Chapter 249: No Title
"Hiss!" Jin Ao couldn't help but gasp when he heard Jiajing say that he wanted as many as he could.
You should know that among the four major families in Fengling Town, each family has at least two low-grade spiritual mines.
The amount of spirit stones mined every year is not so huge that it is unknown how many there are. Roughly estimated, it is enough to support more than 100,000 cultivators in a large city of immortal cultivation, and there is even a lot of surplus.
What is the origin of the other party in the southern continent? Their appetite is so big.
Since he can do such a large-scale spirit stone business, it means that the other party’s background in the Southern Continent is also extremely extraordinary.
After all, the use of spirit stones is forbidden in the southern continent. Once discovered, the White Horse Academy will execute or imprison the monks. No matter what force it is, I am afraid that they would not dare to introduce such a huge amount of spirit stones to the southern continent at once? How is this different from suicide?
Well, it’s not that the Southern Continent can’t consume so much of my spiritual stones, it’s mainly because of the inconvenience of transportation.
Although the South Continent and the West Continent are adjacent to each other, the terrifying and vast ocean in between cannot be crossed by cultivators at will. Even the ancestors in the Nascent Soul stage dare not do so.
Arcturus is a world for cultivating immortals, not a world for mortals. The ocean is full of dangers for those who cultivate immortals.
Some sea areas have long been regarded as forbidden areas by the sea people, and no merchant ships or shuttles are allowed to pass through.
In this way, if the various continents or islands in the ocean want to communicate with each other, they can only use cross-domain teleportation arrays.
However, the cross-domain teleportation arrays are under the control of academies and some super sects. Whether it is people or goods being teleported, they must be registered and inspected. The cultivators in charge of the cross-domain teleportation arrays are Yuanying stage monks, and sometimes there are not just one but two.
Trade in the Western Continent is already free, and restrictions on cross-domain teleportation arrays are not that strict. As long as any chamber of commerce pays a certain amount of taxes, the academy will allow it to pass.
But the situation in the southern continent is different.
There is also strict management of the items that are transmitted.
This means that once poisonous substances such as spirit stones, which are banned in the southern continent, are discovered, they will be destroyed on the spot, and then a judgment will be made based on the number and weight of the spirit stones transported.
Those exceeding a certain amount will be executed immediately!
It is not even as simple as execution. If there is a sect or family behind the monk, the academy will hold them accountable.
In the least, the sect family will be forced to disband, and in the worst case, the entire sect family will be destroyed and exterminated.
In other words, even if the Southern Continent can absorb as many spirit stones as possible, it can do nothing because the entrance is restricted.
Therefore, when Jin Ao heard that this great monk in the Jindan stage named Zhu Cong actually made such good remarks, his first reaction was not surprise at such a huge business coming to him, but doubt.
Of course, it is also possible that the spirit stone market owned by the other party may not only be in the Southern Continent, but also in other continents.
If this is the case, it would be reasonable to disperse the input and make some connections if the background is stronger.
Well, although the Southern Continent has extremely strict guarding over the inter-domain teleportation array, this does not mean that spirit stones cannot enter the Southern Continent through the inter-domain teleportation array.
Some super-large clans, or sects and families with powerful backgrounds, have their own private cross-domain teleportation arrays. Some of these cross-domain teleportation arrays are not even reported to the academy after they are established. This has formed one smuggling channel after another.
Things like spirit stones, or some shady businesses, such as the life business, are smuggled through these channels.
The sectarian families that established these smuggling channels would also take this opportunity to cooperate with various forces and take a commission from the revenue of each transaction, thus forming an industrial chain.
Obviously, in Jin Ao's opinion, the sect and family behind this Jindan-stage cultivator in front of him has its own cross-domain teleportation and smuggling channel, so they dare to make such a bold statement.
But no matter which situation it is, why would such a huge sect family come to him, the Jin family, a small family?
Is there a trick here? But even if there is a trick, what does the Jin family have that is worthy of such a being's covetousness... Suddenly, Jin Ao's heart tightened, and he thought of the ancestor who was in seclusion in the forbidden area.
"Could it be that you are here for the ancestor..." Jin Ao's face was as gloomy as water, but his mind was instantly filled with eight hundred thoughts.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the hall became depressing.
"It seems that your Jin family has a 'quasi-Jindan' cultivator." At this moment, Jiajing suddenly spoke.
"Boom!" Almost at the moment Jiajing opened his mouth, Jin Ao, who was already nervous and suspected that the other party was coming for the ancestor, could no longer hold it in, and his aura surged.
A pair of eyes stared at Jiajing intently, and he said in a deep voice: "Who is this senior? Are you from the Tiannan Xue family?"
Tiannan Xue Family? Hearing this, Jiajing naturally knew that the other party had misunderstood him as an enemy or something like that.
However, considering the other party's attitude and the fact that the ancestor of the Jin family seemed to have been seriously injured and thus stopped at the golden elixir level, it might be another common story of grudges and hatreds in the world of immortal cultivation.
Jiajing was naturally not interested in this, and immediately said: "I am not from the so-called Tiannan Xue family as you said."
"As for the ancestor of your Jin family, I discovered it through my spiritual sense investigation."
Hearing Jiajing's words, Jin Ao frowned, but at this moment, a spiritual consciousness emerged from the depths of the Jin family and came to the hall. As the spiritual consciousness fluctuated, an old voice sounded.
"Jin Ao, please don't be rude. This Taoist fellow is not from the Xue family," the old voice seemed to scold Jin Ao, and then said: "Jin family, Jin Zhan, greets Taoist fellow."
"I am suffering from an old illness and am seriously injured so I cannot meet you. I hope you can forgive me."
"Don't worry about it, sir. If it's a misunderstanding, just resolve it." Upon hearing the words of the "quasi-Jindan" cultivator named Jin Zhan, Jiajing nodded slightly, indicating that he didn't mind.
He is not here to show off his strength, nor is he interested in displaying his tyranny to gain submission from all sides. He is already tired of that.
For him, the key point is to achieve the purpose of this trip, to use the Jin family as the foundation in this Western Continent and to benefit the Ming Dynasty.
"Jin Ao, since you are interested in cooperating with my Jin family, you must treat us well and not neglect us." An old and unquestionable voice sounded, and Jin Ao immediately knelt down and agreed, saying, "Yes, ancestor, Jin Ao will definitely treat us well."
"Fellow Daoist, I will not bother you any more. If you need anything, just tell Jin Ao. As long as my Jin family can satisfy it, we will not refuse." Jin Zhan's voice sounded again.
"Please do as you wish, sir." Jiajing bowed and clasped his hands.
After a while, Jin Zhan's spiritual fluctuations slowly subsided, and Jin Ao stood up from the ground and apologized to Jiajing repeatedly.
"Senior, Jin Ao is blind and offended you. Please don't mind it." Looking at Jin Ao who was smiling at him and looking encouraging and flattering, Jiajing waved his hand and said, "Master Jin, let's talk about business."
"Okay, okay, let's talk business!" Jin Ao did not dare to delay and immediately agreed.
Half a day later, under the leadership of Jin Ao, Jiajing moved into an idle manor of the Jin family at the easternmost part of Fengling Town.
After Jin Ao left, Jiajing first covered the entire manor with magic stones, checked it inside and out, and after confirming that everything was correct, he set up many magic arrays and prohibitions and returned to Ming Dynasty.
"Buzz." As a wave of space fluctuations arose, Jiajing's figure appeared in the side hall of Yuxi Palace.
Lu Fang, who was sitting in meditation under the Taoist platform, immediately opened his eyes after sensing the fluctuations in space, knelt on the ground, and said respectfully: "This servant welcomes the master, may the master be well."
"I'm fine, get up." As he spoke, Jiajing raised his hand, and a light flashed on the storage ring on his hand. Then, one storage bag after another flew out of it and fell to the ground.
In a short while, there were more than twenty storage bags, filled up like a small hill.
"Master, this is..." Looking at the bulging storage bag, Lu Fang was stunned, then raised his head and looked at Jiajing in disbelief, saying: "Could it be a spiritual stone?!"
You should know that currently each of these storage bags is rated at least above the sixth grade, and a few are of the fourth or fifth grade quality.
If the space capacity of a storage bag is regarded as a cube, then the capacity of a ninth-grade storage bag is the size of a cube with a side length of just over two meters.
In the words of later generations, the volume is about ten cubic meters.
In the world of cultivating immortals, the capacity and price of a storage bag doubles with each higher grade. The capacity of a sixth-grade storage bag can be regarded as a cube with a side length of more than four meters, with a capacity of about eighty cubic meters. This capacity is not small. If it reaches the fourth grade, it will be even greater!
But now, these storage bags are stuffed full, which means that the capacity of the storage bags has reached its limit.
If these more than one hundred and twelve storage bags were filled with spirit stones, Lu Fang couldn't imagine how many spirit stones his master had brought back from this trip to the Western Continent.
"Yes, there are spirit stones here, but their purity is all of low grade." Jiajing raised his hand slightly, pointed at the storage bag on the ground, and briefly told Lu Fang about the trip to the Western Continent.
Of course, what Jiajing wanted to talk about was mainly about the next layout in the Western Continent.
"I plan to let these people in the cabinet enter the Western Continent. What do you think?" After Jiajing finished speaking, he looked at Lu Fang.
Currently, Lu Fang is the only one who knows about the existence of the world of immortal cultivation, and Jiajing also wants to hear his thoughts.
"Now, the third and fourth phases of land reform have been shelved," Lu Fang said slowly, thinking as he spoke: "According to the master's original plan, once the land reform is fully launched, it will be time to mobilize troops against all countries in the world."
"The reason is naturally because, as the population of the Ming Dynasty increases dramatically year by year, sooner or later there will not be enough land to distribute to the people. By then, the Ming Dynasty will need more land. In addition, the population increase means that the products of the Ming Dynasty will also be in surplus. The previous huge grain crisis is an example."
“Therefore, the third and fourth phases of land reform must be initiated.”
"But first there was Xu Fan. The era of spiritual energy industry proposed by Xu Butang can allow the Ming Dynasty to shift from agriculture to spiritual energy industry. In this way, the problem of land distribution can be alleviated and the people can engage in more industries."
"After all, the emergence of the spiritual energy industrial era means that the speed at which our Ming Dynasty will fully enter the Immortal Cultivation Dynasty will accelerate."
"The food we have now is enough to feed the common people. In the future of our Ming Dynasty, at least half of the people will eventually become immortal cultivators."
"Even if one day in the future our Great Ming enters the sea of stars, those starry worlds can also become the granary of our Great Ming to ensure that the food supply of ordinary people will not be cut off."
“Therefore, the necessity for the third and fourth stages of land reform is greatly reduced.”
"Then, there is the strategic national policy of 'experimental country' proposed by Lord Yan. This move retains the necessity of the existence of other countries in the world," Lu Fang said, pausing slightly, and then said:
"In the future, when all the countries in the world are controlled by the spirit stones and are completely inseparable from the Ming Dynasty, then with just one imperial decree, I think the leaders of the countries will completely submit to the Ming Dynasty."
"In this way, the Ming Dynasty can defeat the enemy without fighting."
"The most important thing is that this move can allow the spiritual energy factories of various countries to feed back to Ming Dynasty, enhance Ming Dynasty's strength, and allow Ming Dynasty to step into the sea of stars ahead of time," Lu Fang's tone gradually quickened.
"Therefore, the third and fourth stages of land reform are no longer necessary." At this point, Lu Fang took a deep breath and said seriously: "At this time, if the cabinet is allowed to contact the immortal cultivation world, it will once again push our Ming Dynasty into the immortal cultivation era..."
"Therefore, I think that this move of yours is a great virtue!"
After listening to Lv Fang re-arranging his previous considerations, Jiajing nodded slightly and said, "I have also considered these, so I wondered whether I could let the cabinet enter the world of cultivation."
"Since you also think this is feasible, then notify them and let the cabinet discuss politics at Yuxi Palace tomorrow."
"Yes," Lu Fang nodded, and then suddenly seemed to think of something, and said, "Master, I have one more thing to say."
"Speak." Jiajing nodded slightly, signaling Lu Fang to speak frankly.
"Yes," Lu Fang nodded, and then continued: "I think that once the cabinet is allowed to contact the world of immortal cultivation, it is equivalent to opening a gap between the Ming Dynasty and the world of immortal cultivation."
"Moreover, this gap will become larger and larger," Lu Fang paused and said, "It's like the passage that the master opened for the servant to freely travel between the two worlds in his own yard."
"If this servant is willing, I can actually take people to the immortal world."
"This is the master's trust in me, but if this passage is opened to everyone in the cabinet..." Lu Fang paused slightly and did not finish the rest of the words, but the meaning was self-evident.
It was nothing more than saying that he was a royal slave, loyal to his master, and had never brought anyone else into the world of immortal cultivation without his master's consent, but it was not certain whether those ministers had changed their minds.
In order to allow these people to come into contact with the world of immortal cultivation, a channel must be opened for them. Otherwise, they would have to go to the palace to see the master every time, and then be sent to the world of immortal cultivation by the master himself. This would be too troublesome.
"Therefore, I think that this passage must be restricted," said Lu Fang, with a cold look in his eyes, "For example, without the master's permission, it is strictly forbidden for unauthorized people to enter the world of immortal cultivation privately. Once discovered, no matter who they are, they will be executed directly!"
"Secondly, anyone who enters the world of immortal cultivation must hand in their life. Not only that, if possible, the master will directly set up restrictions on the shuttle passage."
"Only those who are allowed can travel between the two worlds."
"Of course, without the consent of the imperial court, it is strictly forbidden to develop one's own family and leave offspring in the world of immortal cultivation..."
Jiajing remained calm while listening to Lu Fang's words.
Naturally, he had considered all this a long time ago. Anyone who handed over his natal land and accepted the imperial seal to be conferred the title of immortal official would be supervised by the imperial seal. As long as he wanted, he could check these people's every move, what they said, and what they ate at any time.
Firstly, they were officials and were subject to the imperial seal.
Secondly, these people themselves belong to the Ming Dynasty. In other words, they are also part of the natal objects.
Therefore, what Lu Fang said about setting up restrictions on the passage so that only those who are allowed can pass through is completely unnecessary.
They just need to ask the cabinet to report the list of personnel they will need in the future. The direct lineage will enter the names of these people, and they will be able to discover at the first time anyone who does not meet the requirements enters.
After all, whether your natal object can enter the world of cultivating immortals depends on your own thoughts.
So, none of the things that Lu Fang was worried about existed.
He believed that what Lu Fang could think of, old foxes like Yan Song in the cabinet could naturally think of as well.
Once they knew about the existence of the world of cultivating immortals, they would understand that the legendary immortal world they had imagined before did not exist at all.
They will also understand at the first time that the future enemy of the Ming Dynasty is the vast and magnificent world of immortal cultivation.
They knew better that since they dared to let them in, they would not worry that they would do something secretly and betray the Ming Dynasty.
Seeing such a magnificent world, they will only become more careful and cautious, and survive under their own will on thin ice.
Tomorrow at noon, the government will be discussed in Yuxi Palace.
At this time, in the study room of Yan's house.
After sending off the eunuch who came to deliver the imperial edict, Yan Shifan returned to his study and asked in confusion, "Dad, it's only been a short time since the last meeting on the plateau, why is the emperor notifying us to hold another meeting?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Song, who was handling official documents, just raised his eyelids, glanced at Yan Shifan, and ignored him.
Seeing this, Yan Shifan was helpless and could only sit aside and think about all the actions of his faction in recent days.
"It seems that the emperor is going to distribute spiritual stones!" Suddenly, Yan Shifan nodded to himself and said.
Ever since the spiritual stone trade with various countries was established and their markets were opened, the huge grain crisis disappeared, and officials of all levels were busy dealing with the problems from the 70th to the 76th year of Jiajing.
As for the southern and northern Zhili, the kings were also making arrangements in the opposition, so it could be said that all parties were safe. Therefore, during this Yuxi Palace political discussion, apart from the emperor's intention to issue spirit stones and completely stabilize the spirit stone trade, he could not think of anything else.
"..."
(End of this chapter)
