novelraw Chapter 69 : Vein-Purifying Crystal
Chapter 69 : Vein-Purifying Crystal
Chapter 69: Vein-Purifying Crystal
By the end of the year.
Within the Imperial Garden.
“Prince of Anxi.”
“Prince of Shanhai.”
Jiang Zhaoming and the Prince of Shanhai bowed to one another.
The Shanhai County was a vast region, about twice the size of Yili, located to the west of the Great Yan Prefecture, and was one of the Great Zhou’s frontlines in resisting the Great Jin.
By relying on his powerful military strength, the Prince of Shanhai had guarded Shanhai Pass for years, fending off the Great Jin.
However, since last year, the casualties at Shanhai Pass had grown increasingly severe, and several small fortresses at the front line had been breached by the Great Jin.
As a result, the Prince of Shanhai’s Imperial Destiny Value had plummeted, his Dragon Ranking falling directly from twenty-sixth to thirty-fourth place.
The reason was that, as the war intensified, Shanhai Pass had been lacking in military supplies—armor, arrows, and other consumable resources.
Jiang Zhaoming had come to see him for a transaction.
“Prince of Anxi, can you truly sell such a large quantity of equipment to my Shanhai County?”
Hearing Jiang Zhaoming’s intent, the Prince of Shanhai’s eyes gleamed with surprise.
“It is absolutely true. The armor and arrows from my Anxi Prefecture are all inscribed with runes of power, of excellent quality. I wonder if the Prince of Shanhai is interested?”
The Prince of Shanhai’s gaze flickered.
Their shortage of equipment on the battlefield was not due to difficulty in forging ordinary weapons or armor.
In large-scale warfare, normal arrows and armor had limited effect.
Only high-quality armaments inscribed with runes—and armor-piercing arrows—could truly make a difference.
Yet to forge such weapons and armor required vast quantities of rare metals and even Spirit Crystals.
In Shanhai County, he currently had only one small Spirit Crystal Vein, whose output was pitifully low.
Thus, when war became intense, Shanhai County could not supply enough military resources.
“I wonder if the Prince of Anxi would be willing to sell Spirit Crystals to Shanhai County? I am willing to pay twenty percent above the market price—but I’ll need a large amount.”
Jiang Zhaoming thought to himself that the Prince of Shanhai was indeed a crafty one.
Even if he raised the price, raw Spirit Crystals were still far less profitable than selling finished weapons.
“Prince of Shanhai may not know—our Anxi Prefecture also doesn’t have many Spirit Crystals, and the transport distance is long. Accidents are bound to happen. Weapons are much safer.”
His words were not wrong. Even for cultivators at the Golden Body Realm, Spirit Crystals were precious treasures.
Transporting them in large quantities was risky—if word spread, the chance of ambush was high.
Seeing that Jiang Zhaoming wouldn’t take the bait, the Prince of Shanhai didn’t wish to waste more time.
“In that case, Prince of Anxi, let us discuss the price.”
…
After reaching an agreement with the Prince of Shanhai, Jiang Zhaoming sought out several other regional lords, concluding more trade deals.
Over the next two years, the Anxi Prefecture had to forge a great number of weapons and armor for external sale.
In return, Jiang Zhaoming and the Anxi Prefecture would receive numerous high-quality stallions, rare ores from various regions, and exotic beasts and treasures.
The reason for bartering was twofold. First, Jiang Zhaoming truly needed such resources.
Second, in transactions of this level, the only universal medium of exchange was the Spirit Crystal. Gold and silver were insignificant by comparison.
Yet Spirit Crystals were scarce. Unless it was an emergency, no one would willingly use them as trade currency.
In the second day of the first month of the four hundredth year of the Shaosheng Era.
Before the biting northern wind had fully ceased, Jiang Zhaoming had already returned to Anxi.
Upon arrival, he immediately informed Fan Kang of the major trade agreements and ordered him to begin preparations at once.
Orders carried the weight of mountains. Under the rule of Anxi Prefecture, every workshop roared to life, furnaces blazing and hammers ringing through the cold nights.
Batch after batch of finely crafted armor, weapons, and essential supplies were produced in an endless stream.
To ensure absolute security, these vital armaments—upon which future strategies depended—were escorted by elite soldiers, traversing mountains and valleys, winding their way to the territories of the various princes.
Jiang Zhaoming even dispatched generals endowed with Divine Power to personally oversee the transport, ensuring no mishap could occur.
By the time the lingering chill of spring receded and green once again touched the mountains,
the tide of migrants surging into Anxi from within the passes had reached astonishing numbers.
The census records showed a total of twenty-three million seven hundred and twenty thousand people.
According to further reports, even more citizens were en route to Anxi Prefecture.
In anticipation of the prosperity soon to blossom across this land, Jiang Zhaoming solemnly took out a Divine Artifact he had obtained from the depths of the River of Fortune.
It was a head-sized crystal stone, radiating a soft amber glow, resting quietly in his palm.
This was precisely the Vein-Purifying Crystal he had once glimpsed within the River, but missed due to lack of fortune.
Recently, after much effort, he had found it again within the River of Fortune.
【Divine Artifact · Vein-Purifying Crystal】: A divine stone from the Saint Tang Plane. When immersed in water, it grants the water vein-purifying properties. Drinking it subtly enhances one’s meridians. It can be used indefinitely, though the amount of purifying energy produced daily is fixed.
On that lively spring day, Jiang Zhaoming personally arrived at an open area outside the outer city.
The Pacifying Rebels soldiers had already dug a ten-zhang wide, seven-chi deep pool and filled it with clear water.
He gently placed the Vein-Purifying Crystal into the pool.
The moment it touched the water, the amber glow dimmed slightly, as a faint, indescribable aura of clarity blended into the water.
With a flick of his hand, Jiang Zhaoming drew a handful of water into the air and swallowed it.
As he closed his eyes to sense, he felt a faint warmth flow through his meridians—subtle, yet undeniable.
To verify, he summoned a soldier from the Pacifying Rebels and had him drink the water.
The soldier, after drinking, felt clear-headed and invigorated, though unable to describe the effect precisely.
Unable to confirm further, Jiang Zhaoming ordered the soldiers to continue drinking the water for a time and observe the results.
Through further testing, Jiang Zhaoming found that the Vein-Purifying Crystal could generate enough purified water in a day to fill between eight to nine million dou.
One dou of water was enough for six or seven people per day—thus, the crystal produced enough purified water daily for about fifty million people.
Days later, as the sun grew warmer,
Qin Wei entered the Prince’s residence with steady steps, bringing concrete results of the Vein-Purifying Water.
Continuous consumption of the water had enhanced the soldiers’ cultivation efficiency by around ten percent.
More importantly, only two cups per day were required to achieve full effect.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhaoming rejoiced.
It meant that the benefits of the Vein-Purifying Water could reach far more people than he had expected.
He immediately issued a decree: all counties under Anxi Prefecture were to construct, in the shortest possible time, massive reservoirs capable of holding one hundred thousand cubic meters of water.
Though officials were baffled, they still obeyed the command.
From that day on, the faint amber crystal began its long journey across the Anxi lands—bestowing purification to the entire realm.
With only two cups per person daily, the crystal could now provide for not just fifty million, but two hundred million citizens.
Originally, Jiang Zhaoming had intended the water for children under eighteen or for cultivators. Now, he expanded its reach.
All Anxi citizens under thirty years old could receive two cups per day.
Those within the Prefecture’s military could receive three cups daily.
To safeguard the Vein-Purifying Crystal, Jiang Zhaoming even appointed a Divine Power general from the Yili Army as the Crystal Envoy.
Alongside it, Wan Donglai continued sending Body-Tempering Demon Crystals to Jiang Zhaoming’s palace.
Over the past year, he had accumulated no fewer than 136 of these crystals.
Together with the Vein-Purifying Water, these Body-Tempering Demon Crystals would become the cornerstone for Jiang Zhaoming’s plan to forge the Anxi Army.