211: Visit and study

About a hundred miles from the water station, in a river bend with gentle currents and lush aquatic plants, lay large, neatly planned "Spirit Clam Fields."

Countless massive, glowing "Seven-Colored Spirit Clams" were placed in enclosed underwater spirit fields, cared for by specialized "Pearl-Cultivating Demons."

"This is one of the third-rank spirit pearl farms managed by the 'Pearl and Jade Department' under the Dragon Palace's jurisdiction," Green Pincer introduced.

"These Seven-Colored Spirit Clams use specific Formations to gather water Spiritual Qi and are fed special bait. They can produce First-Rank spirit pearls in a hundred years, and there is a chance for Second-Rank ones after three hundred years.

The largest and highest-quality spirit pearls produced are turned over to the Dragon Palace, generally used as decorations for palace architecture or as gifts to reward meritorious ministers. Among the remaining spirit pearls, those of good quality and beautiful shape are collected by the Pearl and Jade Department, while the smaller, defective ones belong to the cultivating demons as payment for their work.

The spirit pearls produced here have a wide range of uses; they can assist in Cultivate, be used in Formation, Artifact Refining, or even serve as one of the hard currencies among the Yao Race."

Looking at the expression of pride on the half-demon shrimp face, Gao De could understand. For ordinary, low-level Yao Race, obtaining a secure and stable job was indeed something to be happy about, especially when it even came with compensation.

Gao De said nothing and continued to observe carefully.

On the edge of the field area, there were simple defensive Formations, and several teams of Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals were patrolling in a crisscross pattern to prevent wild water beasts from stealing or causing damage.

Although the Yao Race working in the field did not have high cultivation levels, they were all in half-demon form. It seemed that the Qianjiang Dragon Palace indeed had a method to specifically enlighten Demon Soldiers on a large scale.

After all, having grown human limbs was indeed more convenient and flexible than the form of a beast.

The situation here reminded him of the Spirit Medicine garden at Qianjiao Cliff, but the scale, degree of specialization, and management level here were clearly more than a notch higher. After all, this was the accumulation of thousands of years, and since they were both Dragon Clan, there was no reason why the Qianjiang Dragon King could not obtain the knowledge that one could gain from Bloodline Legacy.

Leaving this spirit field, Gao De continued the tour under the guidance of the Crab General.

Near a node of a riverbed Spiritual Vein, continuous "paddy fields" had been opened up. They were not growing ordinary crops, but various aquatic spirit grains, spirit algae, and even some low-rank water-attribute Spirit Medicine.

These spirit plants were not grown naturally but were varieties selected and improved over many years by the Dragon Palace's "Agriculture Department." Their yield and Spiritual Qi content were relatively stable.

"Underwater planting requires Formations to regulate water flow, light, and spiritual fertilizer. The 'Blue Wave Spirit Rice' and 'Water Jade Spirit Algae' here are the main products. In addition to supplying a portion of the rations for the Dragon Palace army, they are also sold externally. That patch over there is the 'Water Heart Grass' field, which is an auxiliary material for refining several basic water-element Medicinal Pill," Green Pincer introduced, pointing to different field plots.

There were Demon Soldiers patrolling the field ridges, and several "Agriculture Department" Turtle Demon officials with Second-Rank auras were inspecting the growth of the spirit plants and recording data.

Gao De noticed that the production here already had clear characteristics of "intensive agriculture," far exceeding the efficiency of wild harvesting.

Behind the spirit fields, near an area with a hot spring from an underwater volcano, many caves and simple stone houses of various sizes were gathered, from which came the clanging sounds of hammering or the humming of running Formations.

This was the gathering place for the workshops of many aquatic artisans who were attached to the Dragon Palace. Some of the riverbed boats seen earlier had carried goods here.

"The Dragon Palace encourages aquatic races with special skills to open workshops here; they only need to pay taxes on time, abide by the laws, and complete a certain quota of Dragon Palace orders. The weapons, armor, Medicinal Pill, and Talisman produced here vary in quality. In addition to local supply, they are also sold elsewhere through caravans. The largest caves over there are the workshops of the 'Crafts Department' directly under the Dragon Palace, specializing in refining Advanced items for the Dragon Palace army and important buildings," Green Pincer explained.

Gao De felt the vibrant atmosphere of "handicraft" and "commerce" here. According to the information he had gathered, some of the Dragon Palace's institutional construction and regulations came from the Legacy left by the Immortal Qin Dynasty.

Many visiting guests would also come here to customize or purchase some local specialties.

He secretly kept in mind that perhaps he could purchase some goods here for Qianjiao Cliff that they could not produce for the time being, and perhaps in the future, he could arrange for Turtle Three Thousand to learn from the experience here.

Green Pincer led Gao De to a protruding reef next to the main channel of the Tongqian River, where a sturdy stone watchtower was built, garrisoned by about a squad of Shrimp Soldiers, led by a Early Third-Rank Crab General officer.

At the top of the watchtower was a huge crystal mirror, which seemed to have the ability to detect enemy traces.

"This is the 'Number Seven River Patrol Post.' Our duty is to monitor this section of the waterway, maintain navigation order, handle emergencies, inspect suspicious ships, and transmit information to upstream and downstream posts and water stations." After learning of Gao De's identity, the Crab General officer also introduced their daily work with great pride.

"Look, there is a caravan passing by. We will verify their passage flags and let them pass after ensuring everything is correct; if we encounter those who trespass without flags or have suspicious flags, we must intercept and interrogate them."

Gao De saw that there were clear navigation buoys next to the watchtower, and Demon Soldiers were specifically responsible for directing traffic to avoid congestion and collisions.

The entire river shipping was busy and orderly. Whether on the water surface or underwater, large merchant ships, guest vessels, and Dragon Palace official ships shuttled back and forth without interfering with each other.

After obtaining permission, Green Pincer took Gao De to visit a large aquatic barracks located in a valley at the bottom of the river from a distance.

The camp was well-organized, with flags flying, and the Demon Soldiers entering and leaving were all in strict Formation.

It was vaguely visible that on the huge training ground inside, thousands of Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals were practicing battle Formations. Although the sound of shouting and killing was mostly isolated by Formations, one could still feel the aura of murderousness and elite vigor.

"This is the training base for the 'Tongqian River Third Guard.' Under the Dragon Palace, similar naval garrisons are spread across all major water areas, periodically rotating for defense and training," Green Pincer said with pride in his tone.

"Newly recruited Demon Soldiers must be trained here for three years, familiarizing themselves with basic battle tactics, military regulations, and joint attack techniques before they can be incorporated into formal teams."

Gao De nodded secretly. This was already a systematic standing army training system, far from comparable to the Demon Soldiers he had created by relying on enlightenment and simple training.

However, he was taking the elite route, and with dragon blood enlightenment to enhance potential, he might not be unable to train a small but strong personal guard in the future.

In this way, accompanied by the Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals, Gao De spent several months meticulously visiting various typical areas within thousands of miles of the middle reaches of the Tongqian River: resource points, production areas, commercial points, transportation hubs, military strongholds, and even some small and medium-sized aquatic tribes attached to the Dragon Palace that were allowed to be visited.

He saw the tip of the iceberg of the Qianjiang Dragon Palace's huge ruling system: tight organizational structure, clear laws and regulations, efficient resource management, prosperous economic and trade activities, and powerful military force. This was not just military conquest, but governance and management that went deep into the bone marrow.

At the same time, through contact and observation with aquatic races at different levels, he also collected a large amount of information about the distribution of forces, important figures, resource specialties, trade channels, and even some rumors and anecdotes in the Qian River waters.

The Treasure-Seeking Jade Carp's occasional keen perception of certain hidden Spiritual Qi fluctuations also made him notice several locations that might contain special resources or secrets. However, in someone else's territory, he did not dare to act rashly, as they were very likely to be owned by others.

Ten years was enough for him to do many things.

He planned to spend a few years first to get a general idea of the situation in the middle and lower reaches of the Tongqian River and even some tributaries of the Qian River, and to establish an initial information network and connections.

Then, he would gradually approach the core area of the Dragon Palace downstream, arrive at the outer city of the Dragon Palace in the last few years before the birthday banquet, and conduct higher-level social interactions and preparations.

"The Dragon Palace ruling the world is indeed magnificent. The road for Qianjiao Cliff is long and arduous." Gao De stood on a towering mountain peak, looking at the vast main stream of the Qian River in the distance, feeling emotional in his heart, but his eyes became increasingly firm and bright.