Putting Down Roots (III)

---- Chongming Sect Hall

Pei Yi was unaware that he was being targeted at at this moment. He was listening wearily to the Sect Leader Kang Da speaking eloquently from the main seat.

"Old Ye, how many families did you manage to recruit from this time?"

Ye Zhengwen replied, "A total of 467 spiritual lands of various grades have been cleared out this time, including one Second-Tier Middle-Grade spiritual land, Wild Fox Mountain, six Second-Tier Lower-Grade spiritual lands, 126 first -First Tier spiritual lands of various grades, and 334 near-spiritual lands."

The Second-Tier Middle-Grade spiritual land, Wild Fox Mountain, is reserved for the main sect. Of the six Second-Tier Lower-Grade spiritual lands, one is occupied by Ingenious Craftsman Fort and the other by Hemu Dao. In addition, the Ye Prefecture Yang Household have been newly recruited to reside in one of them. One of them, as my senior brother said, is reserved for the use of Tanggu Ming Household.

As for the remaining two Second Tier Spirit Vein, the heads of the Hong County He Household, the Chang County Ma Household, Caishi Lu Household have all sought him out, each wanting to spend a large sum of money to acquire one. Junior Brother dared not agree, and it still needs the decision of Senior Brother Headmaster.

Following the sect leader's principle of "better to have none than to have bad ones," 93 out of 126 First Tier spiritual lands have been distributed, leaving 10 First-Tier Superior-Grade spiritual lands, 8 First-Tier Middle-Grade spiritual lands, and 8 First-Tier Lower-Grade spiritual lands. In the coming days, my junior brother will carefully screen the candidate families to ensure that these spiritual lands do not remain vacant for too long.

In addition, there are seven other First Tier spiritual lands that are already producing resources, half of which are mineral veins and half are spiritual treasures, and the quality of all of them is not bad. According to the sect leader, these seven spiritual lands will also be kept for our own use.

My junior brother has already assigned tasks within the Merit Points Hall: recruit one disciple at the Late Qi Refinement or above to serve as the general manager for each spiritual site. Junior Brother Niu Kuang will then oversee the entire operation, and the monthly reports on the earnings will be submitted to the Hundred Arts Hall at Jia-Chou Military Stronghold.

As for the last three hundred or so near-spirit sites, they were all distributed. These spiritual sites were recruited from small households and solitary Rogue Cultivator, most of whom were considered honest and kind.

However, there were indeed a few unruly ones among them, but they all came from families with some skills, and it would be a waste not to hire them. Therefore, my junior brother gave them a good talking-to beforehand, and will pay close attention to their performance in the future. Even if they are unruly, I think they won't make much of a splash."

"Hmm," Sect Leader Kang Da nodded, then asked, "So, how much security deposit did we collect this time?"

Ye Zhengwen took out another Jade Slip, examined it for a while, and then replied, "The total is 165,553 spirit Spirit Stone, one spirit fragment, and 100 gold coins. Seventy percent of the proceeds are paid in cash or obtained through collateral, and thirty percent are loans from various families to the Chongming Small Pavilion."

Many disciples in the hall were so shocked by this number that they gasped in astonishment. Even the most prestigious and long-established sects in the surrounding provinces probably couldn't produce such a figure.

Kang Dabao wasn't surprised by what he heard, but asked again, "Old Ye, could you estimate the rent, labor service, and tax revenue again? How much did you collect?"

After thinking for a moment, Ye Zhengwen said, "The land purchase fee of 12,000 Spirit Stone per year was calculated beforehand. It will be collected within half a century, and there is no room for price increases."

As for other things, if each family can produce and generate income normally on the sacred land, then in the first year or two, they might receive around four or five thousand in rent and taxes; within three to five years, they could receive about double that; and after ten years, they should be able to earn over thirty thousand per year.

Yuan Jin squinted and read aloud, "This is far more than the amount from Ping and Jin counties." However, he also knew that Chongming Sect could not possibly take all of these Spirit Stones.

The high-ranking officials of the state court all sat idly by while Chongming Sect was engaged in fierce battle, but as soon as they saw that there were Spirit Stone to be taken, their eyes were glued to them.

In fact, don't assume that Sect Leader Kang Da can gain much benefit just because he oversees both Ping and Jin counties.

In the past year or two, Zhu Tong has kept a close eye on these familiar territories that have been included in the map of the Great Wei Immortal Dynasty. Every year, Chongming Sect can manage to get one or two thousand Spirit Stone from the profits that have passed through his hands, that would be considered good.

If things really go too far, the State Demon Correction Office might have to come and imprison the person.

"Given Zhu Tong's personality, she'll probably collect at least a 30% tax, right?" Pei Yi felt a pang of heartache just thinking about it.

"Junior Brother Pei seems to think too highly of him," Kang Dabao chuckled, then added, "I'll think of a way to pay the rent, labor service and tax first, and we'll discuss it later."

First, we'll roughly repay the Spirit Stone we borrowed from the treasuries of Ping and Jin counties using the collected guarantee money. Then, we'll divide the remainder into seven parts. We'll keep three parts for Madam Qi, one for Lady Qi, one for my Yue Household, one for Fearless Tower, and one for Old Ye. You draft a plan, and everyone will share it equally."

Ye Zhengwen frowned and said, "Fearless Tower and Madam Qi may not accept it."

"But we cannot refuse to send them off," Sect Leader Kang Da, giving Ye Zhengwen no further chance to argue. He simply summoned Yuan Jin to the hall and asked, "Second, are your Azure Jue Guard ready for training?"

The latter looked somewhat troubled and said, "Senior brother, the sect still doesn't have enough disciples. We can only barely muster less than two hundred men."

"Yes, I understand. Pass down the order that for the next three years, the age limit for eligible children from established Lineage to ascend to immortality at the sect's Immortal Ascension Assembly will be changed from eight to nine years old, and the rule that 'those whose biological parents are both cultivators will not be accepted' will be suspended."

The upper age limit for the remaining participants' rooted talent has been raised from twelve to thirteen. The Heart-Questioning Formation test has also been suspended. Those with Four Spirit Roots and no serious injuries will all be admitted to the sect. However,

Kang Dabao glanced around and found Ye Yaoling. He called her to step forward and instructed her, "These disciples need to be more careful after entering the Nurturing Qilin Hall. Don't let them be indulged in the slightest."

Ye Yaoling didn't know how many years it would be before she had the chance to receive such a personal instruction from Sect Leader Kang Da, so she dared not be negligent and readily agreed.

Pei Yi pondered Kang Dabao's words for a moment, then followed Ye Yaoling and stepped forward to reply, "As a junior brother and elder in charge of transmitting skills, I will also take this matter seriously and not cause any trouble for our sect leader."

Kang Dabao shook his head again, suppressing the hint of heartache in his eyes before saying, "Junior Brother Pei, you flatter me. The younger generation is in the prime of their lives; don't underestimate them. Junior Brother, continue to oversee the overall situation. Don't worry too much about this matter; focusing on preparing for Foundation Establishment is the right thing to do."

After speaking with Pei and Ye for a while, Kang Dabao realized that such actions were like trying to get water from a distant source—it wouldn't solve the immediate problem.

Chongming Sect rose too quickly, and among the nearby Foundation Establishment forces, it already had relatively few disciples. After suffering nearly a hundred casualties in the Cold Crow Mountain Range, its resources were even more stretched thin.

Then, Sect Leader Kang Da declared again, "Regarding the Jia-Chou Military Stronghold, one hundred Azure Jue Guard will form the core, and each member of the alliance shall gather another battalion (five hundred). Furthermore, it is ordered that the township troops of Ping and Jin counties each select one hundred elite soldiers to rotate and be stationed there annually."

"That would require building a military camp for several hundred soldiers, which would likely cost a considerable amount each year. Add to that the annual salary payments, equipment wear and tear, and the cost of elixirs and magical Law Artifact."

Before Pei Yi could even finish calculating, Ye Zhengwen frowned along with him and said bluntly, "The annual expenses will probably exceed ten thousand. We don't even get that much from the Spirit Stone mine in Tanggu County in a year."

Kang Dabao, however, showed no sign of worry, and simply said in a calm voice:

"No problem. The militia of Ping and Jin counties can use their own public funds. As for the expenses of the other families, they all come from their annual income, which adds up to only about six or seven thousand Spirit Stone. Besides, even if the hundred Azure Jue Guard stay at the sect and don't leave, they still need to spend the sect's public funds, so it's better to just use this public account."

This amount was indeed not very high compared to the previously estimated gains, so the matter of supporting the army was considered closed.

However, regarding the matter of the Spirit Stone mine in Tanggu County that was just mentioned, Ye Zhengwen had something to say, "Senior Brother Sect Leader, after the Tie Household was transferred to Old Ox Mountain in White Sand County, the Spirit Stone mine in Tanggu County was managed by the Yunwei Zheng Household."

At first, our shares were still distributed as usual. Later, last year Zi Maple Valley and the Shan Household were eliminated one after another. Then this autumn, the Zheng Household even kicked out Book and Sword Gate and Hemu Dao.

Currently, only our Chongming Sect and the Zheng Household still have income from the Spirit Stone mines. We still get 20%, but they've even taken over Uncle Black Shoes' share, getting a full 80%.

Kang Dabao didn't seem to care much about the Yunwei Zheng Household taking more than their share of the Spirit Stone mine, and not even a hint of anger appeared in his small eyes.

He said in a deep voice, "Right now, my family is still an eyesore in the eyes of many high-ranking officials in the state court. We must not become enemies with the Yunwei Zheng Household because of this matter. They used to have some connections in the Capital Circuit and could barely maintain some acquaintances with many cultivators."

Jiang Qing spoke with a dark face, "However, the Zheng Household's behavior is far too ugly." It wasn't that he cared much about the Daoist Black Shoes's 15% share of the Spirit Stone mine; he simply disliked anyone else touching the latter's things.

Kang Dabao also shook his head. "I heard that his family used to be subservient in the Capital Circuit. After making a lot of money by taking the lives of their own sons in Cloud Horn Prefecture, they have finally settled down and can hold their heads high. So it's not easy for them to keep their hands off him."

Yuan Jin's tone was also much lower, and he said only, "Ming Hun Minghui also said beforehand that the Zheng Household was exploiting the Ming family severely in Tanggu County, and even on several occasions they disregarded us and wanted to take action against the Ming Household."

"I have also heard about this matter, which is why I have also found a place for the Ming Household in the Cold Crow Mountain Range." Now that a lot of new spiritual land has been opened up, and there are countless things to do, Sect Leader Kang Da really has no time to spare. It is definitely not the time to provoke the Zheng Household, a poor family in the capital.

Kang Dabao pondered for a while, then said:

"Old Ye, go outside and see if you can find a middleman of sufficient standing. According to the contract signed by the state court, the mining period for the Spirit Stone veins in Tanggu County by the various families of the New Cloud Alliance should end in the spring of the 460th year of Qianfeng. That's about six years left. Calculated that, my family can get 36,000 Spirit Stone."

Now that you've found a middleman, Old Ye, please ask him to inquire with the person in charge of the Zheng Household who can make decisions. If my family sells our share of this Spirit Stone mine to the Zheng Household at a low price of 25,000 Spirit Stone, what if they don't want it?"

"Does Senior Brother Sect Leader think that the Zheng Household might try to squeeze our Chongming Sect out as well?" After Pei Yi spoke, the expressions of the cultivators in the hall all turned sour.

Sect Leader Kang Da remained calm and said, "Don't worry about him. We urgently need Spirit Stone to do things. If the Zheng Household is willing to accept them, that would be a good thing."

If the Zheng Household is willing to buy, Third, go and ask Ming Hun again if he's willing to sell the Learning Forest Mountain clan land to the Zheng Household as well. It's only First Tier spiritual land anyway, and even if the Ming Household has lived here for generations and is quite familiar with cultivating it, it shouldn't be too difficult for them to give it up."

Jiang Qing stepped forward to greet them, but Zhou Yixiu shook his head repeatedly upon hearing this. "Our Chongming Sect doesn't usually have such scarce Spirit Stone. It's just that our sect leader set the compensation for those Rogue Cultivator too high."

One hundred Spirit Stone for a life? Most Rogue Cultivator aren't worth that price! That amount could buy two decent Qi Refinement refining furnaces in the market."

The cultivators in the hall were unaware that Zhou Yixiu was so knowledgeable about the prices of furnace cauldrons, and their expressions varied. Several of his fellow disciples, however, were quite pleased with his vigorous spirit despite his advanced age.

After coughing, Kang Dabao didn't discuss with Zhou Yixiu, who came from Rogue Cultivator were worthless or not. Instead, he asked, "Junior Brother Zhou, have the arrangements for going to Wild Fox Mountain to cultivate the spirit fields been made?"

When the conversation turned to matters of serious importance concerning himself, the playful expression on Zhou Yixiu's face suddenly faded:

"It will probably take Rongquan about half a year to switch Cultivation Method. In the meantime, Junior Brother, you can take Mo Ku and the other advanced cultivators to try it out first. It certainly won't delay Senior Brother's cultivation."

Hearing Zhou Yixiu's certainty, Sect Leader Kang Da had no reason to be uneasy. However, he added, "After this matter is finished, Junior Brother Zhou, you should stay at Jia-Chou Military Stronghold to oversee the Hundred Arts Hall and Double Brightness Branch Pavilion. Your Third Senior Brother is far less capable than you in this matter, so please put in more effort."

"Sect Leader, rest assured. It is Yixiu to share the burdens of the sect."

"Junior brother, you've worked hard."

"At the Second Tier spiritual land, Wild Fox Mountain, Second 'll temporarily take another hundred Azure Jue Guard to garrison there. There's no need for major construction for now. Once things are settled here, I'll come find you."

Yuan Jin stepped forward in response. "Junior brother understands."

After nodding, Kang Dabao glanced at the disciples below the hall one by one before speaking seriously, "Don't be fooled by the fact that the more than four hundred households newly recruited for this campaign in Cold Crow Mountain are a large number. They are more than double the number of the original one hundred and ninety-four named Daoist families in Ping and Jin counties."

However, the various spiritual sites in Cold Crow Mountain have been abandoned by the Mountain Barbarians, the immortal Immortal Dynasty, and the major sects for over a thousand years. This is a truly Savage Wilderness and untamed land, where poisonous insects and Demon Beast are sure to appear frequently.

Without the assistance of the Jia-Chou Military Stronghold and the Hundred Arts Hall, these four hundred households would have ended up like their ancestors who abandoned this place, fleeing in disarray.

Creating a spiritual land is not a simple task; those high-level cultivators who previously regarded it as an easy task did not understand this principle.

Even if the spirit rice seeds are planted in the spirit field, weeding, fertilizing, drainage, and pest control are still necessary.

These small families, unfamiliar with the area and having come to the rescue, were like withered rice seeds; how could they possibly grow well on their own once they were planted in the soil?

These skilled farmers only hoped for a bountiful harvest, yet they paid no attention to tending the seeds, so naturally, few grains of rice would grow plump.

These high-ranking cultivators didn't even bother to place a scarecrow on this empty spirit field to scare away the birds. The few remaining grains of rice were inevitably pecked away and devoured.

Kang Dabao's establishment of the Hundred Arts Hall in Jia-Chou Military Stronghold not only provided numerous conveniences for these small families, but also greatly benefited Double Brightness's disciples who were skilled in various arts.

Not only can they gain experience and refined skills in the process, but they can also obtain Merit Points and Spirit Stone to serve as resources for their future spiritual practice. It is truly a win-win situation.

The same applies to the branches of the Chongming Pavilion. Even if these independent Rogue Cultivator are extremely poor, how could they not make money from this exclusive business?

There are three or four hundred households around here that are short of everything. If Chongming Pavilion and Hundred Arts Hall don't find a way to earn the Spirit Stone from them, then others will have to earn them.

Sect Leader Kang Da had put a lot of thought and effort into these families, and the measures he devised were quite lenient and generous. This wasn't because Kang Dabao merciful, but rather because how could one raise the sickle before the crops were ripe?

According to Sect Leader Kang Da's plan, his lenient attitude towards the people of the Cold Crow Mountain Range will not change within the next half of the sixty-year period.

Chongming Pavilion's various delicacies can be sold at a discount, and Hundred Arts Hall's various requests can also be reduced or waived.

Even some rudimentary and disorganized low-to-mid-grade Cultivation Method were being organized and annotated by Ye Zhengwen in his Desolate Tier by Kang Dabao. This was nothing to Lineage with some lineage, but for those independent Rogue Cultivator who truly struggled to Seek Truth techniques, it might be considered a priceless treasure.

Within the Cold Crow Mountain area, Sect Leader Kang Da also intends to have Chongming Pavilion offer such "treasures" at a relatively fair price, enticing those Rogue Cultivators to buy them back even if it means going bankrupt.

Not only that, but Chongming Sect would also select True Disciple every month to give a proper sermon outside Wild Fox Mountain, and every year they would select a Foundation Establishment elder to give a cryptic lecture.

The goal is both to win over the hearts of the people and to gradually expand this blood bank that belongs exclusively to the Chongming Sect!

Their spiritual fields will become increasingly fertile, and their harvests will become increasingly abundant; their Storage Bag will become increasingly full, and they will become increasingly generous and extravagant when making purchases; their households will become increasingly prosperous, and the number of cultivators will increase; their cultivation levels will rise higher, and the military formations trained by the Chongming Sect will become increasingly powerful; as a result, the enemies of the Chongming Sect will become increasingly fearful and increasingly pained.

Ultimately, no matter how kind-hearted Sect Leader Kang Da may appear on the surface, he is still bound by his nature as a traveling merchant and would not be so merciful as to give these poor little people any free benefits.

However, if this plan is realized in the future, it will be a double-edged sword. But Sect Leader Kang Da is also confident that he can wield the sword very steadily, and this sword will only become sharper and sharper, and he will definitely not be able to cut him!

The barely perceptible sound of sandalwood ash falling to the ground brought Kang Dabao back to his senses. When he spoke again, continuing the previous conversation, his tone was noticeably harsher:

"All members of Double Brightness Sect must remember that if these small sects and Rogue Cultivator run away, we alone cannot hold onto these places, and we will not be able to recover the large amount of Spirit Stone that have been lent out."

And I must reiterate here: 'Our Chongming Sect cannot tolerate even one dissolute son of a high-ranking official; never treat other people's lives so lightly!'

"Yes!"

As soon as the grand discussion ended, Sect Leader Kang Da, without taking a break, went straight to Green Lotus Courtyard to find Fei Shuhe.

(By the way, do you all really think the chapters about "taking root" are a bit padded out? Actually, writing them was quite tiring. You can share your thoughts in the comments. If most readers do think they're padded out, I'll finish this section as soon as possible.)