The global surge of spiritual energy lasted a full five years before finally settling.
But on Xiaozhu Mountain, around Song Miaozhu and her spiritual artifacts, the flow of spiritual energy had not stopped. It remained constant, unbroken.
Heaven and earth continued to reward her for advancing in cultivation.
Song Miaozhu adjusted the illusions inside the Mirage Pavilion using the Thousand Illusions Paper Tower.
The paper grass, paper trees, and paper flowers that once covered Xiaozhu Mountain vanished from the Mirage Pavilion's projection. The thick spiritual energy—so dense it had taken liquid form—was altered within the illusion to appear thin and gradually weakening, just like the world outside.
As for the white fog produced by the mist-shrouded paper canopy, she allowed it to remain for now. When the spiritual energy truly disappeared from the outside world, she would let it fade as well.
The return of a spiritual calm did not spark panic among cultivators. They had already lived through a complete depletion of spiritual energy five years ago, and were no strangers to hardship.
This time, people simply competed harder to absorb what energy remained. They bought more spiritual tools capable of storing energy, hoarding every ounce they could to prepare for the next potential drought.
But before the residual energy of heaven and earth had been fully consumed, another global spiritual eruption struck once again.
Ordinary cultivators cheered. To them, it confirmed that the spiritual tide was far from over. The only change was that both the surging and calm periods were now lasting longer than before.
Within the SEIU, however, there was no cause for celebration.
"This eruption matches exactly with Master Yu's breakthrough to the White Spirit stage. It's almost certain the event was triggered by his advancement."
"It seems our earlier theories were right. The spiritual tide really is entering its middle-to-late phase."
"The situation might be worse than we thought. If Master Yu triggered a global surge by reaching the White Spirit stage, then how many of the past eruptions were caused by the one at Xiaozhu Mountain? Her cultivation has consistently stayed one full tier above his. It's possible the tide entered its latter stages far earlier than we believed."
"Team Leader Zhao, do we have any concrete information on Master Song's current cultivation level?"
"None. Ever since she hired others to handle her affairs, I haven't seen her once. Everyone working under her on Xiaozhu Mountain is sharp and discreet. Not a single detail slips out."
"Keep trying. We need to understand what stage the spiritual tide is truly in. Preparation must begin now."
"Master Song may lack strong collective loyalty, but she's not one to ignore the big picture. If we appeal to reason and sincerity, she should be willing to share something."
"Yes, understood."
"How many cultivators within our network have reached the late Yellow Spirit stage? Relocate them all to Master Yu's cultivation base. Push them to break through to White Spirit at all costs."
...
A year passed. The world entered another spiritual lull.
At the SEIU headquarters in the capital.
"The spiritual surge has stopped again."
"It's been exactly one year since Master Yu's breakthrough. Not a minute more."
"That confirms it. The global eruption triggered by his advancement is now over."
"Inside Master Yu's cultivation base, the spiritual energy is still surging. It must be the individual blessing described in ancient cultivation texts."
"What about the other Yellow Spirit cultivators in the base? Any nearing advancement?"
"Yes. Veteran masters such as Yin Chunan, Xie Wushuang, He Zhen, Yuan Liben, Gong Anyan, Wu Qingfeng, Le Pengkun, Zhang Yunxi, Bai Songde, and Yang Shuqin have all reached Yellow Spirit Stage Seven or above. Three of them—Yin Chunan, Xie Wushuang, and Zhang Yunxi—have already touched Stage Nine."
"Good. Have the rest of the cultivators pause their absorption. Prioritize those three masters and help them advance."
"There's something else. The Research Division discovered that this one-year eruption mirrors the very first long-term global surge from decades ago. Same duration, same cycle. Is it possible that the earlier one was also triggered by someone's advancement?"
"Decades ago? Other countries lacked enough spiritual essence and high-level cultivators. Globally, only the one on Xiaozhu Mountain had a higher realm than Master Yu. If someone did break through to White Spirit that early, it must have been Master Song."
"But even if it was her, that's unbelievable. Back then, Master Yu was only at the Blue Spirit stage."
"No one else fits. It had to be her."
"If she advanced that far back and stayed silent, what was she waiting for?"
"Team Leader Zhao, any leads on her cultivation level?"
"None. These days, Xiaozhu Mountain only interacts with us through business. Even her social media accounts are handled by subordinates."
"Six years ago, when global spiritual energy dried up, Xiaozhu Mountain's white mist never faded. At some point, the energy there stopped leaking out entirely. Just what level has she reached?"
"Could she have touched the threshold of ascension?"
"I think it's time we formally request a meeting with Master Song."
"Frame it as a strategic meeting about new signs in the spiritual tide. Extend an invitation for her to join the discussion."
"Team Leader Zhao, see what you can do."
...
"Yan Feng said her young miss is currently at a critical point in cultivation and cannot spare the time to attend. She passed on a message."
"What message?"
'The spiritual tide has entered its late phase. The SEIU should begin preparing accordingly.'
"What?"
"It's already in the final phase?"
"Critical point in cultivation? Is she about to advance again?"
"Yan Feng said there's no further comment."
"…"
Three years later, the spiritual eruption within China's cultivation base also came to an end.
Despite the prolonged surge, Yu Lichuan himself never managed to break past the first tier of White Spirit.
However, Master Yin Chunan successfully advanced thanks to the spiritual blessing triggered by Yu Lichuan's breakthrough. Her ascension ignited another full year of global eruption and three years of personal spiritual blessings.
Not long after, both Master Xie Wushuang and Master Zhang Yunxi used the lingering energy to ascend to White Spirit as well.
But once their combined fifteen years of blessings came to an end, no one else within the base had managed to break through.
Meanwhile, on Xiaozhu Mountain, Song Miaozhu's individual spiritual blessing from reaching the Color Spirit stage had yet to conclude.
The true Xiaozhu Mountain remained saturated with spiritual energy. But what outsiders saw was only the illusion crafted by the Mirage Pavilion—a vision of white mist slowly fading. The moment global tides receded and the spiritual density in Gushan Town began to decline, the illusion followed suit.