Chapter 450: Fruits of Labour (1)

He received the list with some trembling in his hands - 17 industries… with 3,600,000 technical professionals to boot! And this includes Yin spirits of all sorts, ranging from the most mediocre ones to the largest industry leaders and powerhouses!

This was the full extent of the benefits of war!

It was also just like the great age of navigation, filled with cannons and gunpowder. Countless invaders seized treasures of all sorts, including gold, silver, tobacco and spices. Wars were the triggers that made the nations in the mortal realm as we know them.

What did this represent?

It was only when the issues of basic amenities were addressed that one could properly even begin to talk about development, culture and society in general. What was there to discuss if the citizens were constantly worrying about food and shelter? It was only when there was stability in access to the basic necessities that one could begin to talk about physics, chemistry, and even nuclear energy and the like.

“Agricultural and farming industry…” He ran his finger across the list with a bright gleam in his eyes.

“Granted, the four siege Yin beasts sent by the Yang Clan are in some sense an example of domestication, but Ashmound’s breeding industry tells me that Yin beasts aren’t just for warfare. They can be bred as poultry as well! It’s animal husbandry we’re talking about! It’s breeding!” His mind began to flutter with elation.

Or perhaps, decades later, we’ll see Yin spirits running back home, only to be greeted by their mother with the usual naggy attitude - ‘Hurry up and go get ready! Your father is coming down today! I’m going to make him his favourite dish! Go wait for him at the soul induction platform!

He shook his head and sighed softly.

Who would’ve thought that the sheer thought of these prospects would even bring me such… excitement?

The food and beverage industry tells me that animal husbandry isn’t in its nascent stages. They’re definitely on the right track. Perhaps one day… we might even be able to embark on a course meal in Hell!

No. No… I have to stop… the more I think about these things, the more excited I’m becoming…

They even have the beauty industry! That… that said, they’re probably just hiring powerful Yin spirits to manipulate Yin energy for use on their customers’ faces, right?

“Understood.”

“As fellow administrators of Hell, I want you to know what exactly is in Hell’s possession, and how to use it as well. Therefore, I’ve never intended to conceal the other treasures from you in the first place.”

Whoosh… The door opened silently, and Qin Ye transformed into a nethergale and flew out immediately. Arthis raised her hand promptly, and a cloud of Yin energy wrapped itself around the rest of the Yin spirits and consumed them altogether. A split second later, the gathering of Yin spirits vanished from sight.

“What’s this?” Everyone glanced about at their surroundings, somewhat startled. They couldn’t tell where they were. It felt almost as though they were located within a huge palace that was approximately the size of a formal sports stadium. There were a number of buildings in the vicinity constructed in the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty. The majestic sunk panel on the ceiling of the building was held up by colossal pillars that were at least twenty meters tall. Yin spirits appeared absolutely tiny and insignificant next to the glorious buildings.

There were at least two hundred Yin soldiers stationed here, patrolling the vicinity like a hive of worker bees. There was a cordoned off area spanning approximately 500 meters from end to end located right in the heart of the building.

There was a bronze mirror approximately 500 meters large that was placed in the heart of the sunk panel. From afar, it looked almost as though the nine dragons were dancing about a priceless pearl at the heart of it all. Faint traces of runic symbols appeared and faded away from the surface of the mirror. It exuded a deep sense of mystery.

I’m never going to show up in Hell in my human form ever again. I look too young after all. I can only command the requisite respect and fear as a leader in my Hell’s Emissary state…

“This is undoubtedly the most valuable spoil of war this time. So long as we can master its mode of operation, it can even be used as a spatial portal. The Confucian Family truly lives up to its name as one of the top gentries of the old Hell. To think that they were even able to lay their hands on something as priceless as this.”

Qin Ye fervently suppressed the raging excitement in his heart. He couldn’t deny the fact that he was truly tempted to show off the various uses of the Mythic Palace of Reflections, such as by elaborating more on the potential of its spatial portal uses!

And then, Ashmound could simply unleash a full barrage of attacks from its Soul-Launching Coffins, Winstrike Ballistae and Mohist Mechanical Beasts all at the same time! Who could possibly stand against such an outrageously powerful surprise attack?

That said, he didn’t intend to apprise them all of the killing potential of Ashmound City. After all, the less people knew of these hidden trump cards of his, the better!

“Open it.”

“I’ve thought about it before.” Qin Ye remarked aloud, “Why did Kong Mo leave the Mythic Palace of Reflections over here? Did he have any particular reason for doing so?”

The pit in the ground felt no different from a bottomless abyss that was echoing with soft moans and groans at every single moment. All who stood at the edge of the pit couldn’t help but feel goosebumps all over.

“And I kept on wondering… until General Yang discovered this.”

“This is… My god…” Zhang Zeguang stumbled back several steps after a single glance of what lay within. His legs trembled like wobbly jelly.

There was a moment of clamor, and then everything was silent.

It was a 500 meter large pit.

Pitch-black crystals.

“These are… Yin spirit stones.” Arthis had also seen them countless times by now, yet her eyes continued to gleam with passion. Even her voice trembled slightly with intense excitement, “This is a massive vein of Yin spirit stones! This must be the reason why Kong Mo had erected the Mythic Palace of Reflections in this place!”

Nobody could find the right words to express themselves right now.

These Yin spirit stones emanated dense Yin energy that drifted slowly about the rest of the pit. The plenary of leaders revealed a multitude of shocked expressions.

“And back in the mortal realm, we’d even have to extract the minerals from the mud and soil and other impurities. But this is… practically the converse - we’re extracting mud and soil from the rest of the precious resources! No… there are even parts of the resource vein that appear to possess no impurities at all!”

Arthis licked her lips with glee, “I can responsibly confirm that every industry in Hell would require Yin spirit stones in some way or another. To that end, a large city like Ashmound could definitely use a pure source of energy! This pit… contains more than enough resources to power Ashmound’s operations for a thousand years! We can even think of exporting these resources to the other cities around!”

The crowd of Yin spirits looked over, only to discover…

And these steps appeared to open up to a grotto every fifty meters it went down.

1. I personally am not too sure this is the truth. I’ve done a search on wiki, and yes, there was the history of the potato.