Chapter 682 - 345: Immortal Mountain Development Plan (Part 2)

Chapter 682: Chapter 345: Immortal Mountain Development Plan (Part 2)

It had been two or three months, and he didn’t know how things stood.

Zhou Zhendong shook his head. "Not yet. An Elf Bird brought a message five days ago saying he was in Linchuan Prefecture. He’s on his way back, though."

"Alright." Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly.

And so, the others filed out to attend to the various tasks Cheng Zongyang had assigned.

That would keep them busy for a good while.

Cheng Zongyang continued to delegate a few more matters and began drafting the construction plan for the Immortal City’s inner and outer sections.

As more and more factions moved into the Immortal City, there wouldn’t be enough space, even with renovations and expansions.

Therefore, he needed to expand the city.

The only solution was to build an outer city surrounding the existing one.

Although the area outside Jade Peak Immortal City was mostly mountainous, its greatest advantage was its large population. As long as he established a good system of compensation, he wouldn’t have to worry about a shortage of labor.

To that end, he had someone summon Wang Tianli of the Ministry of Works Hall.

Currently, Wang Tianli was in charge of the entire Immortal City’s renovation, leading several thousand professional craftsmen and a workforce of over ten thousand.

His expertise was beyond question.

After listening to Cheng Zongyang’s ideas and examining the overall map of the Immortal City he presented, Wang Tianli began to roughly sketch out the plan Cheng Zongyang envisioned.

Finally, he cupped his hands in a salute to Cheng Zongyang and said, "Boss, expanding to the west, north, and south is feasible. Manpower isn’t an issue. If the Immortal City puts out the call, plenty of people will be willing to join and work for us.

"If we do this the conventional way, the twelve villages we originally planned would have to be relocated. Furthermore, given the scale of the expansion, we’d have to level the large mountains blocking the other three sides, aside from Tianduan Mountain to the east.

"Of course, Boss, converting the mountains into cave abodes, as you suggested, is an excellent approach.

"These mountain caves could be residences for Cultivators. As for Cultivators, they probably wouldn’t want to live among commoners anyway.

"We might as well take this opportunity to transform the upper mountain areas into residences for Cultivators, while the lower areas can be for Martial Artists or commoners. Building houses and cave abodes into the mountainside would not only save a great deal of time on leveling peaks and moving earth, but it would also preserve the area’s unique character.

"If planned properly, we could create even more residential space out of those mountains. Plus, the twelve villages we established wouldn’t need to be moved."

"So you’re saying it’s really feasible to proceed with the renovations as I suggested?" Cheng Zongyang asked with a smile.

Wang Tianli nodded. "It’s feasible, and it won’t be a problem. Furthermore, based on some recent developments within the Immortal City, I believe these mountains could have an even better use."

Cheng Zongyang was surprised. "Go on."

Wang Tianli said, "Boss, with more and more family clans moving into the Immortal City, I’ve noticed a rise in verbal squabbles and arguments between them.

"Although the Immortal Martial Hall has people on patrol and the city’s rules keep things in check, there’s no guarantee that conflicts won’t increase as they interact more in the future. It might be better to just separate them. If they see each other less, there will be less friction."

Hearing this, Cheng Zongyang fell into thought for a moment. Slowly, an idea began to form, and then a flash of inspiration struck him. He looked at Wang Tianli and laughed heartily.

"Hahaha! You’ve really given me an idea. I hadn’t even thought of that. Excellent, excellent! You’ve done well!"

Wang Tianli immediately knew the Boss understood his meaning. He scratched his head, a bit embarrassed, and said, "It was just a humble suggestion, unworthy of such high praise from you, Boss."

Cheng Zongyang smiled. "I believe in giving credit where it’s due. The credit for this is yours. If your words hadn’t sparked this idea, I never would have thought of it."

Wang Tianli’s suggestion made him think of a system where each clan could occupy its own mountain peak and develop independently.

Although the Martial Arts Realm lacked Spiritual Qi, the Cultivation Immortality Realm and his own Hall of Ten Thousand Races had Spiritual Items and Arrays that could provide it, just like in the Immortal City.

It didn’t even have to be a high concentration; just having some Spiritual Qi would be enough. Then he could sell these kinds of Arrays. Or, he could set up one massive Array to envelop all the mountain peaks, making the entire area his domain.

He could let those clans go out and build their new headquarters in designated zones.

One, he could collect a steady stream of rent. Two, he’d save on construction time and costs. Three, it would reduce the number of clans within the Immortal City itself. Four, it would lessen potential future conflicts. And five, he would control the very lifeblood of their Cultivation!

So, all he had to do was develop the land outside the Immortal City but within a Spirit Gathering Array. As for the rest of the mountainous terrain, he would just need to modify it with various Arrays and then lease it to the clans to build on themselves.

To put it bluntly—it was like a cemetery.

When comparing a spacious, Array-protected plot of land on a mountain with its own dedicated supply of Spiritual Qi to a small residence within the Immortal City, it was obvious which option the clans would prefer.

Of course, this would require a larger initial investment on his part.

This was not something that could be accomplished overnight; it would require detailed surveying and planning.

Therefore, Cheng Zongyang began to explain his more detailed ideas to Wang Tianli.

As Wang Tianli listened to the Boss’s explanation, which was far more detailed than his own proposal, he was inwardly shocked by his employer’s brilliance. There were many aspects he had never even considered.

He immediately apologized and asked Cheng Zongyang to wait a moment, then went to fetch a brush and paper to record everything Cheng Zongyang was saying. He would study it in detail later.

Likewise, Cheng Zongyang’s new concepts sparked even more ideas in Wang Tianli’s own mind.

And so, the two of them launched into a detailed discussion about the Immortal City’s expansion plan.

An hour later, after noting down the general expansion plan, Wang Tianli took his leave of Cheng Zongyang and immediately went to begin the survey.