Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 566 Imperial Workshop

Regarding the Xu family's thoughts.

Li Xiangming understands.

Since the Xu family has the capability to mass-produce Flying Star Crossbows and Golden Palace Bows, selling these strategic resources that were originally destined for the battlefield is the fastest way to generate revenue, rather than waiting for the alliance forces to divide up the profits from the monster materials.

And this is exactly what Li Xiangming encouraged.

If Li Xiangming hadn't taken this approach and had merely discussed supplies with each family verbally, then the Xu family and Immortal Ape Manor today would be just like the Luo family and Lingwu Sect of yesterday.

He probably won't even see the Golden Bow, let alone the "Rusty Iron" flying boat.

As for whether the Xu family will actually seize a large amount of profits in the alliance.

Li Xiangming wasn't worried.

The Xu family has the Flying Star Crossbow and the Golden Palace Bow, and the Li family even has the Crimson Sand Armor.

Furthermore, the Li family also possesses the Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow.

This thing was originally meant to be used to deal with beast tides. He resold it to the Alliance. How much would one unit be worth?

The manufacturing cost of the Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow is less than a hundred spirit stones. The most core and valuable runes were engraved by the Shen family for free.

But the Xu family and the Immortal Ape Manor didn't know that!

With such a deadly weapon, even if he priced it at thousands of spirit stones, Madam Xu and Qiu Changzhang would not dare to deny its value. On the contrary, with the help of the talisman crossbow, their confidence would be greatly boosted.

After all this, how much money does the alliance owe the Li family?
Today, Li Xiangming has taken charge and cleared the debt owed by the Xu family to the alliance. Will the Xu family be able to ignore the alliance's debt to the Li family in the future?
When the alliance owed the Li family 100,000 spirit stones and the Xu family 10,000 spirit stones.

The ten thousand spirit stones from the Xu family are just an inflated figure—the alliance can't possibly fill these deficits.

For this reason, Li Xiangming canceled the 15,600 spirit stones that the alliance owed the Li family from the very beginning.

The Li family will not be able to obtain these spirit stones in the short term. Even if the alliance becomes wealthy in the future, the alliance will already be owing each family and faction an unknown amount of spirit stones.

The Li family ultimately received only a very small percentage.

It would be better to be straightforward and give up directly, thus gaining the trust of the Xu family and the Immortal Ape Manor. Otherwise, if the two families see the alliance heavily indebted before they even begin to form an alliance, they will inevitably have concerns.

Of course, if the alliance develops exceptionally smoothly, it may be able to actually realize these inflated figures in the future.

Then the Xu family could indeed make a fortune.

However, it should be noted that the Li family is the alliance's largest creditor!
Regardless, the Li family will maintain a firm grip on the initiative within the alliance.

Faced with the white-haired old woman's probing, Li Xiangming not only showed no resentment, but instead smiled and said, "Madam Xu is willing to contribute to the alliance, and the Flying Star Crossbow and Golden Palace Bow can indeed help the cultivators of the Demon Suppression Camp. As the leader of the alliance, how could I object?"
However, the production of the Flying Star Crossbow and the Golden Palace Bow is far too low. If only a few people are equipped with them, others will inevitably feel it's unfair. If we wait a month or two to equip them all at once, the beast tide will probably not be as fierce as it is now.

The white-haired old woman frowned slightly, about to retort, when Li Xiangming changed the subject: "However, I do have a way to alleviate this situation, but I don't know if Madam Xu would be willing to accept it?"

"Please say."

The white-haired old woman stretched out her hand.

Li Xiangming continued writing, adding the three large characters "Making Office" next to "Demon Suppression Camp" on the paper. As he wrote, he explained, "The Demon Suppression Camp has hundreds of cultivators. Not only are they in dire need of various magical artifacts and armor, but they also need a large number of healing pills, as well as explosive talismans, Vajra talismans, and so on. If we were to purchase them all from the market, we would not know how many spirit stones it would cost."

In my opinion, we should still focus on the alliance's own production!
Currently, the Xu family has weapon refiners who can forge the Flying Star Crossbow and Golden Palace Bow, which are in dire need of the Demon Suppression Camp; the Immortal Ape Manor has alchemists who can refine healing pills such as Blood Coagulation Pill and Heart Nourishing Pill.

Everyone doing their own job is reasonable, but the efficiency is just too slow.

I intend to establish a workshop outside the Demon Suppression Camp, under the alliance's banner, to temporarily manage the various talents and basic resources of each faction.

If the Flying Star Crossbow is severely damaged, all the weapon refiners in the Imperial Workshop can work together to produce more Flying Star Crossbows; if there is a shortage of Qi-replenishing Pills, all the alchemists can work together to refine Qi-replenishing Pills.

Of course, the specific allocation of tasks among these weapon refiners and alchemists still needs to be planned in detail.

However, I believe that the Imperial Workshop's processing method should significantly improve the efficiency with which the cultivators of the Demon-Suppressing Camp receive crucial supplies.

After Li Xiangming finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent.

The white-haired old woman and Qiu Changzhang exchanged another glance. With the alliance managing the talents of each family, they undoubtedly had a great advantage in terms of logistics and production.

Li Xiangming's suggestion was extremely insightful.

However, if the weapon refiners from the Xu family and the Li family forged the Flying Star Crossbow and the Golden Palace Bow together, then do these two magical artifacts, which belong exclusively to the Xu family, still hold any secrets?
"My Li family can also make the production process of the Red Sand Armor public."

Seeing the white-haired old woman hesitate, Li Xiangming immediately added, "For every item produced by the Imperial Workshop, it can be sold to the Alliance for spirit stones. Exclusive magical artifacts like the Flying Star Crossbow, the Golden Palace Bow, and the Crimson Sand Armor, if produced by our own cultivators, the profits go to our own family. If produced by cultivators from other families, then for every item produced, 20% of the profits must be transferred to our own family. Does Madam Xu still have any doubts?"

The white-haired old woman hesitated even more.

To be fair, she did not want to share the technology of the Flying Star Crossbow and the Golden Palace Bow with the Li family and the Immortal Ape Manor.

But if she refuses, then there will definitely be no chance of selling these two magical artifacts to the Demon Suppression Camp.

If that's the case, the Xu family's contribution to the alliance is only fifty cultivators.

How many spirit stones will I be able to get in the future?
After a moment's thought, the white-haired old woman finally nodded slowly.

In any case, the Li family showed great sincerity, agreeing to share their Crimson Sand Armor and respecting the Xu family's ownership of the Flying Star Crossbow and Golden Palace Bow.

If Xu Jiaruo still doesn't understand, the situation might become awkward.

The white-haired old woman nodded, and Qiu Changzhang quickly followed suit in agreement.

The Immortal Ape Manor only has two first-level alchemists, and the daily production of pills is barely enough to meet their needs.

There was nothing to be reluctant about sending them to the so-called Imperial Workshops.

He didn't even expect the two of them to generate revenue; he just wanted them to speak up for Immortal Ape Manor and prove that it was an important member of the alliance.

At this moment, he deeply felt the importance of cultural heritage.

Even though he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, in a commercial alliance, the value of Immortal Ape Manor was far less than that of the Xu family, let alone a behemoth like the Li family.

Fortunately, he has a calm and composed mindset.

The beast tide swept through Pudong, and countless forces abandoned their homes and fled in disarray.

He would be satisfied if the alliance could protect the Immortal Ape Manor.

Seeing that things were going so smoothly, Li Xiangming was quite excited. He discussed the details with the white-haired old woman and Qiu Changzhang until night fell. Finally, the three of them reached an agreement and officially signed the Gushe Alliance on behalf of their respective families.

The Gushe Alliance comprises two halls, one office, and one camp: the Support Hall, the Imperial Control Hall, the Imperial Workshop, and the Demon Suppression Camp.

The first two are merely Li Xiangming's ideas and have not yet been formally established; the Imperial Workshops, on the other hand, have already been approved by three parties, and even the person in charge has been decided, but it will still take some time before they can be put into practice.

Only the Demon Suppression Camp is capable of standing alone.

The Xu family was very eager for the arrival of the Demon Suppression Camp. Li Xiangming also knew that only by helping the Xu family escape the siege of the beast tide could a true alliance emerge.

Otherwise, no matter how eloquently you speak now, it won't be convincing.

Therefore, Li Xiangming only stayed at the Xu family's residence for a short while before returning to the Demon Suppression Camp to discuss countermeasures with Li Xiangyu, Hu Qidao, and others.

"Xiang Yu, how much longer until the main force reaches Gushe Ridge?"

Li Xiangming unfolded a map, a topographical map of Gushe Ridge provided to him by the Xu family.

Li Xiangyu glanced at it and replied, "We can reach Lingxi in half a day. According to the map, the beast tide here is weak, so we can break through it directly and enter Fish Belly Valley."

"No rush." ​​Li Xiangming waved his hand.

Although the three parties have formed an alliance, many details have not yet been agreed upon.

Common spiritual herbs and minerals, including pills and talismans, can be priced according to market prices, with a tentative alliance price set. However, items like the Li family's Crimson Sand Armor and the Xu family's Golden Bow are not available on the market, and the three families need to renegotiate their prices.

This price can't be set arbitrarily!

The Hundred Artifacts Hall has to consider the market; it can't produce as many magical artifacts as it wants. Meanwhile, the Demon Suppression Camp under the Alliance is expected to have 180 cultivators, and there will be more in the future.

These people accepted all the pills, talismans, and magical artifacts distributed by the alliance without hesitation.

It can be said that the price difference of each spirit stone, when combined with the quantity, will generate enormous profits.

The beast tide at Gushe Ridge is a crisis for the Xu family, but also a bargaining chip for the Li family to raise the prices of the Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow and the Crimson Sand Armor.

The Demon Suppression Camp wants to win a great victory, but it doesn't necessarily have to be a quick one.

However, these calculations are naturally not something to be discussed with others.

Li Xiangming made an excuse and said, "The Dragon Yang Formation set up by the Xu family is located in Fish Belly Valley. This formation can both attack and defend, and the beast tide will not be able to do anything to the Xu family for a while. We are new here, so we should focus on familiarizing ourselves with the terrain. You can set up camp on the west side of the ridge and clear out the nearby monsters, forming a defensive position with Fish Belly Valley."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangyu nodded.

Just then, Hu Qidao spoke up: "Of the four directions, Lingnan is the closest to Fish Belly Valley. It has natural defenses, but I expect that after the monsters break through, they won't know how to defend it. We can send a surprise force to bypass it and seize the strategic location of Lingnan when the monster tide joins forces to attack Fish Belly Valley. In this way, the monster tide will have one less way to retreat, and if they are defeated, they will suffer heavy losses."

"good."

Li Xiangming looked at the stubble-faced man with approval.

The Xuanmao Demon Hunting Team, led by Hu Qidao, was rendered ineffective by the beast tide at Lingyue Peak, leaving only Zhou Miao as its sole survivor.

But you can't blame him.

The Xuanmao Demon Hunting Team was originally established by Long Yang. Hu Qidao, the acting leader, has no kindness, virtue, or authority over the members. How easy is it to get them to follow him wholeheartedly?

At the same time, Hu Qidao managed to stabilize the few dozen remaining cultivators in the Demon Suppression Camp.

Most of these people were former subordinates of Li Xiangfeng and Li Xiangting. After Li Qianxiong attacked the Qin family and took the two away, the Demon Suppression Camp was leaderless. Hu Qidao, as an outsider, became the backbone in everyone's hearts.

It is clear that he has leadership qualities.

The suggestions put forward now are also very well thought out.

Li Xiangming couldn't help but think of Yang Yun. He also greatly admired the boy's perseverance and courage, and had once wanted to personally teach him.

However, he is no longer the commander of the Demon Suppression Camp, but the leader of the Gushe Alliance.

Military campaigns and the extermination of monsters were Li Xiangyu's business.

His mission is to unite more forces like the Xu family and the Immortal Ape Manor into the alliance.

Yang Yun couldn't be by his side, and he didn't have time to care about her.

Li Xiangming immediately summoned Yang Yun into the tent and asked, "Little Yun, are you willing to follow Commander Hu to conquer Lingnan?"

Yang Yun stood tall and proud, without hesitation: "This subordinate is willing to obey military orders. As long as the Alliance Leader and Commander give the order, I will go through fire and water without hesitation."

Li Xiangming smiled with satisfaction, then glanced at Hu Qidao.

Hu Qidao quickly replied, "Please rest assured, Alliance Leader, I will take good care of Xiaoyun."

Li Xiangming grunted in agreement and said nothing more, leaving the tactical deployment of the Demon Suppression Camp to Li Xiangyu and the others.
-
"what?"

In a secluded room on Danggui Mountain, a burly middle-aged man was sitting cross-legged when he suddenly heard the intruder's report and was immediately terrified.

Xie Jun looked at him and said with a wry smile, "It's true. This is a handwritten letter left by Deputy Chief Steward Li. I had repeatedly asked to see him without success before Li Xiangzhen finally agreed to take it out."

Luo Wanlin quickly took the letter. The contents were simple: the Li family wanted to form an alliance with the Xu family of Gushe Ridge and invited the Luo family and Lingwu Sect to attend the ceremony. The letter was dated two days ago.

"Do the Li family and the Xu family have any dealings?"

Luo Wanlin immediately asked.

Xie Jun shook his head: "Never heard of it."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "The Xu family is located in the south-south direction of Danggui Mountain, where the beast tide is very serious. Deputy Chief Steward Li also mentioned that the Xu family sent messengers, who are likely seeking help from the Li family."

"Li Xiangming agreed?"

Luo Wanlin asked subconsciously.

After dealing with him for the past two days, he was well aware of how difficult Li Xiangming was to deal with.

What price would the Xu family have to pay to get this person to take action?
"Since Deputy Chief Steward Li mentioned the alliance meeting, he must have agreed."

Xie Jun's expression was slightly gloomy.

Seeing this, Luo Wanlin asked in bewilderment, "The Li family is willing to lend a helping hand to those in distress, shouldn't that be a good thing? Brother Xie, you don't seem very happy?"

"Good thing?"

Xie Jun's lips twitched slightly: "If the Li family has a noble cause, why would they reveal this matter to us and invite us to witness the alliance between the Li and Xu families? Are they just bored out of their minds?"

Luo Wanlin immediately realized what was going on and asked, "You mean, Li Xiangming's target is us?"

"Yes and no."

Xie Jun said in a deep voice, "Deputy Chief Steward Li has been asking our two families to contribute manpower and resources, but after we have repeatedly refused, he went directly to form an alliance with the Xu family. Faced with the beast tide crisis, the Xu family will inevitably make many promises to the Li family. Fellow Daoist Luo, our trip is probably going to be difficult unless we accept the same conditions as the Xu family."

Upon hearing this, Luo Wanlin's expression immediately turned ugly.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "If we insist..."

"Then Deputy Chief Steward Li will seek alliances with other factions one by one. The forces in Pudong have always been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Li family, and now that the Li family has also brought in the Xu family, their influence has increased. Once this door is opened, I'm afraid even more forces will be willing to join them. Will the Li family still care about the manpower and resources we promised them?"

Xie Jun paused to catch his breath, then continued, "Do you still remember the threat Li, the deputy chief steward, made earlier? If our two families still want the Li family's promise of protection, we must go to Gushe Ridge to find him. That's the real reason he left the letter."

Luo Wanlin opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to answer.

For the past few days, the Li family has been unable to do anything about their persistence.

In the blink of an eye, the tide has turned?

Xie Jun moved closer to the bedside and asked in a low voice, "Just what price can the Luo family offer for this trip?"

Luo Wanlin immediately became alert and replied, "The Luo family is poor and has few members."

"Alright, since Fellow Daoist Luo is not going to say anything, then let's leave it at that."

Xie Jun turned and left.

Luo Wanlin quickly caught up: "Brother Xie, where are you going?"

"Gushe Ridge".

(End of this chapter)