CH 122 With Countless Loose Threads And Issues, There Is Always A Return Date

When Ji Yunlai returned to Kun-Lai Mountain, he almost had the illusion that he had come to the wrong place.  

This time, he had left the mountain in person for half a month because of Xiao Qing. During his absence, the entire Kun-Lai was gloomy and lifeless. Cultivators moved hurriedly as if lingering too long would result in being robbed.  

However, this atmosphere completely vanished the moment he returned.  

The mournful expressions were instantly blown away by the joyous exclamation, "The internet is back!" Kun-Lai transformed in a flash, as if leaping from the depths of winter into the warmth of spring, compressing several months of change into an instant.  

Ji Yunlai fell into deep thought—was life truly impossible without the internet?  

But he had no time to dwell on it; he was soon overwhelmed by a flood of issues. The peak masters and elders all gathered in the main hall of Kun-Lai, ostensibly to welcome him back but in reality to hold a complaint assembly.  

In the half-month he had been away, Kun-Lai had faced numerous problems.  

The most significant issue stemmed from everyone converting their spiritual stones into credits on the Net Charm, causing a severe shortage of circulating spiritual stones in Kun-Lai. As a temporary measure, the remaining elders established a borrowing system, allowing individuals to withdraw on credit to get by for now.  

Meanwhile, the external laborers—spirit demons and unaffiliated cultivators—who lacked the Net Charm accounts had amassed a large amount of spiritual stones, earning handsomely. However, disputes arose over unfair profit distribution, escalating into major conflicts. Since these incidents mostly involved foreign spirit demon cultivators and the Mountain Patrol Bureau was already short-staffed, the situation spiraled out of control. It eventually engulfed nearly all the external spirit demon cultivators. Only the intervention of several Kun-Lai elders managed to restore order.  

Now, almost all the spirit demon laborers who acted as transportation, dug mountains, delivered goods, fed spiritual beasts, or collected garbage and debris had surrounded Qingnu Peak. Thankfully, there were only a few deaths, though many were seriously injured.  

This left Kun-Lai severely lacking spirit demon laborers.  

"Assign minor tasks to outer disciples as part of external fieldwork lessons," Ji Yunlai said calmly, seated at the center of the hall. "Distribute these tasks and offer a small amount of academic credit to those willing to take them. Have Yimeng Qingnu heal the few old transport turtles to restore order."  

Kun-Lai had hundreds of peaks, each far apart. Without transporters, low-level disciples would spend most of their time traveling.  

"Understood," the elder in charge nodded and took notes before reporting another major issue.  

Recently, Shennong Peak experienced several fraud incidents. Some disciples had used high-quality lower-grade spiritual stones to impersonate mid-grade ones, leading to significant crop failures in spiritual fields when these were used for farming. The resulting shortages of spiritual rice disrupted supply, leaving Kun-Lai unable to meet demands.  

Fields sustained solely by spiritual energy required normal growing times, but using spiritual stones could greatly accelerate the process, turning a yearly harvest into a monthly one. However, spiritual grains were sensitive to impure energy, which could lead to diseases. Worse, this polluted the fields, requiring months of downtime for purification and filtering.  

Typically, only higher-level cultivators, who could afford high grade seeds and spiritual stones, used spiritual stones for farming. Shennong Peak’s “landlords” primarily supplied basic spiritual rice to outer disciples, especially those recruited in the past year or two. And these fields were the most majorly hit during this period.

"Can’t others grow rice?" Ji Yunlai asked.  

"The rest are growing high-grade crops, like Yin-Yang Blood Rice, Spirit Mushroom Millet, and Moon Vegetables. Harvesting them early would be a significant waste," an elder replied cautiously.  

"How much rice is needed?" Ji Yunlai inquired.  

"The allocation for this month has been fulfilled. Next month, we’ll need 11 million pounds worth," the elder quickly reported a figure that would shock other sects.  

Kun-Lai’s spiritual fields produced an average yield of 700 pounds per acre—another jaw-dropping statistic to outsiders, though normal for Kun-Lai, where spiritual energy acted as fertilizer.  

"I’ll handle it," Ji Yunlai said, nodding. After all, his Dao Seed was nearly ready, complete with ample labor inside it. This would be no problem.  

The elders were impressed and continued reporting other issues.  

Recently, someone maliciously memorized and distributed pirated copies of a few popular low-level cultivation insights from the Net Charm. This severely infringed on the rights of the original authors. The chaos of the past ten days made enforcement difficult, and nearly everyone now had a copy.  

Insights varied in quality, and the comprehensive interpretations of low-level techniques by high-level experts weren’t always superior to the lifetime understandings of lower-level cultivators specializing in a single method. Hence, some insights for low-level techniques had more subscriptions on the Net Charm than those by high-level cultivators (as the latter weren’t always comprehensible or applicable).  

Now piracy was rampant. Several original authors had even knelt at Zhaoyue Peak for two days, awaiting the Sect Leader’s judgment.  

"Track down the source. Anyone involved in pirating will be fined threefold," Ji Yunlai said coolly.  

"But most are low-level disciples who can’t afford to pay," another elder stepped forward hesitantly.  

Kun-Lai had a well-known saying: "Qi Condensation ants, Foundation Establishment dogs, Golden Core monkeys roam the streets. Nascent Souls are finally human, but only Demigod and Synthesis cultivators can truly feel enliven."

This meant that Qi Condensation disciples in Kun-Lai are like ants, easily crushed underfoot. Foundation Establishment cultivators fare slightly better, but they still live hand-to-mouth. Golden Core cultivators are like monkeys—barely able to feed themselves adequately. Only upon reaching the Nascent Soul stage can one truly be considered a person, capable of having a career and no longer troubled by resource scarcity. As for Demigod and Synthesis stages, well, those are Kun-Lai’s true leaders.

Deduct from their Net Charm accounts, leaving the balance in the negative," Ji Yunlai said calmly. "They surely won’t remain like this forever."  

"Understood!" The elder retreated back into the crowd.  

The remaining group continued reporting various matters, large and small, striving to make the Sect Leader understand that he couldn’t leave so casually. Their words carried subtle resentment, hinting: This time you left in such a rush without even saying goodbye or giving us a return date. We've been overwhelmed without you. And after all this waiting, it turns out you came back on the flying peak just to accompany your young apprentice? Seriously? Let me tell you about the Great Xuan Emperor, who ruined his empire over a beauty—you mustn’t let personal matters overshadow the greater good!

Feng Qingxiu, standing off to the side, felt his ears redden slightly. Ruining an empire over a beauty... I mean, I’d love to be thay beauty, but that’s just something for my dreams...

Ji Yunlai glanced at his apprentice, who wore an expression of mock guilt, as if to say, I’m sorry, but I’m not changing—deal with it. His heart itched faintly. Lately, he’d been caught up in various matters, leaving little time to rest. He really should take a proper nap soon. His apprentice had been so diligent, even burning a rare stick of dream incense last night, only for him to be dragged away by these people to listen to their incessant chatter. They had caused him to leave his poor apprentice alone for days, and now they dared to talk about priorities?  

Do they even know what the greater good is?

While half-listening, Ji Yunlai’s thoughts wandered. The Net Charm was initially intended as a tool for learning and sharing insights. To boost enthusiasm, he had even enabled features like recharging, withdrawing, and tipping. Over time, disciples began using it for money transfers, appreciating its convenience—no need to worry about the quality of spiritual stones or scams. Eventually, everyone started depositing their stones into the Net Charm system and stopped carrying any physically.  

Convenient? Certainly. But seeing the aftermath of his brief absence, Ji Yunlai realized: if someone were to raid Kun-Lai, the disciples would probably surrender without resistance, as long as they were assured their accounts remained intact.  

Unacceptable!

After everyone finished their reports, Ji Yunlai spoke coolly: "Starting today, the Net Charm will only operate for six hours daily. I hope you won’t indulge too deeply; cultivation remains the foundation of our existence."  

The elders and peak masters were shocked, protesting vehemently.  

"Sect Leader, your apprentice gets to use it every day!" A few senior figures from Sword Peak were present, and You Jia, tagging along, loudly voiced his dissatisfaction. "It’s unfair!" Feng Qingxiu had sold him most of his Net Charm time after all.  

Ji Yunlai remained unruffled. "If you’re my apprentice, then you’ll also enjoy the same benefit."  

But if you’re not my apprentice, don’t even try to argue.

He turned and left, gesturing for his apprentice to follow.  

*

The outer sect.

Ji Mingyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. The network’s back online—Father must have returned!  

She had never missed her father this much before.  

Beside her, Ye Han also exhaled in relief. The days without the internet were torture. Mingyu had taken to bullying him daily—teaching him advanced materials with impossible deadlines, and punishing him harshly when he couldn’t keep up.  

Fortunately, his roommate Yuan Lie was a quick learner, and Ye Han had managed to avoid Mingyu’s wrath by copying Yuan Lie’s answers on several occasions.  

"Mingyu, are we still studying today?" Yuan Lie asked cautiously.  

"No, I’m going to see Father!" Ji Mingyu proudly displayed a report card full of perfect scores. "See this? For all those people who accuse me of riding on my father’s coattails—look at this! I’m just as much a genius as Yang Fuyin!"  

She was going to request for praise from her father!

"Congratulations," Ye Han said with a look of envy.  

"Congratulations," Yuan Lie added, though his expression carried a hint of something else other than envy. Hesitating, he asked, "Miss Mingyu, can I come with you? I’d just like to see where the Sect Leader lives—I won’t go inside."  

"Absolutely not!" Ji Mingyu huffed. "Do you think just anyone can meet my father? Focus on your studies. Maybe when you reach the Demigod or Synthesis stage you can think about it!"  

Even Nascent Soul cultivators didn’t have the qualifications to request an audience with her father.  

She had grown tired of people trying to use her to get closer to him.  

Still, as she gazed into the distance, a strange feeling crept over her. This time, her father seemed to have brought something back with him. She couldn’t explain it, but it felt... like a part of her.  

How odd.  

I’ll ask Father about it when I see him.