In the end, the ritual assembly never took place.
Li Ling was simply too busy-so busy that he could not even supply the incense needed for the assembly. Other things, such as bonfires of fragrant wood, served no purpose, and he could not even be bothered to set them out to trick the Merchant Association into reimbursing the expense.
Instead, he drew on his experience at the Blood Inkstone Palace, using the Foundation Establishment cultivators under him and various magical artifacts and implements to construct defensive lines, supplemented by medicines.
Whatever the Blood Inkstone Palace had been able to resolve back then, the North Sea Branch Headquarters could naturally resolve now. It was only a matter of cost.
However, the calamity Shi Jizi had unleashed far exceeded the incident in Fuyou City. It involved longevity and breakthroughs to higher realms, and indeed held extraordinary significance.
The parties in the know joined forces to seal off the area, then agreed to contract the task to Li Ling, putting their resources to the best possible use.
Several days later, at the Incense Accumulation Sect's harbor, members of the Merchant Association and the sect handed over the goods.
Large quantities of supplies were packed in specially made treasure chests and transported from the ships to warehouses prepared in advance.
Shang Yuxian personally led a group of Merchant Association managers to meet with Mu Qingsi, also serving as a witness.
"Qing Si, these are the treasures collected from the island, mainly supplies the Nine Spirits Sect used to build its sect grounds. Take a look..."
Mu Qingsi took the ledger and looked through it. It listed five hundred thousand cubic units of spirit stone building material, worth over five million in talisman currency;
One hundred and fifty thousand cubic units of floating stone, worth