This piece of Yin-Yang stone was immensely valuable, easily worth over eighty billion spirit coins.
No one dared to ask if the person who possessed a seemingly inexhaustible fortune would sell this Yin-Yang stone. Did he lack such a small amount of money?
Zhou Yan finally understood why the Taiji diagram within his body had been restless. It was precisely because of this Yin-Yang stone.
This kind of material could be used to forge divine artifacts, and its value was naturally astonishing.
"Congratulations, Brother Sun, on acquiring such a treasure. If I didn't know that Brother Sun has more money than he knows what to do with, I'd really want to buy this Yin-Yang stone from you."
Gu Bei was full of envy. He couldn't believe that the other party had instantly made more than ten times his investment.
The key was that having money didn't guarantee you could obtain such an item.
"Just a small amount of money, a mere trifle, nothing to speak of," Zhou Yan replied casually.
Those around them remained silent.
If anyone else had said this, they would have scoffed.
But coming from Zhou Yan's mouth, they found themselves unable to retort.
Although it felt like he was showing off, they had heard that he had spent over a trillion spirit coins.
Compared to a trillion, a mere hundred billion or so truly didn't seem like much.
Gu Bei also managed a wry smile. He wished he could spend money as lavishly as Zhou Yan, but alas, his financial situation didn't permit it.
The joy of the rich was something outsiders could never truly comprehend.
Zhou Yan did not participate in the subsequent auctions. Of the source stones, only this one held any real value.
Because of his exceptional find, subsequent bidders began to compete fiercely for the remaining stones, only to suffer significant losses.
In the end, only two other items were put up for auction, and without exception, every single one was won by Zhou Yan.
After the day's auction concluded, he proceeded to acquire various precious treasures, ores, and materials from those present.
He busied himself there until the next day before returning to his territory to sign in, purchase items from the mysterious shop, draw skills from the [Scripture Pavilion], and then return to the [Great Desolation · Trading Market] to continue purchasing source stones.
He absolutely could not afford to waste these three days.
As for school, he had already asked Ye Bufan to help him request leave. For lords like them, taking leave was quite straightforward.
On the second day, he spent even more spirit coins, exceeding twenty trillion.
On the final day of the source stone trading, he invested a staggering ten trillion.
This was because he bought all ten source stones that were auctioned off at the end, and each one yielded treasures of astonishing value.
Many major powers wanted to purchase these treasures from him, but he simply stated, "I'm not short of money," leaving them speechless.
He had now become a celebrity throughout the entire Source Stone Trading Convention.
His reputation as "Sun Wukong," the divine-wealthy magnate, led countless individuals to investigate his background and origins.
Unfortunately, even with the immense resources of the ancient aristocratic families, they could not uncover the slightest trace of Zhou Yan's lineage.
Even those skilled in deduction found themselves facing backlash when they attempted to divine his past.
As a result, numerous ancient aristocratic families warned all their younger disciples, "This individual is not to be trifled with."
The more obscure Zhou Yan's origins, the more terrifying they implied his background to be.
They were astonished that such a powerful entity existed and chose to foster good relations with it.
The Ji family of the desolate ancient times even instructed Ji Mingyue to get closer to him if the opportunity arose, and to further cultivate his favor if possible.
Ji Mingyue was initially quite resistant to her family's decision, but then she considered that this would prevent her from being forced into arranged marriages with members of other families, so she agreed.
Besides, he didn't show much interest in her, so she merely needed to maintain their friendship.
Once the Source Stone Trading Convention concluded, Zhou Yan received invitations from various desolate ancient families, all hoping he would visit them in the Great Desolation and be their guest.
He could only be present virtually; visiting their actual families in the Great Desolation was impossible, so he politely declined.
However, he still managed to establish good relationships with these various factions, as they were willing to help him acquire rare materials. He simply had to compensate them for their efforts.
Problems that could be solved with money were hardly problems at all.
After concluding his business here, he finally returned to his territory.
He then began upgrading various buildings.
His greatest acquisition from this trip was the purchase of many extremely precious items from the desolate ancient families, namely spirit veins.
These were sealed within spheres, and he bought a total of ten.
These were essential materials for upgrading the [Territory Core].
If it weren't for his mysterious identity and immense wealth, the desolate ancient families would not have sold him these spirit veins.
After all, obtaining them required considerable effort from powerful individuals.
They were eager to befriend Zhou Yan and wouldn't have parted with them otherwise to foster this connection.
Zhou Yan, of course, did not refuse their goodwill and maintained cordial relationships with all factions.
Territory prompt: Consuming two million spirit coins, one hundred five-star Swift Stones, one hundred five-star Spirit Stones, one hundred five-star Jade Stones, and one one-star Spirit Vein, the [Territory Core] level has been upgraded to Level 2.
...
As materials were consumed, the [Territory Core] finally reached Level 10.
For further upgrades, he would need to rely on the desolate ancient families to procure more spirit veins. He could only obtain them through these channels.
Upon reaching Level 10, the [Territory Core] saw significant improvements in all its attributes and activated a new skill.
[Special Attribute Five: Boosts all attributes and skills of all territory buildings by 10%.]
The spiritual energy within the territory became much denser, and the territory's defensive shield also grew considerably stronger.
Furthermore, the territory's movement speed increased substantially. He was now controlling the territory's movement towards a specific location.
If they encountered overly powerful monsters, the defense towers could handle them directly.
He had also acquired a considerable amount of materials recently. He upgraded the [King's Crystal] to Level 80, the [Bronze Sparrow Terrace] to Level 60, and the [Mysterious Shop] to Level 50, among others.
After a significant period, he upgraded all the buildings in his territory that could be enhanced.
The overall strength of the territory increased by a substantial margin.
He was currently lacking various materials of seven-star or higher quality. These would need to be accumulated gradually, which would take considerable time.
Many buildings were upgraded to Level 80, and one spirit field was even upgraded to Level 90. Further upgrades would require nine-star materials.
Nine-star materials were exceedingly difficult to find, and it would likely take a long time to fully upgrade the [Spirit Field].
Notably, people had begun to appear in the [Drunken Immortal Pavilion] from various races. They were all eager to join the territory.
Zhou Yan maintained a welcoming attitude towards them. His territory was vast, and his population was small. As long as they were genuinely willing to join, he would not refuse.
Naturally, he did not need to personally manage this matter.
It is worth mentioning that Xiao He and Fang Xuanling had already begun implementing various territorial policies.
These were, of course, implemented with his approval.
The territorial policies were immensely beneficial to every resident.
Especially the monthly territorial subsidies, which greatly excited them.
The residents of the territory became more united, and they approached their work with greater diligence.
They now had goals to strive for; some wished to purchase items they liked, while others aspired to own their own homes.
The entire territory was developing towards becoming a city.
In the near future, it was destined to become a magnificent imperial city.
(Author: There should be two more chapters. Don't ask why; I'm happy to do it, and I'm willing.)