The Baoshan Temple fragment of the secret realm was not particularly large, and compared to the Yellow River Secret Realm, its resource yield was quite meager.
Aside from a few scattered demon beast cores and some ordinary spirit herbs commonly found in the cultivation world, only the Ghost Sand held any real value.
Once they finished gathering samples of the Ghost Sand, the exploration team's mission was complete.
The Ghost Sand matured once every three months. Nan Zhi planned to bring a batch back first to refine Snake-Bear Pills, using the opportunity to get a feel for alchemy again.
Having gone through a life-and-death ordeal together, Qin Yue had gradually grown closer to her. She directly proposed that the authorities were willing to purchase the recipe for the Snake-Bear Pills.
The importance of the Snake-Bear Pill recipe to Huaxia went without saying.
Since the Spiritual Resurgence, the authorities had conducted numerous trials within the military. Through extensive comparisons and multiple control groups, they discovered that out of all the basic cultivation techniques, only the Small Twelve Bone Forging Method provided by Ma Guniang was the most compatible with the Huaxia authorities.
Although this technique focused on tempering the physical body, its genius lay in the fact that cultivators had to use official aura to temper themselves and maintain stability, while the authorities, in turn, fed a massive amount of official aura back to the cultivators.
The two complemented each other, achieving mutual success.
It could be said that the more stable the nation was, the stronger the official cultivators practicing the Small Twelve Bone Forging Method would become, and the faster their cultivation speed would be.
As for those with crooked minds and malicious intent, they would find it extremely difficult to practice this method at all.
This effectively weeded out any deeply wicked individuals right from the start.
This was practically a secret cultivation technique tailor-made for government public servants!
Huaxia, of course, could not pass up such a massive windfall.
Thus, starting from Qianli City and radiating into the southwest region, they launched a pilot program. They began testing the Small Twelve Bone Forging Method on a small scale among grassroots public servants in Qianli City. Once its efficacy was verified, they would decide whether to promote it nationwide.
If the pilot program succeeded, Snake-Bear Pills would be absolutely indispensable.
Despite their “semi-master-disciple” relationship, Nan Zhi had no intention of giving away the pill recipe for free.
An unsolicited deal wasn't a business transaction; it was just being a sucker.
The Small Twelve Bone Forging Method was merely a basic technique. Once one cultivated to the late-stage Foundation Establishment, they would have to switch to the Great Twelve Bone Forging Method. It was safe to say that this was entirely a seller's market right now.
However, Nan Zhi did not make any outrageous demands. The conditions she proposed were carefully considered and weighed beforehand:
First, if the authorities decided to develop the Yellow River Secret Realm on a large scale, the Demon Suppression Division would take a fifty percent cut of all resources produced, including demon cores, spirit herbs, and ores.
Second, the Demon Suppression Division only eliminated demons and slayed evil spirits; they had no intention of disrupting the order of Huaxia.
But as the Demon Suppression Division was currently understaffed, they naturally hoped the Huaxia authorities would be completely transparent with them, providing a real-time, updated list of demons and their movements.
Third, when secret realms opened in the future and members of the Demon Suppression Division entered to gather materials, they would do their best to avoid conflict with Huaxia cultivators. After all, they shared the same roots, and it was only natural for them to watch out for one another.
The second and third requirements were not difficult to meet. For the Huaxia authorities, having an extra ally was certainly better than having another enemy.
Especially in the current era where legacies had been severed and spiritual energy was resurging, a mysterious, transcendent organization that stood aloof from the world was a target everyone clamored to win over.
But the first requirement was a bit...
While the Snake-Bear Pills were important, using them to exchange for fifty percent of the Yellow River Secret Realm's resources was simply asking too much.
Yet Qin Yue did not speak up. She merely noted down these conditions, intending to convey them word-for-word to the organization.
“This isn't something either of us can decide anyway. The Snake-Bear Pills and the Small Twelve Bone Forging Method are originally closely guarded secrets of the Demon Suppression Division, meant only for demon suppressors to practice.
My master only refrained from having Senior Sister Ma reclaim the cultivation technique because we share the same ancestry. But our Demon Suppression Division is not what it used to be. The other fellow cultivators in the division also need to practice, so spirit herbs, spirit stones, and various other cultivation resources are absolutely indispensable.”
Nan Zhi scratched her cheek and said slowly,
“Master is busy slaying demons, and my other senior brothers and sisters are scattered across various secret realms, which is why a minor Qi Refinement practitioner like me was sent to represent them.
If you think fifty percent is too much, it's not entirely non-negotiable.”
The Yellow River Secret Realm was vast and boundless, containing no shortage of valuable treasures. Just the Sun-Burning Stones, Spirit Swallowing Grass, Metal Essence Mud, and demon beast cores would be enough to drive people mad if they were on the Four Provinces Continent.
It was just that Nan Zhi currently lacked the time and energy to do everything herself. If she didn't have to harvest resources personally and could receive a steady stream of demon cores right at home—
that would save her a massive amount of time spent hunting demon beasts.
Nan Zhi guessed that the Huaxia authorities would definitely not accept the fifty percent proposal, but her actual expectation was only around five to ten percent.
If Huaxia were to develop the Yellow River Secret Realm on a large scale, this income would be a continuous stream lasting for several years or even longer.
Even if the Demon Suppression Division only took five or ten percent of the resources, it would still be an astronomical sum of wealth.
Having said all that, Nan Zhi suddenly remembered something.
“Oh right, that was official business. Now, let's talk private matters. I have a certain mundane affair I'd like to ask for your help with.”
A look of confusion crossed Qin Yue's face.
...
Another flare lit up the sky, and Team Two finally arrived to regroup. They tallied up their harvests from the past few days, with everyone having gained something.
As for the two teams, out of the sixteen members in total, aside from four severely injured and three lightly injured, no one had died.
The four who were severely injured were all inexperienced novices exploring a secret realm for the first time. They had either been poisoned or attacked by demon beasts, suffering quite a bit.
In contrast, the four cultivators who sustained light injuries had all been harmed by living humans.
Within Baoshan Temple, some fanatical believers had entered the secret realm alongside them.
Faced with endless dangers, those lunatics had first feigned weakness to lower everyone's guard, only to strike and try to kill Team Two's members the moment they let their guard down.
They were completely brainwashed by the “Divine Kingdom” described by the Ba Yan God, and had wanted to use the Huaxia team as a sacrifice.
“They're just a bunch of lunatics, not civilians at all. What infuriates me most is that under international law, we are still obligated to rescue them.”
Xu Keji spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground. His right shoulder was wrapped in white gauze, with blood faintly seeping through.
He had tried to save a young believer who wasn't even thirteen yet, only to find out the child had a grenade hidden on his person. The kid had hugged him and pulled the pin.
Yes, a grenade.
Manggu was just that surreal of a place.
The surviving believers refused to leave with them, joyfully planning to settle down inside the secret realm instead.
Team Two had given up on them, but after this ordeal, their morale had clearly plummeted.
Those people had smiled even as they marched to their deaths.
It was absolutely chilling.
Four severely injured, three lightly injured, and zero casualties.
Nan Zhi sighed inwardly.
This casualty rate was acceptable. Since they were here to gain experience, they couldn't push themselves too hard all at once.
Basong and the great exorcist Sashu had both died in the Ghost City of Ultimate Bliss, and even Tailande's new deity, the “Ba Yan God,” had perished by her hand.
She just didn't know if Manggu had fallen into chaos yet.
The entrance to the secret realm had opened so suddenly, right in a bustling downtown area. If any demon beasts had escaped... the consequences would be unimaginable.
It was still best to find an exit as quickly as possible.
...
The chaos in Manggu was far more severe than Nan Zhi could have imagined.
Local time, 3:00 AM.
Night shrouded Manggu, casting a deep darkness over the entire city. Amidst the dark night, between neon-lit skyscrapers and wide streets, a giant snake-like demon beast was running amok in the downtown area, chasing a panicked, fleeing elephant.
“Roar!”
The massive, hundred-meter-long giant snake resembled a Naga in appearance. Its broad, flat head was as large as a truck. As the giant snake hissed, the dense scales covering its body bristled and transformed into countless flying scales, raining down in all directions!
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Rat-tat-tat... Rat-tat-tat... Rat-tat-tat...”
“Rumble!”
The moment the scales hit the ground, they liquefied into corrosive pus. Fleeing crowds screamed in terror, but before they could run even two meters, their chests were pierced by the scales, sending them crashing to the ground in pools of blood.
“Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat!”
“Rat-tat! Rat-tat-tat!”
Gunfire and explosions echoed continuously. Bullets pelted the snake's body but failed to penetrate its scaly armor. The giant snake opened its maw and swallowed the elephant whole. With a swing of its massive tail, several high-rise buildings collapsed with a resounding crash.
“Ah! Help! (Thai)”
“The Naga is angry! (Thai)”
“Save my child! Save my child! He's still trapped under the ruins!”
“Run! Run! It's the end of the world!”
Once-magnificent, golden buildings were reduced to rubble in the blink of an eye.
Casinos that used to overflow with crowds collapsed in a matter of breaths.
Some shrieked and fled, some wailed in despair, while others fell to their knees in worship.
Tailande soldiers clad in camouflage uniforms retreated as they fought, their eyes filled with terror.
Despite the constant barrage of gunfire and flying bullets, they could not faze the monster in the slightest.
Five days ago, Baoshan Temple vanished overnight. Inside a massive, pitch-black fissure, mirage-like images of an otherworldly dwelling could be faintly seen.
Believers of the Ba Yan God claimed it was a divine manifestation, but before they even had a chance to pay homage to the miracle, all sorts of monsters began crawling out of the fissure, wreaking havoc everywhere.
A troop of five-meter-tall apes, mantis monsters the size of human fists, a hundred-meter-long giant snake, and dozens-of-meters-long earthworms that could spit fire and burrow through the ground—
overnight, Manggu had transformed into a monster playground.
General Basong had vanished, and the three factions under him were busy fighting for power, with no one willing to dispatch the military to protect the populace.
The royal family lacked the authority to command the army, and even the other major warlords had abandoned Manggu, forsaking the tens of millions of civilians here.
“O Naga Goddess, have you truly come to punish us?”
Seeing that bullets had no effect on the monster, a soldier wept in despair, threw down his firearm, and knelt toward the giant snake:
“If there really is a god, please save us! Save Manggu!”
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