…
Azure Dragon Hall was the first line of defense against the four hostile forces. Black Dragon Hall was five million li to the left, and Red Dragon Hall was seven million li to the right. They could be considered the second line of defense. White Dragon Hall was in the middle of the three halls and Dragon God Celestial Palace, the last line of defense. Usually, it would provide support to the three halls.
In front of Azure Dragon Hall, there were three scout islands every hundred thousand li. These three islands were arranged in a fan shape, and were quite far from each other. Generally speaking, a scout island would have two Sea of Soul realm experts overseeing it and twenty Astral Reaching experts. They didn't need to do anything other than patrolling twice a day. The rest of the time would be spent either cultivating or searching for nearby resources. After all, the ocean had always been rich in resources, some of which couldn't be found on the continent. Moreover, they would receive a bountiful amount of spirit stones and medicinal pellets every month.
One hundred thousand li had three scout islands, and three hundred thousand li would make nine, all of which were located in the periphery of Blood Battle Ocean.
Blood Battle Ocean was located at the border of Dragon God Celestial Palace and the four hostile forces. From east to west, it was more than twenty-three million li, and from south to north, it was more than four million li.
Blood Battle Ocean could be said to be the place with the richest resources in the Eastern Shallow Ocean. There were thousands of large islands, hundreds of thousands of medium islands, and innumerable small islands, comparable to the stars in the sky.
"Blood Battle Ocean has already discovered more than three thousand spirit veins. One thousand are under our Dragon God Celestial Palace's control, while the other two thousand have been divided among the four hostile forces." Xing Meilian led Ye Chen as they flew around the periphery of Blood Battle Ocean and introduced.
"One thousand!"
Ye Chen inwardly clicked his tongue. He didn't think that all of them were low grade spirit veins. There were surely mid grade spirit veins, and even upper grade ones.
Xing Meilian saw Ye Chen's expression and explained, "One thousand sounds like a lot, but it's actually not much compared to the Dragon God Celestial Palace. My Dragon God Celestial Palace has a population of one million and two hundred thousand. Among them, five hundred thousand are at the Qi Condensation realm, three hundred and fifty thousand are at the Condensing Reality realm, one hundred and fifty thousand are at the Clasping Yuan realm, thirty thousand are at the Astral Reaching realm, and two thousand are at the Sea of Soul realm.
Once a warrior reached the Condensing Reality Realm, he would need soul stones to train. Even if one person needed a hundred low-rank soul stones a year, just the Condensing Reality Realm warriors would need thirty-five million low-rank soul stones. Adding the Clasping Yuan Realm warriors, it would need at least three hundred million, maybe even five hundred million.
At the Astral Reaching Realm, one would need mid-grade spirit stones for cultivation, and the consumption would be more than ten million. In fact, mid-grade spirit stones were the most insufficient, because at this level, one would have to pay them a salary, ranging from a hundred per month to a few thousand per month. Adding it all up, it would be more than one or two hundred million.
If they already have so many in one year, then after ten years, the amount of Spirit Stones consumed would be terrifying. Furthermore, it's impossible for a sect to not have a large reserve of Spirit Stones. Generally speaking, it's normal for a sect to have fifty years' worth of Spirit Stones, especially for a fifth-grade sect. "
Ye Chen faintly nodded. He already had a good understanding of Dragon God Celestial Palace. The difference between a fifth-grade sect and a sixth-grade sect was like the difference between Life and Death realm and Sea of Soul realm. Although it seemed like a difference of one grade, it was actually like the difference between heaven and earth. On the other hand, the difference between a sixth-grade sect and a lower-grade sect was like the difference between Sea of Soul realm and Astral Reaching realm.
Take Ye Family for example. Because of Ye Chen, many people had joined Ye Family. At present, Ye Family had five thousand Qi Realm disciples, two thousand Condensing Reality Realm disciples, several hundred Clasping Yuan Realm disciples, and only a few Astral Reaching Realm disciples. It was simply incomparable to a fifth-grade sect, and the amount of Spirit Stones consumed was also incomparable. It was like a drop in the ocean.
Although having a big family business was glorious, its burden was also huge. It was easy for problems to arise, and the biggest problem was the problem of resources.
As one of the top fifth-grade sects, the burden of Dragon God Celestial Palace was needless to say.
Xing Meilian continued, "In the past, among these three thousand spirit veins, my Dragon God Celestial Palace occupied one thousand two hundred. But in the past few years, two hundred veins have been seized by the four hostile forces."
The two passed by many islands on the way. On these islands, one could often see the mining workers of Dragon God Celestial Palace. Dragon God Celestial Palace and the four hostile forces had an agreement that the mining workers on the islands were not to be harmed. They were only mining resources, and it wouldn't affect either side.
In the distance, the two saw a huge island. It was extremely barren, with strange rocks everywhere. The surface of the rocks had a faint metallic luster.
Xing Meilian said, "This island is rich in Black Veined Iron, which can be smelted into Black Veined Iron. It's one of the best metals for forging top-notch weapons, and a thousand jin of Black Veined Iron can be refined into one jin of Black Veined Iron. Black Veined Iron is a kind of material for forging low-grade artifacts. It's extremely precious. My Dragon God Celestial Palace has artifact forgers who forge a large number of artifacts for the palace every year. A portion is left in the palace, and the rest is sold for spirit stones. This is also one of the income of a fifth-grade sect."
"Artifact forgers?"
This was the first time Ye Chen had heard of this title.
Xing Meilian brushed the hair on her forehead and said with a smile, "In ancient times, there were many ways to forge artifacts. But now, most of them have been lost. Only a small portion of fifth-grade sects have them, and my Dragon God Celestial Palace is one of them. Otherwise, how could there be so many artifacts in the continent and the four shallow oceans? You should know that artifacts also have their own durability. Artifacts from too long ago simply can't be passed down."
"You're right."
Ye Chen's knowledge had been broadened.
"Selling artifacts can be said to be one of the biggest sources of income, second only to mining spirit veins. Therefore, the value of some rare metals is not below spirit stones. Some metals that can be used to forge upper grade artifacts are even more valuable than upper grade spirit stones of the same weight."
"Look, this island is rich in scarlet fire iron ores. Scarlet fire iron is even more valuable than black veined iron. The refined scarlet fire iron contains fire attributed energy, which can increase the offensive and fire attack of artifacts. Unfortunately, only ten thousand jin of scarlet fire iron can be refined into one jin of scarlet fire iron."
In the past, Ye Chen only knew that the most important resources were spirit stones, pellets, or herbs. But now, he knew that apart from spirit stones and pellets, rare metals were also precious resources. Perhaps ordinary sects wouldn't be able to use them, but they could be sold to fifth-grade sects. Apart from rare metals, gems were also a kind of resource. Some gems contained powerful energy and could be used as spirit stones, or embedded in artifacts to increase offensive or defensive power. In short, there were all kinds of resources. The higher the grade of a sect, the more resources they required, and the more complex they were.
"Up ahead is the edge of the Blood Battle Ocean's core region. We might run into a large number of hostile forces. It's best not to go too deep."
After traveling for two hundred thousand li, Xing Meilian looked around and said to Ye Chen with a hesitant expression.
"It's alright. You continue to take me around. I don't know much about the Blood Battle Ocean's situation and the resources occupied by Dragon God Celestial Palace. It's necessary to clarify."
As the deputy of Azure Dragon Hall, if he didn't know the resources occupied by Dragon God Celestial Palace, he wouldn't be qualified. As for encountering hostile forces, even if he couldn't win, he could easily escape. Moreover, without a certain number of people, it was hard to say who would kill who.
"This?"
Xing Meilian regretted inwardly. Had she known earlier that Ye Chen was so curious, she wouldn't have volunteered. It should be known that the Blood Battle Ocean was different from other places. Either they didn't run into any enemies, or if they did, it would be in groups of at least dozens.
Moreover, there were only two of them. Once they were surrounded, they wouldn't be able to escape. When the earth-shattering attacks arrived, they would be blasted into pieces in an instant.
"If I say it's alright, then it's alright. Don't worry." He had encountered several grave dangers, such as being chased by the five great experts in the Blood Demon Battlefield, narrowly escaping with his life, and being chased by countless vicious beasts in the Bewilderment Fog Forbidden Zone. In comparison, as long as it wasn't a full-scale war, a small-scale war couldn't be considered dangerous.
"Alright then! Let's agree, if anything goes wrong, we'll immediately retreat. "
Xing Meilian said helplessly.
Ye Chen chuckled, "I value my life more than you do."
"That's true. Otherwise, you wouldn't have lived until now."
Xing Meilian herself could be considered a genius. Geniuses seemed to have a dazzling halo, but the dangers geniuses encountered were not something ordinary people could imagine. Since they were geniuses, they had to think of every possible way to increase their strength. They couldn't just muddle through. Thus, some dangerous ruins couldn't lack the shadows of geniuses.
In short, talent was important, opportunity was important, and tempering was equally important.
"Ahead is the Black Smoke Island, where all kinds of gems are dug up. Among them, the most famous are the Black Smoke Gem, Double Star Gem, and Fish Scale Gem. Because of this island, my Dragon God Celestial Palace and the four great forces have engaged in dozens of battles in the past two years. Each time, many people died. Fortunately, this island is still under our control."
Xing Meilian didn't dare to relax too much. She released her soul power from time to time, scanning the surroundings.
…
Five to six hundred li away, on an island …
A group of experts with black octopus embroidered on their robes were entrenched here. With a rough glance, there were no less than thirty of them, six of them at Sea of Soul realm, and twenty-four at Astral Reaching realm.
"Head attendant!"
Suddenly, a figure flew toward the island. With a few flickers, he appeared at the center of the island. His face was filled with excitement, as if he had some good news.
"What's the matter?"
The fierce-looking man, who was resting, raised his head.
"Head attendant, there are two Sea of Soul realm experts of Dragon God Celestial Palace near the island. One is a beautiful woman, and the other is a young man."
The newcomer promptly said.
"Beautiful woman."
The fierce-looking man grinned, revealing an ugly smile. He was the head attendant of Black King Gate. He had two hobbies: killing, and beauties. Among beauties, the one he liked the most was the charming woman. This kind of woman was the most enjoyable to play with, not to mention a lone Sea of Soul realm expert.
"Did you send a spirit beast to track them?"
The fierce-looking man asked.
"Of course."
The spirit beast of Black King Gate was a black octopus. In fact, the sect leader was a black octopus that had cultivated into a Beast King. Therefore, black octopuses were spirit beasts of Black King Gate. Once a black octopus advanced to Sea of Soul realm, its status would be even higher than a human of the same realm.
"Let's go! It's been a long time since I've killed someone."
The fierce-looking man suddenly stood up, overflowing with killing intent.
"Haha, two Sea of Soul realm experts? Won't it be a piece of cake? We have six on our side." The others were also excited. Sea of Soul realm experts were not cabbages. Killing one would be one less. When they returned to the sect, they would be rewarded handsomely.
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