Beijing, SEIU Spiritual Energy Monitoring Station.
"Unusual spiritual energy fluctuations detected in the Yunwu Mountain area near Lingcheng!"
"Yunwu Mountain? Isn't that part of a protected nature reserve? No one lives there. Why would spiritual energy surge in that area?"
"Wait, isn't Master Song Miaozhu somewhere in that mountain range?"
"No way. What cultivator would live in the wilderness, where there's barely any spiritual energy? That's just sabotaging your own progress."
"But Master Song has those Fortune Gathering Dolls, right?"
"Hold on, I'll report to the Director."
...
"It's confirmed. Last time Master Song appeared in Yuanshan Town riding her spirit-paper phoenix mount, she came from the direction of Yunwu Mountain. We hadn't pinpointed her exact residence, but from the current readings, this must be the place."
"The Director says this information is classified. Do not spread it."
"But seriously, could one person alone really trigger a spiritual energy eruption comparable to a small town?"
...
Back in her cave, Song Miaozhu blinked. "..."
She never expected her current living location to be exposed in such a way.
Originally, she had planned to wait until her house spirit matured enough to manifest a Spirit Dwelling the size of her ancestral estate before relocating to Xiaozhu Mountain.
Now it seemed she had to move up that timeline.
Still, she would wait until the current spiritual tide ended and finish absorbing the nearby energy. No point letting it go to waste.
The first spiritual tide ended far more quickly than anyone had anticipated. It lasted only twelve hours before the surge quieted and the influx of energy ceased.
Even so, those twelve hours had reshaped the global spiritual landscape.
Spiritual energy levels worldwide had risen significantly, easing the long-standing shortages everywhere.
Many entry-level artisans had previously been stuck at a bottleneck, unable to gather enough energy to temper their bodies, open their spiritual eyes, form a spiritual platform, or develop spiritual power. They could only focus on refining their techniques. This surge gave many of them the push they needed to cross into the next stage.
For those whose craft was already mature, it was the perfect chance to rapidly improve their cultivation.
The distribution of spiritual energy around the world had also changed. Previously, foreign countries had more spiritual energy but fewer cultivators, while China had both an abundance of energy and many cultivators. Even so, the foreign surplus and per capita availability were higher.
But during this spiritual tide, cultivators in China worked tirelessly for twelve hours, drawing in more energy than anywhere else. By the time the tide ended, China had the highest remaining surplus of spiritual energy globally.
Other nations could only watch and sigh in frustration.
Most notably, Curry Nation, with a population rivaling China's, failed to attract much energy. Only a small portion of its citizens had access to cultivation techniques or training. Their draw on the spiritual tide was simply too weak, and the resulting influx was underwhelming.
But cultivators had little time to worry about international dynamics. The tide might be over, but a massive amount of unclaimed spiritual energy still lingered in the air.
That energy belonged to no one until it was absorbed into one's spiritual platform and converted into spiritual power.
In cities and towns, cultivators would have to fight for every bit.
Song Miaozhu, however, had no such trouble. All she had to do was absorb the remnants scattered around the mountain cave. Since direct absorption was too slow, she used the ambient energy to quickly restore her spiritual strength, then channeled that into nourishing her spirit items.
In less than a day, she had consumed all the nearby energy.
At the SEIU monitoring station in Beijing, a satellite feed of Yunwu Mountain remained open on one of the computer screens.
The moment the energy readings dropped to zero, an observer noticed and filed a report.
"All that energy, gone already? That's insane."
"Honestly terrifying. That was enough for a small town. Other places still have plenty left, even after mass absorption."
"She must burn through ridiculous amounts of energy in regular cultivation."
"Or maybe it's the sheer number of Fortune Gathering Dolls she's raising."
...
Back in the cave, Song Miaozhu continued drawing in energy.
The tide may have ended here, but across the globe, spiritual energy still surged. Her dolls had not stopped gathering it, and the paper bowls in their hands were brimming with dense spiritual liquid.
She converted that liquid into spiritual energy and used it to nourish her tools.
Only when the bowls finally ran dry did she pause.
"It's time to move back to Xiaozhu Mountain."
In this new age of cultivation, living in remote, unpopulated areas was no longer wise. Not only did spiritual energy avoid such places, but doing so made it easier for one's location to stand out. She was better off returning to Xiaozhu Mountain.
Although Yuanshan Town wasn't as densely populated as major cities, it had a high concentration of cultivators. That meant greater benefits during spiritual tides and better cover for someone like her.
She packed up everything in the cave, including the paper-crafted stone walls, and stored it all in her ghost shop warehouse. Only the Gathering Blessing Dolls were left behind, still working to draw in any remaining energy.
This time, she didn't take the long way down the mountain. She leapt directly from the cliffside and summoned her spirit-paper phoenix.
The phoenix could only carry her and her spirit items. Her three cats couldn't ride it, so she had to send paper soldiers to carry them home instead.
The phoenix circled once over Xiaozhu Mountain before landing at the site of her ancestral home.
It had been a long time. The estate, untended for years, had become a patch of overgrown wilderness, waist-high weeds taking over what was once a courtyard.
The bamboo groves below the mountain slope had grown tall.
She had originally planned to place the Spirit Dwelling deep within that bamboo forest. But as the phoenix circled above, she caught sight of something unexpected in the old courtyard.
The burnt locust tree that had once stood there was alive again, sprouting fresh branches. The canopy was no longer as lush as before, but the new limbs were thick and sturdy—strong enough to support the weight of the Spirit Dwelling.
It was the peak of flowering season. Clusters of white blossoms peeked out between vivid green leaves, delicate and beautiful.
Song Miaozhu immediately changed her mind.
Why bury her home in a dense forest when she could have a panoramic view from this tree?
No one would ever suspect she lived in a tree—especially not this one, once scorched to its roots and now barely regrown.
She circled the trunk, observing it closely, and dispatched a few invisible paper servants to scout for a suitable perch.
Soon, they found a familiar little nook in the bark—right where her great-grandmother had once guided her in a dream to retrieve the voucher for becoming a Heaven-tier ghost shop owner.
Since Spirit Dwellings were manifested through the house spirit's essence, they only needed a palm-sized area to anchor.
This little hollow had perfect visibility and just the right size. A perfect fit.
She withdrew temporarily into the bamboo grove, letting the paper servants carry the house spirit and place it into the hollow.
Then, using a position-swapping paper figure, she teleported directly into the Spirit Dwelling that had just manifested.
===
Curry Nation maybe India?