At the SEIU headquarters in the capital, cultivators were still deep in discussion over the newly received "Notes on Unclaimed Spirit Items and Spirit Soul Research." when news of the heist broke.
"How could it be such a coincidence? We just got the data from Master Song Miaozhu, and now the American Museum's artifacts are missing?"
"Who else but someone who knows the potential of cultivating spirit souls from historical artifacts would even think of targeting the museum?"
"Are you saying this was done by Master Song?"
"No way. She just met with Team Leader Zhao. There's no way she had time to fly across the world and rob a museum."
"Can we even call that stealing? That's called returning cultural heritage."
"Spirit items are unpredictable. And with Master Song's cultivation level, who knows what she's capable of? There's a high chance this was her doing."
"If it really was her, then thank goodness! China has five thousand years of continuous history. No other nation has as many valuable artifacts. It would be heartbreaking if those artifacts ended up as spirit souls benefiting foreign cultivators."
"Exactly! I was just wondering how we could retrieve our lost artifacts before other countries catch on. Looks like Master Song beat us to it."
"With this haul, the overall strength of our cultivation world is going to rise dramatically."
"Team Leader Zhao, did Master Song mention anything about foreign artifacts when you met her? Do you need help following up?"
"She didn't say a word."
"Wait, do you think she's planning to keep all those artifacts for herself?"
"I doubt it. Master Song might be a bit of a recluse, but she's always clear on matters of principle. There's no way she'd try to monopolize everything. Besides, it's not like she can store and spirit-feed that many relics all by herself."
"You're forgetting something. She created the Spirit-Gathering Fortune Doll and is currently the only cultivator at the Yellow Spirit Stage. If anyone has no shortage of spiritual energy, it's her."
"But even then, the number of spirit souls those artifacts could produce would overwhelm any one person. She's a top university graduate from before the spiritual resurgence. She knows that biting off more than you can chew is a losing strategy."
"Let's give it some time. I'm sure she'll reach out."
"Right. Let's not discourage someone who clearly acted in the nation's interest."
—
Meanwhile, "patriot" Song Miaozhu was stacking spirit stones across rows of Yin-wood boxes and racks filled with precious artifacts.
There were simply too many.
At her current pace of earning spirit stones, it would take her a hundred years to cultivate all of them into unclaimed spirit items.
Even if she did, there was no way she could absorb all those spirit souls alone.
Still, she had no doubts. Once the artifacts became unclaimed spirit items and the spirit souls were extracted, there was no chance she'd lose value. Any souls she didn't need could be sold—someone would always find them useful.
And once she started selling, her spirit stone investments would return tenfold, maybe even a hundredfold. With spiritual qi tides now entering a full-blown eruption phase—surging faster and more frequently—her need for external spirit stones was actually decreasing. Her savings were growing.
So why not make use of them?
Use excess spirit stones now to cultivate these artifacts into spirit items, extract the spirit souls, and trade the ones she didn't need for those she did. Or just sell them outright to save up for the next downturn when qi levels eventually fell.
As for the SEIU's hopeful assumption that she might hand over the artifacts for free?
Not a chance.
She was willing to trade information—half-sold, half-gifted—so they could prepare themselves in advance and maintain the upper hand as the world changed. It also bought her some peace and quiet.
But the artifacts she risked so much to recover? Those were hers.
If the SEIU got them, they'd only feed them to their own cultivators anyway. Why not use them on herself? Or trade them for things she actually needed?
Her current cultivation wasn't thanks to kindness or generosity. It was because she never forgot to chase profit.
So while the SEIU waited, more and more reports of stolen artifacts rolled in—spreading from Europe to the rest of the world.
First the American museum, then ancient texts and relics vanished from Japan's National Library and National Museum. Next, entire collections disappeared from France's Palais de Verre...
Even artifacts that had been transferred to "secure locations" vanished right under people's noses.
The global tally of missing relics soared past ten million. And Xiaozhu Mountain remained calm, quiet, and untouched.
Song Miaozhu never left. Her phone and computer signals stayed locked at Anshou Hall Paper Shop. She didn't contact the SEIU or anyone else.
"How is she even storing all of them?"
"Are we sure it's even her?"
"Team Leader Zhao, maybe you should sound her out?"
—
Zhao Huoyan had always been a man of principle, but he too believed that the cultural treasures of China belonged to the people, not just one individual. Under mounting pressure from the SEIU, he finally reached out to test the waters.
From her shop, one of Song Miaozhu's little paper servants sent back a screen recording of the phone message. She didn't even bother denying it.
[Miaow Zhu]:It was me.
[Zhao Huoyan]:Master Song, these artifacts are national treasures. Mishandling them could ruin their value. Don't you need restoration experts from the SEIU?
[Miaow Zhu]: No. I have my own methods.
[Zhao Huoyan]:But there's no way one person can cultivate that many spirit items.
[Miaow Zhu]:It's not difficult.
[Miaow Zhu]:I retrieved them with my own abilities. Don't expect me to hand them over. There are still plenty of artifacts abroad. If you don't move fast, don't blame me for getting there first. And when the spirit souls are up for sale, don't complain about the price.
After sending that last message, Song Miaozhu ignored them completely. She had more important things to do—like checking on her paper servants to make sure their artifact retrieval operations were still on track.
Even with scouts planted in every targeted museum, and advance notice of transfers, increased foreign vigilance was beginning to cause some interference.
Zhao Huoyan, helpless, reported her attitude back to headquarters. As expected, it triggered another round of internal outcry.
But once they finished venting, the SEIU finally got to work, trying to reclaim the rest of China's lost cultural heritage.
With most countries already on high alert though, their operations were... less than smooth.