Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World

Zheng Fa's demand for the sea territory plunged the hall into silence once again.

Sect Leader Yan and the other four, although their expressions didn't change much, were likely communicating secretly to exchange opinions.

Wanting to include the sea territory within the sphere of influence of the Hundred Immortals Alliance was something Zheng Fa had contemplated before the meeting:

The main reason was to show confidence; if no demands were made, letting the Five Sects' opinions go unchallenged would seem too weak.

However, this proposal could not substantially provoke the Five Sects to avoid overturning the situation—a territory in the Xuanwei Realm that seems large but not very valuable was an excellent choice.

Even though the Great Freedom Demon Emperor was almost thoroughly familiar by now, the idea was still to feel across the river by touching the stones:

The territory initially belonged to the Demon Race, and after the Great Freedom Demon Emperor occupied it, the Five Sects weighed the pros and cons and tacitly accepted the matter.

This showed that the Five Sects did not value this place.

Since the Great Freedom could be the ruler of this sea territory, why couldn't I?

From the perspective of the Five Sects' interests, the human race is what they care about the most.

Yet, the human race in the sea territory suffered greatly due to the Netherworld Immortal, and the population on many islands experienced a precipitous decline.

Thus, the value of this sea territory to the Five Sects is actually very low.

The likelihood of the Five Sects turning against them because of it is very low.

This was the idea Zheng Fa had before coming here—simply put, it's the self-cultivation of an actor; my character has to be a bit assertive.

But now it was different... he really had his eye on the sea territory!

According to the information revealed by Baihua Fairy and others, Zheng Fa now needed two main things:

Before the Dao Fruit, he needed resources for advancement.

After the Dao Fruit, he needed a large population.

Both of these are better in abundance.

The spiritual materials and spirit ore in the sea, although a bit harder to gather, are definitely not few.

On the other hand, marine aquaculture is also a highly valuable direction for development, which can support a large population and pave the way for his cultivation after Dao Fruit.

Simply put, the sea territory that the Five Sects overlook is actually a treasure land in Zheng Fa's eyes.

But the value of the sea territory goes far beyond that.

As the saying goes, no agriculture, no stability; no commerce, no wealth. What Zheng Fa values most is the potentially lucrative maritime trade!

Anyone with a little understanding of modern world history knows the enormous profits in maritime trade.

The Xuanwei Realm is vast, with the East Continent and West Continent being extremely far apart.

A Nascent Soul cultivator traveling one round trip would take over half a year.

And this doesn't even account for the interference of various demon beasts and perilous zones in the sea.

Above Divinity Transformation, of course, travel is faster, but exchanging between the two continents is quite inconvenient.

Trade is limited to certain high-end goods, and the prices are all exceptionally high—as is obvious when you have to rely on cultivators above Nascent Soul to transport goods, which entails high labor costs.

Additionally, due to differences in cultivation methods and geography, both continents have specialties; things cheap on the West Continent are rare and precious on the East Continent, naturally making them expensive.

This profit was something that truly made Zheng Fa envious.

If you want to acquire a vast amount of cultivation resources, this is the fastest path!

But there's a catch: the Jiushan Sect has a transportation tool that, while not slow in flying speed, is most importantly, extremely cost-effective—the Cloud Soaring Flying Boat!

Zheng Fa looked at the ground, his gaze lingering on the map. He was mainly looking at those islands and had even mentally sketched a rough route map:

According to his plan, all it took was installing a simplified Shenxiao outer elixir on some islands to form a stable and low-cost trade line!

And by controlling the sea territory, the Jiushan Sect, by monopolizing this trade line, could draw an endless stream of profit and resources from it.

Thinking of this, Zheng Fa's heart raced a little—

The potential future scenario gave him immense pressure; he currently only had "status" but lacked matching strength.

Yet, this plan could allow him and the Jiushan Sect to accumulate a large amount of wealth and resources in a short period, thereby enhancing their strength.

Even putting aside himself, research is exceedingly costly, and the deeper the Jiushan Sect dives into research, the more resources it requires.

What was originally a thought to flesh out his character had now turned into a crucial matter concerning the future development of the Jiushan Sect, something vital to his life.

Zhang glanced at him, seemingly sensing his slight tension. Though not fully comprehending it, her eyes expectantly looked at Sect Leader Yan and the others.

"This matter… indeed…"

Baihua Fairy spoke first.

She seemed to be a person adept at currying favor on all sides and appeared to be making up for previous probing actions, her tone extremely loose.

"No!"

Suddenly, the Old Monk Zhixu from Leiyin Temple spoke.

He lifted his gaze, looked at Zheng Fa, and his tone was somewhat righteous:

"The sea territory is vast and complicated, easily taken advantage of by the ancient Immortal Gods. Although Master Zheng is formidable, the Hundred Immortals Alliance struggles to manage such a grand responsibility, and any mistake could have inconceivable consequences."

His words made Baihua Fairy pause, frowning.

Zheng Fa's expression didn't shift, but inwardly he mocked. Although Zhixu's reasoning made some sense, everyone could tell he was really targeting him and the Hundred Immortals Alliance.

Unlike him and Baihua Fairy, there had already been several clashes between Leiyin Temple and Zheng Fa.

Previously, tensions had even nearly ignited into a conflict.

Zheng Fa had somewhat caused Leiyin Temple to lose face.

Though grievances were few, they still found each other disagreeable.

Moreover, as the Old Monk Zhixu spoke, his gaze lingeringly fell on the Qingjing Bamboo.

It seemed he hadn't given up on the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots.

All these accumulated factors led him to oppose the Hundred Immortals Alliance's control over the sea territory—the Five Sects don't care about the territory's interests, but that doesn't mean they're foolish and unaware of the profits to be made. Not to mention, the spiritual materials in that sea are real.