"Smell a business opportunity? What does that mean?" Li Fan looked at Jiao Xiuyuan with interest and asked.
Jiao Xiuyuan looked pleased, "Just like those who can intuitively sense danger, I, Jiao Xiuyuan, have been able to effortlessly find the path to uncountable profits from countless complicated and useless information since childhood! It's pure instinct. Others can only envy me!"
He glanced at Li Fan again, "Just as fellow Daoist Li was leaving a moment ago, I felt an immense sense of loss."
"It was as if I saw a large amount of contribution points leaving me; my heart was bleeding!"
"So, I am certain that what fellow Daoist Li said is true!" Jiao Xiuyuan concluded.
Li Fan was a bit surprised that he indeed had such talent.
However, recalling his previous interactions with Jiao Xiuyuan, Li Fan nodded slowly.
"In that case, what price is fellow Daoist willing to offer?" Jiao Xiuyuan pondered for a moment and made a three with his fingers.
"What does this mean? Three thousand contribution points?" Li Fan looked for a while but couldn't understand its representation, asking in confusion.
Jiao Xiuyuan said solemnly, "Thirty percent. Fellow Daoist Li will receive thirty percent of the profits brought by this piece of information."
Li Fan squinted, somewhat incredulous, "So generous?"
Jiao Xiuyuan smiled, "Fellow Daoist Li is not a businessman after all and doesn't understand the true value of timely information. Under specific circumstances, a piece of information be profitable a hundred or thousand times over. Thirty percent of the profit is hardly a huge cost compared to a thousand times return?"
Li Fan couldn't help but applaud, "Fellow Daoist speaks the truth. However, words alone are not enough. How can I ensure that fellow Daoist won't turn back on the agreement later?"
Jiao Xiuyuan chuckled, "It seems fellow Daoist Li is not familiar with the ways of business. There are rules in business."
He took out a golden foil paper from somewhere and quickly wrote down the terms. After showing it to Li Fan for confirmation, he unhesitatingly wrote down his own name.
"Fellow Daoist, please!" He handed the foil paper to Li Fan.
Li Fan carefully read it and finally wrote down the name of his clone: Lin Fan.
The golden foil paper instantly turned into three copies. Two flew towards Jiao Xiuyuan and Li Fan, while the other soared into the sky, heading to an unknown destination.
After a moment, Li Fan felt an inexplicable force descending onto his clone.
This force constrained and bound the clone, requiring it to fulfill the agreed-upon terms on the golden foil paper.
It was as if it had become the will of the clone itself, and there was no turning back.
One would actively fulfill the agreement.
"The power to change mental cognition..." Sensing the inexplicable changes in his mind, the clone was suddenly startled.
However, Li Fan's main body, which was located within the Tianxuan Mirror, was unaffected.
"The Sun Stealing Technique is truly ingenious." Relieved, Li Fan silently praised.
On the clone's side, coerced by the golden foil paper, it immediately revealed the news that the Spirit Mist Grass Island might have been attacked by a dragonwhale, resulting in the destruction of all Spirit Mist Grass.
"The Spirit Mist Grass Island was destroyed?" Jiao Xiuyuan's eyes, upon hearing this, shined with greed.
"Fellow Daoist, wait a moment. Let me investigate!" He closed his eyes.
After a while, he opened his eyes abruptly, excitedly pacing back and forth, "The news is accurate! Spirit Mist Grass Island in the Cong Yun Sea is one of the largest cultivation sites for Spirit Mist Grass. At least one-fifth of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's Spirit Mist Grass comes from there."
"Now, with all the Spirit Mist Grass on the island destroyed, the price of Spirit Mist Grass will inevitably soar in a short time."
"The prices of secondary products like Concealing Form Talisman will also skyrocket."
Suddenly, he paused, furrowing his brows, "However, after all, it's only used from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, and Spirit Mist Grass is still grown elsewhere. Even if the price rises, it will likely increase by at most half."
"Compared to the business opportunity I detected, it falls far short."
"What exactly is the problem?"
After thinking for a long time, he couldn't find an answer.
Jiao Xiuyuan instantly became somewhat irritable.
An unsettling aura began to emanate from him.
Li Fan, listening to Jiao Xiuyuan's muttering, was also lost in thought.
He recalled various anecdotes he had heard in his previous life; He Zhenghao and a small group of people were gearing up to take advantage of this opportunity and make a big profit. After the price of Spirit Mist Grass rose, it immediately attracted more people to follow suit.
With all the clues strung together, Li Fan suddenly understood. He patted Jiao Xiuyuan's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "This business opportunity is not about Spirit Mist Grass; it's about people!"
Jiao Xiuyuan was slightly stunned, his eyes initially filled with a bit of confusion. Then he instantly became clear-minded and exclaimed, "Fellow Daoist's words have awakened me! Indeed, the profit lies in people, not the grass!"
While enlightening Jiao Xiuyuan, Li Fan's main body in the Tianxuan Mirror also started buying Spirit Mist Grass. Unfortunately, there were only a little over two thousand contribution points left, which was barely enough.
At this moment, Jiao Xiuyuan's aura changed. He no longer had the previous wretched appearance and instead carried an inexplicable dominance. "Profits come from manipulating people, and I must act as the master," he declared.
No visible actions were taken, but in an instant, Li Fan saw the price of Spirit Mist Grass skyrocketing at a visible speed: 19, 20, 21...
In an instant, the price of Spirit Mist Grass surged to 22 points. "The Thousand Mile Hall is spread across the cultivation world..." Li Fan's eyelids twitched. Jiao Xiuyuan, it seemed, was not exaggerating previously.
However, Jiao Xiuyuan's actions had just begun.
"Now that I am the master, I invite all the guests to take their seats," he declared with a deep, low laugh.
Subsequently, as if entering a deep sleep, he remained motionless. For a while, the Thousand Mile Hall fell into silence. Li Fan, however, knew what he was doing.
Jiao Xiuyuan was undoubtedly using his countless puppets spread throughout the cultivation world to vigorously spread the news of the destruction of the Spirit Mist Grass Island.
It would take time for the matter to ferment, and patience was the key.
Just then, an extremely excited message from He Zhenghao arrived. "Fellow Daoist Li Fan! Do you still remember when I told you before that I would lead you to make a fortune?! Now the opportunity has come! I've received accurate information that the island where Spirit Mist Grass is cultivated has been attacked by beasts. All the Spirit Mist Grass on the island has been destroyed."
"The price of Spirit Mist Grass is bound to soar!"
"Don't believe me? Look, in a short time, it has already risen from 18 points to 22 points!"
"But it's okay; it will definitely rise even more!"
"Don't miss the opportunity; fellow Daoist, act quickly!"
A mysterious smile appeared at the corner of Li Fan's mouth as he quickly replied, "Thank you, fellow Daoist He. I've gone all in."
...
When the bubble appeared, everyone understood that this bubble would burst with a single touch.
However, in the face of enormous profits, everyone lost their sanity and threw themselves into it.
As Jiao Xiuyuan's countless puppets began to act, a piece of news spread throughout the immortal cultivation world.
And as it spread, it gradually became known to everyone.
The price of Spirit Mist Grass would rise.
Thus, the bubble began its first expansion.