These people had all crossed the Desolate Spirit Land before, and now they felt that their current surroundings were strangely similar to that place.
This realization filled them with fear and unease.
What could be more terrifying for cultivators than losing access to spiritual energy?
If they were in a place like the Desolate Spirit Land where it was expected that spiritual energy would be cut off, that would be understandable. But this was a situation where spiritual energy suddenly disappeared despite being in an area where it should have been abundant.
This abrupt change left the cultivators, who were entirely dependent on spiritual energy, feeling extremely anxious.
They had no idea whether this lack of spiritual energy would last for just a while or become permanent. If it were the latter, it would be a disaster for them.
In times without any special circumstances, the intelligence network of Wanwantong in the mortal realm had a set schedule to report back to headquarters every five years.
The most recent reporting squad had set out three months ago.
Typically, these reporting squads consisted of around ten Golden Core stage cultivators. They would take about a year to return to the cultivation world and report back to headquarters. After delivering their report, they would spend three years training and recuperating in the cultivation world.
During those three years, the headquarters would provide them with various cultivation resources, a reward for their efforts in crossing the Desolate Spirit Land. These cultivators would use this time to focus on their training before returning to the mortal realm three years later, with new resources and directives from headquarters.
Additionally, those whose term of service in the mortal realm had ended would return with the squad. They wouldn't come back to the mortal realm but would instead be replaced by new personnel.
Now, all of Wanwantong's spies in the mortal realm had been captured.
The reporting squad had already left the mortal realm three months ago.
This meant that the captured spies would have to wait for the reporting squad to spend seven or eight months reaching headquarters. Afterward, the squad would spend three years recuperating, and only then would they return to the mortal realm, taking another year to make the journey. It would take them four years to realize that their colleagues had been captured. Then, it would take yet another year to return to headquarters and report the situation. After that, who knows how long it would take for headquarters to send reinforcements to rescue them?
One must admit, Tianxin Sect had chosen their timing with precision.
They had thoroughly tracked the movements of these spies and were well aware of the time when the reporting squad would leave for the cultivation world. Zhi Yu Zun Zhe, the sect leader of Tianxin Sect, had deliberately chosen this moment to prepare for his breakthrough. Even if something unexpected occurred, Tianxin Sect would have ample time to deal with it.
What no one expected was that Pusi Country would act first and capture all the spies.
In a way, Lingxian Sect was fortunate.
In short, if there was no other channel to send word back to headquarters, and assuming no unforeseen events occurred, even if the headquarters responded immediately with powerful cultivators to rescue them, these spies would still be stuck here for at least six years.
Six years!
Not one or two, but six full years.
If there really was no spiritual energy for six years, most of these captured cultivators would face disastrous consequences. Without spiritual energy to maintain their cultivation, their cultivation realms would degrade, their lifespans would shorten, and they would eventually die.
When crossing the Desolate Spirit Land, they at least had various pills that could replenish spiritual energy. Although not endless, they had enough to ensure that their cultivation wouldn't regress.
But now, it was different.
Most of them had little left in terms of valuable items.
When they were arrested by the various sects and royal families, they were searched multiple times!
Each group that arrested, detained, or escorted them would strip them of their belongings little by little, each time taking a new layer.
At first, these captured spies were relieved, thinking that the mortals feared their connections to the cultivation world and didn't dare to take everything.
Later, they realized how wrong they had been. These mortals didn't fear them at all!
They were just leaving the good stuff for those in Shuishui City!
It turned out, these mortals were just being considerate, ensuring everyone along the way could get their cut.
As a result, by the time they arrived at Shuishui City, they had been looted multiple times.
Although they still had some resources left, it was obvious that what remained was left for Shuishui City to take.
Strangely, no one in Shuishui City had come to rob them yet.
They still had some resources, but with over ten thousand people, there was no way these meager supplies would last them six years.
On the first day without spiritual energy, over ten thousand cultivators anxiously meditated in their rooms. Though they couldn't sense any spiritual energy, they had no other options, clinging to the hope that spiritual energy might return at any moment.
On the second day, some cultivators couldn't sit still and started wandering around, pacing back and forth in the large courtyard in front of the fifty houses.
By the third day, many became restless, walking aimlessly, while others began to focus on using their remaining resources to cultivate, hoping that training would bring them some peace of mind.
…
By the tenth day without spiritual energy, Gui Jia Zun Zhe ordered a thousand Golden Core cultivators to demand that all the lower-level Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators hand over their cultivation resources, including spirit replenishing pills, under the guise of "centralized resource management" for the greater good.
This decree left the lower-level cultivators dumbfounded.
What did they mean by "centralized management"? What did they mean by "maximizing the benefit for all"?
Though their cultivation might be lower, they weren't naive. They had worked in the shadows for Wanwantong for years, so they could clearly see the intention behind these words.
Essentially, the higher-level cultivators wanted the lower-level ones to give up their resources so they could use them for their own cultivation.
But why should they?
In times like this, it was the lower-level cultivators who would suffer sooner. The Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators would naturally last longer without spiritual energy. Yet, now these higher-ups wanted to take their resources?
Why?
Most of the lower-level cultivators were too afraid to speak out.
But there were always a few who dared.
These individuals didn't confront the higher-ups directly but instead whispered their discontent among their fellow lower-level cultivators, saying, "If this were outside, we'd have no choice. But here? What can they do to us? We can't even use any offensive techniques in this place!"