Chapter 203: Spirit Energy Technology and Assigning Tasks

Qin Xiao then asked Ji Ci about using Spirit Stones as a power source. Were there simple, safe formations that could release their energy steadily and continuously to drive machinery?

That was easy enough. Ordinary Sect-Protecting Grand Formations worked that way: when no one was attacking, they ran at low power to maintain themselves. Only an attack or deliberate activation brought them to full power.

Complete theories and formations for using Spirit Stones efficiently already existed. Qin Xiao’s idea posed no great challenge.

Spirit Stones had not become common power sources mainly because cultivators did not need them, ordinary people could not afford them, and wealthy mortals had alternatives.

Everything Qin Xiao had in mind could be made. The trouble was cost and profit. No one wanted a venture that spent more than it earned.

Such devices were expensive to make, and no one wanted to buy them. A few novelties might appeal to a handful of rich people, but that was all. The market made Spirit Stone power impractical; the technology itself was possible.

“It seems I underestimated the cultivation world. Turns out these concepts were attempted long ago, only to be eliminated by the market in the end.”

Qin Xiao understood now. Every world had clever people. Others had already thought of his little ideas and even tested them, only to abandon them because of the costs and returns. As it happened, though, he had more Spirit Stones than he could ever use.

“Thank you for explaining, Master. Please make the Heavy Sniper Rifle first. We can test the other ideas once the foundation is finished.”

They had been talking for some time, and work had begun nearby. A soundproofing formation kept out the noise, but it could not stop the vibrations beneath their seats. They ended their discussion for now.

“This is an interesting blueprint, lad. Do not worry; I will make it for you. Oh, I almost forgot. Your Black Tortoise Armor is repaired. Here.”

Ji Ci was pleased with the blueprint and had some ideas of his own. Just as he was about to leave, he remembered that he had not returned the Black Tortoise Armor. He took it out and tossed it to Qin Xiao.

“Thank you, Master. Should I pay you some Spirit Stones in advance? You will probably need quite a few to make it.”

Qin Xiao caught the Black Tortoise Armor and asked Ji Ci, who was still studying the blueprint. This chapter is updated first at NovelPing.

“Do not worry. I can afford that much. I will ask you to pay whatever I spend afterward. Besides, I can take materials from the merchant association and pay for them later.”

With the armor returned, Ji Ci left with the blueprint.

He planned to make two prototypes first: one using Low Grade Spirit Stones, then one using Middle Grade Spirit Stones. Those would help him work out the materials needed for a High Grade Spirit Stone Heavy Sniper Rifle. He could experiment on the first two as well; if they failed, the loss would not hurt so much.

Ji Ci teleported away and appeared at his residence a moment later. He wrote out a list of materials and sent his apprentices to fetch them.

Li Liangping had already returned with the purchases. After breakfast, the workers went upriver to sift sand, while the rest helped him build the dormitories. Most of the materials could be bought ready-made, so they mainly had to assemble and adjust them.

At the foundation site, the Luo Family Ancestor had divided up the ground. Somehow he had found a supply of enormous boulders. Cultivators flew into the air and dropped them onto the earth, pounding deep pits into it.

They had tried blasting the ground directly, but that only sent earth flying. It left deep pits without compacting the soil beneath them. In the end, they had resorted to this most basic method.

With so many cultivators working, progress was quick. Each had only a small area to pound down.

“Young Friend Qin, your requirements really are troublesome. I thought it over, and this was the only way. If you just wanted us to dig out two zhang of earth, I could do it with a wave of my hand. But pressing it all down is a nuisance.”

Luo Kaijie grumbled when he saw Qin Xiao approach.

When the Luo family built their estate, they had simply dug down one zhang and laid stone. Qin Xiao was making work for himself.

“Please bear with it, Senior Luo. This land used to be a riverbed. We have to compact it before laying stone, or it will not be stable. No matter how much trouble it takes or how long, I will pay the Spirit Stones. The more work you do, the more you earn, right?”

Qin Xiao knew he was making things difficult, but he intended to build tall buildings. The foundation mattered.

“All right. It is not hard work, just a lot of bother. Since you put it that way, we will carry on.”

Luo Kaijie was only grumbling. He had agreed to the work and would finish it. Besides, this was no free favor: he had brought many Nascent Soul cultivators and even several at Soul Formation. Qin Xiao had better not wince at the bill.

Qin Xiao went on to give the alchemists and artifact refiners their tasks. Follow the newest chapters on novelping(.)com.

The alchemists were to make glass. Qin Xiao did not know the details, only that the selected river sand could be melted with a certain proportion of limestone to produce glass. If anything else was needed, the alchemists would have to work it out themselves.

He gave them a piece of paper with only a simple instruction: seven parts sand to three parts limestone. They could work out the other ingredients themselves, as long as they produced something transparent.

Qin Xiao had already compared this world’s materials and found that steel was about as strong as the materials used for Low Grade Spirit Weapons. His requirements for the artifact refiners were simpler: the material did not need to conduct Spiritual Qi, only meet the required strength. They would earn a bonus if they could make something better.

He insisted, though, that the materials had to be widely available. What use were fancy materials that could not be mass-produced? He was building, not making Spirit Weapons or Dharma Treasures.

The artifact refiners had thought the task would be easy, but their faces fell when he added that the materials had to be common and suitable for mass production. Common materials strong enough for Low Grade Spirit Weapons? Why did he not just go and rob someone?

The refiners had planned to process other materials, but now they had to abandon that idea and go back to common ores. Only those were plentiful enough for mass production.

The formation masters had an even simpler task: research.

They were to design small formations powered by Spirit Stones, without reducing their power. It was research and precision work, with no fixed specifications. They would still earn ten thousand Spirit Stones a day, but they had to produce workable plans instead of loafing around. Qin Xiao would check their progress every seven days.

With the broad instructions given, Qin Xiao needed to visit the force registration department. After all, he was doing all this to register a Third-Level Force.

Yun Man would manage the three groups of specialists. The Luo Family Ancestor would oversee the foundation crew, and Pan San the ordinary workers. Li Liangping would handle purchases and transport. His Qi Condensation men would move the sifted river sand, using Storage Bags to make the job easier, while the other four Foundation Establishment cultivators accompanied him to buy materials.

He also put Yun Man in overall charge. Whenever he was away, everyone was to follow her instructions. After all, she already handled his finances.

With responsibilities delegated, Qin Xiao flew alone toward Middle City.

All this time, none of the material suppliers who had been so eager to work with him had come. Xiao Wenli’s threat was clearly having an effect.

Qin Xiao did not mind. He could find a few good stone mountains and quarry them himself, then transport the stone in Storage Bags. No matter how hard it was, could it be harder than Yun Man’s sword?