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“It has begun?” Ji Dihong narrowed his eyes.

“Yes. It went exactly as Mister Cangjie predicted. Ninety percent of the financial management store managers in all two thousand cities ran nearly simultaneously. The news spread like wildfire, reaching everywhere in an extremely short time. This official guesses all the cities will fall into chaos in less than ten days,” Emperor Kong said gravely.

Ji Dihong looked at Cangjie. “Mister Cangjie, are you of the same opinion?”

Cangjie stepped forward and gently shook his head. “This official expects all the cities will be chaotic in less than a day.”

Emperor Kong raised his eyebrows. “How can that be? Mister Cangjie, there are so many citizens, and one city is extremely large. How could word of this spread within a day?”

“Emperor Kong, if you don’t believe me, you can make another report tomorrow?” Cangjie smiled.

The study fell deathly silent. One day? Two thousand cities breaking out in chaos within one day? How could that be?

“Send out word. From now on, immediately report any unusual developments,” Ji Dihong said seriously.

“Yes!”

Some officials left to inform others.

Since Cangjie predicted it would take less than a day, the others had no intention of leaving, prepared to wait and see what would happen in this one day.

One day was not long.

The officials responsible for intel shuttled in and out, bringing information.

The two thousand cities progressed at similar rates. As Ji Dihong and his officials listened, their alarm deepened.

Anarchy! Mayhem! Riots! The two thousand cities turned chaotic in the blink of an eye.

Some citizens even started rebelling, killing officials, and setting fire to the temples. Signs of great chaos cropped up everywhere.

After a day and a half, the rioting citizens started capturing monks and snatching the monks’ possessions and spirit stones. Everyone seemed to have run amok.

The study remained deathly silent.

“Limu, how many cities can you capture from the Spirit Mountain Holy Land if you led the troops and attacked them now?” Ji Dihong looked at a man who looked like a general.

[TL Note: According to Chinese mythology, Limu was one of the Yellow (Huang) Emperor’s generals. His name translates to “strong shepherd.”]

That general showed a strange expression. “Your Holy Eminence, this official feels the two thousand cities are already crippled. If the army marches out…these two thousand cities won’t have anyone guarding the city gates.”

After Limu spoke, everyone in the study felt horrified.

“Two thousand cities all got crippled in just one day? How terrifying of these financial management stores!” Emperor Kong exclaimed, aghast.

The military fights battles face on. Tactics can bring about breakthroughs leading to victory. The proper order when attacking cities has frontal assaults as the foundation. Tactics are merely embellishments of what is already perfect. This situation before us is just pure tactics. Nonetheless, it destroyed two thousand cities in just one night?

What terrifying tactics!

“Your Holy Eminence, this official is willing to lead the army and capture most of the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s cities!” Limu volunteered respectfully.

“Your Holy Eminence, this official is willing to engage in battle!”

“Your Holy Eminence, this official is willing to engage in battle!”

Some military officials immediately volunteered their services. Attacking these cities would practically be like taking candy from a baby. They could stroll into a city and capture it without fighting. It was basically free contributions.

However, Ji Dihong said nothing. Instead, he gravely pondered this.

“The person behind this is the truly terrifying one. He silently crippled two thousand cities of the Spirit Mountain Holy Land in one night. What a terrifying commercial attack! He destroyed the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s foundations without using a single soldier or losing a drop of blood?” Emperor Kong said in shock.

“Who could it be? Who is this capable?” Ji Dihong said with narrowed eyes.

Anyone will be affected by the rapid fall of two thousand cities. What if this commercial attack appears in my Huang Heavenly Dynasty? What would happen? Ji Dihong got goosebumps when imagining such a scene.

“By the way, Your Holy Eminence, this official sent people to check my Huang Heavenly Dynasty. Someone has opened financial management stores in sixteen cities of my Huang Heavenly Dynasty. However, they got little traction. They are probably not of the same group as the one going against the Spirit Mountain Holy Land,” Cangjie said.

After Cangjie spoke, nearly everyone’s expression changed.

Ji Dihong’s expression immediately turned sullen. “Arrest all the staff of the financial management stores. From now on, arrest anyone who dares to open a financial management store or anything similar. Make them examples. If anyone dares to resist, confiscate all their clan’s properties and disband them—no, execute their entire clan!”

Ji Dihong issued a drastic order. Although he felt no fear towards Essence Genesis, these small financial management stores made him afraid. Only fear would prompt him to issue such an order.

“Yes!” everyone in the study answered.

Ji Dihong trusted everyone here. These people helped him govern the nation. If he made any wrong moves, these civil officials would immediately admonish him. He was never obstinate and self-opinionated, and he also hoped these people would have different opinions from his. That way, the nation could last for a long time. However, none of these officials objected at this moment. They all accepted the order for clan extermination. Clearly, they were also terrified.

Everyone could imagine the nation falling within one night. Who would take such a risk with such a terrifying scenario?

“Your Holy Eminence, should we still send out the army?” Limu asked anxiously.

Ji Dihong shook his head. “Wait first. We are uncertain about the opponent’s situation. We don’t even know who is behind this. It is best not to be rash now.”

“Yes!” Limu answered.

The generals volunteering to fight quieted.

“Emperor Kong, we sent you to investigate the mastermind. Have you figured it out yet?” Ji Dihong looked at Emperor Kong.

Emperor Kong smiled bitterly. “Your Holy Eminence, the mastermind is too crafty.”

“Oh?”

“In the past six months, they hired people connected to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land as staff and managers, then pulled out their people and vanished. Clearly, they had long intended to withdraw. The recruited people connected to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land are fools. Although they received good salaries, the spirit stones never passed through their hands; they were mere puppets. They were hired to shift the hatred to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land today. The financial management stores were initially just a commercial activity, but they ingeniously turned it into a political tool. They made it appear like the many temples—even the Spirit Mountain Holy Land—backed them. While the monks can run, the temples cannot. Everyone got fooled by them. Furthermore, their people had silently withdrawn and taken away all the spirit stones, leaving nothing behind—not even a trace of themselves,” Emperor Kong said with a bitter smile.

“How terrifying! They achieved this without even a single soldier getting injured,” Fengbo said with an unsightly expression.

“What a meticulous and insidious scheme!” Di Jihong said with slightly narrowed eyes.

“This person is too scary. The mastermind behind the scenes is nowhere to be found.” Emperor Kong shook his head while showing a wry smile.

However, Ji Dihong looked at Cangjie. Cangjie had been silent, apparently pensive.

“Mister Cangjie, what do you think?” Ji Dihong asked.

“These financial management stores targeted only the Spirit Mountain Holy Land, so I think we should start from the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s enemies. Such organizations would be at least an imperial dynasty or a middle-tier sect,” Cangjie analyzed.

“That’s right. Enemies? Although the Spirit Mountain Holy Land keeps speaking about benevolence, its expansion was bloody. The two thousand cities used to be territories of major factions. Although these factions were eliminated, their successors have started new factions and remember their hatred for the Spirit Mountain Holy Land,” Emperor Kong said as his expression changed.

Ji Dihong nodded. “The Yan Heavenly Dynasty and the Myriad Age Daoist Sect are among the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s enemies, but we can put them aside for now. There are eight imperial dynasties and nine middle-tier sects hostile to them. Is Mister Cangjie saying the mastermind is among these seventeen factions?”

Cangjie remained silent for a while. “Your Holy Eminence, such a commercial attack has happened before. Furthermore, you have even seen it. Back then, this official showed it to Your Holy Eminence and asked you to pay note to it.”

“Oh? A similar commercial attack?” Ji Dihong raised his eyebrows.

Such a commercial attack is extremely horrifying, destroying two thousand cities in one day. This is the first time everyone here has seen such a shocking attack, yet Cangjie says it has happened before. How could I not know about it?

“Does Your Holy Eminence remember the Han Imperial Dynasty’s Gu Hai?” Cangjie asked gravely.

“Gu Hai?” Ji Dihong narrowed his eyes.

“That’s impossible. Although Gu Hai has an enmity with the Spirit Mountain Holy Land, the Han Imperial Dynasty is in the Divine Continent’s cardinal north, separated from the Spirit Mountain Holy Land by countless factions. How could he cause such a massive commotion from such a distance?” Emperor Kong argued in shock.

Cangjie ignored Emperor Kong. Instead, he said, “Your Holy Eminence instructed me to find out more about Gu Hai, so this official paid attention to everything he has done. He has climbed to his position step by step and has done this before, albeit in a different form. However, the results are the same. While still a mundane person, he used commerce to fight a war, practically a stroke of genius. Without using a single soldier, he destroyed the Song Nation, a mundane nation.”

“As a mundane person?” the officials said in shock.

Ji Dihong suddenly said, “Gu Hai entered the cultivation world because of that battle? We recall now. The Song Extermination Plan?”

Cangjie nodded. “Gu Hai’s skill at commerce is extraordinary. Even in such a large-scale war, he could maneuver with plenty of leeway to spare. He was practically terrifying!”

The study immediately fell silent.

Practically terrifying? This was a rare evaluation from Mister Cangjie.

“Gu Hai is the person behind the two thousand cities’ chaos?” A grave look flashed in Ji Dihong’s eyes.

“He is the most likely. It does not hurt Your Holy Eminence to investigate Gu Hai,” Cangjie said somberly.

Cangjie did not speak with certainty, but since he mentioned Gu Hai, he was already convinced it was Gu Hai.

“Emperor Kong, inform all the spies in the Han Imperial Dynasty and the Spirit Mountain Holy Land to focus on investigating this. We do not wish to hear uncertain information,” Ji Dihong instructed.

“Yes!” Emperor Kong answered.

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Hall of Great Strength, Major Leiyin Temple, Spirit Mountain Holy Land:

As the two thousand cities descended into chaos, the Present Buddha’s birthday celebrations arrived.

Countless buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats stood respectfully in the surroundings, chanting “Amitābha” and smiling as they looked at the Hall of Great Strength’s entrance, watching Jiang Gautama step out.

“Salutations, Lord Buddha!” The monks paid respect deferentially.

Jiang Gautama nodded slightly.

Suddenly, a golden lotus flower appeared where he stood. This was the twelfth-ranked of the top sixteen ancient treasures. It used to be the Twelve-Petaled Golden Lotus, but the Mosquito Daoist had eaten three petals, making it now the Nine-Petaled Golden Lotus.

As Jiang Gautama stood on the Nine-Petaled Golden Lotus, he shone with a Buddhist light, giving the impression of infinite radiance.

“The Lord Buddha will begin his lecture. All Buddhist disciples, please sit and listen to the Dao!” the Past Buddha declared.

“Yes!”

All the monks immediately bowed. Then golden lotus flowers appeared under all the buddhas as they sat down, white lotus flower platforms appeared for the bodhisattvas, and the arhats sat on prayer mats to listen to the Present Buddha discourse on the Dao, presenting a grand scene.