Only after unifying the world did I realize that immortals existed in this world.

"You must be tired, go and rest!"

"yes!"

Lu Junfeng obeyed and withdrew.

Xiao Zheng was left alone in the room. He walked slowly to the door, stood silently, and calmly gazed at the afterglow of the setting sun sinking into the mountains.

With a gentle wave of his arm, a precious pearl appeared in his palm.

This Azure Sky Pearl is a treasure of the Wuxiang Zen Sect, combining offense and defense, and also possesses the power to calm the mind, dispel evil, and ward off impurities. It is renowned throughout the entire Immortal Alliance. It would be impossible for it to be lent out without the sect leader's personal request.

At first, this treasure was radiant and full of precious energy, with auspicious clouds and mist flowing around it, and its power to soothe the soul overflowing outwards.

However, at this moment, the bead was dull as if covered in dust, with cracks visible inside, making it appear hazy and gray.

Subtle magical energy lingered, slowly repairing the wounds.

The last contact with the sect leader consisted of only one sentence: "Protect your disciples and act with caution."

What is that?

How could a single strike possess such power?

Even today, the unstoppable and terrifying aura still leaves him with lingering fear.

The emperor is not yet thirty years old; he could never possibly have such power.

Could it be because this world has been isolated overseas for too long, and the power of heaven and earth is somewhat repelling outsiders?

Or is it possible that some powerful beings at the tenth or eleventh realm are hiding here, occupying this place, and issuing a warning to them?

Xiao Zheng hopes it is the former.

Unintentional power is always much easier to deal with than intentional power.

"Phew~"

Let's wait until we've met with the emperor before making any further decisions.

He sighed softly, took out a few spirit stones, sat upright in the room, and with a gentle wave of his hand, an invisible wind blew, closing the door.

……

"Is this the spirit stone?"

Inside the palace, Qi Xiu, with a serene expression, quietly examined the jade stone in his hand.

He could also sense the energy contained within it.

Xie Cangrong has always trusted the people he employs.

As a top official in the court, Qi Xiu had a wide range of experiences and naturally knew what this was.

After all, he was an important participant in the Shiyu Rebellion.

"right!"

Xie Cangrong sat at the table, quietly looking at him: "What does Qi Qing think?"

They were not friends, but rather superiors and subordinates, and their conversations were solely about business.

"There is great potential."

Qi Xiu said the same thing as Gong Qiao.

"Well, here you go. Now that you've gained wisdom, try using it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Don't be overly cautious or stingy. Failure is inevitable when starting from scratch. Go ahead and try, and I will allocate funds to you as follows."

"yes!"

Qi Xiu paused for a moment, then asked, "Your Majesty, can our dynasty develop a method for mining this substance?"

Xie Cangrong said, "It will be soon."

"Hmm... Your Majesty must exercise strict and careful control."

Xie Cangrong waved his hand: "I know."

Qi Xiu knew that the spirit stone was also an important factor in social change, and as the compiler of the new law, he had to include it in the list of important regulatory factors.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Your Majesty, is this item comparable to gold?"

Gong Qiaohui would consider the function and scientific research value of the spirit stone.

Qi Xiu will take a more macro perspective to consider the impact of this resource on society and the economy.

Xie Cangrong nodded: "Yes, this item is a hard currency among cultivators, immortals, and demons across the four continents, and it circulates more widely than the currencies of various countries."

Qi Xiu frowned and asked again, "Is this thing going to replace our dynasty's currency? Won't gold and silver depreciate as a result?"

Before Xie Cangrong could respond, he said decisively, "This item must not enter the market in the short term."

Therefore, spirit stones must be strictly controlled.

This is something more important than gold.

As cultivators are accepted and society undergoes changes, the spirit stones will eventually benefit the general public.

However, during the transition between the old and the new, if this product is not carefully managed and flows into the market in large quantities, it will inevitably cause a huge impact on the old economic system.

When the money in the hands of ordinary people becomes worthless, the economy collapses, chaos ensues, and the dynasty's demise is not far off.

Xie Cangrong simply nodded slightly: "Mm."

"Spirit stones are spirit stones, and currency is currency. Spirit stones will not replace currency, but gold may indeed depreciate as a result. We need to adjust our policies and proceed gradually and slowly."

Spirit stones are a resource, but currency is man-made.

Spirit stones are like gold, representing the foundation for a stable economy in the new era.

By accumulating large gold reserves, dynasties could continuously produce currency, adjust the economy, stimulate productivity, and acquire diplomatic capital.

Now that cultivators have appeared and are connecting with immortals and demons, and the Great Xia has a large reserve of spirit stones, it can also use currency to accomplish more things.

Xie Cangrong has even greater ambitions.

The British pound standard, the US dollar standard... they all mean the same thing.

Xie Cangrong certainly wouldn't destroy his own economic system and use spirit stones as the currency of the Great Xia Dynasty.

It seemed the emperor had already considered the problem he had thought of. Qi Xiu nodded in agreement: "Yes!"

"However, now that cultivators have appeared, our dynasty's method of currency production may have become outdated, making it easy for them to create large amounts of currency to disrupt our system."

"Now that you have also embarked on the path of cultivation, see if you can make some improvements to our dynasty's currency so that cultivators cannot easily replicate it."

Xie Cangrong said the same thing to Gong Qiao.

He never intended to abandon his currency; he simply said there was a problem with the anti-counterfeiting authentication.

Purely mundane skills may not be able to compete with strange and unpredictable magic. Cultivators will certainly have ways to mass-produce Great Xia currency. If a large number of counterfeit coins flow into the market, it will cause huge trouble.

Xie Cangrong needs to take precautions in advance.

Perhaps only the power of cultivation can counter the magical power of a cultivator.

Xie Cangrong has recently been researching how to make his currency irreplaceable.

He pondered this matter and also informed Gong Qiao and Qi Xiu about it.

When more intelligent people think together, it's easier to find solutions.

This sounds complicated.

But in reality, he felt that this was not too difficult, and that the power of the nation's destiny that he controlled might have a solution.

He still has too little understanding and development of the power he possesses.

It's such a waste to use it only to suppress cultivators.

However, since it concerns the fate of a nation, he does need to be careful and cautious in how he spends it.

Qi Xiu looked at the spirit stone in his hand, feeling the pulse of power, and nodded slightly: "Your subject obeys the decree."

The spirit stone has only just been developed; they still have time.

"good!"

Xie Cangrong smiled and said with concern, "Qi Qing, please take good care of your health and don't overwork yourself. I've noticed that you've lost weight these days."

Qi Xiu bowed deeply and said, "I dare not be negligent in matters of state and family; I trouble Your Majesty to keep this in mind."

After a few perfunctory pleasantries, Qi Xiu reported, "Your Majesty, Lu Shuo and Chen Zhenhong have had a sudden realization today. They can, like me, use the power of the law to judge those who have violated the law."

Xie Cangrong smiled and said, "Okay!"

very good!

Everything seemed to confirm his suspicions.