Chapter 420: Chapter 268: The Human Heart (Two in One)_1

The Great Calamity had brought vast changes to the world, with profound and far-reaching effects.

Added to that was a technological regression, a step backward for civilization, turning even the bustling Qing Region into a land of primitive barbaric wastes.

It was in the mountains of this primitive land, within a wide cave carved out by man…

Xu Yang sat on a stone platform, raising his hand to throw out a Beast Controlling Bag. As Sprit Light spewed forth, the vast empty ground quickly filled with people.

Over a hundred Martial Artists, the majority at the Condensing Spirit stage, a small number embracing the Yuan Core, and among them a few Yuan Core masters, as well as a Divine Bridge Master.

This was his catch for the trip.

Xu Yang sat on the stone platform, with Su Shaoqing by his side, holding a list issued by the Pavilion of Heavenly Mechanism, identifying the identities of these individuals.

“This is Li Hongjun, the Fairy Qihua ranked fifty-one on the Belle List.”

“This is Chu Lingfeng, the Amorous Young Master ranked forty-three on the Earth List.”

“This is Zhang Shaobai, the Well-known Sword ranked forty-five on the Earth List.”

“This is…”

Su Shaoqing identified each person’s identity with the list in hand.

Meanwhile, the seventy-two Armored Refining Corpses were not idle, and began scouring these people for valuables.

Ordinary Corpse Refining might not have such capability, but these were no ordinary corpses but half-corpse, half-ghost, retaining a certain Spirit Wisdom, fully capable of executing such menial tasks.

“Wuu wuu wuu!”

Facing the outstretched hands of the Armored Refining Corpses, the crowd glared with rage and screamed in terror, but could do nothing else.

Affected by “The technique to Drag Thousand Mountains,” although they werenot unconscious, they could hardly move, leaving them at the mercy of the Armored Refining Corpses’ rampant plundering.

Their terror goes without saying.

But that did not affect the actions of the Armored Refining Corpses, who quickly stripped them of their belongings. Just like the treasures collected earlier from the Hundred Flowers Building, myriad precious items were now laid out before Xu Yang.

Su Shaoqing then took out another list and began the work of a treasure appraiser.

“This is the Evergreen Pill from the Evergreen Palace, capable of extending one’s lifespan.”

“This is the Hundred Flowers Heavenly Fragrance Liquid from the Hundred Flowers Building, able to heal both internal and external injuries, and also enhance one’s martial abilities.”

“This is the Earth Yuan Thousand-Jin Stone from Earth Yuan Mountain, inherently containing the heavy gravity of Earth Yuan, and can help in training one’s Qi Blood.”

“This is from the Sea Reading Pavilion…”

Su Shaoqing continued the introductions, but Xu Yang’s attention was not on these rare treasures.

He picked up a piece of artificially cut, jade-like white crystal.

This was…

“A superior-quality Spirit Crystal!”

“Only the War God’s Atlas can condense such an item, embodying the essence of Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit’s power, which can be absorbed to enhance the Martial Path Yuan Skill. It’s a major currency circulated among the various Divine Martial heritages.”

Su Shaoqing helpfully introduced on the side.

“A superior-quality Spirit Crystal?”

Xu Yang muttered to himself, his expression inexplicable.

This was a Spirit Stone, wasn’t it?

Indeed, the Great Calamity had altered the very fabric of the world, either the revival or a new addition of the world’s Yuan Spirit…

Whether it was a revival or a new addition, the power of the world’s Yuan Spirit had significantly increased to give rise to resources like Spirit Stones.

Although the power of the world’s Yuan Spirit had increased, due to the Temple of War God and the War God’s Atlas, this Yuan Spirit power was mainly concentrated among the upper echelon, firmly controlled by the major Divine Martial forces.

Because they possessed the War God’s Atlas, this enigmatic and mysterious treasure of unknown origin could lock away Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit and uniquely produce high-quality Spirit Stones, as well as some special natural treasures, like the Mysterious Iron from Iron Heart Fortress, Spirit Plants from Evergreen Palace, and Demon Crystals from the Heavenly Demon Sect.

While these natural treasures are produced by the War God’s Atlas, in the end, everything adheres to the law of conservation of energy. The War God’s Atlas couldn’t just create out of nothing; it had to absorb the power of the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit to generate these treasures.

Therefore, the resources of the world’s Yuan Spirit were mostly concentrated in the hands of the various Divine Martial heritages.

Whether it’s the Martial Path or Immortal Path, or other systems, sustenance is fundamental to cultivation.

With the Power of Diagrams, the various Divine Martial heritages monopolized Yuan Spirit resources, effectively choking off potential avenues of ascent. Divine Bridge Masters and Divine Martial Venerables could only emerge from within their ranks; there was no such thing as a “wild” one.

To this, Xu Yang felt no objection. After all, in the World of Dao and Law, he had done the same. Wandao School controlled the vast majority of cultivation resources and pathways to ascent. Without joining Wandao School or its branches, it was near impossible to make progress in cultivation.

Any system or community must inevitably concentrate power and integrate resources; this is nothing condemnable.

The key lies in the allocation, utilization, and development of resources.

In these regards, the Divine Martial forces weren’t performing well. Holding such resources, their developmental achievements paled in comparison to Wandao School, having wasted thousands of years without fully mastering the Temple of War God.

But they couldn’t be entirely blamed. After all, differing hearts make it impossible to avoid conflicts among families, sects, and factions. With resources and energy spent this way, it’s natural that development is limited.

It was only because they held the War God’s Atlas, wielding absolute power over the upper-level resources, that they prevented being overturned by the lower levels and entering a cyclical historical recurrence.

Leaving aside these tedious and bothersome matters and talking about resources of this world, the potential was still quite tremendous. The ability to condense an essence-filled superior-quality Spirit Stone, combined with the War God’s Atlas, and the various rare natural treasures being produced were very promising.

This further solidified Xu Yang’s determination to seize the War God’s Atlas.

In his view, the War God’s Atlas was a special type of “Yuan Spirit Refining Artifact,” which could refine and purify Yuan Spirit’s power, producing higher-level, improved quality natural treasures. Although the costs might not decrease or might even increase, this did not diminish the value of the technology.