Sect Construction
Yuan Jin did not spend too long before he led three talents he had hired at great expense from Xuanwei City to purchase all the supplies needed by the Chongming Sect, and then returned to the Chongming Sect from Xuanwei City with his family.
The arrival of these three talents—the geomancer, the formation master, and the farming master—ushered in a new era for the Chongming Sect.
First, there was the geomancer. Kang Dabao asked him to survey the terrain of the Chongming Sect and assess the possibility of cultivating a First-Tier Spirit Vein.
If one were to cultivate a First-Tier Spirit Vein from scratch, even the smallest kind, it would take a First-Tier Superior-Grade geomancer at least three years and three thousand Spirit Stone to complete.
However, the Little Ring Mountain where Chongming Sect is located is different. Before the Mountain Barbarians uprising more than a hundred years ago, there was actually a First-Tier Spirit Vein here.
However, after that epic battle, most of the Spirit Vein in Cloud Horn Prefecture were severed, and this Spirit Vein was no exception. It has been broken and unrecognizable for more than a hundred years, and can only be barely called a near-spiritual land. It cannot fully meet the cultivation needs of Qi Refinement cultivators.
This is actually very detrimental to the disciples' cultivation, and Kang Dabao had long wanted to solve this problem.
In theory, if such Spirit Vein can still be repaired, then the difficulty and cost for Spirit Vein to repair them according to the terrain will be greatly reduced.
The geomancer surnamed Sun, whom Yuan Jin had invited, was led by Kang Dabao for three days before reaching a conclusion.
"Sect Leader Kang, in my humble opinion, the damage to your sect's stronghold is not too severe. The terrain's connections are not difficult to trace, and it is considered Higher Vehicle among the First-Tier Spirit Vein before the chaos. If you grant me two years to work, with just two thousand Spirit Stone, I have a 60% chance of restoring this Spirit Vein to First-Tier Middle-Grade level. If all goes well, there is even a 30% chance of restoring it to First-Tier Superior-Grade."
The geomancer surnamed Sun stroked his beard and spoke calmly, appearing confident and composed.
Upon hearing this, Kang Dabao pondered for a moment. According to Yuan Jin, this geomancer surnamed Sun had a very good reputation in Xuanwei City, so although his salary was slightly higher than other geomancers of the same rank, he was not worried about making a living. Now that he heard Yuan Jin's confirmation, he was already six or seven parts convinced.
However, this price was far beyond Kang Dabao's expectations. The pile of Spirit Stone that Chongming Sect had earned through life-and-death struggles last time could be easily earned back by Kang Dabao simply through his own abilities.
Even if Kang Dabao felt the price was too high and the geomancer surnamed Sun couldn't complete the deal, the Spirit Stone required to hire someone to conduct the survey would still be considerable—fifty Spirit Stone, and half a fragment of spirit stone would be no small amount.
It seems that no matter what small world you're in, knowledge is always the most valuable thing.
Similarly, in any small world, there is always the concept of bargaining.
Finally, Kang Dabao and the geomancer surnamed Sun agreed on a price: if the geomancer could restore the Spirit Vein to a First-Tier Superior-Grade within two years, Kang Dabao would have to pay 2,500 Spirit Stone.
If it is repaired to First-Tier Middle-Grade, it will cost two thousand Spirit Stone, but the geomancer surnamed Sun will need to bring two earth fires to the Chongming Sect free of charge for alchemy and weapon forging.
If the repair is completed to First-Tier Lower-Grade, only five hundred Spirit Stone will be given, and the earth fire must be used. If the repair is not completed within two years, the geomancer surnamed Sun will not receive a single fragment of spirit material and will also have to compensate Chongming Sect with one thousand Spirit Stone.
The two found a leather contract stamped with the official seal of Xuanwei City, signed the contract, pressed their fingerprints on it, and swore a solemn oath, thus completing the contract.
This is a common contract method used by cultivators in Cloud Horn Prefecture. If one party defaults on the contract and is sued by the aggrieved party in Xuanwei City, there is a real chance that Xuanwei City will issue a warrant for arrest if the evidence is conclusive.
In some ways, for cultivators in Cloud Horn Prefecture, this is far more frightening than being on the wanted list of Evil Cultivator by the Demon Correction Office Division of the Great Wei Immortal Dynasty.
After the matter of the Spirit Vein was settled, Pei Yi also came to report that he had reached an agreement with the farming master, hiring him to cultivate 21 acres of First Tier spirit fields within a year for 860 spirit Spirit Stone.
That person hadn't had such a big deal in a long time, so the price Pei Yi negotiated was much lower than the market price.
At the same time, the farming master also promised that after the spiritual fields were cultivated, he could stay for another three months. During these three months, he could also provide some basic free guidance on planting for the Chongming Sect.
Because Chongming Sect does not yet have a fully formed Spirit Vein, the difficulty and cost of cultivating spiritual fields are much higher. Pei Yi was able to negotiate this price, which was enough to satisfy Kang Dabao. So he praised his junior brother without reservation.
Meanwhile, some disputes arose with the formation master whom Yuan Jin had negotiated with; simply put, the two had different opinions on the issue of "contracting labor and materials."
The reason for hiring a formation master is that Kang Dabao decided to expand the Chongming Sect's base. There was really no other way but to expand it, Chongming Sect was so small that it couldn't even fit the pack animals, and they could only graze on the outer mountain all day long, led by an old donkey.
He has gathered nearly a thousand close relatives from various families in Kang Dabao Chongming City. These able-bodied men, who brought their own provisions, have begun to construct a series of important buildings, including a council hall, a treasure vault, a library, an alchemy room, a weapon-forging room, a training room, Beast Garden, granaries, and dormitories, all according to the construction plans customized by Kang Dabao.
These places are all inseparable from formations.
Therefore, Kang Dabao hoped to hire this array master long-term, ideally to complete the array setup throughout the sect within three years.
Actually, this was a rare and good job for this array master, and he thought it was fair to ask for 1,900 yuan.
However, Yuan Jin felt that he was a master craftsman who had already completed his apprenticeship. Most of the formations that Chongming Sect required him to set up were only First Tier formations. He was fully capable of refining the necessary formation flags, formation plates, and other materials using the sect's reserve of spirit ore. Not to mention, he could also take this opportunity to hone his skills.
Feeling that this was a win-win situation, he used this as an excuse to bargain down to a price of 1,200 Spirit Stone.
As a result, the array masters felt their profits were being harmed and became quite dissatisfied.
Upon hearing this, Kang Dabao naturally supported Yuan Jin's idea unconditionally. The three of them discussed it for a long time and came up with a compromise.
The price of 1,200 yuan remains unchanged, with Yuan Jin responsible for coordinating the material refining with the array master, and the contract period shortened from three years to two and a half years.
However, if the project is negatively affected by Yuan Jin's slow pace in refining the array plates, the Chongming Sect will be responsible, and the array masters will only need to collect the Spirit Stone and leave when the deadline arrives.
After painstakingly negotiating these three major deals, Kang Dabao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The construction of the Chongming Sect has finally gotten on the right track, albeit with some stumbles along the way. Sect Leader Kang Da feels that he has taken another big step closer to becoming the ancestor of the sect's revival.
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