Chapter 436 - 435: We Want It! Of Course
Although Gu Zhao had helped the many senior Daoists achieve their current level of Dao Practice, the assistance they could offer Celestial Xia in other areas was actually quite limited.
If Celestial Xia were still a weak nation, it would be one thing. But now that their country was on the verge of being able to take on the entire world, the Daoists’ main contribution was really just boosting morale.
The technological level of ordinary society in the Otherworld was equivalent to ancient Celestial Xia, offering no practical reference. Furthermore, due to the differences in Spiritual Qi, various medicinal herbs and Spiritual Materials brought back from there couldn’t be replicated on Blue Star.
So Gu Zhao had mostly given up on finding new ways to help. If it weren’t for seeing the news and Taoist Yan Qi’s recent discovery, he might never have thought of gold—a substance incredibly rare for ordinary people but of little value to Cultivators.
In truth, if they really wanted gold, they didn’t even need the Golden Mountain from the Otherworld.
As everyone knows, scientists estimate that Blue Star’s total gold reserves are around forty quadrillion tons. However, most of it is located deep within the planet’s core and is impossible to mine. The only accessible gold, which has moved to the surface due to historical crustal movements, amounts to just over two hundred thousand tons.
To this day, aside from all the gold jewelry circulating globally, the nation with the largest gold reserves, Huaqi Country, only has just over eight thousand tons.
Therefore, for the many senior Daoists who had mastered the Earth Escape Skill, finding vast quantities of gold wouldn’t be difficult at all. They would just need to take a trip through the Earth’s crust—no need to go as deep as the core—and simply have a look around.
’If that’s the case, I wonder if they’ll want it?’
...
"We do! Of course, we do!"
Inside the Taoist Office, upon receiving the news from Gu Zhao, everyone spoke in unison, without a moment’s hesitation.
"Forget the Huaqi Coin, the Celestial Xia Coin, or the Euro—gold is the only true hard currency!"
"A country’s gold reserves are the foundation for its currency’s internationalization!"
"The Huaqi Coin still holds such a large share of the global market, and its eight-thousand-plus tons of gold reserves are a major reason why."
"If we had ten thousand tons in gold reserves, the international credibility of the Celestial Xia Coin would skyrocket. Our push for global economic influence would also become much faster and smoother."
"It’s not as if this gold would be flowing directly into the market. It would serve as a credit backing for the Celestial Xia Coin. The impact on international gold prices would be minimal, but it would stabilize the value of our currency and give us much greater flexibility in our financial policies."
"Why would Mr. Gu suddenly ask if we want gold? This doesn’t seem to fit the Taoist Research Institute’s usual way of doing things," someone asked.
The senior Daoists of the Taoist Research Institute were known to be detached from worldly desires, generally only taking action to save lives.
As for the Eight Vast Universe Tower, that only proved that the Sakura People were truly detested by all, and utterly unlikable.
The director had already memorized the transmitted information. "Yan Qi Master from the Taoist Research Institute encountered a massive gold mine while using Earth Evasion in the Otherworld. They have no use for it, so they’re asking if we do."
The others were speechless.
Chen Yao asked curiously, "How much gold are we talking about?"
"Mr. Gu doesn’t know for sure," the director replied. "He just said that if we need it, they’ll mine the deposit and perform a preliminary refinement."
Zheng Hongsheng made the call. "We’ll take it!"
...
"Martial Uncle Yan Qi, Martial Uncle Jing Chun, Martial Uncle Jing Fa, I’ll have to trouble the three of you," Gu Zhao sent a telepathic message to the three senior Daoists.
These three senior Daoists had high levels of Dao Practice. More importantly, Jing Chun Taoist and Taoist Jing Fa were also relatively skilled in the Earth Escape Skill, making them perfect to accompany Taoist Yan Qi to refine the gold deposit.
"There’s no need for fine refining. A purity of eighty to ninety percent, something like raw gold nuggets, will be sufficient," Gu Zhao said. "They also want some raw ore samples to analyze the geological composition of that place."
"Isn’t it just rocks and dirt? What else could there be?" Jing Chun Taoist asked.
"There’s a lot to learn from it. Haven’t you seen how our country made a special trip to the Moon just to collect Moon Soil? That stuff is very important," said Taoist Jing Fa. "They only brought back a few kilograms, and the whole world is clamoring for a piece."
Taoist Yan Qi asked, "If they want Moon Soil that badly, why don’t they just ask us? Our current level of Dao Practice might not be enough, but Senior Brother Yan Song and Senior Brother Yi Hong should be able to fly to the Moon, right? Bringing back a few dozen tons wouldn’t be a problem for them, would it?"
Taoist Yan Qi’s words left everyone speechless.
Gu Zhao thought for a moment. ’It’s not my place to interfere with the nation’s scientific progress, but just bringing back a little Moon Soil... that shouldn’t cause any problems, right?’
"Let’s focus on mining the gold first. We can discuss the Moon Soil later," Gu Zhao said. Then he asked, "About how long will it take?"
By this point, Taoist Yan Qi had already led Jing Chun Taoist and Taoist Jing Fa to the location of his discovery near Wuya Ridge. The three of them took a quick tour underground and mapped out the approximate boundaries of the deposit.
"If it’s just a rough refinement, that’s incredibly simple. We can produce tens of thousands of tons of gold nuggets in less than three days," Taoist Yan Qi replied.
"Excellent!" Gu Zhao nodded. "Then when the time comes, I’ll have you three Martial Uncles make a grand display and present them with a Golden Mountain."
The eyes of Taoist Yan Qi, Jing Chun Taoist, and Taoist Jing Fa lit up. Filled with motivation, they immediately disappeared into the ground, simultaneously refining the ore and collecting the gold into their gourds.
Taoist Yan Qi first set aside a few hundred kilograms of raw ore and the surrounding soil, planning to hand them over to the Taoist Office later to see what their researchers could discover.
"Hm?" In the process of collecting the gold, Taoist Yan Qi suddenly detected a pulse of Spiritual Qi from the center of the mine.
Jing Chun Taoist and Taoist Jing Fa felt it too. "Is that a Spiritual Material?"
"I believe so." Taoist Yan Qi’s body moved through the earth like a fish through water. His Five Elements Great Evasion allowed him to navigate the metal-rich veins of the deposit as if he were swimming, completely unimpeded.
There, in the heart of the gold vein, he discovered a piece of spiritual essence gold the size of a small car. It radiated a pure golden light and a naturally formed, sharp aura.
"Senior Brother Yuan He’s Pure Yang Flying Sword can be upgraded again," Taoist Yan Qi said with a smile.
The next moment, he extended his Divine Sense and felt the spiritual essence gold emit another pulse of Spiritual Qi. It spread out in all directions, carrying with it a faint, attractive force.
"Hm?" Taoist Yan Qi’s expression shifted. ’Was this entire gold deposit formed by this piece of Refined Gold?’
Jing Chun Taoist and Taoist Jing Fa struggled to draw near. "What do you mean?"
"This Refined Gold is emitting waves of Spiritual Qi, and it seems to be absorbing the rich gold veins around it." Taoist Yan Qi’s mastery of the Five Elements Escape Technique was the greatest, so his perception was the clearest.
"It’s that miraculous?" Taoist Jing Fa said in astonishment.
Jing Chun Taoist trusted Taoist Yan Qi but was still deeply shaken. "Is this thing a plant or a mineral?"
"A Spiritual Qi-infused mineral. Truly profound," Taoist Yan Qi nodded. "It is a product of the natural Celestial Dao. We shouldn’t destroy it completely. Let’s cut off half and leave the rest here to see what happens."
Taoist Jing Fa laughed. "Even if it can gather gold and grow on its own, it probably does so on a scale of thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years. You’ll likely never see the outcome in your lifetime."
Taoist Yan Qi also laughed. "Then let’s just leave a fortuitous opportunity for future generations."
The three senior Daoists burst into laughter. After cutting off half of the spiritual essence gold, they dispersed to continue refining the surrounding gold, making sure to leave the veins immediately adjacent to the remaining Refined Gold untouched.