Hidden within the illusionary realm of the Mirage Pavilion, Song Miaozhu watched with amusement as the visitors stepped into the mountain.
They marveled at the supposedly thin spiritual energy, unaware that the rich air around them was dense with qi. They pointed at paper-crafted flower fields, mistaking them for thickets of wild brambles.
Just a breath away, Song Miaozhu and her paper companions chuckled among themselves, unseen and unheard. Though only separated by a single layer of illusion, they existed in an entirely different world.
When one visitor knelt down at the ruins of her old home, crying out, "Immortal Song, bless my son's cultivation, bring honor to our family," she nearly burst out laughing.
Yue Lin clapped and teased, "Miss has become an immortal now!"
Guan Hong nodded solemnly, "Miss is destined to become one sooner or later."
Zhangli murmured, "This might not be a bad thing. At least the people entering the mountain will treat Xiaozhu Mountain with a bit more reverence."
"You really don't understand people these days," Yan Feng snorted. "The rumors of ascension will only turn Xiaozhu Mountain into a tourist trap. But..." she raised an eyebrow proudly, "I already hired a top legal team for Miss to make sure no one can lay a hand on this place."
"Well done!" Song Miaozhu gave her a nod of approval.
If someone really built a shrine to her on this mountain, how could she possibly keep living here in peace?
As it turned out, Yan Feng's concern wasn't unfounded. Barely three days after the white mist vanished, officials from the Lingcheng Tourism Bureau came to survey the site.
At the same time, the "Twilight Gold" legal team, hired by Yan Feng a full century ago, issued a public statement. They declared that Xiaozhu Mountain was private property, that Song Miaozhu held permanent ownership rights, and that any destruction of vegetation or terrain would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
The statement quickly drew the attention of The SEIU.
"Who are these lawyers?"
"According to the documents, they were indeed hired by Song Miaozhu."
"But she's gone. If someone disappears long enough, they're legally declared deceased. She had no heirs or relatives, so by law, her property should revert to the state."
"She clearly planned ahead. Maybe she really did ascend. You go confiscate her property if you're brave enough, I'm not doing it!"
"Even if she didn't ascend, her influence in the underworld isn't small. That 'Twilight Gold' team is full of seasoned attorneys. The contracts show she paid in hell coins. They get massive yearly retainers just for sitting around, and bonuses for winning legal disputes. She's earning assets in the afterlife. With her connections in the underworld, aren't you afraid of settling accounts a hundred years from now?"
"Exactly. The spiritual tide is ending. High-level cultivators are dwindling. The Age of Dharma Decline is here. Without qi, our lifespans will return to pre-revival levels. Sooner or later, we'll all report to the underworld ourselves..."
The meeting room fell silent.
In the end, The SEIU reached a consensus: "Forget it. Tell Lingcheng to leave Xiaozhu Mountain alone. She was the only suspected immortal of the cultivation era. Her residence should remain untouched. There's still plenty of land at the foot of the mountain."
One year later, a shrine was indeed built at the base of Xiaozhu Mountain.
Song Miaozhu sent a little paper servant to investigate. She had to admit, the craftsmanship of this cultivation era had truly transformed.
The statue of the immortal maiden was lifelike, nearly a perfect oversized replica of her.
When it was first erected, everyone in town came to offer incense and pray.
Shortly after, Song Miaozhu noticed her underworld warehouse had filled with high-quality paper incense and hell coin offerings. The craftsmanship was excellent and quite valuable.
A few years later, the final surge of spiritual energy at the cultivation base came to an end. No more breakthroughs followed. Without qi to support them, cultivators could no longer advance. The path of cultivation had been completely severed.
The SEIU officially declared the end of the spiritual tide.
Society began to shift back toward its pre-revival state.
Fortunately, the government had been preparing for this eventuality. The transition was smooth. Only ordinary people who had once benefited from cultivation found it hard to accept.
In time, the shrine at the base of Xiaozhu Mountain became a spiritual sanctuary for those mourning the end of the cultivation era. Every day, people made pilgrimages to light incense and pay their respects.
And yet, the mountain itself remained untouched. No second phase of development ever came.
Yan Feng's role had shifted. Instead of handling external affairs, she now observed visitors wandering through the Mirage Pavilion. Between Song Miaozhu's cultivation sessions, she would relay all the bizarre legends people whispered.
Today, a tour guide claimed that Song Miaozhu was a cursed star, orphaned young, raised on the charity of many families. The elders of Yuanshan Town all said she was different from other children since birth.
Tomorrow, a tourist might boast about a distant cousin who joined The SEIU in the early days and uncovered secrets not meant to be known. According to them, Immortal Song was the daughter of a ghost noble. She had connections in the underworld, which allowed her to surpass everyone else and become the only immortal of the cultivation era. Her aides, supposedly sent by ghost relatives, were never human at all, and had ascended with her to enjoy immortal life.
And then there were the "Song Studies scholars," who quoted ancient texts and confidently declared her the beloved granddaughter of the King of the Underworld.
Whenever Song Miaozhu heard these stories, she would pinch the bridge of her nose. "I've only been hiding for ten years, right? When did these 'Song Studies experts' appear? Where are they getting all this nonsense?"
She was, truly, riding a tiger she could no longer dismount.
Ever since the spiritual surge from the cultivation base ended and no more qi emerged in the mortal realm, the Tiandi Treasury removed the option to exchange hell coins for spirit stones.
Thankfully, she never kept too many hell coins in reserve. Every day, Yan Feng helped her convert incoming hell coins into top-grade spirit stones.
But now, she was down to the spirit stones she had saved up, and whatever was buried beneath Xiaozhu Mountain.
If those ran out before she could complete the Color Spirit stage and reach the Seven-Colored Gate, she would end up just like the others, trapped in a world with no qi to draw from. Once the energy in her spiritual platform was exhausted, she would become no different from an ordinary person.
And once the Mirage Pavilion lost power too, she would be completely exposed.
A global-scale social death, waiting to happen.
Just imagining that scenario made her shudder. She immediately grabbed her crafting paper and resumed her Secret Art of Paper Crafting.
"No way!" she muttered. "I've saved all these years. There's no chance I won't complete the Color Spirit stage!"