Chapter 105: The "Spiritual Treasure Law"
The meeting proceeded in an orderly manner, just like before.
The cultivators attending were all of high cultivation levels. Going without food, drink, or sleep was their norm. For three days straight, they held discussions, their spirits high as they finalized every detail before settling on a final plan.
Among all the representatives, only Buddha Disciple Wuzhi was in the Nascent Soul Stage. While not sleeping was manageable, he had yet to reach the level of Fasting. Influenced by the mindset from Jiang Li’s past life—”Since you’re already here, why not have a meal?”—he had his subordinates prepare food. Special accommodations were made for Wuzhi, who didn’t eat meat, as well as for other representatives who had dietary restrictions, such as those who abstained from pork.
After the death of Old Buddha of Mount Sumeru, Buddhism was left leaderless. Monks gathered at the peak of Mount Sumeru, holding hundreds of large and small Zen debates. Day and night, Buddhist chants reverberated across the mountaintop. Eventually, Wuzhi, with his Zen interpretations of Buddhism, defeated all other eminent monks, describing golden springs gushing from the earth and lotus flowers blooming in the void. He emerged as the new Buddhist Lord.
The Buddhist Lord is chosen not by cultivation level, but by the depth of their Buddhist heart.
After three days, the Nine Provinces Council Meeting produced a detailed solution. Theoretically, this plan should largely eliminate the lingering effects left by the Outer World Demons.
In practice, however, its success depended on how well each faction executed it, which meant Jiang Li needed to assign people for supervision.
“The matter is settled. If anyone has further objections, feel free to bring them up for discussion,” Jiang Li said.
“None.” Bai Hongtu was the first to respond.
Soon, a chorus of “None” followed from the other representatives.
Jiang Li stood up, his gaze sweeping over each delegate.
“Since there are no objections, I ask everyone to sign this agreement.”
He took out a long, brown parchment-like paper and tossed it onto the center of the round table. No matter where one sat, the content was clearly visible—it was exactly what they had just discussed. At the bottom were two pre-written lines: “Human Sovereign Hall” and the current date.
The lower part of the paper was left blank—for the representatives to sign with their blood imprint.
This was Blood Oath Paper, made from grass grown in regions with thin spiritual energy. Through a special process, it was refined into official paper used for binding pacts, drafting agreements, and recording legal decrees.
The Great Zhou Laws were written on this very paper and stored in the Imperial Treasury.
Blood Oath Paper was extremely durable, lasting ten thousand years without decay. It was also highly sensitive to spiritual energy—if anyone used divine abilities or laws to alter the content, traces would be left behind, preventing covert modifications.
The representatives carefully verified that the document matched their discussions before proceeding with the signing.
They bit their fingers, letting a drop of blood hover in the air. Using their fingers as pens and blood as ink, they wrote their names and full titles. For instance, Ji Zhi couldn’t simply write “Great Zhou”—he had to write “Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty”.
Jiang Li also signed with his blood imprint.
However, the moment his blood touched the paper, the Blood Oath Paper trembled violently as if unable to withstand the power within his single drop of blood. Within moments, it disintegrated entirely.
“……”
“……”
“……”
A strange silence filled the room. All the representatives turned to stare at Jiang Li, their eyes filled with shock.
This had never happened before.
This was Blood Oath Paper, renowned for its durability. Even Soul Formation Stage cultivators couldn’t tear it apart with full force. Yet now, one drop of Jiang Li’s blood had destroyed it?!
Even more unsettling—when they had signed a similar agreement decades ago, Jiang Li’s blood didn’t have this effect.
The realization hit them like a lightning bolt—Jiang Li’s cultivation had advanced once again!
Jiang Li let out a light cough, breaking the awkward silence. He hadn’t expected the Blood Oath Paper to be unable to handle his blood either.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll just sign it normally without using blood. It may not be standard practice, but there’s no other choice.”
Who would dare refuse?
One after another, the representatives rushed to agree, spouting phrases like:
“Laws are meant to evolve.”
“We must adapt to change.”
“The times are progressing, and so must we.”
Of course, there were also those who simply spoke their hearts:
“You’re too damn strong, you make the rules.”
With the signing process finally complete, the ceremony was officially concluded.
“If there’s nothing else to discuss, you may all return.”
Jiang Li spoke out of politeness, but he knew there would be more to discuss.
Unlike the Dao Sect’s Artifact Appreciation Assembly, which was merely a showcase event, the Nine Provinces Council Meeting was a true problem-solving summit.
Conflicts between factions were often brought to light during these meetings. Decades ago, the main issue had been setting up the Nine Provinces Barrier Formation. After that was settled, various factions had turned to Jiang Li for justice, accusing one another.
“They started it!”
“No, they did! We were just defending ourselves!”
Endless disputes had given Jiang Li a headache for days.
Only factions with significant strength and deep-rooted conflicts dared to bring their grievances to a meeting of this caliber.
Sure enough, as expected, the Emperor of the Great Yong Dynasty stepped forward.
“I formally accuse the Great Zhou Dynasty of using the newly enacted Spiritual Treasure Law to win over spiritual treasures, granting them excessive rights, which has led to many of our spiritual treasures defecting to Great Zhou! The damage to our empire is immeasurable! I demand an official apology from Great Zhou and the immediate return of our spiritual treasures!” Emperor Luo Zheng’s tone was aggressive.
“Luo Zheng, can you be reasonable for once?!” Ji Zhi slammed the table and glared at him. “Your so-called contracts with spiritual treasures were exploitative! They fled to Great Zhou because you treated them poorly! And now you’re blaming our Spiritual Treasure Law for being too fair?!”
It had been over half a year since Great Zhou enacted the Spiritual Treasure Law. Ji Zhi had pushed his Double Pupils to the limit to formulate laws that suited the empire.
The law protected spiritual treasures, making cultivators feel more at ease when using them. In the past, some cultivators had spiritual treasures more powerful than themselves, making them vulnerable. But now, with mutual agreements and cooperation, their combat strength had skyrocketed.
To promote harmony between cultivators and spiritual treasures, Great Zhou had hosted national competitions, proving how much a properly bonded spiritual treasure could enhance combat power.
Even a Ninth-Level Qi Refining cultivator wielding a low-grade spiritual artifact could easily defeat an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator and hold their own against a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The allure of cross-realm combat had drawn widespread enthusiasm.
Great Zhou had already developed heirloom spiritual treasures, where cultivators could pass them down to their descendants after death.
Some Qi Refining cultivators had even stumbled upon sentient magical artifacts in mystic realms—yet, instead of leaving, the artifacts chose to stay, honoring the Spiritual Treasure Law.
With the law in place, Great Zhou had become exceptionally powerful, leaving other dynasties jealous—so much so that many had started copying it.