Chapter 454: Wealthy Resources

Phoenix's first high-level full meeting thus concluded, the entire agenda being extremely brief.

However, after everyone else left, Su Nai did not depart with them but remained behind alone.

Gao De still had matters to discuss privately with her.

Once all had departed, Su Nai lightly waved her hand; a chill mist seeped out, and delicate ice crystals rapidly crawled along the door seams, sealing the room into an isolated sanctuary.

"I'll only stay one or two days before leaving again," Gao De said bluntly, laying out the situation first.

There's still a shipyard in the Jin Quehua Dynasty waiting for me to acquire—I can't afford to be gone too long.

"Why so rushed? Where did you go via Starway Transit? Did you encounter any danger?" Su Nai, one of the few who knew of "Starway Transit," asked with concern and deep curiosity about his recent experiences.

To Su Nai, Gao De had always been open and trusting.

And it was mutual.

As the War Mother of the Zhenbing Tribe, Su Nai possessed absolute power and strength, yet she offered unwavering trust and support to him—a mere First-Ring mage and outsider—and naturally, he reciprocated with equal devotion.

So Gao De revealed everything he had witnessed and endured over the past two and a half months, along with his next plans.

"Phoenix lacks too much—resources, knowledge, skills—we must establish contact with the outside world to fill these gaps."

"But with Phoenix's current scale and strength, hastily establishing ties with the outside would make us vulnerable to exploitation and strip us of initiative."

"That's why I'm acquiring the shipyard—to solve this problem. With our own shipyard, I can build a fleet and establish an initial trade route between Lagos City and Valar Bay."

Gao De's eyes gleamed, as if unfolding a blueprint of the future: "A trade route under my control."

"With both ends under my command, I can minimize risks to the greatest extent."

"The initial trade volume mustn't be too large—otherwise, it will draw unwanted attention."

"Your Majesty, your considerations are thorough," Su Nai said, as per custom, her voice calm and cool, lacking the warmth one might expect from praise.

Over this time, Gao De had heard such remarks countless times.

For Su Nai, this kind of compliment wasn't exactly "false," but it carried little "sincerity"—it was more like a habitual phrase.

In plain terms, it was like a brother constantly saying, "Awesome, bro."

"Acquiring the shipyard, purchasing shops, manufacturing First-Ring rune gear," Su Nai then turned to the main topic, listing Gao De's upcoming major tasks.

"And purchasing the 【Rapid Excavation】 spell potion," Gao De added: "This spell is vital for Phoenix's construction—I plan to promote it among the tribe's mages."

【Rapid Excavation】 is a First-Ring spell; constructing its spell model requires consuming the corresponding spell potion.

A single First-Ring spell potion costs an average of 40 Jin Quehua coins.

"At least twenty potions are needed to barely meet current construction and production demands."

"Plus the spell potions," Su Nai nodded slightly, quickly calculating: "Your Majesty, to accomplish all this, you'll need at least 10,000 Jin Quehua coins—12,000 is a safer, more reliable figure. If the acquisition price is halved, you'll need to bring back materials worth 24,000 Jin Quehua coins."

"Also, the quantity of materials can't be too large—you won't be able to transport them back to the Jin Quehua Dynasty via Starway Transit," Su Nai said, frowning deeply in thought, while Gao De felt slightly awkward.

—It did sound like his demands were rather demanding.

"Supernatural items from the North are quite scarce in the Jin Quehua Dynasty—they usually fetch a premium of one to two tenths." Gao De added.

"Understood," Su Nai said, as if something occurred to her; her frown eased, and she smiled faintly: "Your Majesty, this way."

Without a sound, the ice sealing the room melted away, and the door was pushed open by an invisible hand.

Su Nai led Gao De to the Zhenbing Tribe's treasure vault.

The vault lay near the Bingyu Wutong; its entrance was covered by a thick layer of ice crystals.

But Su Nai merely waved her hand—the ice opened like an automatic door, revealing a deep passage.

The walls inside were embedded with glowing pale-blue ice crystals, illuminating the vault's interior.

"Most of the time, this place is nearly empty. But since I learned you had needs, I ordered the tribe to begin gathering supernatural items—our collection has gradually grown richer." Su Nai led the way, explaining as she walked.

Inside the vault, the first thing to catch the eye was a massive ice sculpture: the founding War Mother of the Zhenbing Tribe, Borias, rendered with lifelike precision.

The surrounding walls were also formed of thick ice crystals; inside, numerous ice shelves held various items, and in the corners sat several storage chests.

The shelves displayed diverse objects: ores emitting various glows, mysterious animal bones, and strange parts of subterranean creatures.

There were also magical plants, stored in transparent ice crystal boxes.

"And just recently, the Frostwolf Clan and the Frosthammer Clan submitted a ransom payment to redeem their War Mother—greatly enriching our vault's inventory." As she spoke, Su Nai reached a shelf, used her Mage Hand to retrieve an ice crystal box, and handed it to Gao De.

"This was prepared especially for you."

Prepared for me?

Gao De took the box curiously; inside was a pale, finger-bone-shaped root, its crimson sap visibly flowing slowly within, pulsing as if alive under dim light.

He opened the box.

A faint metallic scent of blood filled his nose.

The root felt icy-cold yet strangely warm; holding it, it felt like gripping an object woven of ice and fire.

"What is this?" Gao De asked in surprise.

"Wolf's Blood Ginseng—one of the ransom items the Frostwolf Clan surrendered to redeem their War Mother. It's a specialty of theirs, and among their people, Wolf's Blood Ginseng is extremely precious."

"To date, Wolf's Blood Ginseng has only appeared among the Frostwolf Clan."

"The Frostwolf Clan don't merely regard snow wolves as ferocious beasts—they see them as indispensable loyal companions."

"Thus, when a snow wolf grows old, if they have the means, the Frostwolf Clan provide food and shelter until its natural death; if food is scarce, they perform a ritual slaughter."

"Wolf's Blood Ginseng grows beneath the soil where such ritual slaughters take place."

"It thrives in extreme cold, absorbing the snow wolf's blood; its sap contains potent, pure, and unusual magical energy that enhances the consumer's magical power."

"I thought you'd need this, so I specifically added it to the ransom terms."

"Fortunately, they were redeeming their own War Mother—otherwise, the Frostwolf Clan would never have parted with Wolf's Blood Ginseng; they don't have much of it themselves." Su Nai smiled slyly.

Enhance magical power—excellent!

"This is exactly what I need. Thank you for your thoughtfulness." He placed the Wolf's Blood Ginseng back in the box and carefully tucked it into his robe.

"It's nothing," Su Nai replied, then used her Mage Hand to retrieve ten more ice crystal boxes from deeper shelves, handing them to Gao De.

The boxes were transparent, revealing their contents clearly.

Each box held five leaves formed of ice crystals.

"These are… the fallen leaves of the Bingyu Wutong!" Gao De froze for a moment, then instantly realized.

When the Bingyu Wutong ascended, all its old leaves fell—three or four hundred in total—and Su Nai had ordered them all collected.

"Yes. When the Guardian Tree ascended, exactly 360 leaves fell—the number of days in a year. Here are fifty of them."

Brewing water with Bingyu Wutong leaves greatly enhances a mage's mental strength—so precious to mages that it surpasses even magical plants that boost magical power.

Such treasures are never sold—they're kept for internal use or traded with other factions for items they won't sell.

When Gao De first drank Bingyu Wutong water, his mental strength rose from 100 to 132.

Of course, for higher-level mages, the effect diminishes.

For someone like Su Nai, a Fourth-Ring mage, gaining three mental strength points would be considered good.

Thus, Bingyu Wutong leaves are best suited for First-Ring mages—effectively equivalent to First-Ring potions.

But their value can't be calculated that way, since they permanently raise a mage's base attributes.

Their worth is nearly equal to a higher-tier supernatural item—each leaf priced around 300 Jin Quehua coins.

Fifty leaves equal 15,000 Jin Quehua coins.

High unit value, compact size, and guaranteed demand—these weren't leaves; they were gold leaves!

Gao De's concerns vanished instantly.

For most factions, treasures like Bingyu Wutong leaves are never sold—they're hoarded internally or traded for other irreplaceable items.

Many treasures simply cannot be bought with money—and Bingyu Wutong leaves are one such thing.

Gao De and Su Nai both understood this.

But they also understood urgency—under current circumstances, such considerations had to be set aside.

Moreover, Bingyu Wutong leaves are renewable; selling a portion for emergency use was not unacceptable.

"With these, the Harland Shipyard is already within reach," Gao De said, satisfied—everything was progressing steadily as planned.

"The Harland Shipyard has a ready-made two-masted square-rigged ship. After successfully acquiring it, I'll immediately recruit crew and set sail."

"First, to deliver Amy and Anna to the North; second, to transport craftsmen, timber, and other materials currently lacking in the North."

"Meanwhile, the North must prepare stable resources as return cargo to sell in the Jin Quehua Dynasty—then use the income to build more ships and buy more supplies to bring back to the North, creating a positive cycle to establish an initial trade route," Gao De said slowly.

Mutual trade, optimizing resource allocation—this is how Phoenix's development gains endless momentum.

"In Valar Bay, we must also quickly build a functional port—not large, not formal, just adequate."

The port is the gateway connecting the North to the outside world, the critical hub of trade. Though large-scale construction isn't needed yet, we must swiftly secure a basic port to prepare for incoming trade.

"No problem," Su Nai agreed at once, then hesitated slightly before asking: "Are Amy and Anna that important?"

"Extremely," Gao De affirmed.

"They are the deposed princesses of the Xidian Duchy—though that title matters little; what matters is their talent."

"First, Anna—though young, her talent in rune science is extraordinary. I will personally teach her rune science. If possible, I hope she becomes Phoenix's Chief of Rune Science in the Ministry of Education."

Gao De was determined to spread He Xi's newly constructed rune science system—and Anna was the most suitable person he had ever encountered.

Her innate ability in calculation made her born for this field.

"As for Amy… from what I've learned, she's a princess of some renown, raised in royal education, proficient in politics, diplomacy, economics, and even military affairs, possessing unique insights and exceptional administrative talent."

"During her father's reign, she actively participated in state affairs—whether domestic infrastructure planning or foreign diplomacy and trade negotiations—she was involved in all, earning great praise from the people of Xidian Duchy."

"Such talent is vital for Phoenix at this stage."

"Will someone with this identity and background be willing to join us? To outsiders, we're outsiders." Su Nai voiced her concern.

"They will. Once they arrive in the North, they'll be on our side—and naturally, they'll give their all."

Gao De affirmed: "Their nation has fallen. They're still being hunted by the Oufuja Duchy, fleeing everywhere. The North offers them sanctuary—what other choice do they have?"

Without the protection of the North, she couldn't even protect her own life.

And once they come to the North, their fate becomes tightly bound to ours; the better Phoenix develops, the more stable her position, and the greater her value.

Therefore, from a standpoint of interest, Aisha will also give her all—she is intelligent and knows what to do," Gao De continued, his reasoning clear.

"Your Majesty, your plans leave nothing to chance," Su Nai calmly added another "compliment."

"By the way, prepare some more chunks of high-tier geopulse creatures' meat—preferably third-ring or higher," Gao De suddenly remembered something.

This is for Tuanzi's rations.

As long as a capybara consumes sufficient high-quality food rich in magic and blood qi during its growth phase, it can successfully evolve into a second-ring creature.

To ascend further, the resources required multiply exponentially, making it extremely difficult.

After all, high-quality food rich in magic and blood qi is not cheap.

First, hunting geopulse creatures is never easy—they dwell in the wilds and are powerful; hunting them demands great effort and carries immense risk.

Second, not all geopulse creatures are edible; some carry deadly toxins, or their flesh is coarse and inedible—even if you expend great effort to kill them, they cannot serve as food.

Only those geopulse creatures carefully selected for tender, non-toxic flesh can be used as food.

Finally, transporting edible geopulse creature carcasses back into the city is also extremely difficult.

This is not a matter of how many geopulse creatures you kill—you can't bring back that many carcasses.

Mages venturing deep into the wilds must carry vast amounts of gear and supplies; their own load is already heavy.

So it's likely a mage spends two or three days trekking deep into the forests, slaying a small group of geopulse creatures, only to spend another two or three days bringing back just one carcass due to weight constraints.

Combined, these three factors make geopulse creature flesh extremely valuable—only nobles can afford it, let alone use it to feed beast companions; it is far too extravagant.

But for Gao De, this is a problem too small to matter.

The Zhenbing Tribe has little else, but geopulse creature flesh is never in short supply.

The Zhenbing Tribe has powerful Iceblood mages as hunters; they don't even glance at first-ring geopulse creature flesh—the baseline is second-ring flesh, ensuring Tuanzi enjoys the top-tier treatment befitting a "Capybara King."

(End of Chapter)