Exploring Immortality Cultivation-Chapter 987 - 71: The Island Surface

Perhaps it was the impact of that earth-shattering battle four days ago that temporarily affected the weather here; for the past few days, Spirit Phoenix Island had been under heavy rain, and then today suddenly turned clear.

Feeling the sunlight she hadn't seen in a long time, Lian Xingling found it unbearably glaring. She couldn't help but use her hand to shield her eyes. Lian Xinjie pulled her forward, flying ahead to avoid the exit of the underground city and to prevent any conflict with others.

The requirement from the Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao was that every sect should send two or three Golden Core Stage cultivators to participate in this rescue effort. The only demand was that those disaster victims must not die.

The only Golden Core Stage cultivators Wang Qi truly trusted were Lian Xinjie and Lian Xingling, who had undergone ideological education by the Immortal Alliance. Other cultivators, if sent out, might recklessly say something like "Luochen Sword Palace has issues," and since they were protected by Mi, these two had not been tainted by the Heart Demon Curse, so there was no fear of them harming others. Thus, the burden of this rescue mission fell on their shoulders.

After ascending to the ground, all the cultivators there to "rescue" had no intention of landing. The ground was truly appalling. Owing to continuous heavy rain, the whole of Spirit Phoenix Island was a muddy mess, further fouled by the waste of the disaster victims—utterly disgusting.

Lian Xinjie glanced around. There were about a hundred or so Golden Core cultivators who came this time. Apart from him and Lian Xingling, there were few sect elites, mostly those with dim prospects, whom the Nascent Soul Stage was out of reach. It seemed most sects viewed this order as a mere burden. A Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Heavenly Book Tower flew over to start counting numbers and assigning tasks.

The majority were sent out for hunting. Over the past two thousand years, nearby sea demons tacitly acknowledged this place as the territory of a Mahayana Realm beast, and it was rare for high-level Demon Clan members to come by. The battle four days ago further scared away any slightly intelligent creatures. Now, the only life beings that would appear within a thousand miles would be those dim, low-intelligence low-level Demon Clan members, posing no major danger to these Golden Core Stage disciples.

Another task was to extract salinity from Spirit Phoenix Island's land to allow plants to grow, which took up more than half of the manpower.

As for distributing food and eradicating diseases for the disaster victims, nobody was willing to take it on.

At this moment, Wang Qi's voice echoed in Lian Xinjie's consciousness: "Take that task. I wish to visit among the mortals on the island."

Lian Xinjie's heart pounded frantically, almost stopping. He cautiously replied in consciousness: "Why..."

"Just go as you're told."

Wang Qi's voice came from a jade pendant, which was, of course, specially made.

Forcing himself to act nonchalant, Lian Xinjie raised his hand and said, "Observing mortals is quite interesting; it's perfect for tempering my Dao Heart. Senior Uncle, let me handle food distribution."

The Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Heavenly Book Tower gave Lian Xinjie a deep look and tossed a small bottle: "Inside are Nourishing Essence Pills. Dissolve them in clear water and distribute them. One pill is sufficient for three thousand people's daily needs. You're responsible for the eastern side."

"Eastern side?" Lian Xinjie was somewhat puzzled: "The population on Spirit Phoenix Island, even saying 'just short of ten million'..."

"Under ten million." The cultivator coldly corrected: "Four days ago, Spirit Phoenix Island lost half its population, under ten million."

—Eh?

Wang Qi was puzzled.

"Half? What nonsense? Senior Sister Mi clearly only took one to two tenths of the population..."

"Where did those several million people go?"

All the drowned disaster victims were saved by Mi. This, Mi could guarantee. The sea was her body, and four days ago, she was filled with every drop of seawater. So, this perception would absolutely be correct.

Meaning, up to the final strike by Holy Emperor Venerable, the drowned population on Spirit Phoenix Island was less than one-tenth.

"The giant tsunami and precipitation caused by Holy Emperor Venerable's final strike drowned hundreds of thousands in the sea? You must be kidding. If that were true, then there should already be countless corpses here... So many bodies would take a long time to drift away even if they floated..."

"What on earth is Holy Emperor Venerable up to? Where have the several million missing mortals gone?"

These words were returned to Wang Qi through a Secret Technique. Naturally, the Nascent Soul Stage cultivator did not know he might have leaked some information, continuing: "With fewer people, it's much simpler. I'll pick eight people... still need seven more, each responsible for one area... You only need to find a container to dissolve the elixir, then let those mortals queue themselves to receive food. If someone disrupts the line, just eliminate them immediately."

The porcelain vase looks small, but it is also a magic artifact with the ability to shrink objects. Each container holds about a hundred elixirs. Eight bottles of elixirs are enough to be distributed among the people on the entire island.

The spiritual sense of a Golden Core Cultivator can cover several miles, and within these miles, nothing in the feng shui and vegetation can escape their notice. Furthermore, they can see things several dozen miles away. A single Golden Core Cultivator can monitor a large area. This is why such a heavy task is only being handled by eight Golden Core Cultivators.

Lian Xingling, at this time, also understood Wang Qi's intention through a magic artifact, raising her hand and saying, "I will remain with my senior brother."

One by one, others either volunteered or were compelled to raise their hands to take on the task of distributing food. The Nascent Soul Stage cultivator from the Heavenly Book Tower seemed impatient and directly named two people: "Zhu Leyuan, Ke Wuxu, you two will handle this task!"

One person was dissatisfied and shouted, "Hey! My father is Lord Xutian, a Unification Cultivator from the Sword Suspension Tower! How dare you..."

"Lord Xutian has two hundred sons, ninety-nine percent of whom are disappointing and do not please him. You can't use Lord Xutian to pressure others. Whatever I tell you to do, you will do it." The Nascent Soul Cultivator said coldly, leaving no room for the young man to resist. Then, he added, "Everyone else, go and cast spells for the mortals, heal them and drive away diseases!"

Everyone responded in unison, and those assigned to hunt immediately activated their escape light and flew away from Spirit Phoenix Island. The others were still hesitant but gradually dispersed. After most people had left, someone stepped forward and said, "Master, I don't quite understand."

"What is it?" Faced with his own disciple, the Nascent Soul Stage cultivator was somewhat more amiable.

The disciple from the Heavenly Book Tower appeared like a student asking questions: "You always taught me that a cultivator's time is precious and must be firmly grasped unless they are tempering and enriching themselves. But now, why do you want me to spend time doing these... menial tasks? And why push the hardest part onto me?"

He was among the group of cultivators responsible for driving out diseases and healing.

The Nascent Soul Stage cultivator nodded: "Being able to ask this question is very good; it shows you have begun to reflect on cultivation and how to conduct yourself. Indeed, I usually tell you, 'Heaven and Earth are not benevolent and treat ten thousand things as straw dogs.' The Heavenly Dao is unbiased and does not help anything. This should also be a cultivator's attitude. However, you must also consider special situations."

"This is Spirit Phoenix Island, and here, the Master of Heaven Splitting Dao, Holy Emperor Venerable, is both heaven and reason. This time, we are providing disaster relief because the Emperor wants to. If he wanted to kill, we would have to kill all those lowly people. We are rendering disaster relief not for the sake of saving lives or mortals but for the Emperor. If the Emperor thinks you are good at providing disaster relief, you will gain 'merit,' and if you please him, you might receive many intangible benefits, making your future cultivation smoother."

The young man pondered for a moment: "But can the Emperor really be so arbitrary?"

"Yes, the Emperor can kill when he wants and save when he wishes." The Nascent Soul Stage cultivator replied, "The Emperor is only one step away from becoming an Immortal and could prove his eternal vision at any time… Some even believe he may already be immortal, but he stays here long-term to eliminate the Heterodox and protect the Righteous Skill. To cultivate, we must compromise because if we do not cultivate, we will gradually grow old and die. However, longevity is freedom. Those who achieve it do as they please without any compromise."

After finishing his speech, the Nascent Soul Stage cultivator scanned the hesitant cultivators again. It was evident he intentionally let others hear these words. Even his disciple's questions might have been prompted by him. He said, "As you all heard, this disaster relief is not for those lowly people but for yourselves. Make sure to do it well; don't let me catch you slacking off."

These words managed to elevate their "morale" somewhat. Everyone dispersed, going about their own tasks.

Lian Xinjie had just flown out when he heard Wang Qi say, "This Nascent Soul Cultivator seems like a sensible person. Stay away from him and be subtle in your activities later."

To Wang Qi, it appeared that this Nascent Soul Cultivator had a clear understanding of the situation regarding the "disaster relief."

They did not truly wish to provide aid, only complying because Holy Emperor Venerable cared about his "livestock," so they came.

The reason Ancient Method Practitioners could form sects and societies, making mutual compromises, is also due to the threat of "death," just as he said.

In the Immortal Dao, unless one attains longevity, they ultimately become mere dust. Therefore, the inevitable threat of death forces cultivators to gather resources efficiently and strengthen themselves.

However, Immortals do not need to do this. They have all the time in the world. To them, "collection efficiency" is irrelevant. They have ample time to refine and cultivate necessary resources.

"Without attaining longevity, one can never be truly carefree..." Lian Xinjie sighed softly.

"Carefree? It's just jumping from one fishpond to another, from one dark forest into another," Wang Qi shook his head, sighing softly in the closed chamber.