232: Technology Takes Over

"In that case, we really do have a chance!" Yu Rong's spirit was instantly roused. She immediately rushed into the forest first, picked up a Gem, and examined it closely. Soon, she exclaimed, "Helmsman, look! This really is a Gem! I can feel the abundant energy contained within it. The energy is so vast it makes my heart pound a little...

"Oh my goodness..." Xi Ying and the other women couldn't help but rush forward to check. Soon, they all let out gasps of surprise. "A Gem! This is absolutely a Gem!!! I am certain it is far more precious than a supreme-grade mysterious stone!" Xi Ying said tremblingly, her hands holding the Gem shaking slightly, clearly overwhelmed with excitement.

A sharp light flashed in Yu Rong's eyes, and she whispered, "Helmsman, do we really have to turn in Gems of this caliber?"

"This... let's first find out how many there are. We will only turn in a small portion then. Of course, we must keep the majority for ourselves. Besides, if we turn in too much, it won't seem as valuable, understand?" Xi Ying snorted.

"Hehe, the Helmsman is brilliant!" Yu Rong beamed with joy.

The two of them immediately led the group of women to search everywhere in the forest. Sure enough, they discovered quite a few more. Moreover, Xi Ying suddenly realized there might be more underground, as she noticed a spot on the ground where many Gems appeared. She dug down a bit and found that there were indeed more underground, suggesting that the ground might contain a rich deposit of the same Gems!

What was going on?!

Seeing this, Yu Rong excitedly said, "Helmsman, this underground area might be a Gem Mine! We must first claim this forest for ourselves! Then we can send people to dig, and we will have a continuous supply of Gems!"

Xi Ying glanced at her, taking a deep breath. "Do you think Feng Guang will just sit by and watch us mine Gems here?"

"This..." Yu Rong paused, unable to speak. It was obvious that if Feng Guang discovered them occupying the area and mining, he would definitely come to seize it, and a major battle would inevitably break out.

Xi Ying sighed softly. "Once the news gets out, other forces will probably hear about it and move in. It will be hard for us to defend it with just our strength. We must report this! Let Headquarters send people to garrison the area and mine! As for us, our contribution will certainly not be small, and there is a great hope of joining the Undying Plan!"

"That... is fine too!" Yu Rong said with extreme heartache. She lamented internally that she had finally found a chance to strike it rich but couldn't hold onto it, ultimately because her strength was insufficient!

The two quickly reached a consensus and immediately reported the matter to the Shadow Moon Hall Headquarters. What happens here next is likely irrelevant to them... Seeing the situation unfold in the Wood Vine Demon Forest, Long Yuan felt like he was watching a Fantasy Epic. What did he see? What did he hear?

Xi Ying, Yu Rong, and the others actually planned to mine in the Wood Vine Demon Forest?!

This was absolutely courting death... The Wood Vine Demons were only temporarily terrified by him, which is why they hadn't attacked the women, but if they dared to mine inside, the Wood Vine Demons surely wouldn't sit idly by... However, now that Xi Ying and Yu Rong had reported this to the Shadow Moon Hall Headquarters, more strong practitioners would definitely descend upon the area. Could the Wood Vine Demons still defend it?

For him, this was an opportunity to gauge the true strength of the Shadow Moon Hall and see if they could take down this Spiritual Wood of the Cultivation World.

Furthermore, they had just mentioned the “Undying Plan.” Long Yuan was extremely sensitive to this. He quickly checked the information source he had previously grabbed from Feng Guang’s Network Department and soon found relevant information about the plan. After reading it carefully, he couldn't help but widen his eyes, feeling unsettled!

He hadn't expected that the three pairs of cooperating forces—Snow Eagle Country and Blood Wolf Hall, Flying Lion Country and Shadow Moon Hall, and War Bear Country and Ba Jue Hall—were all researching the “Undying Plan,” and had achieved considerable success!

In fact, they often communicated and exchanged ideas in this area, which led them all to similar Breakthroughs. However, Great Ming was completely kept in the dark, unaware that these few countries and Heretical Cults had developed such Technological Capability!

Even Prince Zhao was unaware!

After reading the documents, Long Yuan's first reaction was that this “Undying Plan” was extremely similar to the “Consciousness Upload Terminal” technology on Earth, but the “Undying Plan” on Azure Star was an enhanced version of Earth's technology. They had fully implemented this technology and achieved many successful cases, which greatly benefited these three major countries and the Three Great Heretical Cults. The Three Great Heretical Cults, relying on this technology, also attracted many high-level strong practitioners to join, thus greatly increasing their strength!

The specific method is that strong practitioners who join the “Undying Plan” receive a high-end machine, and then upload their personal consciousness to the Cloud Realm storage weekly or monthly. This creates another Consciousness Body of themselves in the Cloud Realm.

If any of these people accidentally die in the outside world, the higher-ups capture a pre-arranged Xuan Practitioner and forcefully infuse the deceased person's Consciousness Body into the Xuan Practitioner's mind, allowing that Consciousness Body to gain control of the Xuan Practitioner's body, thereby achieving the ultimate goal of Rebirth!

In Long Yuan's view, this is somewhat similar to Possession in the Cultivation World, but Azure Star currently does not have this concept. They are relying purely on Technological Capability, yet they have achieved remarkable success. Compared to Possession, it even has many advantages!

This is because Possession in the Cultivation World has many restrictions. A Cultivator cannot perform Rebirth through Possession infinitely; generally, it can only be done once. Some powerful individuals might manage one or two more times using certain means to deceive the heavens, but afterward, it is certainly impossible and will fail due to Heavenly Retribution. This means that this relatively evil behavior is subtly restricted by the Heavenly Dao. If there were no restrictions, it is certain that a large number of young Geniuses would be unable to grow smoothly, instead being captured by powerful individuals to serve as their hosts and future targets for Possession. This would undoubtedly have extremely negative consequences for the Cultivation World.

Furthermore, during Possession, both parties engage in a contest between Souls within the host's mind, usually starting on an equal footing. Of course, the high-level Cultivator has a greater advantage because they are the proactive party, and the person being Possessed often fails to react in time and has most of their Soul devoured, leading to their eventual complete consumption. However, if the person being Possessed happens to have an innately powerful Soul, there is a great chance they might reverse the Possession and take over the high-level Cultivator, making the aggressor regret their actions immediately. Thus, in this scenario, the victim of Possession is not necessarily doomed but has a glimmer of hope—this is a chance granted to living beings by the Heavenly Dao...