The Trouble is Not Scarcity but Inequality
Translator: Cinder Translations
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Wu Ren's gloomy eyes scanned over the cultivators who had survived the secret realm, one by one.
The disciples immediately fell silent, as if they were being targeted by an ancient beast.
Xiu Yun, angry, said, "Wu Ren, you'd better rein it in."
Wu Ren's expression was stern, his eyes filled with a murderous intent. His voice was as cold as ice, "Among these survivors, there is definitely the killer of my grandson. If you don't allow me to check their storage bags and prevent me from finding the culprit, I will have no choice but to kill them all."
"Better to wrongfully kill a thousand than to let the murderer of my grandson go free!"
Hearing this, the Fairy Huan Yu sneered.
"Wu Ren, you can certainly try. Do you really think that being a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator makes you invincible?"
The atmosphere on the scene grew increasingly tense and frosty, with killing intent pervading the surroundings, as if a great battle was about to erupt at any moment.
However, Wu Ren suddenly chose to back down. "As long as I am allowed to inspect every survivor's storage bag, I can offer compensation," he said.
Xiang Qi, the Fairy Huan Yu, and Xiu Yun's eyes brightened upon hearing this.
Immediately, the four began to discuss the compensation in low voices. The previous insistence that Wu Ren should not inspect every disciple's storage bag was no longer mentioned; it was as if it had never been said.
After a moment, the four agreed on a price. Wu Ren, with some reluctance, took out some spiritual materials from his storage ring and distributed them to the three.
Xiang Qi, the Fairy Huan Yu, and Xiu Yun then began to arrange for their sect's disciples to gather in an open area.
"The spoils from this secret realm exploration will be counted by the Corpse Demon Sect's Golden Core cultivator Wu Ren. You all must cooperate."
The disciples of the three sects reacted differently to their respective Golden Core ancestors' orders.
The Corpse Demon Sect's disciples had no objections.
After all, once they exited the secret realm, their sect would inspect each disciple's storage bag anyway. It was usually the Foundation Establishment elders who did the inspection; this time, it was the Golden Core ancestor.
The disciples of the Blood Fiend Sect and Profound Yin Sect had more reservations. Having their storage bags inspected by an external sect ancestor was somewhat embarrassing for their sects.
However, under the intimidation of the four Golden Core cultivators present, no one dared to show any signs of dissatisfaction.
Wu Ren first inspected the disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect. There were nine survivors from the Corpse Demon Sect: three at the mid-stage Qi Condensation and six at the late-stage Qi Condensation.
A Corpse Demon Sect disciple handed over his storage bag to Wu Ren. Wu Ren checked the spiritual herbs obtained from the secret realm, and then used his spiritual sense to scan the disciple multiple times to ensure there were no other storage bags. Only then did he let the disciple go.
Song Wen saw this and remained unmoved.
Wu Ren's spiritual sense had already thoroughly checked his body, finding nothing unusual. This boosted Song Wen's confidence in the secrecy of his own body's aura. Moreover, his storage bag contained only commonly used elixirs, talismans, and a few spiritual herbs from the secret realm. Wu Ren was unlikely to find anything amiss.
As Song Wen had expected, he quickly passed Wu Ren's inspection. The few spiritual herbs he produced for the sect were neither particularly valuable nor poor, perfectly aligning with his revealed cultivation level of Qi Condensation.
Finding no clues among the nine disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect, Wu Ren was somewhat disappointed.
But the most displeased was Xiang Qi.
He discovered that none of the disciples had obtained the most precious spiritual herbs from the Withered Blood Secret Realm: the Heavenly Spirit Fruit and the Jade Essence Grass.
Xiang Qi's expression was extremely dark, as if water could drip from it.
"Haha, Xiang Qi, it seems your Corpse Demon Sect didn't gain much," Xiu Yun said with a mocking tone.
"Hmph!" Xiang Qi snorted coldly and turned to the nine disciples who had survived the secret realm, his expression icy as he muttered, "A bunch of useless fools!"
Next were the Blood Fiend Sect disciples. Fewer of them survived compared to the Corpse Demon Sect, with only seven left: two at the mid-stage Qi Condensation and five at the late-stage Qi Condensation.
Wu Ren's inspection yielded nothing once again.
The Fairy Huan Yu's face also turned extremely grim. None of the Blood Fiend Sect disciples had obtained the Heavenly Spirit Fruit or the Jade Essence Grass.
Xiu Yun, seeing this, became even more pleased.
"It seems that our Profound Yin Sect alone has emerged victorious from this Withered Blood Secret Realm expedition."
Among the thirteen surviving disciples of the Profound Yin Sect, the ones at the ninth level of Qi Condensation were the strongest among the survivors from the three sects. Logically, they should have the most significant gains.
The thirteen Profound Yin Sect disciples were lined up, and Wu Ren inspected each one meticulously. To avenge his grandson, he checked thoroughly, leaving no detail overlooked.
As the inspection continued, the expression of Profound Yin Sect's Golden Core ancestor Xiu Yun also grew increasingly somber.
Wu Ren had inspected twelve Profound Yin Sect disciples, and none of them had obtained the Heavenly Spirit Fruit or the Jade Essence Grass.
In contrast, the Fairy Huan Yu and Xiang Qi looked significantly more relieved than before.
The issue is not scarcity but inequality!
To refine a Foundation Establishment Pill, three main herbs are needed: the Heavenly Spirit Fruit, the Jade Essence Grass, and the Rainbow Grass, along with over twenty auxiliary spiritual herbs. A skilled alchemist can produce three to five Foundation Establishment Pills from one furnace.
This means that as long as the three main herbs are gathered, there is a possibility of producing up to five new Foundation Establishment cultivators.
It is not frightening that their sect did not obtain the precious Heavenly Spirit Fruit and Jade Essence Grass; what is terrifying is if the opponents get too many.
If that were the case, the strength between the sides would widen, which would be extremely disadvantageous for the sect's long-term development.
Now that no one has obtained the Heavenly Spirit Fruit and Jade Essence Grass, the existing balance is maintained.
At this moment, only one Profound Yin Sect disciple remained uninspected. This person was an ordinary-looking female cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Condensation.
The female cultivator took out all four of her storage bags, three of which were obtained from the secret realm, in addition to her own.
Seeing that the female cultivator had four storage bags, there was no significant reaction from the crowd. It was common for cultivators in the secret realm to have multiple storage bags, as fighting and killing among cultivators was a regular occurrence.
There were other cultivators with multiple storage bags. Among those previously inspected, some had several storage bags, with one having as many as ten.
The most important thing was that in past secret realm explorations, it had happened before that juniors were killed, and seniors came out for revenge.
This made the battles between disciples of the three sects during secret realm explorations ruthless, with life and death dependent entirely on individual skill. Many did not consider the need to conceal their actions.
Wu Ren's eyes flashed sharply as he recognized one of the storage bags as belonging to his grandson, Wu Sui.
Without any visible action, the storage bag flew into Wu Ren's hand.
Wu Ren used his spiritual sense to probe the bag and discovered the broken chain artifact inside.
His gaze turned cold and sharp, like a blade, stabbing directly at the female cultivator.
The female cultivator, who had previously maintained a calm expression, was now filled with extreme fear. The murderous intent emanating from Wu Ren made her feel like she was falling into an abyss.
"Speak, how did this storage bag end up in your possession?" Wu Ren demanded sternly.
The female cultivator's legs went weak, and she knelt on the ground.
"Senior, I found the storage bag near the exit of the secret realm. I don't know whose it is."
"Hmph! Nonsense."
Wu Ren's formidable aura erupted, as if a massive mountain was pressing down on the female cultivator.
The female cultivator's expression turned painfully contorted, her bones creaking as if Wu Ren's terrifying pressure might crush her into a puddle of mud at any moment.
(End of the Chapter)
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