Chapter 134: The Six Branch Islands

"The alchemy formula is correct, and the procedure for adding the spiritual herbs to the furnace is flawless. What could I have missed? The most likely remaining possibility is that the sap of this spiritual herb is unstable, requiring precise control over the heat, or the furnace might explode. Let me try... Ugh, who designed this alchemy blueprint without specifying the heat control in the notes? Are they kidding me?"

Ah Li tilted its head and pondered for a moment before taking a fresh batch of spiritual herbs and pouring them into the alchemy furnace. "Hehe, Ah Li is the best! Hmph, once the furnace explosion problem is solved, the success rate for these Vitality Pills can be increased from fifteen percent to thirty percent."

Ah Li hummed excitedly as it added refined charcoal beneath the furnace.

After a short while, it inadvertently looked up and scanned the surroundings, only to find Ye Mo watching it with a smile.

In fact, Ye Clan Immortal Village already had an alchemy workshop. Ye Mo had entrusted its management to Huang Yi, purchasing plenty of spiritual herbs to train her as an alchemist. However, Ye Mo did not expect Huang Yi to be able to refine first-tier Vitality Pills in such a short time. His real hope lay in the little azure fox within the Ancient Painting Immortal Village.

"Master!"

The little azure fox was pleasantly surprised. With a leap, it vanished from beside the alchemy furnace and appeared next to Ye Mo.

"Master, these are the Vitality Pills Ah Li has refined over these past few days."

The little azure fox handed Ye Mo a palm-sized, emerald-green jade bottle. Ye Mo took the bottle, opened it, and was surprised to see it more than half-filled with dozens of first-tier Vitality Pills. "You've already managed to refine them?"

"Yes, but currently, Ah Li's success rate is only fifteen percent. Eight or nine out of ten furnaces end in failed batches—it's too much of a loss. I'm still figuring out how to raise it to thirty percent," the little azure fox shook its head, saying helplessly. "A first-tier alchemist should have at least a fifty percent success rate."

"You've managed to refine pills in just a few days; Ah Li is already very impressive," Ye Mo said, patting the little azure fox's head with satisfaction.

If it were in the Ye Clan Immortal Village, training an alchemist would take at least several years and cost thousands of spirit stones. Within the Ancient Painting Immortal Village, having a mu of spiritual fields to grow herbs reduced costs, but it was still barely enough to avoid a significant deficit. Only when Ah Li's success rate reached thirty percent would the alchemy venture be able to break even.

Seeing that Ah Li's progress was smooth, Ye Mo exited the Ancient Painting Immortal Village and returned to the City Lord's Manor to rest. Having been busy for several days arranging the shipyard and overseeing the alchemy progress, he finally had some leisure time and went to the main hall.

"City Lord, are there any other important matters to attend to recently? I shall go and supervise them," Chang Fei, who assisted Ye Mo with the trivial daily affairs of the immortal village, asked upon seeing him.

"The shipyard and all the workshops have been arranged and are just waiting to begin production. The only concern now is to occupy more resource-rich satellite islands. By the way, how is the situation with Lin Zhi?" Ye Mo asked, settling into the City Lord's throne.

"Lin Zhi led a team of immortal guards on a sea vessel to scout the surrounding wild resource islands. He has organized the information on these islands and suggests we choose six of them to serve as satellite islands for our Ye Clan Immortal Village." Chang Fei pulled a dossier from the desk that Lin Zhi had sent back.

"Oh?" Ye Mo took it and examined it carefully.

Lin Zhi had selected six wild islands, including the original Red Fire Ore Island, three islands rich in spiritual timber, one plains island suitable for cultivating spiritual fields, and a small reef cluster frequently visited by sea monsters.

The reasoning was clearly written out. The Red Fire Ore Island, needless to say, was the primary source of wealth for the Ye Clan Immortal Village and had to be occupied. It was guarded by a team of immortal guards fully equipped with spiritual gear, led by the guard captain Gao Jian, to ensure the ore was safely transported back.

The three spiritual timber islands were rich in resources; they had built timber yards there to provide a sufficient supply for the village's weapon forging, alchemy, and shipbuilding. This was a key reason why the Ye Clan Immortal Village could continuously produce spiritual swords and armor; otherwise, purchasing timber from other villages would significantly increase costs.

The reef cluster, home to numerous seaweeds and aquatic grasses, contained a type of spiritual grass whose secreted sap solidified into yellowish crystals—a favorite food of sea monsters. Because this area frequently attracted them, Lin Zhi suggested developing it into a sea monster hunting ground to attract wandering cultivators. A place suitable for hunting would be a huge draw for them, and with many wandering cultivators visiting, the Ye Clan Immortal Village would thrive.

The final plains island had flat terrain, abundant fresh water, and fertile soil, making it ideal for spiritual fields. It was not needed for now, but if the village required large-scale grain cultivation in the future, it might prove useful.

Except for the Red Fire Ore Island, the other satellite islands were not very secure. Each was assigned only one cultivator and two martial artists to build a watchtower, occupying the islands symbolically. If invaded by cultivators from other villages, they would light signal fires to call for help.

An advantage was that these islands were very close to the main Ye Clan island. If they came under attack, the little fire crows and the three golden eagles could provide timely support, and the Ye Clan's sea vessels could arrive within half an hour.

Lin Zhi only suggested occupying these six islands, which was the limit of the village's expansion. They had reached their peak and lacked the manpower to expand further.

"City Lord, what do you think of Lin Zhi's proposal for these six satellite islands?" Chang Fei asked cautiously. "In my opinion, this plan is bold; the rewards are high, but the risks are too. With our current strength, our control over these islands is weak, making them vulnerable to attacks from other villages."

Ye Mo pondered for a while after reading the dossier. Several large islands near the Ye Clan Immortal Island were starting to see new city lords building villages. Fortunately, most were newcomers still busy with construction and lacked the time or manpower to compete for these satellite islands. It was currently the peak period for building, and war would not break out immediately.

Having made his decision, Ye Mo said in a low voice, "Let's proceed with this plan for now and occupy these six islands. If a real conflict arises, it won't be for at least another half a month. We shall see how things stand then."

He was also thinking about his people. Mo Ling, Wang Hu, Yang You, and Huang Yi were not individuals who could stand alone; they were better suited to staying in the village to manage the fields and workshops. Lin Zhi was capable, calm, and had a good grasp of the big picture, but his combat ability was not outstanding. Since he hadn't asked to be stationed outside, Ye Mo didn't want to send him to guard the islands. Once the occupation was complete, Lin Zhi would return to manage the Poison Pavilion. Chang Fei was best suited as the administrator of the City Lord's Manor, coordinating the internal affairs.

The increasing number of immortal villages in the Aolai Archipelago made Ye Mo feel immense pressure.

Over the next few days, Lin Zhi successfully completed his mission, deploying watchtowers on the six islands before returning to the main island.

On the Ye Clan Immortal Island, the defenses were basically complete. Inside the village, two main paved streets had been finished, lined with buildings—grocery stores, taverns, alchemy pavilions, and weapon shops. Although most had not yet opened, they were prepared. Some shops from the Lu family of the Qingyun Immortal City would be among the first to move in.

The timber yards on the main island were completely halted, with the timber being reserved for emergencies. Ye Mo had arranged for the loggers to move to the newly occupied timber islands to harvest and transport the wood back. Every cultivator was required to complete tasks like logging, mining, or guarding to receive their monthly spirit stones from the City Lord's Manor for cultivation.

Usually, only Ye Mo, Wang Hu, Mo Ling, and a few others remained on the main island. Most others were working on the satellite islands. The defensive force left on the main island was small, with only a few immortal guards, but the villagers were very relaxed because it was under the protection of the Immortal City Alliance; no other village would dare to invade. Besides the threat of sea monster tides—which always had clear warning signs—there were no other dangers. The Ye Clan main island was a safe haven, and even those working abroad returned periodically for rest.

Suddenly, a column of black smoke rose into the sky from the west of the Ye Clan Immortal Island. An immortal guard rushed into the manor and reported to Ye Mo, "City Lord, something has happened at one of the timber islands. The watchtower has been lit."

"I'll go take a look." Ye Mo saw the black smoke in the distance, his expression turning cold.

He hadn't expected someone to harass his satellite islands so soon. He wanted to see who would dare provoke him at this time. He beckoned to the three golden eagles at the manor.

In the shipyard, dozens of martial artists and shipwrights stopped their work, looking in astonishment at the distant timber island.

"That smoke in the west is from the island guarded by Master Mu!"

"Yes, the City Lord should be going to support them."

"Definitely. With the three golden eagles' help, and the City Lord being our village's strongest cultivator, the attackers are in for a bad time."

"Look, the City Lord has already departed!" a dark-skinned shipwright shouted.

Everyone looked up to see three golden shadows soaring from the City Lord's Manor, turning into golden streaks of light as they streaked across the sky toward the smoking island. The golden eagles flew dozens of times faster than the sea vessels, covering the distance in a mere moment.

The lead eagle, the most majestic, carried the young cultivator Ye Mo. The three eagles were growing rapidly. Consuming ten jin of spirit beans daily, the largest eagle, Da Jin, had reached the mid-third stage, just a step away from the late-third stage—comparable to an eighth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator, a formidable strength at that level. The other two, Er Jin and San Jin, had reached the late-second stage and would soon become third-stage spirit birds, according to Little Fire.