Dawn Empire

Xu Wuyi would sometimes visit the collection camp during breaks from cultivation.

He watched the collectors carefully dig chunks of ore glowing with dark golden light from cracks in the rocks. He watched them unearth strange spiritual plants from the hills, and an indescribable feeling rose in his heart.

All these things had been nurtured by the stronghold.

Resources that were incomparably precious in the outside world were dug up here in pile after pile, as though they cost nothing at all.

Every year, the Federation invested massive resources in its Martial Artists. The great quantity of Life Potions Xu Wuyi had consumed in his early years had come from this very place.

The head of the collection team, He Minzhi, was a very talkative person.

Once, when Xu Wuyi visited the camp, she was appraising an especially large spiritual plant.

The plant stood over a meter tall, with a thick stalk and fleshy leaves. Its entire body was dark red, and several fist-sized fruits hung around its roots.

The fruits had deep purple skins and gave off a faintly sweet fragrance.

"This is a Purple Origin Fruit." Seeing Xu Wuyi approach, He Minzhi took the initiative to introduce it. "It's an extremely precious spiritual fruit. One fruit can raise the cultivation of a Xiantian Martial Master by a small step."

"A plant this large would need at least a century of growth outside before it could bear fruit. But here, nourished by the stronghold's energy, it might take only a few years."

She carefully picked one fruit and placed it into a preservation case.

"This one fruit could sell for over a hundred million Federal Credits on the black market, and even then, there'd be no supply to meet demand. On this collection run alone, we found more than