The Iron Tiger Clan wasn't exactly poor; at the level of a Black Tortoise Grandmaster, when hunting in the Lower Cloud Sea, they not only didn't have to turn over Beast Crystals but were actually entitled to draw supplies from the Qiantian Mountain. Besides Tie Qianqiu, the Iron Tiger Clan boasted several members at the Earth Wheel Seventh Meridian.

Their income was quite substantial, amounting to at least forty thousand fourth-tier Beast Crystals annually. As the patriarch of the Iron Tiger Clan and a Martial Ancestor expert, Hu Zhongyuan's wealth, even if not equal to his own, should still exceed two thousand fourth-tier Beast Crystals.

Such an exaggerated display of shock was likely mostly feigned. Zong Shou pondered for a moment, first retrieving a stored purple long spear from the bank, a piece of close-fitting soft armor, and several useful Spirit Artifacts.

In addition, he took a stack of high-grade True Talisman paper and some Soul Stones for elixirs. Zong Weiran truly went to great lengths for his son.

The miscellaneous items stored in the bank were numerous, and the vast majority belonged to Spirit Masters, encompassing nearly everything. There were even several exceedingly precious texts detailing Spirit Master cultivation methods and secret Talisman scripts, which brought Zong Shou immense pleasant surprise.

Leaving the Three Continents Bank, Zong Shou immediately headed to the trading hub of Jie Fu City. In the central hall of this great ship from the Cloud Wasteland Era, there was a space spanning over five thousand zhang.

Here, two specially crafted Spirit Artifacts presided over by Spirit Masters formed a massive light screen. Those coming to trade here did not need to set up stalls or search everywhere.

One simply needed to convey what they wished to sell or buy to the presiding Spirit Master, who would then project a line of text onto the light screen—an extremely convenient system. Only particularly precious items warranted separate auctions, though notifications for these would also appear on the light screen.

However, as Zong Shou stood before one of the light screens, he momentarily fell into hesitation. When the spiritual tides surged, it wasn't just the Beast Crystals and Spirit Stones that were plummeting in value.

Other pelts, materials, and various spirit herbs were also declining. Even the gold and silver commonly used by the people of the Cloud Continent had seen some depreciation.

What was it called in later generations? Inflation?

That didn't seem quite right. In any case, as resources proliferated, the things that Beast Crystals and Spirit Stones could exchange for were rapidly shrinking in worth.

Yet, these circumstances mostly applied to items used by mortals, such as grain and various metal ores. Furthermore, the prices of materials fluctuated wildly based on the scarcity of their origins.

Only a few hundred commonly used commodities, along with those extremely rare Spirit Treasures that remained scarce even during the spiritual tide, maintained steadfast pricing. Preserving value now wasn't difficult, but Zong Shou was currently more concerned with earning a substantial profit.

Returning later to manage the vast estate of Qiantian Mountain wouldn't be easy; how could he manage without a solid personal foundation? After deep contemplation, Zong Shou reached a decision, gritting his teeth slightly: "Brother Hu, have someone post several announcements for me.

I want to purchase two hundred and fifty million Naxi Pills, two hundred and fifty million Hanyuan Pills, four hundred and fifty million Quanyuan Pills, four hundred and fifty million Lian Gu Pills, and four hundred and fifty million Mingsi Pills. One hundred and fifty million Yang Xuan Pills, and one hundred and fifty million Ming Hun Pills.

For these initial-tier elixirs, if they were refined within twenty years of today's date, I will take them all! Oh, and also weapons and armor.

I will take every single Talisman Artifact and Spirit Artifact below the second tier, no matter the quantity!" Hu Zhongyuan was startled, and his first thought was, had Zong Shou gone mad? Two days prior, he had personally heard Zong Shou mention to Xuanyuan Tong that the value of Beast Crystals and Spirit Stones might drastically depreciate.

Though he hadn't taken it seriously, he hadn't wished to say much either. After all, these were assets left by Zong Weiran, and Zong Shou could use them as he pleased.

Since that City Lord Xuanyuan was fully supporting him, there might indeed be some truth to it. However, he had never anticipated Zong Shou would be this reckless!

Even for value preservation, buying other things would have been better. Why specifically these most fundamental first-tier elixirs?

As Zong Shou had implied, these spiritual elixirs could be refined by any Alchemist who had opened their Sea of Consciousness and mastered Soul Power. Since their materials were common and their output vast, major powers and secluded sects used them to cultivate their own Alchemists.

But despite the huge output, only a little over eighty percent were actually needed. These elixirs aided in body refinement, breath regulation, or meditation, but none increased Soul Power or True Qi; consuming too many was simply useless.

And within this Eastern Cloud Continent, the total number of martial practitioners and Spirit Masters who possessed the aptitude to reach the Martial Master realm or the second Spirit Master stage, Guan Hun, was limited. Consequently, every year, enormous quantities were stored away in the vaults of the major powers.

Decades later, after the spiritual elixirs spoiled, they were discarded. Zong Weiran had only held control of Qiantian Mountain for ten years, yet the initial-tier spiritual elixirs stored in those vaults already totaled nearly one hundred million.

On the market, this equated to the price of cabbage. Selling them wasn't profitable, yet storing them meant waiting until they completely spoiled.

Was Zong Shou buying these things intending to let them rot? As for the weapons and armor, they were slightly better, possessing a longer shelf life at least.

However, the forging industry of Qiantian Mountain was already extremely developed, requiring no outside procurement; buying them would likely only result in more storage. At this moment, it wasn't just Hu Zhongyuan who was stunned; even Chu Xue Zongyuan and his group were somewhat taken aback.

Tan Tao pondered for a moment, then seemed to realize something: "So, this means the Young Lord has foreseen that in the coming years, as spiritual energy surges, the number of people qualified to break through to the Martial Master realm will increase dramatically? If that is truly the case, then purchasing these elixirs is indeed shrewd!

The City Lord already decreed that Profound Mountain City and the Young Lord advance or retreat together. Our inventory of Beast Crystals is low; we only have the two types, Ma Su Yuan Dan and Gu Tai Dan, available." Seeing Hu Zhongyuan still looking bewildered and persistent, Chu Xue Zongyuan also wore a questioning expression.

Tan Tao frowned but still offered an explanation: "If the number of people breaking through to the Martial Master realm increases, the demand for these auxiliary elixirs will naturally skyrocket. As for Beast Crystals, Spirit Stones, and those raw materials and herbs, their value will likely also increase sharply due to the celestial changes.

But those elixirs require a first-tier Alchemist to refine them. Can the major powers truly cultivate that many Alchemists in such a short time?" Hu Zhongyuan and Zong Yuan suddenly understood.

Alchemists, like Artifact Forgers, must pass through three distinct stages of apprenticeship before truly mastering qualified alchemy techniques. To cultivate a qualified Alchemist, even without material restrictions, required at least five to six years.

During this period, this bottleneck in elixirs would be enough to drive the prices of these initial-tier elixirs to astonishing heights! Chu Xue, however, remained confused, unable to grasp the causal link here.

Tan Tao secretly shook his head, musing that the Young Lord's trusted subordinates, while perhaps having decent martial talent, were all simpletons! Hu Zhongyuan was entirely unaware that Tan Tao had mentally branded him an 'idiot.' Having understood Zong Shou's intent and concluding this venture was likely profitable with minimal risk, he cheerfully moved to the light screen, seeking out the presiding Spirit Master.

He handed over a few Spirit Stones, and in a moment, several lines of text appeared on the screen. It detailed that Zong Shou, the Young Lord of Qiantian Mountain, sought to purchase two hundred and fifty million Naxi Pills, two hundred and fifty million Hanyuan Pills, and so on, along with various weapons and armor.

Hu Fengyuan's eyes flickered then. Whether they could profit this time hinged on whether the output of Beast Crystals and Spirit Stones would increase.

Recalling carefully, he remembered that in these past few hunts in the Cloud Sea, the harvest of Beast Crystals and Soul Stones had indeed grown considerably. Especially from the first to the fourth tier, the numbers had increased almost step-wise.

This situation felt somewhat unusual. A sharp glint shone in Hu Zhongyuan's eyes.

Without hesitation, he handed over another Spirit Stone to the Spirit Master, who was still utterly astonished. He left another line of text on the light screen.

He thought, May heaven bless me so I can profit handsomely from this. Even if I don't profit, I mustn't lose.

If my old man finds out I gambled away all his retirement funds, I'll surely be beaten until my backside blooms! As the subtitles appeared, initially, no one in the main hall paid attention.

Moments later, however, a murmuring sound erupted. The entire hall was filled with incessant discussion.

"The Young Lord of Qiantian Mountain? Isn't that the good-for-nothing Young Lord?

Has he gone mad? Two hundred and fifty million Naxi Pills, two hundred and fifty million Hanyuan Pills...

Why does he need these initial-tier spiritual elixirs in such quantities?" "I've heard of this fellow! It's said just a few days ago, Xuanyuan Tong of Profound Mountain City established him as the Young City Lord, dead set on marrying his own daughter to this piece of dung.

Why is he pulling such a foolish stunt now?" "Such massive quantities—altogether, wouldn't that require over four hundred thousand fourth-tier Spirit Stones? And those armors and Talisman Artifacts, where did he get so much money?" "That's no concern.

Look at the last line. Transactions via Three Continents Bank notes—that's a gold-standard guarantee, it cannot be faked.

If this boy has the financial power, we can ask the bank! But buying these things...

this Young Lord likely has a screw loose, right?" Zong Shou, however, listened with a slight curl of his lips. Although terms like 'idiot' and 'profligate son' constantly reached his ears, causing minor annoyance, his overall mood was excellent.

This feeling of being the only sober one while everyone else was drunk—tsk, tsk. The transactions he initiated involved massive volumes.

Only major powers, secluded sects, and aristocratic families were qualified to accept such orders. Since they likely hadn't responded yet, he moved aside and found an auction hall dealing with third-tier and higher spiritual items to sit down.

He wasn't truly interested in buying anything, but being immensely wealthy, he would bid wildly on whatever caught his eye, often managing to guess others' bottom lines with uncanny accuracy. After driving the price sky-high, he would immediately withdraw, leaving everyone in the hall utterly enraged, their eyes burning with fury at this self-defeating fellow.

Only the auctioneer was delighted, grinning broadly. But after barely half an hour, this auctioneer couldn't keep smiling.

From then on, any item Zong Shou favored saw no one daring to compete with him. Everyone knew this was the rich fool who had just spent over four hundred thousand fourth-tier Spirit Stones on initial-tier elixirs; no one dared to challenge his prominence.

It wasn't until the auctioneer, nearly in tears, had the four grand finale items—Earth Origin Pills—brought out that Zong Shou's eyebrows twitched slightly, displaying a rare hint of seriousness.