Author: haohhh
This is an analysis by a fellow reader. It does not represent Phantom Rain's views and is provided solely for everyone's appreciation.
The word "smuggling" in relation to Taowu referred to people from the Spirit World coming down to the Human World. First of all, the term clearly carried a derogatory meaning, showing that Taowu deeply detested this behavior. That was the first point of doubt. Second, cultivators sought ascension to the Spirit World in order to obtain more resources. After finally making it up there, why would they come back down? Wasn't that a waste of spiritual power and youth? A cultivator's youth was so precious! That was the second point of doubt.
Putting these two doubts together, the people from the Spirit World who came down to the lower realm were most likely seeking some supreme treasure—one capable of rapidly raising their cultivation or extending their lifespan. Otherwise, it simply would not be worth it. Wealth was, after all, nothing more than something external to the body, and such behavior gravely harmed the interests of the Demonic Beasts of the upper realm.
Based on the analysis above, let us look back at the previous chapters. We could reach this conclusion: those seemingly awe-inspiring ferocious beasts from the upper realm had not all been born in the Spirit World. For example, the chapters about Demon Spirit Island revealed that Phoenixes had also existed in the Human World in ancient times, which was why Mystic Phoenix Fairy had been able to find one. Qilins, meanwhile, also needed to ascend to the Spirit World. Although Qilins were so heaven-defying that "even their young beasts were at the Nascent Soul Late Stage," they were still born in the Human World. So I had a guess: could upper-realm Cultivators be descending