The victory in the East Sea was like a Jinglei, shaking the entire cultivation world. The news of the Demon Venerable's consciousness being destroyed quickly spread far and wide. Countless cultivators were overjoyed, and ordinary people took to the streets to set off firecrackers to celebrate this hard-won victory.
However, the joy of victory did not last long.
Ziwei Sect, Ziwei Grand Hall.
The Snow Empress sat in the main seat, with urgent reports from various places laid out before her. Her brows were furrowed, and the smile on her face had vanished.
"Holy Maiden, the spiritual fields of three more sects have completely withered." Qingyunzi entered the main hall and handed a new urgent report to the Snow Empress. "At this rate, the entire cultivation world will run out of spiritual herbs in at most six months."
The Snow Empress took the urgent report, glanced at it, and sighed, "The spiritual energy is depleting faster than we anticipated. Although the Demon Venerable has been repelled, his energy-draining formations are still operating. If we don't find and destroy these formations as soon as possible, the trend of spiritual energy depletion will be irreversible."
"However, these formations are too well hidden," Qingyunzi said worriedly. "We have already sent out hundreds of disciples to search everywhere, but so far, we have only found three key points of the formations, and at least seven more are hidden in unknown locations."
Snow Empress stood up and walked to the large map hanging in the center of the hall. The map marked the locations of the discovered array points, scattered across various corners of the Land of Shenzhou, seemingly without any pattern, but Snow Empress always felt that there was some secret hidden among them.
" Qingyunzi, tell me, why does the Demon Venerable want to extract spiritual energy?" Snow Empress suddenly asked.
Qingyunzi was taken aback, then thought for a moment, "Naturally, it's to weaken the power of our cultivation world, in preparation for his true form's descent."
"No, it's not just that." Snow Empress shook her head. "If it were truly just to weaken us, he could have simply destroyed the spiritual veins instead of going to such lengths to set up such a complex array. Extracting spiritual energy means he's collected it all. So, where did this spiritual energy go? And what is its purpose?"
Qingyunzi's expression changed. "The Holy Maiden means..."
" The Demon Venerable is accumulating power." A cold glint flashed in the Snow Empress's eyes. "All the spiritual energy he has extracted has been transmitted through an array to a certain place to accumulate energy for his true form's descent. Once enough is accumulated, even if we seal the Gate of the Demon Realm, he can still use this spiritual energy to forcibly open a passage."
"What... what should we do?" Qingyunzi was sweating profusely with anxiety.
After a moment of contemplation, Snow Empress suddenly asked, "Where is the abbot of Shaolin Temple now Buddha Heart Incarnation?"
"The abbot has been in seclusion to recover since the battle of the East Sea," Qingyunzi replied. "He said his Buddhist spirit was greatly depleted and he needs to rest for a while."
"Send someone to invite the abbot, saying I have important matters to discuss," Snow Empress instructed. "Also, summon the leaders of all sects for a grand meeting at the Ziwei Sect in three days to discuss countermeasures."
"Yes!" Qingyunzi accepted the order and left.
Three days later, at the Ziwei Sect, in the Ziwei Main Hall.
The leaders of all the sects gathered together, and the Buddha Heart Incarnation of Shaolin Temple, in the form of a Buddha, also arrived. The atmosphere in the main hall was extremely heavy, and everyone realized that the real crisis had only just begun.
"Everyone, you are all aware of the situation," the Snow Empress said bluntly. "The rate at which spiritual energy is being depleted is accelerating. If we don't find and destroy all the array's cores as soon as possible, the consequences will be unimaginable. However, with our current search capabilities, I'm afraid it's too late."
Daoist Kunlun stood up. "Holy Maiden, please tell us your solutions. Our Kunlun Sect will fully cooperate."
"Yes, Holy Maiden, please give your orders," the Wudang Sect leader echoed.
The Snow Empress looked around and slowly said, "I have decided to open all the cultivation manuals of the Ziwei Sect, including the secret ' Ziwei Heavenly Scripture,' for cultivators throughout the world to study. At the same time, I will widely recruit disciples; regardless of their social status, as long as they have cultivation talent, they can join the Ziwei Sect."
These words shocked everyone present.
"Holy Maiden, this..." Although Qingyunzi was somewhat prepared, he was still shocked to hear Snow Empress say it herself.
"Not only that," the Snow Empress continued, "I suggest that all sects also open their respective cultivation methods, pooling the power of the world to jointly address this crisis. The depletion of spiritual energy is not just a matter for the Ziwei Sect, nor just for the cultivation world, but a matter of utmost importance concerning all living beings. Only by allowing more people to cultivate and strengthening the overall power of the cultivation world can we possibly find all the array's cores in a short time and thwart the Demon Venerable's conspiracy."
A moment of silence fell over the main hall as the leaders of each sect exchanged glances, pondering the pros and cons.
The abbot of Shaolin spoke first, " Amitabha Buddha. What the Saintess Snow Empress said is absolutely right. The rules of the cultivation world have been passed down for thousands of years, but times are changing, and the rules should change accordingly. On behalf of Shaolin, I am willing to open all of Shaolin's martial arts classics for cultivators throughout the world to study and comprehend."
"We, the Wudang Sect, are also willing!" the Wudang Sect Leader followed closely behind.
" The Emei Sect is willing!"
" The Qingcheng Sect is willing!"
" The Kunlun Sect is willing!"
One sect leader after another expressed their opinions, and finally, all the sects present agreed to open up their respective cultivation methods. Qingyunzi watched this scene with a mix of emotions. For many years, each sect had been guarding its own secrets, fearing that outsiders would learn their unique skills. Now, at the moment of life and death, they had finally put aside their sectarian prejudices.
"Very well!" Snow Empress stood up, her eyes gleaming with golden light. "In that case, let's begin preparations immediately. Starting tomorrow, the Ziwei Sect will set up a lecture platform outside its mountain gate, where cultivation methods will be taught daily. At the same time, each sect will select elite disciples to form a joint search team to search for the array's core throughout the world."
"Yes, sir!"
The crowd responded in unison.
The news caused a sensation throughout the world.
The news that the Ziwei Sect was going to open its cultivation methods spread like wildfire throughout the country. Countless ordinary people eager to cultivate flocked from all directions, and within just a few days, tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Ziwei Sect's mountain gate.
Among these people were wealthy merchants, impoverished commoners, scholars and writers, and military officers and soldiers. They were of different ages and statuses, but their eyes all shone with the same light—a thirst for cultivation and a yearning for power.
Outside the gates of the Ziwei Sect, a huge lecture platform was temporarily erected. The Snow Empress personally ascended the platform to lecture on the first volume of the " Ziwei Heavenly Scripture "—the Foundation Establishment Chapter.
"The path of cultivation begins with a solid foundation." The Snow Empress's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears. "Without an stable Foundation Establishment, great achievements are impossible. Today, I will impart to you the methods of Foundation Establishment. I hope you will diligently practice and enter the gates of cultivation as soon as possible."
Tens of thousands of people in the audience held their breath and listened attentively. Some took out paper and pen and quickly took notes; some closed their eyes and silently memorized; and some even began to try practicing on the spot.