NOVPUB"Why spread fabricated news about Refining Void Cultivators within the Sect... This matter, Qu Shentong really couldn’t comprehend.
But he believed that Wang Ba must have had his reasons for doing so, and thus did not press further, simply nodding his head:
"Is there anything else that you need me to do?"
Wang Ba was about to wave his hand dismissively, but upon a second thought, he indeed remembered something and calculated briefly before speaking:
"I earnestly request the Sect Master to allocate twenty-four one-foot-square Class IV spirit materials for me, with a hard texture and filled with Spiritual Energy."
"Twenty-four pieces?"
Although Qu Shentong did not understand why Wang Ba had such a request, he still readily agreed.
"I will have someone fetch them from the treasury later and send them to you."
Wang Ba nodded his head.
Then, he flew out of the Chunyang Palace.
Qu Shentong did not delay either, immediately summoning a disciple and instructing them about the tasks Wang Ba had just entrusted.
The disciple took the order and left.
Qu Shentong then sat back at his desk, looking at the mountainous pile of official documents before him, and a sense of fatigue welled up within him.
Heaven and Earth Decline wasn’t just manifested in the suppression of realms.
It also affected various aspects, including the growth of Spiritual Lineages, Spiritual Energy, and Spirit Plants to some extent.
Previously, everyone focused more on major disasters such as the inability to improve their realms and mending tears in the earth’s fabric, without noticing or paying attention to these other issues.
But now, as everyone’s focus gradually returned to their daily cultivation and living, they began to feel the profound impact of this cosmic upheaval on cultivators.
And as the Master of a Sect, during such times, Qu Shentong could only attend to every minute detail, leading everyone through this tough period.
Indeed, it stabilized the restless hearts within the Sect, but it also left him exhausted.
He gave a wry smile.
Qu Shentong gently performed a Spell to invigorate his spirit and then, rejuvenated, began to pore over the documents in front of him.
Upon reaching the supply list submitted by the Diwu Hall, Qu Shentong quickly sat up straighter, his brows involuntarily furrowing:
"The Sect’s Class VI Spiritual Lineage is at risk of being dispersed. We need to disconnect the Sect Protection Array from the Spiritual Lineage to preserve it... and once disconnected, the Sect Protection Array will lose its Spiritual Energy supply... The Formation Department has provided an alternative, normally using Nascent Soul Cultivators or Class IV Spirit Beasts as sources of Spiritual Energy, rotating and converting Mana to maintain the basic barrier, but in wartime, it can be instantly reconnected to the Spiritual Lineage..."
"...Needing Nascent Soul Cultivators or Spirit Beasts, at least... five hundred?!"
Qu Shentong’s brows were tightly knotted.
Unable to help himself, he stood up and began pacing back and forth in the hall.
Although the Diwu Hall had also mentioned in its report that the Beast Department, along with the batch of Class IV poultry-type Spirit Beasts previously stored by Sect Master Shao in the Myriad Cave, totaled about three hundred.
There was still nearly a two-hundred-head gap of either Class IV Spirit Beasts or Nascent Soul Cultivators.
And crucially, that was just the minimum number needed for sentry duty.
To maintain the basic operation of the Great Array, additional rotations of Spirit Beasts or Cultivators were required, which significantly increased the gap.
"So many gaps..."
Qu Shentong’s steps were heavy.
Walking back to the desk, he flipped back a few pages.
It was clearly written there that if things continued at the current rate, the Sect’s Spiritual Lineage would dry up and be severed in less than a hundred years due to excessive extraction by the Sect Protection Array.
After closing his eyes and pondering for a while, he let out a quiet sigh.
Hesitating for a moment, he raised his hand and wrote ’pending’ on the documents.
Then, he sat back at his desk, set aside the Diwu Hall’s document to one side, and buried his head in handling other documents.
...
When Wang Ba returned to Wanfa Peak, Bu Chan, unusually, was not in the Spirit Plant Department but was cultivating in the mountaintop spirit field with Wang Qingyang, who was as youthful as a girl in her twenties.
What was even more surprising was that he also saw a figure that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
"Liu Jin?"
"Dad!"
A streak of light flashed, and a handsome, Spiritual Energy-imbued young man wielding a sword leaped out from the sword-light and landed in front of Wang Ba.
In his facial features, he bore a closer resemblance to Bu Chan.
Seeing this young man, Wang Ba was both shocked and delighted, and he couldn’t help but move forward to grab his arm but, for some reason, he instinctively held back, retracting his hand and standing in place, clearing his throat:
"When did you return? Aren’t you supposed to be with Senior Brother Zhao in West Sea Country?"
"The cultivators from the Three Continents in West Sea Country have almost all disappeared. Master returned a few days ago to report on his duties, and I came back with him."
Seeing his long-lost father, Wang Yi’an’s heart was overjoyed, and he didn’t mind his father’s pretended restraint, smiling as he replied.
Wang Ba heard this and couldn’t help but scrutinize Wang Yi’an carefully once again.
Compared to when he last saw him over a decade ago in West Sea Country, the current Wang Yi’an was slightly taller, though still youthful and spirited, but there was an added steadiness in his demeanor that hadn’t been there before.
Even though he tried to restrain himself, it was hard to conceal the sharpness of a Golden Core Sword Cultivator.
"Early-stage Golden Core... not bad."
Although his heart was filled with relief, Wang Ba’s face unconsciously remained slightly taut.
Wang Yi’an’s tone carried a hint of pride:
"Master said that as long as I continue to accumulate Mana, I will soon be able to reach the mid-stage of Golden Core."
Wang Ba heard this and was even more reassured, but still, his expression was slightly grim, and he quietly advised:
"Although Senior Brother Zhao says so, the matter of cultivation must not be taken lightly at all. You must not become complacent and follow your master diligently in your cultivation..."
