Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 1140: Follow authority in urgent matters

"About half a month!" Ma Qiuyan replied.

Half a month?
Ten days!

That's too late!

Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard and thought for a moment before saying, "Without connecting to spiritual veins and earth veins, how many spirit stones would be consumed to support the formation at full power?"

Ma Qiuyan was taken aback, "Use spirit stones to activate the formation?"

"That's right!"

"That depends on the duration. If it only needs to be maintained for an hour, about a million low-grade spirit stones would be enough!"

One million spirit stones in an hour, twelve million spirit stones in a day, and sixty million spirit stones in five days.

Yang Zhengshan's lips twitched slightly. Damn, this is quite taxing!
Although the Spirit Source Land has accumulated a lot of spirit stones over the years, it is only equivalent to 500 million low-grade spirit stones.

Five hundred million spirit stones seems like a lot, but there are currently nine Golden Core cultivators in the Spirit Source Land. On average, each person earns less than sixty million low-grade spirit stones.

Low-grade spirit stones are useless to Golden Core cultivators. If they were converted into top-grade spirit stones, 60 million low-grade spirit stones would be roughly equivalent to 50 top-grade spirit stones.

Is fifty top-grade spirit stones a lot for one person?

Moreover, the Spirit Source Land also has so many Foundation Establishment cultivators and demonic beasts, as well as so many martial artists.

On average, it only costs a few hundred yuan per person.

Of course, this only refers to the spirit stones stored in the Spirit Source Land, not that everyone has no spirit stones left.

However, it is undeniable that the Spirit Source Land does not have a large reserve of spirit stones.

It would take 60 million spirit stones to last for five days. This does not mean that once the battle lasts for five days, the formation will no longer need to consume spirit stones after it connects with the earth veins and spirit veins.

After connecting to the earth veins and spiritual veins, the operation of the grand formation still requires spirit stones, but the amount consumed will be greatly reduced, to about 20%.

Even if it's reduced to 20%, it would still cost 2.4 million spirit stones a day, 240 million in 100 days, and 480 million in 200 days.

In other words, the spirit stone reserves in the Spirit Source Land can only support the formation of the outpost base to operate at full capacity for seven months.

Yang Zhengshan wanted the outpost to last another year, which was clearly wishful thinking on his part.

He himself did have some spirit stones, but the spirit stones he had were all high-grade and top-grade, so it would be a waste to use them on the array.

Although they are all spirit stones, and there is a fixed exchange ratio between spirit stones of different grades, the higher the grade of the spirit stone, the rarer it is.

Especially top-grade spirit stones, which are equivalent to third-tier spirit objects.

If we simply convert it to spiritual energy, the spiritual energy contained in that top-grade spirit stone is equivalent to one million low-grade spirit stones. However, in terms of value, one million low-grade spirit stones are absolutely not enough to buy a top-grade spirit stone. It would cost at least one million two hundred thousand, and even then, you would have to rely on luck to buy one.

Yang Zhengshan was reluctant to use top-grade spirit stones on the consumption of formations.

“We need more spirit stones!” Yang Zhengshan said.

Ma Qiuyan and Ning Yun looked at each other, as they had no way of obtaining a large number of spirit stones.

Lin Qihe said thoughtfully, "Actually, we can use other spiritual objects as spirit stones!"

"Other spiritual objects?" Yang Zhengshan looked at him.

All spiritual objects contain spiritual energy, and spiritual stones are also a type of spiritual object. However, because the spiritual energy they contain is pure and the mineral reserves are relatively large, they are used as currency.

Other spiritual objects can certainly serve as spirit stones, but using other spiritual objects as spirit stones is even more unprofitable.

The reason is simple: among items of the same grade, spirit stones are the most cost-effective spiritual items in terms of the amount of spiritual energy they contain.

"Hmm, other types of spiritual objects might not be suitable, but the Yellow Earth Thick Spirit Array is an earth-attribute array, so using earth-attribute spiritual objects instead of spirit stones should be more appropriate!"

"Moreover, our Spirit Source Land has a loess mine that produces the lowest grade loess stone!"

Lin Qihe explained.

Yang Zhengshan's eyes lit up immediately after hearing this.

Yes, the Spirit Source Land also has loess mines. Loess stones are more suitable for driving the Loess Thick Spirit Array than spirit stones.

The land of spiritual origin is vast, containing many mineral veins, but Yang Zhengshan has always prohibited mining. Apart from the first few mineral veins that were mined, the mineral veins discovered later have never been mined.

Because the spiritual energy in the Spirit Source Land is limited, if these mineral veins are over-exploited, it will inevitably affect the concentration of spiritual energy in the Spirit Source Land.

In order to maintain the concentration of spiritual energy in the Spirit Source Land, Yang Zhengshan required Ziwei Tower to break some spirit stones in the Spirit Source Land regularly, with the aim of replenishing the spiritual energy consumed in the Spirit Source Land.

However, in urgent situations, it's not impossible to mine loess for emergency purposes; we can always replenish it with spirit stones later.

"Then let people mine the loess. Go tell Ziwei Tower to start mining as soon as possible, on the largest scale!" Yang Zhengshan instructed.

Using loess stones to power the Loess Thick Spirit Array can enhance the array's defensive capabilities. Although it is not as cost-effective as spirit stones, loess stones are more advantageous in terms of effectiveness.

Loess ore is only a first-order ore vein, so it is relatively easy to mine. At worst, we can just mine it violently and not consider the consequences.

Providing enough loess and stones to the outpost base in a short period of time is not a problem at all.

“Master, there’s one more question!” Ning Yun suddenly interjected.

"What's the problem?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

“Master, have you overlooked the flying boat and the puppets? The flying boat also consumes spirit stones, and so do the puppets!” Ning Yun said.

Yang Zhengshan's expression froze. Okay, he really had overlooked it.

Whether it's a flying boat or a puppet, they're all money-devouring beasts.

Once they all start moving, the consumption of spirit stones may exceed that of the Yellow Earth Thick Spirit Array.

After all, the Land of Spiritual Origin has hundreds of flying boats and thousands of puppets.

During the battle, not all airships should need to be deployed, but the puppets are also part of the outpost's defenses, so they will definitely be put into full operation.

Yang Zongyuan previously said that the more than three thousand puppets could be deployed at any time. What he meant was that he could only mobilize three thousand puppeteers to drive three thousand puppets into battle, not that there were only three thousand puppets in the Spirit Source Land.

In fact, the Spirit Source Land has stored as many as 12,000 second-tier puppets, but due to the limited number of puppeteers, only 3,000 can be dispatched to battle.

Of course, this refers to combat. If it were to be used for defense, a puppeteer could control several puppets.

Twelve thousand puppets can all be used for the defense of the outpost base, and the spirit stones consumed by these puppets are also a considerable amount.

So the question is, is it possible to do without puppets? Of course it is, there are still many cultivators, martial artists and demon beasts in the Spirit Source Land.

The problem is that cultivators, martial artists, and demonic beasts also need to expend energy in their battles. They not only consume spirit stones, but also pills and food.

They may consume less energy than the puppets, but they get tired and need rest.

Puppets do not need to be trained. As long as the puppeteer can persevere, the puppet can fight indefinitely, and the puppeteers can be rotated.

The key is that the puppeteers are only Qi Refining stage cultivators. They control puppets with their Qi Refining stage cultivation to defend the city, and can exert the combat power of several Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

The puppets consume quite a lot of spirit stones!
Yang Zhengshan shook his head helplessly, "Let Ziwei Tower find a few more low-grade spirit stone veins to mine."

This is a choice we have no other option to make.

This war is unavoidable. If we don't fight it, Bai Yujing will not be able to gain a foothold in the Wanhua Mountains and will not be able to curb the expansion of the Wuchang Ghost Sect.

The Impermanent Ghost Sect wanted the Wanhua Mountain Range, and so did Yang Zhengshan. This was not only for the power struggle, but also to ensure that Baiyujing had its own territory outside the capital.

The situation in the Central Region was too complicated for Yang Zhengshan to handle, so he had no choice but to take the opportunity of the destruction of the Wanhua Demon Court to defeat the Wuchang Ghost Sect and occupy the Wanhua Mountain Range.

He doesn't necessarily need to occupy the entire Wanhua Mountain Range; he only needs the prime area in the central part of the Wanhua Mountain Range.

……

The war horn is about to sound, and the entire Spirit Source Land is in a state of turmoil.

The land of spiritual origins, which had been developing steadily for a century, was now like a wound-up machine, operating at an extreme speed, with all matters being carried out with great efficiency.

In the study on the top floor of the Ziwei Building.

Yang Chengmao was engrossed in processing documents when Yang Mingzhen knocked on the door and entered the study.

"Hey, this is a file on several loess mines and spirit stone mines." Yang Mingzhen placed a large stack of files on his desk.

Yang Chengmao raised his head, looked at Yang Mingzhen, and smiled, "Uncle Mingzhen, you at Yaoguang Tower can decide on this matter!"

The decision to mine loess and spirit stone was made by Yang Zhengshan, but the specific veins to be mined still needed to be proposed by Yaoguanglou, because Yaoguanglou had a Mineral Storage Hall, which was specifically responsible for mineral vein surveying, mining, and various ore reserves.

Previously, Yang Mingcheng was in charge of Yaoguang Tower. After Yang Mingcheng went into seclusion, Yang Mingzhen took over the responsibility of Yaoguang Tower.

Yang Mingzhen pointed to the files on the desk and said, "These are several mineral veins that our Yaoguang Tower has selected. Take a look, and if there are no problems, we will arrange for people to start mining!"

Mining is not a decision that can be made on a whim, because it involves the overall planning of the Spirit Source Land.

Generally speaking, the areas where mineral veins are located are places rich in spiritual energy, and are excellent spiritual fields and blessed lands. Nowadays, many spiritual fields in the spiritual source land have been planned, either to establish settlements, to be converted into spiritual fields and medicinal gardens, or to be allocated to the demon race as places for recuperation.

Although many spaces remain vacant, Ziwei Tower also has some future plans.

To avoid conflict with previous plans, Yang Mingzhen took the files to Yang Chengmao for a look.

Yang Chengmao opened the files and examined them one by one. Yaoguang Tower had prepared quite a few mineral veins. After careful consideration, Yang Chengmao selected one loess mine and two spirit stone mines as the targets for this mining operation.

"Let's go with these three. There's only one spirit fruit orchard here, so even if it's damaged, it won't have a big impact. Plus, it's relatively close to Changming City, so it's easy to mobilize manpower!"

"Okay! I'll make arrangements right away!"

Yang Mingzhen responded and picked up the files to leave. Yang Chengmao wanted to get up to see him off, but Yang Mingzhen quickly stopped him, saying, "You can go ahead with your work."

"Then I won't see you off!" Yang Chengmao stood up, watched him leave, and then buried himself in the documents again.

The outpost is still under construction, and battle is imminent. The deployment of troops is the responsibility of the Immortal Hall and the Jade Capital Guard, but the allocation of various supplies needs to be handled by the Twelfth Floor.

Spirit stones, ores, weapons, magical artifacts, elixirs, food, and so on—once the battle begins, the Twelfth Floor must ensure a sufficient supply of resources.

Don't assume that logistics are unimportant in battles between immortal cultivators. On the contrary, logistics are even more important in wars between immortal cultivators.

A single Qi Condensation Pill can allow a Foundation Establishment cultivator to fight for an extra hour, while a single Healing Pill can save a Foundation Establishment cultivator's life.

A magical artifact or treasure can determine victory or defeat at a crucial moment, and a talisman can save a cultivator a lot of mana.

Cultivators also need to eat. Normally, Foundation Establishment cultivators can eat dew and drink air, using the absorption of spiritual energy to replace the energy provided by food. However, once they are caught in a continuous battle, Foundation Establishment cultivators also need various foods to replenish their mana consumption.

Various kinds of high-quality spirit rice are their best food, which allows them to fight longer.

These are just the supplies needed by cultivators, as well as martial artists, especially the soldiers of the Jade Capital Guard. They are all Golden Body Realm martial artists, but their main method of attack is with bows and arrows.

Since we are using bows and arrows, we naturally need to prepare a large number of arrows.

Not tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, but starting with millions of arrows.

The longer the battle lasts, the more arrows are consumed.

"Desheng! This is an order for the foundry: have them immediately forge all kinds of arrows!"

"Desheng, our reserves of healing pills are insufficient. Go to the pill hall immediately and tell them to refine a batch of second-tier healing pills as soon as possible!"

"Desheng, have someone take inventory of the armor in the warehouse and see how much we have in reserve?"

"Desheng, the Divine Generals need a lot of alcohol! Hmm! Alcohol!"

Yang Chengmao looked at the document in his hand and was slightly taken aback.

The Divine Generals Division is an organization established in recent years. It belongs to the Celestial Palace and is responsible for the transformation, training, and development of divine generals. It is headed by Xuanzhen and assisted by several other outstanding divine generals.

At this moment, the Divine Generals actually asked for drinks, which made Yang Chengmao feel both amused and annoyed.

"Go ask that old bastard An Nianjiu what he needs so much alcohol for."

"Yes!" The young Desheng dashed out of the study, but he returned quickly.

Ding Desheng is Ding Qiu's great-grandson. He is only forty years old this year and his cultivation has just reached the Innate Realm. He was assigned to run errands for Yang Chengmao.

However, Yang Chengmao had more than one servant responsible for running errands. He was only responsible for taking orders in the study. There was another large study next door, which contained many scribes.

Among these clerks were immortal cultivators, martial artists, and even two Foundation Establishment cultivators who were here specifically to await orders.

Martial artists can relay orders in the Spirit Source Land, but when it comes to the Immortal Palace, Foundation Establishment cultivators are needed to relay and coordinate.

Ding Desheng was actually just a messenger; his job was to relay Yang Chengmao's orders to the clerks next door.

As the actual controller of the Spirit Source Land, Yang Chengmao had many close clerks and attendants, which also meant that Yang Chengmao had a lot of responsibilities.

If Hongyun and Qingxia are the chief stewards of the Celestial Palace, then Yang Chengmao is the chief steward of the Spirit Origin Land.

(End of this chapter)