

"My liege, please." Pang Taiyue gestured.

Once inside Heaven’s Machine Bank, the clamor of voices hit them like a bustling marketplace.

After major factions purchased Black Gold Cards, exchanged for Star Yuan, and pledged to back the currency’s distribution, Ye Xu had departed—only Su Mu remained to manage remaining affairs.

"Hm?" Su Mu sensed the arrival of Pang Taiyue and Li Ruoyu. Uttering a sound of surprise, his gaze flashed with astonishment.

He approached them, neither humble nor haughty. "Fellow Daoists, have you come to exchange Star Yuan?"

"You could say that." Li Ruoyu chuckled lightly.

Su Mu studied the pair intently, inwardly shaken.

He couldn’t perceive either of their cultivation levels—one radiating more mystery than the other, stirring an instinctive fear within him.

"Who are these two?"

Gu Daojin, the Seven Immortals of Cloud Capital, and others turned their attention to Li Ruoyu and Pang Taiyue.

"I can’t see through them." Gu Daojin’s expression tensed. At the peak of True Immortal Realm, he should discern all—yet both remained unfathomable. The mere thought sent chills down his spine.

"That man in black… resembles the mysterious figure who slew the celestial maiden." Ji Xuan Yi and Meng Changan exchanged a glance, thoughts communicating between them.

"But a true Immortal King—surely none would visit a bank solely over a currency matter?"

"They might be here for Heaven’s Secret Pavilion."

"Fellow Daoist friends, the rules of Heaven’s Machine Bank are…" Despite his shock, Su Mu remained composed as he explained the regulations to Li Ruoyu and Pang Taiyue.

"Would the two fellow Daoist friends care to exchange for a Supreme Lord Card?"

Pang Taiyue glanced at Li Ruoyu, unable to make the decision himself.

"One Level Two Supreme Lord Card."

Li Ruoyu smiled warmly, his expression as gentle as a spring breeze.

But his words immediately stirred the powerful beings in Heaven’s Machine Bank.

A single Level Two Supreme Lord Card cost one billion Star Yuan currency!

Even Su Mu was profoundly astonished.

Who were these two?

Such an extravagant spending as soon as they made a move?

Pang Taiyue added, "One Level Two Supreme Lord Card, and also convert one hundred million Star Yuan."

"Absolutely."

Su Mu replied with delight, "I’ll process it for you two immediately."

He personally led Pang Taiyue and Li Ruoyu to complete the transactions.

"Oblivious to the meaning of restraint!" Gu Daojin’s eyes glittered with envy. Li Ruoyu’s expenditure nearly matched all their own credit allowances combined — truly an enigmatic, super-rich magnate.

Speculation about Li Ruoyu’s identity spread among the crowd.

In this Lower Realm, one could count on one hand those wealthy enough to possess such assets.

"Fellow Daoist brother, this is the Level Two Supreme Lord Card."

Su Mu presented a card crafted from celestial gold to Li Ruoyu, explaining, "As for the one hundred million Star Yuan, I’ve already deposited it into this card."

"Many thanks for your support, Daoist brothers."

Su Mu cupped his hands respectfully.

What Pang Taiyue had traded consisted entirely of celestial items from the Immortal Realm — each priceless. Some were treasures even he coveted deeply. Su Mu now strongly suspected both men hailed from the Immortal Realm itself.

Moreover, anyone who could casually produce a billion Star Yuan currency clearly possessed extraordinary power.

"When Daoist friend has finished with this matter, may we trouble you to guide us?" Li Ruoyu’s sunny smile reappeared. "We have long heard of the unparalleled divination arts of the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. We wish to witness it ourselves."

"You humble me, Daoist brothers."

Su Mu smiled. "Allow me to make introductions immediately."

Both men nodded in acknowledgment.

"Senior Brother Qiu." Su Mu summoned Qiu Qianli, instructing, "Temporarily take charge of Heaven’s Machine Bank affairs. I must visit Heaven’s Secret Pavilion."

Qiu Qianli’s gaze swept over Li Ruoyu and Pang Taiyue. He instantly grasped the situation.

These two were now Heaven’s Machine Bank’s top clients — they must receive the utmost care.

"Leave it to me," said Qiu Qianli.

"Esteemed Daoist brothers, please follow me."

Su Mu took the two of them and headed towards the Heaven’s Secret Pavilion together.

…

"Five hundred and fifty million heavenly secrets points…"

Inside the Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, Ye Xu was calculating the day’s earnings.

Two Level One Supreme Lord Cards and thirty-six Black Gold Cards amounted to five hundred and sixty million heavenly secrets points. Even after deducting costs, that still left a clean profit of five hundred and fifty million.

The materials used to craft the Black Gold Cards and Supreme Lord Cards, though rare, were incredibly cost-effective. Even a palm-sized piece of top-tier celestial gold could produce many Supreme Lord Cards.

The Black Gold Cards required only emperor-grade materials, resulting in profit margins with minimal input and maximum profit.

"If only someone would bring in a Level Three Supreme Lord Card, I’d soar immediately…" Ye Xu fantasized.

"Daoist brothers, we’ve reached the Heaven’s Secret Pavilion."

Outside the Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, Su Mu, Li Ruoyu, and Pang Taiyue stood side by side.

Li Ruoyu’s gaze fell upon the structure. Deep within his eyes, wisps of innate divine patterns intertwined and leaped, as if trying to penetrate the secrets of the pavilion before him.

After a few breaths, Li Ruoyu blinked, and the peculiar phenomena disappeared. A trace of gravity settled on his brow.

This pavilion remained completely opaque to him, even with his level of cultivation.

But Li Ruoyu felt no fear; instead, intense excitement surged within him.

"If there exists something in this world that not even I can perceive, it must transcend the very realm I inhabit. My failure to see through it is proof that such a higher realm truly exists."

Li Ruoyu’s heart blazed like fire.

"Might the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion be precisely such a supremely enlightened being, one who has comprehended the Great Transcendence?"

Pang Taiyue was also scrutinizing the Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

Simple yet mysterious.

That was his initial impression.

"Master, perhaps allow this subordinate to make the initial approach and test the waters?" Pang Taiyue sent a mental message, cautious. The Heaven’s Secret Pavilion felt profoundly strange and obscure, beyond his perception. He feared a trap.

Li Ruoyu shook his head.

Su Mu walked straight into the Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

Li Ruoyu followed, hands clasped behind his back, moving at an unhurried pace.

Pang Taiyue hesitated for a second, then promptly followed.

"Esteemed Daoist brother," Su Mu greeted Ye Xu with a broad smile, gesturing towards the others. "These two Daoist brothers are the premier clients of our Heaven’s Machine Bank. They have acquired a Level Two Supreme Lord Card and deposited one billion Star Yuan."

Whoosh!

Ye Xu’s eyes instantly shone like twin suns.

He looked directly at Li Ruoyu.

"??????"

Question marks popped up one after another in his mind. He couldn’t perceive anything about Li Ruoyu!

"The individual is not a reincarnated being. There’s no Reincarnation Lock or similar divine technique concealing him. The reason I cannot discern anything is simply that his power is too immense—strong enough to block both destiny and natural principles."

Ye Xu understood instantly.

This Li Ruoyu’s strength was, without question, the most formidable, the most utterly staggering, of any visitor to the Heaven’s Secret Pavilion thus far.

Of course, if he truly wished to pierce Li Ruoyu’s secrets, he probably could do it.

After all, within the confines of the Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, he stood as the invincible existence.

But resorting to force would inevitably alert Li Ruoyu, rendering such an action utterly counterproductive.

"The sole piece of information… is that his surname is Li?"

Ye Xu’s expression shifted slightly.

Surnamed Li?

If memory served him right, the Ancient Heavenly Emperor… seemed to share this surname.

Crucially, when he had previously sought information on the Heavenly Emperor, the result mirrored his current view of this man before him: only a surname shown, followed by nothing but question marks.

Such coincidences simply did not exist.

Synthesizing all the factors, Ye Xu was eighty to ninety percent certain he had identified Li Ruoyu’s true identity.