With Ghost Fanged having said as much, what more could Zha Gu do? He could only nod in agreement.
Ghost Fanged then asked, "Regarding your territory — do you have any particular needs?"
Zha Gu considered for a moment. "I don't have any special requirements myself, but if Yang Kai is going to refine Artifacts, it seems he'll need to draw on some external forces — geothermal fire energy, for example. Is there anywhere suitable for that? Do you have any recommendations, Lord Ghost Fanged?"
At the words, Ghost Fanged consulted the Universe Map. After a brief pause, he pointed to a certain location on its surface and handed the map to Zha Gu. "This area originally housed a Great Sun Star. The star has long since perished, but there should still be residual Great Sun energy gestating within its core. Let your territory be established here — the Great Sun energy far surpasses mere geothermal fire."
While he spoke, Zha Gu was examining the map himself. Once he confirmed the location of the dead Great Sun, he nodded firmly. "Good!"
Ghost Fanged then beckoned, and Liu Zi'an stepped forward from behind him, cradling a peculiar box in both hands. The box appeared to be crafted from some unknown material — neither metal nor jade — and there was no telling what lay within.
But the moment Zha Gu laid eyes on it, his composure shattered. His eyes locked onto the box with an intensity reminiscent of a leech clamping onto its prey.
Ghost Fanged smiled. "Make sure you keep this sub-nest safe. I only have this one on hand — if you lose it, there won't be another."
Zha Gu accepted it with trembling hands, offering his profuse thanks. This was the key to becoming a lord with his own territory — something he had coveted for years. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined it would fall into his hands so easily today.
"Surely you don't need me to teach you how to incubate it?" Ghost Fanged asked.
"No, no, not at all!" Zha Gu shook his head repeatedly. Then a thought struck him, and he looked troubled. "But my lord, hatching an Ink Nest requires a tremendous amount of resources or World Force, and I currently don't have..."
Ghost Fanged waved a generous hand. "Use those three hundred thousand Ink Coins to purchase whatever you need — it should be more than enough to incubate the nest. As for the five hundred thousand Ink Coins for the sub-nest itself, I'll front the cost for now. You can repay me later!"
"Thank you, Lord Ghost Fanged!" Zha Gu was practically moved to tears.
Despite suddenly finding himself half a million Ink Coins in debt, for a lord of his standing, every expenditure was worth it.
He silently did the math. If everything Ghost Fanged had said panned out, then refining a single Artifact would net him forty to fifty thousand Ink Coins. If Yang Kai refined a dozen or so, the debt would be wiped clean entirely.
He couldn't help but marvel — having a human Artifact Refiner at his disposal made earning money absurdly easy. He also secretly congratulated himself. It was fortunate that Yang Kai had previously rubbed Ghost Fanged the wrong way; otherwise, how could an opportunity like this have fallen to him? Ghost Fanged would have seized control of it long ago.
The reason Ghost Fanged wasn't taking charge of the matter openly and was instead assisting from the shadows was presumably out of fear that the Domain Lord would investigate afterward. By sharing the profits, he was also shifting the risk onto Zha Gu's shoulders.
Zha Gu understood all of this perfectly well — and accepted it willingly.
Stepping out of the fortress, Zha Gu still felt somewhat dazed. Encountering such an extraordinary windfall out of the blue left him with the peculiar sensation that he was trapped inside a dream.
The box containing the sub-nest couldn't be stored in a space ring — for the Ink Clan, Ink Nests were living beings. So Zha Gu first returned to his own fortress to stow the box with the utmost care, then made his way back to the Domain Lord's territory and spent freely, purchasing a vast quantity of World Cores and materials of various grades.
With the three hundred thousand Ink Coins spent down to the last coin, Zha Gu's space ring was heaped with an enormous stockpile of resources. Only then did he feel at ease.
Just as Zha Gu had everything prepared, Yang Kai happened to finish refining an Artifact.
Telling Yang Kai to rest well, Zha Gu then turned to dealing with the swarm of lords who had come seeking Artifact commissions.
Now that the arrangement with Ghost Fanged was settled, Zha Gu had no intention of wasting any more time here. After all, refining a single Artifact in this place earned only thirty thousand Ink Coins, while Ghost Fanged's offered price was a hundred thousand — a difference of more than threefold. How to choose was hardly a dilemma.
The lords were naturally unhappy about this, but Zha Gu invoked Ghost Fanged's name as a shield, claiming that Yang Kai had been recalled to Ghost Fanged's fortress. The lords had no recourse.
After all, Yang Kai was nominally the Domain Lord's Ink Disciple — it was only reasonable that he shouldn't remain at Zha Gu's place indefinitely.
With everything handled, Zha Gu mustered a contingent of his Ink Clan subordinates, led Yang Kai, and set off in grand procession into the void.
Along the way, Yang Kai put on a worried expression. "Brother Zha Gu, leaving so suddenly without so much as a word to Lord Ghost Fanged — I'm afraid that's rather inappropriate."
Zha Gu chuckled. "Don't worry, Brother Yang. I've already informed Lord Ghost Fanged. He knows you've been staying with me these past two years."
"Did Lord Ghost Fanged say anything?"
Zha Gu shook his head. "Lord Ghost Fanged has countless affairs to manage — far too busy to concern himself with trivial matters like these."