Chapter 108: Seizing Spirit Island

“Look, there are so many islands!”

“This archipelago is incredibly tranquil, with no sign of human habitation. It seems Brother Ye is the first city lord to arrive at the Aolai Archipelago!”

“We can choose any spirit island we like and build our own immortal village! We must pick the best one!”

On the deck of the pirate ship, everyone stood excitedly at the rail, gazing at the cluster of islands in the distance.

Across the azure sea, one verdant spirit island after another was shrouded in a thin veil of sea mist, appearing and disappearing from view.

The pirate ship increased its speed.

Ye Mo gazed at the islands ahead, anticipation in his eyes.

Judging by the sailing distance, Qingyun’s principal immortal city was the closest principal immortal city to the Aolai Archipelago. Those coming from Donglai Immortal Village should have an even shorter journey than those departing from Qingyun’s principal immortal city.

The other nine newly appointed city lords from Qingyun Immortal Academy were all scions of influential families from Qingyun Immortal City. They needed to carry supplies from Qingyun Immortal City and sail here by sea.

In other words, he should be the first of the newly appointed city lords to arrive.

“Chang Fei, since we arrived early, let’s spend a little time looking around the archipelago and choose a fine spirit island first!”

Ye Mo was brimming with confidence.

“Yes, City Lord!”

Chang Fei ordered the sailors aboard the vessel to change course, and they began circling the archipelago.

The archipelago was vast beyond measure, containing more than a thousand small spirit islands and extending for over ten thousand miles. Even if they spent several months or a year, they would never be able to inspect every island.

Ye Mo naturally could not spend that long choosing an island. Before much more time passed, the other newly appointed city lords would arrive and begin seizing the spirit islands.

Over the course of seven or eight days, Ye Mo made a rough survey of dozens of islands, large and small, scattered across the waters within a thousand-mile radius. In the end, he selected the finest island.

Spirit timber was the first resource needed to establish an immortal village. Not only were spirit-timber walls required, but alchemy and artifact refinement consumed enormous quantities of wood. Even the island’s residents would need plenty of timber in their daily lives to make cooking pots and prepare meals. Moreover, spirit timber grew extremely slowly, taking decades or even centuries to mature.

An island without abundant forests was unsuitable for building a village.

As for resources such as spirit ore, they could not be found in a short time. Even if they spent months or years digging everywhere, they might still find nothing. Such treasures depended entirely on luck.

When choosing the principal island, Ye Mo’s first consideration was spirit timber. Next, the island needed broad stretches of land that could eventually be reclaimed as spirit fields to supply the villagers.

He and the others sailed to the island with the richest spirit-timber resources.

“The island ahead is enormous, and it looks excellent! Its forests are far denser than those on the other islands as well!”

Ye Mo immediately developed a favorable impression of it. The island looked perfectly suited for an immortal village.

“Chang Fei, circle the island once, then find a suitable place to anchor!”

Ye Mo instructed Chang Fei, who stood beside him.

“Yes, understood!”

Excitement appeared on Chang Fei’s face. He had already reached a preliminary judgment and felt that the island was highly suitable.

The pirate ship sailed a great circle ten miles beyond the island’s outer perimeter, giving everyone a complete view of the entire island.

The group observed the island from the deck.

“City Lord, this island stretches more than fifty miles from north to south and is over forty miles wide from east to west. It has several mountain peaks and abundant spirit timber. At its center is a plain extending for twenty or thirty miles, which is extremely suitable for reclamation into spirit fields. The villagers will be able to farm there in the future. There is also a natural deepwater harbor suitable for constructing a shipyard and wharf. Of the dozens of islands we have surveyed, this should be the finest!”

Chang Fei combined everyone’s observations and reported his conclusion to Ye Mo.

“Good. Choose a suitable place and bring the ship ashore!”

Ye Mo’s expression remained calm, but his voice still carried unmistakable excitement.

The ship sailed into the natural deepwater harbor and was brought directly alongside the shore. Several planks, each several yards long, were laid down so that everyone could walk straight onto land.

“This harbor and its surroundings are far too flat, making them difficult to defend. During the early stages of construction, we cannot build the village near the harbor. Once we have established a firm foothold, we can extend the immortal village here.”

Ye Mo surveyed the terrain around the harbor, a trace of regret appearing in his eyes.

The region was relatively flat and well suited for establishing an immortal village, much like Donglai Immortal Village, which had been built directly beside a harbor.

But he had come here to open up an untamed land. To withstand the unknown tides of sea beasts, their initial stronghold could not be built in a flat area without natural defenses.

“I, Ye Mo, hereby declare that this island shall be named Ye Clan Spirit Island! The Ye Clan Immortal Village shall be established here. Everyone, heed my command. Prepare to disembark and begin construction of the immortal village!”

Ye Mo stood aboard the ship and spoke in a loud voice.

Time was pressing. It had taken him two months to reach this place, while the other city lords would arrive in the Aolai waters within three months. Before the large contingent of newly appointed city lords arrived, he needed to complete the construction of the spirit-island village and secure the advantage of an early start.

“Let’s go!”

“Let’s get ashore and build our village!”

Cheers rang out from the ship.

That night, apart from a small number of sailors who remained aboard to guard the vessel, Ye Mo led all his remaining subordinates to settle on the island.

Ye Mo’s followers were a complicated group. The cultivators and martial artists together numbered just over a hundred.

Ye Mo, Mo Ling, Wang Hu, Yang You, and the others, along with Lin Zhi and his dozen or so followers, as well as Gao Jian’s group of more than ten, were seekers of immortality who had come from the various nations of the Nine Provinces Continent.

Several dozen others were martial-artist prisoners deceived and captured by Feng Xiongchang. There were also Chang Fei, several dozen sailors, and more than ten old pirates from the ship.

This was the entirety of Ye Mo’s foundation. Compared with the other nine scions from Qingyun Immortal Academy, who had the support of powerful clans, it seemed insignificant.

Ye Mo was already more than satisfied.

He even intended to train all these people into cultivators and use them as the backbone of his own immortal village.

Of course, carrying out this plan would take a very long time.

Everyone spent the day busily surveying the island and drawing a map of the entire Ye Clan Spirit Island.

Ye Mo summoned the three people he relied on most—Lin Zhi, Chang Fei, and Gao Jian. They gathered around the crude map and discussed where the immortal village should be built.

At last, Ye Mo drew a circle around one location on the map.

“Build the inner city here!”

Ye Mo spoke in a deep voice. “This is where the plain meets the mountain forest. It can be defended or used to launch an attack.”

“This valley covers an area of roughly two square miles. Within it is a pool formed by an underground spring, and it is also the source of the only mountain stream on the island. If we hold this place, we will never lack water.”

“Of course, as a true immortal village, this valley is still too small and somewhat cramped. But this will only be our initial inner city. Once we have a secure inner city, we can build an outer city beyond it, expanding continuously toward the deepwater harbor. With the valley as the inner city, this is the safest location.”

No one objected.

They had already discussed at length where to build the immortal village on the island. They had merely been waiting for Ye Mo to make the final decision.

As for how to construct the village, that was even simpler.

They only needed to follow the immortal-village blueprints.

Ye Mo assigned tasks to everyone, the most important of which was cutting spirit timber.

This construction project was not like their previous temporary camps, which had been little more than rough settlements covering a few dozen yards.

This would be a true immortal village, extending for several miles in every direction and requiring an enormous quantity of spirit timber. Most of the martial artists and nearly all of the cultivators were assigned to this task.

Mo Ling selected several people and had them gather wild spirit herbs across the island. She also measured the areas suitable for spirit fields, preparing for large-scale reclamation in the future.

She had specialized in spirit-field cultivation at the academy, and it was only natural that she became the leader in this regard.

Lin Zhi likewise took several of his followers and searched throughout the spirit island for suitable poisonous spirit herbs, preparing to establish a poison workshop.

On Ye Clan Spirit Island, the cultivators and martial artists began felling spirit timber and constructing the village walls, the city lord’s residence, and living quarters.

Wang Hu and Yang You were responsible for overseeing the construction of the entire immortal village.

Gao Jian assembled the first guard unit of Ye Clan Immortal Village and began protecting the village’s security.

More than ten days later, the walls of Ye Clan Immortal Village were still unfinished, but a crude city lord’s residence had already been erected.

The village’s core members gathered in the main hall.

“The island is rich in spiritual energy, and there are many places suitable for cultivation. They are mainly concentrated in three relatively level areas at the island’s center. If all of them are reclaimed, the total area of spirit fields will exceed ten thousand qing!

“Spirit grain can be harvested once a year. This represents an enormous fortune! One mu of spirit field can produce thirty pounds of spirit grain in a year, and one pound of spirit grain sells for a spirit stone. That means each mu yields thirty spirit stones. With ten thousand qing of spirit fields, we would be unimaginably wealthy.

“The soil in the other hilly regions is poorer and unsuitable for growing spirit grain. But planting spirit medicines there should not be a problem.”

Mo Ling drew three large circles on the map of Ye Clan Spirit Island and scattered numerous smaller marks across the other areas. Her expression was filled with excitement.

A large number of spirit fields meant that the island could produce enough spirit grain to support many cultivators and ordinary martial artists.

“Reclaiming spirit fields consumes an enormous amount of labor. We need large numbers of Qi Refining cultivators capable of casting the Spirit Rain Art, and one Qi Refining cultivator can care for at most ten or twenty mu of spirit fields. The harvest will not come until a year later, which means an entire year of investment without any return.

“With the manpower we have now, how many mu can we reclaim? Do we have enough wealth to last until next year?

“More importantly, we need a stable environment. This cannot be carried out in the short term. If a tide of demon beasts erupts, all the spirit fields outside the village will be destroyed!

“We already lack manpower. We certainly cannot use it for this.”

Lin Zhi did not hold back in the slightest.

“We still have to think about the long term!”

Mo Ling glared at him unhappily, preparing to argue.

“Lin Zhi is right. Our priority now is constructing the immortal village and perfecting its defenses. The spirit fields will all lie outside the village, and we lack the manpower to protect them. Reclamation must wait until the village has stabilized, after which we can proceed gradually.

“There is no need to rush this matter. Once the village is stable and attracts more cultivators and martial artists, the spirit fields on the island will certainly be reclaimed. That is beyond doubt.

“Mo Ling, your task for now is to collect as many different spirit medicines from the island as possible, especially seeds. This wild island will certainly yield some excellent spirit medicines. Then, within the immortal village in this valley, set aside five hundred mu of spirit fields for planting spirit medicines and spirit grain in the future. Spirit medicines are precious, so they must be planted within the village.

“Lin Zhi, your poisonous herbs will also be planted inside the village. You will not need much land; several dozen mu should suffice for now.”

Ye Mo waved his hand to halt the dispute. After offering a few words of reassurance, he issued his orders.

The valley was not large, measuring only about two square miles and containing a total of fifteen hundred mu of land. Setting aside five hundred mu for spirit fields would occupy one-third of the area. The remaining buildings, streets, commercial towers, alchemy and artifact-refinement workshops, and residences for cultivators and martial artists would all have to be compressed.

Qi Refining cultivators enjoyed high status in the immortal village, and their homes were all separate residences with private courtyards and pavilions, consuming a great deal of land.

Lin Zhi opened his mouth, then hesitated.

But he also understood that the only place on the island where safety could currently be guaranteed was this valley. They could hardly ask Mo Ling to grow spirit medicines outside. Moreover, his poison-pill workshop also required the cultivation of poisonous spirit herbs, which would likewise have to be planted within the village.

Only after the village expanded and the outer city was built beyond the valley would Ye Clan Immortal Village have sufficient land.

“Very well. I will determine the locations of the spirit fields as soon as possible without disrupting the village’s plans.”

Only then did Mo Ling smile in satisfaction. She even cast Lin Zhi a provocatively triumphant glance.