Upon the serene ocean, a flat boat gently sways under the moonlight, with a lone man playing chess in leisure and comfort.

An Immortal descends onto the boat.

"Your Majesty, the Kingdom of Chechi has fallen into Buddhist hands."

The Immortal bows and reports to the man on the boat.

The man picks up a chess piece and places it on the board.

"The layout by the Great Venerable was flawless..."

He sighs, "But this is not a game of chess, with three people getting involved."

"Your Majesty, should we try to reclaim the Kingdom of Chechi?"

The Immortal asks again.

"The Lingshan already has an Arhat who has left the faith; they will definitely go to protect those two demons."

The man shakes his head, "Although we are now independent from the Heavenly Palace and not bound by the Heavenly Rules, we still carry risks with us."

"Risks?"

The Immortal is puzzled, "What risks?"

"It's Sun Wukong."

The man answers, "If we cause too much commotion and our tracks are revealed, it might lead to deadly consequences."

"Just a mere demon monkey."

The Immortal scornfully snorts, "Last time Your Majesty wasn't around, otherwise, how could he have been so insolent?"

"That's not necessarily true..."

The man picks up another chess piece and taps it lightly on the board, "It's best to remain undetected, restrain ourselves as much as possible!"

"Understood."

The Immortal nods, then hesitantly asks, "But about the Kingdom of Chechi..."

"It's fine, it's just a country after all. The Buddha's goals align with ours; they won't go too far."

The man looks at a white piece being slowly surrounded on the board.

"We need to prioritize completing the encirclement."

"Yes."

The Immortal departs.

The man internally sighs, then somewhat disinterestedly tosses down the chess piece.

He lifts his head, gazing at the boundless ocean before him, the waves sparkling with the cool moonlight.

"I really shouldn't have agreed to the Great Venerable..."

This engaging in plots and schemes is really not to his liking.

In Chechi, the victorious Scorpion Demoness is celebrating with Lady Earth Flow.

"Ha ha, we have finally regained some ground!"

The Scorpion Demoness's face beams with joy, "Those Immortals want all the countries for themselves, not giving us even one; now they'll see our strength."

"This time, the Buddha will surely regard us differently!"

Lady Earth Flow laughs, "The countries on the Golden Path are more significant than others. Taking control here means we can significantly slow down the development of Wanling Country."

The Scorpion Demoness nods, her face full of anticipation, "Do you think, if we can cut off this Golden Path, we might one day become a Bodhisattva?"

"Probably not a Bodhisattva."

Lady Earth Flow thinks for a moment and replies, "But achieving an Immortal Body is indeed possible."

Before, they practiced cultivation every day without knowing when they would achieve their desired state; now, achieving small tasks could make it possible, so why not?

"It's a pity the Buddha and his followers can't do anything, we have to strive on our own."

After the joy, Lady Earth Flow grows somewhat worried, "What if we are blamed by His Majesty after taking the treasure?"

"Big sister, don't be afraid."

The Scorpion Demoness, always well-informed, reassures her, "There's an Arhat from Lingshan who has left the faith; he will soon come to protect us."

"Since that's the case, why don't we aim even higher?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Earth Flow's mind becomes active.

The Scorpion Demoness is taken aback, "What do you mean, sister?"

"In a few days, I'll go find that bookworm again."

Lady Earth Flow's eyes gleam with calculation, "He still has many treasures worth digging."

In Wanling City, everyone is gathered around the entrance of the library.

"This is a new minting technology!"

People stare in amazement at a wall.

There, a poster is pasted detailing the new method for minting Copper Coins.

"Isn't this the research of the Grandmaster? How did it become public!"

"What's going on?"

The onlookers were growing more numerous, with conversations buzzing around.

The administrator who posted the notices knew more and began to explain to the people.

"Recently, many countries have been experiencing a shortage of copper coins, and delegates have been sent to the Kingdom of Chechi. Upon hearing this yesterday, the master felt guilty and decided to release the technology publicly."

The onlookers curiously asked, "But why is that?"

The administrator answered, "The master said the coin shortage was because the Kingdom of Chechi had been misusing the technology, and not wanting to be exploited, he decided to make the technology widely available so that all countries could learn it at will."

"So that's it!"

The crowd was suddenly enlightened and began to heap praise.

Ao Luan rushed into the Wanling Hall in a hurry.

"Brother!"

Her voice woke Sun Wukong, who had been meditating.

Sun Wukong slightly furrowed his brows: "What is it?"

Ao Luan's eyes widened as she asked him, "Did you create that coin-making technology?"

Sun Wukong nodded.

Ao Luan was shocked, suddenly recalling that Sun Wukong had indeed been out once before.

She connected the dots and came up with an idea that even she found unbelievable.

"Brother, could it be..."

She asked in astonishment, "Did you create the coin shortage?"

She was completely dumbfounded— "Why?"

"To adapt to trade development."

Sun Wukong answered.

Over the past few decades, with the growing influence of Huaguo Mountain and Wanling Country, trade among the Four Great Continents had also become increasingly prosperous.

The amount of copper coins in each country was limited by the copper mines, reducing the copper content in the coins and increasing their number could further promote trade development across the Four Great Continents.

"The new coin-making technology will bring more vitality to the Four Great Continents."

Sun Wukong stated concisely, and Ao Luan's intelligence was sufficient to understand.

"No, I didn't mean to ask that."

Ao Luan wanted to ask more, but Sun Wukong closed his eyes.

Seeing this, An Ning immediately stepped forward to persuade her.

"Fairy, the Great Saint is at a critical moment in his enlightenment, please step outside for now."

Ao Luan was stunned, but she had to suppress her urge to question further and left.

That night, when she was studying the Dao with Master Puti, Ao Luan brought up her doubts again.

"Brother always works quietly and meticulously."

Ao Luan furrowed her brows and said, "I always feel that the copper coin shortage in all countries is also part of brother's calculations."

Grandmaster laughed: "Most likely."

His thoughts shifted, and he suddenly chuckled, "My disciple is killing two birds with one stone!"

"How so?"

Ao Luan eagerly sought an explanation.

Grandmaster analyzed with a smile, the Kingdom of Chechi buying up copper coins led to a shortage in all countries, which appeared to be a mistake but was actually beneficial.

The mistake caused some trade instability, but the benefit was that all nations could recognize the advantages and risks of the new coin-making technology.

From the benefits, the new coin-making technology would rapidly spread across all countries.

And from the risks, it also prompted countries to take precautions, strictly controlling their internal supply of copper coins, no longer allowing unrestricted purchases.

Sun Wukong started his approach in the country along the Golden Path, introducing the new technology to the Four Great Continents at the smallest cost.

This not only aligned with the needs of trade development but also enhanced currency circulation, which benefitted the trade in Wanling Country.

"As the saying goes, 'a stumble may prevent a fall', this is one bird."

Grandmaster said with a laugh, "My disciple understands trade far deeper than you."

"My wisdom can't compare to brother's."

Ao Luan spoke modestly, "What's the other bird then?"

"The other bird is the Golden Path."

Grandmaster smiled, "He intends to use others to discipline the nations, and solve the issues of the Golden Path."

"Solve issues?"

Ao Luan widened her eyes, confused by Grandmaster's explanation.

"Doesn't the copper shortage strengthen the Kingdom of Chechi?"

Ao Luan asked.

"That's just on the surface."

Grandmaster shook his head, "This matter is just beginning and isn't over yet, we need to keep watching."

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