Morning sunlight spilled over the island. Spirit grain in the Spirit Fields swayed in the breeze, sending up wave upon wave of emerald green. In the Medicine Garden, more than a dozen disciples carefully tended the various spirit herbs. Some watered them, some pulled weeds, and others set up small Spirit Gathering Arrays to hasten their growth.
Clanging hammer blows rang out from the Artifact Refining Workshop, while wisps of blue smoke drifted from the Alchemy Room's chimney. All of Divine Wind Island brimmed with prosperity.
Over the past three months, Divine Wind Island had entered a period of rapid development.
Its alliances with Jade Wave Island and Black Wind Island had been fully put into practice. Under their agreement, Divine Wind Island supplied the two islands with fixed monthly quotas of pills and spirit herbs in exchange for iron ore and marine medicinal herbs. Both islands had also sent disciples to Divine Wind Island to study alchemy, artifact refining, and array techniques, while Divine Wind Island dispatched experienced stewards to guide the cultivation of Spirit Fields and the construction of Defensive Arrays on the two islands.
Trade routes between the three parties had been established, with scheduled ships traveling among the islands each month to transport goods and people. Divine Wind Island's harbor was several times busier than it had been three months ago. Ships arrived and departed every day, all manner of goods filled the docks, and people bustled to and fro in a busy yet orderly flow.
The growing population brought new challenges, but also new opportunities. Divine Wind Island's total population had surpassed four thousand, including twenty-eight Golden Core Stage cultivators and more than six hundred Foundation Establishment Stage disciples. Infrastructure construction kept pace-new residential areas, warehouses, and cultivation rooms were completed one after another, steadily