Chapter 26

Chapter 26

No wonder the creator of the Lady Painting, the old ancestor of the Tang family, left behind those dying words: "When all hope is lost, come and pay respects, and you can make a comeback." Even if his descendants are ordinary people, not cultivators, once they enter and discover this mountain of gold, what need is there for a comeback? They could just lie back and become instantly rich.

Although the golden mountain was tempting, it wasn't going anywhere. For this secret realm, there was surely more worth exploring inside. A place that could nurture a python as massive as a small hill might yield even more spirit objects.

While the three people and one fox were exploring inside, the external pressure arrived, albeit belatedly.

According to past conventions, wherever an energy field was discovered, it belonged to the country it was found in.

In the early years, when such mysterious spaces first appeared, each country secretly kept them hidden, wanting to explore and monopolize the benefits. But with limited cultivators and the numerous fierce beasts inside, conventional weapons often struggled to deal with them, forcing them to risk their lives.

After suffering heavy losses, they learned their lesson. Later discoveries saw them share quotas, allowing cultivators from other countries to enter and explore together. Although the benefits might be divided, it also diluted the danger, making the overall outcome more beneficial than harmful. This gradually became an unspoken agreement among countries.

What they haggled over each time was the number of entrants and what resources were exchanged for those spots.

The USA had many allied countries, and eighty percent of the resources from existing energy fields were in their hands. Every time other countries wanted to enter those fields, they had to trade something in exchange for entry qualifications. This had kept their cultivation resources tight, forcing them to focus on nurturing only the most talented individuals.

Because the USA controlled so many resources, they could train more adepts. Even if elite adepts couldn't compare to their country's cultivators, the sheer number of adepts far outpaced cultivators.

So even though Hull and his group weren't top-tier in cultivation, they could still act arrogantly on Chinese soil. That was the confidence their country's strength gave them.

Regarding this newly opened energy field, Hull and his people clearly knew more than China. Before Chinese cultivators even discovered the energy field, they had already figured out how to open it—only needing that painting as the trigger.

But just when they were about to seal the deal, they were beaten to it. Hearing that the altar of the energy field had been found, Hull smashed his wine glass: "The Lady Painting—they stole it!"

Not only did they steal it, but they also burned a fake in front of him, making him think the painting was destroyed and waste time tracking down who burned it. What a bunch of cunning, treacherous Chinese!

Ike was puzzled: "How did they pull it off? If they knew the Lady Painting was the key to opening the energy field, why would they let it be auctioned off? More importantly, they shouldn't have known your itinerary—they couldn't have tampered with it in advance."

Ever since they arrived in China, they had been partying and eating well, acting flamboyantly. All their schedules were last-minute. Even the plan to buy the painting was decided long ago, but aside from him and Hull, no one knew their plans. Even their mole here was only told at the last minute to arrange their tickets.

According to the plan, the whole process might not have been flawless, but it should have allowed them to complete the mission before China's cultivators caught on. By the time the Chinese noticed, Hull would already be on a plane back home with the painting. When he returned with it later, it would be perfectly legitimate.

But instead, things went wrong.

Hull: "The process doesn't matter. I only care about the result before my eyes!"

Hull was so angry that arcs of lightning surged uncontrollably around him. Ike felt the wound on his face throb: "Now what?"

Hull: "What else? Go see how far they've gotten with the energy field. Also, announce to other countries that China has discovered an energy field. Let them prepare."

Since they'd lost the upper hand, they had to nail down the quotas ASAP.

Originally, this authority should have been in their hands. Even though the site was in China, Chinese cultivators would have had to trade for entry spots. Thinking about how they'd missed this chance to humiliate them, Hull couldn't help throwing another tantrum, smashing a bunch of stuff.

He was so furious, absolutely livid!

According to past conventions, when an unknown energy field was discovered, countries would first negotiate to determine the number of entrants, then adjust based on the actual situation of the field.

So Hull and his team never expected that the Chinese cultivators would go straight in as soon as the energy field was opened.

Xu Mo, who was guarding outside, had already kept the information under wraps, allowing only trusted personnel to approach.

When the director learned of this, he couldn't help cursing: "You're being reckless! No one knows what the place is like inside, and they just went in like that?!"

The ones who entered were still those three—Jiang Lin, Xiao Yu, and Ren Daoan. Every one of them was a talent they couldn't afford to lose!

Yue Yanting whispered, "Bai Zhizhi went in too."

The director paused: "That little fox demon?"

Yue Yanting nodded. The director paused once more, then bellowed, "That still doesn't justify taking risks together!"

Even though he had seen Jiang Lin's preliminary assessment of the little fox—kind-hearted and without hostility toward humans—what if there were spirit treasures inside? Could the little fox still remain kind-hearted and not become hostile? These brats were way too impulsive.

Xu Mo interjected, "The key to entering belongs to Bai Zhizhi."

The director paused again: "His? How does he have the key?"

Xu Mo shook his head: "We don't know the specifics, but Captain Jiang said the key belongs to Bai Zhizhi, and the spiritual power that activated the sealing array came from Bai Zhizhi as well."

The director let out an "Oh," then after a moment of silence, asked quietly, "Did the little fox make any demands?" Otherwise, if he gave it for free, it would feel unsettling, like there was some conspiracy.

Xu Mo held up three fingers: "Whatever we get, we split 70-30 in our favor."

The director: "We get 30?"

Xu Mo: "We get 70."

The director sighed with relief: "That makes sense."

Asking for something put them at ease. Besides, Jiang Lin wasn't someone who acted impulsively; he had survived countless battles and would certainly consider everything carefully. The director trusted Jiang Lin.

Xu Mo added, "Right now, only we know that Captain Jiang and Captain Xiao have gone in. We don't know when they'll come out. With Hull spreading word, the news has probably spread to other countries. Director, can you buy us more time? Ideally, we want the other countries' cultivators to stay out until Captain Jiang and his team come back, so we can gather more useful information."

The director: "I'll try to stall as much as possible. Keep the area under close watch. I'll send Jiang Feng and Chen Yunli to assist."

Jiang Feng, captain of the Nanchuan Brigade, was a sword cultivator like Jiang Lin, though not as strong, still quite capable. Chen Yunli, captain of the Qiugang Brigade, was a master of formations. He'd have her guard the area and monitor the formation for any changes.

The director looked up at the great formation hovering in the sky, still brimming with spiritual energy, and confirmed once more: "Was the spiritual power for the key supplied by the little fox?"

Xu Mo and Yue Yanting nodded together: "Captain Jiang said so, and also the Tang family."

The director knew about Hull's earlier rampage at the Royal Club, which involved a painting from the Tang family's ancestors. Now, hearing them mention the Tang family, he said without thinking, "The Tang family Hull bought the painting from? What happened to them?"

Yue Yanting replied, "Captain Jiang said that the Tang family provided some intel on the energy field. The burned painting was indeed related to the energy field. Hull and his team were clearly prepared. Captain Jiang was worried Hull might target the Tang family, so he had people watching them. Now that the energy field has been successfully opened, should we do something to reassure the Tang family?"

Energy fields formed naturally. The Tang family's ancestors might have stumbled into one by accident and, through some fortune, learned how to enter repeatedly, passing the knowledge down through generations.

This was originally unowned. Whoever held the key owned it. But the Tang family had been cooperative. If this turned out to be a stable, sustainable energy field, they should be given some benefits.

Jiang had mentioned this, asking to bring it up when he saw the director. How the higher-ups handled it wouldn't be their concern anymore.

The director: "I understand. You guard this place well."

When news of a new energy field spread, cultivators from all over got excited. A new energy field meant new resources and opportunities, beneficial both for their countries and their own cultivation. They scrambled to contact China's foreign ministry, afraid of missing out.

Among these countries, only the US was furious. They clearly had more information than China, but still lost the energy field.

Energy fields were unpredictable and uncontrollable. No one knew when or where they would appear, or when they would disappear.

According to years of experience, energy fields that appeared suddenly were unstable and could disappear any time. But those sealed by a gate—requiring a specific object or ritual to open—were relatively stable.

Bear Country had an energy field guarded by a gate. The fierce beasts inside could barely escape, and entry had restrictions. It had been stable for over a hundred years. Every few years, Bear Country sent people in to explore. That one energy field alone could support all their cultivators.

Now another gated energy field had appeared.

Dates back even further than Bear Country, if the key had fallen into the hands of the USA, even if the home ground was in Huaxia, they would have been at their mercy.

In recent years, Huaxia has developed far too rapidly; if they didn’t find a way to hold them back soon, the day would come when they’d be trampled over.

With that thought, the director of the USA Adept Management Bureau smashed a decoration on his desk in fury. That Hull guy can't accomplish anything but always messes things up!

No matter how furious the USA was, it didn’t affect Huaxia. Knowing that Jiang Lin and the others were already inside, the director naturally wanted to buy them more time, so the negotiations over what to exchange for the entry slots dragged on and on.

Such exchanges rarely involve a full payment in cultivation resources. A mix of limited cultivation resources and concessions in other areas—such as trade, agriculture, or non-renewable energy resources—would both serve as payment and ideally create a win-win situation.

This was the usual practice. As long as it wasn’t an all-out war, no matter the behind-the-scenes conflicts, everyone kept up a harmonious front, ensuring the outward appearance was smooth enough to avoid any loss of face or troublesome actions.

They had thought this time would be similar, but during the summit of Cultivator leaders from various Countries, the director of the Huaxia Administration Bureau said, “This situation is somewhat special. Regarding the resources exchanged for entry slots, we need to transfer a portion to an individual, because the energy to open this energy field was provided solely by that individual.”

Hearing this, someone was confused: “An individual, solely provided?”

The Huaxia Administration Bureau director pulled up a live video: “This is the sealing formation at the entrance of the energy field. The item at the center continuously emitting spiritual energy is the key that opens the gate. Both the key and the spiritual power within it are personal property. Therefore, the resources exchanged for entry in this exchange will primarily be cultivation resources.”

All countries' resource lists were sent back for renegotiation. The USA received the same treatment. A brief few-second clip of the formation from the video conference was leaked privately, and when it reached Hull, he was dumbfounded.

It wasn’t the painting? How could it not be the painting? Could it really be that his painting wasn’t destroyed by Huaxia cultivators? But how could things be such a coincidence?

While negotiations were underway, Jiang Lin led Bai Zhizhi and the others out of the secret realm after several days inside.

Seeing that everyone was safe and sound, all in one piece, those waiting outside breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Mo called for the specially trained medical personnel of the Administration Bureau to check them: “What’s the situation inside? Are any of you injured?”

Xiao Yu said, “There are fierce beasts inside, quite a few. Since we’re few in number, we mostly avoided them in advance without direct conflict. There are also many Spirit Objects inside; the lakebed is covered entirely with Water Spirit Crystals.”

Luckily, Bai Zhizhi could sense the fierce beasts’ auras and warned them in time. These beasts weren’t extremely aggressive and wouldn’t attack on sight—as long as they kept their distance, they could evade many dangers.

Hearing this, everyone’s breath hitched. A lakebed full of Water Spirit Crystals—even if they weren’t Water spiritual root cultivators, items overflowing with spiritual energy were useful to everyone. The more, the better.

Yue Yanting couldn’t help asking, “Did you manage to loot any before coming out?”

Xiao Yu said, “It’s hard to loot because that lake is the habitat of Xian Fish.”

Before, just one Xian Fish cost two adepts their lives to capture. A lake full of Xian Fish—anyone who went down would likely be torn to pieces.

This also confirmed that the Xian Fish in the streams outside came from the secret realm. Probably because the formation's spiritual power had dissipated and become unstable, some things had managed to slip out.

At that, everyone let out a sharp intake of breath. A whole lake of Xian Fish—it seemed obtaining the Water Spirit Crystals below wouldn’t be easy.

Without asking more about the inside, Xu Mo briefly explained the situation outside: “The director knows the key was provided by Bai Zhizhi. He specifically tailored the exchanged resources to focus on cultivation materials, and a portion will go to Bai Zhizhi.”

He turned to Bai Zhizhi: “This is on top of the agreed thirty percent. The director said to thank you for providing the key, and you can take first pick from the exchanged resources.”

Bai Zhizhi didn’t hold back: “Sure.”

Whether he fancied anything there was another matter; he was satisfied with their attitude.

Yue Yanting said, “I heard the USA is putting up a large amount of Spirit Soil for the slots. Zhizhi, if there’s Spirit Soil, grab some—you can plant medicinal herbs you need in your courtyard.”

Jiang Lin said, “Zhizhi, take whatever you like. Spirit Soil is useless if you don’t know how to grow things in it.”

Better to leave it to the experts. If Bai Zhizhi needed something, he could directly exchange things he didn't need with the research institute for medicinal herbs.

Bai Zhizhi initially frowned at the mention of Spirit Soil, but recalling the eighty-million-yuan painting, he swallowed his disdain and brushed it off. Oh well, there were plenty of fierce beasts inside anyway; whatever they got in there was by their own ability.

Bai Zhizhi himself let go of his grudge against Hull. As long as Hull didn’t provoke him, he wouldn’t hold a grudge over how Hull had offended him.

But even though he didn’t hold a grudge, there were others who certainly did.