Chapter 159: Supreme Elder II
Chapter 159: Supreme Elder II
The Huang Family should be his aid, not a burden.
There was another reason as well. Lin Yan was somewhat wary of causing a butterfly effect. With his current cultivation and strength, even a small decision could influence the future. If the Huang Family, which had originally remained in a remote corner of Western Desert, suddenly expanded into a dominant force controlling dozens of oases, the future of Western Desert might become completely different from the one he remembered.
At the very least, he intended to wait until Fang Yuan’s rebirth two and a half years later before making any major moves. Before then, maintaining a low profile was the safest choice.
Seeing Lin Yan reject the proposal, Huang Ming felt both regret and confusion. Just as he was about to continue persuading him, Lin Yan raised a hand and interrupted him.
"I have my reasons. Besides, how much are the resources of a few dozen oases really worth? Anyway, family elders, take a look at this."
The next moment, Lin Yan waved his sleeve.
Boom!
A brilliant sun seemed to rise high in the sky, radiating boundless golden light. Colorful clouds spread across the heavens, and as the dazzling halo gradually contracted, a magnificent vermilion Immortal Gate appeared before everyone’s eyes.
The sky above Sandwell Oasis suddenly brightened. Waves of golden light spread across the horizon as space itself began to distort. Ripples expanded outward like circles on water, and at their center a colossal gateway slowly emerged.
The structure towered over the oasis. Crimson fire and arcs of violet lightning flowed across its surface, illuminating the desert below.
As the gate slowly opened, a scorching wave of air poured outward. Instantly, the temperature of the entire oasis rose.
The Huang Family elders could no longer remain seated. One after another, they rushed out of the meeting hall and stared toward the sky.
Beyond the gate, another world gradually revealed itself.
An endless expanse of reddish-brown land stretched toward the horizon beneath a blazing sun. Mountains rose in the distance, while waves of heat distorted the air. The sheer scale of the scene left everyone speechless.
Huang Ming narrowed his eyes and carefully observed the scene. The more he looked, the more shocked he became. Suddenly, his expression changed drastically.
"That... that’s not ordinary soil! That’s Red Earth!"
The surrounding elders were stunned before their expressions instantly filled with disbelief.
Red Earth was a genuine Flame Path Gu material. Even a small patch was valuable, yet what lay before them was an endless sea of it.
"Our Family spent centuries building the Flame Lake Garden. Just to maintain the nutrients needed by the plants, we paved the ground with Red Earth. Even then, the total area covered by it is only a little over half a square kilometer."
The Family Elders could no longer remain calm. They discussed excitedly among themselves, their eyes fixed on the world beyond the gate. The more they observed, the more treasures they discovered. Besides Red Earth, there were also vast stretches of Fire Spirit Earth, Afterglow Earth, and other precious Flame Path soils. Many of these resources were things the Huang Family had only read about in records. Now they lay spread across the land before their eyes.
High in the sky, Lin Yan calmly observed everyone’s reactions and said, "This is my immortal aperture, the Flame Sovereign Blessed Land. Its total area exceeds thirteen thousand square kilometers. In terms of size alone, it is several times larger than Sandwell Oasis. As for resources, the two are simply not comparable."
The surroundings instantly fell silent.
Everyone stared blankly at the vast world beyond the Immortal Gate, their hearts trembling. Only now did they understand why Lin Yan had dismissed the resources of dozens of oases so casually. Compared to the Flame Sovereign Blessed Land, those resources were hardly worth mentioning.
This was also the first time they had learned one of the secrets of Gu Immortals. After achieving Immortal Ascension, a Gu Master’s aperture transformed into an immortal aperture capable of containing an entire small world. A blessed land was a blessed land for a reason. A simple description like "small world" could not truly convey its value. For the same area, the concentration of resources far exceeded that of the outside world.
Seeing the increasingly reverent expressions of the Family Elders, Lin Yan nodded inwardly. A Gu Immortal’s aura alone could inspire awe, but nothing was more convincing than directly displaying the Flame Sovereign Blessed Land before their eyes.
This was also a rare opportunity for the Huang Family to glimpse the world of Gu Immortals. If someone from the Family attempted Immortal Ascension in the future, they would at least have some understanding of what lay beyond the mortal realm.
After allowing everyone some time to digest what they had seen, Lin Yan calmly continued.
"The Flame Sovereign Blessed Land is not free. Any Family Gu Master who wishes to use its land must exchange contribution points for the corresponding rights."
Everyone immediately became attentive.
Lin Yan continued, "The Family will establish an annual assessment system. Factors such as soil maintenance, planting yields, resource production, and Gu material quality will all be included in the evaluation. Those who perform well will receive rewards, and a portion of their contribution points may even be refunded. Those who perform poorly will face penalties. In serious cases, their cultivation rights within the blessed land will be revoked altogether."
The Family Elders exchanged glances before nodding one after another.
"That is only natural. Such precious land cannot be entrusted to just anyone."
"With rewards and penalties clearly defined, everyone will have an incentive to manage their assigned areas properly."
Lin Yan continued speaking, rapidly establishing various rules, regulations, and management systems for the Flame Sovereign Blessed Land.
Although Family members would need to spend contribution points to obtain cultivation rights within the blessed land, no one raised any objections. The benefits were simply too great. They would gain access to the resources of a blessed land, while Lin Yan would obtain the manpower needed to accelerate its development. More importantly, those contribution points remained within the Family system and could be exchanged for various resources and opportunities.
After all, the Flame Sovereign Blessed Land was simply too vast for a single Gu Immortal to manage alone. With tens of thousands of Gu Masters and the assistance of Gu worms, the Huang Family could greatly increase the speed of its development.
After settling the basic framework, Lin Yan proposed another matter.
He intended to inspect the Huang Family’s various resource points and select suitable plants, Gu materials, and beast populations to become the first species introduced into the Flame Sovereign Blessed Land.
Purchasing everything from Treasure Yellow Heaven would cost an enormous amount of money. By contrast, the Huang Family had already spent centuries cultivating resource points and ecological gardens, accumulating a large number of mature species and extensive management experience. Using those existing foundations as starting capital was clearly the better choice.
The Family Elders immediately agreed. Transplanting Gu materials, relocating beast groups, and adapting species to new environments were all highly specialized tasks. A slight mistake could destroy years of effort, but these were areas in which the Huang Family possessed ample experience.