The more he listened, the more scared Li Yao became. He observed Han Yuantai carefully.
Before the conversation with Han Yuantai, and especially after he suppressed the two Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators easily, he couldn't help but feel somewhat complacent about the ancient Cultivators no matter how hard he tried to convince himself.
He even found it hard to regard the trip as a dangerous mission like the one in the Blood Demon Sector. Instead, he felt that he was on a tour in the theme park of the ancient Cultivators.
He did not expect that a world of ancient Cultivators that was completely isolated from the outside world could produce such a knowledgeable person as Han Yuantai!
If Han Yuantai was already so impressive, what kind of hero was Han Baling, the dominator of Ghost Qin?
If such a person was not born in the Ancient Sages Sector that was enshrouded in the dark nebula but in the boundless sea of stars outside, what kind of marvelous experiences would he have had?
However, it might not be too late yet.
Whether Li Yao was willing or not, the 'ancient Cultivators' who dominated the Ancient Sages Sector would have a chance to break out of the dark nebula and appear in the modern world of Cultivators in different ways!
What would it be like if three hundred ancient Yuanying showed up in the middle of the Federation, the Imperium, and the Holy League?
Li Yao calmed himself down and pretended that he was not convinced. He sneered, "You must be exaggerating. The Cultivators in the Southland of Sorcerers have been developing for such a long time. Why hasn't such a thing happened before?"
"The Southland of Sorcerers is different from the Great Qian Dynasty," Han Yuantai said calmly.
Han Yuantai said calmly, "To be honest with you, Master, the Southland of Sorcerers is in fact still in a rather underdeveloped phase. The number of barbarian Cultivators is not high in the first place, and there are no excessive sects. The apprentices of the master and disciple are usually only a couple of people."
"For example, your master Elder Five Despairs only had two disciples, Master and Master Black Moon. He lived in a residence deep inside the mountains and did not have many requirements for the tribes in the Hmong Villages!
"Besides, although the forests in the Southland of Sorcerers are full of venomous gas, there are abundant resources for the ordinary people. If they have no choice, bananas are enough to fill their stomachs even if they cannot grow any crops!
"Therefore, when trouble is brewing in the outside world, the Southland of Sorcerers is actually a uniquely peaceful place!"
Li Yao was at a loss for words.
Han Yuantai, as a Yuanying from the prairies, was truly knowledgeable in astronomy and geography.
The Southland of Sorcerers was a typical tropical and subtropical rainforest environment. It did not seem possible for a prosperous civilization to develop there. But if the demand was not high, it was still possible for the locals to survive on bananas, cassava, and jackfruit.
Therefore, although the barbarian Cultivators all looked like snakes and ghosts, they were actually quite different from the rest of the world.
But even if they really ate a living person every day, they would only eat three to five hundred in a year.
In the outside world, it was common to see hundreds of thousands or even millions of people starve to death in a year and a half.
Most of the time, whether a ruler was cruel or not could not be judged on the surface.
Li Yao sighed and raised his eyebrows. "Is the Great Qian Dynasty different?"
"Of course it is. For the ordinary people, the environment of the Great Qian Dynasty is much more dangerous than that of the Southland of Sorcerers!"
Han Yuantai said unhurriedly. "There are a hundred times more Cultivators in the Great Qian Dynasty than in the Southland of Sorcerers. Also, they are highly organized, greedy, and manipulative. Therefore, their demands on the ordinary people are a hundred times higher than those of the barbarian Cultivators!
"In the provinces of the Great Qian Dynasty, as long as the places are occupied by the Cultivation sects, even the fertile land in the southeast, the people are still struggling for their last breath under the suppression of the Cultivation sects, even if they are in a prosperous place!"
"How is that possible?"
Li Yao blinked and said, "I'm told that the southeast of the Great Qian Dynasty is a prosperous place with abundant spiritual energy. More than half of the hundred and eight natural paradises of the Ancient Sages Sector are in the southeast. Why can't the ordinary people live there?"
"Master, you don't know the whole story."
Han Yuantai chuckled and said, "It is exactly because the spiritual energy in the southeast is too abundant and the land is too fertile. Most of the farmlands are 'farmlands' nurtured by the mother lodes of crystals. That's why the ordinary people there can't live there!"
"Oh?"
Li Yao was truly puzzled. "Why is that so?"
"It's very simple. Since the farmlands are 'farmlands', the food that is grown there is naturally for the Cultivators to enjoy. How can the ordinary people deserve it?"
Han Yuantai said. "In the southeast, near the towns that are controlled by the Cultivation sects, there are fifteen acres of farmlands. At least ten acres of farmlands are devoted to the 'spiritual rice' that is specifically for the Cultivators. Such spiritual rice is transparent, plump, and the size of pearls. It contains abundant spiritual energy. Also known as' Jade Crystal Pellets', they are of great help in consolidating one's foundation, replenishing spiritual energy, and improving one's Cultivation. They are the most common staple food of the Cultivation sects!
"Since the Jade Crystal Pellets boast so many benefits, the ordinary people who grow them are naturally not qualified to enjoy them. The Cultivation sects all forbid the ordinary people from eating the Jade Crystal Pellets!
"Besides, even if the ordinary people want to eat them, they can't. The spiritual energy contained in the food is so intense that it has to be melted with the secret arts of the major Cultivation sects in order to nourish the body, rejuvenate the veins, and strengthen the spiritual root!
"If the ordinary people eat even one grain of the Jade Crystal Pellets recklessly, their stomach will explode because of the spiritual energy, and they will die instantly!"
"What about the other seven acres of farmlands?" Li Yao asked.
Han Yuantai smiled. "The Cultivators can't just eat rice. There are other seven acres of farmlands. Most of them are used to grow the materials for the pills, the fodder for the animals, and the materials for the robes and flags that the Cultivators wear. They are all produced from the farmlands, too.
"As a result, most of the output of the fifteen acres of farmlands are supplied to the Cultivation sects. What really falls into the hands of the ordinary people is only half an acre."
Li Yao was dazed. "Only half an acre?"
"How is that half an acre?"
Han Yuantai said. "The local Cultivation sects, however disrespectful they are to the emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty, have to pay taxes more or less. Most of the taxes have to be collected from the half acre of farmlands, don't they?"
Li Yao was rendered speechless.
"The Jade Crystal Pellets are good stuff," Han Yuantai continued. "After you eat the Jade Crystal Pellets, your training will be much easier. Together with the enhancement of the natural paradises, more and more Cultivators are coming to the southeast. The more Cultivators there are, the stronger they are, and the demand for the Jade Crystal Pellets will multiply! The more Jade Crystal Pellets you eat, the more Cultivators there will be, and the more Cultivators there will be, the more Jade Crystal Pellets will be consumed … Think about it, Master. When will it end? "
Li Yao frowned hard.
"Therefore, even in the prosperous land of the southeast, where the land is so fertile that water can be squeezed out of it, the people are still suffering from famine and can barely survive. Why else would the Riot of White Lotus break out?"
Li Yao thought of something and craned his neck. "I've heard the name of the White Lotus Cult a few days ago. What is it exactly? I'm told that it was the work of a woman named 'Mother White Lotus' Wan Mingzhu, who is known as the mother of all ghosts. Is she really so capable? "
Han Yuantai nodded and said, "Mother White Lotus Wan Mingzhu is indeed one of the trickiest spectral Cultivators in the Ancient Sages Sector. She is definitely one of the top ten experts of the Ancient Sages Sector. Even my brother Han Baling speaks highly of her!
"However, the rise of the 'mother' is purely a consequence of the Cultivators in the southeast of the Great Qian Dynasty!
"Like I said earlier, the Cultivation sects in the southeast, in order to raise more Cultivators, forcibly expanded the area of the farmlands where the Jade Crystal Pellets and other kinds of spiritual herbs are planted. Ten percent of the output of the farmlands is unusable for ordinary people. As a result, the people of the southeast are always hungry. Famine will break out whenever there is an anomaly in the weather.
"In the famine, when people are too hungry, they can do anything. Even though they know that they will die if they eat the Jade Crystal Pellets, it is inevitable that a lot of people cannot resist the allure of the Jade Crystal Pellets that are round and smooth.
"If they don't eat them, they will starve to death. If they eat them, they will die of bloating. They might as well have a full meal before they die!
"The people are marching forward. Such a phenomenon is unstoppable. But however gory it is, it is impossible for the Cultivators to grow food for ordinary people with their precious farmlands while they are starving!
"But it never occurred to the Cultivators that the Jade Crystal Pellets, the ultimate hybrid rice that has only been developed in the past hundreds of years, boasted an unexpected feature.
"The Jade Crystal Pellets contain immense spiritual energy. Although ordinary people are not blessed enough to enjoy it and will die of bloating after they eat it, the spiritual energy can nurture their soul when they are dying, making their soul strong and purer. The possibility of them turning into a spectral Cultivator is greatly increased!
"Haha. It is often the case that after a famine, countless people die after eating the Jade Crystal Pellets in secret, leaving corpses whose guts have been pierced through and countless ghosts that are full of hatred!
"Those people were ants that posed no threat to the Cultivators at all when they were alive. However, the Jade Crystal Pellets significantly strengthen their ghosts and give them the ability to absorb the spiritual energy of nature.
"Also, since they died such a miserable death, their overwhelming hatred will naturally be buried in their souls and turn them into very tricky ghosts!
"As for the White Lotus Society, it's an organization made up of countless vengeful ghosts like that and their families," Qin Lie said.
"Because the Jade Crystal Pellets cleanse their souls and keep them sober, they still retain some of their memories when they were alive. They are not the usual ignorant, murderous ghosts. They still know their families, but they vent all their hatred on the Cultivation sects!
"Naturally, the ghosts that the ordinary people turn into are all low-level spectral Cultivators. Even a Cultivator in the Refinement Stage can kill dozens of them easily. Therefore, the Cultivation sects did not pay much attention to them at first.
"However, as long as the Jade Crystal Pellets and the marvelous medicines do not shrink, the famine in the southeast will not end. The number of ghosts will only increase.
"Millions of ferocious ghosts are wreaking havoc in the southeast. Even if the Cultivation sects can eliminate 999,999 of them, the only one that escapes will absorb the hatred and resentment of its companions and grow stronger and stronger!
"It is the same logic as the 'Gu King' in the Southland of Sorcerers. When the best of the best are eliminated, the last one left will definitely be the strongest of the strongest!
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