“I can choose any of them?”
Lin Yuan was surprised.
In a sense, even the capital itself was a kind of resource ground.
It housed the Liyang Ancient Kingdom’s largest yang vein—a holy land for all cultivators on the yang path.
“You’re to pick three from the resource grounds that haven’t been granted yet.”
The emperor looked at Lin Yuan and shook his head. “Look carefully.”
“Alright.”
Lin Yuan nodded, studying the map of the Liyang Ancient Kingdom.
The territory was vast, not limited to any one spatial layer—as long as it was within the boundaries of time and space, it belonged to the Liyang Ancient Kingdom.
“He can pick any three unclaimed grounds?”
King Chibao beside him was a bit taken aback.
Resource grounds in the Liyang Ancient Kingdom were ranked from first to ninth class.
First class were the most valuable, ninth class the least.
Normally, a royal king would be granted one or two grounds—but they’d be fourth or fifth class at best.
Want a more precious resource ground? Sure, you can trade for it with merit.
But Lin Yuan?
The emperor was saying he could pick any three of all the currently unclaimed grounds? Did that mean he could take three first-class grounds outright? Guarding a first-class ground, you didn’t just get the merit from the kingdom, but also a cut of the resources produced, which were incredibly valuable.
Even handing over ninety percent to the kingdom, that ten percent left was enough to make even a Heavenly Sovereign envious.
And these resources weren’t a one-time thing—they kept coming, generation after generation.
Some special resources couldn’t even be bought for any price; they’d be snapped up the instant they appeared.
“Choose carefully—a more precious ground isn’t always better.”
The emperor gave a word of advice.
“I understand.”
Lin Yuan nodded.
Why did these grounds need powerful guardians? Because they came with risk.
Some of the risk came from their location—some were on the border with another ancient kingdom and could face enemy incursions.
Others connected to dangerous realms—like the ‘Star Sand River,’ a first-class ground of the Liyang Ancient Kingdom.
It produced star sand, a rare treasure for tempering the body, useful even to Heavenly Sovereigns, and coveted by the strong from every ancient kingdom.
But at the bottom of the Star Sand River was a gateway to some mysterious world, and sometimes powerful beings would invade from there.
The guardian had to keep the Star Sand River safe and ensure a steady supply of star sand for the kingdom.
Generally speaking, the more valuable the ground, the greater the benefits. But if the risks were too high, no one would want it, no matter how precious.
If you failed to meet the kingdom’s resource quota, there’d be punishment—hence the emperor’s warning.
Lin Yuan took his time; in fact, before coming, he’d already studied all the kingdom’s resource grounds.
Every core royal was granted a ground or two—Lin Yuan had figured he’d be no exception, but hadn’t expected to be allowed to choose freely.
“The endless wars with other ancient kingdoms are all, at the core, a fight over these precious resource grounds.”
The emperor smiled and asked, “Milky Way, have you decided? Which three do you want?”
Looking at the glowing map, Lin Yuan quickly circled his three chosen grounds.
“Black Jade Nest?” The emperor and King Chibao both glanced over.
Lin Yuan’s picks included two first-class grounds and one second-class ground.
The Black Jade Nest was one of the first-class ones.
The Black Jade Nest produced a unique resource—black jade, which could temper the mind and will.
For cultivators, willpower was crucial; it wasn’t as visible as the body or soul, but was equally important.
That’s why Black Jade Nest was a first-class ground.
Lin Yuan had his reasons for picking it.
Willpower, much like insight into the rules, could be strengthened in both the chaos void and this source world at once.
Guarding the Black Jade Nest meant getting a tenth of the black jade produced—Lin Yuan could use it himself to temper his own will.
As his willpower rose in the source world, his true self in the chaos void would also grow stronger.
“Black Jade Nest is at the border with the Xuanyin Ancient Kingdom. That’s not a safe place,” the emperor remarked, looking at Lin Yuan.
The black jade was just as valuable to the Xuanyin Ancient Kingdom, so there was always the risk of invasion from their side.
“I know.”
Lin Yuan nodded.
He already planned to station a soul clone there long-term.
Usually, the conflicts between two ancient kingdoms wouldn’t escalate to the Heavenly Sovereign level unless there was all-out war.
Even though Black Jade Nest was precious, its value came from long-term, steady harvests.
If a Heavenly Sovereign tried to seize it for a short while, they’d be driven out by the other side’s Heavenly Sovereign—there was no real gain.
Lin Yuan’s soul clone, while not as strong as his true body, was stronger than a normal peak core royal, more than enough to guard Black Jade Nest.
Of the other two, the second first-class ground was also dangerous, so he planned to send another soul clone.
The last, a second-class ground, wasn’t as lucrative as black jade, but had little risk, lying deep within the kingdom. A simple avatar would be enough to guard it.
“Since you’ve decided, here are the decrees for those three grounds.”
The emperor spoke, flipping his hand to produce three crystal tokens.
Each token resonated with the corresponding resource ground—they were the kingdom’s official decrees.
After leaving the palace.
King Chibao spoke with some concern: “Milky Way, do you know who’s currently holding Black Jade Nest for the kingdom?”
Black Jade Nest, on the border with the Xuanyin Ancient Kingdom, would always have someone stationed there, even if it wasn’t officially granted.
But a temporary guardian couldn’t earn the merit that came from an official appointment—only a cut of the resource.
Even so, that ten percent of black jade was enough to attract many.
“It’s Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign,” King Chibao said.
Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign wasn’t a royal, but among the Heavenly Sovereigns, he was extremely powerful.
“Does Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign dare defy the imperial decree?” Lin Yuan was a bit surprised.
He was receiving Black Jade Nest by decree—would Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign refuse to leave?
“He wouldn’t dare defy it outright, but there are ways to get around things as long as it’s not a blatant violation.”
King Chibao shook his head. “Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign needs black jade badly—that’s why he took the role as guardian.”
“You have the imperial decree, so he won’t defy it directly, but he can delay. All he has to do is claim the Xuanyin Ancient Kingdom might invade, and he can keep stalling you from taking over.”
“Every delay means another harvest of black jade for him. For Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign, it’s worth it, and there’s no grounds for accusing him of violating the emperor’s order.”
King Chibao explained.
“Forget it, I’ve dealt with Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign before. I’ll go to Black Jade Nest with you,” King Chibao decided after thinking for a moment.
“Thank you, Brother Chibao.” Lin Yuan appreciated his goodwill.
King Chibao had been around the kingdom a long time and knew all the ins and outs. With him around, Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign would have to come up with a good excuse to delay.
Black Jade Nest.
As a first-class resource ground, it had a space-time teleportation array linked directly to the capital.
Whoosh— A passage opened, and an old man with a red beard and a young man stepped out.
“At the core of Black Jade Nest, every million years, one hundred catties of black jade condense. Ninety catties go to the kingdom, the guardian keeps ten.”
King Chibao explained: “But according to my information, the actual yield is always over a hundred—usually a hundred ten to a hundred twenty.”
The official number was just the minimum.
The extra all went to the guardian.
So while the rule said the guardian got ten percent, in practice, it was closer to twenty percent.
Lin Yuan and King Chibao had only just arrived.
From the depths of Black Jade Nest, a man in red robes emerged.
Between his brows burned a faint flame—this was a clone of Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign.
“Chibao.”
Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign looked at King Chibao with indifference, then swept his gaze over Lin Yuan.
“I come under the emperor’s decree to help Brother Milky Way take over Black Jade Nest,” King Chibao got right to the point.
“To take over Black Jade Nest?”
Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign fell silent. He had already received the order and wasn’t surprised.
“That’s right.”
“I’ve brought Brother Milky Way here.”
King Chibao looked at Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign, while secretly transmitting to Lin Yuan:
“Brother Milky Way, whatever Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign says to delay, don’t respond. Leave it all to me. I don’t believe he’d dare defy His Majesty openly.”
King Chibao was ready to offend Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign completely—he was determined to help Lin Yuan take over Black Jade Nest smoothly.
Drag it out any longer and who knew how long it would take; worse, they’d be a laughingstock among the other Heavenly Sovereigns.
“So you’re Milky Way?”
Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign ignored King Chibao and fixed his gaze on Lin Yuan.
“What a powerful Liyang aura…” Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign was secretly shocked. As a Heavenly Sovereign, he could sense much more than King Chibao, and could vaguely detect Lin Yuan’s terrifying foundation.
“Forget it, black jade isn’t that effective for me anymore. Milky Way is so strong, he’ll surely be nurtured by the kingdom—maybe we’ll work together in the future, no need to make an enemy of him.”
Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign weighed the pros and cons and knew what to do.
If it had been an ordinary royal king, he would have stalled for time; even if he didn’t need the black jade, he could always sell it.
As for making enemies? For an ordinary king, so what?
But Milky Way?
Chiyang Heavenly Sovereign knew when to back down.
Thinking this, he spoke: “Since the emperor has decreed it, I’ll leave at once. But Brother Milky Way, once you take over, watch out for the Xuanyin Ancient Kingdom.”
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