The heavenly boat stayed in the ocean for ten days.
According to the resource collection plan formulated by Mu Yinghua and the elders, dozens of designated resource gathering sites were deliberately selected, distributed in different areas of the Misty Illusion Secret Realm. These sites produced extremely scarce or highly demanded resources in the Great Void Starry Sky.
In each region, Qing Muling and the elders would stay for a few days to ensure the efficiency of resource collection and avoid the dangers that may arise from separate actions. Of course, due to the abundance of rare resources in the deep sea, the heavenly boat stayed here for a few extra days.
“…Alright, Junior Brother, go and come back quickly.”
With the crisp voice of the loli elder, more than three thousand high-capacity spatial artifacts poured onto the spacious deck, forming a shining small mountain.
Qing Muling nodded and waved his hand, collecting the pile of artifacts into his internal space and disappearing on the spot.
Mu Yinghua had managed to gather all the unused high-capacity spatial artifacts in the sect, even temporarily borrowing many private artifacts of the elders. Later, she secretly sent trusted subordinates to purchase them at high prices from the super chambers of commerce and markets in the Great Void Starry Sky.
Therefore, Qing Muling now carried more than three thousand spatial artifacts each time he traveled, basically filling up his internal space.
In the cave of the Sect Master, Qing Muling opened his eyes again, greeted Mu Yinghua in a hurry, poured out all the spatial artifacts, and then collected the empty ones into his internal space before reentering the Misty Illusion Secret Realm.
Time was pressing, so both the master and disciple were not in the mood to say much. They would have plenty of opportunities to talk after the secret realm closed.
“Alright, follow me.”
A splendid virtual image appeared from Mu Yinghua and solidified into her appearance. This was her spiritual avatar.
The avatar waved its sleeves, wrapping up all the filled spatial artifacts, and then, accompanied by the elders, left the cave and teleported to the secret realm where the sect’s resources were stored. As for Mu Yinghua’s main body, it remained in the cave, guarding Qing Muling’s safety without leaving a step.
This secret realm was extremely large, with a space of over a hundred thousand miles in diameter, and it was already half full. The various resources stored inside were always kept as strategic reserves and were not usually used unless there was a large-scale war.
Mu Yinghua’s spiritual avatar put down the spatial artifacts, and the elders came forward to pour out the resources and stack them in specific areas according to their categories.
With the great supernatural powers of the elders, everything was completed very quickly. By the time all the spatial artifacts were emptied, only a little over two hours had passed.
Qing Muling returned from the Misty Illusion Secret Realm once a day, so there was plenty of time.
Looking at the hundred-mile-high spirit stone peaks beside her, Mu Yinghua’s spiritual avatar sighed softly, “Since the end of the catastrophe ten thousand years ago, there have been very few resources left here. I didn’t expect that one day it would be filled again. Qing Muling has indeed made great contributions to Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace.”
The Palace Master of the Pill Hall, Yun Miaoxianjun, smiled and said, “This is only the first secret realm. With Qing Muling, the remaining ones will also be filled quickly. By then, Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace will at least surpass its peak period from ten thousand years ago in terms of resource reserves.”
The Palace Master of the Law Hall, Fenghua Xianjun, nodded gently, “That’s right. However, it is not a matter of a day or two to turn resources into strength. In the future, we must strive to obtain a certain period of peaceful development for the sect.”
Mu Yinghua’s spiritual avatar asked, “How many years would be appropriate?”
“At least a hundred years. If we can have three to five hundred years, it would be even better,” Yun Miaoxianjun said. The world of high-level cultivators was different from that of mortals. A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye for those above the Feather Ascension Immortal Realm, and powerful cultivators in seclusion could stay closed for dozens or even hundreds of years.
To refine a furnace of precious pills or create a good treasure, it would take hundreds or even thousands of years. So, five hundred years was not considered long.
“It’s difficult, but it’s not impossible to strive for,” Mu Yinghua’s spiritual avatar pondered. This period of peace was not only for the sect but also for Qing Muling. With his growth speed as a closed-door disciple, perhaps a hundred years would be enough for him to reach the Heavenly Fate Realm, and it was entirely possible for him to surpass several senior sisters and become the number one in the new era within five hundred years.
Fenghua Xianjun said, “It seems that we need to adjust the plan we made before. Since we have a better choice now, we can temporarily postpone the action of reclaiming the lost territories and avoid provoking the surrounding forces until the sect’s strength has further recovered.”
Mu Yinghua’s spiritual avatar nodded, “Alright, plans can’t keep up with changes. Let’s leave it like this for now. After all, we have endured for ten thousand years. We can endure for a few hundred more.”
With abundant resources as a backing and sufficient time for peaceful development, the rapid recovery of the sect’s strength was a matter of course.
If Qing Muling’s appearance only made the high-level members of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace see the possibility of the sect’s revival, then the continuous influx of vast resources now clearly presented this glorious prospect before them, making them unable to contain their excitement and restlessness.
In the Misty Illusion Secret Realm.
The heavenly boat in the sky above the ocean changed direction and slowly accelerated towards the south, soon turning into a stream of light and disappearing at the end of the horizon.
“Senior Sister, where are we going now?”
“To a place called the Fiery Continent. There are many high-grade giant spirit stone veins there. If we’re lucky, we might even find spirit crystal veins. That way, we’ll make a big profit.”
Xuebing Xuan examined the magical projection map in front of her. This was the data accumulated and summarized by countless generations of elders and disciples exploring the vast world of the Misty Illusion Secret Realm over the years. Although it was not complete, it was accurate for the areas they had already set foot in.Qing Muling seemed thoughtful. Spirit stones were one of the essential foundations of the cultivation system in the Great Void, a resource that cultivators could not do without. They were akin to the significance of oil and natural gas to human civilization in his previous life. Spirit stones, and the higher-grade spirit crystals, were the energy of the cultivation world, a true hard currency.
Setting up formation arrays, refining magical treasures, healing injuries, and even activating the divine powers of magical treasures all required spirit stones and spirit crystals. Without these, half of the entire cultivation system would collapse.
“Is the sect’s reserve of spirit stones and spirit crystals sufficient?”
“Not much, just barely enough,”
Luo Wanqing pulled Qing Muling’s arm into her embrace, allowing him to fully feel the proud elasticity and fullness of her chest, and gently explained:
“The main reason is that within the sphere of influence that the sect can control, the spirit stone mines are relatively abundant, although the quality is not very good. In addition, we can also purchase some from other Dao Lineage forces. Of course, this is only the case during peaceful times. Once the sect faces large-scale warfare in the future, the channels for external purchases may be cut off, so we must plan ahead.”
“In that case, we should be able to solve the problem this time.”
Qing Muling had a plan in mind. Spirit medicine was equivalent to food in the secular world, and spirit stones were equivalent to energy in the secular world. Both were indispensable. As long as this trip went smoothly, it was not a problem to add a thousand years of strategic reserves for the sect.
Yu Lingzhou, who was standing by, laughed, “If we can find enough top-grade spirit crystal mines and transport them back, we can set up some special formation arrays that consume a lot of energy, which will help repair the few damaged sect treasures. This will depend on your performance, Junior Brother.”
The elegant and dignified Yueyi Heavenly Lord glanced at Luo Wanqing, who was almost hanging on Qing Muling, sighed slightly, and gave Luo Huan a somewhat disappointed look, thinking, why can’t you be more competitive?
Luo Huan felt somewhat wronged. The other party was clearly the first to arrive and had the advantage of being the first to enter. What could she do?
The skyship flew at high speed, occasionally activating a space-breaking teleportation, covering billions of miles in the blink of an eye. Although the consumption was somewhat exaggerated, it was not a problem at all.
After several hours of hurrying, the scenery below quietly changed. Endless plains, hills, swamps, lakes, and forests alternated, and finally, a huge mountain range that stretched to the end of the horizon appeared.
Xuebing Xuan said, “We should be at the right place. Junior Brother, you calculate where is the best place to start?”
Qing Muling nodded, took out the tortoise shell jade talisman and placed it on the table. He silently operated his mysterious power, consuming his heart’s blood to quietly calculate.
After a while, the feedback from the unknown made him 80 to 90 percent sure. He pointed to a spot on the map, “It should be in this area. If I’m not mistaken, the entire mountain range below may be a high-grade spirit stone mine. The elders will have a hard time next.”
Yueyi Heavenly Lord smiled warmly, “No problem, it’s our duty for the sect.”
Soon, the skyship arrived at the designated location. On the vast land, a majestic mountain range stretched for tens of thousands of miles, like an ancient dragon lying across, attracting the extremely rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth, forming layers of colorful clouds covering the surface of the mountain. From a distance, it was a sight to behold.
Yu Lingzhou took the lead out of the skyship, looked at the mountain range below, waved her hand, and the surrounding spiritual energy rushed over, condensing into a giant green hand covering a hundred miles, grabbing down. The soil, rocks, and vegetation covering the majestic mountain peak were instantly lifted and swept away by the violent airflow.
In just a few moments, a blue vein of spirit stone that was shimmering with colorful light and full of spiritual energy like water appeared in front of the female cultivators. The vein was crystal clear and almost free of impurities, showing how high the quality of this spirit stone vein was.
Yu Lingzhou exclaimed in a low voice, “Incredible, a spirit stone mine of such a large scale is probably rare in the Great Void nowadays!”
The elders felt the same. In the ancient times of the immortal Dao, resources were abundant, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was incredibly rich. Such veins were not rare, but now it was incomparable.
“Alright, let’s get to work and move this entire mountain range back!”