A Word Wakes the Dreamer

That one sentence snapped them out of their reverie.

That was right. They couldn’t use any form of attack here. No matter whether they were Golden Core or Nascent Soul cultivators, what could they possibly do to these people?

The headquarters wouldn’t be able to send reinforcements for at least another six years. If they handed over the few cultivation resources they had left, it was questionable whether most of these low-level cultivators would even live long enough to see the reinforcements arrive. After all, most of the people sent to the mortal world were already advanced in age and had little hope of making further breakthroughs.

If their cultivation realms regressed, who knew how much of their lifespan they would lose? They had never encountered a situation where a lack of spiritual energy caused their cultivation to decline, so they had no idea how severe the consequences would be.

If they handed over their cultivation resources now, they might not live long enough to wait for headquarters’ rescue. But if they refused to obey the order, there was at least a chance they could hold out until help arrived.

By then, there would be more than ten thousand low-level cultivators like them. Surely headquarters wouldn’t kill all ten thousand of them just to vent their anger on their behalf?

Therefore, handing over their cultivation resources was out of the question. At worst, they would fight. Even if the Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators had much stronger physiques than Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators, there were a lot more of them. What was there to fear? They would just fight it out!

Once they realized that this might be a rare opportunity to confront high-level cultivators without having to cower before them, quite a few of the low-level cultivators actually began looking forward to it, eager to give it a try.

As a result, not a single one of the thousand and one high-level cultivators led by Venerable Gui Jia received any obedience this time. They failed to collect even a single resource.

The phenomenon left all one thousand and one of them stunned.

Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that this group of low-level cultivators, who had always acted timidly and cautiously under their command, would dare join forces and openly defy their orders!

The high-level cultivators couldn’t help feeling that their authority and status had been severely challenged.

If they allowed these people to disobey their superiors so brazenly, what would happen in the future? How could they govern their subordinates? How could they maintain their prestige and command respect?

They had to punish them severely!

But how?

For a time, these high-level cultivators were at a loss.

There was no spiritual energy in this place, and they couldn’t use any attack techniques. The moment anyone was discovered doing so, they would suffer backlash. Under normal circumstances, backlash would be no more than an inconvenience; at most, they would have to spend some spiritual power and time recovering. But right now, spiritual energy was precisely what they lacked most. How could they use it recklessly?

With no good solution available, they could only summon everyone to the square and harshly berate the low-level cultivators.

However, less than half of the low-level cultivators showed up to hear them out. Most simply stayed in their rooms and ignored every order issued by the high-level cultivators.

They had already disobeyed the order to hand over their resources, so whether they attended this summons or not no longer seemed particularly important.

The few who did go were still somewhat intimidated by the high-level cultivators out of habit. They figured that since they had already defied such an important order, they might as well give them a little face over something this minor. Otherwise, if the high-level cultivators lost all dignity and went completely mad, it wouldn’t end well.

It could be said that from this moment onward, the organization Wanwantong had established in the mortal world had all but collapsed.

The conflicts within its ranks continued day after day, growing larger with each passing day.

Then, a month later, the spies who had been imprisoned finally saw the people guarding them again.

Liao Pantu did not appear in person. Instead, he handed the matter over to one of his disciples, Yuan Jinsheng.

Before joining the Lingxian Sect, Yuan Jinsheng had been a cultivator from the mortal world himself, so he should have been fairly familiar with these spies. Moreover, he was now the administrator of Xiushui City, making him the perfect person to handle the affairs of the Cage Court there.

As for Liao Pantu, he felt that coming up with a plan to deal with these spies was quite enough. He had no interest in personally handling the details. With the time saved, he might as well consolidate his cultivation, make more things for the sect, or teach the disciples of Qingyun Peak.

The fifty buildings actually had a name. This place was called the Cage Court.

Lin Xiao had originally planned to develop the vast stretch of barren wilderness and mountains behind the Northern Mountain Range in the future, so when the city was being built, he had specifically constructed this area as employee housing.

Who could have expected that the matter with Wanwantong would arise so conveniently, allowing Xiushui City to gain so many strong laborers all at once?

The spiritual energy concentration in the Cage Court could be adjusted directly from the city lord’s residence in Xiushui City. Of course, its maximum level could only match the spiritual energy concentration within the city itself.

Some time ago, Liao Pantu had contacted Lin Yun directly and asked him to reduce the spiritual energy concentration here to zero.

As expected, it didn’t take long for the spies to start causing an uproar.

This caused the younger members of the Lingxian Sect to worship Liao Pantu even more.

A month later, Yuan Jinsheng appeared at the Cage Court. He did not make a grand announcement or shout anything. Instead, he had the two assistants who had come with him set up a small stall outside the entrance.

A banner hung beside the stall bearing only two words: Hiring.

Quite a few sharp-eyed cultivators, as well as those who happened to be passing by while taking a stroll, noticed it and came over to ask who they were and what kind of work they were hiring for.

Naturally, some also asked why the spiritual energy had suddenly disappeared, when it would return, and whether it could return at all.

Yuan Jinsheng answered each question in a stiff, matter-of-fact manner.

First, he explained why the spiritual energy had suddenly vanished.

“As everyone knows, the mortal world is lacking in spiritual energy. Since none of you are from the mortal world, it wouldn’t be appropriate for you to absorb the spiritual energy here for free, would it? We won’t quibble over the spiritual energy you absorbed in the past, but from now on, this improper arrangement has to stop. You all agree, don’t you?”

“Besides, I’m sure you’ve already noticed that the spiritual energy concentration in Xiushui City is much higher than elsewhere. An environment with spiritual energy this dense is even less likely to be provided to you for free. So we cut off the spiritual energy supply to the Cage Court.”

Under normal circumstances, Yuan Jinsheng’s blunt, straightforward personality would never have allowed him to offer such a detailed explanation. But his master, Liao Pantu, had written a script for him beforehand and instructed him to recite it word for word.

For a moment, the spies didn’t know how to respond. It seemed reasonable, yet something about it also felt wrong.

Yuan Jinsheng paid them no attention. He quickly patted the hiring banner beside him and called out, “We’re hiring! We’re opening up wasteland. For every ten mu of high-grade farmland reclaimed, you’ll be paid one spirit stone. Inferior land earns nothing!”

“Are you insane? Who would work for just one spirit stone?” one of the spies shouted angrily.

Yuan Jinsheng accurately located the person who had spoken and snorted coldly. “Then don’t.”

With that, he stopped speaking, crossed his arms, and sat there with his eyes closed, pretending to doze.

One of the quicker-witted spies thought for a moment before stepping forward and asking Yuan Jinsheng in a low voice, “Fellow Daoist, if we go to work, will there be spiritual energy at the worksite?”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Jinsheng didn’t even open his eyes. He merely grunted, “Those who work will count as half-residents of the mortal world. Naturally, there will be spiritual energy.”