Chapter 106: Misaligned Technology and National Prosperity, Part 21

Tsk, things are really going downhill. Speaking of which, although Bai Qifei ventured into the secret realm last time, his cultivation level was only at the Golden Core stage. He simply suppressed his power and refrained from using it while inside. It was likely for the heroine's sake; otherwise, how could they have met if they weren't from the same sect? Besides, he has an elder brother, Bai Qiyun, who is the junior disciple of Liao Changyun. It seems that before they arrived, their plan was to have Bai Qiyun assume Liao Changyun’s identity—they even have similar names.

However, clearly after the heroine’s arrival, they changed their strategy, aiming to cover both bases. Apparently, since they couldn’t locate the original male lead—who had gone into hiding—they had no choice but to act this way.

The question is, what was the original male lead’s mission? It doesn’t seem like he was meant to supply energy to the Heavenly Dao. Usually, the Chosen Ones appear in the late stage of core breathing, when energy recycling requires a vessel to transport energy to the Heavenly Dao. But this isn’t that era, so there’s no need for such protagonists.

Therefore, the male lead’s mission must be one of two things: either to eliminate viruses the Heavenly Dao cannot handle—like beasts beyond this world’s limits, demons, or even alien creatures—or to execute a world-ending task. The latter typically happens when a world has decayed so profoundly that a reset is necessary to sustain it. Mu Yin has never encountered such a case and doesn’t know the specific reasons that would require the protagonist to destroy the world.

Mu Yin suspects this world isn’t destined for destruction, so it must be one of the former. If the number of beasts grows too large, it could trigger a beast tide, requiring someone to clear them out. Demons and demonic cultivators differ; demons are products of a world opposite to this one’s laws—an invasion that must be cleansed. Alien beasts are usually foreign species invading the world, also necessitating removal.

Which category applies is unknown. Regardless, none of these scenarios bode well. And the pressing question remains: where has the male lead gone?

“Sigh, why is everything so complicated?” Mu Yin sighed, resting her head on the table.

“Sister? What did you say?” someone entered.

“Nothing. Have you just come out of seclusion?” Mu Yin looked up and saw her younger sister. Yes, this was Zhou Qingqing, daughter of Cao Lihua and her current husband, now twelve years old. At seven, after detecting her spiritual roots, she was sent to Mu Yin. Unlike the mortal world, in the cultivation realm, spiritual root tests happen every ten years, not just once in a decade.

Even if not every household possesses a spiritual root detection artifact, typically every village has at least one. When children reach the appropriate age, they can test themselves. If relatives are part of a sect or are independent cultivators, they can help the child begin training before the sect’s disciple enrollment.

In the cultivation world, each sect opens its gates to accept disciples every ten years. The timing between the mortal and cultivation worlds doesn’t coincide; usually, the cultivation world begins recruitment about half a month earlier.

Because disciples in the cultivation world, even those just turned seven, have already started training, they must face more rigorous and complex trials. Oh, and now physical combat techniques have been uploaded to the Virtual Network, where practitioners can pay to download and practice them. Many basic cultivation skills—like spells, alchemy, formations, and talismans—are also freely available on the network.

Moreover, Mu Yin set up a reward project on the Virtual Network for collecting information on spiritual plants, medicines, minerals, and beasts. People can upload newly discovered flora and fauna, and the first uploader receives a substantial reward ranging from a thousand low-grade spirit stones to ten thousand high-grade stones, depending on rarity.

The Virtual Network provides many cultivators with additional income sources. For example, music cultivators can upload their compositions for public appreciation and critique, emotional cultivators can become actors to experience various feelings and earn income, and numerous shows and programs have emerged. Many mortals have also found ways to earn spirit stones through the network.

There are even games where players fight monsters to hone their combat skills. Mortals who have trained in physical techniques and wield weapons are no longer helpless; various artifacts usable by mortals have been developed, such as energy guns—one of Mu Yin’s inventions. In short, with this network, the cultivation world has seen a significant reduction in violent conflicts over treasures, as even mortals are no longer easy targets.

Furthermore, combining physical techniques with body cultivation methods has allowed many mortals who couldn’t previously cultivate to have a chance now. More cultivators have emerged, making the cultivation world increasingly prosperous. Surprisingly, rather than depleting spiritual energy due to competition, the concentration of spiritual energy has actually increased, which astonished the great sects.

It’s important to understand that sects traditionally fought over cultivation resources. They assumed that more cultivators would mean greater consumption and depletion of spiritual energy, but the opposite happened. As a result, conflicts between sects subsided, and they even began sharing cultivation knowledge through the network.

Additionally, they established a virtual network in the mortal world and set up numerous signal stations along the border between worlds, integrating the mortal realm into the virtual network. This allowed mortals to learn and practice cultivation basics through the network, with remarkable results. The spiritual energy in the mortal world gradually became denser.

This development strengthened the cultivation world’s resolve to encourage more people to cultivate. Unlike before, when cultivators jealously guarded their knowledge, they began openly exchanging cultivation insights. For a time, the cultivation world entered an era of peace and harmony, where common folk could cultivate. Of course, this is a story for the future—it would still take several centuries to see such results.

Returning to the present, Mu Yin now has two half-siblings from her mother’s side: a twelve-year-old sister named Zhou Qingqing and a four-year-old brother named Zhou Heng. Perhaps due to the abundant spiritual energy in the cultivation world, although neither parent had excellent spiritual roots, Zhou Qingqing’s roots were good—she possessed dual water and wood spiritual roots. Cao Lihua sent her to Mu Yin, who had her focus on physical combat techniques as a foundation and arranged suitable cultivation methods.

Five years have passed, and Qingqing has reached the late Qi Refining stage. Mu Yin deliberately restrained her progress, preventing her from advancing too quickly to foundation establishment, since building the foundation too early slows physical development by several times. Qingqing might need to wait until she is seventy or eighty to fully mature physically.

Hence, although spiritual energy is abundant, it is uncommon for cultivators to establish their foundations at a very young age. The emphasis is on laying a solid base first, with cultivation progress deliberately suppressed for better long-term results. Typically, foundation establishment happens around age twenty, though exceptions exist for those who cannot be restrained, such as Liao Changyun, who reportedly established his foundation at seventeen and formed a Golden Core by twenty.

A few days ago, Zhou Qingqing broke through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining. Mu Yin instructed her to return to seclusion to suppress her cultivation level. She just emerged today, only to find her elder sister looking gloomy and slumped over the table, sighing. Unable to resist, Qingqing asked about it.