Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1578 - 1117: Juneau Great Gold Belt, Chief Divine Squatting Here...

"Bodhisattva, heavens, Chief Divine! Is this... is this the Gold Mountain? Are these... are these all gold mines?!"

The sparse vegetation couldn't conceal the undulating hills and island mountains. Amid the rugged stones, flashes of heart-stirring golden light appeared intermittently. Surrounding the port, the streams revealed a vast expanse of golden riverbed. Even the eye can't capture the entirety of the golden sand and stone, shimmering with golden light, merging with the sun's reflection on the water, as if golden waters were flowing!

At this moment, those soul-stirring golden stones withheld their enchanting mana, occasionally exhibiting gold's simplicity and plainness. They've been quietly dormant, slumbering through thousands of years until today, until seen by ordinary people...

"Divine Buddha, Chief Divine! Kim Sun-su, this... this is all your main family!... Look! Look at the altar before us, that wood-carved Chief Divine emblem!... It's... it's actually stuck in hundreds of pounds of gold dust!..."

In the humble port camp, there were dozens of small pointed huts, dozens of fishing drying racks, and over a dozen excavated pit houses and cellars. Amid the wooden and earthen camp, only the Chief Divine's altar before us was outlined by golden stones, resembling an open-air golden well.

However, at this moment, the center of the "wellhead" was stuck with a wooden carved Chief Divine emblem, bearing the outlines of the sun and resembling a hummingbird. At first glance, the emblem seemed ordinary and simple. Yet, upon glancing slightly downward to see the base where the wood was inserted within the "wellhead"... hearts of many captives began pounding wildly: it turned out to be hundreds of pounds of fine, sifted, barefoot gold dust!

"Ah! Buddha! This... this... so much gold dust? There must be thousands of taels here, right?! Even the Kaozaki Family, let alone the tens of thousands of stones of the Ando and Nanbu clans, don't have this much gold!… Chief Divine! So much gold just placed in the altar like this? Aren't you afraid of theft?!"

Seeing this golden landscape, seeing the golden altar before him, Ship Envoy Murakami Kitamichi found himself somewhat lost, knees weakening, feet immobile. Desire emerged on his face, enchantment in his eyes, and his hand involuntarily reached out...

"So much gold!... Such a grand Gold Mountain!... The Family Head's earnest instructions, to search for the gold mine... turned out to be a thousand miles away!..."

"Divine Buddha, a true Gold Mountain!... Glug... If I could bring this gold back... the position of Family Head of Ryuzoji Clan... Glug... ah! Stopping and observing!... But, this is a Gold Mountain!..."

Translator Watanabe Masumi swallowed hard multiple times, his eyes reflecting a greedy golden glow. He gazed absentmindedly for a good while before fiercely biting his lip, barely steadying his mind, cautiously surveying his surroundings.

Surrounding Kingdom's warriors and sailors stood on the gold-mined land, faces calm and indifferent, as if not perceiving gold as wealth. They gazed at the dazed Western Sea captives, some curious, others with disdainful sneers. When the Kingdom Priest chanted loudly by the altar, warriors and sailors alike solemnly knelt before the Chief Divine's emblem, praising the name of the Chief Divine.

"Praise be to our god Vizilopo!... He guides our paths, calms the boundless sea, shelters our return journey!..."

"Trust in our god Vizilopo!... His power is boundless, governing everything from past to future until the end times arrive!"

"Ah! Praise the Chief Divine!... He can impart enlightenment, hint at the location of the Gold Mountain, grant golden wealth... that truly is the infinitely powerful Great Buddha Vizilobo!..."

At this moment, amid the majestic Gold Mountain and Gold Creek, before the simple altar and emblem, more than ten craftsmen captives from Wa Country and Korea sincerely knelt down, kowtowing in prayer to the Chief Divine!

"May the Chief Divine bless! Guide me as well... grant me! ...If my wish comes true, I will certainly erect a Golden Body Buddha statue for you!..."

When the crowd's fervent prayers concluded, Scholar Mikki, with a gentle smile, approached the captives from Wa Country and Korea. Then, he scanned the dozen craftsmen from the Western Sea Tribe, amid their expectant gazes, pointed towards the Gold Creek beside, then gestured towards the island's golden hills, generously waving his hand!

"Witnessed by the Chief Divine! We will rest for two days at the Divine Jinxi Port. The promise I made to you before will be fulfilled today!"

"Blessed by the Chief Divine! During these two days, no matter how much gold stone you gather or mine from this Gold Island, all of it belongs to you!"

"Go ahead! Go ahead! Mine gold for yourselves around this camp!... Ahaha! This is the grace of the Chief Divine!"

"Ah! Praise the Chief Divine! Praise Miki the Sage!"

Hearing such a promise, more than a dozen captured craftsmen couldn't help but let out a low cheer. Soon, the blacksmith Otani was the first to run towards Jinxi. The crowd, after gazing at Miki's warm and unchanged smile, also began to run enthusiastically. As for the cautious translator Watanabe, he took one last look at the altar filled with gold sand and then at the surrounding samurai guards, before sighing softly and following at the very back of the group...

"Chief Divine bears witness! Honorable High Priest Miki, are these the Western Sea tribes that Your Majesty mentioned in the Divine Revelation, who worship gold...?"

By the altar of Jin Shi, the young preaching priest Jin Zan curiously stroked his chin and smiled playfully. He examined these short-statured, peculiarly dressed Western Sea tribes, observing the greed on their faces, which he could not understand—a particular frenzy and obsession with gold. It was as if the shiny, ubiquitous gold was some object of mana with soul-stirring power...

"Yes, Chief Divine bless! Zuwaro reached the other side of the great sea and captured this group from the Western Sea tribes, skilled in shipbuilding and horse breeding, and also brought back this sea ship of the Wind God... Twenty Flowers Jin Zan, don't underestimate them! Despite appearing somewhat strange, these are master craftsmen capable of building ships, forging iron, farming, and horse breeding!"

"Ah! Praise the Chief Divine! These tribes, who look like turkeys, are actually so formidable?!"

Upon hearing this, Twenty Flowers Jin Zan was a little surprised, his face a mix of a mocking smile and newfound solemnity. His full name, actually Cempōhualxōchitl in Navajo, translates to "Twenty Flowers," meaning "marigold with twenty petals."

Though the "African marigold" and "French marigold" are renowned in later generations, the original habitat of the marigold (Marigold) was right in America, especially in Central America controlled by the Mexica Alliance. This naturally antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory flower has held a rather noble status in the traditions and religions across the highland tribes.

To be named after the "Marigold" indicates that Priest Jin Zan comes from the nautical priest lineage with great nobility. Indeed, Zuwaro and Miki appointed Jin Zan as the overseer of the Divine Jinxi Port because of his noble background, ensuring he wouldn't be easily blinded by gold...

"Exactly! Jin Zan, according to His Majesty's Divine Revelation, we have already brought back the four-footed horses, which are raised on Great Whale Island to the west... As for these remaining captives, I need to take them back to the Southern Shipbuilding Department of the Kingdom as soon as possible, to build lateen ships for the kingdom! These lateen ships are twice as fast as the kingdom's longships on regular days. And with the wind fully in their favor, they can reach speeds up to four times that of a longship!"

"Ah! Speeds from double to four times? Such a fast ship!... Chief Divine bless! Praise the Chief Divine!"

Hearing this news, Priest Jin Zan joyfully offered a prayer, his gaze toward the Western Sea tribes softening considerably. He looked at the dozen captives who were already kneeling by the stream, beginning to pan for gold, pondering for a moment before suggesting with a smile.

"High Priest Miki, as these Western Sea tribes seem so vital... why not directly give them a few pounds of gold sand each? There's plenty of gold sand in the camp, so why make them exhaust themselves panning for it? They are all novices at this delicate task of gold panning. Even if this place is filled with gold sand, they wouldn't be able to pan out much more than a few ounces from the water in just two days... Not to mention, sifting through mountain rocks, which requires even more manpower, to find gold..."

"Haha! Priest Jin Zan, the gold they pan themselves and that given by the kingdom feel completely different!... What I want is to plant a seed of belief in the Chief Divine in their hearts and leave an impression of the kingdom being a land of abundant gold! How much gold they actually pan or extract is not of real importance..."

"Chief Divine bears witness! Ultimately, this is just to let the turkeys have a taste of their favorite berries, leaving a longing in their hearts... Only then will the turkeys work diligently..."

Saying this, Scholar Miki chuckled, a hint of fox-like cunning in his smile. He leisurely gazed at the shimmering riverbank and the group ecstatically panning for gold... After some time, he turned around, looked into Priest Jin Zan's eyes, and seriously inquired.

"Priest Jin Zan, over this past year, has your camp at Jinxi Port managed to fully scout out this gold deposit? How extensive and deep is this Gold Mountain foretold in His Majesty's prophecy, and just how far does it extend?"

"Oh Chief Divine, just how expansive, deep, and far-reaching is this gold deposit? ...High Priest Miki, that's quite a difficult question to answer!"

Hearing such a question, Noble Priest Jin Zan shook his head helplessly and replied with a bitter smile.

"Chief Divine bless! Just the gold mine on this island before us is estimated to cover an area of ten miles square! We've found a gorge and walked all the way to the bottommost pit, where we could still see signs of Jin Shi, which is at least thirty or forty meters deep... Not to mention the riverbed of Jinxi around the island, which is impossible to dig deeply..."

"And leaving this island, heading to the eastern and northern coasts...within fifty miles around, we have discovered at least seven or eight mines containing Jin Shi. Although we haven't looked thoroughly, such stretches of rocky hills, and those golden stones exposed to the open... the amount of gold contained is certainly not small!"

"In fact, when I was in the kingdom, I also saw the gold mines of the two southern counties. But when compared to this Gold Mountain here, those are like ants comparing to a mountain cat, simply incomparable! Chief Divine bears witness! I've truly never, never seen such an enormous, astounding gold deposit stretching tens of miles!"

"If gold is the waste of all gods, the dregs of divinity... then the amount of gold contained in this so-called Great Juneau Gold Deposit predicted in His Majesty's Divine Revelation is as if... as if the Chief Divine had squatted here, using it as a latrine for thousands of years!"