The Long Journey to Immortality

Among them were some well-informed cultivators who had known about the matter long ago, showing off in the group.

"I knew about this before I came here."

The companion asked in confusion, "Then why didn't you say so?"

"I'm just afraid of spoiling everyone's fun," the cultivator who claimed to know the truth said confidently. "But don't worry, although there are fewer spirit stones, there are more pills. This time, everyone will receive more pills."

"In and out, it's actually pretty much the same."

Han Lu overheard this and was quite pleased.

Compared to spirit stones, she needed these potent pills issued by the sect even more.

Even so, some cultivators who lacked spirit stones were still concerned about this matter and kept asking questions, wanting to know the inside story.

After all, this is the first time something like this has happened in so many years.

"I'm not entirely sure about the specifics," the insider said after enduring the persistent pleading and enjoying the feeling of being the center of attention for a moment. "But it seems to be related to the obstruction of spirit stone mining."

These words made many of the cultivators in the queue feel nervous.

“Spirit stone mining is hindered? Could it be that several spirit stone mines have been completely depleted?”

"That can't be true, I haven't heard any similar news."

……

The crowd discussed the matter animatedly, but in the end, it was the insider who spoke up and dispelled the concerns of these cultivators.

"It's not as exaggerated as you think," the insider explained. "It's just that we switched to a new technology to mine spirit stones about six months ago."

"The technology is good, but it still encountered some minor problems when applied to actual work."

"This has led to a decrease in the production of spirit stones in recent months."

"As it happens, the largest spirit stone mine in the Southern Dynasty recently suffered a mining accident, which caused the mine to shut down for half a month and killed more than 20 miners."

"These two unfortunate things happened together, which is why we received fewer spirit stones."

Seemingly noticing the discussion among the inner disciples in the group, and to avoid further arguments when receiving supplies, the steward in charge of this task walked over to the group and explained loudly.

"The specific situation is similar to what this senior brother said. The number of spirit stones distributed this month is less, but the number of pills is more."

"But don't worry, everything will return to normal in three months."

After saying this, the manager took out paper and pen, wrote a notice, and posted it at the entrance to avoid having to explain it again later.

Someone stepped forward to explain, and everyone's doubts were completely dispelled. Although they knew they would have to endure a period of time without spirit stones, the group became orderly again.

It was soon Han Lu's turn.

He showed his ID badge and found and signed his name on the list.

"Han Lu, a disciple under Elder Piaomiao?"

Han Lu nodded.

The cultivator, who worked in the inner treasury and was responsible for distributing supplies, rummaged through a storage bag for a while before counting out three low-grade spirit stones and six Meridian Opening Pills.

After checking the items again in front of Han Lu, he made sure everything was in order and handed it to her.

Chapter Fifty: The Power of Realm Speaks, Rumors Abound

After the notice was posted, every inner sect cultivator who entered the inner treasury hoping to collect supplies would inevitably stop and discuss it with their companions.

Only a few cultivators complained a couple of times.

That's it.

After all, losing spirit stones but gaining pills means that, in terms of the outcome, it doesn't cause any loss for the vast majority of cultivators.

Moreover, disciples who cultivate in the inner sect are generally quite capable, so a spirit stone is not something unacceptable to them.

But for the disciples of the Zhengyi Sect who were cultivating in the outer sect, this was a huge disaster.

It should be noted that even an outer disciple of Xue Ding's caliber can only receive one spirit stone and two pills from the sect each month.

Now, even if they simply cut off this piece of spirit stone and give out two more pills, these low-level outer sect cultivators will still complain bitterly.

A few months ago, this incident would have been easy to handle. With a little appeasement, it could have been resolved in just a few days.

But now, there are less than four months left until the once-every-five-years competition.

Many low-level cultivators were thinking of using the spirit stones they had received over the past few months to buy talismans and other items for combat, hoping to use these valuable items to improve their ranking in the competition.

The sudden loss of this "life-saving money" naturally caused an uproar among the outer sect cultivators.

Inside the outer treasury, besides the cultivators practicing in the Zhengyi Sect, there were also many other cultivators gathered together, thinking of "gathering a crowd to demonstrate their power," hoping that the strength of numbers would make the voices of low-level cultivators heard, and that the sect would make up for the missing spirit stone.

Without any organization, these low-ranking outer disciples unexpectedly chanted a few slogans in unison.

With such a grand gesture, yet only making such a modest request, it would most likely have been successfully achieved in 2019.

Unfortunately, the Zhengyi Sect is not a place where people are assigned positions based on how much they make a fuss.

Although the cultivation world has been peaceful for a long time, it is still a place where strength and cultivation level matter.

After shouting for a while, the head steward of the outer storehouse of Dongshan Academy found it too noisy, blocking the road outside and affecting entry and exit. He also found it an eyesore, so he sent a junior steward out to deliver a message to these "troublemaking" cultivators.

Seeing that a "person in charge" had come out to answer, the cultivators became even more excited. Many of them who had just been standing there without chanting slogans started to speak up and enthusiastically helped to boost the momentum.

Seeing the excited fellow disciples, this cultivator, who had just gotten a job in the outer treasury through connections, was not intimidated. He made a gesture and shouted "Quiet!" twice.

The effect is immediate.

The monks gathered at the entrance of the outer warehouse fell silent for the time being, turning their gazes toward the steward, hoping to hear a satisfactory compensation plan from him.

"Manager Yu has heard everyone's voices." Manager Yu is the person in charge of the outer treasury of Dongshan Academy. He is a cultivator at the early stage of Foundation Establishment and can be regarded as a model of a successful transformation after an older cultivator had no hope of advancing further.

"Manager Yu understands everyone's thoughts. After all, he also came from the Qi Refining stage and knows the difficulties of low-level cultivators. He understands the importance of a spirit stone to everyone."

These words were pleasing to the ear, and the troublemaking cultivators all agreed. Some of the cultivators who had been watching quietly stood behind the group, wanting to blend in and enjoy the fruits of their collective victory.

"but……"

The word "but" caused a change in everyone's expression.

"This is a decision made by the sect, and it cannot be resolved simply by Steward Yu's words. However, Steward Yu is willing to help everyone report this to higher levels, so that the sect's higher-ups, the elders at the Golden Core stage, and even the sect leader can hear and see everyone's voice."

The steward took out a piece of paper and continued, "Fellow disciples who feel that the sect's decision is wrong can write their names on this paper, so that the higher-ups in the sect, the elders at the Golden Core stage, and even the sect leader will know who wants to speak up for everyone."

"However, there is one thing to make clear: the senior brothers, sisters, and junior sisters whose names are written on the list will not be receiving the subsidy for the next three months."

"You should know that once you've swallowed a pill, there's no reason to vomit it up. If the sect leader reads your opinions and says it's good, and agrees to let you exchange the two pills as compensation for spirit stones, it will be troublesome to start arguing about it later."

Upon hearing this, most of the crowd dispersed.

Few cultivators in the Zhengyi Sect are fools; they can clearly hear the hidden daggers in someone's words.

After conveying Manager Yu's message, the manager handed the paper in his hand to the cultivator who had been shouting the loudest in the front row.

To everyone's surprise, the other party kept dodging and dared not take the blank paper.

This applies to one person, two people, and everyone.

The steward took out a piece of white paper and dispersed all the troublemaking cultivators.

Those cultivators who had just shouted slogans all lowered their heads and lined up to receive supplies, as if they were afraid of being purged and wanted to distance themselves from their impulsive actions.

The onlookers laughed, but no one deliberately made things difficult for these "losers".

This outcome can be described as a win-win situation for everyone.

The steward casually pasted the white paper next to the notice board and went to report back to Steward Yu.

Similar stories unfolded in the outer warehouses of every mountain courtyard, and were resolved by the warehouse managers of each courtyard using similar methods.

Although this incident did not cause a major stir within the sect, it was something that had never happened since the Zhengyi Sect became the leading sect in the Southern Dynasty, and it still aroused a lot of discussion among the sect's cultivators.

The set of arguments that Han Lu heard in the internal warehouse is the most widely circulated version of events.

Even the cultivator who focused on unorthodox methods and devised techniques to improve the efficiency of spirit stone mining was brought out by the sect to endorse this explanation, which can be considered a relatively official response to the matter.

However, other rumors circulated privately among the disciples.

It is said that a sect in the Southern Barbarians has gone mad and actually attacked two spirit stone mines of the Zhengyi Sect located in the southernmost part of the Southern Dynasty. Not only did they destroy the mine pits, but they also robbed nearly three thousand spirit stones from the mine warehouse.

Some say there was a traitor in the inner treasury, and thousands of spirit stones disappeared without a trace. Others say that a fellow villager of a certain cultivator in the same academy saw several corpses being carried out of the inner treasury of other mountain academies, and that a certain manager was beaten black and blue.

……

There are many different opinions, but most of them are not good news.

Some Foundation Establishment cultivators, especially those with heightened sensitivity, saw this as a sign that the cultivation world was about to descend into chaos, and began selling off a few unimportant magical artifacts to hoard spirit stones, a form of hard currency.

After all, for the vast majority of cultivators, it is impossible to improve their cultivation level and break through bottlenecks with just one or two ordinary pills.

Unless a pill can turn decay into magic or bring the dead back to life, a hard, solid thing like a spirit stone is more worthy of being stored in a cultivator's storage bag.

Rumors were rampant, but Han Lu did not believe them.

In her view, unless something truly earth-shattering happens, something so significant that even the Nascent Soul cultivators of the two major sects tremble in fear, the cultivation world, which has been peaceful for so many years, will not truly descend into chaos.

[Author's Note] Please, everyone, cast a recommendation vote.

Chapter 51 Rapid Progress, Zhan Yujun's Invitation

As if to take care of the feelings of the disciples, in addition to making a notice about this incident in an unconventional way, the Zhengyi Sect also specially asked the major academies to issue some simple sect tasks in the inner and outer warehouses.

Completing sect missions earns contribution points, which can be exchanged for cultivation resources, including spirit stones.

Although many disciples were still unhappy about this, they behaved very well physically.

Every day, just as dawn breaks, many cultivators arrive at the notice boards of the inner and outer treasuries, waiting to claim any tasks posted as soon as possible in order to earn contribution points.

That day, the monks who were shouting slogans in front of the outer storehouses of various mountain temples were no exception.

Some of the cultivators even volunteered to take on the job of "aiding and abetting evil," temporarily joining the outer treasury to help distribute the second month's supplies or maintain order.

The most popular of these tasks is to assist fellow disciples and seniors in the alchemy rooms of various mountain academies.

With fewer spirit stones and more pills available, the alchemy room naturally became short-staffed and needed fresh blood to temporarily join.

It has a low barrier to entry and allows one to interact with cultivators who are skilled in alchemy.