Chapter 967: The Five Star Lakes

Li Yu walked through the bustling stone paths of the Zhan Clan estate. The bright morning sunlight warmed his skin and slowly chased away the lingering chill of his seclusion. He had spent the last forty days sealed underground enduring unimaginable torment to forge his second Qi node. His body felt surprisingly light today while his internal spiritual reserves felt as vast and terrifying as a bottomless ocean with his doubled Qi capacity a comforting reminder of his successful torture.

Li Yu knew he needed a mental break from the relentless pursuit of power right now. Cultivation was a path of delicate balance. Pushing too hard for too long without proper breaks inevitably led to the formation of inner demons or a permanently shattered foundation. Perhaps others could sit there for long periods of time and endure the isolation and pain but he could not. Li Yu needed a project that did not involve bleeding or fighting for his life.

He looked around at the passing disciples as he walked toward the outer pavilions. The Zhan Clan members greeted him with nods and boisterous smiles. Some of the body refiners even waved at him while carrying boulders for their morning exercises.

He felt remarkably at home here among these people. The Li Clan estate had always felt slightly sterile and overly focused on orthodox sword paths and quiet scholarly pursuits. The Zhan Clan was different. They were loud and aggressive but rooted and seemingly more friendly. He felt much more at home here than he did there.

Li Yu wanted to contribute something tangible to this home and establish his own physical foundation within its borders. An idea began to take shape in his mind as he watched the disciples train. Li Yu wanted to start an aquatic pen to raise spiritual seafood as he had done before in his past. He could manage the ecosystem himself at the beginning and it would serve as a peaceful distraction from his ruthless training regimen. It would give him a homebase or a place that can return to that would be his own.

He found one of the logistics elders managing a supply pavilion near the outer training grounds. The pavilion was stacked high with crates of medicinal herbs and forged weapons. Li Yu approached the busy man and politely outlined his idea for a large scale aquatic beast farm. The elder stopped reviewing his inventory scrolls and stroked his thick gray beard while listening carefully.

"It is a highly practical pursuit young man." The elder said with an approving nod. "Raising aquatic beasts requires immense patience but it provides excellent supplemental resources for the clan. The disciples always need quality spiritual meat after their training or to simply enjoy as food. However, such a project will take up a massive amount of land. I simply do not have the authority to grant you that much territory within the main estate. You will need to get this approved directly by the Clan Leader himself."

Li Yu thanked the elder for his time and made his way up the mountain toward the central administration hall. The Clan Leader welcomed Li Yu into his office and he poured them both a cup of strong tea while listening as the young cultivator presented his request.

The Clan Leader chuckled heartily as he leaned back in his massive wooden chair. "An aquatic farm? That is certainly a change of pace from the kinds of requests I normally get. I agree to it. You can help supply the clan with spiritual seafood and perhaps it will become a big business or just remain a hobby."

"I will pay for all the construction costs myself." Li Yu offered quickly. "I do not want to drain the clan's resources for my own personal project."

The Clan Leader waved his massive hand dismissively and immediately rejected the idea. "Keep your spirit stones boy. The clan will fully cover the construction of your lakes and your pavilions. I plan to simply extort your mother or your grandfather for the funds later when they return."

Li Yu blinked in surprise at the blatant extortion before letting out a genuine and loud laugh. He readily agreed to those terms because he knew the clan leader was on good terms with them both. The Clan Leader then explained that Zhan Tielan and Zhan Tian had already spoken to him in private not long after Li Yu returned to the clan..

They had explicitly told the Clan Leader to allow Li Yu to freely pursue his own projects and they promised they would cover all necessary expenses to help him establish deep roots. It was another silent, but known reminder of his family's unwavering support. They wanted him to feel like he truly belonged here.

The Clan Leader stood up and summoned a massive glowing map of the surrounding Zhan territories over his desk. He quickly pointed out that there was absolutely no way that much free land was available directly within the main headquarters. The central peaks were already densely packed with training facilities, residential courtyards and defensive arrays.

He instead granted Li Yu a large plot of completely undeveloped land located relatively far away from headquarters by normal walking standards. It was beautifully nestled in a lush green valley situated between two minor mountain ranges. The distance was entirely trivial for cultivators with their flying abilities but it provided the necessary isolation and space for a massive aquatic farm.

Li Yu thanked the Clan Leader and immediately set to work designing the layout of his new territory. He drafted detailed plans late into the night and presented them to the clan's master builders the very next day. Li Yu specifically designed five distinct lakes arranged perfectly in the shape of a five pointed star. Each lake would feature varying depths and specific layouts to perfectly accommodate different species of aquatic life.

The exact center of the star formation would serve as the main operational hub. He designed a series of highly functional buildings for feed storage and meat processing. The centerpiece of the entire valley would be a tall and elegant dark wood pagoda. The pagoda would serve as Li Yu's personal residence and quiet cultivation chamber whenever he wanted to stay on site and tend to the beasts.

He drew up much inspiration from what he had learned from his time managing the Deep Sea Menagerie at the Green Mountain Sect. Such thoughts triggered some sad memories of the destroyed sect and his revenge against the Seven Sins. He just needed to find the realm again and crush them.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The clan's earth and water aspect cultivators mobilized quickly under his direction. The construction went underway immediately and the quiet valley was rapidly transformed into a bustling work zone. Massive trenches were effortlessly carved into the earth using Qi arts while underground spiritual springs were expertly redirected to quickly fill the newly formed basins with pristine water.

Li Yu stood on a ridge and watched the massive lakes slowly fill with shimmering water. He realized he needed to secure a large and diverse population of aquatic beasts as soon as possible. He planned to fill some of the lakes with the exploding populations of his own beasts from his Koi Sanctuary.

He had gathered many useful species during his travels but he wanted much more numbers to establish a truly robust and self-sustaining ecosystem. He remembered the aquatic trade back at the Li Clan territory. The Li Clan consumed and traded a large amount of spiritual seafood to sustain their banquets and daily meals. They would definitely know some good commercial suppliers in the market.

He summoned Haelan and Jhyra and the two Core Wardens silently appeared and quickly prepared a sleek transport ship for the journey. They traveled quickly and arrived at the majestic Li Clan headquarters. Li Yu did not linger as sought out several of the logistics elders he knew from his previous stay. He explained his new agricultural venture to them and asked them for reliable merchant contacts who could fulfill a massive bulk order.

The Li Clan elders were happy to help him as they pointed him directly towards two massive merchant organizations that specialized heavily in the aquatic trade across the realms. The Deepwater Trade Union handled exotic deep sea creatures while The Silver Fin Syndicate was highly renowned for breeding premium ornamental and consumable fish.

Li Yu decided to start his business with The Silver Fin Syndicate. He left the Li Clan estate and headed directly to their primary commercial shop located in a bustling nearby trade hub. The shop was incredibly lavish and smelled faintly of ocean salt. Massive reinforced crystal tanks lined the entire length of the walls as they displayed shimmering schools of spiritual fish and exotic glowing crabs. He approached the main counter and formally requested a meeting with the branch manager.

He was led into a plush back office where he ran into a rather fat merchant. The man wore heavily embroidered silk robes and had several chunky golden rings squeezing his pudgy fingers. The merchant offered a polite but highly practiced smile as he sat down and poured two cups of fragrant tea.

Li Yu sat down across from him and clearly outlined his plans. He detailed the construction of the five star lakes and his immediate desire to purchase a massive foundational breeding stock of various species. The fat merchant listened carefully to the proposal but his practiced smile slowly faded into a look of deep hesitation and concern.

"Young Master Yu." The merchant began while nervously wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead with a silk handkerchief. "This is an incredibly big order you are proposing. We are certainly capable of fulfilling it from our reserves. However, we generally do not want to supply an independent party with that much breeding stock all at once. You have the land and the vast resources to become a supplier yourself. If we sell you this stock, you could one day become direct competition for our syndicate in this very region."

Li Yu understood the man's business logic and his fears. "I have absolutely no intention of competing with you in the open market. I just want to raise these aquatic beasts and fish for my own personal use and to quietly feed the Zhan Clan. I know your people are already supplying the Li Clan and other major factions with contracts. I am not looking to steal your established business or undercut your prices."

The merchant tapped his fat ringed fingers nervously on the polished wooden desk. "Words are just wind in this industry, Young Master. A promise made today can easily become a rival enterprise tomorrow when profits are involved."

"Then we can easily sign a binding contract right now." Li Yu offered smoothly without missing a beat. He had learned enough from Kui to make himself a decent merchant. "I will sign a strict agreement stating I will not sell any of my stock to the Li Clan or into any of the established areas where you currently do business. If I break the contract, I will owe your organization fines. You get a massive bulk sale today and an ironclad guarantee of no future competition from my lakes."

The merchant thought about the proposal deeply while sipping his tea. He weighed the immediate profit against the heavily mitigated risks. He also understood Li Yu's uniquely high status within the Li and Zhan Clan from his parents.

It would certainly not be a good idea to keep refusing him when he was actively offering a non-compete clause and not pushing into their business. Offending a Worldkeeper's grandson over paranoia was bad for long term business.

"Very well." The fat merchant eventually agreed as his greedy smile quickly returned to his face. "We have a deal. I will have the contracts drafted immediately by my scribes."

The merchant pulled a thick heavy ledger from his desk drawer and handed Li Yu a comprehensive list of the different aquatic beasts they currently had available. He told Li Yu they could easily deliver the beasts in batches depending on the amount and whenever the new lakes were properly settled and ready for them to be introduced.

Li Yu scanned the extensive list and selected just about some of everything to ensure a diverse and balanced ecosystem. He picked out a total of around twenty five different species. He specifically ordered massive schools of Bronze Scaled Sturgeon for their incredible physical vitality. Their flesh was dense and required high heat to cook but it was perfect for body refiners.

He chose Jade Ribbon Eels for their rapid reproduction cycles and the smooth water Qi found in their meat. He added Crimson Claw Crabs to serve as aggressive scavengers to keep the bottom of the lake beds clean. He finalized the premium selection with thousands of Moonlit Carps whose flesh dissolved into easily refined energy and a large breeding group of Granite Shell Turtles for their rich tastes.

He ordered thousands of the much weaker foundational beasts to serve as the bottom of the food chain. The numbers he ordered decreased significantly as the cultivation levels of the beasts went up. He stopped his orders entirely at the Core Formation realm for these beasts.

He knew from harsh experience that anything more powerful than a Core Formation beast was not worth raising for food. The amount of resources and spiritual energy required to feed a Soul Formation aquatic beast cost way more than the return in Qi you would get from consuming its flesh. It was always far better and much more economical to simply hunt those high level beasts in the wild instead of trying to farm them in captivity.

Both sides carefully reviewed the finalized numbers on the ledger and Li Yu agreed to pay the full substantial sum once the goods were safely delivered to the Zhan Clan territory. The merchant offered him a twenty percent discount since it was such a large order and also as a sign of good will.

Li Yu then signed the contract ensuring he would not provide any seafood to the Li Clan or interfere with the syndicate's established trade routes. Both sides left the meeting happy with the overall outcome. The fat merchant secured one of the largest single sales in a while and Li Yu secured the foundation for his aquatic pens.

Li Yu stepped out of the lavish shop and breathed in the bustling city air. He had no plans to make this into a massive commercial business anyway. He just wanted a peaceful sanctuary for himself and a reliable way to provide resources for the Zhan Clan and anyone else who was interested in his work in that surrounding area.