Chapter 283: The Value Beyond

Qian Ye had long since heard the hushed conversation between the two. A thought crossed his mind, wondering if Qian Ye would like these jewels too.

However, Qian Ye was never the type to win over a girl’s heart, and he didn’t understand the delicate thoughts of women. If Song Zining were here, he would have already urged Qian Ye to do so.

But thinking about Qian Ye’s effortless slaughter of the six-armed giant, Qian Ye couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly in his heart. The vast gap between them, and the significant change in Qian Ye’s personality after her awakening, couldn’t be bridged by a few pieces of jewelry.

In the Evernight realm, lineage is the key, and power defines status. Just as the Empire has its own standards, so does the Evernight.

The Sky Serpent does not swim with the Forest Boa, and the Eagle does not fly with the Sparrow.

On the other side, Lan Xincheng had made up his mind. “Very well, this box of jewels will count as a box of dragon scale moss. Add a jar of white fruit wine, and all the items on this list are yours.”

“Agreed,” Qian Ye nodded.

“There are also these, which should be easy to resolve.” Lan Xincheng smiled, picking up the thicker catalog.

This catalog seemed much thicker, but most of the items inside were ordinary strategic supplies, valued more for their quantity than quality. Most of the equipment could be used to arm the Dark Flame mercenaries, but that was it. In terms of equipment grade, they were roughly equivalent to the elite forces of the Imperial main army.

Actually, even without this list, Lan Xincheng had already gained a great deal, and rewards upon return were guaranteed.

To trade for these items, it was quite simple. Many special products from the neutral lands could be exchanged. If the transport capacity was sufficient, even the wood from the Black Forest was not a bad choice. Others couldn’t cut down the Black Forest, but Qian Ye was not afraid, and he could easily chop down one tree with each sword strike.

In the end, Qian Ye exchanged the strategic supplies on the list for one hundred logs from the Black Forest and some miscellaneous resources.

Lan Xincheng was beaming, and Qian Ye was also very satisfied.

The neutral lands could produce a bit of everything, but the yield was low and the quality poor. Even South Blue City, in the eyes of the Empire, was far from impressive in scale. These strategic supplies, even ordinary alloy steel plates, were difficult to obtain in tons in the neutral lands. Throughout the neutral lands, there were only a few slightly larger smelting workshops.

With these supplies, Qian Ye could complete the construction of several critical workshops in the shortest time. These workshops had always lacked materials, causing delays. They processed precision parts or handled special materials, serving as important nodes in the floating warship manufacturing process. Without them, the floating warships could not take off.

The supplies on the two lists were already prepared, and the cargo airships were parked outside the neutral lands, ready to sail to the East Sea at any time. The Empire’s preparations were ample, and Ji Tianqing knew exactly what Qian Ye had and what could be exchanged. With her behind-the-scenes planning, and the fact that the Empire was delivering strategic supplies Qian Ye urgently needed, the transaction went smoothly.

While waiting for the cargo team, Qian Ye took two airships to the Black Forest and felled one hundred logs. Although the forest grew restless later on, in the face of the aura Qian Ye deliberately released, and the relatively small number of logs, the native species never appeared, and the mysterious and ferocious beasts in the forest did not come out to meet their doom.

Not long after Qian Ye returned to South Blue City, the Empire’s cargo fleet arrived.

A total of ten large cargo airships, accompanied by six escort destroyers, filled the landing field of South Blue City. Qian Ye mobilized a thousand mercenaries and dozens of heavy trucks, and it took an entire day and night to unload and transport all the supplies to the various warehouses.

Song Shi would naturally handle the use of these supplies, so Qian Ye didn’t need to worry. Qian Ye himself stayed at the landing field, watching as the mountain-class engines, the Bi-level main cannons, and high-grade warship building materials were loaded onto two cargo ships.

As the goods were being loaded, Lan Xincheng said to Qian Ye, “My lord, we are about to return. The harvest this time was enormous, even His Highness the Prince of Cheng did not expect it. However, after returning, I will report to His Highness and arrange for another trip as soon as possible. If Lord Qian Ye has anything specific in mind, please let me know in advance, so I can plan accordingly.”

“Prince of Cheng?” Another unfamiliar name, Qian Ye’s heart stirred slightly.

“Prince Cheng is the current emperor’s uncle. He currently assists the Longevity King in the military department, mainly responsible for equipment and training.”

Hearing this, Qian Ye understood that Prince Cheng was Lan Xincheng’s superior’s superior. However, Lan Xincheng’s ability to bypass the main officer of the equipment department and report directly to Prince Cheng clearly indicated that he was a trusted confidant. It was just unclear which faction Prince Cheng belonged to.

The internal relationships within the military department were extremely complex. The Longevity King was the largest faction, and the ten marshals could be considered independent smaller factions. Various other people and groups were trying to extend their influence into the military department, such as Empress Li, the Right Prime Minister, and even the Four Valves and top-tier noble families.

Qian Ye had no interest in these relationships, but seeing the large amount of military supplies brought by Lan Xincheng, he couldn’t help but become more interested in future transactions.

Qian Ye said, “I still have some iron-threaded gray silk grass and starlight flower, and in addition…”

Seeing that Qian Ye had such resources, Lan Xincheng’s face lit up with surprise. Both iron-threaded gray silk grass and starlight flower were crucial ingredients for military medicinal potions. This was right up his alley. Hearing the word “and,” Lan Xincheng’s eyes widened, “Lord, whatever else you have, feel free to show it. We may not be good at many things, but we do have a discerning eye.”

Qian Ye nodded, and three items appeared in his hand: a bottle of moss, an unknown stone, and a vial of void beast marrow.

Lan Xincheng picked up a little moss with his fingernail, examined it, smelled it, and finally put it in his mouth, savoring it with his eyes closed. Qian Ye watched, speechless. These items came from the Great Maelstrom, a place known for its abundance of highly toxic substances, many of which were nearly impossible to cure. Real poison didn’t need to be in large quantities; even the small amount he put in his mouth, if it were Zhu Jie’s poison, could kill ten Lan Xinchengs.

Lan Xincheng finally opened his eyes, looking at the moss in his hand, and pondered, “This poison… hmm, it’s extraordinary! In my opinion…”

As he spoke, his tongue began to swell. Everyone knew that mosses with toxins were extraordinary. Fang Zhan, startled, quickly administered a special antidote to Lan Xincheng, then used a dagger to cut open his tongue and let out a pool of purple poison blood.

Lan Xincheng was finally able to finish his sentence, “In my opinion, this toxin, after special treatment, could very well become a new, effective military potion! Though its exact purpose is not yet clear, I can say that the military will take it! As for the price, it will surely satisfy you, my lord.”

The vial of void beast marrow was originally given by Master Lu to Qian Ye to integrate more materials into East Mountain. Later, with the help of the mysterious entity in the Pool of All Beings, this vial of marrow was saved, and an additional jade lotus was integrated into East Mountain, making Qian Ye a huge winner.

Understanding the use of the void beast marrow from Qian Ye and carefully examining it, Lan Xincheng immediately recognized its value, his eyes gleaming. This item was, in essence, an extremely rare medium that could fuse materials with vastly different properties. The most direct use was to add a material to a level-nine origin gun, thereby adding an attribute.

All origin weapons were harder to upgrade the higher their level, and the price for added attributes increased exponentially. For example, a four-attribute origin gun was more than twice as expensive as a three-attribute one, and a five-attribute one was twice as expensive again.

Each level-nine gun was immensely powerful, and if an attribute could be added to it, it would be like adding wings to a tiger. If the attribute was carefully chosen, it could greatly enhance the weapon’s power. For instance, a powerful origin gun, if its range were extended by thirty percent, would transform from a close-range weapon into a long-range one. Given its immense power, it would be nearly invincible in long-range engagements.

Or, a close-range shotgun with great power and heavy burden, if the requirement for origin power were reduced, it would be comparable to a top-tier level-eight gun, but with at least double the power.

Although this vial of marrow could only be used on a barely level-nine origin gun, with careful tuning, it could push the gun to the upper echelons of level-nine. Finding suitable attributes wasn’t a problem; the Imperial treasury had every type of material imaginable.

As for the stone, Fang Zhan held it, examining it closely, but couldn’t figure it out.

“How is it? Have you figured anything out?” Lan Xincheng asked.

Fang Zhan said, “It has a strong origin aura.”

“Of course it does! Be more specific!” Lan Xincheng uncharacteristically lost his patience.

Fang Zhan rolled his eyes, “I can’t be more specific! I’ve never seen this before, and I’ve never even heard of it. But it has a strong origin aura.”

Lan Xincheng’s eyes twitched, “So, it’s a new mineral?”

“Most likely.”

Lan Xincheng knew that those skilled in gems often had a deep understanding of minerals. If he said so, it meant that the mineral in this stone was likely unprecedented. And given the intensity of the origin aura, it was clear that the mineral within was no trivial matter.

As long as the material was unique, the Empire, with its vast resources, would find a way to use it.

Lan Xincheng reluctantly handed the three treasures back to Qian Ye, “Is that all?”

“Not quite.” But Qian Ye did not produce any new items.

“In that case, Lord Qian Ye, if you have anything you want, I will try my best to think of a solution when I return.”

“Skycloud-class power sails, Luoan-class main cannon, and Hou Tu-class engine.” Qian Ye started with a big ask.