144: Chapter 144: Harvesting the World's Leeks, Building Our Own Teleportation Array
The distress signal from the Immortal-Mortal Realm, though intermittent, revealed information that made Jiang Ning's heart sink.
The sect was breached, her master died in battle, the spirit veins were exhausted, the world was collapsing...
It didn't sound like an ordinary sect war; it sounded more like a doomsday catastrophe that engulfed the entire world.
"Demon..."
Jiang Ning carefully savored the word in the signal, a word filled with fear.
What kind of existence could be called a "devil" by cultivators of the Tianyan Sect, which was considered a first-class sect in the Immortal-Mortal Realm?
Was it an Extraterrestrial Demon? Or some ancient beast she didn't know about?
It seemed the waters of the Immortal-Mortal Realm were deeper than she had imagined.
"The plan to return must be moved up."
Jiang Ning made her decision.
It wasn't that she had any deep feelings for the Tianyan Sect.
Quite the contrary, that place had mostly left her with unpleasant memories.
But she understood the principle of "when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold."
Earth's spiritual energy had only just begun to recover, and its overall strength was still very fragile.
If the Immortal-Mortal Realm were truly occupied by some kind of "demon" that even Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't resist...
Then would the next target be Earth, which had just opened the "door to spiritual energy"?
The two worlds had already established a connection through that unstable rift.
This was both an opportunity and a threat.
Rather than passively waiting for the threat to arrive, it was better to take the initiative.
Carry the flames of war to the enemy's doorstep.
Moreover, the current Immortal-Mortal Realm seemed to be in the midst of a "world war."
And what did war mean to a fanatic of Infrastructure Construction?
It meant countless post-war reconstruction projects that could be taken over.
It meant massive amounts of heavenly treasures that could be exchanged for "infrastructure aid."
It meant an excellent opportunity to use Earth's "industrialized cultivation" to conduct a dimensional strike against the "handicraft workshop-style cultivation" of the Immortal-Mortal Realm!
Thinking of this, Jiang Ning's eyes lit up.
It was the burning look an engineer would have when seeing a virgin territory waiting to be developed.
However, one must eat one bite at a time, and walk one step at a time.
The "Cross-boundary Teleportation Array" was a super project; the materials and energy it required were even greater than the prototype of "Sky City."
Right now, the most important thing was to completely stabilize Earth first.
Squeeze every bit of profit from those countries that had just signed "indentured labor contracts," and convert it into the first pot of gold for her expedition to the Immortal-Mortal Realm.
...
Half a day later.
The "Global Spiritual Energy Security and Development Summit" officially concluded.
At the closing ceremony, the "Peace No. 1 Joint Communiqué," which shocked the whole world, was published.
The core content of the communiqué was much the same as the "Cooperation Framework Agreement" that Jiang Ning had brought out.
It was just that the wording, after the "artistic processing" by Director Zhao Lixin and the diplomatic team, had become gentler, more "decent," and more in line with the lofty theme of a "community with a shared future for mankind."
But anyone with a discerning eye could see it.
Behind this communiqué was the helpless end of an old era and the powerful beginning of a new one.
After the summit ended, the delegations from various countries did not leave immediately.
One by one, they crowded around Director Zhao Lixin like they had been injected with adrenaline.
"Director Zhao Lixin! France is willing to use our most advanced, full set of sixth-generation nuclear fusion reactor technology to exchange for a quota to build a 'Spiritual Energy Purification Station' in the Paris suburbs!"
"Director Zhao Lixin! Germany is willing to bring out our entire Industry 4.0 intelligent manufacturing system, just to build a 'Spiritual Energy Agricultural Demonstration Park' in our Ruhr industrial area! We are really sick of eating those potatoes and sausages without spiritual energy every day!"
"Director Zhao Lixin! Japan is willing to... willing to hand over to your side the mining rights for all deep-sea rare earth mines in our country for the next fifty years! We only ask... we only ask to build a small Spirit Gathering Array under our Mount Fuji to stabilize our earth veins; we are being driven crazy by earthquakes!"
...
The conference hall had virtually turned into a large-scale auction site.
All countries were frantically peddling their hidden treasures to the Xia Nation.
Technology, resources, markets, sovereignty...
As long as they could exchange it for a precious "Infrastructure Construction" quota.
They were willing to give up anything.
Director Zhao Lixin looked at this group of "old friends" who had gone from arrogant to humble, and felt incredibly comfortable inside.
While smiling and playing tai chi with them, he was silently calculating in his heart.
Nuclear fusion technology? Hmm, this is not bad. Although we are also working on it ourselves, using it for reference and drawing inferences could speed up our progress significantly.
Industry 4.0? We are already a version ahead of them on this, but well, their precision machine tools still have some value; we can pack them up and take them.
Japan's rare earth mines? This must be secured! These are all important materials for building higher-level magical treasures and arrays in the future!
...
In just a few hours of "friendly consultation."
Director Zhao Lixin, representing the Xia Nation, signed cooperation letters of intent with the more than twenty countries present, with a total value that would give any economist a heart attack on the spot.
Orders flew into his hands like snowflakes.
The Xia Nation's "Infrastructure Construction" going-global strategy achieved a flying start on the first day.
But the creator of all this, Jiang Ning, had long since disappeared.
She left the "Peace No. 1" Sky City to Director Zhao Lixin as a permanent overseas base and "Global Spiritual Energy Affairs Office" for the Xia Nation in the Pacific Ocean.
She herself, taking Lin Yuan, Sun Siyuan, and other core technical teams, boarded a small, high-speed shuttle and returned to the country.
She was going to survey the best location to build the "Cross-boundary Teleportation Array."
She was also going to see someone.
Someone who might be able to reveal to her the truth about the "doomsday catastrophe" of the Immortal-Mortal Realm.
An inner disciple of the Tianyan Sect.
An honorary lecturer at Kunlun Academy.
A poor devil who had been forced to sign a "labor contract."
Sect Leader Lu Yun.