"Ten portions of Immortal Essence Gold?"
This price alarmed Shang Zhenbei.
Immortal Essence Gold!
That was the key material for forming an Immortal Golden Body.
The price for one portion often reached tens of millions of taels.
It was close to the annual revenue surplus of a Lower State.
In other words, the produce revenue of an entire state for one year was only worth one portion of Immortal Essence Gold.
Of course, the calculation couldn’t be done this way.
After all, there were many ways to obtain Immortal Essence Gold, and if there were a gold mine, the cost could be greatly reduced.
After deducting various other costs, the price could even drop to one million taels per portion.
Ten portions of Immortal Essence Gold for one heavy cannon!
That still was an extremely high figure.
All the Immortal Essence Gold in the entire imperial family’s collection probably couldn’t be exchanged for a hundred or two hundred Sword Heavy Cannons.
"This price... is too high, I can’t decide on my own, I need to report back to His Majesty before making a decision,"
"That’s only proper,"
Afterward, the two sides exchanged pleasantries for a while, had lunch, and then Shang Zhenbei took his leave.
Once he had left, Jiang Chongshan spoke candidly, "My imperial brother intends to use Jiangzhou as a bargaining chip to win over Heavenly Monarch Gu’s heart, but I understand my own abilities. Therefore, Heavenly Monarch Gu doesn’t need to worry that I will bring any trouble to Jiangzhou after becoming its lord. Jiangzhou will remain as it was before."
Gu Jinlai nodded, "You have my appreciation, Prince Star King. For your words alone, if His Majesty really wants to purchase Sword Heavy Cannons from us at Lingxiao City, we are willing to offer a 20% discount."
"Twenty percent off..."
Jiang Chongshan gave a bitter smile, "The cost of the Sword Heavy Cannon doesn’t need to be that high, does it?"
"That depends on the timing,"
Gu Jinlai said, "Even though the Tianhe Demons were defeated in the battle at Yuntian City, there are still many remnants left. A critical point is that our Star State is currently facing a threat from the Mu State Demons. We urgently need a large number of Sword Heavy Cannons to combat the Mu State Demons. Under such circumstances, selling any heavy cannon could lead to a loss in a battle. Therefore, once the Mu State Demons are eliminated, the imperial capital can come to us to purchase Sword Heavy Cannons, and the price will definitely drop significantly. Maybe only five portions, three portions, or even one portion of Immortal Essence Gold could exchange for one Sword Heavy Cannon."
Jiang Chongshan was about to say that the price of one portion of Immortal Essence Gold was still expensive.
However, Gu Jinlai, as if seeing through his thoughts, added, "A book containing a few thousand characters barely costs anything, but what if those thousands of characters describe a magic skill that leads directly to the Devas?"
Hearing this, Jiang Chongshan ultimately didn’t say anything else and nodded, "I understand. Regardless, the fact that Lingxiao City annihilated the Tianhe Demons in one battle, connecting the north and south, is a great achievement. I imagine that the imperial capital won’t have anything unfavorable to say about the issue of Sword Heavy Cannons, otherwise, it’d be a loss of sense to the heavenly order."
At the City Lord Mansion of Yuntian City.
Gu Jinlai stood on the mansion’s practice field, manifesting the Great Sun True Demon Body, seemingly enveloped in a faint golden light.
Inside him, the still recovering Eternal Furnace slowly operated, transmitting energy, refining his body.
Even though the energy intensity was less than one-tenth of its stable state...
This one-tenth was more than enough for Gu Jinlai to use for body refining.
Especially now that the power output of the Eternal Furnace was severely overflowing.
Particularly as his Spiritual Sense strength had escalated to the Heavenly Monarch stage, if he operated the Eternal Furnace at full capacity, the energy produced would be enough to completely burst him.
This was like a car equipped with a rocket engine, where one must be extremely cautious when pressing the gas pedal.
If he were to press the gas pedal all the way down, the terrifying power could make the car fly instantly, and then...
The driver, unable to keep up, would end up destroyed along with the vehicle.
"In as fast as half a month, or as slow as one month, my body will step into the realm of an Upper-level Demon,"
Gu Jinlai estimated briefly and soon reached a conclusion.
Even though advancing to an Upper-level Demon might not seem like a huge change—merely a bit faster and stronger than before—against those flying Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, he still relied on the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine. But...
At least when fighting same-level Demons, it would be easier.
Even though he now commanded heavy weapons and often didn’t need to personally enter the fray...
"Speaking of a Demon Body... it seems somewhat inappropriate to continue calling it that. With the Great Sun Demon God Body Refining Method at the core of the cultivation system, it must have its own name..."
Gu Jinlai thought about this issue.
Such a designation could provide a certain degree of cohesion and centripetal force.
At the same time, it could also change people’s prejudice against Demon God Guards.
Outside of Star State, because of decades of imperial propaganda, many people referred to Demon God Warriors as Demon Martial Artists, seeing them as a source of instability.
Some cities even prohibited Demon Martial Artists from entering.
Because no one knew when a Demon Martial Artist might lose control of their emotions, unleash their demonic nature, and cause massive casualties within the city.
"Before the Demon God Warriors have condensed a Demon God Body, they can be referred to as apprentice level. Once they have condensed a Demon God Body, they are officially known as Demon God Warriors. According to the strength of the body, they can be further divided into ordinary Martial Artists, middle-level Martial Artists, high-level Martial Artists... Once the Demon God Warriors’ bodies reach the level of a Demon, they can be called War Generals, also divided into ordinary, middle, and high levels."
Gu Jinlai laid out this general framework.
As for above the War Generals, those whose body strength has been refined to levels comparable to a Demon King, these would be at the War God level."
"Gu Chifeng and Gu Luochen have both become Middle-level War Generals by now. As time passes, it wouldn’t be surprising if they eventually became War Gods. Unfortunately, be it War Generals or War Gods, there is too much superficiality in these titles, and they fall significantly short compared to those in the Divinity Transformation, Primordial Spirit, or Devas stages."
Gu Jinlai was contemplating how to compensate for the shortcomings of this system.
The so-called "other" aspects, similar to his profound understanding of the Transformation Realm and Mental Realm, were unrealistic.
He could only put effort into the armor.
After much deliberation, Gu Jinlai still set his sights on the Heavenly Master.
To be precise, it was the "Spiritual Explosion," a weakened version of "True Spirit Possession" derived from the Heavenly Master System.
"Could ’Spiritual Explosion’ be treated as a passive skill engraved on heavy armor? Only a small amount of Spiritual Sense is needed to activate this skill and sustain it for a while?"
Gu Jinlai felt that he needed to take some time to discuss this thoroughly with Zhang Lihuo and others.
Contemplating, he called out, "Chi Feng."
Soon, the waiting Gu Chifeng entered and bowed.
"The world harbors deep prejudices against Demon Martial Artists. Even though our actions are completely different from those of the Demon Martial Artists, we cannot ignore the common people’s receptiveness to them. To facilitate future propaganda, I have redesigned a system tailored for cultivators of the Great Sun Demon God Body Refining Technique. Take it back, review it, and discuss if anything needs to be added."
Gu Jinlai instructed.
Gu Chifeng acknowledged and withdrew.
Shortly after Gu Chifeng’s departure, Gu Chaoyang and Cheng Wanli entered.
"Patriarch, Elder Yu Jin from the Yellow Sky Sect is outside, seeking an audience."
Gu Jinlai uttered, "Good, it seems they’ve realized it’s time to negotiate."
Having said that, he waved his hand and sat back in the main seat.
Soon, Gu Chaoyang brought Yu Jin in.
This Divinity Transformation Great Cultivator from the Yellow Sky Sect behaved very respectfully, "I pay my respects to Governor Gu. Thank you for your divine power that has cleansed the Tianhe Demons. Thirty million citizens of Yellow State will be thankful and remember your kindness."
Gu Jinlai responded indifferently with a single word.
Having heard this, Yu Jin reluctantly continued, "Now that the Tianhe Demons have been defeated, and the whole territory of Yellow State has been reclaimed, the elders of Yellow Sky Sect wish to express their thanks for your help and achievements. They have prepared lavish food and drinks in Lianxing City to host you and the brave warriors of Star State..."
"Although the Tianhe Demons have been defeated, we are far from completely annihilating them. We are not yet at the point of celebration. I estimate it might take another two or three years to finish this war?"
Gu Jinlai spoke unhurriedly, giving Yu Jin a stern look, "Instead of celebrating, Yellow Sky Sect should lead its forces northward, clear Tianhe completely, and exterminate all hidden demons."
"Two or three years..."
Yu Jin was at a loss for words.
If this continued, nearly a third of the land south of Yellow State would belong to Star State.
"Well, I plan to inspect Tianhe myself. Elder Yu, please feel free to leave."
Gu Jinlai stood up and left.
"Governor Gu, Governor Gu..."
Yu Jin tried to follow.
But Cheng Wanli stopped him, speaking softly, "Elder Yu, the Governor manages myriad affairs. If there’s nothing urgent, please leave and don’t make it difficult for us."
"Minister Cheng, what exactly is Governor Gu thinking? I wonder..."
"I am not privy to that."
Cheng Wanli waved his hand, "But some of your practices in Yellow State have been quite unprincipled, which certainly has upset the Governor."
Yu Jin knew what Cheng Wanli was referring to and awkwardly said, "There... The decisions of the elders are beyond our control."
Having said that, he seemed resigned, "Then what can be done to appease the Governor?"
Cheng Wanli lowered his voice slightly, "Recently, the Governor seems to need some Immortal Essence Gold for something. You might start from there."
"Immortal Essence Gold..."
Yu Jin’s face twitched with pain, though it seemed expected, "I understand..."
At that moment, Gu Chaoyang spoke up, his tone somewhat cold as he looked at Yu Jin, "If I remember correctly, our Patriarch has four disciples, one of whom, a female disciple, was deceived by a disciple named Fang Yichen from your Yellow Sky Sect. Does your sect not intend to give us an explanation?"
Yu Jin was startled, barely recognizing this True Disciple, but...
Just a True Disciple.
"To think there is someone among my Yellow Sky Sect’s True Disciples who has acted so immorally!"
He promptly agreed, his voice grave, "Rest assured, I will provide Governor Gu with a satisfactory response."
With that, he bowed and quickly left with the "conditions" for retreat suggested by Gu Jinlai.