Chapter 132 : Rewards of the Celestial Covenant
Beyond the mobilization of forces, the covenant also stipulated the method for calculating military merits from this campaign, along with the detailed distribution of spoils after the war.
All materials harvested from slain Demonic Beast [magical beasts] in this battle were to be pooled collectively. They would be refined by Celestial Ruins Mountain [a major cultivation stronghold] into magical tools and elixirs [cultivation-enhancing pills], which would then be used as rewards. The key difference was that the merit-based rewards for this campaign were set to be more than fifty percent higher than those offered during the Green Sun Covenant [a previous major alliance agreement].
According to the terms of the Green Sun Covenant, slaying a Foundation Establishment Initial Stage Demonic Beast [a demonic beast at the initial stage of the Foundation Establishment realm] yielded a reward equivalent to eight hundred Spirit Stone [minerals that store spiritual energy, used as currency]. However, Celestial Ruins Mountain was now offering a reward equivalent to one thousand two hundred Spirit Stone for the same feat.
The reason for such generous rewards was twofold: first, to encourage the great immortal clans to fight valiantly in this war; second, because the value of materials refined into finished elixirs and magical tools far exceeded—often more than doubling—the value of the raw materials themselves.
For instance, a Second Rank Low Grade Demonic Beast Inner Core [the condensed spiritual core of a low-grade, second-rank demonic beast] might be worth around five or six hundred Spirit Stone. But if it were fused with Five Elements Essence [a refined spiritual essence containing the power of the five elements], inscribed with formation runes, and forged into a Second Rank Magical Tool [an enchanted artifact of the second rank], its value would more than double. This calculation doesn't even include the value of the beast's flesh, blood, hide, and other materials.
Therefore, Celestial Ruins Mountain could still turn a profit at this price point, though their margin would be significantly thinner compared to what the Green Sun Sect [a major cultivation sect] had earned previously.
By claiming this intermediary profit, Celestial Ruins Mountain also took upon itself the sole responsibility for providing death benefits, in addition to the merit rewards.
As stipulated by the covenant, for any cultivator who fell in battle against the Beast Tide Calamity [a periodic, massive invasion by demonic beasts], compensation was to be paid. Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators [cultivators at the Qi Refinement stage] would receive compensation ranging from fifty to one hundred Spirit Stone, based on their cultivation level. A Foundation Establishment Cultivator [a cultivator who has established their foundation] would be compensated with one Foundation Establishment Pill [a precious pill that aids in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm].
While the death benefits for Qi Refinement Cultivators may seem modest, they would collectively represent an enormous expenditure. After the Beast Tide Calamity concluded, compensation for fallen Qi Refinement Cultivators alone could potentially cost several hundred thousand Spirit Stone.
This was because, during every Beast Tide Calamity, the cultivator population of the Chu Kingdom typically suffered casualties exceeding twenty percent. In the event of a rout, losses could even reach thirty or forty percent. Visit audio~novel.com to enjoy the complete series.
This was still organized resistance. Without such unified defense, the entire county, even the entire province, would fall.
When that time came, even Foundation Establishment [the second major realm of cultivation] practitioners and Purple Mansion Immortal Clan [a powerful clan led by a cultivator of the Purple Mansion realm] would be reduced to ashes of calamity, with only a handful managing to escape with their lives. Let alone minor immortal clans of low cultivation and Rogue Cultivator [cultivators without sect or clan affiliation].
After each Beast Tide Calamity [a periodic, massive invasion of demonic beasts], the Chu Kingdom Cultivation World [the cultivation society of the Chu Kingdom] would suffer devastating losses. Twenty to thirty percent of Qi Refinement Cultivators [practitioners of the first cultivation realm] and Foundation Establishment [practitioners of the second cultivation realm] cultivators might perish, requiring decades to recover to its former peak.
The compensation for the fallen was not particularly generous, yet cultivators were compelled to fight. For if they did not unite against the Demonic Beast [monstrous creatures that absorb spiritual energy, often hostile to humans], the only outcome would be the complete annihilation of their clans, even their entire province, becoming mere sustenance for the beasts.
The only thing they could do was to preserve the young seeds of hope, sending the older cultivators to face the Demonic Beast.
Compensation of several dozen to over a hundred Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] per person, when the number of war dead reached a certain threshold, would become an astonishingly heavy burden.
As per the signed covenant, if a disastrous defeat occurred with too many cultivators slain, the profits earned would be utterly insufficient to fill that chasm. Likely, even Lyra Jiang would have to bleed her own resources dry.
During the Beast Tide Calamity a century ago, under the banner of the Green Sun Sect, the Three Provinces lost six or seven Purple Mansion [the third major realm of cultivation] experts. Nearly a hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivator fell, and more than thirty thousand Qi Refinement Cultivators perished beneath the claws and fangs of the Demonic Beast.
The outcome of that battle was too grievous. In Qing Province, Yang Province, and Bianzhou, these Three Provinces, over thirty percent of the cultivator population was slain.
The mortal dead numbered in the tens of millions. Vast territories west of the Scorching Sun Mountain Range in Yang Province fell, exposing tens of millions of mortals to the beasts' talons, where they became mere blood and flesh for the Demonic Beast.
That battle dealt a heavy blow to the Green Sun Sect. The compensation for the fallen Qi Refinement Cultivators alone would cost nearly two million Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy]. Even with their substantial profits, they could only cover seventy to eighty percent of that immense deficit.
Over two million Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy]! That sum was enough to purchase two Five Elements Spirit Fruit [a rare spiritual fruit said to contain the balanced essence of the five elements]. With a bit of fortune, it could have nurtured one or two Golden Core [the third major realm of cultivation, where a cultivator forms a solidified golden core of spiritual energy] cultivators.
However, the actual compensation disbursed by the Green Sun Sect was less than sixty percent of the total. Many immortal clans had been completely wiped out, leaving no heirs to claim the reparations.
It was said that for some annihilated clans, like the Wang Clan of Ink-Wash Ridge in Scorching Sun County, where seven or eight Foundation Establishment [the second major realm of cultivation, where a cultivator establishes a stable spiritual foundation] experts and over a thousand Qi Refinement Cultivators [the first and most basic realm of cultivation] perished, not a single coin of compensation was paid out. This saved the Green Sun Sect two or three hundred thousand Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy].
Given the circumstances, it seemed highly improbable that not a single one of the Wang Clan's thousand cultivators survived, and that even their carefully hidden lineage seeds, sent to Qing Province for safekeeping, had all mysteriously perished.
The major immortal clans understood the likely truth of what had transpired, but lacking concrete evidence and with no one to champion the Wang Clan's cause, the matter was quietly buried.
Furthermore, by withholding promised resources like the Foundation Establishment Pill [a precious pill that aids a cultivator in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm] under various pretexts, the Green Sun Sect ultimately disbursed little more than one million Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy] in compensation. In the end, they actually profited by several hundred thousand Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy].
"In comparison, Lyra Jiang is far more just and honorable," Eldrin Chen thought to himself.
After confirming the covenant contained no hidden pitfalls, Eldrin Chen signed his name and stamped it with the official seal of the Chen Immortal Clan.
Soon, everyone present had reviewed the pact. Each representative signed on behalf of their clan, and all the great immortal families affixed their ancestral seals, binding them to the agreement.
After the covenant was signed, smiles graced the faces of all present, and a sense of security settled in their hearts.
Such formal covenants carry immense binding power. The price for violating them is severe; not only would the transgressor face joint extermination by the major immortal clans of Bianzhou, but they would also be ostracized by the entire Chu Kingdom Cultivation World.
Furthermore, when establishing the covenant, all participants must swear a Heart Demon Oath [a solemn vow where breaking it invites torment from inner demons, severely hindering future cultivation]. Violating this oath would inevitably summon a tribulation of heart demons in the future, making the path of cultivation exceedingly arduous.
"Excellent."
Watching everyone sign the covenant and swear the Heart Demon Oath, Lyra Jiang felt a slight sense of relief settle within her.
She turned her gaze to the assembly, raised her hand, and released three beams of treasure light, which landed in the hands of Eldrin Chen, Xu Darius, and Yang Yuanhe. For more chapters, visit http://www . audio-novel.com for the complete novel.
Eldrin Chen received the radiant object and discovered it was a treasure mirror forged from Mysterious Iron. Though merely one Chi-length [one third of a meter] in size, its weight exceeded ten thousand Jin-weight [five thousand kilograms], marking it as truly extraordinary.
Observing the profound expressions on the three recipients' faces, Lyra Jiang calmly began her explanation.
"This is the World's-End Sound-Transmission Mirror [a set of magical mirrors capable of transmitting messages across vast distances]. It consists of one mother mirror and three child mirrors, forming a set of Third Rank Low Grade magical treasures capable of transmitting information across three hundred thousand Li-length [one hundred fifty thousand kilometers]."
"The mother mirror resides at Celestial Ruins Mountain. These three are the child mirrors. Take them to your respective Three Counties and place them upon a Second Rank High Grade Spirit Spring [a high-quality natural spring brimming with spiritual energy]. Once activated, they will be able to exchange messages with the mother mirror."
Upon hearing this, the group could not help but reveal expressions of ecstatic joy.
Gripping the treasure mirror, Xu Darius spoke with palpable excitement, "With this mirror in hand, can we not transmit messages at will, allowing forces from Bianzhou and Celestial Ruins Mountain to be redeployed to support one another, eliminating the danger of being defeated piecemeal?"
Eldrin Chen also showed a measure of delight. Although Yu County also possessed Communication Talisman [enchanted slips for sending messages], those talismans could only transmit over ten or twenty thousand Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] and were limited to nine uses.
Compared to this Third Rank Magical Treasure [a powerful enchanted artifact] capable of sending messages three hundred thousand Li-lengths, the difference was like that between heaven and earth; they were simply incomparable.
"This treasure mirror is forged from Mysterious Iron [a rare, spiritually conductive metal],"
"No wonder she asked me for thirty thousand Jin-weight [one Jin-weight equals zero point five kilograms] of Mysterious Iron. So it was to craft this set of Third Rank [a high level of power] specialized magical treasures." The complete novel can be found at audio-novel*com.