Chapter 2157: High Formation Costs, Job Assignments

"If it weren't for Senior Brother Wang's help, I'd probably still be stationed on Xuanling Island!" Huang Yun'er said gratefully. She recalled how Wang Changsheng had helped her find an apprenticeship as an artifact refiner, which enabled her to meet several fifth-rank artifact refiners and expand her social circle. It was through her own hard work and her family's support that she finally advanced to the Deity Transformation stage.

"Junior Sister Huang, you're too kind," Wang Ruyan said, her face full of doubt. "By the way, Junior Sister Huang, is this really Nine Dragons Island? Nine Dragons Island is an outpost of Zhenhai Palace. While it might not have particularly important cultivation resources, it shouldn't be completely devoid of trees."

"Originally, there were many Tidal Cloudwood trees planted on the island," Huang Yun'er explained. "However, Senior Uncle Li considered them public property and took them all away. If it weren't for Senior Uncle Sun's strong argument, all the buildings and restrictive formations would probably have been demolished." She added that with Nine Dragons Island being handed over to Wang Changsheng, the local faction naturally wouldn't allow him to gain an unfair advantage.

Wang Changsheng nodded and said, "Let's go meet Senior Uncle Sun first!"

Arriving at the entrance of a large azure hall in the northwest corner of the island, Huang Yun'er called out loudly, "Senior Uncle Sun, Senior Brother Wang and the others have arrived."

"Junior Niece Huang, bring them in!" A somewhat aged male voice suddenly rang out.

Wang Changsheng and his group walked in. The hall was spacious, bright, and splendidly decorated.

A ruddy-faced old man in an azure robe stood in the hall. He had a round face, small eyes, and a slightly corpulent figure, with a faint, approachable smile on his lips. This was Sun Yiming, an Early Void Refinement stage cultivator and a sixth-rank formation master.

"Greetings, Senior Uncle Sun (Senior Granduncle Sun)," Wang Changsheng and the others said in unison, bowing respectfully.

"No need for formalities," Sun Yiming said slowly. "I'm here on Senior Uncle Chen's orders to help you set up formations. I've surveyed the terrain of Nine Dragons Island and the nearby islands. Nine Dragons Island is suitable for deploying the Nine Dragon Coiling Spirit Formation, which requires the souls of nine high-grade flood dragons. We can substitute other demon beasts, but the defensive power will be slightly weaker, though still sufficient to withstand ordinary beast tides.

"Looking at the map, there are seven islands surrounding Nine Dragons Island. These seven islands can serve as formation eyes for a sixth-rank Seven Stars Demon Trapping Formation, guarding Nine Dragons Island. Other formations can also be set up on these seven islands. This way, even if demon beasts break through the seven islands, Nine Dragons Island itself won't suffer significant damage, unless a large number of sixth-rank demon beasts attack it. But you needn't worry; beast tides frequently erupt here, and while a single sixth-rank demon beast might occasionally appear, there hasn't been a beast tide with a large number of sixth-rank demon beasts in tens of thousands of years." He spoke unhurriedly, clearly demonstrating his diligence given that Chen Yueying had personally sent him.

"Senior Uncle Sun, what kind of formation was on Nine Dragons Island before?" Wang Ruyan asked politely.

"It was the Four Seas Tidal Cloud Formation," Sun Yiming explained in detail. "It used a 50,000-year-old Tidal Cloudwood as the formation eye, with thousands of 5,000-year-old Tidal Cloudwood trees forming the rest of the array. Its defensive capability was extremely strong. However, Junior Brother Li and the others took all the Tidal Cloudwood; it was Zhenhai Palace's property. If you wish to set up other formations, you can tell me. About a billion li from here, there's Snow Goose Island, where the Cold Flame Sect has established a market city. Merchant alliances from the Azure Glaze Sea Region often stop at Snow Goose Market, and cultivation resources are abundant there. I've already set up a communication formation, so you can contact the disciples at Snow Goose Market if you need any formation materials."

"Senior Uncle Sun, if Nine Dragons Island and the seven surrounding islands all need formations, how many spirit stones would that cost, conservatively?" Wang Changsheng asked seriously.

Sun Yiming held up five fingers and said, "If we set up three sixth-rank formations and fourteen fifth-rank formations, a conservative estimate would be 500 million spirit stones. If conditions are less demanding, a little over 100 million spirit stones could also work. The seven islands can temporarily go without formations, as your family doesn't have many members anyway. Nine Dragons Island definitely needs two sets of sixth-rank formations. A beast tide just erupted here two years ago, so there won't be another one in the short term. Besides defensive formations, it's best to set up an offensive formation, the Burning Sky Formation. There's a shop in Snow Goose Market that specializes in selling Blazing Fire Bamboo, even ten-thousand-year-old Blazing Fire Bamboo, though the price is quite steep."

"Then we'll follow Senior Uncle Sun's advice and first set up these two sets of sixth-rank formations," Wang Changsheng said politely. "Please trouble Senior Uncle Sun to contact our fellow disciples in Snow Goose Market to help procure the formation materials. I'll provide an initial payment." He took out an azure storage ring and handed it to Sun Yiming.

Sun Yiming scanned the ring with his divine sense, then nodded with satisfaction. "You've had a tiring journey," he said. "Go rest now!"

Wang Ruyan took out three exquisite jade boxes, handed them to Sun Yiming, and said with a smile, "We brought some spirit medicines from the Xuanling Grotto-Heaven. We've given some to Senior Grandmaster Chen and Senior Uncle Fang. These three 5,000-year-old spirit medicines are a small token of our appreciation; we hope Senior Uncle Sun won't mind them."

Most of the spirit medicines they brought out that were over 3,000 years old had already been given away or exchanged for other cultivation resources; there was nothing they could do about it.

"It wasn't easy for you either. Keep them for yourselves!" Sun Yiming tactfully refused.

Wang Ruyan insisted repeatedly, and only then did Sun Yiming accept them, his smile deepening.

After a few casual words, Wang Changsheng and the others followed Huang Yun'er to their resting quarters.

About the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Wang Changsheng and his group appeared in a vast, thousand-acre estate. Stone bridges, gardens, waterside pavilions, long corridors, and ornate towers were visible everywhere.

"Father, the materials needed for a sixth-rank formation must be considerable, right? If we go to the market city ourselves to buy them, we could save a large sum of spirit stones, couldn't we?" Wang Qingfeng asked, somewhat puzzled, as hundreds of millions of spirit stones was no small amount.

Wang Changsheng smiled, then looked at Wang Qingcheng and asked, "Qingcheng, what do you think?"

"Sixth Brother," Wang Qingcheng said with a smile, "people need to earn a living. You can't expect others to work for you for free; you always have to let them gain some benefit. As the saying goes, 'Water too clear has no fish.' You didn't have to think about this before, but now you'll need to consider it more. When you're managing things yourself, spirit stones are needed everywhere." He was a smooth operator and got along very well with many of his fellow disciples.

"What if they're overly greedy and try to fool us?" Wang Qingfeng frowned.

"Father and Mother's strength is evident; they should know their limits," Wang Qingcheng explained. "Besides, we'll check the ledgers later, so we won't let them act recklessly."

"It's too much trouble. Never mind, I don't understand it," Wang Qingfeng said. "Since Father is doing it this way, it must be right." Wang Qingfeng had lived a life of privilege since childhood, never having to worry about cultivation resources. He had few social interactions, not many friends in Zhenhai Palace, and little in the way of social courtesies, being accustomed to acting alone.

"After the family is established, Qingcheng will serve as patriarch, and Yuejiao will manage the family's finances," Wang Changsheng instructed. "Qingfeng, you just focus on cultivation. Later, when we open shops and do business, you'll be responsible for transporting goods." Both Wang Qingcheng and Sun Yuejiao were relatively smooth and good at dealing with people, making Wang Qingcheng a suitable choice for patriarch. Entrusting Sun Yuejiao with the family finances was a clear sign of Wang Changsheng's trust in her.

"Yes, Father (Senior Wang)," Wang Qingcheng and the others agreed in unison.

After a few casual words, Wang Changsheng dismissed them to rest.