Jiang Gautama had chosen to be transparent, showing the proceedings to the three hundred billion citizens, and generated goodwill from the citizens. After they stopped rioting, they calmed down. Indeed, no matter how much money it is, the Spirit Mountain Holy Land can fund it. Furthermore, I only invested a little. The Spirit Mountain Holy Land disciples probably have more than that, right?
There’s no need to worry. It’s not much. It’s not much. The Spirit Mountain Holy Land will return it to me.
However, when the person tabulating the contracts said they totaled one billion superior-grade spirit stones, nearly everyone’s head buzzed.
“One billion? Superior-grade spirit stones?” nearly everyone exclaimed.
One billion superior-grade spirit stones were equivalent to ten quadrillion inferior-grade spirit stones. Ordinary citizens usually used inferior-grade spirit stones for transactions, just like how mundane people normally used copper coins. Most people would keep the gold at home.
Ten quadrillion? Ten quadrillion?
Nearly everyone was incredulous when they heard this number.
This was an astronomical number that no one had ever imagined.
“No! That’s impossible, right?” someone exclaimed.
“Ten quadrillion? That’s just one city. We have two thousand cities. Won’t that be two trillion superior-grade spirit stones? This…this…it’s this much?” many people exclaimed.
Of course, this was just an estimate. Spirit Mountain City was next to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. Naturally, it was a large city with many citizens. That was why the number reached one billion. The other cities did not have that many people. However, even if the count did not reach two trillion and was just half of that, it would still be one trillion. Furthermore, it would only be more than that.
The three hundred billion citizens felt like their hearts would leap out of their chests.
Countless buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats in Spirit Mountain City were flabbergasted. So much? How could it be so much?
Two trillion superior-grade spirit stones? Wouldn’t that mean twenty quadrillion inferior-grade spirit stones?
Did the financial management stores sweep away all the spirit stones from the two thousand cities?
Jiang Gautama was appalled. Two trillion superior-grade spirit stones? I only have ninety billion superior-grade spirit stones. Even if I use them all, I cannot even make a dent.
“How could it be that much?” Jiang Gautama looked coldly at the bodhisattva who did the count.
“This disciple calculated it three times,” that bodhisattva said bitterly.
The countless citizens all stared at Jiang Gautama. You said earlier you would give us the money in advance. We are all waiting for you to fulfill your promise. After we get the spirit stones, we will go home and prepare our meals.
“Spirit Mountain City’s Eastern Forest Temple? Who is the abbot?” Jiang Gautama said coldly.
“It’s this disciple!” A bodhisattva stepped forward.
“Eastern Forest Temple? Eastern Forest Bodhisattva, why did you help the financial management stores?” Jiang Gautama asked coldly.
“This disciple did not. This disciple does not know who are they!” the Eastern Forest Bodhisattva disavowed.
The citizens immediately turned anxious.
“He is lying! He handed all of the Eastern Forest Temple’s spirit stone mines to the financial management stores to manage!”
“Lord Buddha, when someone caused trouble at the financial management stores, the Eastern Forest Temple’s martial monks resolved the problem!”
“Lord Buddha, many Eastern Forest Temple monks worked in the financial management stores!”
Countless citizens clamored in refutal.
“Lord Buddha, please forgive me. Those disciples could not endure the temptation of the financial management stores, and they took a wrong step in life. This disciple truly did not know about it!” The Eastern Forest Bodhisattva anxiously tried to clear his name.
“This buddha does not care whether you knew. The citizens trusted the financial management stores only because of you, so you have to bear a portion of the responsibility for this debt. You said the financial management stores bought your spirit stone mines at a high price, then used the spirit stone mines to cheat the citizens. Where is the money? That money was gained from harming the citizens. Take it out and return it to the citizens!” Jiang Gautama shouted.
“Lord Buddha is benevolent!”
“Many thanks, Lord Buddha!”
“Lord Buddha is right. The Eastern Forest Temple worked with the financial management stores. It has to spit out the money!”
Countless citizens cheered excitedly as though they could immediately get their money back.
The citizens in the rest of the cities were also excited. If the Eastern Forest Temple took out the money, the other temples would have to follow its example. They could finally get their money back.
Jiang Gautama looked at the Eastern Forest Bodhisattva.
However, the Eastern Forest Bodhisattva suddenly knelt in a fluster.
“Lord Buddha, please forgive me. This disciple also got tempted by the knaves. They promised me an even higher interest rate, so I invested all the money into the financial management store,” the Eastern Forest Bodhisattva said sorrowfully.
“What?!” countless citizens exclaimed in the surroundings.
“The one billion superior-grade spirit stones does not include what the Eastern Forest Temple invested. How much money did the financial management stores earn exactly?” someone exclaimed.
Everyone in the city looked at the Eastern Forest Bodhisattva.
“Didn’t you say earlier you didn’t know who they were?” Jiang Gautama said coldly.
“This disciple truly did not know. I only saw them earning a lot of money every day, so…so…so I could not resist. I wanted to give my disciples a better environment. This disciple…this disciple’s Eastern Forest Temple has been emptied out!” the Eastern Forest Bodhisattva cried out sorrowfully.
Jiang Gautama appeared apprehensive as he looked at the others.
“Lord Buddha, this disciple was incapable. I got cheated by the financial management stores too. The Golden Mountain Temple is also emptied out.”
“This disciple is incapable. My Golden Water Temple is also emptied out.”
Various buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats knelt and cried sorrowfully. This scene made Jiang Gautama’s hair stand on end.
Who is so insidious to not only use the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s reputation but even trick all the Spirit Mountain Holy Land disciples into handing over their spirit stones?
No one awakened to such a shocking scam until the moment it was exposed?
The Spirit Mountain City citizens fell deathly silent. The citizens of the two thousand cities were all dumbfounded.
“They…are they planning to renege on their promise?” someone blurted.
The rage of the three hundred billion citizens, which had just been extinguished, blazed back into full fury.
“Lord Buddha! Lord Buddha, please return my money!” someone in Spirit Mountain City shouted.
“Lord Buddha, this humble one earned that money after working hard for one hundred years. Lord Buddha, please return my money!”
“Lord Buddha, this humble one was focused on Buddhist worship. Lord Buddha, please return everything to me!”
The citizens of Spirit Mountain City looked at Jiang Gautama anxiously.
“Lord Buddha, we are innocent. Would the Spirit Mountain Holy Land please return the money!” The voices of countless citizens came from the blessings cloud sea.
Jiang Gautama felt a chill in his heart. Repay the money? How am I to repay the money? Even if I paid Spirit Mountain City, what about the other cities?
If I cannot cover everyone’s losses and cover only some people, I will offend the rest, which would be the majority. Those people would become irreconcilable enemies with the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. Furthermore, the people covered might not be grateful to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. After getting their money back, they might just not pursue matters with the Spirit Mountain Holy Land at best. It would be impossible for them to be as pious towards the Spirit Mountain Holy Land as before.
Everyone looked at Jiang Gautama with anticipation, but he simply could not cover everyone’s losses.
“All Spirit Mountain Holy Land citizens!” Jiang Gautama called out.
Buzz!
The voices stopped as the citizens waited for Jiang Gautama to uphold justice.
Jiang Gautama’s eyelids twitched wildly. Right now, it felt like he was being roasted over flames. Thirty billion citizens stared at him, and their gazes felt like they would burn him to char.
However, he could only steel himself and say, “This buddha feels heartache at the financial management stores cheating you of your money. This buddha swears to heaven I will get back the spirit stones. I will definitely get back the spirit stones. Everyone, please calm down and wait patiently!”
After Jiang Gautama finished speaking, the two thousand cities again fell deathly silent.
Now, a massive change occurred in all the citizens’ hearts.
Had Jiang Gautama not promised earlier to give them the spirit stones in advance, the citizens would not have been so angry. However, the citizens had been given hope, only to have it taken away. The citizens’ anger would be easy to imagine.
“The Spirit Mountain Holy Land took away the spirit stones in the first place. Lord Buddha, are you trying to practice some kind of cultivation technique? You can just tell us. Why try to cheat us?”
“The Spirit Mountain Holy Land disciples were helping the financial management stores. Who are you fooling? There are so many Spirit Mountain Holy Land disciples; were they all tricked?”
“All the Spirit Mountain Holy Land disciples worked together to cheat us without your command?”
“I wouldn’t have handed over my spirit stones if not for your Spirit Mountain Holy Land!”
“Return my spirit stones! Return my spirit stones!”
“Jiang Gautama, you fraud! Are you toying with us in front of everyone?”
“Return the money!”
“Return my spirit stones!”
Gu Qin had planted instigators in the various cities long ago, so some people started shouting furiously.
When these shouts rang out, Jiang Gautama knew things were bad.
Boom!
It sounded like the sky exploded. The furious shouts, curses, and howls from the thirty billion citizens came from above the blessings cloud sea. The rage and chaos tore the blessings cloud sea to pieces.
An invisible force ripped the gigantic golden blessings dragon tens of thousands of kilometers long to shreds.
“Roar!”
The golden dragon roared miserably before vanishing.
Rumble…!
The plentiful blessings quickly dissipated.
The anger of the citizens in the many cities had reignited. Now, they resumed rioting and ransacking the temples.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The countless citizens smashed down the many Spirit Mountain Holy Land temples, taking away all the spirit stones there. They also ran to the spirit stone mines of the Spirit Mountain Holy Land, blasting them apart and grabbing everything.
The defenses of all two thousand cities instantly crumbled, no longer able to contain the citizenry’s violence.
Boom!
This time, the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings did not just flow away; they completely crumbled.
In just mere moments, not even one percent of the blessings in the sky remained, and the sparse remnants soon scattered. This meant the Spirit Mountain Holy Land had completely lost the citizenry’s support. The Spirit Mountain Holy Land now only existed in name.
All the Spirit Mountain Holy Land disciples watched in horror as the blessings in the sky scattered, feeling like they were trapped in a nightmare.
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In a remote restaurant outside Spirit Mountain City:
Gu Qin revealed a wintry smile. “Jiang Gautama was too confident. He thought he was rich? To think he dared to make such a declaration at this moment. That was simply courting death.”
“If it were me, I would have stabilized the situation first before slowly coming up with a solution. To think he dared to make such a declaration when the situation was still unclear, especially when there were good and bad people mixed into the citizenry? Hahaha! Indeed, he is only capable of establishing a sect, not a nation!” Long Shenying said.
“The Blessings Destruction Plan should be enormously successful. We have already shipped the last batch of spirit stones back to the capital. Now that we have seen this wonderful declaration, it is time to go back. Hahahaha!” Gu Qin guffawed excitedly.
“Let’s return to the capital immediately and report the joyful news to His Reverence!” Long Shenying guffawed.
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