Chapter 400: Chapter 385: A 1,000-Year Plan! [2nd Update]
Two years later, a massive azure tower ship suddenly flew over an inconspicuous sandy area in the vast desert sea.
After the tower ship reached its destination, it descended from the sky, unloading over a hundred cultivators. A young man wearing a pale gold robe then waved his hand, shrinking and storing the ship into a storage ring.
The young man was none other than Zhouyang. Those cultivators he transported here with the Void Traveling Tower Ship were particularly recruited by the Zhou Family for the creation of a new oasis, specializing in water and wood cultivation techniques.
"Supreme Elder, this is the place. Dig down three hundred zhang here and underground water will emerge; there should be a subterranean dark river further below."
Beside Zhouyang was Huang Yi, who had come with him. As Zhouyang put away his magical artifact, Huang Yi quickly pointed to the sand below and introduced the location’s particulars.
Five years ago, before embarking on the task Zhouyang assigned him, Huang Yi set out to explore Rhino Horn Continent, planting "Elemental Magnetism Attraction Array Plates" along the way at water source sites.
After five years of arduous efforts, he had successfully drawn a detailed map as Zhouyang entrusted him and returned to the Red Tiger Mountain Oasis with his achievements.
Zhouyang, true to his word, immediately rewarded him with a Foundation Establishment Pill upon his return. He then requisitioned him as a guide to lead the Zhou Family’s oasis construction team deep into the desert sea to build an oasis.
The place they were at now was the first water source location marked by Huang Yi leading to Rhino Horn Continent.
This site was more than five thousand miles from the nearest oasis in the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm. Surrounded by endless yellow sands, there wasn’t a trace of green, truly a forbidden life zone.
"Guangxiang, you’ve heard Fellow Daoist Huang’s words. You know the importance of constructing the oasis. Do it well and swiftly. Whatever resources you need, feel free to report to the clan."
Zhouyang retrieved his gaze from the sandy area Huang Yi pointed to and solemnly instructed Zhou Guangxiang at his side.
Zhou Guangxiang was the only Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Zhou Family practicing wood element cultivation techniques. Years ago, Zhouyang specifically assigned her to lead the Zhou Family’s recruited water and wood cultivators to use Haoyang Mountain’s spirit vein as a trial point, trying to summarize methods for rapidly constructing new oases.
Now, after several years and various experiments, this team had developed an effective method.
Upon hearing Zhouyang’s instructions, Zhou Guangxiang’s fair and tender face immediately turned serious, and she promptly responded, "Please rest assured, Ninth Uncle. I will construct this new oasis as quickly as possible!"
"Very well, first construct the spirit vein!"
Zhouyang nodded slightly and instructed the two Zhou Family array masters who accompanied him.
Since the emergence of Zhou Guangxiang as a Tier Three Array Master, nurturing array masters in the Zhou Family had become significantly easier. Coupled with an increasing population and financial income over the years, cultivating several array masters was no longer a difficult task.
Currently, besides Zhou Guangxiang, who had successfully advanced to a Tier Three Middle-grade Array Master, the Zhou Family had three Tier Two Array Masters and four Tier One Array Masters.
For this oasis creation, Zhouyang specifically assigned two Tier Two Array Masters to assist in setting up a Spirit Gathering Array to construct an artificial spirit vein.
From the map provided by Huang Yi, there were a total of twenty-five water source nodes, implying that the Zhou Family needed to build twenty-five artificial oases and spirit veins at each node.
According to Zhouyang’s plan, each artificial oasis would span at least three million mu and must contain at least one Tier Two High-Grade Artificial Spirit Vein.
Only with a large enough oasis can it withstand the erosion of sandstorms, and only with spirit veins can arrays be set up to assign cultivators for defense.
Zhouyang named this plan the "New Home Plan," as its name suggests, he intended to open up a new home for the Zhou Family and cultivators of the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm through this plan.
According to his plan, the Zhou Family would invest millions of spirit stones into this project, establishing one oasis every three years on the map to construct an artificial "Path of Life" leading to Rhino Horn Continent.
Rhino Horn Continent was far from the current areas of activity for cultivators. Without creating such an oasis passage leading there, even if the Zhou Family occupied Rhino Horn Continent, it would remain an isolated territory, impossible to fully occupy and develop.
But through Zhouyang’s plan, linking Rhino Horn Continent with the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm with twenty-five artificial oases, even ordinary Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators could transfer continually to venture to Rhino Horn Continent.
Indeed, adventuring.
Initially, Zhouyang and Cao Wenjin agreed that aside from the oases transferred from the Yellow Sand Sect to the Zhou Family, the Zhou Family would not occupy any other oasis owned by the Yellow Sand Sect, nor any of those belonging to vassal clans.
This essentially locked the Zhou Family’s future development and barred them from becoming a colossal entity like the Yellow Sand Sect.
However, this agreement wasn’t without loopholes to exploit.
The loophole is actually quite obvious, which is the oases and the vast desert not under the control of the Yellow Sand Sect. As long as the Zhou Family can develop and occupy them, they can develop freely.
Unfortunately, Rhino Horn Continent is also included.
Zhouyang’s plan is for the Zhou Family to invest money and effort to connect Rhino Horn Continent with the current Cultivation Realm, and then, all territories along this route would nominally belong to the Zhou Family.
Any cultivator who discovers a new oasis in this region and wishes to occupy it to establish a new clan must submit to the Zhou Family and become its vassal; otherwise, the Zhou Family has the right to attack them, and no one shall interfere.
Once half of these planned artificial oases are completed, Zhouyang will sell the map to Rhino Horn Continent to the loose cultivators, encouraging them to venture into this area to help explore the situation within.
At the same time, he will promise these loose cultivators that if they discover a new oasis within this area, the Zhou Family would support them in establishing a clan and provide basic protection. If they do not wish to establish a clan, they can also sell the oasis to the Zhou Family.
Moreover, if they discover an ore vein, selling the ore vein information to the Zhou Family would earn them a substantial reward.
Zhouyang believes that, attracted by these favorable conditions, countless loose cultivators and clan cultivators who are adventurous or struggling would come to this area to explore a new world.
These cultivators are bound to stay for resupply on the various oases created by the Zhou Family, and the treasures they gain from their adventures will naturally be sold to the Zhou Family’s shops.
As time goes on, the spiritual stones invested by the Zhou Family in creating new oases will be recouped along with the profits from these loose cultivators.
"Jiang Yuyan’s lifespan is approximately thirty years left; I have arranged to go to Rhino Horn Continent with her twenty-seven years later to expel the Tier Five Demon Beast there. Once successfully expelled, we can double our efforts to expedite the creation of oases, shortening the construction period by at least one-third!"
Above the sea of sand, Zhouyang looked at the low-tier cultivators below who were already busy using magic to excavate and guide underground water. He thought about his plan, a slight look of anticipation appearing on his face.
If this "New Homeland Plan" succeeds, the Zhou Family’s millennia of legacy could be firmly established, and the spirit veins he needs for his Core Formation will be sorted out in one go.
Creating a Tier Two High-Grade Spiritual Vein from nothing requires a consumption of twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones even with the assistance of a Spirit Gathering Array.
Once the two Array Masters from the Zhou Family set up the Spirit Gathering Array, Zhouyang threw the spirit stones into the array.
Over the next year, the array will slowly extract the spiritual power from the spirit stones and integrate it into the earth vein, thereby creating a spirit gathering effect that attracts the spiritual qi from several dozen miles around to gather here, marking the completion of the spirit vein.
Simultaneously, those cultivators of water element techniques, with the help of magic and arrays, would guide the deep underground clean water to the surface.
Then these cultivators, using this clean water as an introduction, would take turns using magic to transform the water into rain clouds, evenly sprinkling it over an area of several miles to first modify the sandy soil.
Once the sandy soil turns into clay soil, cultivators of wood element techniques will scatter grass seeds on the land and use wood element acceleration techniques to grow the seeds. Eventually, the withered accelerated seeds are used as fertilizer and buried underground to enrich the soil.
With over a hundred cultivators taking turns working, continuously, a medium-sized oasis could be created within three years, which is not too difficult.
Of course, what seems not difficult is backed by the massive consumption of spirit stone resources to hire these cultivators by the Zhou Family.
According to the contract signed between the Zhou Family and these people, any Fifth-Layer Qi Cultivation water element cultivator would earn one hundred low-grade spirit stones annually from the Zhou Family once work formally begins, with the spiritual stones to replenish their magical power also provided by the Zhou Family, including all food and drink.
Calculating this way, even excluding the three or four dozen Zhou Family disciples, foreign relatives, and guest elders among these cultivators, the annual employment cost paid by the Zhou Family to these cultivators amounts to over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones!
If it wasn’t that some cultivators agreed to let the Zhou Family offset with spirit talismans, elixirs, and magical artifacts, maintaining such a financial-consuming infrastructure team would indeed be difficult for the Zhou Family.
However, Zhouyang believes all these investments are worthwhile.
Infrastructure investments always have similar dynamics, huge upfront costs, and later on, you collect money.
Once twenty-five artificial oases are completed, all investments made by the Zhou Family will be recovered tenfold or a hundredfold in the following centuries.
After the official start of oasis construction, Zhouyang returned to Red Tiger Mountain; he had already made a plan, and the later part would be enacted by the Zhou Family cultivators according to his plan.
On-site supervision is Zhou Guangxiang, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Zhou Family, so there’s no fear of cultivators pocketing money and slacking off, nor fear of demon beasts and villains coming to attack.
One must know that Zhou Guangxiang’s cultivation is already at the Fifth-Layer Foundation Establishment, with a Tier Three Lower Grade Demon Beast Flying Divine Leopard in the spirit beast bag she carries, a Tier Three Middle-Grade Puppet Beast in her storage bag, and even a Tier Four Beast Soul Talisman.
With these cards in hand, unless a Purple Mansion Stage cultivator or Tier Four Demon Beast attacks, no casual three to five Foundation Establishment cultivators would be her match.