The portion of Thunder Essence and Fire Soul that Gu Zheng had indicated was about the size of a washbasin.

’In his opinion, even if the Noble Families had reserves of a rare treasure like Thunder Essence and Fire Soul, they wouldn’t have much.’

But now, the Ying Family had actually produced a Thunder Spirit Body over three meters tall.

Judging by its aura, the crystal was indeed made of Thunder Essence.

Based on its size, it could be divided into far more than ten portions—there was enough for thirteen, maybe even fourteen.

"Gu King!"

As Ying Jiuxin spoke, she pushed the Thunder Spirit Body—held aloft by a Divine Wondrous aura—toward Gu Zheng. "We offer this Thunder Essence in exchange for the first two hundred years of access to the Land of Eternal Life. Is this acceptable?"

Gu Zheng said nothing, his gaze shifting to Boshan Dongming, Yang Yidong, Zhong Zhengqiong, and the others.

"Apologies, but the Hua Family doesn’t possess that much Thunder Essence and Fire Soul." Hua Qianyan’s expression turned serious as he spoke frankly. "I imagine Zhong, Yang, and the others are in the same boat. None of us can produce a greater amount of Thunder Essence than this, can we?"

"We cannot," Zheng Weichao said with a shake of his head and a smile. "Congratulations, Ying!"

"Congratulations," Zhong Zhengqiong said, offering a salute with a blank expression.

"The Yang Family cannot afford it either." Yang Yidong smiled and waved his hand in concession.

"My thanks for your concession! Thank you, everyone!"

Ying Jiuxin clasped her fists in salute to the crowd, and Ying Jiuyue also wore a smile.

"Gu King."

Boshan Dongming suddenly spoke up. "I have to ask, have you thoroughly inspected the Changsheng Clan’s Ancestral Land? As far as I know, ever since the Changsheng Clan occupied this Spirit Realm, they’ve barely maintained it. Most of the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures growing within the realm have never been harvested. More importantly, the ’Pupa Pool’ has hardly ever been used."

"Boshan Dongming! What are you trying to say?" Ying Jiuxin’s face darkened as she glared at him.

"What could I possibly be trying to say?"

Boshan Dongming spread his hands, feigning innocence. "Is it a crime to speak the truth these days?"

He was telling the truth, but everyone present could read between the lines.

The Changsheng Clan’s Ancestral Land was full of good stuff!

Gu Zheng should do one last sweep before handing it over!

Not doing so would be a free gift to the Ying Family!

Although Ying Jiuxin and Ying Jiuyue had been prepared for this, their expressions still soured after Boshan Dongming pointed it out so bluntly.

Gu Zheng cleared his throat and offered Boshan Dongming a cupped-fist salute. "Thank you for the reminder, Boshan."

’He could indeed do one last sweep before handing over the Ancestral Land. As for whether the Ying Family liked it or not, that was none of his damn business.’

’However, while he could harvest the Spirit Herbs and Medicines, Gu Zheng had no use for the ’Pupa Pool’ at the moment.’

’Truth be told, his knowledge of the ’Pupa Pool’ was extremely limited.’

’Ying Jiuyue and Ying Jiuxin had paid a premium of ten portions to secure the first two hundred years of access to the Ancestral Land. Their main objective was undoubtedly the ’Pupa Pool’.’

’The other royal Noble Families, like Hua Qianyan and Yang Yidong, had been bidding so fiercely for the first few hundred years of access for the very same reason.’

"Thank you, Ying. The first two hundred years of access to the Changsheng Clan’s Ancestral Land belong to you," Gu Zheng said with a cupped-fist salute. "Once I’ve dealt with the Vajra Thunder Demon Turtle’s shell, I will take you into the Ancestral Land."

"Very well." Ying Jiuxin forced a smile and returned the salute.

"Then for the three hundred years of the Ancestral Land’s use after the Ying Family, the Zheng Family offers four portions of Thunder Essence and Fire Soul," Zheng Weichao announced with a cupped-fist salute, looking toward Hua Zhixia.

"Why are you looking at me?" Hua Zhixia asked coolly. "I have no objection to you taking the three hundred years after the Ying Family. As before, the Li Country is willing to offer five portions of Thunder Essence and Fire Soul in exchange for the five hundred years of Ancestral Land access that follow."

"I withdraw," Yang Yidong said with a small smile.

"I withdraw as well," Zhong Zhengqiong said in a low voice.

"..." Boshan Dongming opened his mouth, then closed it. "You win."

Seeing this, Gu Zheng cupped his fists and saluted the six of them. "My thanks to all of you. The access rights to the Changsheng Clan’s Ancestral Land for the next thousand years will be distributed according to this plan."

To wit: the first two hundred years would belong to the Ying Family of the Wind Kingdom.

The three hundred years after the Ying Family would belong to the Zheng Family of the Yong Country.

The five hundred years after the Zheng Family would belong to the Hua Family of the Li Country.

The Ying Family had paid the highest price. Though their time was the shortest, they reaped the greatest benefits.

After Gu Zheng finished speaking, he directly placed the three-meter-tall, floating Thunder Spirit Body into his Storage Pouch.

Zheng Weichao promptly took out two large chunks of Fire Soul, which floated through the air toward Gu Zheng.

Gu Zheng sensed their aura, confirmed they were genuine Fire Soul, and put them into his Storage Pouch as well.

Hua Zhixia followed suit, taking out three chunks of Thunder Essence and two chunks of Fire Soul, which Gu Zheng also placed in his Storage Pouch.

"Haha, now that the Ancestral Land access has been allocated, it’s time for the Vajra Thunder Demon Turtle, isn’t it?"

Pasture Map looked at the large turtle shells stacked on the cliff and said with a laugh, "The Mu Family’s reserves of Thunder Essence and Fire Soul are not large. We only have three portions, so we’ll exchange them for three shells."

"Two portions from the Sang Family," Sang Qianying added.

"The Meng Family will also take two," Meng Ao chimed in.

"Four for the Zhong Family," Zhong Zhengqiong stated in a low voice.

"Three for the Lu Family," Lu Jing said, following suit.

"Four for the Boshan Family," Boshan Dongming announced.

"Four for the Yang Family as well," Yang Yidong added, then looked at Gu Zheng. "Gu, it seems there aren’t enough shells to go around?"

"There are enough."

With a wave of his hand, Gu Zheng took out the two large piles of shell fragments he had put away earlier and stacked them on the edge of the cliff.

’Thunder Essence and Fire Soul were hard to come by. Exchanging a few more pieces of the shell for it now wasn’t a big deal.’

’There were enough to go around.’

At that, everyone took out their Thunder Essence and Fire Soul, handing it to Gu Zheng in exchange for their corresponding share of turtle shells.

Once all the exchanges were complete, Gu Zheng invited everyone to enter the Changsheng Clan’s Ancestral Land together.

"Thank you all for your patronage today. Feel free to pick any of the Spirit Herbs and Medicines in the Ancestral Land."

Upon entering the Spirit Realm Space, Gu Zheng shouted to the group, "Let’s all meet again by the buildings in one hour."

"The Gu King is generous!"

Hearing this, Mu Yunfeng’s eyes lit up, and he shouted in agreement.