Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!
Chapter 232: Second Homeland

Chapter 232: Chapter 232: Second Homeland

"If you think it’s inconvenient to visit the Lady’s Cave Mansion, I can invite her to Black Water City for a chat with you." Hu Zhile knew the Lady was eager to establish more connections with the gentleman. Since they were already so close in the Netherworld, it would be remiss of him, as a middleman, not to facilitate this cooperation.

Jiang Yuan hadn’t yet gotten around to checking the vast details of the system.

The main issue was that he had just arrived in a new environment, with the ghostly aura cloudy and the dim vision keeping him busy with conversations. He hadn’t had a chance to properly observe his surroundings.

"Let’s talk about it once Xiao Bai sets up the array and our area is as secure as a fortress..." Jiang Yuan neither accepted nor declined, observing the details with hands on his back.

Bai Yunqi pulled out a ready-made advanced array from the storage bag and casually handed over a Black Jade Token. "The land title for Lotus Peak, Venerable Family, please keep it safe."

The land titles in the Netherworld were different from those in the Human Realm. After leasing land, you received a Land Title Token, and possessing this token granted you the right to use the land.

Wan An handed over the land title to Bai Yunqi, who in turn passed it to the Venerable Family for safekeeping.

[Detected jurisdiction of Lotus Peak in the Netherworld, would you like to open a second home?]

Jiang Yuan hadn’t intended to accept it. Even though he paid for the lease with paper money, it was Bai Yunqi who preemptively staked the land and was responsible for the swift mining of Cold Crystal Jade, so the land title rightly belonged to him.

Unexpectedly, once he held the Black Jade Token, the system offered an irresistible choice.

[Upon opening the second home, it can establish a dependent relationship with the main home. The subsidiary home will immediately synchronize the current level of protection from the main home and will allow construction of some buildings of the same level. You can perform fast and cost-free teleportation between homes. Note: Depending on the environment of the subsidiary home, some buildings may change in appearance to better integrate into the environment. Opening the second home will cost 500,000 Spirit Stones. Would you like to open it?]

As everyone knows, the pure-blooded Flower Tribe’s greatest hobby upon awakening their bloodline is pioneering and farming. What’s more enticing than having such a large, spiritually rich mountain brought to you on a platter?

"Xiao Bai, Lotus Peak was something you initially set your sights on and sealed for personal use. Logically, this land title should be yours..."

Before Jiang Yuan could finish his sentence, Bai Yunqi interrupted with a smile and said, "Everything I have now is given by the Venerable Family, and the land title, bought with your money, naturally belongs to you.

During our initial cooperation talks to mine Lotus Peak, apart from some arrangements left from before, I had nothing. Achieving the mine-ready state we have now relied entirely on your Venerable Family’s full support. You should keep the land title, and everything obtained from the mountains is at your discretion. I trust you won’t shortchange us."

Originally, Jiang Yuan hadn’t planned to refuse; he just wanted to agree on a more appropriate way to handle it. Hearing this, he nodded and went along: "That works too. I do have several means to better convert the various resources in Lotus Peak into Spirit Stones or Immortal Jade. Moreover..."

After choosing "yes" and seeing the new page that appeared, he said delightedly, "In the future, Lotus Peak will be our second stronghold. I’ll strive to make it safer and more comfortable, so in the future, when Grandpa Wan’s cultivation yields small achievements, he can control more paper soldiers, and we can even station them here long-term."

"Thank you, Venerable Family." Bai Yunqi didn’t quite understand what he was doing, but since the Venerable Family held Lotus Peak in such high regard, bringing in some resources would surely facilitate mining.

Jiang Yuan took a deep breath, looking at the new interface brimful of numerous tasks that required his personal attention, and his heart joyfully bubbled over.

With just 500,000 Spirit Stones, he could get such a vast new domain, it was practically a gift!

"The protection range of a Level Three courtyard is still not large enough. Which position should I choose as the center?" he considered, comparing the system’s simulated protection area, walking around to find a more suitable location.

For now, the outskirts of Lotus Peak seemed relatively safer. After all, the large area was teeming with various un-cleared specters, and he didn’t have the time to lead a demon-hunting party. Grandpa Wan needed a lower-difficulty site to set up a "safe house."

Having chosen a spot, he clicked set, and suddenly, a protective light screen expanded in the air with him at the center.

"Wow! Master is amazing!" Wan Mingchuan, unable to comprehend what his master was doing, simply felt it was remarkable, particularly since that half-dome of faint phosphorescence resembled the protective dome above their courtyard precisely!

Especially in such a ghostly atmosphere of the Netherworld, the suddenly appearing protector screen magnified the sense of security significantly.

Wan An understood nothing, but since his grandson praised it, it was evidently remarkable, so he too nodded, "Mingchuan, you must practice diligently under your master’s guidance. Meeting such an excellent master is your fortune!"

Hu Zhile, witnessing the scene firsthand, opened her mouth in shock but failed to utter a word. Having followed Lady Yin Mountain for years, she’d naturally seen the spectacle of raising protective screens many times.

Such things were not small undertakings!

For the Lady, to raise a protection screen to shield the Human Realm’s believers first required creating a guardian artifact, usually a statue embedded with a complex array.

Then, one had to place it at an opportune time and location, holding a grand ceremony to prepare for the subsequent absorption of the Power of Incense.

Lastly, and most crucially, the complex array within the guardian artifact had to be activated and infused with one’s energy. Often, the Lady needed multiple energy infusions after repair before a strong enough protector screen could be maintained for use.

But this gentleman, with bare hands, wielded no guardian artifact, no array, not even a ripple of spiritual energy, and with a casual gesture, he’d raised a protector screen. What immense power was required to do this?

Having never performed the task, she didn’t entirely understand, but she knew well enough the value of that casual gesture.

Hu Zhile clenched her fists in excitement, secretly gratified that she’d seized the opportunity to seek this out herself, ultimately achieving her wishes. Following such a powerful figure—what prospects lay ahead!

"Master..." Bai Yunqi initially wanted to ask the Venerable Family how it was done, then realized the opponent’s eerie, uncanny capabilities had long left him numb to astonishment.

He mused that if one day, the Venerable Family claimed to be a True God descended, he wouldn’t feel surprised or even think it made a certain sense—was this the might of a true strongman?

Several seconds later, Bai Yunqi became aware: so this was what the Venerable Family meant by "striving to make this place safer and more comfortable." It turns out, it meant effortlessly constructing a protector screen that other cultivators would labor to create, enclosing this not-so-large area!

Luckily, he had handed the land title to the Venerable Family. Had it been left to him...

He pondered, that apart from layering arrays for enhanced security, he genuinely couldn’t have fashioned a safer zone.

"In comparison, the space isn’t large, but it should suffice for now." Jiang Yuan didn’t notice the impact of his actions and couldn’t contain his pioneering spirit.

He had to clear out the area covered by the light dome quickly to construct houses and workshops. Many Netherworld specialties could then be processed here directly without occupying valuable space and time in the main courtyard. Meanwhile, he mused, if he could establish a second home in the Netherworld, might there be a chance for a third home in the Demon Realm in the future?