Ancestor Dian Alstreim was unable to remain indifferent as he too reacted to Grand Elder Elise Alstreim's words as his fingers twitched. He had initially guessed that it should be like this but didn't hope much since the betrayal from expectations would be large enough to disappoint him and ruin his mentality temporarily.

If he was concentrated more on profits, then he was afraid that he would lose sight of the calamitous times and lose more grown and talented individuals.

Now, he only hoped that Elise Alstreim had picked a treasure that was worth to offend the Aqua Flood Dragon. He promptly sealed the surroundings with his essence energy, and Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim went a step further and sealed the room with the existing formation.

Only then did Grand Elder Elise Alstreim extend her hand, her palm facing below towards the surface. An object suddenly appeared at the side of the bed, and there was a sudden wave of pure and explosive energy that struck all of their faces, making them widen their eyes in surprise before shock abruptly filled their faces.

The object that appeared was twice the size of a tall human, almost four meters tall. It possessed the structure of a crystal, its shape was diamond, and it was glowing in a light blue color. It was as if it was a huge sea diamond crystal.

"This... This is a Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Source..." Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim muttered in disbelief.

Patriarch Eldric Alstreim and Nora Alstreim's purple eyes reflected the ocean blue of the four-meter tall diamond crystal.

When the wave of energy hit their faces, they felt as if they were floating in the sea, their limp bodies dancing along with the rhythm of the waves. It was soothing, making them peaceful, but it was also a bit uncomfortable against their bodies, which was full of fire-attribute energy.

"A Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Source that is water-attributed..." Ancestor Dian Alstreim muttered with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

And only then did everyone come out of their reverie as they incredulously looked at the weakly smiling Grand Elder Elise Alstreim.

"I just couldn't let go of it once I saw it... Hence, I distracted the Aqua Flood Dragon and tried to take it, but I got caught by its abnormal senses..."

Grand Elder Elise Alstreim sighed, "I almost died under its torrential attack, but since it looked down on me, I was able to escape by sacrificing my blood essence..."

She couldn't help but shiver when she remembered the experience. Honestly, she didn't know what kind of heroic or retarded spirit took over her to even plan, rob, and offend the Aqua Flood Dragon. She mused that it was just impulsive and momentary greed that pushed her to do so that. After all, she was living her life well.

Where is the need for her to do something stupid like this to lay down her life?

However, the moment she got caught by the intimidating eyes of the Aqua Flood Dragon after taking the treasure, she knew that she would have to rely on the defenses of the Grand Alstreim City and the Ancestor to survive. Hence, she possessed no qualms in handing over this treasure to the Ancestor to the Alstreim Family's Treasury.

It was one thing for Grand Elder Elise Alstreim to maliciously bring the Aqua Flood Dragon to lay waste to the capital, but it was totally another thing to plunder a treasure from the dragon's maws and seek the protection of the Grand Alstreim City to secure the resource.

What kind of treasure and how significant was this!?...

Peak-Level Spirit Stone Mines were the economic foundation of any Emperor Grade Powers. As long as a single power could secure a Peak-Level Spirit Stone Mine that possesses a Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Source, their growth is to a certain level is a given. And as long as someone doesn't stupidly exhaust the Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Source, stability is basically guaranteed.

The Alstreim Family possessed five such Peak-Level Spirit Stone Mines in their territory that secured their income.

A Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Source produced a Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Fragment a decade. The Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Fragment, in turn, would produce 10,000 Peak-Level Spirit Stones each year.

However, there was a limit to how many Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Fragments, a single Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Source, could energize to produce Peak-Level Spirit Stones. The limit was ten.

Any further Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Fragments produced by the Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Source would become redundant and inactive. Instead, it would be taken away and used by Ninth Stage Powerhouses. After all, only a Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Fragment, which is far higher in purity when compared to a Peak-Level Spirit Stone, could support the cultivation base of a Ninth Stage Powerhouse.

Additionally, other than the Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Fragment, only the Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Vein Source can support the cultivation of Ninth Stage Powerhouses. Not even Peak-Level Spirit Stones were pure enough to provide an increase in the cultivation base of a Ninth Stage Powerhouse, as they only provided for Eighth Stage Experts.

This was the main reason that once a cultivator reached the Law Rune Stage in these small Territories, they end up not being able to increase their cultivation like they were able to do in the Law Sea Stage, making their cultivation bases stagnate.

To increase it by themselves would take thousands of years, and that is what Ancestor Dian Alstreim mostly did, relying on himself to make his ends meet. Besides, it wasn't as if the chances of a Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Fragment being produced was a hundred percent. It differs each time, and the quality would also be different each time. It does not necessarily mean that it would be produced every decade.

Additionally, they would tax the powers under their subordination within this Territory, and also urge them to give them a certain percentage of the Spirit Stones that was mined every decade. Hence, combined with the five Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Sources that produced 500,000 Peak-Level Spirit Stones annually, all of this formed a stable source of income for the Alstreim Family.

Nevertheless, there were still expenditures that they have to take care of in the Alstreim Family. After all, there were thousands of floating palaces, hundreds, and thousands of formations and millions of mouths to feed. Establishing a family of this scale isn't as simple as it seemed.

However, all they possessed were non-elemental Spirit Stone Vein Sources. As for an elemental Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Source, it was absolutely rare, and only a few known ones existed in the Fifty-Two Territories, mainly in possession of the large Territories. They, the small Territories, possessed none of it, neither did the other hegemons of the Nine Eastern Territories.

The Nine Eastern Territories possesses only a few elemental Mid-Level Spirit Stone Vein Source, and as for elemental High-Level Spirit Stone Vein Source, those were extremely scarce in their Territories.

As for the hidden elemental Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Sources or the ones occupied by other powers in secrecy, they weren't in the know.

But, Grand Elder Elise Alstreim precisely obtained something like this, and that too in their own Territory! In the Grand Alstreim Ocean!

Still feeling disbelief, Ancestor Dian Alstreim finally opened his mouth to ask.

"Was this a newly formed Water-attributed Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Source?"