Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1740 - 1243: The Holy Land on the Western Sea Coast Dreamed of by Ming Dynasty Scholars

"Ah this? Supreme Main God! This is?... This is exquisite jade! It's translucent, shimmering green jasper!"

The Teuctli of the Black Serpent held up the jade to the sunlight, examining it for a moment before his eyes widened suddenly. As a former member of the honorable nobility, he was very familiar with such top-quality jade. Among the tribes of the Mexican Plateau, jade was held in high regard, particularly the divine turquoise, which was considered the finest burial accompaniment for the nobility!

"Wonderful! Truly the Supreme Main God's blessing, the Ancestors' blessing!... Neca! Where do these exquisite jades come from? Have you found the precise location of the jade mine?... "

The Teuctli of the Black Serpent looked expectant, his tone growing urgent. As a remnant of the Tlaxcalan lineage, unloved by his uncle and grandmother, he did not have the long-term support of the Kingdom's nautical division. Moreover, with the Hummingbird Priest's limited experience and Tlaxcalan origins, there was also little assistance to be garnered from the Kingdom of the Lake...

Thus, having a territorial specialty that could be used for trade and produced stably was crucial to the development of the Black Serpent Clan! Valuable jade such as this, even if bargaining with the Kingdom's merchant fleets reduced its price by half, could still be traded for a substantial quantity of precious food and bronze!

"Haha! Cloud Serpent Ancestor's blessing!"

Trusted Neca was also animated, uttering a prayer with a smile. Since the Black Serpent Clan had converted to the sole Supreme Main God, Vizilopo, the former God of the Hunt, Mixcoatl, could no longer be openly prayed to by the clan. Thus, this Tlaxcalan Hunt God was deliberately demoted from "divine" to "human" by the Black Serpent Clan, continuing to receive sacrificial rites under the identity of the "Cloud Serpent Ancestor."

For this adaptable bending of rules, the Hummingbird Priest chose to turn a blind eye, letting Ancestors be Ancestors and the Divine be Divine. After all, the source of cohesion for the Black Serpent Clan, their staunchest honor, lay in the so-called Cloud Serpent Divine Blood coursing through their veins!

Perhaps, only when the next generation of the Black Serpent Tribe grows up and supplants these stubborn divine descendant elders, can they truly forget everything about the old gods, earnestly establishing sincere devotion to the Supreme Main God within, merging into the unified Jiao People nation!

"Supreme Main God's blessing! The source of these jades lies in the coastal mountains more than a hundred miles northwest. As for the gemstone source, it is located in the mountains two hundred miles due north... Clan Leader, you can't imagine what I saw in the coastal mountains to the northwest! Those towering coastal cliffs, all aglow with emerald luster, an indescribably beautiful sight, clearly a jade and gemstone rich mining area! The local Salinan people call it 'Shimmering Greenstone Bay'..."

Neca squinted his eyes, recalling the magnificent coastal scene, his face brimming with heartfelt longing. The shimmer of the cliffs reflected against the azure water, resembling a turquoise-enshrouded resting sanctuary, what a perfect burial ground coveted by the Highland Tribes! If one could be interred there after death, they might ascend to the Divine Kingdom, their soul rendered as immortal as jade!

"Ah! Shimmering Greenstone Bay?"

Hearing the description from his confidant, the Teuctli of the Black Serpent was clearly moved. At this moment, neither of them knew that this Shimmering Greenstone Bay would later become the first jade-producing area of North America, the famed "Jade Cove"!

As the name implies, "Jade Cove" is a bay formed by jade mining veins. It contains the world's only large reserves of high-quality nephrite underwater deposits! From the cliffs tens of meters high, extending to over a hundred meters underwater, the area spans dozens of miles, replete with jade mining veins. And the surrounding mountains are equally abundant in jade production.

The green jade, blue jade, red jade, and grape jade produced in Jade Cove, due to prolonged soaking and washing by seawater, some are incredibly translucent like ice, something worth a fortune in East Asia at this time. Transporting these easily mined sea jades to East Asia in large quantities might radically change the jade market of the Ming Dynasty, truly driving down the price of jade, benefiting the scholar-officials, allowing even impoverished scholars to afford fine jade!... Ahem! Of course, not too impoverished, since the quality of jade speaks for itself, poor scholars still need to strive diligently... 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Ah! Such a marvelous treasure land! Praise the Supreme Main God! Neca, I must personally go with you! To see the Shimmering Greenstone Bay, to see the future hope of the Black Serpent Clan!"

The jade glimmered with spirit light, making even the dazzling gemstones seem pale in comparison. The Teuctli of the Black Serpent could hardly contain his excitement, tucking the cloth bag filled with jade into his bosom. Then, he instructed a few clan elders, and personally accompanied by his trusted Neca, along with fifty Black Serpent samurai, hurried towards the northwest coast.