...
After a brief consideration, Wang Shouzhe decided where the two lotus roots should go.
Without even getting up, he slightly swayed his body, causing a subtle ripple in the surrounding space.
In the next instant, he appeared outside the main residence, Long Yan's Abode.
This was the mastery and application of the Dao of Space.
Normally, a cultivator at Wang Shouzhe's Purple Mansion Realm would find it nearly impossible to comprehend the Dao of Space.
However, his bloodline was extraordinary. After attending the Officer Academy, his bloodline aptitude had reached the terrifying level of Heavenly Son Grade A. Thus, even though he was only at the Purple Mansion Realm, his bloodline had awakened to the late stage of the eighth level.
It's worth noting that the most ordinary Void Realm cultivators have their bloodlines awakened to only the ninth level, which is not significantly stronger than Wang Shouzhe's current state.
Under such circumstances, Wang Shouzhe was qualified to slightly comprehend the basics of the Dao of Space and develop some elementary applications.
This technique of distorting space for short-distance teleportation was the result of his recent repeated contemplation of the Dao of Space.However, his mastery of this ability was still not very proficient, and the skill itself had many flaws, such as a long casting time, high consumption of profound energy and spiritual sense, and a short teleportation distance.
In actual combat, it might have some effect against opponents of the same level, but Wang Shouzhe could almost crush them without teleportation. As for facing Void Realm cultivators, it would be like showing off inferior skills before an expert.
In short, this small teleportation looked flashy, but for now, its showy effect far exceeded its practical use.
Putting aside idle talk.
Long Yan's Abode.
This was Ancestor Long Yan's courtyard.
For two hundred years, even though the main residence had undergone many renovations and repairs, its exterior remained unchanged, just as it was initially.
When Ancestor Long Yan went out to handle important matters, the clan naturally kept her residence intact and maintained it regularly.
However, in reality.
The interior of Long Yan's Abode, especially the underground retreat area, had undergone earth-shattering changes.
From the secret chamber of Long Yan's Abode, there was a secret passage leading deep underground. This passage was over a hundred meters deep, and at its end, a Netherworld Secret Hall over thirty meters wide was constructed.
In this secret hall, Wang Shouzhe sealed a small Netherworld-type spirit vein and used a small Gathering Spirit Array to contain the Netherworld energy, preventing it from leaking out.
Moreover, the walls and floor tiles of the Netherworld Secret Hall were not ordinary materials; they came from the Blood Sanctuary in the Blood Venerable's relics. Their strength was extremely high, making it difficult even for Void Realm cultivators to break through in a short time.
Over the years, the Netherworld energy here continuously refined and condensed, eventually forming a pool of Netherworld True Water.
This Netherworld True Water was as dark as ink, and ordinary people would corrode upon contact, yet it was an extremely rare and pure Netherworld energy.
The reason Wang Shouzhe built this Netherworld Secret Hall was also to provide a place for Ancestor Long Yan to continue her cultivation upon her return, accumulating resources for her practice.
Of course, to prevent anyone with ulterior motives from using it to damage the Wang Clan's reputation.
The construction plans and functional design of this Netherworld Secret Hall were reported to the relevant departments in the garrison town, county office, commandery, national capital, and immortal city, with every step documented and archived.
However, matters concerning Ancestor Long Yan herself were only reported to the Immortal Emperor and Immortal Sovereign, to prevent idle people from leaking secrets.
Besides this pool of Netherworld True Water, Wang Shouzhe also planted many Netherworld-type spirit plants here. They thrived on Netherworld energy and, in turn, generated Netherworld energy to feed back into the environment, creating a cycle of life.
However, none of these Netherworld-type spirit plants could reach the level of the Netherworld Gold Lotus.
Wang Shouzhe walked to the edge of the Netherworld True Water pool and gently placed a section of Netherworld Gold Lotus Root into the pool.
In an instant, the previously dull and withered lotus root greedily absorbed the Netherworld energy, gradually becoming vibrant and lush.
Seeing this, Wang Shouzhe pointed at the lotus root, and a surge of pure life source energy enveloped it.
In the next moment.
A miraculous event occurred.
The Netherworld Gold Lotus Root came to life, and the previously short sprout rapidly grew, extending into a long, slender underground stem, commonly known as the "lotus root stalk."
The lotus root stalk quickly extended, with roots sprouting from each node, and golden leaf buds emerging above the nodes.
Each node on the lotus root stalk could grow a lotus leaf.
The leaf buds rapidly extended, almost visibly reaching the surface of the Netherworld True Water, then breaking through the water, unfolding into elegant, round lotus leaves.
This series of changes was completed within a quarter of an hour.
With Wang Shouzhe's catalysis, the Netherworld True Water was continuously absorbed, the lotus root stalk kept extending, and the lotus leaves kept breaking through the water. Before long, the elegant lotus leaves occupied a small area of the Netherworld True Water pool.
Under the not-so-bright lighting in the Netherworld Secret Hall, the golden surface of the lotus leaves seemed to shimmer with golden light, exuding a pure Netherworld aura.
The aura seemed purified and refined, even purer than the Netherworld True Water itself. Upon closer inspection, the cold and lifeless aura carried a unique vitality, appearing extremely mystical.
At this moment, about an hour had passed since the catalysis began, and Wang Shouzhe's source profound energy was exhausted, leaving him feeling a wave of fatigue.
He stopped the catalysis, feeling a sense of awe.
The Netherworld Gold Lotus truly lived up to its reputation as a ninth-grade spiritual herb; the difficulty of catalyzing it was astonishingly high.
It's worth noting that some low-grade spiritual herbs of the first or second grade could be catalyzed in minutes with his current abilities, but with the Netherworld Gold Lotus, he had only managed to produce a few lotus leaves, not even a flower bud.
It's important to know that the most energy-consuming stage of the Netherworld Gold Lotus is the flowering and fruiting stage.
This is a long process of accumulating energy and transforming it into medicinal properties. Even with Wang Shouzhe's current strength, it would take ten to eight years of continuous catalysis for the lotus seeds to mature.
This projected outcome left Wang Shouzhe with a headache.
A mature ninth-grade spiritual herb is certainly valuable, as it is the main ingredient for refining ninth-grade Dao Pills.
Currently, in the Han Yue Immortal Dynasty and the Red Moon Demon Dynasty, the highest grade of pills they can refine is the ninth-grade Dao Pill, and even that is barely achievable with limited formulas.
Refining ninth-grade Dao Pills is extremely challenging, requiring the top alchemists to work under the support of the Immortal Emperor or Immortal Sovereign with a large amount of immortal spirit energy, and even then, the yield is often pitifully low.
As a result, ninth-grade Dao Pills are extremely expensive and are strategic resources that cannot be purchased casually, even if one has the money.
If a mature Netherworld Gold Lotus were to be sold as a Dao Pill ingredient, its market price would typically be around one Immortal Spirit Stone, but such treasures are too rare to be available for sale.
The value sounds good.
But Wang Shouzhe's daily efforts in catalysis would take about ten years to "earn" one Immortal Spirit Stone, while Wang Fugui, with a single stroke of luck at the Treasure Pavilion, received a compensation of five Immortal Spirit Stones.
In comparison, his "production capacity" seemed somewhat "low."
"Take it slow, one step at a time."
Wang Shouzhe sighed, gathering his thoughts.
Once he advanced to the Divine Realm, the results would be entirely different. By then, his bloodline awakening level would increase again, reaching the late stage of the ninth level, and his profound energy and spiritual sense would grow significantly.
At that time, Wang Shouzhe's catalysis of the Netherworld Gold Lotus would be much faster. If he could mature the Netherworld Gold Lotus in two years, or even one year, he would truly become a money-making machine.
For now, he was genuinely exhausted from catalysis and decided to return to rest.
With a ripple of space around him, Wang Shouzhe's figure flickered and disappeared from the Netherworld Secret Hall, returning to his courtyard.
After a night's rest and adjustment.
The next day, Wang Shouzhe headed to Prosperity Farm.
This was one of the original three major farms owned by the Wang Clan when Wang Shouzhe took over. At that time, the Wang Clan only had twenty acres of low-grade spiritual farmland, located in this Prosperity Farm.
Back then, Ancestor Xiaohan also took care of some medium-grade spiritual farmland, cultivating some low-grade spiritual herbs.
Later, the medium-grade fire-type spirit vein discovered by Li Ci was also near Prosperity Farm.
Now, nearly two hundred years later, the Wang Clan owned countless farms, but the original three major farms were never abandoned.
With the migration and transplantation of spirit veins and the long-term operation of large Gathering Spirit Arrays, the original three major farms underwent earth-shattering changes.
The spiritual energy in Prosperity Farm was so dense it condensed into water, and high-grade spiritual farmland was everywhere, planted with vast fields of various grades of spiritual herbs. The herbs grew vigorously, resembling a vast ocean.
This was the foundation of the Wang Clan today. Every year, a large number of spiritual herbs matured and were refined into various spiritual pills by the Alchemy Directorate, not only meeting the needs of the Wang Clan's members but also being sold externally, benefiting the common people.
Among them, the medium-grade fire-type spirit vein found in the mountain hollow by Wang Shouzhe and Li Ci, along with a Zhu Guo tree, had also undergone significant changes.
Over time, with the Wang Clan's development and expansion, the mountain hollow had been expanded repeatedly, bringing in earth fire and transplanting a top-grade fire-type spirit vein, gradually forming a large semi-underground fire-type spiritual farmland.
Here, besides a small number of fire-type spirit plants, the most eye-catching feature was the spectacular Zhu Guo forest.
In the middle of the Zhu Guo forest, a mature woman with a charming appearance was leading a team to inspect various indicators of a newly planted batch of Zhu Guo seedlings.
"Aunt Yingrong," a young girl who seemed to have just graduated from the Clan School reported respectfully, "we've carefully checked, and all one hundred and fifty seedlings planted this year have successfully survived. They are full of vitality, with extremely balanced nutrition and fire-type spiritual energy."
"Meijing, our Wang Clan's Prosperity Farm's fire-type spiritual farmland is the best in the country. Even in the Immortal Dynasty, there are few places with such quality and scale," said the mature and gentle Wang Yingrong. "Moreover, over the years, we've planted over three thousand Zhu Guo trees, and our planting and maintenance techniques are very mature. It's only natural to have such results; there's nothing to be proud of."
Wang Yingrong, ranked eleventh in the "Ying" generation, was the second daughter of the young clan leader Wang Zong'an.
Her personality was gentle and meticulous. In her youth, she followed her father in pioneering the Dala Great Desert. Influenced by her father, she eventually became a spiritual plant cultivator, making significant achievements in the cultivation and planting of spirit plants.
After the arrival of the Lanxin King at the Wang Clan, she frequently sought guidance and often exchanged ideas with the spiritual plant cultivators under the Lanxin King, rapidly improving her spiritual plant cultivation skills.
Today, Wang Yingrong had become the head of Prosperity Farm, taking on significant responsibilities for the clan.
"Yes, Aunt Yingrong," the young Wang Meijing nodded quickly. "I will continue to work hard and strive to follow in your footsteps on the path of spiritual plant cultivation."
"My level as a spiritual plant cultivator is far from my father's, and even more incomparable to my grandfather's," Wang Yingrong said with a smile. "In the early years, my grandfather often personally expanded and cultivated these Zhu Guo trees. You see, the dozens of fifth-grade Zhu Guo tree kings and that one Zhu Guo tree emperor in the deepest part of our fire-type spirit vein were all cultivated by my grandfather himself."
At the mention of Wang Shouzhe, some of the younger Wang Clan members and other spiritual plant cultivators around showed expressions of reverence.
Clan Leader Shouzhe was like a deity to these younger generations.
It was under his leadership that the clan gradually reached its current state, growing from a ninth-grade small clan into the giant it is today.
"It's just a pity that grandfather has become more and more lazy over the years, not even bothering with this batch of Zhu Guo trees. Otherwise, our Zhu Guo forest's yield could have doubled," Wang Yingrong said with a slight complaint.
"Oh~ who is it that's badmouthing me behind my back?"
Just as Wang Yingrong finished speaking, a male voice came from beside her.
Accompanied by the voice, ripples of space spread out, and Wang Shouzhe's figure suddenly appeared beside her.
Today, he wore a sky-blue long robe, the hem of which swayed slightly in the forest breeze, accentuating his elegant demeanor and jade-like appearance.
At this moment, he stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Wang Yingrong, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Grandfather..." Wang Yingrong's beautiful face showed an embarrassed expression as she hurriedly bowed in greeting. "I was just speaking carelessly, please don't take it to heart."
"Don't be nervous," Wang Shouzhe said with a smile, rubbing her head. "Yingrong, you've worked hard over the years. The Prosperity Farm passed down from our ancestors has truly prospered under your care."
Wang Yingrong was Wang Shouzhe's second granddaughter and a legitimate second daughter of the Wang Clan. Her elder sister, Wang Yingtian, as the legitimate daughter, married the eldest son of the Gongye Clan, Gongye Qingmin, and is now the matriarch of the Gongye Clan, managing the clan's internal finances.
As for his granddaughter, who grew up on his knee, Wang Shouzhe naturally doted on her. She was one of the ones who grew up on his knee.
"Thank you for the praise, Grandfather," Wang Yingrong said, smiling brightly. "You came at just the right time. This batch of Zhu Guo seedlings has just taken root. Could you help catalyze them to accelerate their growth, so they can flower and bear fruit sooner, allowing us to refine more Blood Refining Pills?"
The Blood Refining Pill is a fourth-grade spiritual medicine that can effectively improve the bloodline of Basalt cultivators with low-grade bloodline aptitude. If a Qi Refining Realm cultivator with a low-grade B-level bloodline uses a Blood Refining Pill, there is a good chance of breaking through to a mid-grade D-level.
According to the commonly used bloodline aptitude classification, mid-grade bloodlines can be considered "little geniuses." Even with a D-level bloodline, given sufficient resources, there is a chance to reach the Celestial Realm.
Therefore, the Blood Refining Pill is one of the very important strategic resources. Many small clans outside are eager to buy Blood Refining Pills, even willing to take loans to purchase them.
Because as long as they obtain the Blood Refining Pill, at the very least, they can cultivate some clan members to the mid-to-late stages of the Lingtai Realm in the future.
Upon hearing Wang Yingrong mention catalyzing the Zhu Guo trees, Wang Shouzhe felt a wave of nausea.
Back in the day, to quickly produce enough Zhu Guo, he spent a long time in the Zhu Guo forest, catalyzing it day after day until he developed a physiological aversion.
"No, no."
Wang Shouzhe shook his head repeatedly.
Even though he doted on his granddaughter, he firmly refused: "The Zhu Guo forest is already quite large, and with the nourishment of the top-grade fire-type spirit vein, it can already manage resources well."
As far as Wang Shouzhe knew, a large number of Zhu Guo matured every year, enough to refine five to six hundred Blood Refining Pills, which was already a remarkable achievement, and the yield was still increasing annually.
Not to mention that Wang Shouzhe was already sick of catalyzing Zhu Guo, even if he wasn't, in terms of economic benefits, catalyzing the Netherworld Gold Lotus would definitely be more profitable.
"Grandfather, you didn't just come to inspect, did you?" Wang Yingrong said, clinging to Wang Shouzhe's arm and acting coquettishly. "Why don't you just catalyze this small batch?"
"You're all grown up," Wang Shouzhe said, pushing her arm away with disdain. "Still acting like a child?"
"I'm still unmarried, a young lady, why can't I act coquettishly with my grandfather?" Wang Yingrong said with a cheeky smile, looking at Wang Shouzhe. "I heard that in the Immortal Dynasty, there are women hundreds of years old who still call themselves young ladies. Grandfather, please show your great divine abilities and let the younger generation witness them."
Wang Shouzhe glanced at the Zhu Guo seedlings, finding it hard to refuse his granddaughter. Compared to his particularly troublesome granddaughter Wang Yingxuan, the other granddaughters were relatively worry-free.
Since his granddaughter asked, it wasn't impossible.
Immediately, Wang Shouzhe waved his sleeve, and a surge of pure source energy enveloped the hundred or so Zhu Guo seedlings.
In the next moment.
These tender Zhu Guo seedlings began to grow sturdier at a speed visible to the naked eye. The leaves unfurled like bamboo shoots after rain, continuously absorbing energy from the fire-type spirit vein, forming a faint vortex.
Under the stunned gaze of the younger generation and spiritual plant cultivators, these Zhu Guo seedlings continued to grow robustly, quickly maturing into old seedlings, with one beautiful Zhu Guo flower after another blooming.
Next, after some pollination, they could bear small Zhu Guo.
Such divine abilities even surprised Wang Shouzhe himself. Back then, catalyzing a single Zhu Guo tree was exhausting, but now, he had grown to this level.
Unfortunately, medicinal spirit plants like Zhu Guo have a very low mutation rate, making it extremely difficult to cultivate Zhu Guo varieties with better overall performance.
"Grandfather..." Wang Yingrong clung tightly to Wang Shouzhe's arm, her eyes shining. "We're rich, we're rich! If Grandfather catalyzes Zhu Guo every day, wouldn't our family make a fortune?"
Not really.
Relying on catalyzing spirit plants, Wang Shouzhe felt that even if he worked himself to death, he would still earn far less than Fugui.
Wait, he didn't want to catalyze Zhu Guo every day; over time, he feared he would age prematurely.
Worried that Yingrong would continue down this path, he quickly changed the subject: "Yingrong, why don't you accompany your grandfather to the core of the fire spirit vein? Grandfather has a fire-type spiritual herb to transplant."
This was also Wang Shouzhe's development philosophy.
As the clan leader, it was one thing during the early stages of the clan's development, but now, he couldn't possibly handle everything himself. His most important duty was to formulate the clan's overall development plan and strategic direction, and then just oversee the key points.
The specific tasks were naturally assigned to the right people.
Otherwise, why have so many descendants?
Why develop and proliferate so many clan members?
...