I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Location: Conference Room 0, Xishan Underground Command Center, Beijing]

Time: 03:00 AM

This is the true nerve center of China, a top-level conference room that is only activated when the nation faces a life-or-death crisis or a historic turning point.

The heavy explosion-proof door blocked out all signals, and the air purification system operated silently.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the conference room was not as somber or panicked as outsiders might have imagined; instead, it was filled with a suffocating excitement.

It was a kind of fervor and ambition that had been suppressed for a century, finally finding the chips to turn the tide.

On the huge projection sand table, the scene of the underground auction in Shanghai was frozen in a corner.

The low-grade spirit stone that sold for a sky-high price of "1.2 billion" was no longer seen as a market-disrupting bomb by these big shots, but as an incredibly wonderful **"price anchor"**.

"1.2 billion..."

The elderly man, seated at the head of the table, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, the sound clearly audible in the silent conference room. His piercing gaze swept over the finance minister, the central bank governor, the director of Bureau 749, and several national treasure-level strategic economists present.

"If we convert this to the black market price, everyone, what we're standing on right now isn't a stone."

The old man slowly stood up, his gaze falling on the thirty-six shimmering golden-red dots on the sand table.

"Thirty-six untapped 'Federal Reserves'."

Li Guozhong took a deep breath; even though he already knew the inside story, he still felt a chill run down his spine.

He stood up and projected the message from Gu Qing onto the big screen.

"Reporting to the commander, reporting to all leaders."

Li Guozhong's voice was strong and resonant, carrying an unprecedented confidence: "Just ten minutes ago, the 'Dragon Hoe' detachment of the frontline engineering corps arrived at coordinate point 3 deep in the Qinling Mountains."

"The first drill bit has been driven in."

"Results confirmed: Ultra-high energy spiritual particle reaction detected 100 meters underground. The reserves... are astonishing. And the purity far exceeds that of the 'scraps' circulating on the black market."

"Whoosh—"

Although they were mentally prepared, the economic giants still couldn't help but tremble when the evidence came to light.

An economist with a full head of silver hair took off his glasses, his eyes reddening with excitement: "What does this mean? It means we no longer need to painstakingly maintain our foreign exchange reserves, and we no longer need to worry about being exploited by petrodollars!"

"As long as the process of spiritual energy recovery is irreversible, and as long as 'cultivating immortality' becomes a basic need for all mankind."

"Therefore, whoever controls the spirit stones controls the minting power of the new world!"

Previously, our currency was anchored to credit and industrial output.

"From now on, behind the RMB lies longevity and power!"

Looking at the excited professor, Li Guozhong added in a deep voice, "Moreover, the information he provided mentioned that there are currently seventy-two mineral veins in the world. China alone possesses thirty-six of them, and most of them are rich deposits. The remaining thirty-six are scattered all over the world. Even in the United States, it is estimated that not many have been detected so far, and they don't even know what they are yet, only treating them as abnormal radiation sources and sealing them off."

"This is the information gap."

The elderly man at the head of the table suddenly waved his hand, and his imposing aura instantly stunned the entire audience.

"There's nothing to panic about."

"The higher the price is on the black market, the better; they're helping us 'price' the spirit stones."

"Pass on my orders!"

Everyone stood up, their expressions solemn.

"Initiate the top-secret strategic plan—Project Awakening."

"First, mobilize the three army groups of the Southern and Western Theater Commands, under the guise of 'national defense exercises,' to impose an absolute military blockade on these thirty-six coordinate points. Not even a fly is allowed to get in!"

"Second, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank shall immediately establish a 'Special Task Force on Psychic Currency' to design a new monetary system. From today onward, the core of the national strategic reserve shall be changed from gold to spirit stones."

"Third, Bureau 749 will be responsible for liaising with Kunlun. Since they've bestowed this great gift upon us, we can't let them down. We must use this immense wealth to build a true Great Wall for Kunlun and for China!"

"yes!!!"

……

[Location: Deep in the Qinling Mountains, in a remote canyon]

Time: 04:30 AM

Despite the howling wind, the canyon was bustling with activity.

Hundreds of construction machines are roaring, and searchlights illuminate the night sky as if it were daytime.

"Watch out! Everyone be careful! This stuff is even more valuable than enriched uranium!"

General Wang, who was in charge of on-site command, was covered in sweat, gripping the walkie-talkie tightly in his hand, his eyes fixed on the newly drilled cave in front of him.

There, a faint white mist, visible to the naked eye, was billowing outwards.

That wasn't water vapor; it was an extremely concentrated spiritual energy!

Several special forces soldiers, dressed in fully enclosed protective suits, carefully emerged from the cave entrance, carrying specially made lead boxes in their hands.

The moment the lead box was opened, everyone present felt as if every pore on their body had exploded.

It was a medium-grade spirit stone, about the size of a basketball, and crystal clear throughout.

It emitted a pale blue glow, like a beating heart. Even from more than ten meters away, the overwhelming vitality it exuded made General Wang, a veteran who had served in the army for many years and suffered from hidden injuries, feel that his knee pain had disappeared.

"God……"

General Wang muttered to himself, "Is this all down there...?"

A geologist standing nearby looked at the detector in his hand; the pointer on the dial had already jammed and exceeded its limit.

He swallowed hard, his voice trembling and changing tone: "General... according to the sonar and psionic feedback... this vein is thirty kilometers long."

"Spirit stones of this quality...the preliminary estimate is that the reserves are over 100 million tons."

One hundred million tons.

If the Shanghai tycoon who spent 1.2 billion yuan on a single pebble were to hear this figure, he would probably suffer a stroke on the spot.

If Wall Street, still struggling with inflation on the other side of the ocean, heard this number, they would be driven to despair and jump off buildings.

General Wang took a deep breath, suppressing his inner shock, and pressed the encrypted communication button to the capital.

"Code name: 'Awakening'"

"This is node number 3. I'm Lao Wang."

"We have confirmed the treasure. I repeat, the dragon has awakened."

……

[Location: Kunlun Main Peak, Wendao Pavilion]

The sea of ​​clouds churned, and Gu Qing sat cross-legged on the cloud, not yet in a meditative state.

His divine sense was connected to the system, and like a higher-dimensional being, he looked down upon the dramatic changes on this land.

He saw the pillar of spiritual energy rising into the sky from the depths of the Qinling Mountains (invisible to the naked eye of mortals).

He saw the ecstasy and ambition on the faces of those ordinary people in power in the underground command center of the capital.

He also saw on the black market that unsuspecting wealthy people were still going bankrupt over a single piece of gravel.

System Monitoring Report

[Event: The Spirit Awakening Project has been launched.]

[Mortal Faction (China) Control Assessment: Extremely High.]

[Progress of rewriting economic rules: 35% (accelerating)]

[Prediction: Within the next three years, China will complete the siphoning of global resources through a "spirit stone-based system."]

The system's mechanical voice echoed in my mind, still as cold and objective as ever.

[Question: Host, you have bestowed upon mortals weapons that are far too powerful. Once they possess such vast resources of spirit stones, will they escape Kunlun's control? Or even turn against him?]

As Gu Qing listened to the system's question, a faint, meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

He reached out and grabbed a wisp of spiritual energy attracted by the spirit-gathering array from the void, watching it dance on his fingertips.

"System, you're wrong."

"I'm not afraid of them being strong, I'm only afraid of them being weak."

Gu Qing stood up, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

"Once they possess spirit stones, they will become even more reliant on cultivation. Because spirit stones themselves cannot be eaten or worn; their only value is for cultivation, for driving formations, and for crafting magical artifacts."

"And who holds the final say on the interpretation of cultivation of immortality?"

[In the host's hands.]

"That's right."

With his hands behind his back, Gu Qing spoke in a calm and confident tone, "The more they dig and store, the more they actually work for me. They are helping me collect the energy scattered all over the earth, purify it, and standardize it."

"On the day the void descends, these strategic reserves, which the nation regards as its lifeblood, will instantly become fuel to drive the 'Guardian Array' and become sharp swords in the hands of millions of cultivators."

"This is an open conspiracy."

"I gave them the illusion of power and wealth, and they will repay me with a fully armed civilization."

Gu Qing's gaze pierced through the atmosphere, looking towards the distant far side of the moon.

There, the shadows of the void are writhing.

"Hurry up, faster!"

"Thirty-six mineral veins are just the beginning."

"I want this planet, from its core to its atmosphere, to be filled with spiritual energy in every corner."

"Only by turning the Earth into a giant powder keg will we be qualified to raise our swords against it."

……

[Location: Across the ocean, Pentagon, Office of Strategic Services]

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Earth.

The atmosphere was completely different. There was no ecstasy, only deep confusion and unease.

Why?

The Minister of Defense stared at the satellite cloud image on the big screen, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Overnight, the Chinese army underwent a massive mobilization. Thirty-six locations... including deep mountains, deserts, and even former nature reserves."

"What are they doing? Deploying new missiles? Or... digging for something?"

The intelligence chief wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "Minister, our satellites detected an extremely high thermal energy response, but it's not entirely thermal energy... The wavelength is very strange, very similar to the wavelength when 'Kunlun' appeared before."

"Moreover, China's financial system has shown unusual stability. Just tonight, they did not intervene in the turmoil in the black market; on the contrary... on the contrary, they showed a strange composure."

"Composed?"

The Defense Secretary slammed his fist on the table. "I hate their composure! It means they have cards up their sleeves that we don't know about!"

"Investigate! At all costs!"

"Awaken all our dormant agents over there!"

"We absolutely must find out what this 'Spirit Awakening Project' (the fragments of information they intercepted) really is!"

The minister turned around, looked at the gloomy sky outside the window, and felt a strange chill rise in his heart.

He had a premonition.

On this very night, the world order they once dominated has been cracked open with an irreparable fissure.

The light shining through that crack is called spiritual energy.