How to Begin When Everything Lies in Ruins

"All right, the contract has been signed. This is the first batch of resources sent in support. More will continue to be delivered afterward."

Inside the secret chamber, Ye Xiu clapped his hands and blew the blood dry from the contract before him. What he held was indeed only a single sheet of paper, yet along its edges, mountain-like heaps of detailed clauses seemed to leap forth, nearly covering the entire table.

True Person Huai Jin sat opposite him, still somewhat unable to understand how matters had developed to this point.

"Isn't this just borrowing spirit stone resources? Can't you trust my reputation? Why make me sign all this?"

He toyed with the little mountain of spirit stones piled high before him. Every single spirit stone within had been painstakingly selected and specially cut. Their green-jade surfaces bore Heyang City's star-filled emblem, while every impurity inside had been thoroughly removed. Though they were merely low-grade spirit stones by classification, using them did not feel unpleasant in the least.

This could be considered one of Heyang City's local specialties.

Under normal circumstances, the spirit stones used by cultivators came from raw ore excavated from spirit stone veins, then carefully sorted and stripped of impurities.

Because customs varied from region to region, the amount commonly referred to as "one piece" could differ greatly.

In places with many cultivators, the spirit stones in circulation were cut into neat, proper shapes that pleased the eye.

In some more chaotic regions, spirit stones were snatched up the moment they were dug from underground veins.

Not only were spirit stones in such cases poor in quality, they were also prone to cracks, missing portions, and even excessive impurity contamination.

In past spirit stone transactions, such matters had mostly relied on cultivators from both sides using their