Chapter 223: Dark currents surge, conspiracy begins

Wang Ping continued his cultivation in the Battle Lord Hall, a large amount of spiritual qi was decomposed and absorbed by him, and his Golden Core gradually stabilized.

And just as he was cultivating in seclusion in the palace,

Small-scale rumors spread in the outside world that a great figure would descend from the Spirit Realm to the Lower Realm, bringing some genius cultivators into the Spirit Realm.

At first, some did not believe it, but as time passed, those with ulterior motives finally noticed the Alliance was massively purchasing

some special herbs and ores; soon news came that these were the herbs needed by those going to the Spirit Realm.

In the Lower Realm, a Green Wind Fruit worth only tens of thousands of Spirit Stones is worth at least fifty to sixty supreme-grade Spirit Stones in the Spirit Realm!

For a moment, the upper echelons of the cultivation world were roiling with undercurrents; who wouldn't want to enter the Spirit Realm? Why do cultivators in the Lower Realm painstakingly train? Isn't it to ascend to the Spirit Realm and continue advancing to higher realms, to attain the Dao and become immortals?

But the path of cultivation is arduous; who knows how many extraordinarily talented cultivators have been thwarted by the Spirit Transformation realm?

Now, people from the Upper Realm can bring others into the Spirit Realm to cultivate; who knows how many cultivators' hearts have been moved?

Everyone speculated which cultivators could enter the Spirit Realm; perhaps a few elders who had stepped into the Spirit Transformation realm might have a chance.

Nascent Soul cultivators are even more numerous!

At this very moment, a piece of news spread: the more talented a cultivator, the more likely they are to be selected by Spirit Realm cultivators.

Immediately, most cultivators thought of that cultivator famed as the number one in Foundation Establishment combat power for ten thousand years—Wang Ping.

Without a doubt, he should secure a quota; outside cultivators think so, but that does not mean cultivators within the Alliance share that view.

In the Alliance, in a private cave dwelling, sat seven or eight late-stage Golden Core cultivators.

"Hmph! Wang Ping just arrived, has achieved nothing—how could he obtain a quota to enter the Spirit Realm? On this matter, I, Song He, refuse to accept it!" said a cultivator whose body shone with golden light, indignantly.

"Yeah! How does the Alliance doing this make us convinced? We cultivators who have reached Golden Core have all earned great merits for the Alliance; now a huge opportunity has arisen, yet they don't consider us, instead giving priority to an outsider Golden Core cultivator—I, Zhang Tianqing, also refuse to accept it!" Another Golden Core cultivator clad in black spirit armor likewise wore an expression of refusal.

"That person isn't an outsider! He is now the chief disciple of the Battle Lord Master; in status he surpasses us!"

"Hmph! High status means nothing—at least I, Jin Fu, do not acknowledge him!"

At this moment, the cultivator seated in the center, his whole body emanating an aura of magnificence, spoke: "Everyone seems to have forgotten something!"

Swish swish swish!

The several Golden Core cultivators present turned their gazes in unison toward him.

The young cultivator continued: "Whether we can enter the Spirit Realm is not up to us, nor to the words of the various True Monarchs, nor even to what the Spirit Transformation elders say; the decisive factor is the person from the Spirit Realm! Therefore!"

This young cultivator looked around and continued: "With the talent of that person who created a Dao technique during Foundation Establishment and developed it to the Dao Initiation realm, no one can stop him from entering the Spirit Realm!"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent; they actually knew it too, but they were simply unwilling to accept it!

That is the Spirit Realm! The cultivation goal of countless cultivators—now one need not reach Spirit Transformation to enter it; no one can resist this temptation.

Gazing at the expressions of the remaining Golden Core cultivators, the young man's lips curled into a strange smile as he slowly said: "However, it's not that there's no way!"

"Oh! I don't know, Fellow Daoist Guan Yi, what solution do you have? Could it be that you can still talk to the great person from the Spirit Realm?"

Seeing the doubtful looks of several fellow Daoists, Guan Yi's expression remained unchanged as he continued: "Of course I have spoken with the great person from the Spirit Realm many times, but it can!"

Having said that, Guan Yi produced a black dull ore in his hand!

The other Golden Core cultivators in the cave dwelling glanced at each other, then finally asked in puzzlement: "Fellow Daoist Guan, what do you mean?"

Guan Yi smiled mysteriously and said: "Have you all heard the recent rumors?"

Jin Fu's brows furrowed slightly; uncertain, he asked: "Fellow Daoist, are you referring to the recent rumors about those spiritual herbs and grasses?"

Guan Yi nodded: "Exactly, a single herb that costs only tens of thousands of low-grade Spirit Stones in the Lower Realm can sell for dozens of supreme-grade Spirit Stones in the Spirit Realm—doesn't that make you all jealous?"

"Naturally we're jealous; I've heard that these huge price differences are because these spiritual herbs and grasses have already vanished from the Upper Realm—rarity makes them precious, so the price gap is astonishing—but what does that have to do with us, since we can't reach the Spirit Realm?"

A Golden Core cultivator named Qian Dong spoke up, and the other cultivators nodded, evidently agreeing with Qian Dong's words.

Guan Yi said unhurriedly: "Yes, under normal circumstances we cannot enter the Spirit Realm, but if the great person from the Spirit Realm receives enough benefits! For example, this metal called Black Yao Gold, which has already vanished from the Spirit Realm, costs one hundred fifty supreme-grade Spirit Stones per catty, yet in our Lower Realm no one pays it any heed! If we mine enough Black Yao Gold, don't you think the Spirit Realm great person would be moved?"

Upon hearing Guan Yi's words, all the Golden Core cultivators' eyes lit up—yeah! The great person from the Spirit Realm is also a person; who doesn't like Spirit Stones?

"I don't know where Fellow Daoist Guan can mine this ore!"

"Yeah! Fellow Daoist Guan is righteous! With such benefits, he still thinks of us!"

"Strange; I find this metal oddly familiar."

The cultivator who spoke first, named Song He, questioned doubtfully. But as he thought, his eyes suddenly widened and he blurted out:

"These aren't the stones embedded in the earth veins beneath the Azure Cloud Mountain Range? Back then, even a Spirit Transformation elder had investigated them, saying these stones have demon-suppressing power—we must not act rashly!"

"Brother Song, how much of this metal is there there?"

"Is the place you're referring to the region called West Droop?"

Song He looked at the several eager fellow Daoists, gave a wry smile, and said: "There's plenty of Black Yao Gold there, but the elder has already ordered that we must not act rashly!"

At this moment, a hint of purple appeared in Guan Yi's eyes, and his face also showed a strange smile: "Brother Song, you'd better think it through—this is Black Yao Gold; once you mine it and send it to the great person from the Spirit Realm, just think, worth hundreds of thousands of supreme-grade Spirit Stones—couldn't that buy a quota to enter the Spirit Realm?"

Song He still hesitated: "But what if these are really used to suppress demons? If I mine them and release a demon, what then?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Yi raised his voice a few notches: "What does that have to do with you? Think about it—Spirit Transformation elders and genius cultivators have all gone to the Spirit Realm to cultivate, while we are left toiling miserably in this barren Lower Realm; perhaps in a few hundred years they will have become Spirit Transformation, then Void Refinement, with hope of longevity, while we may have exhausted our lifespans and turned to dust. Would you not regret today's decision then?"

Having said that, Guan Yi spoke earnestly:

"Brother Song, if one does not act for oneself, heaven and earth will destroy them! What right do those Spirit Transformation cultivators have to make us guard a gold mine yet forbid us from mining it? You say, aren't they selfish? Even if there is a great demon, what does it matter to you? If the sky falls, someone taller will simply prop it up—think about it, if you truly keep the elder's promise, will those elders who can enter the Spirit Realm, after shouting for hundreds of years, still remember who you are?"

These words not only made Song He's eyes redden, but the other cultivators as well.

Guan Yi, who had been observing all this, seized the moment to press on: "Brother Song, could you really be willing to give up longevity? Know that opportunity lost is opportunity never to return!"

Song He shouted: "I naturally am not willing! Fellow Daoist Guan, are your words true?"

Guan Yi straightforwardly issued a Heart Demon Oath; seeing this, Song He closed his eyes, then opened them, his face flashing with resolve: "Fine, I'll do this—Fellow Daoist Guan, you're right: if one does not act for oneself, heaven and earth will destroy them!"