Volume 1, Chapter 38: The Heaven-Seizing Creation Art

Just thinking about that scenario made him so thrilled he shivered.

Not to mention—

That good-for-nothing young master of the Wang family, utterly useless though he was, had provided them with an unexpectedly brilliant inspiration.

After all, while selling goods well certainly brought in a lot of wealth, how could it possibly compare to earning a fortune by selling nothing at all and picking up money for free?

This was a business with zero investment and boundless profits!

"This is a matter of great importance. I need to report this to my superiors!" said the female manager of the Yun-Gong Chamber of Commerce.

"I also need to discuss the situation thoroughly with our president!"

"Of course! Please, go ahead!" Tang Qian smiled.

This was a necessary procedure.

Yet they all knew reporting it was essentially a mere formality. Such a lucrative venture was something neither of the two major chambers of commerce would ever refuse.

Gou Anshi and his companion left the room and used communication talismans to contact their respective chambers.

Before long, they walked back in.

"It's all settled!"

"Our president also said this matter can be initiated immediately!"

"Good!" Tang Qian stood up, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. "Order the word to be spread at once. Ten days from now, we shall hold the grand opening ceremony for the foundation!"

After a brief discussion among themselves, they decided to name the foundation: Penglai Cloud Sea!

Since the Penglai Chamber of Commerce was taking the lead, none of the other chambers had any objections to such a name.

The parties dispersed to make their respective preparations.

Tang Qian stood by the window, watching the pear blossoms drift down from the courtyard in a flurry of white, a sharp and brilliant light in his eyes.

Wang Mu!

Just wait. This time, I will use the very thing you conjured up to trample you beneath my feet!

...

The three major chambers of commerce moved swiftly.

In just a few short days, news of their joint establishment of the Penglai Cloud Sea Foundation spread across the better part of the Northern Territory.

They widely invited benevolent individuals from all walks of life to come and make donations, contributing to the peace and prosperity of the immortal cultivation world.

Doing business in this era lacked modern concepts like promotional slogans, but the actual execution already existed.

Tang Qian, the head of the Penglai Chamber of Commerce, had once publicly declared—

The charity of the Langya Foundation is fake charity!

Our charity is the true charity!

Here with us, however much spirit stones you give, that is how much karmic merit you will accumulate!

The subtext was obvious.

There was no need to be like the Langya Chamber of Commerce, where one gave a hundred spirit stones only to receive a sliver of merit. The Langya Chamber of Commerce was simply too stingy!

Furthermore, every benevolent donor would have their name inscribed upon the [Immeasurable Merit Tablet]!

Those who ranked in the top three would even receive awards presented personally by the presidents of the Penglai, Four Seas, and Yun-Gong Chambers of Commerce.

As everyone knew, while these three presidents might be slightly inferior in status and standing compared to the president of the Langya Chamber of Commerce, the gap was not all that vast.

Behind each of them stood the shadows of various sacred grounds in the Northern Territory.

After all, for a business to grow this massive in the current world, its backing had to reach the heavens.

...

Because the Langya Foundation had established a shining precedent beforehand, this Penglai Cloud Sea Foundation attracted widespread attention.

Coupled with the vigorous propaganda campaigns launched by the three major chambers of commerce, in a very short time, nearly everyone throughout the entire Northern Territory knew about it.

...

"This is utterly shameless!"

On Heavenly Absolute Island, Nie Tingting's eyes burned with anger, her ample chest heaving violently. "Aren't they just blatantly plagiarizing us?"

Hearing this, Wang Mu appeared entirely calm. He continued sketching and writing on paper, lifting his head with a smile without even pausing: "It's quite normal. We didn't apply for a patent, so naturally, if others want to copy it, they copy it!"

Nie Tingting looked puzzled: "What is a patent?"

Ahem...

"I mean, nobody laid down a rule forbidding them from copying us!"

"But for such prominent chambers of commerce to engage in blatant plagiarism—isn't that far too shameless?"

"In business, sometimes the most important thing is one's reputation and face! Yet often, the least important thing is precisely that same face!"

As long as one could make money, what was face worth?

Nie Tingting said with lingering reluctance, "Young Master, are we just going to sit here and watch?"

Wang Mu raised an eyebrow. "Watch? How could that be?"

A spark of light flashed in Nie Tingting's eyes.

As expected, what kind of person was the Young Master? When had he ever suffered a loss?

"Just say the word, how shall we strike back?"

"Strike back for what?" Wang Mu shot her a sidelong glance and said, "Prepare ten thousand spirit stones and help me donate them to their... oh right, the Penglai Cloud Sea Foundation!"

"???"

Nie Tingting was instantly dumbfounded.

What?

Did she hear that right?

"What did you say? You want to donate money to them?"

"Of course!" Wang Mu said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I founded the Langya Charitable Foundation precisely to contribute to the cause of charity. At a time like this, I naturally must do my part to contribute!"

"..."

Something was wrong!

There was something profoundly, utterly wrong!

Nie Tingting looked suspiciously at Wang Mu's face. It wasn't that she doubted his commitment to charity.

Rather... even if they were to do charity, they had their own foundation, and the Young Master had already done more than enough. Why on earth would he need to donate money to the three major chambers of commerce?

There was definitely something fishy going on here!

Yet no matter how long Nie Tingting pondered, she simply could not figure out what the Young Master was plotting.

She could only leave with a puzzled expression to carry out Wang Mu's command.

...

The grand hall fell into quietness.

Wang Mu slowly lowered the brush in his hand, gazed out the doorway, and let out a long breath.

To be honest, barring absolute necessity, he had no desire to provoke that group of children of destiny right now.

Should their anger peak and overflow, it would bring him no benefits.

Yet judging by the current situation!

There was an irreconcilable enmity between Tang Qian and him.

Whether Wang Mu chose to confront him head-on or retreat into a shell, the other party would never let him go.

Since things had come to this, he had no choice but to accept the challenge.

[Ding~]

[The cultivation method independently created by your invested subject Xiao Nannan—Heaven-Seizing Creation Art (Initial Stage)!]

[Congratulations to the host for receiving the return of cultivation gains from Xiao Nannan!]

As the system's voice resounded, a brand-new cultivation technique suddenly materialized in Wang Mu's mind.

It made his eyes light up instantly!

Holy crap, Xiao Nannan's self-created cultivation method actually succeeded?

According to Xiao Nannan, she had felt that her innate talent was inadequate, and the vast majority of profound cultivation methods in this world were unsuited for her, which was why she wanted to create her own.

Throughout these past few days, Wang Mu had not disturbed her.

She had remained locked inside the Scripture Pavilion without stepping out even once.

Whenever she finished reading a batch of manuals, she would have someone inform Wang Mu, and he would prepare another batch for her.

Thus, nearly a month had passed.

Wang Mu had no idea just how many cultivation manuals Xiao Nannan had read or how much knowledge she had stored in her mind.

Until today.

He hurriedly closed his eyes to inspect it.

A short while later, he slowly opened his eyes, a wisp of chaotic mysterious light flashing through his pupils.

What a magnificent Heaven-Seizing Creation Art!

True to its name, Xiao Nannan's underlying concept was simple: since her own natural talent fell short, she would borrow the talent of other entities.

As the saying goes, all things possess creation!

Creation was the unification of spiritual essence and destiny.

If she could plunder and devour the destiny and spiritual essence of other sentient or spiritual entities, it would be enough to make up for her flawed innate foundation, making her path of cultivation smooth and unhindered by bottlenecks.

In its ideal state, this technique would eventually allow her to refine anything and seize any creation!

Whether it was rare waters, strange flames, or unusual soils.

Or even the scorching sun of the nine heavens, and indeed this entire boundless world itself—all fell within the menu of this cultivation technique.

Well, it was remarkably domineering!

However, for now, the technique was merely at its initial stage.

It could only refine and seize entities of relatively lower grades, roughly around the Qi Condensation level!

It fit Xiao Nannan's current circumstances perfectly.