Chapter 480: Huge Wealth and Dividends, Breaking Through the Cycle Realm

"Violated the Development Law? Which article is the captain referring to?" Zhao Xing and Yang Baihe walked into the cabin side by side to discuss further.

Yang Baihe paused, pulling out a stack of documents. "I'm asking about the medical and compensation clauses. You haven't violated many other articles, have you?"

"I see," Zhao Xing said, enlightened after reading.

The development of the Ancient Annihilation Star Path had been ongoing for three hundred years!

According to the Empire's Development Law, the Great Zhou Dynasty was required to cover a portion of the medical expenses for the injured and pay compensation.

Yang Baihe mentioned that someone had reported Zhao Xing for violating the Development Law, based precisely on this clause.

This was because the number of people officially registered by Great Zhou was far less than the actual number of people working.

The accusers thus speculated that the unregistered personnel must have been concealed by Great Zhou.

Yang Baihe's intelligence even included some concrete examples.

"What do you say?"

Yang Baihe had arrived at Xinghuo first to investigate the facts beforehand. If someone else had come to investigate, even if there were no problems, problems would have arisen.

"I haven't violated the Development Law," Zhao Xing said, pointing to a column on the list. "I didn't even hire this group from the Green Sprout Sect."

"What do you mean?" Yang Baihe was somewhat taken aback.

"The compensation regulations in the Empire's Development Law first require a clear employment contract on file. Since I didn't hire them, how can it be considered a violation?"

"But the Green Sprout Sect is indeed working for you, right?" Yang Baihe asked, puzzled. "Even without the name of an employment contract, there's still the reality of employment."

"If I didn't pay them, it's not employment."

"If you didn't even pay them, how could an employment relationship be established? Let alone violating the compensation regulations."

Yang Baihe was somewhat bewildered. "You mean they're working for you for free? I heard the Green Sprout Sect even brought their own tools to clear the land. You didn't even pay them. Are there really people that foolish?"

"Don't put it so harshly. They are all volunteers contributing based on morality, conviction, and a desire to improve the environment."

"Isn't that still working for free?"

Zhao Xing didn't argue. Instead, he took out a jade slip and handed it to Yang Baihe. "If the captain isn't clear, you can look at this report."

"I wouldn't dare say Great Zhou is perfect or without flaws, but there are certainly no major issues concerning its stance."

After a close look, Yang Baihe immediately pulled out his star mirror. Its surface turned fiery red, reflecting a world of flames.

"Two more lords from Xinghuo have arrived. I need to give them an account. Wait for me."

Yang Baihe's soul departed his body and instantly jumped into the mirror.

Zhao Xing couldn't see what was happening inside the mirror; he just waited quietly.

"Azure Flame Emissary, you've finished investigating so quickly? This isn't going to be some insignificant result, is it?"

In the fiery space, a thin man soon emerged. His hand clutched a dark red world-stone chain at his waist. His fingers were long and slender, and the back of his hand bore a miniature energy core, containing terrifying power.

Yang Baihe retorted, "Luminous Star Emissary, there was no problem with this matter to begin with, so of course the investigation was quick. Are we supposed to take a millennium to investigate a minor issue, like you?"

"Slow work produces fine products. I'm just afraid the Azure Flame Emissary will make a mistake," Lang Yuan, the Luminous Star Emissary, said blandly. "You've finally risen through the ranks; don't ruin it over something trivial."

"No need for your instruction."

Yang Baihe and Lang Yuan were like new and old employees who couldn't stand each other.

This was because Yang Baihe had risen too quickly. Three thousand years ago, he was merely at the Dao Domain realm and hadn't yet become an Azure Flame Emissary. Lang Yuan, however, had been a Luminous Star Emissary for many years.

Yang Baihe deeply disliked Lang Yuan because the latter always relied on his seniority to lecture him on how to do things. A part of the reason for his previous leave was, in fact, due to this person.

"Rumble!" From the flames, a giant with one red and one silver eye suddenly emerged.

"Prairie Fire Emissary." Yang Baihe and Lang Yuan simultaneously saluted.

The Prairie Fire Emissary was the head of the Eighteen Emissaries of Xinghuo. Although he wasn't an Emperor Lord, his status and power were comparable to one, making him highly respected within Xinghuo.

"Baiyang, tell us the investigation results," the Prairie Fire Emissary said.

"Zhao Xing did not violate the Empire's Development Law," Yang Baihe stated, giving the result first.

"The Green Sprout Sect was not employed by Zhao Xing or Great Zhou; there is no employment contract."

"No employment contract, but the reality of employment exists. Does that allow them to evade the Empire's Development Law?" the Luminous Star Emissary interjected.

Yang Baihe calmly took out the documents.

"Whoosh!" The documents immediately burst into flames, revealing countless characters and scenes.

"Prairie Fire Emissary, please see. There are many groups like the Green Sprout Sect. They spontaneously formed and gathered in various wilderness areas of the Star Corridor."

"The Empire and the Academy City have registered an organization called 'Annihilation Star Society'."

"Its purpose is to research wasteland phenomena, focusing on the Annihilation Star Corridor, and to study and practice the 'Six Indeterminables of Annihilation Star'."

"According to the Empire's regulations, they have no connection whatsoever with Great Zhou and no vested interest in the Ancient Annihilation Star Path project."

Yang Baihe heavily emphasized the "vested interest."

"In other words, Zhao Xing or Great Zhou have never given the Green Sprout Sect any money in any form. Without payment, how can it be considered employment?"

"Given that, it's impossible to conclude that he violated the Empire's Development Law."

"Hmm?" Both the Prairie Fire Emissary and the Luminous Star Emissary looked over simultaneously.

After reading, both fell silent.

Over three hundred years, more than twenty Annihilation Star Dharma Assemblies had been held, and Zhao Xing's supporters had grown increasingly numerous.

They gathered and spontaneously worked on the development of the Ancient Annihilation Star Path. Unbeknownst to them, they had become a considerably powerful force.

Based on different interpretations of the "Six Indeterminables," there were many similar organizations, with the Annihilation Star Society being just the largest among them.

All organizations left the positions of society head, sect master, and dean vacant, implicitly assigning them to Zhao Xing. The largest of these, the Annihilation Star Society, had already developed seven lord-level vice-presidents!

Of course, Zhao Xing had never contacted these forces, as only the Great Zhou Ministry of Agriculture was considered his true foundation, and its development was controllable.

The external forces were a mixed bag, and Zhao Xing had no intention of incorporating them. Of course, he couldn't stop others from developing.

"This is like establishing a sect and becoming a revered ancestor," the Prairie Fire Emissary couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Luminous Star, do you approve of this report?"

Lang Yuan was speechless and could only nod dryly.

He also knew he couldn't touch Zhao Xing directly, so he could only target the forces under Zhao Xing's influence. However, this attempt was clearly futile, and further entanglement was meaningless.

"Prairie Fire Emissary, if there are no further instructions, I'll take my leave."

"Hmm."

With that, the Luminous Star Emissary exited the fiery world.

Yang Baihe exchanged a few more words with the Prairie Fire Emissary, concluding the brief meeting.

"Whoosh~" Yang Baihe's soul returned to his body, and he let out a long breath.

"Captain, how did it go?" Zhao Xing asked. If Xinghuo were to halt his development work, it would be troublesome. He had just discovered a major find, and stopping now would be difficult.

"No problem for now," Yang Baihe recalled Lang Yuan's behavior. "However, I feel there's a force targeting you. Normally, such a small matter wouldn't warrant Xinghuo's attention."

Zhao Xing smiled. "No need to feel it; it's definitely there."

"For three hundred years of Great Zhou's development, two hundred and eight of them were profitable. The years that incurred losses were only minor."

"When the four great families took over, this was a mess, despised by everyone. Now it's a coveted prize, so naturally, people want a piece of it."

If Zhao Xing were just an employee, and the Ancient Annihilation Star Path were an official project like the Haitong Ancient Path, no one would dare to cause trouble.

But now that he had privately undertaken the development rights, it was different.

"Captain, you'll still have to bear the pressure from Xinghuo."

"Don't worry," Yang Baihe nodded. "If you do something wrong, I might not be able to favor you, but if you haven't done anything wrong, I certainly won't let anyone deliberately pick on you!"

Great Zhou's rapid development wasn't solely due to the Dharma Assemblies; the profits generated from the Ancient Annihilation Star Path were also a contributing factor.

Because Zhao Xing's cost to build survival bases was very low, and the Ancient Annihilation Star Path was rich in World Stones, Yang Baihe had been continuously receiving dividends from the partners for the past one hundred and fifty years, and the dividend amount was slowly increasing.

In other words, Zhao Xing's ventures were flourishing more and more.

They had only been excavating for three hundred years. Yang Baihe calculated that if this continued for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years, he might truly be able to marry an Emperor Lord-level Dao Companion.

For this reason alone, he couldn't let anyone cause trouble!

"Hahaha, I trust the captain," Zhao Xing laughed heartily.

He hadn't brought in so many partners for nothing; each partner in different departments of the Empire had a role to play.

After Yang Baihe left, Zhao Xing looked towards the starry sky again.

"My peers who are partners, like Tuo Sen, Xu Youling, Du Yun, and Yang Baihe, can handle external troubles."

"The Ancient Annihilation Star Path has also successfully passed through three hundred years of peace."

"Now that I've unearthed a major find, I can only ask the elder partners like Emperor Lord Five Poisons, Emperor Lord Hongshan, and Lord Lushan to step forward and protect it."

"Once it's fully excavated, I can't be greedy. I must quickly sell the ownership of the Ancient Path to the Empire."

In his previous life, when the Ancient Annihilation Star Path was taken over by the Primordial Hill, it was fully excavated in just five hundred years, because by then, the Primordial Hill had more experience and vast resources.

Zhao Xing and Great Zhou were not that powerful. Although they had lowered the cost of survival in the Annihilation Star Corridor, they still couldn't compare to the reserves of a super-force.

He had now excavated for three hundred years, having roughly cleared about half of it.

3,564 bluestone slabs—that was the first major discovery!

Zhu Haichao had now withdrawn all the people, and a True Self School agricultural official from the Mirage Sea Alliance took them into his internal world.

When Master Zhao got rich, he always shared the benefits. Zhu Haichao, Baili Yang, Jiang Tiansu, and Lord Xiye—the four of them were now also Zhao Xing's partners, so of course, they wouldn't leak the news.

"Minister Zhao, what exactly are these things?"

"I've never seen anything like them."

Lord Xiye gazed into the distance.

The azure jade slabs lay motionless, spanning across the starry sky. Previously, when they were clearing the shattered star belt, they accidentally bumped into one of these slabs. Even a Boundary Shield ship of the Reincarnation Dao Soldier level, using top-tier Lunar-Solar twin stars as drills, couldn't make a single dent. Some individuals were even absorbed by certain azure jade slabs.

"They should be products from the Chaotic River Era," Zhao Xing mused. "It's a rather unique method of small world encapsulation."

"I see. Minister Zhao is indeed knowledgeable," Lord Xiye said. He had only asked casually, not expecting Zhao Xing to actually know something about it.

"When I was undergoing treatment in Academy City, I was fortunate enough to enter the Eighth Dharma Realm for therapy, and Scholar Bovay once showed me some ancient texts," Zhao Xing said.

This wasn't a casual lie; Bovay had indeed shown him many ancient texts while in the Eighth Dharma Realm.

And in his previous life, the Primordial Hill had indeed only learned some information about the bluestone slabs from Academy City.

According to Zhao Xing's knowledge, the 3,564 bluestone slabs originated from the Chaotic River Era and represented a lost method of domain encapsulation. Later generations named them "Azure Jade Realms."

The 3,564 bluestone slabs were 3,564 small worlds, each containing a legacy cave mansion.

The weakest cave mansions were left by Lord-level cultivators, the vast majority were Emperor Lord-level, and the strongest were seven Demi-God residences!

No one knew why they appeared here. It was only after thorough exploration that it was speculated these bluestone slabs might also be a type of transport vessel, similar to a Boundary Ark, used by a group of powerful beings who fled to this place but ultimately couldn't escape this desolate region, thus leaving behind their legacy cave mansions.

"We can't move these azure jade slabs. People, objects, and even magical attacks are absorbed," Baili Yang said. "They seem to have merged with the void, remaining completely motionless in the starry sky."

Of course, they wouldn't move, because the azure jade slabs were actually a single entity, not separate ones, fixed in place like an Artificer's legion spell.

Their commonality was the absorption of external life and spiritual energy, which supported the conjecture that the azure jade slabs were mobile survival bases.

"In any case, these things are extraordinary," Zhao Xing smiled. "Gentlemen, this quarter's dividend will certainly not be bad."

Over three thousand Reincarnation Realm cave mansions were the first major acquisition for the Primordial Hill in his previous life. After excavating them, the Primordial Hill not only recouped its investment in developing the Ancient Annihilation Star Path but also accelerated its development speed.

After they were fully excavated, multiple Origin Realms were discovered consecutively, which further allowed the Primordial Hill to obtain natural divine artifacts.

Upon seeing the azure jade slabs, Zhao Xing knew he was about to strike it rich this time.

"Everyone, check the surrounding environment, but don't rashly investigate."

After giving his instructions, Zhao Xing passed through the Boundary Mountain passage of Qitian Mountain, arriving on the other side.

Here was an exploratory vanguard star continent, also named after his partner, Qitian.

Zhao Xing was very grateful to his partners. Along the way, over two hundred large and small survival bases, boundary mountains, and rivers had been named after them.

Using the communication array on the Qitian Star Continent, Zhao Xing enhanced his star mirror's transmission capabilities.

About an hour later, he contacted Emperor Lord Five Poisons, Emperor Lord Hongshan, and Emperor Lord Lushan.

Originally, Zuo Qiyu should have been included, but ever since mastering the Primeval Strawman Art, Zhao Xing couldn't help but feel murderous intent whenever he heard Zuo Qiyu's name.

Thus, this meeting in the mirror only invited these three individuals.

"Disciple, are you in danger?" The first words Emperor Lord Five Poisons uttered upon appearing in the mirror were to inquire about Zhao Xing's safety, as Zhao Xing had initiated an emergency communication. This implied Zhao Xing had encountered a major issue.

"Master, I'm not in danger," Zhao Xing shook his head. "But there's indeed a major matter I need to discuss with you three."

"If it's not a big bad thing, then it must be a big good thing! What have you excavated in the Ancient Annihilation Star Path?" Emperor Lord Five Poisons' eyes lit up. "It can't be that you discovered an Origin Realm, can it?"

Since the appearance of the Spiritual Void Origin Realm, another Spiritual Snail Origin Realm had been discovered on the seven ancient paths.

One could say that now, when discussing wasteland development, the first benefit people thought of was a new Origin Realm.

"Not that," Zhao Xing shook his head. "However, your disciple has discovered 3,564 encapsulated small worlds."

"They are encapsulated within azure jade slabs. Based on the attractive forces they generate, your disciple believes they are at least from the Chaotic River Era, as they must contain ley lines, and the ley lines of the Chaotic River Era were different from those of today."

"Secondly, each of these azure jade slabs is absorbing spiritual energy and life force from the outside, resembling ancient races that were preparing to cross a domain but perished halfway."

"Since only a Lord-level cultivator can withstand this attractive force, your disciple dared not send people in to explore rashly."

"Therefore, I could only come to you three for discussion."

Zhao Xing's four biggest partners were Zuo Qiyu, Emperor Lord Hongshan, Emperor Lord Lushan, and Emperor Lord Five Poisons. These four contributed the majority of the funds, which allowed him to start the project.

Otherwise, with just the money from Great Zhou and his other partners, it would have been impossible to get started; they could barely afford to buy the mining rights from the four great families.

"From your description, these aren't mere stones; they are clearly cross-domain Boundary Arks."

"Only Boundary Ships of this level could traverse a spiritual energy domain," Emperor Lord Hongshan gasped. "These aren't 3,564 azure jade slabs; they are clearly 3,564 cross-domain Boundary Arks."

Lord Lushan's voice was also somewhat hoarse. "If they are still absorbing spiritual energy from the outside, it proves they retain a high degree of integrity. Their mere existence is immensely valuable, let alone the treasures within!"

All three Emperor Lords simultaneously realized a problem:

Assuming each of these 3,564 cross-domain Boundary Ships was comparable to an Emperor Lord's net worth.

Then, according to the dividend ratio, the three of them would gain an enormous fortune.

It was highly possible that the three of them could break through to the Demi-God level because of this!

The mere thought of this possibility shocked even the three Emperor Lords.

When they first invested in Zhao Xing, they never expected to make money; breaking even would have been considered good.

However, they were willing to spend some money and let Zhao Xing "lose" it, as Zhao Xing was simply too talented, capable of both writing treatises and cultivating techniques, and had experienced almost no setbacks. If he could suffer a minor setback without threatening his life, it would be worth the cost.

Yet, the Ancient Annihilation Star Path only incurred losses for a few decades, after which it was entirely profitable.

Initially, they hadn't paid much attention to the small dividends Zhao Xing sent them.

Now, even the three Emperor Lords couldn't ignore it.

Because this fortune truly had the potential to allow them to acquire valuable treasures and thus break through to the Demi-God realm!

"Zhao Xing, you came to us for more than just this, didn't you?" Emperor Lord Five Poisons was the first to regain his composure.

"Your disciple has recently felt that the development isn't going smoothly, and there are some baseless negative rumors from the outside. It's clear that someone is jealous of your disciple's talent."

Emperor Lord Five Poisons couldn't help but laugh. "What 'jealous of talent'? It's clearly envy over the profits of the Ancient Annihilation Star Path. Speak properly."

Zhao Xing cupped his hands. "Master, your discernment is like a torch. I'm being investigated."

"Just recently, someone from Xinghuo came to investigate the Ancient Annihilation Star Path. The reasons were far-fetched, and they even dispatched three Lord-level cultivators without sufficient evidence."

"They don't yet know your disciple has excavated these bluestone slabs, so Yang Baihe can fend them off."

"But if they knew, your disciple's connections probably wouldn't be able to stop such baseless investigations."

"And your disciple wouldn't be able to focus on exploring these treasures."

Wherever there's a benefit, a crowd of people will come sniffing around.

Zhao Xing alone couldn't possibly keep such a benefit to himself.

Now was the time for the three Emperor Lords to provide escort and protection!

The three Emperor Lords, including Emperor Lord Five Poisons, exchanged divine thoughts and quickly reached a consensus: "You must excavate this batch of treasures as quickly as possible."

"Ascertain its specific value."

"Afterward, we will invite some old friends from the War God Hall to preside over the situation."

Emperor Lord Five Poisons and Emperor Lord Hongshan both held official positions, making it inconvenient for them to personally go to the Ancient Annihilation Star Path.

Emperor Lord Lushan could, but he alone wouldn't be enough.

"Once we ascertain the value of the ruins, we will decide what to do."

"Yes."

With that assurance, Zhao Xing felt confident.

While waiting for the people summoned by Emperor Lord Five Poisons to arrive, Zhao Xing also conducted some explorations himself.

He called over the Grand Minister of Works, Lu Ying. Lu Ying was now also a Reincarnation Realm Artificer, so it was a good opportunity for him to gain some practice.

Lu Ying led over three thousand people from Great Zhou's Xuanji Division, deploying a legion-type Reincarnation Dao Soldier. In front of the nearest bluestone slab, in an attempt to move it through the void, the Mojia Palace slowly rotated.

Lu Ying and Zhao Xing stood on the steps of the Mojia Palace, gazing into the distance.

"Grand Minister of Agriculture, what are these things?"

"All eight of our Great Zhou's Colossal God-class Boundary Transport Ships have been deployed, yet it hasn't budged an inch."

Lu Ying didn't understand, but he was greatly shocked.

With the current strength of Great Zhou's Xuanji Division, let alone moving an azure jade slab the size of 0.1 astronomical units, even a boundary mountain peak ten times larger would be no problem.

The Ministry of Works' experience had been accumulating for thousands of years, starting from the Wangliang Star Zone in Langping Path.

Excluding the Ministry of Agriculture, which was a bug-level existence, Great Zhou's strongest department was the Xuanji Division.

"A product left from the Chaotic River Era, I don't know which race's craftsmanship it is. Logically, it should be movable."

He said this because, in his previous life, the Primordial Hill had moved them.

But now they couldn't move them. Clearly, Great Zhou's transport capabilities were insufficient, not as strong as the Primordial Hill's methods.

Lu Ying looked at Zhao Xing, shaking his head, and couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed.

After thousands of years of development and so much investment, could the Ministry of Works still not meet the Grand Minister of Agriculture's requirements?

"Grand Minister of Agriculture, it is the Ministry of Works' incompetence," Lu Ying said, his face full of shame.

"Oh, Lord Lu, there's no need for that. I don't blame you," Zhao Xing said, seeing Lu Ying's expression and knowing he was overthinking things. "I merely invited you to gain some experience and witness a grand spectacle."

Of course, he wouldn't blame Lu Ying. The Primordial Hill was a super-force; if needed, mobilizing a few Demi-Gods wouldn't be a problem, and they could even bring divine artifacts for transportation. But how could Great Zhou have such resources?

"Grand Minister of Agriculture, could we invite Emperor Lord Hongshan or Emperor Lord Lushan from the Primordial Hill to move them? I heard they possess World Arks."

"No, that won't do. Public is public, private is private. The divine artifacts of the Primordial Hill aren't simply borrowed on demand," Zhao Xing shook his head.

The Primordial Hill had two very famous transport-type divine artifacts: the Primordial Ark and the World Ark.

But why would the divine artifacts of such a super-force be used for Zhao Xing's private work?

Even if they were willing to lend them, they would demand payment, and Zhao Xing couldn't afford the price.

This was not for him to consider, but for Emperor Lord Five Poisons and the others to consider.

Zhao Xing just needed to wait now.

"Lord Lu, these are products from the Chaotic River