Linley knew very well that in Hell and the other God Planes, women were scarce resources that people fought over!
Even in the original story, when Linley first arrived in Hell, he was warned that people might pursue his wife, Dilia. Later in the story, there were countless conflicts caused directly or indirectly by women.
People like Cesar, Olivia, and the Eight Great Clans.
Linley had once been puzzled by this. Couldn't they have humans in the Saint Domain and Low-level Gods give birth to more women?
Only after personally living in Hell in this life did Linley truly understand. It wasn't that they didn't want to—it was that they couldn't.
Hell's environment was different from that of the Material Plane, with far greater pressure. The chances of becoming pregnant were much lower. Moreover, among the Saint Domain and god-level men and women who came from the Material Plane, the ratio was always severely imbalanced. On top of that, a single powerhouse could have a dozen or even hundreds of beauties. Spread across all of Hell, women naturally became scarce resources.
"There are indeed somewhat fewer women in the tribe. After we finish picking and choosing, we still have to leave some behind. Otherwise, the team will be difficult to manage."
Donald put one arm around the woman in his embrace and raised his wine cup with the other, taking a sip as he said helplessly.
Linley saw through his thoughts and understood the deeper meaning behind those words.
Although Saint Domain experts were all ants, becoming a god meant undergoing a world-shaking transformation. The tribe truly needed more fresh blood.
The principle was simple. Only with more powerhouses in the tribe could they expand outward and conquer more resources, including women. Otherwise, no matter how many resources they had, the women would merely be temporarily stored for other factions.
As the saying went, "While my neighbor hoards grain, I stockpile weapons. My neighbor's grain becomes my granary." In Hell, god-level powerhouses were those weapons. The stronger they were, the more powerful the weapons!
At that moment, Dennis also walked over with a tall, black-haired woman in his arms. Having heard their conversation, he said with a smile, "After our three tribes merged, our strength increased greatly. We can completely consider expanding our territory. Twenty thousand miles to the west is a tribe called the Red Demon Tribe. I hear their Blood Crystal Mine resources are even richer."
Linley nodded lightly and took a sip of wine before asking cautiously, "How strong is the Red Demon Tribe?"
Dennis said, "Three Mid-level Gods and six Low-level Gods."
He did not mention the number of Saint Domain cannon fodder. Linley naturally did not care, either. Anyone Below God-level was an ant; no matter how many came, they would all die.
Even if there was only a hair's breadth between the Saint Domain Limit and a Low-level God, before even the weakest god-level expert who had refined a godhead, they were still humble ants without the slightest ability to resist. The so-called advantage in numbers—ants biting an elephant to death—simply did not exist.
"Good. We can make our move when the opportunity comes!"
Linley nodded without hesitation. In this life, after stepping out of his reader's godlike perspective and experiencing things for himself, he clearly understood how could there be so many Mid-level God geniuses beyond normal standards?
Even a High-level God who had refined a godhead had already surpassed ninety-nine percent of god-level powerhouses. As long as they did not court death, they could live a worry-free life above others.
Linley estimated that with the Tianlan Tribe's strength, swallowing up the Red Demon Tribe would not be a problem. Whether they wanted to save money to purchase property in an Official City under the Main God's Protection or develop their forces outside, they needed manpower. Fighting alone in Hell's cruel environment was still disadvantageous. Even the original protagonist, Linley, had God-devouring Rat Beibei and his wife Dilia by his side!
"We'll make preparations for this first..."
As Linley and the other god-level leaders discussed and planned, when they talked about distributing the spoils and resources, each of them wore eager, sinister smiles. Throughout the entire process, they did not avoid the women beside them in the slightest. Some of those women were not even in the Saint Domain, and they had no Divine Avatars elsewhere, so there was no need to worry.
After a while...
"That's enough for tonight."
With a beauty beside him and a faint orchid fragrance lingering beneath his nose, coupled with the wine he had drunk, Linley, who had been single for several hundred years, felt his blood grow restless.
Donald and Dennis were even more drunk. Their faces wore a knowing man's smile. "Then we won't disturb you." As he spoke, he himself staggered into the room with a beauty in his arms.
Surrounded by four beauties, Linley returned to his room. Only after a period of baring themselves to one another and imparting all they had to offer did he comfortably fall asleep.
The next day, after Linley awoke, he said to the four women, "You don't need to go back. From now on, be my maids."
"Thank you, my lord!"
The four women were overjoyed, their spirits soaring.
Although they were young and inexperienced, they all knew of Hell's cruelty from what they had seen and heard. The status of Saint Domain experts within the tribe was lowly; they could only perform the hard work of tending and mining the ore, while also finding time to cultivate. Fortunately, women possessed a natural physical advantage. As long as they caught the eye of a god-level powerhouse, they could avoid all those dirty and exhausting tasks.
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, three years passed.
People stood all around the pitted mine shafts on Red Stone Mountain.
"Bleed!"
At the Saint Domain Limit inspector's command, the people all cut open their wrists. Large amounts of warm blood flowed out and seeped deep into the mine shafts, soaking and nourishing the Blood Crystals buried underground. This was called tending the mine, and it was the tribe's daily work for Saint Domain experts.
After the blood pool had been completely drained, a faint red light emerged from the bottom of one of the medium-sized mine shafts.
The inspector was overjoyed at the sight. "A Blood Crystal has finished gestating!"
He immediately reported it to the god-level powerhouses. After passing through several hands, the news soon reached the tribe leader, Linley.
"Not bad luck."
Linley smiled in satisfaction. He personally went to the Blood Crystal Mine shaft. As his Spiritual Sense, which contained a magnetic field, probed downward, he indeed discovered scattered blood-red ores. The magnetic fields they emitted also differed somewhat from those of ordinary stones and other lifeless objects, mixed with traces of active life energy.
"Rise!"
Linley reached out with one hand. The earth trembled, and earthen dragons rolled. Immediately afterward, Blood Crystals of various sizes flew out from deep within the mine shaft and were swept into his Space Ring.
Linley returned to his residence and took out the Blood Crystals, examining them carefully with considerable curiosity.
The Blood Crystals the tribe had accumulated earlier had all been sold out by Thomas, Donald, Dennis, and the others in Red Stone City. In exchange, they had obtained cultivation and comprehension resources such as Soul Gold Granules and Floating Shadow Crystals. They had also stored away some Ink Stones, anticipating the future need to purchase a High-level Godhead and a High-level God Artifact.
The faster a Blood Crystal Mine was excavated, the sooner its resources would be exhausted, making it difficult to continue exploiting it. Thus, over the long years, they had developed an effective practice: bleeding to tend the mine.
Even with such careful maintenance, the frenzied mining from before had still greatly reduced the Blood Crystal reserves. Over the past ten thousand years, suitable mining sites had become increasingly scarce, leaving them to rely on luck.
Linley recalled something Thomas had said when introducing Blood Crystals: "The darker and redder the color, the better the quality. The first refinement has the best effect. They can be swallowed and refined directly, which is the fastest method, but the impurities need to be removed. Otherwise, they'll affect bodily coordination and subsequent physical enhancement. They can also be held in the palm and refined bit by bit. They can even be used as materials for Alchemy. Their uses are extensive, but their main function is still strengthening the body."
Eat it?
As soon as the thought appeared, Linley shook his head. This thing was a special combination of countless amounts of blood and minerals. It did not fit his diet, and it also had side effects. Besides, he was not short on time, so there was no need.
"Let's do it the normal way."
Linley tightened his grip around the Blood Crystal in his palm...
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