Mo Caihuan wanted to follow Great Jin's example and establish a unified mortal nation to resist the Mulan invasion.
"Typical mortal thinking. You have no idea how terrifying the Mulan are." The young master scoffed, then said, "Well, keep working at it."
With that, he stood, took his beautiful fiancée with him, and turned to leave.
"Young master, please wait."
Wang Chan frowned and turned back. "What else do you have to say?"
"It's like this. Although I'm a disciple of the Covering Moon Sect, I have no spiritual root and am only a nominal disciple. The Covering Moon Sect didn't shelter the Whale-Jiao Society because of me. There was another reason."
"What reason?"
"Young master, young madam, please come with me and see for yourselves," Mo Caihuan said.
Displeasure covered the young master's face. "If you have something to say, say it. Why all this secrecy?"
But Yan Ruyan said, "Husband, spending a little time won't hurt. I'm curious what could make the Covering Moon Sect look at a mortal society in a new light."
"Since my wife wants to see it, lead the way. But let me make the ugly words clear first: if you waste my time, I won't mind taking off your arms and legs and turning you into a human swine," the young master said coldly.
"You won't be disappointed, young master." Mo Caihuan led them into the elevator and descended straight underground.
Yan Ruyan quietly examined the mortals' mechanisms, thinking that the Whale-Jiao Society did indeed have exceptional capabilities. Even cultivators would have needed to put some effort into designing these mechanisms.
Fifty meters underground, they heard the whirring of exhaust fans, which constantly circulated air between the underground facility and the surface to ensure that the space below had enough fresh air.
Inside, three hundred talisman printing machines worked day and night, printing low-rank talismans.
"What is this?" Wang Chan's eyes widened. He could not comprehend what was happening before him.
From time to time, fireballs and lightning appeared at the printers' output slots, indicating that defective products were being destroyed. All the workers therefore had to wear protective clothing.
Each printer had two workers, one responsible for separating the captives and the other for feeding in materials.
Talismans that passed the quality checks were collected, packaged, and sent to distributors.
"This is a printing factory for low-rank talismans. Seventy percent of the talismans produced here are sent to the Covering Moon Sect as rewards for junior disciples. The remaining thirty percent covers the factory's operating expenses," Mo Caihuan explained. When Wang Chan had turned to leave, she had considered concealing the factory's existence, pocketing all the talismans, and giving the Ghost Spirit Sect no share.
In the end, reason prevailed. Paper could not wrap up fire. The risk of deceiving cultivators was too great; it was better to tell the truth.
Yan Ruyan stared incredulously at the mechanisms churning out printed talismans. Her beautiful eyes flickered as she probed with her divine sense. Only after a full cup of tea's worth of time did she say, "Formations."
"Your insight is keen, young madam," Mo Caihuan said flatteringly.
The young master shrugged. In his eyes, sidelines such as pill refining, artifact refining, and formations were all lowly pursuits. He did not need to do them himself; others would handle them. He only needed to use the results, not learn how to make them. His greatest task was to improve his combat strength. Combat strength was everything to a cultivator.
"Did the Whale-Jiao Society develop this?" Yan Ruyan asked.
"Yes, madam. These are merely a few little things the Whale-Jiao Society developed in hopes of gaining cultivators' protection. The Whale-Jiao Society is willing to pay tribute to the Ghost Spirit Sect according to the original split in exchange for its protection. We will also place orders with the Ghost Spirit Sect for blood ink, talisman paper, and other materials. Naturally, the Whale-Jiao Society will also purchase waste from cultivators' failed attempts at pill refining and artifact refining, and try to turn that waste into treasure."
Wang Chan neither agreed nor disagreed. He gave no response and simply looked around.
Mo Caihuan continued, "If the young master and young madam don't mind, the Whale-Jiao Society will set aside an additional portion of its spirit stone earnings each year as a small token of my respect. One thousand spirit stones per person each year. I hope you won't find it too little."
Yan Ruyan could not help looking at the cautious society leader. She thought that Mo Caihuan was giving most of her earnings to cultivators merely to secure their protection. How pitiful, how lamentable.
But this was the Ghost Spirit Sect's business, and she had no place to interfere.
Wang Chan clicked his tongue. "Don't give it to the Ghost Spirit Sect. Just give it to me. Seventy percent of the earnings goes to me, and you keep thirty percent. I'm the Ghost Spirit Sect's young master. I'll protect the Whale-Jiao Society."
If the money went to the Ghost Spirit Sect, the young master would receive only one thousand spirit stones a year. If he took seventy percent of the earnings, he would receive tens of thousands.
At three spirit stones per low-rank talisman, printing thirty thousand a year meant ninety thousand in revenue. Even after costs, the profit would be fifty or sixty thousand. Talismans were fast-moving consumables; using several in a single battle was perfectly normal.
Mo Caihuan thought that the Ghost Spirit Sect had Nascent Soul experts, but what did Wang Chan amount to on his own? If real trouble arose, he would not be able to settle it. Paying protection money to the Ghost Spirit Sect was one thing; paying it to its young master was another.
Giving it to Yan Ruyan would have been a decent option. She was the Yue Kingdom's greatest genius, had reached Foundation Establishment in her teens, and would soon reach Core Formation before eventually entering the Nascent Soul stage. Wang Chan's several Nascent Soul elders, on the other hand, would all die in Devilfall Valley, causing the Wang family to lose power while the Yan Family rose and reversed the situation.
Although the Yan Family had joined the Ghost Spirit Sect, the sect did not trust them. There was also a main branch of the Yan Family within the Ghost Spirit Sect that had always suppressed the Yue Kingdom's Yan Family.
Unfortunately, that reversal would not come until several centuries later.
After thinking it over, Mo Caihuan said helplessly, "The young master is the future master of the Ghost Spirit Sect. What belongs to the Ghost Spirit Sect belongs to you. Whatever arrangements you wish to make, we will follow them. I am willing to give seventy percent of the earnings to the young master and young madam."
"You certainly know how to see reason," Wang Chan said with satisfaction. "Is there anything else you want to show me?"
"No. If there are any new developments, I will report them to you immediately."
"Then let's go back," Wang Chan said.
Yan Ruyan, however, had spotted the problem. It was not the money, but the formations: mortals were researching formations. Still, she said nothing. Her own position was awkward, and it was better to keep a low profile.
"Farewell, young master and young madam." Once they reached the surface, Mo Caihuan watched them leave, thinking that each cultivator was more calculating than the last.
She had switched from the Covering Moon Sect to the Ghost Spirit Sect because she had no choice. The righteous path was simply too ineffectual. The righteous sects of other countries only concerned themselves with blocking the demonic path's invasion; they would not help the Yue Kingdom's righteous sects recover their lost territory.
The righteous path lacked unity, while the demonic path was united in its desire to plunder. Of course, once the plundering was over, the demonic path would split apart too. The righteous and demonic paths would then face off, neither able to do anything to the other.
She took a deep breath. At least she had placated the Ghost Spirit Sect for now. Life in the mortal world should continue as before.
Meanwhile, the mine where Han Li was stationed came under a furious bombardment from the demonic path. Its defensive magic array was close to collapsing, and those stationed there fled through the underground mine tunnels.
Underground, they encountered a spider demon beast, then fought among themselves over a Storage Bag left by a Qi Cultivator. Even with a powerful enemy before them, cultivators still could not unite. When calamity struck, each flew off on their own.
Han Li discovered a broken Teleportation Array in a cavern, killed all his opponents, and escaped back to Yellow Maple Valley.
Li Huayuan sent him to the Capital City to protect the descendants of a close friend, and Han Li went. He made a detour to the Yuanwu Kingdom and sought out Xin Ruoyin, an expert in formations, hoping she could repair the teleportation array.
The demonic path's advantage grew ever greater, while the righteous path retreated steadily.
The Covering Moon Sect had also pulled back. The martial uncle received orders to blow up the entrance to the ancient battlefield and return to the sect. After concealing the entrance, the martial uncle left directly, without time for farewells.
Mo Caihuan was not surprised when she learned of this. Right now, the righteous path was like a clay bodhisattva crossing a river, unable even to save itself. It certainly had no energy to keep excavating the ancient battlefield.
Even several hundred years later, the Covering Moon Sect never returned to the Yue Kingdom or became great again. The Yue Kingdom's foremost sect fled to the territory of the Nine Nations Alliance, where it could only live at others' mercy and forge marriage alliances.
None of this had anything to do with Mo Caihuan. She continued waiting for her opportunity.
Half a year later, a great battle broke out in the imperial palace. Han Li killed the emperor with the aid of a formation. He lost two senior martial brothers in the battle, but finally destroyed the Black Fiend Cult.
The capital's imperial guards offered no resistance, and its prefect surrendered outright. The city gates of the Capital City opened without a single soldier being killed or wounded.
Mo Caihuan finally reached the pinnacle of power in the Yue Kingdom and formally announced its new name-Mo.
She changed the era name to Kaiyuan, making this the first year of Kaiyuan. Following Great Jin's example, she established thirty-six commanderies and one hundred and eight prefectures.
Mo Caihuan left Jia Yuan City and moved to the backward Capital City to continue her work.
She did not enter the imperial palace, however, and instead worked from a detached palace. The imperial palace would become a tourist attraction in the future; for now, it would be preserved.
The detached palace where she worked was called the Mo Palace.
At present, however, she was not in the Mo Palace, but aboard a medical airship high in the sky, where several cultivators' corpses lay neatly arranged in the operating room.