Being confronted about his debt, Ye Zhen felt slightly embarrassed.
Of course, it wasn’t Mountain God Yi Xun’s fault.
To put it in perspective, Mountain God Yi Xun had given Ye Zhen a credit line of five million High Grade Spiritual Stones, with a term set for two years, which was already a huge help.
Otherwise, Ye Zhen’s cultivation would have had to cease.
And now, with four or five months left, this credit line was about to expire, so Mountain God Yi Xun was merely reminding him.
Five million High Grade Spiritual Stones is no small amount for ninety-nine percent of the people on this earth.
Including Ye Zhen.
Even though Ye Zhen now had two vast territories, it was still the case.
The annual income from Ye Zhen’s islands, fleets, and fiefdoms exceeded five million High Grade Spiritual Stones, but the net income was only about one million High Grade Spiritual Stones.
If Ye Zhen neither ate, drank, nor cultivated, relying solely on his income, it would take five years to pay it back.
“Elder Yi, give me a little more time. Rest assured, I won’t make things difficult for you,” Ye Zhen said confidently.
“In that, old man naturally believes.”
Mountain God Yi Xun looked slightly troubled, “Although I know your character, the current batch of mountain and Earth Vein Essence Core still can’t be delivered to you in advance. After all, my authority is limited.”
“I understand!”
After departing, Ye Zhen returned to his underwater cultivation site and began to ponder deeply.
Five million High Grade Spiritual Stones are not easy to come by.
Of course, these five million High Grade Spiritual Stones were not squandered by Ye Zhen alone in two years.
It took two hundred and fifty years, plus the selling of the enormous materials and Demon Clan slaves plundered from the Golden Moon World, to convert into twenty-one million High Grade Spiritual Stones.
Moreover, over these two hundred and fifty years, Ye Zhen was not the only one cultivating within the Mirage Dragon Pearl.
Among them were two hundred Ascetic Priests cultivating in the Temporal Sequence Space inside Ye Zhen’s Mirage Dragon Pearl, and Senior Sister Liao Feibai’s one hundred Sword Attendants.
Ye Zhen had to continuously supply these people’s cultivation resources.
The three hundred people’s two hundred and fifty-year-long cultivation consumed a vast amount of resources.
This was the fundamental reason Ye Zhen consumed such an enormous amount of Spiritual Stones and was left with a massive debt of five million High Grade Spiritual Stones.
Of course, the gains were also significant.
The two hundred and fifty years of dedication inside the Mirage Dragon Pearl allowed Ye Zhen’s Ascetic Priests and Senior Sister Liao Feibai’s Sword Attendants to finally become useful.
As for the Bloodline Water Demons of the three Great Saints Jinghai, Fug Hai, and Sea-Breaking, they were released back into the North Sea according to the request of the three brothers a year ago.
The reason was simple: they could not afford their cultivation expenses.
Moreover, the years of dedication within the Mirage Dragon Pearl had elevated even the weakest of these Bloodline Water Demons to the Mid Dark Palace Realm, with the stronger ones breaking through to the Realm King Realm, growing to a point where they could support the facade of the Water Mansion.
As for Ye Zhen, he ponders intensely now on how to repay the debt?
Firstly, the income from his territories and fleets isn’t enough even if embezzled, and with the thousand-year conflict ongoing, it can’t be used to pay off the debt.
The current income from territories and fleets, combined with the Harbors of the Marquisate of Haiyuan and the Ancient Teleportation Formation, is primarily spent in two areas.
One is the development of the newly acquired fiefdom of Le’an County.
For the past two years, Le’an County has been persistently funded, building water conservancy, constructing roads, cultivating fields, developing mines, using various methods, and experiencing an explosive population growth. Agriculture and commerce are both starting to flourish, and the income has begun to cover a portion of the expenses.
Still, it needs continuous funding for one or two more years.
In one or two years, Le’an County will become Ye Zhen’s new source of wealth.
The other major expense is military.
The military salaries, provisions, and armament consumption of the Heavenly Wave Army of the North Sea, including Ye Zhen’s various military expenses on the Blood River Battlefield, are astronomical.
In this massive expenditure, less than thirty percent can be obtained from the supply officers of the Human Demon Battlefield Commander’s Mansion.
Selling military achievements can offset another thirty percent of the expenses for Ye Zhen.
The remaining forty percent of the expenditure, especially on provisions and military arms, relies entirely on the income from the fiefdom.
Thus, the income from the fiefdom cannot and should not be touched by Ye Zhen.
He has to find another way.
Fast access to money in a short period is essentially limited to external means.
The first idea Ye Zhen had was to make another round in Luoyi.
Back then, Ye Zhen shocked Luoyi by raiding thirty-one Prince mansions overnight, and it remains an unsolved case to this day.
However, even raiding thirty-one Prince mansions back then, the total income Ye Zhen obtained did not exceed five million High Grade Spiritual Stones.
Moreover, since that significant robbery incident, the noble families and princes of Luoyi have been even more cautious about their treasure vaults.
They’ve all learned lessons from that year and have implemented many precautions.
A lot of valuable property is no longer stored in public vaults but is instead kept in the Little Worlds inside the bodies of Dao Realm Experts, known for their absolute safety.
In any noble estate in Luoyi, it’s impossible to say there aren’t one or two members in the Dao Realm.
Many times, these princes and nobles themselves are Realm King Realm Ninth Stage Peak or Dao Realm Experts.
This route was quickly ruled out by Ye Zhen.
Next, the Water Demons of the North Sea came to mind.
Generally, the Water Monarchs of the North Sea are actually paupers.
Every decade they must offer a large tribute to the Dragon Kings above them, and it’s quite fortunate if they can secure some wealth to fund their and their subordinates’ cultivation.
There’s no point in robbing them.
Those truly wealthy are those existing long-term at the pinnacle of the exploitative class.
For example, the Blue-scaled Dragon King of the North Sea is surely as rich as a country. Robbing his collection would undoubtedly yield more than five million High Grade Spiritual Stones.
With Ye Zhen’s current power, dealing with the Blue-scaled Dragon King isn’t difficult; extracting wealth from him is.
At the level of existence like the Blue-scaled Dragon King, most of his wealth is stored within his Mustard Seed World. Without a good method, even if Ye Zhen were to kill the Blue-scaled Dragon King, he wouldn’t gain a single bit of wealth.
Moreover, the Blue-scaled Dragon King is considered a high-ranking presence within the Water Clan. Killing him now would be equivalent to poking a hornet’s nest.
Ye Zhen doesn’t want to deal with the Demon Clan on the Human Demon Battlefield while also facing the wrath of the Dragon Lord of the North Sea.
So, the Blue-scaled Dragon King can’t be touched for now and must be abandoned.
However, not acting against the Blue-scaled Dragon King now doesn’t mean he won’t in the future.
It’s just that Ye Zhen doesn’t want to fight on two fronts.
Once the battle on the Human Demon Battlefield concludes, Ye Zhen will definitely deal with the Blue-scaled Dragon King, this old foe.
With the Water Demons of the North Sea set aside, the next potential target for robbery would be the Heavenly Temple.
Many of the Branch Altars of the Heavenly Temple are exceedingly wealthy and have public vaults, providing a chance to plunder vast fortunes.
However, the risk is significant.
The informal standoff in Luoyi two and a half years ago, the appearance of the Heavenly Leaders, Mountain Masters, and Peak Masters of the Three Great Holy Lands of the Heavenly Temple, and the tension at Luoyi Imperial Palace and Ancestor God Temple.
Ye Zhen learned about these through various channels afterward.
Especially from Princess Changle, who revealed a lot of important information to Ye Zhen.
Since that incident, the Heavenly Temple hasn’t made any overt moves on the surface.
However, it hasn’t escaped the eyes of the Ancestor God Temple, which has been monitoring the Heavenly Temple continuously.
New faces of experts from the Heavenly Temple have appeared in various Branch Altars, strengthening the Altars’ forces.
Moreover, these new faces, in terms of cultivation and combat power, are superior to the Divine Masters and Grand Divine Masters previously stationed at the Heavenly Temple Branch Halls.
According to speculations by Ancestor God Temple and Princess Changle, these new faces among the Heavenly Temple are likely the elite cultivated in seclusion within the Three Great Holy Lands of the Heavenly Temple.
Compared to the Divine and Grand Divine Masters who roam the secular world, these people are the true experts and elites of the Heavenly Temple.
Princess Changle, aware of some of Ye Zhen’s actions, specifically warned him in this regard.
“The Heavenly Temple is now a tough nut to crack, with significant risks!” Ye Zhen fretted, wringing his hands, looking utterly perplexed.
How to repay the debt?
Uh-oh, another target appeared in Ye Zhen’s mind.
With almost no further thought, Ye Zhen made a decision, “It’s decided!”
“The return is guaranteed, the risk is low; if not this, then what?”
“At this moment, if he’s not in trouble, who would be?” Ye Zhen smiled broadly.

Comments

Loading...