Act According to Urgency

"About half a month!" Ma Qiuyan replied.

Half a month?

Ten days!

There was no time!

Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard and thought for a moment before saying, "Without connecting to the Spirit Vein and Earth Vein, if the formation needs to operate at full power, how many Spirit Stones would it consume?"

Ma Qiuyan was taken aback. "Use Spirit Stones to drive the formation?"

"That's right!"

"That depends on how long it needs to operate. If it only needs to be maintained for one hour, about a million Low-grade Spirit Stones should be enough!"

A million Spirit Stones per hour meant twelve million per day and sixty million after five days.

The corner of Yang Zhengshan's mouth twitched slightly. Damn, that's a huge drain!

Although the Spirit Source Land had accumulated quite a few Spirit Stones over the years, they only amounted to about five hundred million Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Five hundred million Spirit Stones seemed like a lot, but the Spirit Source Land now had nine Golden Core cultivators. Averaged out, each person had less than sixty million Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Low-grade Spirit Stones were useless to Golden Core cultivators. If converted into Top-grade Spirit Stones, sixty million Low-grade Spirit Stones were roughly equivalent to fifty Top-grade Spirit Stones.

Fifty Top-grade Spirit Stones per person—could that be considered a lot?

Moreover, the Spirit Source Land also had many Foundation Establishment Cultivators and Demonic Beasts, as well as many Martial Artists.

Once averaged out, each person had no more than a few hundred.

Of course, this was merely the Spirit Source Land's reserves. It did not mean that everyone had run out of Spirit Stones.

But there was no denying that the Spirit Source Land's reserve of Spirit Stones was not particularly large.

Maintaining the formation for five days would consume sixty million Low-grade Spirit Stones. That did not mean the battle would last only five days. Once the formation was connected to the Earth Vein and Spirit Vein, it would no longer need to consume as many Spirit Stones.

After connecting to the Earth Vein and Spirit Vein, the formation would still need Spirit Stones to operate, but its consumption would drop considerably—probably to around twenty percent.

Even at twenty percent, it would still consume 2.4 million Spirit Stones per day, 240 million in one hundred days, and 480 million in two hundred days.

In other words, the Spirit Source Land's reserve of Spirit Stones could at most support the Forward Outpost Base's formation operating at full power for seven months.

Yang Zhengshan had still wanted the Forward Outpost Base to hold out for a year. Clearly, he had been imagining things.

He still had some Spirit Stones of his own, but the Spirit Stones in his possession were all High-grade Spirit Stones and Top-grade Spirit Stones. Using them to fuel the formation would be an utter waste.

Although they were all Spirit Stones, and there was a fixed exchange ratio between Spirit Stones of different grades, the higher-grade the Spirit Stone, the rarer it was.

Top-grade Spirit Stones in particular were equivalent to third-tier Spiritual Items.

In terms of pure spiritual energy, the spiritual energy contained in one Top-grade Spirit Stone was equivalent to that in one million Low-grade Spirit Stones. But in terms of value, one million Low-grade Spirit Stones absolutely could not buy a Top-grade Spirit Stone. At least 1.2 million were needed, and even then, one had to rely on luck to find one.

Yang Zhengshan could not bear to use Top-grade Spirit Stones to fuel the formation.

"We need more Spirit Stones!" Yang Zhengshan said.

Ma Qiuyan and Ning Yun looked at each other. Neither of them had any way to obtain a large quantity of Spirit Stones.

Lin Xiqiu said thoughtfully, "Actually, we can use other Spiritual Items in place of Spirit Stones!"

"Other Spiritual Items?" Yang Zhengshan looked at him.

All Spiritual Items contained spiritual energy, and Spirit Stones were also a type of Spiritual Item. It was just that the spiritual energy they contained was pure, and their deposits were relatively abundant, which was why they had come to be used as currency.

Other Spiritual Items could naturally be used in place of Spirit Stones, but using other Spiritual Items as Spirit Stones would be an even greater loss.

The reason was simple: among items of the same grade, Spirit Stones offered the best value in terms of the amount of spiritual energy they contained.

"Mm. Spiritual Items of other attributes might not be suitable, but the Yellow Earth Thick Spirit Array is an Earth Attribute Grand Array. Using Earth Attribute Spiritual Items in place of Spirit Stones should be more suitable!"

"Besides, our Spirit Source Land has a Yellow Earth Mine that produces the lowest-grade Yellow Earth Stone!"

Lin Xiqiu explained.

Yang Zhengshan's eyes immediately lit up after hearing this.

That's right, the Spirit Source Land still had a Yellow Earth Mine. Yellow Earth Stone was more suitable for driving the Yellow Earth Thick Spirit Array than Spirit Stones.

The Spirit Source Land stretched for ten thousand li and contained quite a few Mineral Veins, but Yang Zhengshan had always prohibited mining. Aside from the few Mineral Veins mined in the beginning, none of the Mineral Veins discovered afterward had been exploited.

That was because the Spirit Source Land's spiritual energy was limited. If these Mineral Veins were over-mined, they would inevitably affect the concentration of spiritual energy in the Spirit Source Land.

To maintain the concentration of spiritual energy in the Spirit Source Land, Yang Zhengshan had ordered Ziwei Tower to shatter some Spirit Stones in the Spirit Source Land at regular intervals. The purpose was to replenish the spiritual energy consumed by the Spirit Source Land.

But one had to Act According to Urgency. For the sake of an emergency, mining the Yellow Earth Mine was not impossible. At worst, they could replenish it with some Spirit Stones afterward.

"Have people mine the Yellow Earth Mine. Go and tell Ziwei Tower about this immediately. Have them begin mining as soon as possible, and at the largest scale possible!" Yang Zhengshan ordered.

Using Yellow Earth Stone to drive the Yellow Earth Thick Spirit Array could strengthen the grand array's defensive power. Although it was not as cost-effective as Spirit Stones, in terms of results, Yellow Earth Stone had an advantage over Spirit Stones.

The Yellow Earth Mine was only a First-grade Ore Vein, so it was relatively easy to mine. At worst, they could simply mine it by force without considering the consequences.

In the short term, there would be no problem supplying the Forward Outpost Base with enough Yellow Earth Stone.

"Master, there's another problem!" Ning Yun suddenly interrupted.

"What problem?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"Master, did you overlook the Flying Boats and Puppets? Flying Boats also consume Spirit Stones, and those Puppets consume Spirit Stones too!" Ning Yun said.

Yang Zhengshan's expression stiffened. All right, he had truly overlooked that.

Whether Flying Boats or Puppets, they were all voracious money-eaters.

Once they all began operating, their consumption of Spirit Stones might even exceed that of the Yellow Earth Thick Spirit Array.

After all, the Spirit Source Land had several hundred Flying Boats and several thousand Puppets.

During the battle, the Flying Boats probably would not all need to be deployed, but those Puppets were also part of the Forward Outpost Base's city defenses. They would inevitably operate at full power when the time came.

Previously, when Yang Zongyuan had said that more than three thousand Puppets could Go to Battle at any time, he meant that he could mobilize three thousand Puppet Masters to control three thousand Puppets in battle. He had not meant that the Spirit Source Land only had three thousand Puppets.

In fact, the Spirit Source Land had stored a full twelve thousand Second-tier Puppets. Due to the limited number of Puppet Masters, only three thousand could be sent into battle.

Of course, that referred to going to battle. If it was a matter of defense, one Puppet Master could control several Puppets.

All twelve thousand Puppets could be used for the Forward Outpost Base's city defenses, and the amount of Spirit Stones those Puppets consumed would also be considerable.

That raised the question: could they do without the Puppets?

Of course they could. The Spirit Source Land still had many Immortal Cultivators, Martial Artists, and Demonic Beasts.

But Immortal Cultivators, Martial Artists, and Demonic Beasts also needed to consume resources in battle. They would not only consume Spirit Stones, but also Pills and Fodder.

Perhaps their consumption was somewhat lower than that of the Puppets, but they would become tired and need to rest.

Puppets did not need to cultivate. As long as the Puppet Masters could hold out, the Puppets could fight continuously, and the Puppet Masters could even rotate shifts.

Most importantly, Puppet Masters were merely Qi Refining Stage Cultivators. By controlling Puppets in a defensive battle with Qi Refining Stage cultivation, they could display the Combat Power of several Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

It was just that the Puppets consumed somewhat too many Spirit Stones!

Yang Zhengshan helplessly shook his head. "Have Ziwei Tower search for a few more low-grade Spirit Stone Veins and begin mining them."

This was also a choice made out of necessity.

This war had to be fought. If they did not fight, White Jade Capital would be unable to establish a foothold in the Wanhua Mountain Range, and it would be unable to restrain the expansion of the Wuchang Ghost Sect.

The Wuchang Ghost Sect wanted the Wanhua Mountain Range, and Yang Zhengshan wanted it too—not only because of the Struggle for Authority, but also to give White Jade Capital a territory of its own outside.

The situation in the Central Region was far too complicated, and Yang Zhengshan did not want to get involved. Thus, he could only settle for the next best thing: taking advantage of the destruction of the Wanhua Demon Court to drive back the Wuchang Ghost Sect and occupy the Wanhua Mountain Range.

He did not necessarily need to occupy all of the Wanhua Mountain Range. He only needed the fertile central region of the Wanhua Mountain Range.

The Bugle of war was about to sound, and the entire Spirit Source Land Became Busy.

The Spirit Source Land, which had developed steadily for a hundred years, was now like a machine wound tight, beginning to operate at extreme speed. Every matter was being handled with astonishing efficiency.

In the top-floor study of Ziwei Tower.

Yang Chengmou buried his head in a stack of documents. Yang Mingzhen knocked on the door and entered the study.

"Tower Lord, these are the files on several Yellow Earth Mines and Spirit Stone Veins." Yang Mingzhen placed a large stack of files on the desk.

Yang Chengmou raised his head and looked at Yang Mingzhen, smiling. "Uncle Mingzhen, your Yaoguang Tower can decide this matter on its own!"

The decision to mine the Yellow Earth Mines and Spirit Stone Veins had been made by Yang Zhengshan, but Yaoguang Tower still needed to propose the specific Mineral Veins to be mined. That was because Yaoguang Tower had the Mineral Deposit Hall, which was specifically responsible for surveying Mineral Veins, mining Mineral Veins, and storing various ores.

Previously, Yang Mingcheng had been in charge of Yaoguang Tower. After Yang Mingcheng entered seclusion, Yang Mingzhen took charge of Yaoguang Tower.

Yang Mingzhen pointed at the files on the desk and said, "These are the Mineral Veins selected by our Yaoguang Tower. Take a look. If there are no problems, we'll arrange for people to start mining!"

The mining of Mineral Veins could not be decided on a whim, because it involved the overall planning of the Spirit Source Land.

Under normal circumstances, the regions where Mineral Veins were located were places with dense spiritual energy. They were all excellent Spirit Fields and Blessed Lands. Now, however, many Spirit Fields in the Spirit Source Land had already been planned out: some had settlements established, some had been converted into Spirit Field Medicinal Gardens, and some had been allocated to the Demon Race as places for recuperation.

Although many areas remained vacant, Ziwei Tower also had plans for the future.

To avoid conflicts with previous plans, Yang Mingzhen had brought the files to Yang Chengmou for review.

Yang Chengmou opened the files and examined them one by one. Yaoguang Tower had prepared quite a few Mineral Veins. After deliberating, Yang Chengmou selected one Yellow Earth Mine and two Spirit Stone Veins as the targets for this round of mining.

"These three will do. There's only one Spirit Fruit Orchard here, so even if it's damaged, the impact won't be significant. Besides, it's relatively close to Changming City, making it easy to mobilize people!"

"Good! I'll make the arrangements immediately!"

Yang Mingzhen acknowledged him, picked up the files, and was about to leave. Yang Chengmou moved to rise and see him off, but Yang Mingzhen hurriedly stopped him. "You're busy. Just stay here."

"Then I won't see you off!" Yang Chengmou rose and watched him leave before lowering his head and burying himself once more in the documents.

The Forward Outpost Base was still under construction, and battle was about to arrive. The Immortal Hall and Jade Capital Guard were wholly responsible for troop deployment, but the allocation of all kinds of supplies required the Twelve Towers to handle.

Spirit Stones and ores, Weapons and Armor Magic Tools, Pills and Fodder, and so on—once the battle began, the Twelve Towers had to guarantee an adequate supply of materials.

Do not think that logistics were unimportant in battles between Immortal Cultivators. On the contrary, logistics were even more important in wars between Immortal Cultivators.

One Condensing Yuan Pill could allow a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to fight for an additional hour, while one Healing Pill could save the life of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

A Dharma Artifact or Magic Treasure could determine victory or defeat at a critical moment, while a Talisman could save a cultivator a great deal of Magic Power.

Cultivators also needed to eat. Under ordinary circumstances, Foundation Establishment Cultivators could live on wind and dew, using the absorption of spiritual energy to replace the energy provided by food. But once they became caught in sustained combat, Foundation Establishment Cultivators also needed various foods to replenish the Magic Power they consumed.

All kinds of high-grade Spirit Rice were the best food for them, allowing them to fight for longer.

Those were only the supplies needed by cultivators. There were also Martial Artists, especially the soldiers of the Jade Capital Guard. They were all Golden Body Realm Martial Artists, but their primary method of attack was with bows and arrows.

Since they used bows and arrows, they naturally had to prepare a large quantity of Arrows.

Not tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, but at least one million Arrows.

The longer the battle lasted, the more Arrows they would consume.

"Desheng! This is the order for the Weapon Forging Workshop. Have them immediately forge all kinds of Arrows!"

"Desheng, our reserve of healing Pills is insufficient. Go to the Pill Hall immediately and tell them to refine a batch of second-tier healing Pills as soon as possible!"

"Desheng, have someone take stock of the armor in the warehouse and see how much we have in reserve!"

"Desheng, the Divine General Department needs a large quantity of alcohol! Yes, alcohol!"

Yang Chengmou looked at the document in his hand and was slightly stunned.

The Divine General Department had been established only in Recent Years. It was subordinate to the Immortal Official Department of the Immortal Palace and was specifically responsible for the transformation, cultivation, and training of Divine Generals. It was led by Xuan Zhen and assisted by several exceptionally capable Divine Generals.

At a time like this, the Divine General Department actually wanted alcohol. Yang Chengmou found it both amusing and exasperating.

"Go ask that old bastard An Nianjiu what he wants so much alcohol for."

"Yes!" The young Desheng Like a Whiff of Smoke ran out of the study, but he returned very soon.

Ding Desheng was Ding Qiu's great-grandson. He was only forty years old this year and had just reached the Innate Realm when he was assigned to run errands for Yang Chengmou.

However, he was not the only errand-runner beside Yang Chengmou. He was merely responsible for waiting for orders in the study. There was another large study next door, where many clerks worked.

These clerks included Immortal Cultivators and Martial Artists, and even two Foundation Establishment Cultivators who specifically waited there for assignments.

In the Spirit Source Land, Martial Artists could deliver orders, but anything involving the Immortal Palace required Foundation Establishment Cultivators to deliver the orders and coordinate matters.

Ding Desheng was actually just a messenger. His only responsibility was to pass Yang Chengmou's orders on to the clerks next door.

As the actual controller of the Spirit Source Land, Yang Chengmou had many Personal Attendants and clerks around him. Of course, this also represented how many matters Yang Chengmou was responsible for.

If Red Cloud and Green Mist were the Head Stewards of the Immortal Palace, then Yang Chengmou was the Head Steward of the Spirit Source Land.