Chapter 1079: Planning for the Future

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Dai Ren got straight to the point: "Fellow Daoist Wang, Madam Wang, how do you plan to manage these 550 islands? What I mean is, would you be interested in establishing a large market city? There are many forces in the Five Dragon Sea Region. Besides our Ten Thousand Swords Sect, the Sun Moon Palace, Nine Yang Sect, Sky Cloud Sect, and Four Seas Sect have all set up their own intelligence networks, maintaining a balance of power. A market city is a very important place; it's also a treasure trove."

"Originally, you only had one fourth-tier spirit vein. The additional one was promised by our Ten Thousand Swords Sect. Your territory borders the Firefin Sea Region to the east and the Gold Clam Sea Region to the south, placing it at the junction of three sea regions. Our Ten Thousand Swords Sect worked hard to secure this for you. It would be a great pity not to establish a market city there. Both the Firefin Sea Region and the Gold Clam Sea Region have our allied forces. You can exchange resources, form alliances, and strengthen cooperation."

The Ten Thousand Swords Sect hoped the Wang family would establish a market city to help them collect materials and intelligence, and also to cooperate with their other two allied forces. Through the market cities established by these allied forces, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect could use their teleportation arrays to transport cultivation resources.

Simply put, the establishment of market cities by the Wang family and other allied forces would first help solidify their positions, and second, it would assist the Ten Thousand Swords Sect in transporting cultivation supplies.

All three sea regions—the Five Dragon Sea Region, Firefin Sea Region, and Gold Clam Sea Region—have allied forces of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. Using these allied forces as strongholds, they could expand into other sea regions, thereby increasing the speed, quantity, and variety of collected cultivation resources.

To ensure the safety of transportation routes, establishing large market cities and stationing Nascent Soul cultivators there was the best option.

This would allow the Ten Thousand Swords Sect's merchant fleets to directly use the teleportation arrays in the market cities opened by their allied forces, shortening transportation time and reducing risks.

The Ten Thousand Swords Sect controlled too much territory and simply didn't have enough personnel to manage all of it. Even if they did, their forces would be spread thin and easily defeated piece by piece by enemies. Therefore, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect leased out some of their territory. Allied forces would make regular tributes and undertake certain obligations. In return, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect provided protection. This arrangement allowed them to control territory, generate sufficient income, and keep their forces concentrated. All major powers operated this way.

"We also thought so. It would be a shame not to establish a market city in such an excellent location," Wang Changsheng said sincerely. "However, we don't have a fourth-tier formation master. We would appreciate your sect's assistance with the teleportation array and defensive formations."

With a fourth-tier spirit vein island as their base, their protective formation must be a fourth-tier array. Ye Haitang was currently unable to set up a fourth-tier formation, nor did she have the necessary materials. The materials left by the Zhenhai Sect had to be used cautiously.

If the Wang family easily produced fourth-tier formation tools and materials, it would be difficult not to arouse suspicion. To strengthen their relationship with the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, Wang Changsheng planned to ask for their help. Of course, the protective clan formation itself didn't require the Ten Thousand Swords Sect's help. The Zhenhai Sect's treasury contained several sets of fourth-tier formations; Ye Haitang only needed to place the formation flags and disks in their respective positions.

"That's no problem, but setting up these formations is no easy task," Dai Ren said. "A large teleportation array costs two million spirit stones. A set of three low-grade fourth-tier defensive formations costs five million spirit stones, or two million for a single set. Don't think it's expensive. The materials for these formations are extraordinary. As long as a Nascent Soul cultivator oversees the formation, even five Nascent Soul cultivators working together wouldn't be able to break it in a short period. Of course, if the enemy is much stronger, or their treasures are more powerful, then it's hard to say."

"That expensive!" Wang Changsheng frowned. He had prepared himself for a high price, but he was still taken aback by this figure.

"You get what you pay for. A large teleportation array has a range exceeding a million miles. Inviting a Nascent Soul cultivator to set up a formation for you will take at least several months of work. This price is already very fair. Once you establish the market city, just the rent alone will bring in a substantial amount each year, allowing you to recoup your investment quickly. You attacked deep behind enemy lines, so you must have plundered a lot of cultivation resources, right? You can use cultivation resources as collateral. We can also introduce you to contacts and establish a two-way teleportation array for mutual travel. If you cannot produce so many spirit stones, you can run a tab and repay it within thirty years. By the way, these are your obligations and responsibilities. Since our Ten Thousand Swords Sect provides you protection, you should naturally work for us."

Dai Ren took out a green jade slip and handed it to Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng scanned it with his divine sense and frowned slightly. Every twenty years, the Wang family would need to pay a tribute of one million spirit stones and a certain amount of cultivation resources. If they were unwilling to offer spirit stones, the Wang family would have to complete two missions assigned by the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. The cultivation resources, valued at over one million, were mandatory. In total, this meant a tribute of two million spirit stones every twenty years.

While it seemed like a large amount, it wasn't actually that much. With 550 islands, even if they were all used to cultivate common spiritual herbs, they could sell for a sky-high price over twenty years.

"Fellow Daoist Dai, can our Wang family dispose of these 550 islands as we wish? Can we lease them to any force?"

Once a market city was established, the Wang family would have to station a Nascent Soul cultivator there. Another fourth-tier island would also require a Nascent Soul cultivator. If Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan were separated and attacked, they could easily be divided and conquered. He planned to ask Guang Dongren for help to oversee the market city.

Guang Dongren was Wang Changsheng's master and had provided him with much assistance. Both for public and private reasons, Wang Changsheng wanted to ask Guang Dongren for help.

For a third-tier spirit vein to advance to the fourth-tier, it usually needed to exist for over a thousand years to have a certain chance of promotion. Fourth-tier spirit veins were still relatively rare; third-tier spirit veins could be cultivated with resources. Fifth-tier spirit veins were even rarer; it was difficult for any force without a lineage spanning ten millennia to possess one.

Most of the resources in the Eastern Barrens were in the hands of the seven great immortal sects. It was already very difficult for Guang Dongren to have formed a Nascent Soul; it was unlikely he could advance the Hundred Spirits Sect's spirit vein to the fourth-tier.

Dai Ren nodded, saying, "Naturally. However, we hope you will not cooperate with any forces hostile to our Ten Thousand Swords Sect. If you do, it will be difficult for everyone to resolve. I will provide you with a list later. As long as they are not individuals or forces on that list, you can arrange things as you wish."

"Alright, then we will trouble Fellow Daoist Dai," Wang Changsheng replied. "Regarding the operation and management of the market city, we would appreciate it if Fellow Daoist Dai could send someone to guide us, as we have no experience in this area. Also, when setting up the formations, I hope our clansmen can learn from your sect's formation masters to facilitate maintenance."

Although Ye Haitang had changed her cultivation method, she was still a formation master. Wang Changsheng hoped she could learn as much as possible from a fourth-tier formation master, as such opportunities were rare.

"That's no problem," Dai Ren said. "You can go back first and transport your clansmen. Restrictions have now been lifted, so you can enter and exit freely. You can teleport back to the Red Moon Sea Region and bring your clansmen to the Five Dragon Sea Region."

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan agreed. To fully control the territory, they naturally needed to relocate their clansmen, especially mortals. There were still millions of mortals in the Eastern Barrens, and relocating a portion of them would be a massive undertaking. For a cultivator to teleport from the Eastern Barrens to the Five Dragon Sea Region, the teleportation fee alone would be tens of thousands, and mortals would also incur costs.

If they wanted to save spirit stones, they could use flying spiritual artifacts to travel. However, the Five Dragon Sea Region was hundreds of millions of miles from the Eastern Barrens, and even with a flying spiritual artifact, it would take at least five or six years.

Wang Changsheng already had a solution for this. He planned to first relocate some clansmen from the Red Moon Sea Region. As for Silver Serpent Island, they would naturally keep occupying it. Strictly speaking, Silver Serpent Island was also part of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect's territory. The Wang family now had equal standing with the Zhang family, and since they were also in-laws, the Zhang family should not demand that territory.