Chapter 708

Our sect is also roughly the same; we want to go there to mine.

That Hall Master Yan was previously responsible for this.

I suppose so.

Ye Lin laughed: "Hall Master Yan truly enjoys great trust, but given Hall Master Yan's ability, this sort of thing shouldn't be a problem for you."

Hehe, thanks for the praise. What are you responsible for over there?

I'm just responsible for escorting spiritual materials." Ye Lin said.

Yan Buji nodded: "Then you should be setting off now to check the situation, right? When the time comes, let me know if there's any news."

Leave it to me, you can rest assured!

After seeing Ye Lin off, Yan Buji laughed: "That's good too; with Ye Lin there, we might even be able to contact the Paolong Sacred Land people then, making it convenient to ask them for some spiritual materials."

As for demon tribe spiritual materials, the hottest item on the market nowadays is that kind of dry fire.

This kind of special spiritual material that can increase the success rate and quality of pill formation is truly in short supply.

Precisely because the demon tribe has many good things, Yan Buji feels that this trip will definitely let him make a fortune.

Anyway, now it's just about having accumulated resources, completing the stage of nine dispersals and nine cultivations of magical power; closing off in seclusion isn't of much use anymore.

Another half year passed.

The Sect Master summoned all sect personnel of steward rank and above to the main hall for a meeting; Yan Buji naturally was among them.

Upon arriving at the main hall, seeing many elders smiling at him and some deeply dissatisfied, it seemed everyone already knew.

"The Sect Master arrives!!"

"We greet the Sect Master!"

"Greetings to the Sect Master."

"No need for formalities, everyone." He Yun sat in the chief seat, waved his hand: "Please be seated."

"Thank you, Sect Master!"

After everyone took their seats, the spacious sect main hall was now filled with a sea of people, and these were just those with status; the number of disciples in the sect nowadays is countless.

"Our sect, since its reconstruction over a decade ago, has developed steadily, with disciple numbers gradually increasing. To ensure the sect's sustainable development going forward, I believe many have heard that I participated in a semi-public auction."

He Yun looked around and continued: "This auction determined the rights to resources in various places of Luohuang Zhou; I won the usage and mining rights to a gold‑steel mine and its surrounding 300-li area for three hundred years."

"Three hundred years?!"

"How much money would that cost?"

"Only three hundred years?"

"Isn't that a bit short?"

Yan Buji looked at the elders discussing loudly, and they still complained it was too little; knowing this is only mining and usage rights, not ownership, the price surely wouldn't be low.

He Yun didn't go into detail about how much money he spent to win it, merely saying: "Today I summoned you all here to discuss who should be sent to oversee this."

"Sect Master, I have a candidate! It's the Hall Master of the Pill Refining Hall, Yan Buji; you elders should also be familiar with him—Hall Master Yan previously oversaw the spiritual material foreign trade of the Youming Jie single‑handedly, his character and ability are solid, making him absolutely suitable for this external assignment to Luohuang Zhou!"

"I disagree! Sect Master, how could Luohuang Zhou be a kind place? That land itself belongs to the demon tribe; having just gone through war, it certainly won't be simple and peaceful. To put it bluntly, Hall Master Yan is only at Nascent Soul strength; if something goes wrong, who would be responsible? You couldn't possibly arrange a Void‑Refining or Unity‑Dao elder to accompany him, could you?"

"According to what this elder said, who would dare go without Unity‑Dao strength? Isn't it all the big shots together? Moreover, if we want stability, the sect couldn't possibly send only Hall Master Yan; we'd need someone to protect the mining area while someone else handles its affairs."

"In that case, wouldn't the sect be short‑handed?!"

Yan Buji listened to the surrounding clamor with little change in his expression; he also knew his strength was a weakness, and whenever he encountered a malicious God‑Transformation cultivator he might not escape, but there really was nothing to be done.

He also wished he could just sleep and become a Great Vehicle cultivator, but that's impossible too.

"Alright, stop arguing. Hall Master Yan, do you have anything you'd like to say?"

Yan Buji stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said: "Replying to Sect Master, I think since we need to assign personnel there, the development of the mineral vein can be split into two parts: one maintaining order, the other responsible for mining. If everything is handled by the same group, it's easy for affairs to become overly complicated, which would actually hinder early development."

He Yun nodded: "Then that's settled. Besides Hall Master Yan, does anyone else volunteer to take charge of developing and maintaining the mining area?"

"Sect Master, I think I can handle the development task!" Li Wan Hua of the Foreign Trade Hall stood up, full of confidence.

Yan Buji's expression turned odd; he sat back in his original seat without saying much more.

The elders around who had any sense also looked at Li Wan Hua with strange expressions, saying: "Just you? You can't even manage the Foreign Trade Hall's affairs, yet you want to go to Luohuang Zhou?"

"Having said that, I am at least a God‑Transformation cultivator! I was just not very familiar with the business before, but now I think I'm capable enough; Sect Master, could you give me a chance to prove myself?"

He Yun hesitated a moment, then asked: "Alright, Hall Master Li, I have a few questions; if you were put in charge of mining, what's your plan?"

"Sect Master, regarding personnel, there's no need to recruit human workers from our side; it would be better to directly hire the local demon tribe to work the mines."

Yan Buji froze for a moment, his pupils constricting.

"That really is a good idea; it reduces labor costs and can also foster better relations with those demon tribes."

"However, the problem lies here."

"How can you be sure those demon tribes, having endured war and not being of our kin, would readily agree?"

"Moreover, if we promise them great profits, the troubles we'll encounter later would be beyond imagination."

He Yun was also stunned by Li Wan Hua's idea, thought it over carefully, and wondered: "Then what would be the treatment of those demon tribes?"

"The treatment would naturally be the same as that given to ordinary miners; moreover, to prevent them from uniting, we could adopt a strategy of co‑opting some and suppressing others. First we would recruit those among them who appear weak but obedient, grant them high office and generous stipends, have them manage the lower‑rank demon tribes, and thus create division from within."

He Yun nodded: "Indeed, that's a good idea; does anyone else have any questions?"

"Hall Master Li, if we employ demon tribe miners, how would we prevent them from not obeying us?"

"It's the same method: co‑opt a compliant group and have them deal with the non‑compliant ones."

Seeing Li Wan Hua answer fluently, Yan Buji felt he had underestimated this guy, but still rose, cupped his fists, and said: "Hall Master Li, I have a question I'd like to ask."

"What advice does Hall Master Yan have?" Li Wan Hua's face darkened as he looked at Yan Buji.

"I dare not presume to give advice; I merely ask Hall Master Li, have you ever considered why the demon tribes of Luohuang Zhou suffered war?"

Li Wan Hua froze for a moment: "That's just because the demon tribes themselves had internal strife, so...."

"So they lost!" Yan Buji smiled: "The demon emperor of Luohuang Zhou lost to the demon royal court; according to demon rules, the losing side in war must forever become slaves of the victors, and any fleeing demons that the royal court sees must be beheaded. So is it possible that now Luohuang Zhou has not a single demon left?"

Li Wan Hua's face stiffened, not knowing how to rebut.

"That... that can also recruit demon tribe miners from the nearby continent..."

"What's the difference between that and directly shipping a batch of miners over? Recruiting also takes time, why not prepare in advance? Moreover, in human territory, the price of miners isn't high; after going to the nearby continent, recruiting is also possible." Yan Buji said with a smile.

Li Wan Hua froze on the spot, and after a long while still didn't speak, gritting their teeth as they retreated back to their seat.