Chapter 660 - 448: Sect Deficit (2)

He just needed to ensure Lou Yuan didn’t stray onto a crooked path, using the methods of the Demonic Dao to benefit himself at others’ expense.

Given Fang Qingyuan’s current status, ordinary Qi Cultivation Disciples could hardly attract his attention, nor would they get a chance to see him. The only ones who could approach him were the few Foundation Establishment peak masters.

Liu Xun was terrified by Fang Qingyuan’s inquiry. The failure to recruit Weavers was his responsibility, so he stood up to explain the reasons:

"Reporting to the Sect Leader, we have sent many envoys to the various sects in White Mountain to discuss this matter, but with little success. The main reason is that these Weavers are also Cultivators. With all sides currently at war, the original Weavers have been sent to the front lines as combatants. Naturally, the other sects are unwilling to let them go.

Even if some factions are willing to release people, the price they demand is exorbitant. It’s clearly a losing deal. I couldn’t make a decision on my own, so I thought I would ask for your opinion, Sect Leader."

After hearing Liu Xun’s explanation, Fang Qingyuan’s expression softened slightly. If Spiritual Silkworm Silk was to be woven into high-grade silk cloth, ordinary mortals couldn’t do the job. It required Weavers who possessed Spirit Roots and Magical Power.

’And aren’t such Weavers with Spirit Roots just Cultivators?’

During times of peace in White Mountain, they could naturally avoid taking risks, earning Spirit Stones through various handicrafts like weaving and silk reeling. But now, almost all of White Mountain, save for a few places, was engulfed in continuous warfare. These Female Cultivators were naturally conscripted and sent to the battlefield.

Of course, they might not be on the absolute front lines. But even in the rear, they could no longer work one day and rest for three as before. The moment an order was given to fill a gap in a grand Array on the front line, you had to go obediently. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have to wait for the enemy to kill you; your own people would cut you down.

In a life-or-death war where sects faced annihilation, the division of labor between male and female Cultivators disappeared. A grand Array could drain the Spiritual Power of a Male Cultivator, and it wouldn’t reject the Spiritual Power and Magical Power of a Female Cultivator either.

Fang Qingyuan was silent for a moment, then asked about the numbers he was concerned with:

"To weave one hundred thousand bolts of silk cloth within a year, assuming an ample supply of Spiritual Silkworm Silk, what is our shortfall of Weavers?"

Liu Xun quickly calculated in his head before reporting a number:

"We are short four hundred and fifty. However, if a Weaver is at the Foundation Establishment realm, one is equivalent to ten. If she’s a Golden Core, one is equivalent to a hundred."

To have a Golden Core Cultivator obediently work as a Weaver for them—only Liu Xun would dare say such a thing. This was because the Qingyuan Sect’s current strength was sufficient to make a Golden Core Cultivator do just that.

"Let’s not think about Golden Core Weavers for now. What if we send the raw Spiritual Silkworm Silk to the Qi Yun Realm and hire Weavers from Qi Yun to do the weaving?"

Fang Qingyuan had switched to a different line of thought. Since White Mountain didn’t have enough Weavers, they could send the silk to Qi Yun to be woven. The only problem was that the transportation costs would skyrocket.

As expected, Liu Xun signaled to Jiang Tianfang, prompting him to elaborate on the various factors related to Fang Qingyuan’s idea.

"Sect Leader, if we were to transport our raw Spiritual Silkworm Silk to the Qi Yun Realm, the transport cost per bale of raw silk would increase by three to seven Low-grade Spirit Stones. This is because all the major routes in White Mountain are currently blockaded, and the warring parties prohibit shuttles from other factions from passing through.

Therefore, we can only depart from the Qingyuan Sect’s docks, travel through the heart of the Barbaric Wilderness, and then follow the edge of the Death Swamp, taking a huge detour to reach Qi Yun.

Because the wages for Weavers in Qi Yun are high, hiring them would cause our expenses to double. The final cost of the woven Spiritual Silkworm cloth would be about the same as the local market price. In that case, we wouldn’t make much profit and would end up having worked for nothing."

’No, it wouldn’t be for nothing. My raw Spiritual Silkworm Silk has no production cost. Even if I just sell the raw silk, I can still make a huge profit. Besides, if we transport the raw silk to Qi Yun, we certainly won’t return with an empty ship. Right now, White Mountain is short on all kinds of cultivation resources for combat, like Magical Artifacts, Talismans, and Elixir Pills. If we can successfully transport those back from Qi Yun, we could resell them for three to five times the profit.’

Thinking of this, Fang Qingyuan gave a direct order:

"Let’s run a few trips this way to test the waters. Tianfang, you will be in full charge of this matter. The recruitment of Weavers must also continue simultaneously. This is a matter of long-term strategic importance and cannot be neglected. Also, continue your report. How many Spirit Stones does the sect currently have? In just over thirty years, a new pioneering war will begin. We must prepare for it early."

When they heard Fang Qingyuan mention the pioneering war, everyone’s ears perked up. Qiqi’s ears stood up the straightest of all.

"Currently, the sect’s main treasury holds around twenty-four thousand seven hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones. The single largest source of income came from the sect-wide betting on your duel with Chunyu Hua two and a half years ago.

The single largest expenditure was on the three newly-built Tier 2, high-grade Elemental Magnetic Hovering Ships. The three ships cost a total of five thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones, accounting for one-tenth of our projected expenditures for the next decade.

Furthermore, the welfare for Sect Disciples and the fixed expenses for the Thousand Bear Garden amount to five hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones per month. This doesn’t include the stipends for the four Golden Core Uncles or the expenses for the Bear Wind Ancestor. If we include those, the costs are even greater, easily exceeding two thousand.

The maintenance of Arrays, emergency treatment for injured disciples, subsidies for mortals, and other expenses are as follows...

As for income, Spirit Wine brings in two hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones per month, the sale of various spiritual insects and beasts earns five hundred, and fixed income from the Marketplace... docks... and so on amounts to over one hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones per month. The sect’s biggest source of income is currently smuggling to various factions. After deducting the shares for the Yan Gui Sect and other Golden Core Sects, we net over one thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones per month..."