With the experience gained, Ding Yun's plan to expand the River God's influence to other realms proceeded smoothly. Everyone who encountered this fortunate encounter was inevitably enticed and enthralled.
Even if a few individuals remained clear-headed and suspected a conspiracy, they were unable to halt the blind greed of the majority.
Furthermore, Ding Yun’s decision to keep the River God fixed for extended periods, changing it only once every month or two, was highly conducive to certain sects or powers achieving significant short-term advancements.
Thus, the ultimate outcome was that in less than half a year, even the most prosperous Central Domain cultivation world was swept into this cultivation frenzy.
The currently evident profound impact was the rapid depletion of spiritual energy concentrations, thousands, even tens of thousands of times faster than before. The spiritual veins occupied by the major sects were also rapidly withering and dissipating. The era of decline was imminent!
As things progressed to this point, perhaps cultivators at the lower levels hadn't yet noticed, or simply didn't care. However, the core cultivators of the top sects could no longer sit idly by. If they still couldn't detect the conspiracy behind such severe spiritual energy depletion, they would be fools.
...
On the third day of the sixth lunar month, at noon.
The Myriad Laws Harmonious Dao Bell, which had last rung over six thousand years ago when all righteous sects united to exterminate the demonic sects, sounded again. The bell tolled nine times, a regulation established by all righteous sects ten thousand years ago. It stipulated that in times of world-threatening peril, this bell could be rung to summon all righteous sects of superior grade or above to gather, discuss matters, and confront the world-ending danger.
This bell could only be rung when the ten great cultivation sacred lands, after deliberation, deemed the situation too dire for them alone to handle and that all righteous sects must be organized to resolve it.
Therefore, when the bell sounded, the major sects knew that trouble had arisen.
Sects of the appropriate level immediately dispatched their sect leaders, accompanied by over half their elders and half their Grand Elders, to travel by flying ship towards the Central Domain to attend the new Myriad Laws Harmonious Dao Assembly.
In summary, they were going to a meeting.
To discuss important matters.
Because the world was vast, and not all sects possessed teleportation arrays that could directly reach the meeting location, the last registered superior-grade sect only arrived on the afternoon of the sixth. The meeting was subsequently postponed to the morning of the seventh.
Elders and Grand Elders were only permitted to observe. The primary participants were the sect leaders of the various sects. To put it bluntly, only the sect leaders of the top sects were qualified to truly speak and participate in discussions.
The sect leaders of those superior-grade sects mostly just listened.
"I am the sect leader of the Heavenly Origin Sacred Land. What I am about to say represents the ten great sacred lands. Since half a year ago, when the Heavenly Origin Sacred Land performed future divinations, the results indicated a world shrouded in darkness, with the era of decline approaching.
However, because the reason has not yet been understood, we dared not spread it widely.
It is only in the past six months, with the continuous emergence of so-called River God encounters and the many tangible events we've observed in the world, that by connecting these situations and performing further divinations, the conclusion has become quite clear. The culprits responsible for the impending era of decline are precisely those River Gods that you are all now flocking to.
Have you not noticed that the concentration of spiritual energy in the world has declined several times compared to six months ago? Forget about the spiritual energy in the outside world; even the spiritual energy within the sects has decreased significantly.
Some of the already smaller spiritual veins have completely dissipated, turning into ordinary land.
These are the signs of the era of decline!
There is no such thing as pie in the sky. The items the River God conjures, which are of higher grade than what you throw into the river, are likely manifestations of him siphoning the world's spiritual energy, its spiritual veins, and even its very essence. He intends to completely destroy our world, to utterly ruin the future of our descendants!
This is an ultimate great demon, a monstrous demon, more terrifying than any Demonic Emperor of the Demonic Sect."
By the end, the sect leader of the Heavenly Origin Sacred Land was practically roaring. He cultivated the Way of Heavenly Secrets, and he saw more. The future of the complete annihilation of civilization was too much for him to contain his emotions.
"So, what is your point?"
Shortly after, a sect leader directly asked.
"My point is that we must stop throwing things into the river and asking the River God to conjure better items for us. This is undermining our foundations and destroying our future. We may even need to find the source of the River God and eliminate him. Only then can we possibly resolve the crisis of the impending era of decline.
Greed is the original sin, it is the original sin!"
The Heavenly Origin Sacred Land sect leader, speaking from on high, continued to expound his perceived best solution. Since the root of the problem had been found, it should be destroyed. If not, at least everyone could be dissuaded from greedily throwing things into the river.
Seeking River God encounters.
As soon as he spoke, most of the cultivators below scoffed, even jeering.
"Heh, cultivation for a cultivator is inherently about plundering the resources of heaven and earth. It's just that before, only you strong ones had the right to plunder these resources, and we could only scavenge for scraps. Now that there's a River God, a channel for fair acquisition of worldly resources, you find it unacceptable.
Are we destined to forever be at the bottom?"
"If we don't seek River God encounters, who will give us better cultivation techniques, better elixirs, who will help us improve our aptitudes? You cannot provide what the River God can, so why do you forbid it!"
"So what if it's the era of decline? I've lived gloriously in this life, and I have no descendants. What does it matter if it's the era of decline? Is there anything wrong with me wanting to become an immortal?"
"The ten great sacred lands themselves have plundered over sixty percent of the world's resources, and the hundred top sects have plundered another thirty percent, leaving only the last ten percent for us. Now, what the River God is doing touches upon your fundamental interests, yet you speak such high-sounding words. If you have the guts, share the resources you've plundered equally among all the sects in the world. Otherwise, why should we give up such readily available benefits for your few words?
The River God is clearly a great sage wanting everyone to become a dragon, yet you slander him as a great demon. Truly shameless. If there are truly demons, then your ten great sacred lands are the greatest demons. As long as the sages are not dead, the great thieves will not cease!
You are the great thieves of this world!"
"The ten great sacred lands want to sever our paths!"
"Not good, why is the formation being activated?"
"The people of the ten great sacred lands want to silence us. They are activating the Ten Deadly Formations that seal heaven and earth. Only by combining the supreme treasures of the ten great sacred lands can it be set up. Even an immortal descending to the mortal realm would likely perish on the spot!"
"River God, save us!"
"We must join forces and fight our way out..."