Chapter 41: The Crystal Treasure
Chapter 41: The Crystal Treasure
As the morning sun rises a great bronze bull carriage appeared before the entrance. Hundreds of guards dressed in shining armour stood neatly before the entrance, looking like rows of tin cans; awaiting the arrival of the great Chu Tian.
Altogether they assembled with the carriage and convoy.
The sincerity of the mayor was quite high.
The allocation of territories did not really have a large effect on the mayor, but now, not only was he going to receive Chu Tian personally, he was also sending him a luxurious escort. It was very evident that he was trying to curry favor.
Of course it was hard to say that there were no ulterior motives.
However, for an ordinary citizen to gain an audience with the mayor, no matter how you looked at it it was a good affair.
Chu Tian was not the least bit anxious. If I had to go through a mountain of knives, I would take some as scrap metal; if I were to walk in boiling oil, I would take a bath in it. To take advantage of the circumstances despite the danger, this was his style. The word fear was not in his dictionary.
Chu Tian sat in the carriage with no fanfare, and the hundred or more escort of bodyguards departed with him to the outskirts of the city.
Nangong Yi walked toward him. "President Chu Tian, you are finally here."
His long-sleeved outfit was as red as wine, his facial expressions were straight and stern with smooth lines, his oversized white cloak hung from his shoulders, on his head was a headpiece decorated with white cashmere, and his beard was finely groomed, making him appear as an aristocrat from top to bottom.
"Pardon me, I made the mayor wait."
Chu Tian walked over to the the two large bronze bulls and patted the hides that were hard as iron, clicking his tongue in admiration.
“The mayor really is an uncomparable mayor. Your carriage is also extraordinary. And the fighting power of these bronze bulls are around the seventh or eighth level of the Body Refinement Realm. It’s defensive capabilities can be compared to the seventh level of the Body Refinement Realm spirit beasts. ”
Nangong Yi’s eyes glittered as he promptly replied with a smile, “This carriage came from the capital. These bronze bulls have gone through special domestication so they will absolutely follow the orders of their master. Their endurance is strong and their battle prowess is nothing to scoff at. They not only pull the carriage but can even act as bodyguards. Among the carriages in Tian Nan City, this carriage should at least be among the top ten.”
A carriage from the capital?
Absolutely the finest of them all.
Nangong Yi continued, “This carriage is one zhang high and eight chi. The inside is cast with cold iron, the outside is forged with fiery bronze. The details in the carving is intricate and the structure is encompassingly beautiful. While in motion, you won’t feel the bumpiness of the road nor be jostled around. It has strong defensive capabilities that can withstand attacks from cultivators below the spirit-awakened realm, guaranteeing the safety of the rider.”
Chutian nodded, “Good, good!”
Nangong Yi noticed the change in Chu Tian’s expression, and said out of the blue, "As a gift for our first official meeting, as mayor, I would perhaps give you the bull carriage as a gift. Will you accept it?"
Why, how generous!
The mayor was a wise old fox, he would not be so generous without any reason.
Chutian feigned bashfulness, "Oh, how could I accept such gift?"
Nangong Yi chuckled. "Mayor still has other similar carriages, there is no problem with giving you one. Moreover, you have offended quite a number of people. My informer just told me that Ye Xiong had begun making inquiries about you."
"Making inquiries? Hah! What is there to look into??"
"Well that, I don’t know. What I do know is that Ye Xiong had sent out several groups of people to the Central Continent that night, and we don’t know whatever they have up their sleeves."
Chu Tian knitted his brows and said, "Oh? Such an incident happened??"
"Don’t be too anxious about it, although the Ye’s influence is very big, Tian Nian City is my territory. They still have to give me face.”Nagong Yi then put on an appearance as he if were intensely loyal to his friends, "However, it’s easy to hide a bright gun yet difficult to hide a stab in the back. This carriage has more use if offered to you. You surely need it more that I do!"
Chu Tian no longer refused. "Since the mayor’s generosity is difficult to refuse, it would be pointless for me to do so. Thank you for your generosity!"
Nangong Yi’s words of warning were simply tossed aside. Chu Tian did not care about any such attempts on him.
A man must have a good carriage after all. This bronze bull carriage could be considered the highest quality in Tian Nan City. If he took it out into the streets it would be very eye-catching.
Nangong Yi nodded, thinking to himself, “He accepted a gift from the mayor without batting an eye, accepting it with a completely clear conscience, as if he were a son receiving a gift from his father. This fellow is really thick-skinned, he will be great someday.”
The bronze bull carriage was not considered to be of the best quality in the capital. One could buy it with more or less ten thousand gold. But in Tian Nan City, there was no place to buy it so the price doubled.
Nangong Yi was bleeding inwardly but one could not see it on his face. He spoke cheerfully, “You are the first place winner of the big competition, so you gain monopoly over the extraction of four veins of ore for a whole year. In addition, you also have the authority to use the forest and spirit farms, the time limit is also one year.”
Chu Tian was a little hesitant.
Nangong Yi was shrewd and unscrupulous and could tell what Chu Tian was thinking, “You can also transfer the authority of ore-extraction to other people and charge them rent, you can save time and energy this way. What do you think?”
I see!
The old fox was eyeing these fatty pieces of meat.
Miracle Commerce was just newly established, they did not have sufficient manpower to begin with. Where were they to find miners and farmers?
Even if they found miners and farmers, would Miracle Commerce really be able to carry out resource extraction with no worries? Do not be stupid! The Ye clan and the Du clan would not openly cause a disturbance because of the resource division agreement, but behind-the-scene tricks would surely be unavoidable.
Miracle Commerce was just newly established and it was important to not lose focus. It did not have time to manage these things.
But the benefits of the mines, spirit farms, and forests were not small.
Right now, aside from the mayor, nobody really wanted to receive this hot potato.
Chu Tian did not bat an eye.
“I should take a look first.”
“Alright, I will show you.”
The mayor was feeling very gloomy.
This crafty guy. even with such strong hints, you still act dumb!
There were four mines in total: a crystal mine, and four metal mines. The crystal mine was the most valuable. It could produce a grade 1 fire crystal that could exceed the value of the three metal mines combined.
The forest and and spirit farm were also not bad. The forest was a large tract of land very suitable for hunting and breeding. Inside, it had many wild beasts, spirit grass, and legendary elixirs. The farm land needed no special introductions, it was a well cultivated piece of land very sutiable for planting various medicinal herbs.
It was really rich and fertile, no wonder all the large clans were red in the face fighting for it.
Even though these resources were all very attractive, Miracle Commerce did not have the means to take advantage of them. They had no other choice, Nangong Yi was sure to take advantage of him.
How could this be?
Chu Tian was an easy-going person. He was not overly concerned with meticulously counting gains and losses, but he did not want to be ripped off either. Might as well drag this on and keep the mayor on his toes. If the mayor were to speak first then all the advantages would be with Chu Tian. In this way Chu Tian could get the best deal.
But Nangong Yi was no fool. How could he not know what was going on. Even though he wanted it very much he did not speak. He acted as if he did not care about the resources very much and was only courteously showing Chu Tian around.
This young genius would truly understand the meaning of the the heart’s yearnings. He would not be offended.
From the very beginning, it never occurred to Nangong Yi to make threats. Getting the resources from Chu Tian would be good, but even if he did not give it to him, Nangong Yi would not treat him poorly.
Thus these two people whiled the time away in this matter.
Suddenly, a large, eye-catching mine appeared in their view.
There were no miners in the vicinity, only soldiers that encircled it in a strict formation. If you did not look closely, it seemed more like army barracks than a mine.
Chu Tian asked with curiousity, “What’s going on in this mine?”
Nangong Yi replied, “Oh, this? This is a liquid crystal mine that is under my control. It’s not very valuable, however, I keep it guarded in case spirit beasts or outlaws try to enter. After all, liquid crystal is very dangerous. If it were to explode, it would affect Tian Nan City greatly.”
Chu Tian’s eyes brightened, “Liquid crystal? It’s crystal oil!”
“Right, it’s that sort of thing.”
“Let’s go in for a look!”
The two people entered the mine. The extraction equipment of this mine was simple and crude. In fact, it did not really require extraction equipment at all, because once they entered the mouth of the cave they were immediately at a small cliff.
The cliff was about 10 meters high, at the bottom, a white glowing object could be seen.
The white glowing object was not solid, but a type of viscous and gelatinous liquid. The color was very pure, it flowed very slowly and formed a small lake, it looked like a white mirror at the foot of a mountain.
A look of uninhibited pleasure flashed across Chu Tian’s eyes. “This crystal oil mine is completely under the mayor’s control?”
How strange.
What sickness has this kid got?
Crystal oil was an extremely cheap natural resource. Few people found a use for it. Everywhere in the world, supply exceeded the demand. This deposit of crystal oil was of no interest anyway and the whole continent was full of such idle oil mines.
What was this kid interested in?
The mayor nodded, “Yes that is the case.”
“I want this oil mine.” Chu Tian said decisively, “I want to trade authority of extraction of the mines, forest, and spirit farm for one year with you for this mine.”
Nangong Yi staggered, almost tripping, “You… what did you say? You want this mine?”
Chu Tian nodded, “I have one condition, the mayor must provide the guards and assist in the extraction of the oil. Do you agree?”
Is there only wind in your head?
A meaty pie just fell from the heavens!
“It’s a deal!”
“It’s a deal!”
Nangong Yi was secretly delighted, he laughed and said, “I won’t keep it from you, the oil reserves in this mine is very abundant. You won’t find two in the whole continent that could compare to this one. Even though the price of crystal oil isn’t very high, at least the quantity is. After all, Miracle Commerce wouldn’t be able to harvest the other sites within the year. In comparison, you can have this mine forever. You can all wait until the company has matured, and you’ll be able to extract it for ten to twenty years. Who knows how much you’ll profit.”
Even Nangong Yi did not believe his own words.
Make money from the oil mine? Rubbish!
Trading a rundown mine for excellent quality resources was a hugely profitable business transaction.
The mayor was thinking that this crystal oil was highly unstable. After shaking it and mixing it with other substances it would cause a huge explosion. Up to this day, there was no other use for it other than adding a small amount to certain dangerous weapons.
Even though this mine was quite large, nobody ever showed interest in it. Even though it was under the mayor’s control he did not earnestly carry out extractions because it was uncertain if it would sell. If it were extracted and ended up being stored only within the city walls, then it would make the city a ticking time bomb.
How could Chu Tian not know what the mayor was thinking?
This idiot!
A look of pity appeared on Chu Tian’s face.
The scientific name of crystal oil was liquid crystal. It was not genuine crystal and it was not even an ordinary mineral. It was created by microorganisms.
This type of microorganism existed within the crystal ore and ate it as food. After these microorganisms died, they precipitated in the rock layer and through the passage of 10 or so billions of years became this precious crystal oil.
Crystal oil played a huge role in the history of the continent. It was the fuel of civilized society, the lifeblood of science and technology, the foundation of industrialization, the master of wars, the support of a nation’s power!
After twenty thousand years, where more intelligent lifeforms lived, crystal oil had been extracted to near depletion.
This type of natural resource was already conisdered very precious and rare in the continent. Countries would fight over control of an oil mine and wars would erupt over them.
In Chu Tian’s generation, the crystal oil of the continent was almost exhausted,so people had no choice but to search the heavens for mines. The price of energy shot up, and they could only regret and think of the golden age of the past.
Now though!
The low-cost crystal oil could not be compred to iron ore.
Crystal oil could be classified into three kinds: the first was gold colored, the second was silver colored and the third was white.
This was the lowest grade crystal oil. Right now, it was nearly worthless, but after 10 thousand year, it would be more than enough to buy a few fertile counties.
The oil mine was now in his hands.
It seemed that Miracle Commerce was receiving divine help.
Chu Tian suppressed his excitement and imemdiately said to Nangong Yi, “Help me get a bottle of oil. I wish to take it back to study.”
Nangong Yi hurriedly said, “The crystal oil is very unstable once it leaves the mine. If it’s shaken or mixed even a little, it will cause a terrifying explosion. Only professionals dare to touch it. Please don’t act reclessly.”
Chu Tian said, “I have my own precautions. Let’s quickly head back and sign the contracts for the exchange. I’m handing over all those resource sites to you mayor!”
Nangong Yi was extremely excited.
Bring just one bottle of oil.
In his view it wasn’t a huge problem to let him take some back to look. Now he must just seize the moment and sign the contract.
Translated by: korezmi
Edited by: seriouspotato