Once the Goldbiter Rats were deployed, efficiency was boosted significantly. No one, not even Jiang Chen, had anticipated this result. Theyâd thought itâd take the rats three months to completely excavate the large mine, but it ended up being depleted in one and a half months.
Mountains of spirit stones shone with a seductive sheen, taking all bystander breath away.
Even though Master Han was no more than a miner now, envy couldnât help but creep in when he looked at the stones. Unfortunately, Heavenlight was fated to have absolutely nothing to do with them.
Jiang Chen could barely contain himself. The yield was about as big as heâd expected. Half of it would account for thirty percent of the stones he needed for the Great Formation of Heavenly Soul Confinement! Added to that the stones heâd collected before, that meant he was forty percent done!
He looked at the cultivators from Heavenlight. âAll of you should be glad that you only had to be miners for one and a half months and barely did any hard work.â
Master Han smiled awkwardly and nodded. âItâs all thanks to the young lordâs clever plan and fine execution.â
âAlright, thereâs no need for flattery. Count your men and think about paying the ransom. You either serve me as slaves from now on or buy your freedom. Your choice.â
âIâm willing to pay,â the middle-aged man rushed out. âBut how much is the ransom?â
âHow much do you think youâre worth?â
The middle-aged manâs face fell. âUnlike the sacred land, Heavenlight doesnât have any large mines. Itâs difficult for us to bring froth that many spirit stones.â
Jiang Chen pointed at the mountainous piles of stones. âIâm not asking for much. Iâll let you go as long as you pay a tenth of the stones here.â
The middle-aged man paled and pleaded, âYoung lord Jiang Chen, itâll be impossible for us to buy our freedom if thatâs the case. There might be less than ten mines as big as this one in the entirety of Myriad Abyss, and this is the only one weâve ever excavated. The others have either been claimed, depleted, or havenât been discovered yet. Heavenlight will never be able to gather that many stones. Even if we can, our peers will never agree to pay all of our reserves for our freedom.â
Jiang Chen knew it was going to be difficult, but he wasnât going to listen to their whining.
With a slight smile, he remarked, âSo you prefer being my slaves. That works too. Atoning for your crimes by serving me isnât too bad a bargain, is it?â
Han pulled a long face and begged, âIs there room for negotiation, young lord? Please allow us some leeway in the payment. Weâll try our best to satisfy your needs.â
âAlright, one twentieth of the stones extracted then. Thatâs my bottom line. If you canât pay up, prepare to serve me as a slave.â
One twentieth of the stones was still a large number, but Heavenlight could afford it, albeit with great difficulty. The fellows here were pretty important back home. Without them, Heavenlight would suffer a great loss in manpower.
And so, an agreement was reached. Jiang Chen let two minor characters go back and report to Heavenlight, telling them to collect the stones and find him on Winterdraw Island.
He wasnât going to take everyone back to Rejuvenation. Neither did Imperial Prince Huo want him to do that. Rejuvenation had no desire to become Heavenlightâs enemy.
The imperial prince was grateful. He knew Jiang Chen couldâve completed the trade in Rejuvenation, but had instead picked Winterdraw. The young lord was being rather reasonable and considerate.
âWeâll split the spirit stones here, Imperial Prince Huo. You witnessed the extraction of the stones. You should be able to tell that I havenât hidden anything for myself.â
âOh, youâre a man of integrity, young lord Jiang Chen,â Imperial Prince Huo responded hurriedly. âIâm very grateful and thoroughly impressed.â
This was the honest truth. Imperial Prince Huo wouldnât be able to oppose Jiang Chen at all if the young lord forcefully claimed a bigger portion of the stones, or even all of them.
When it came down to things, Jiang Chen hadnât taken the islands from the imperial prince, but from Heavenlight. Rejuvenation had long lost their ownership over the islands.
Jiang Chen peered at Imperial Prince Huo, then at those from Heavenlight. An idea came to mind. He smiled. âThereâs something I hesitate to tell you, Imperial Prince Huo.â
âPlease do,â the imperial prince replied earnestly.
âIâll be frank then, Iâm fine with you taking half of the stones, but it may not end well for Rejuvenation. A great fortune can be its ownerâs death sentence. Have you considered that yet?â
That was right. Was Rejuvenation powerful enough to keep and protect the large number of stones?
If there hadnât been any witnesses from Heavenlight, they might be able to quietly ferry the stones back to their territory with no one the wiser. As it was now, the news would get out sooner or later. How many potential enemies would be coveting the stones then?
The sum was large enough to make even the first rate factions lose control. Not even the ten sacred lands could resist the temptation of such a great fortune.
The imperial prince threw the middle-aged Han a glance, who gave him a half smile.
Clearly, Heavenlight wouldnât be bold enough to rob them of the stones, but they had no qualms about spreading the word of Rejuvenationâs recent acquisition.
The stones could very well be their downfall.
They had thrown themselves under Jiang Chenâs banner and acquired his support, but that didnât mean the young lord was going to be their bodyguard and keep them safe at all times.
Other factions could easily take all the stones from them when the young lord wasnât around. There wouldnât be much he could do from the Eternal Sacred Land. The robbers would be long gone when he arrived.
Imperial Prince Huoâs good mood evaporated. He was smart enough to recognize the truth to Jiang Chenâs words. It was a problem they had to face seriously, and if they failed to solve it, great trouble would soon follow.