Chapter 467: Changes in the World, Development of the Sea Area

Chapter 467: Changes in the World, Development of the Sea Area

Chapter 467: Changes in the World, Development of the Sea Area

Putting away the Jade Book of Fortune, Zheng Fa asked the two old men:

"Master, do you think the words of the Demon Ancestor are credible?"

He didn't know what Sect Leader Yan was thinking, so he was naturally cautious.

Old Man Yuan and Senior Sister Zhang looked at each other in silence, not knowing how to decide.

Senior Sister Zhang took out the Feixian Pen and drew the Xiantian Bagua Diagram. After three breaths, she nodded and said, "Only if you count Sect Leader Yan, this is 70% credible."

Yup!

Even if it was the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor, Senior Sister Zhang was not strong enough to defeat him, but Sect Leader Yan was not that strong either.

"In that case, I'd rather believe it." Zheng Fa thought for a while and then said, "What about the Xianjian sword?"

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor said it very clearly that if there was any change in the Tianhe Sect, Haori Mountain would not feel comfortable leaving the Xianjian Sword outside - they might even use the Xianjian Sword to attack the Tianhe Sect.

Pretend nothing happened, let Hao Rishan take away the Xianjian Sword, and the Jiushan Sect will be able to gain stability for a period of time.

But to be honest, from an emotional point of view, Zheng Fa was not very willing:

Hao Rishan can throw away the Immortal Sword as he pleases and pick it up as he pleases, which is a bit too easy for the other party.

What's more, he and Xianxian Jianling are now in love and inseparable, so how could he allow an ugly guy like Hao Rishan to steal their love?

The elder frowned and said, "You can hide for a while, but how can you hide forever?"

Emotional considerations aside, this is the crux of the matter:
The Xianjian Sword is a real magic weapon of the immortal. If it is taken back by Hao Rishan, not to mention whether the sword spirit will reveal the suspicious points on Li Hao and expose Zheng Fa's trump card, if the other party finds a way to refine the Xianjian Sword, his strength will increase again.

On the other hand, the Jiushan Sect lost the Xianjian Sword, which was equivalent to the loss of a true immortal, and there was almost no hope of making up for it in the short term.

After the strength of one side increases and the other decreases, if the dispute arises again, the situation will be worse than what Senior Sister Zhang had deduced before.

You may have a good night's sleep now, but you will lose everything in the future.

The Xianjian Sword will disappear in the Hundred Immortals Alliance, but the hostility of Haori Mountain will not disappear.

"We can only act according to circumstances." Zheng Fa thought about it and finally made up his mind, "Master, I'm afraid I have to focus on Chongxuan Sect recently. I have to leave the affairs of Jiushan Realm to you and Senior Sister Zhang."

The elder nodded and understood Zheng Fa's choice - to act according to circumstances. Although he was in ambiguity, he was still inclined to take the Xianjian Sword. However, as the head of Jiushan Sect, Zheng Fa naturally could not act on impulse. He had to stay in Chongxuan Sect, assess the risks, and seek a foolproof plan.

All matters in the Nine Mountains Realm naturally have to be handed over to someone to take care of.

He and Junior-Junior Brother Zhang were the former head of Jiushan Sect and fellow Taoist of Zheng Fa respectively.

Now he has become a god again.

In terms of identity, strength and prestige, he is the most suitable.

He knew that Zheng Fa's choice was right. If he hid now, he would end up in a worse situation in the future.

But on the other hand, he couldn't help feeling a little worried - after all, he had heard of the reputation of the Five Xuanwei Sects for thousands of years, and they held great prestige in his heart.

If the time really comes for war, how can he not be afraid?
Although he was a little panicked, the old man did not want to interfere with his disciple's choice. He did not say much and smiled at Zheng Fa, "Don't worry. I have been the head of Jiushan for longer than you. Nothing will go wrong."

After hearing this, Zheng Fa suddenly laughed.

"Master, you have been in seclusion for fourteen years."

"Fourteen years? What happened to fourteen years?"

……

The old man quickly understood.

Fourteen years have seen tremendous changes for Zheng Fa's Jiushan Sect.

On University Island.

"Senior sister, Jiushan University and Jiushan Military Academy are now handed over to you."

Senior Sister Zhang acted as if she didn't hear anything. She looked at the University Island in front of her with curiosity in her pupils.

The elder's eyes widened, he pointed ahead and asked, "Is this Jiushan University?"

Wherever he pointed, there was a surge of people. The aura of magic weapons, the fragrance of elixirs, and the boiling voices mixed together gave a huge shock to the old man who had been in seclusion for fourteen years.

After the college restructuring, University Island was divided into five parts.

The most central area, a large courtyard behind the Nine Chapters Array, is the basic education district—that is, where new students will stay for five years.

Four new campuses were established in the four directions of the University Island:

Equipment Refining College, Alchemy College, Agricultural College and Formation College.

The place where Zheng, Fa and the other two are now located is the basic education district.

Today, this place no longer has the tranquility of studying in the past.

"Dear fellow apprentices! Dear fellow apprentices!"

A Shenxiao battleship floated in the void, and the Shenxiao outer pill on it was wrapped in blue and white electric light, which almost blinded the old man's eyes.

On the deck, a Jindan disciple shouted loudly, looking at the crowd below:

"Join the shipyard! Good deeds will be rewarded with great benefits! And Master Xuanhua will give you regular guidance!"

"Our factory's orders are in short supply! The good deeds we gave to disciples at the end of last year increased by 50%! And it will increase this year!"

"If you want to make progress in refining equipment, you can also have the guidance of Senior Brother Tiangongge! Two years ago, there were more than ten disciples in my shipyard who passed the inner gate examination and entered the Weapon Dao Academy!"

The old man asked in confusion: "What are you doing?"

"A job fair." Zheng Fa explained with a smile, "There are new graduates every year, so there is a job fair on the university island every year."

"All major factories or departments within the sect need disciples to join."

The inner sect examination is held every five years, but the Jiushan Sect recruits disciples only once a year - mainly because they are afraid that the new disciples will miss the age of cultivation.

Some newly graduated disciples, either did not have inner sect examinations in their graduation year or their grades were not good enough, have to find a career.

The old man seemed to understand, pointed to the right side of the three people and asked, "What's that over there?"

There stands a five-meter-high alchemy furnace over there, which is also extremely eye-catching.

The fire in the alchemy furnace rose and the fragrance filled the air, attracting many disciples to watch.

Zhao Jingfan stood in front of the alchemy furnace, smiling:
"My fellow brothers and sisters! Try one, try one! It's okay, even if you don't want to join, you can still try one!"

"Our alchemy factory is eager to recruit talents. Not only do we have good deeds, but we also provide various elixir benefits on weekdays!"

"The shipyard may look impressive, but it is not as good as our alchemy factory, which can guarantee a steady income regardless of the weather. Brothers, think about it, how can a cultivator live without elixirs?"

"Join our alchemy factory and you will receive a monthly subsidy for elixirs. Your cultivation will be much faster!"

His words somewhat disparaged the shipyard, causing the Jindan disciple to glare at him angrily and shout:
"We have already made a plan to expand the sea area. This is a 20-year plan. Can the Sect Leader still lie to us? The Divine Sky battleships are in short supply right now!"

"How much money can you make from pills? How much merit can you get from working for six hours a day?"

"My fellow disciples, please keep your eyes open!"

Zhao Jingfan was not one to suffer a loss. The two of them were quarreling with each other from a distance. In addition, the Waidan Factory, the Agricultural Department, and even the recruitment brothers from the News Center added fuel to the fire.

For a moment, the elder's head was buzzing.

He turned to look at Zheng Fa and asked, "Why are you arguing so fiercely?"

"Everyone is used to it since they come here once a year." Zheng Fa shook his head and said, "Isn't it because they are short of disciples?"

"Lack of disciples?" The old man was getting more and more confused. "Our Jiushan Sect recruits the most disciples in the Xuanwei Realm, right?"

The most indeed.

The Jiushan Sect has a relatively low spiritual root threshold for recruiting disciples. Although there are also restrictions on test scores, there are at least three hundred new disciples joining every year.

Today, the number of disciples in Jiushan has exceeded five thousand, and if we only count the Jindan disciples, there are over five hundred.

"There are many disciples, but the gaps in various industries are even greater."

Zheng Fa pointed to the messy job fair ahead and said, "Every factory and every department needs disciples to cope with the growing production and management tasks."

Not to mention that the orders from Jiushanjie are increasing day by day.

For example, the management of the mortal world in the Nine Mountains is becoming increasingly complicated:

Today, the mortal population of the Nine Mountains Realm is about to exceed 100 million, and the number of towns is also increasing rapidly.

Although most management positions are held by students from vocational colleges, the demand for Nine Mountains disciples has also skyrocketed.

After all, agricultural planting and factory production cannot be separated from magic.

Nowadays, the thing that is in short supply in the Nine Mountains Realm is actually people.

Hundreds of Jiushan disciples who graduated this year were shuttling between various recruitment locations, their faces filled with confusion and bewilderment, yet full of longing for the future.

The old man looked at it and suddenly asked, "Do you remember when you first got started?"

Zheng Fa nodded slightly, understanding what the old man was saying:
When he first came to Jiushan Sect, the new disciples of Jiushan Sect, especially the lower-level disciples, were not like this:
There weren't so many opportunities, so many choices, or rather, so many futures back then.

They were too quiet, even deadly quiet, but even this old man living in the thatched cottage understood the resentment in this silence.

Compared with the past, listening to the noise in front of him, in the old man's ears, even the quarrel between Zhao Jingfan and the Jindan disciple became pleasant to the ear.

……

"This is... Han, Han Qi?"

At the Fangshi Wharf, Shenxiao warships were flowing one after another.

Outside the dock, outside a three-story building, stood Han Qi, who was gradually becoming more majestic.

There was an endless stream of disciples coming to the small building to ask for instructions, and Han Qi arranged them one by one without even thinking twice.

"The Qingling Pills from the Wuling Sect have already been distributed. Do they want to add to the order? No, there are people waiting in line ahead of them."

"Qingyuan Sect wants to cooperate? Why didn't you do that before? The Sect Leader said that we are only looking for one force within a 500-mile radius for the time being."

"The Wu family of Canghai went to the sea? They were sensible. According to the arrangement of the head, a batch of elixirs and spiritual tools were allocated to them."

"..."

The old man had some impression of Han Qi. After all, he was his disciple's follower, so he had naturally seen him before. He even took a few glances at him. But the confident and neat Han Qi in front of him and the slightly gloomy and even timid Han Qi in his mind were really a bit inconsistent. Han Qi's spiritual roots were not very good, and his cultivation was still in the late stage of foundation building, and he had not yet entered the golden elixir stage. But now he was familiar with the caravan, especially the major forces of the Hundred Immortals Alliance, and he knew them all.

After he arranged these disciples, he walked towards Zheng Fa and the other two, and said with a neither arrogant nor humble attitude: "Master, Yuan Taishang, Zhang Taishang."

Zheng Fa pointed at the old man Yuan and said, "In the future, if you have any problems, please ask Yuan Taishang to handle them."

Han Qi nodded, seemingly not too surprised, and just bowed to the old man again with a respectful look.

The old man was very curious and asked, "I heard that the sects you mentioned are all from the Hundred Immortals Alliance?"

"Reporting to the Supreme Lord, it is the sect of the Hundred Immortals Alliance."

"What does it mean that the Qingyuan Sect wants to cooperate? Why don't you agree?"

Han Qi looked a little nervous. He glanced at Zheng Fa and relaxed a little when he saw Zheng Fa nodding at him. He explained, "This is the order of the headmaster."

"What order?"

"The leader said that the first wave of sects willing to cooperate and with skills can join the major guilds."

"Later, we used caravans to deliver goods, and our exchanges with some sects became increasingly close. We gradually occupied the Baixian League's elixir and spiritual weapon market, and also cooperated with many sects on minerals."

"Some forces don't have particularly valuable minerals, so they can't make money. They don't have good enough technology to join the guild, and they are about to lose their industries."

The old man listened and nodded repeatedly. He recalled the grand occasion of the job fair just now and naturally understood - if the major factories of Jiushan Sect were not doing booming business, they would not need so many disciples.

Considering the output of the Jiushan Sect’s factory, the other sects naturally had poor business.

"So? They want to cooperate?"

Han Qi shook his head and said, "No, it was arranged by the headmaster."

The old man was stunned and looked at Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa explained: "Tongjian is very popular now, and the mall has a lot of orders. We can't deliver the goods to those cultivators one by one. I simply let those sects take charge of this matter."

The rapid progress of the various immortal cultivation technologies of the Jiushan Sect naturally brought about dramatic changes in the employment market of the Baixian League:

Simply put, many monks and sects of the Baixian League who did not have so many skills inevitably lost their jobs.

Therefore, Zheng Fa decided to allow them to have flexible employment, open up the last 500 miles, improve the logistics chain, and launch door-to-door delivery services.

The elder suddenly realized: "Win over these sects?"

"Winning them over is secondary, we just don't have enough manpower." Zheng Fa explained, "First, it gives those sects' cultivators a way out, and second, it improves the mall system. Now, at least in the territory of the Hundred Immortals Alliance, half of the cultivators have the Tongjian... The other half don't, mainly because they can't buy it."

Han Qi nodded and said, "Tongjian is too popular. Nowadays, there are not many people coming to our Jiushan Sect's market. Those who come are just queuing up to buy Tongjian. Some sects will send people to purchase a large number of various elixirs and materials, and then take them back to sell themselves."

Simply put, Jiushan Zongfang City is now more of a wholesale business. There are of course individual cultivators who come here, but the majority are families and sects who come to purchase in bulk.

Fifty percent of Baixianmeng's retail business has now been taken away by Jiushan Mall.

The old man finally understood after listening: "No wonder those sects want to transform..."

If even the Jiushan Market is like this, one can imagine how depressed other markets are.

"Why are you only looking for one force within the five hundred miles?"

Han Qi was a little puzzled when he heard this, but he still explained honestly: "It was also the order of the headmaster. He said that firstly, we should try to give them some opportunities to survive, and secondly, we should control the number of sects and let other sects comply with our development strategy."

"What strategy?"

Zheng Fa answered: "Go to sea."

The elder remembered: "Maritime development?"

"Yes, most of those forces that came later are not that trusting or close to our Jiushan Sect."

The elder also understood what this meant:
Zheng Fa has given many opportunities to the various sects of the Hundred Immortals Alliance.

The first wave, of course, is about the guild.

The second wave is mining cooperation.

The third time was to connect with the Baixian League caravan and deliver goods for them.

In terms of profits, the first wave of forces that surrendered can just sit back and enjoy the patents, while the second wave of forces can also continue to share the profits from the minerals, which can also be considered as making money without doing anything.

The third wave of forces can still work hard, and considering the size of the mall, they are doing quite well now. Some small forces are even freer and more prosperous than before.

Zheng Fa has been in charge of the Hundred Immortals Alliance for more than ten or twenty years. The sects that have not yet integrated into the new Hundred Immortals Alliance system are either too stupid or do not trust the Jiushan Sect. It can even be said that they are not the same kind of people.

"So you want them to explore the seas?"

"The Hundred Immortals Alliance only has so many resources and opportunities. If you come too late, you're too late." Zheng Fa spoke more bluntly in front of the three people, "Now if they want to find their place in the Hundred Immortals Alliance, they have to do something harder and more dangerous."

"No matter what happens to the Xianjian, we can no longer have the 'trade route' with Haori Mountain. If we want to make up for this loss, we can only go to the sea."

"After the massacre by the Great Free Demon Ancestor, the population in the sea is sparse, and there are even fewer cultivators. These sects can go there to establish a foothold for us and try to develop trade with Xizhou. The profits here are greater than those of the Haori Mountain Trade Route."

The Haori Mountain trade route is maintained because of Li Hao's identity, but it is obvious that this cannot last forever.

On the contrary, the ocean is vast and rich in resources, and trade between East and West Europe is extremely profitable.

The sea area development strategy is extremely important in Zheng Fa's mind.

He is now intentionally or unintentionally pushing the sects of the Hundred Immortals Alliance to migrate to the sea area to replenish the population of the islands and to pave the way for the Nine Mountains Sect.

To those sects, the sea is naturally more dangerous than the former site of the Hundred Immortals Alliance, but once they achieve something, the rewards are also high - there are still many sects that grit their teeth and head for the sea.

"Master, Uncle Pang and Uncle Huang are now in charge of this area. I'm handing the caravan over to you because I want you to coordinate this matter."

Senior Sister Zhang is in charge of matters within the sect, while Old Man Yuan is in charge of matters that are more external.

On the one hand, of course, Senior Sister Zhang has a lot of things to be responsible for. Not only does she have to manage the university, but many major research projects also require her to take charge, and she is really unable to take charge of everything.

On the other hand, Uncle Huang and Uncle Pang are also involved in this matter. Although Senior Sister Zhang has a higher status in the sect, these two are elders after all, and it is sometimes difficult for Senior Sister Zhang to assign tasks.

Let the old man go, and everyone will be more natural.

Simply put, it's insulting.

The old man nodded slowly and asked, "The two of them? What are they doing?"

"Uncle Pang is in charge of the sea area survey, and Uncle Huang is now mainly responsible for dividing the territories of various sects and resolving the disputes among them."

After all, Uncle Huang has been in charge of the Law Enforcement Pavilion of the Jiushan Sect for many years. Now, Zheng Fa uses him as a mobile court to set rules for those sects to prevent these people from abandoning their duties and killing each other.

"Master, you are mainly responsible for supporting the two uncles, and on the other hand, you are responsible for promoting the latest research of the Agricultural College."

"New research?"

Zheng Fa took out a storage bag and handed it to the old man.

The old man took the storage bag and opened it. He saw three kinds of things piled inside:

Three Lingbei.

A bundle of plants that looks like a black ribbon.

There were also six dead fish.

"Is this... Mingyue Shell?"

He opened one of the spirit shells and took a look at it, recognizing its origin.

The Mingyue Clam gets its name from the Mingyue Pearl it produces. This kind of pearl is itself an excellent magical tool that can increase the power of water magic and even speed up the practice of water magic.

If it is refined into jewelry or clothing, it will have other magical functions and is an excellent spiritual material.

In addition, according to rumors, the powder made from the Moon Pearl has the function of maintaining skin, and is very popular among female cultivators.

Therefore, this kind of spiritual material has never been cheap, and now that spiritual materials are becoming increasingly scarce, the demand is even greater than the supply.

"Jiao Wuji researched this before and said it can be artificially bred."

"Artificially breeding moon shells?" The old man asked, as if in disbelief. "Really?"

"The laboratory is already built. Whether it can be put into large-scale operation depends on the effectiveness of your promotion, Master."

"Mingyue Shell..." The old man pondered for a moment and said slowly, "Does this thing have a high yield?"

Zheng Fa smiled and said, "Why else would I want to develop the sea area? If we can successfully cultivate the fish, the losses caused by Haori Mountain can be almost compensated by 50%."

"What about these two?"

"Cangming fish and Baijie grass, Qingmu Sect's head Song said that these two are very important for many elixirs, but they were also very expensive in the past."

The old man understood now: "No wonder you attach so much importance to the sea area."

"Master, in the past, Xuanwei cultivators have placed too much emphasis on the resources on land and have neglected the wealth in the sea. Whether it is the hidden spiritual materials or the development of marine aquaculture, the wealth brought to our Jiushan Sect is ten or a hundred times greater than that of the Baixian League."

After all, the sea is vast and has abundant natural resources, but it is more difficult to exploit. However, this also means that there is a lot of potential wealth hidden in it.

On the other hand, due to the special geographical environment of the sea area, many products in the Xuanwei Realm are irreplaceable and have low production, so their prices in the market are naturally high.

If we can develop the sea area and promote aquaculture, the losses caused by the fallout with Hao Rishan will not only be compensated, but can even be increased ten or a hundred times.

Not to mention the trade benefits brought by controlling the maritime trade routes.

After listening to Zheng Fa's fantasy, the old man was also confused for a while, and suddenly cursed: "If there were no Haori Mountain, we don't know how good our lives would be!"

Zheng Fa smiled upon hearing this: "Master, if it weren't for Haori Mountain, I wouldn't have arranged so many things. In the past fourteen years, my Jiushan Sect has accumulated enough supplies, even enough for my Jiushan Sect disciples to practice for ten years, and the spiritual food is enough to support them for thirty years... I even thought that if I couldn't defeat Haori Mountain, I could just move the Jiushan Realm to the sea, or even hide under the sea, and concentrate on development until the future."

The old man was stunned for a moment, and looked at Zheng Fa in horror: "Are you ready to give up the Hundred Immortals Alliance?"

"As a last resort, we can only choose to save our people and lose our land, and try our best to develop the Nine Mountains Realm." Zheng Fa seemed to have figured it out long ago. "Of course, losing the territory of the Hundred Immortals Alliance will also be a huge loss for our Nine Mountains Sect. This is the worst option."

The old man looked stunned:

Hao Rishan casually threw a Xianjian sword at them, probably because he didn't think highly of Jiushan Sect.

But Zheng Fa and Jiushan Sect actually accumulated wealth quickly over fourteen years and even prepared for war for fourteen years.

He looked at the Shenxiao warships in the sky, which were as brilliant as a meteor shower, and then looked at Zheng Fa. Unconsciously, most of the worries in his heart were relieved:
He even felt that it was Haori Mountain that should be worried - Haori Mountain really didn't know who it had provoked.

This disciple never fights a battle without preparation. Not only has he considered the sea as a retreat route long ago, but most importantly, if he is given time, he can really turn the Nine Mountains Realm and even the Xuanwei Realm upside down.

Zheng Fa didn't know what the old man was thinking, otherwise he would have felt that not only did Hao Rishan look down on him, but even his master looked down on him:
With his personality, how can he feel at ease with only the sea as his retreat route - he still has the modern world!

(End of this chapter)