Dusk Clouds and Lamplight

After chatting with Zilin and Yang Xiu for a few minutes, Su Yao returned to the Embracing Rosy Clouds Hall and waited for Zhang Ziyan to arrive.

The sun was setting in the west; it was already dusk.

Su Yao estimated that Zhang Ziyan should be arriving soon, so he sent a servant to summon Li Siyi, Liu Yunhe, Han Ziyi, and Zhu Xuejie together.

Zhu Xuejie was the first to arrive.

She was still dressed in her crimson palace attire, her steps light and quick. After entering the hall, she bowed to Su Yao, then chose the seat at the head of the left side and sat down. She glanced around the hall and, seeing that Su Yao was alone, waited quietly without asking any questions.

A moment later, Liu Yunhe and Han Ziyi entered side by side.

Liu Yunhe walked ahead, and upon entering the hall, he bowed to Su Yao with a slightly inquiring expression. Han Ziyi remained silent, only bowing slightly to Su Yao before sitting down beside Zhu Xuejie. Zhu Xuejie glanced at him, their eyes met briefly, and they nodded slightly as a greeting.

Liu Yunhe was seated on the upper right side.

The last to enter was Li Siyi. Her steps were a little slower than usual, and she looked slightly tired. After entering the hall, she first bowed to Su Yao, then nodded to the others, before landing next to Liu Yunhe.

Su Yao saw this and knew that she had been working very hard teaching her disciples lately, and he already had a plan in mind.

Seeing that everyone had arrived in an orderly fashion, and noticing Su Yao's solemn expression, Liu Yunhe tentatively asked:

"Did Daozi summon us here today because he has important matters to instruct us on?"

Su Yao put down his teacup and was about to speak when he sensed a crimson light flashing across the array at the mountain gate. It was Little Red returning.

He smiled slightly and said:

"Wait a moment, Ziyan arrived."

Then, using the Prism, they notified Little Orange and Xiao Huang to come together.

A moment later, Little Red and Zhang Ziyan entered the hall one after the other, followed closely by Little Orange and Xiao Huang.

Seeing that everyone had gathered, the three birds obediently landed to the side.

Only then did Zhang Ziyan speak:

"Master Dao, what can I do for you?"

Upon hearing this, Su Yao waved his hand, indicating that they should sit down.

Zhang Ziyan was stunned for a moment upon seeing this before sitting down next to Li Siyi.

Seeing this, Su Yao understood the situation but ignored it. Instead, he looked around the hall and slowly said:

"I've called you here today because there are a few things I need to tell you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Ziyan was about to speak when Su Yao Su Yao interrupted him, continuing:

"Ziyan, first assess whether the current output of Golden Ao and Baisha Mountains is sufficient to support everyone's daily needs?"

"Let's start with Golden Ao Mountain." Zhang Ziyan gathered his thoughts and began to report in detail, "There used to be one medium-sized Fu Water cinnabar mine and two small Subterranean Water Pill mines on the mountain. The medium-sized mine was equivalent to the output of four small mines. However, for some reason, all three mines were damaged and are currently under maintenance. It is estimated that it will take another three to five years before production can resume. Once restored, without damaging the mines themselves, the three mines on Golden Ao Mountain alone will produce no less than 1,500 pieces of cinnabar annually."

He paused, then continued, "Besides that, there are about thirty acres of spiritual land on the mountain. The damage wasn't severe, and we can sow seeds next spring. However, spirit medicine take years to grow, so we won't see a harvest for the first few years. It's a long way off from immediate needs. One thing worth mentioning is the spiritual spring on the back mountain. The quality isn't high, only suitable for Foundation Establishment spiritual materials, but its advantage lies in its abundant water supply. It's more than enough for everyone on the mountain, providing water for daily use, irrigation, and alchemy. In the Pear Garden, there are also about ten Qi Refinement stage spiritual pear trees and two Foundation Establishment Realm spiritual pear trees. The spiritual pears produced each year are also a source of income, but the amount is only about a hundred cinnabar, which is better than nothing."

"In short, the mines at Golden Ao Mountain are currently unrecovered, the spiritual lands are not producing anything, the spiritual springs are barely sustaining operations, and there's no readily available cinnabar income. Everything is being kept afloat by the fifty boxes of cinnabar that Daozi allocated earlier."

At this point, Zhang Ziyan changed the subject and spoke a few steps faster.

"On the other hand, while the spiritual energy of White Sand Mountain is far inferior to that of Golden Ao Mountain, the Lu Household has been operating there for thousands of years, and the various industries on the mountain have already been largely developed. It's just a pity that the previous great battle caused too much damage, and it is still being gradually repaired."

"Let's talk about the ore veins first. There are four small cinnabar ore veins on White Sand Mountain: three from Blazing Fire and one from Flourishing Wood. They are almost undamaged and can all be mined continuously using methods that do not damage the veins. The four small ore veins produce a total of a thousand pieces of cinnabar annually."

"In addition, there is another Geng Metal Geng Metal vein, whose ore is perfect for crafting low-level Law Artifact; plus another Azure Wave Stone vein, whose stone is fire-resistant and can be used to build Pill Furnace, fire chambers, and weapon-refining rooms, etc., all of which can be used for our own purposes, saving us the expense of purchasing them. If we sell them, we can also add a hundred or so cinnabar each year."

"There are still over two hundred acres of spiritual land on the mountain. Most of the spirit medicine that the Lu Household originally planted there were destroyed, but fortunately the spiritual land itself was intact, and a dozen acres in several caves escaped the disaster. After replanting next year, the spirit medicine can be gradually replenished. There is also a Foundation Establishment Realm spiritual orange tree in the cave, which is also intact because of the cave's protection. It can bear a batch of spiritual oranges every year, which is equivalent to about a hundred cinnabar."

"As for the area down the mountain, there are tens of thousands of acres of spirit fields, dedicated to growing spirit rice. Since we have limited manpower, it would be better to contract them out to Rogue Cultivator cultivators and collect rent. The spirit rice is harvested once a year, and the tens of thousands of acres of spirit fields can reliably bring in about two hundred cinnabars annually. There is also a mulberry grove where we can raise spirit silkworms and produce spirit silk. Although it is not a large source of income, it will still bring in about a hundred cinnabars annually, which is a steady supplement."

After listening, Su Yao nodded slightly and asked, "What is the approximate annual output of all of these? After deducting the expenses for everyone's cultivation, annual salary, array maintenance, miners' wages, cultivation of spiritual land, and other costs, is there still a surplus?"

Zhang Ziyan pulled an account book from his sleeve, flipped through a few pages quickly, and then looked up.

"Golden Ao Mountain currently has no mineral veins producing anything, relying solely on spiritual spring water and spiritual pears for a meager income. Including miscellaneous items from the Pear Garden, the annual income is only a little over a hundred pieces of cinnabar. During the period of mineral vein sealing and maintenance, it also needs to be fed to maintain operations. However, once it starts producing, there won't be any problems."

"Currently, the real pillar of our accounts is White Sand Mountain. The cinnabar mine produces a thousand coins annually, the rent from the spirit fields and miscellaneous silkworm farming are equivalent to about three hundred coins, the spirit oranges are over a hundred coins, and together with the more than a hundred coins sold from the sale of Azure Wave Stone and Geng Metal ore, the total is about sixteen hundred coins. Once the spirit land is re-cultivated next year, the output of spirit medicine will increase year by year, adding about a hundred coins each year from the third year onwards. Once the Golden Ao Mountain mine resumes production, the three mines will produce fifteen hundred coins annually, at which point the two mountain mines alone will bring in two thirteen hundred coins. However, that's three to five years from now; for now, we're only considering the output from White Sand Mountain."

He flipped through the ledger and continued, "The biggest expenses are the maintenance of the Spirit Vein and the operation of the array. The Soul-Losing Radiant Fire Formation runs day and night, and although the protective array on White Sand Mountain is simpler than here, it's still a fixed expense. Together, the two mountains cost about eight hundred coins a year. The seven newly recruited disciples, plus the few of us, and fellow Daoists Zilin and Yang Xiu also require some expenses. Their monthly allowances of pills and Spiritual Qi quotas add up to a thousand coins a year. Miner wages, cultivation of spiritual fields, warehouse transactions, equipment maintenance, and all other miscellaneous expenses add up to at least four hundred coins."

He looked up, meeting Su Yao's gaze, and reported the final figures, "Currently, the annual income is about 1,600 coins. All expenses total 2,200 coins. After deductions, we are temporarily at a loss."

At this point, he changed the subject and added, "This doesn't even include the fifty boxes of cinnabar you previously allocated to the Pear Garden's public treasury. Those brush bases totaled five thousand pieces, and it's no wonder there's been a loss over ten years. Things are still recovering everywhere, and once everything is in production for a few more years, there will be a surplus."

Upon hearing this, Su Yao thought to himself, "These things here don't need to be handed over to the temple. We can hand them over to the temple later if we have any assets from the Purple Mansion Collection. For now, I only hope that this place can be self-sufficient." He then nodded slightly and said:

"That's good. Please keep an eye on how to manage things from now on."

Then he waved for Zhang Ziyan to sit down and continued:

"Given the current uncertain situation, I have discussed with fellow Daoists Zilin and Yang Xiu that the three of us will take turns on guard duty for three months. In the future, if I am in seclusion, I will seek out these two fellow Daoists for any important matters."

Upon hearing this, everyone below nodded.

Seeing this, Su Yao said again:

"How are you all progressing with your Secret Method?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ziyan spoke first:

"I need to cultivate six Secret Method in total, and I have already cultivated two."

Su Yao nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the others:

"You too, just report your numbers."

Liu Yunhe understood, and stood up first, speaking concisely:

"Your subordinates also need to cultivate six paths, of which two have been completed, leaving four remaining."

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Ziyi interjected:

"A total of six paths need to be cultivated; three have been completed, and three remain."

Li Siyi also stood up:

"A total of seven paths need to be completed, four have been finished, and three remain. However, it seems that the remaining two will not be completed in a short time."

Finally, it was Zhu Xuejie's turn. She simply bowed slightly to Su Yao and uttered a few words:

"Two of the six realms have been formed, leaving four."

Su Yao looked at each person's progress, memorized it, and without asking any further questions, simply nodded and said slowly:

"The five of you should also discuss this. Three of you can take turns in seclusion, leaving one for external cultivation and one for internal cultivation. With Little Red, Xiao Huang, and Little Orange assisting you, that should be enough."

Upon hearing this, all five of them stood up:

"Thank you for your consideration, Daozi."

Seeing this, Su Yao gestured for everyone to sit down, then took out five jade bottles and Law Power to hand them to the five people:

"I didn't bring much with me when I came down the mountain. Although these fifth-grade pills are only for the Foundation Establishment Realm, they are still Foundation Establishment Realm, and they are all suitable for your cultivation."

He paused, then smiled and said:

"You should also be glad that I learned alchemy, otherwise I really wouldn't have such a large reserve of pills."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yunhe first opened the jade bottle and immediately said:

"Not to mention the Daoist's rapid cultivation and profound Swordsmanship, he can even refine such high-quality pills in his Pill Furnace."

Su Yao laughed and scolded upon hearing this:

"You sly fox."

He paused and then said:

"The five of you can go down and discuss yourselves how to take turns in seclusion for cultivation."

The five men responded, rose, bowed, and filed out of the hall.

Silence returned to the hall.

Su Yao got up and went outside, gazing at the Pear Garden lights gradually lighting up in the mountains, and muttered to himself:

"The mountain colors are even with the evening clouds, and the lamp wicks are lit one after another."

They sit idly facing each other at the chessboard, while the subtle fragrance of medicine wafts from the cauldron.

The gentlemen who discuss the Way are here; the peach trees are planted by our own hands.

The work of Proclaiming Earth will be left for future generations.