Fantasy World: I Can Travel To Cultivation World

Chapter 188 Beginning

Zhou Minghao spoke calmly.

Who would have guessed that Luis's eyes would widen in surprise upon hearing this?

Although the allocated spirit stones were for military expenditures and not his personal fortune, as the commander of the Western Defense Zone, he had the authority to decide how the funds were spent.

Ultimately, wouldn't most of this money gradually flow into the Hartmann family's pockets?

If not for the looming threat from Master Shen Jue, the wealthy families of Guang'an Prefecture would never have agreed to spend such an enormous amount!

Luis felt as though he had just stumbled upon an unexpected windfall.

His impression of Zhou Minghao, who had firmly supported his appointment as the commander of the Western Defense Zone, instantly improved.

Compared to the third-grade, top-tier flying sword that Yang Linyuan had gifted him, the favor Zhou Minghao had granted was monumental!

What made it even more remarkable was how this favor had been given with such an air of righteousness that no cultivator in Guang'an Prefecture could object. Find exclusive stories on empire

Not long ago, during a council meeting, there had been monks who opposed Luis's appointment as commander of the Western Defense Zone.

However, their objections had been silenced when Luis defeated them with a single strike of his sword.

Since then, his leadership had been acknowledged by all the cultivators.

As Luis's gaze reflected his gratitude, Zhou Minghao returned the look with a knowing smile and a nod.

Smart individuals didn't need to exchange words; even a brief glance conveyed meaning.

This silent interaction marked a mutual understanding: the Hartmann family now owed the Zhou family a favor.

It could be said that this substantial military expenditure had come at the perfect time.

With 80 million spirit stones at his disposal, Luis could accomplish a great deal.

While these spirit stones weren't his personal wealth, he could channel them into strategic investments.

One such investment was in spiritual veins, a cornerstone of growth in the cultivation world.

Investing in spiritual veins was widely regarded as a sure path to wealth and stability.

The Yang family's extensive network of spiritual veins within a thousand-mile radius of Lingzhou City was proof of this.

With this significant funding, Luis envisioned replicating their success.

His plan was ambitious: to establish a vast network of spiritual veins spanning a radius of ten thousand miles, with Hartmann Island as the central hub.

Of course, how the constructed spiritual veins would be utilized specifically depended on the actual situation.

However, compared to the Yang family, the Hartmann family had a tremendous advantage: the ability to quickly process raw materials such as spiritual ores and spiritual medicines into finished products.

This advantage was unmatched across the entire Ten Thousand Star Sea and even the broader world of immortal cultivation.

In Luis's eyes, this world was overwhelmingly powerful due to the strength of its cultivators.

But this strength came with a flaw: cultivators had become overly reliant on their own abilities, to the point of neglecting the potential of machinery.

Luis, however, was different. As a transmigrator, his worldview and understanding were vastly different from the norms of this world.

He recognized the strengths and weaknesses of both worlds.

What Luis aimed to do was bridge the gap—leveraging the technological advancements of his previous life to address the shortcomings of this one, while integrating the unique advantages of his current fantasy world.

The deficiencies of this world extended far beyond mere productivity.

They permeated its institutions, economy, and even cultural aspects.

However, achieving such change required a solid foundation of power. Without it, all plans would remain empty talk.

History provided a stark reminder: families like the Zhao family had vanished into oblivion with just a single misstep amidst external pressures.

As Luis left the Allied Forces Headquarters Hall, he felt as if he were walking on air.

"Brother Luis!"

A familiar voice called from behind.

Luis turned to see Zhou Mubai approaching.

"Brother Zhou!"

Luis's face lit up, his joy unmistakable. At that moment, he felt an almost familial bond with Zhou Mubai—not only because they were life-and-death friends, but also because of the generous military funding the Zhou family had just "gifted" him.

This windfall made Luis feel a newfound closeness to anyone bearing the Zhou name.

Seeing Luis's exaggerated reaction, Zhou Mubai smiled and shook his head. With a teasing tone, he said, "I didn't expect you to have such a money-loving side."

Luis frowned in mock displeasure and replied, "Brother Zhou, you were born into a wealthy family. How could you possibly understand the struggles of monks from humble families like mine?"

Then, shaking his head, he added more seriously, "Brother Zhou, do you have any specific plans for the upcoming attack on Lotus Island?"

Hearing this, Zhou Mubai paused for a moment, his expression turning thoughtful.

"My plan is quite simple," he finally said. "Fortify the walls and clear the fields."

"Fortify the walls and clear the fields?"

Luis couldn't help but frowned, "Why, don't you just attack Lotus Island?"

Hearing those words, Zhou Mubai shook his head.

"Although the zombie tide currently occupying Lotus Island isn't particularly strong, the real problem lies with God Killer Shen Jue lurking in the shadows. Additionally, we have no way of knowing whether Shen Jue has left any backup plans. Attacking Lotus Island rashly would be unwise."

Luis frowned. "But according to our last investigation, there should only be two zombies with real consciousness on Lotus Island."

"It's not that simple," Zhou Mubai said as he walked. "Did you notice something else? Most of those mindless zombies used to be cultivators from the Wu and Zhao families."

"You mean…" Luis prompted, waiting for him to elaborate.

"In such a short period, the corpses of Foundation Establishment cultivators were forcibly refined into zombies. This suggests that Shen Jue has the ability to mass-produce Foundation Establishment combat power."

Hearing this, Luis felt a chill run down his spine.

The Qianyuan Sword Sect wanted the cultivators of Guang'an Prefecture to lure Shen Jue out of hiding. But if anything went wrong, the entire monk population of Guang'an Prefecture could be wiped out!

Faced with this dire situation, the monks of Guang'an Prefecture were understandably reluctant to act as the first line of offense.

In response, the Zhou family proposed a solution: withdraw all cultivators from Lotus Island and its surrounding areas near Guang'an Prefecture.

Fortunately, the islands surrounding Lotus Island were mostly populated by independent cultivators and minor families. There were few spiritual veins of value, which made evacuation somewhat manageable.

However, the islands also housed a significant number of mortals.

To transport these mortals, the Zhou and Yang families expended considerable effort, relocating them to spiritual veins thousands of miles away on Lingbei Island.

Once the mortals and low-level cultivators were safely evacuated, Zhou Mubai planned to construct several strong defensive lines on the islands stretching from Lotus Island to the territories of the Wu and Zhou families.

These defenses were intended to contain the zombie tide, preventing it from spreading into Guang'an Prefecture.

By increasing the pressure in the region near Guang'an Prefecture, it was likely that the zombie tide would shift in the opposite direction—away from Guang'an Prefecture.

And the direction opposite Guang'an Prefecture?

That led toward Cangzhou Fairy City—the ancestral home of the Ye family, the most powerful family in Cangzhou.

This was the true plan of the Guang'an Prefecture coalition forces—to divert the disaster to the east.

Whether the Ye family chose to block the zombie tide, as Guang'an Prefecture had done, or to directly send cultivators to eliminate it, was no longer Guang'an Prefecture's concern.

Zhou Mubai's priority was to hold the defense line of Guang'an Prefecture firmly.

As for whatever disaster befell the Ye family, Zhou Mubai had no sympathy to spare, let alone the inclination to send an army of cultivators to assist them.

Moreover, Zhou Mubai doubted that the Qianyuan Sword Sect would remain indifferent if the Ye family found themselves in trouble.

Hearing this explanation, Luis and Zhou Mubai exchanged a knowing smile.

The Ye family had too many enemies.

The Zhou family bore a grudge against the Ye family, as did the Wu and Yang families. In Cangzhou, there were likely few families without grievances against the Ye family.

In the days that followed:

After selecting soldiers for the Western Defense Zone, Luis led his troops back to Redwood Island.

To support the Western Defense Zone, the Zhou family dispatched ten Lingxu warships.

Each Lingxu warship carried one hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators. Altogether, this meant 1,000 Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed in the Western Defense Zone, not including ordinary soldiers in the Qi Refining Stage.

In total, the Western Defense Zone's monk army consisted of nearly 100,000 people.

This was only the smallest defense zone.

There was no other option; to counter the zombie tide and the threat of Master Shen Jue, the cultivators of Guang'an Prefecture had to band together.

The 100,000-strong force was just the temporary deployment and did not account for the number of mortals involved.

It should be noted that in Guang'an Prefecture, every cultivator had a large group of mortals serving them.

This was true whether they belonged to a family or were independent cultivators.

Family cultivators naturally had vast clans supporting them.

Even casual cultivators were surrounded by large numbers of mortals. These mortals built cities, reproduced, and thrived under the protection of the independent cultivators.