Chapter 16: The Mad Bubble

With Zhao Xuhe's guarantee, Lu Yang successfully borrowed 2,000 contribution points from the "Sanhe Society" behind him, and then went all-in on purchasing Substitute Yin Puppets.

On the other side, Zhao Xuhe was pacing excitedly in his cave dwelling.

"The news was actually true!"

Upon receiving the message from his master, he was instantly overcome with excitement: "The mass grave in Jiangnan belonging to the Saint Sect has indeed been conquered by the Yushu Sword Pavilion."

"The one who struck was the Third Elder of the Yushu Sword Pavilion, that peerless sword cultivator known as the 'Demon-Slaying True Person'."

"In the short term, reclaiming it is impossible."

"With the fall of the mass grave, a price surge for the Substitute Yin Puppets in the short term is inevitable. This is the perfect opportunity for us to speculate and hoard goods for high prices."

"I'm going to strike it rich!"

Having secured the status of a Deacon Disciple of the Merit Hall within the Saint Sect, Zhao Xuhe naturally did not lack background or connections, nor did he lack vision or greed. Therefore, as soon as he confirmed the news about Lu Yang was true, he immediately began gathering funds and then used all his available cash to buy heavily into the Substitute Yin Puppets.

And things developed exactly as he expected.

As news of the Jiangnan mass grave incident spread, more and more people who "perceived a business opportunity" began sweeping the market, purchasing Substitute Yin Puppets at high prices.

Like all speculative bubbles, those who entered first made a considerable amount of money.

However, as the event fermented, everyone realized that the price of the Substitute Yin Puppets showed no sign of decreasing; it was high when buying, and even higher when selling.

Making money suddenly became easy.

As long as you bought them and sold them again, you could easily earn contribution points that previously would have required completing several, or even dozens, of sect missions.

Consequently, there were more and more frenzied people.

An increasing number of people began to pour their savings into the market, hoping to make money, and they indeed did, which further stimulated the market.

Even the more cautious individuals, upon seeing that the fellow disciples they usually looked down upon had simply bought items and sold them a few days later for more money than themselves, naturally felt a sense of psychological imbalance. Thus, they naturally joined the wave.

Under such a tide, the price of the Substitute Yin Puppets climbed steadily.

From the initial 200 contribution points, it rose all the way to 300. This fifty percent price increase drove countless speculators into even greater madness.

After all, the price had not stagnated; it was still rising.

If it rose today, it would surely rise tomorrow; if it rose tomorrow, what reason would there be for it not to continue rising the day after? To not buy now was to lose money!

Thus, more and more people moved with the wind.

300, 400, 500... Finally, when the price soared to 500 contribution points, people's rationality somewhat returned, and they felt it had gone far enough.

"It's time to sell!"

Zhao Xuhe was the first to grasp this subtle turning point, beginning to secretly sell off his hoarded Substitute Yin Puppets in batches, preparing to cash out and exit the market.

At the same time, the price across the entire Substitute Yin Puppet market began to retreat.

After all, Zhao Xuhe was not the only clever person in the world; others had also keenly perceived the downward trend and began to gradually sell off their goods.

If things continued this way, the price would completely collapse within a few days and return to normal.

However, just as this wave was about to subside, a piece of news suddenly spread from the high-level officials of the Primordial Saint Sect, sweeping through the entire sect overnight.

"The Saint Sect is preparing a counterattack!"

"The fall of the Jiangnan mass grave has enraged a True Person within the sect, who has decided to personally take action, mobilizing sect disciples for a counter-offensive to fight the Yushu Sword Pavilion!"

"A great war is coming!"

During wartime, all materials beneficial to war increase in price.

And how important was the Substitute Yin Puppet—an item that could save one's life at a critical moment—in the bloody and cruel upcoming war between the Righteous and Demonic paths?

It was nothing less than a second life!

Unquestionably, on the very night this news spread, the price of the Substitute Yin Puppets, which had already begun to retreat, experienced a second explosion!

Not only did it instantly return to its peak of 500 contribution points, but it was still climbing!

By the next morning, 500 contribution points had turned into 1,000. Compared to the original price of 200, it had actually increased fivefold!

"Hahahahaha!"

In the Library, Wang Bairong stood on his precious rocking chair, dancing with excitement, his old face flushed with the color of agitation and fanaticism.

"Rise! Keep rising for me!"

"No, I have to buy more. Selling this little bit now won't make much money. I'll hoard more; then I'll have enough contribution points for an entire cave dwelling!"

At this moment, the entire Saint Sect welcomed a carnival for ordinary disciples.

These ordinary disciples lacked vision, connections, and information channels, so when others were secretly selling, they were still buying.

And now, they had struck it rich.

An unknown number of ordinary disciples saw their net worth double overnight, with the money earned even exceeding the total assets of some senior disciples with backgrounds and supporters.

For a time, countless fairy-tale stories spread through the Saint Sect.

For example, a certain destitute young man who had been publicly broken off from his engagement by his fiancée, after his wealth doubled, angrily broke off the engagement himself, leaving behind the words, "Do not look down on a youth for being poor."

Or another example: a little girl who, due to her father's death and her mother's remarriage, had to live under someone else's roof, living a life where she was arbitrarily beaten and scolded by her stepfather and couldn't even protect her father's inheritance; after her wealth doubled, she immediately bought a high-level cave dwelling in full.

Do you have a dream? Do you want to realize it?

Come buy Substitute Yin Puppets!

This madness, in which everyone was invested, reached its absolute peak one day when a disciple at the perfection of the Qi Refining stage suddenly broke through and successfully reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Because that successful Foundation Establishment disciple stated publicly that his breakthrough was entirely due to earning enough contribution points by trading Substitute Yin Puppets, which allowed him to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill in full. Therefore, he wanted to thank the Substitute Yin Puppets; if not for them, he could never have defied fate to change his destiny.

It was complete madness.

1,000, 2,000, 3,000... The price of the Substitute Yin Puppets left everyone else in the dust. As the prices soared, while some were happy, others were naturally sorrowful.

The happy ones, such as Lu Yang.

He was not greedy; when the price soared to 2,000, he decisively chose to sell.

After all, he had bought 10 at the original price of 200 and sold them at 2,000. A round trip meant a tenfold profit, bringing in 20,000 contribution points!

The sorrowful ones, such as Zhao Xuhe.

When he saw the price rebounding, he regretted it so much his intestines turned green, especially after seeing Wang Bairong, whom he had previously looked down upon and even intended to scam.

As far as he knew, Wang Bairong—this mediocre fellow who had been around for decades and was half-buried in the ground—had hoarded more than 20 Substitute Yin Puppets, all bought at high prices during this period. When Zhao Xuhe had secretly sold his own earlier, he had even privately mocked him as a "leek" waiting to be harvested.

But now, the man was about to earn nearly 100,000 contribution points!

If it were just that he hadn't made money, it would be one thing.

But when Zhao Xuhe saw Wang Bairong earning so many contribution points, grinning from ear to ear every day, the feeling was truly more painful than his own loss!

And seeing the price of the Substitute Yin Puppets continuing to rise in an unstoppable trend, Zhao Xuhe deliberated and hesitated for an entire night.

In the end, he re-entered the market.

The contribution points he had earned from his previous exit were thrown back into the Substitute Yin Puppet market.

At first, he remained cautious and did not invest all his contribution points, but as he watched the price continue to rise, he felt that with every increment, he was losing out.

"Opportunities like this don't come twice. I've already missed one; how can I miss a second?"

"It will keep rising. Buying now is better than buying later..."

There were many others with the same thought as Zhao Xuhe.

And when this group of people, who had been the first to cash out and exit, re-entered the fray, it once again stimulated the rise of the Substitute Yin Puppets and further solidified people's confidence.