Penglai Cloud Sea Is the Foundation with a Conscience!

Penglai Merchant Association.

Tang Qian leaned back in his chair, looking relaxed as his fingers lightly tapped against the tabletop.

The disaster relief efforts in the Starry Archipelago had already gone on for several days.

Over the past few days, vast amounts of Spirit Stones had flowed in every day, filling their coffers to the brim.

He had to admit that although he had always thought Wang Mu was a wastrel who only knew how to rely on his family, Wang Mu did have some brains.

This foundation move was truly brilliant—a fine business indeed!

Making money off Cultivators from the Disaster Area who already had one foot in the grave was indeed fast, ruthless, and precise!

As long as they named a price, there was basically no bargaining.

Unless the other party did not want to live anymore.

"What a fine case of looting a burning house!" Tang Qian clicked his tongue inwardly, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. "Unfortunately, your opponent is me! How could I possibly let you swallow such a huge piece of fat all by yourself?"

Of course, more importantly, this matter had opened up an entirely new line of thought for him.

If selling life-saving medicine at exorbitant prices in a Disaster Area worked,

then would the same method also work on Cultivators or patients who had been injured and urgently needed special medicinal ingredients to heal?

Even if they could not squeeze them dry in one go,

they could still let the stream run long and thin.

Or perhaps, for injuries that could clearly be cured, they could deliberately leave them uncured—heal them only seventy or eighty percent each time, let them flare up again after a while, and make them obediently come back to seek their help?

Although they ran a merchant association and were not specialized healers,

with their financial resources, establishing several medical halls renowned throughout the Northern Region, specifically for Cultivators, would be as easy as pie!

They could even draw on the experience from this time around.

At the beginning, they could treat people for free. Once they had accumulated some goodwill and made those Cultivators unable to leave them, they could swallow them whole.

Emmm...

If that was the case, it would be best to get their hands on some pills or spiritual medicines that people could not put down!

The more Tang Qian thought about it, the broader the smile on his face became.

It was as if he could already see endless wealth, surging toward him like great rivers and mighty seas.

I really am a genius!

For the Penglai Merchant Association to recruit a son-in-law like me, they must have struck a stroke of incredible luck!

However, just then.

A streak of urgent spiritual light tore through the air and flew before him like a headless fly, darting wildly about.

Tang Qian frowned slightly and reached out to catch it. It was a Communication Jade Talisman.

His Divine Sense entered it.

A string of frantic voices rang out beside his ear.

"Something Terrible Has Happened, Something Terrible Has Happened, Son-in-law! We've been beaten!"

Tang Qian: "???"

What the hell?

Weren't you sent to the Starry Archipelago Disaster Area for relief work? How did you end up getting beaten?

Could it be that the prices had been set too high?

But that did not seem right either!

If they had followed his instructions exactly and targeted those Cultivators on the verge of death, then even if they cursed them in their hearts, they would still have to obediently thank them on the surface.

After all, they had saved their lives!

In the Cultivation World, what kind of immense favor was saving a life? What was wrong with spending a little more money?

For a moment, Tang Qian's mind buzzed. He slowly sat upright and continued listening to the contents of the jade talisman.

"Those people from the Langya Foundation aren't acting like human beings! They're giving away Jade Void Pills for free, and several at a time..."

"Now, as soon as these Cultivators hear the name Penglai Cloud Sea Foundation, they want to beat us up. They refuse to let us provide relief no matter what, and they even want us to refund their money!"

"When we refused, they beat us!"

"Ah! Save me, Son-in-law! Hurry and save us! We're about to be beaten to death... oh~ be gentler!"

Tang Qian: "..."

With a whoosh!

Tang Qian shot to his feet, his face livid and his fists clenched tightly!

Several sounds of rushing air came from the courtyard.

Two figures with ugly expressions strode in and looked towards Tang Qian. "Young Master Tang, Something Terrible Has Happened!"

The corner of Tang Qian's mouth twitched. "Your people got beaten too?"

Gou Ansheng nodded heavily, gritting his teeth somewhat. "Who could have imagined that the people on Langya's side had gone mad? It was one thing when they provided completely free aid on Changlan Island before, but this time... it's completely free again?"

The female person in charge of the Cloud Palace Merchant Association also wore a grave expression. "One side is free, and the medicinal quality and efficacy are both top-notch! The other side is selling at marked-up prices—anyone knows which to choose... Langya's move is too ruthless!"

They had originally thought that even if the Young Master of Langya wanted to spend money to buy a reputation, there had to be a limit.

He could not possibly take too much of a loss, could he?

Would the people in the merchant association even agree to that?

At the very least, he should have broken even.

Yet they had not expected that fellow to be this insane. He was truly burning money!

Did he have a grudge against money or something?

"What do we do now?"

"What else can we do? Have them withdraw first, then think of a solution." Tang Qian spat, his gaze dark.

They had only made money for a few days before they had to stop midway. He practically felt like killing someone.

Starry Archipelago, Jade Balance Island.

Several richly dressed young boys and girls walked through the streets.

Seeing the devastation filling the streets, they could not help but frown.

"I've been to Jade Balance Island before. What a prosperous place it was! Who would have thought that one demon calamity would leave it like this?" someone sighed.

"Why have we come here?" A tall, graceful girl in a yellow dress, with elegant and delicate features, wrinkled her fine nose in puzzlement.

The moment she spoke, the gazes of the others converged on her without prior agreement.

Especially the two young men walking at the front, whose eyes carried traces of fascination and heat.

The young man holding a Folding Fan spoke with a touch of pride. "Miss Meng may not know this, but this humble one once persuaded my family to donate one million Spirit Stones to the Penglai Cloud Sea Foundation!

I am the one Ranked First on the Penglai Cloud Sea Foundation's Immeasurable Merit List on Feixian Island!

Now that the Starry Archipelago has suffered disaster and their foundation is carrying out relief work here, I was worried, so I thought I would come take a look!"

As soon as those words fell,

Meng Qiuyue's originally cold and aloof expression froze. She was greatly surprised, and a little more light appeared in her Eyes. "I never expected Young Master Shi to possess such compassion. Qiuyue admires you!"

Hearing the girl's soft voice, their gazes met. Looking at her captivating eyes and flawless beauty,

Shi Yiming's heart began to race, and his mouth went dry.

His back straightened even further, and he felt as though his feet were floating. His smile nearly split his face as he repeatedly shook his head. "Ah, aiding those in danger and helping those in distress is the duty of us righteous cultivators. It is nothing worth mentioning!"

Beside them, another young man who had noticed the scene showed a hint of sourness in his eyes. He gave a disdainful snort. "Isn't it just one million Low-Grade Spirit Stones? This Young Master has spent at least two or three million Spirit Stones on this charitable cause!"

Hearing this, Meng Qiuyue's eyes flickered as she looked towards him. "Is Young Master Liu speaking the truth?"

Liu Ruo'an spoke with absolute certainty. "Of course!"

Shi Yiming gave two noncommittal chuckles. "Brother Liu, that is not quite right. Although you spent so many Spirit Stones, ninety-nine percent of them were spent on yourself! Only the remaining twenty or thirty thousand Spirit Stones went toward charity. How could that possibly be lumped together with mine...?"