Creating an environment completely devoid of spiritual energy was impossible.
All The SEIU could do was group relics with similar transformation stages together, set up defenses in advance, and strike the moment one of them awakened.
If modern weapons didn't destroy the spirit souls along with the rogue items, they wouldn't have had to rely solely on cultivators. But given the current situation, they had little choice.
Seeing how troubled Zhao Huoyan looked, Song Miaozhu had a sudden thought.
Why not use this opportunity to bind The SEIU to her ship?
Not the other way around.
If The SEIU depended on her, then she held the power. That meant they would treat her more cautiously, more diplomatically.
And when the spiritual tide visibly entered its decline—when everyone knew the truth—and Xiaozhu Mountain still radiated spiritual light, The SEIU would have every reason to shield her from outside forces.
Right now, she wasn't even willing to let anyone set foot into the deeper parts of the mountain. Especially not intruders.
Sure, they might be caught in one of her paper-crafted traps, but the spiritual energy on the mountain couldn't be allowed to leak for free.
With that in mind, she turned to Zhao Huoyan and said, "If you're really out of options, you could rent underworld warehouse space and paper servant managers from me. However much you need, it's available. Immediate access, and I guarantee not a wisp of spiritual energy."
Zhao Huoyan blinked. "That's... an option?"
"Of course. So long as the price is right, anything can be arranged. The warehouse itself, after all, I rent from the Underworld Commerce Bureau."
"The what?" Zhao Huoyan frowned.
Song Miaozhu, unconcerned with anything that didn't involve top-grade spirit stones, had no problem sharing. "The Underworld Commerce Bureau. My ancestor left me a ghost shop in the underworld. The warehouse is part of that property. Thanks to it, I've maintained stable contact with the underworld all this time."
"Wait, does that make you... second-generation underworld royalty?" Zhao Huoyan stared.
He often heard people call him a second-gen government official, but that suddenly felt tame in comparison. Her ancestor had literally arranged her afterlife affairs to perfection.
"..."
Song Miaozhu said flatly, "So, are you renting or not? It's one hundred yuan per cubic meter per month. If you want to prevent Yin energy corrosion, you'll need special underworld wood boxes and racks. Small boxes are twenty yuan per month, medium ones are one hundred, large ones are two hundred. Racks cost double those rates. As for warehouse managers, they're pricey—minimum two paper servants per shift, three hundred yuan per person, per day. One day off per week."
Having listed the rates, she became even more eager for The SEIU to accept.
After all, expanding her warehouse to house more relics had not been cheap. Space, underworld wood, custom racks—all of it cost hell coins by the month.
It might be just a drop in the bucket compared to her current income, but saving where she could never hurt.
If The SEIU agreed to rent, her profits as the middle-woman would more than cover her ghost shop's rent, warehouse expansion, hell coin storage fees, underworld containers, racks, and even her little paper servants' cultivation upkeep.
In other words, The SEIU would be funding her infrastructure and raising her servants for her. And once their relics were stored in the underworld through her, her personal safety would become just as important to The SEIU as the relics themselves.
If anything happened to her, no one would be able to retrieve the items.
It was a good deal for her. And honestly, it was a good deal for The SEIU too.
All their current spending on relic management cost more than her proposal.
And money wasn't the real issue. The country had enough capital. What they lacked was manpower and time. Meanwhile, countless relics still lay buried and unmonitored across the land.
Though Zhao Huoyan personally found the offer appealing, this kind of decision wasn't his to make. It had never been part of their original planning.
To prevent delays or complications, he said, "I'll contact the central SEIU immediately and push for a decision. Please wait here a bit."
He believed there was no downside. All that remained was to decide how much warehouse space, how many boxes and racks, how many paper servants, and whether the central SEIU would lease one large warehouse for all branches, or if each would manage its own.
Song Miaozhu nodded and sat back down. She didn't really have anywhere else to go anyway. Aside from the main storefront of the Anshou Hall Paper Shop, the attic was still packed with clutter.
But more than that, she wanted to make sure the central SEIU felt pressure to act quickly. She wanted them to know she was present, watching, and not in the mood for stalling.
After all, her reputation within The SEIU had never been that of a patient or easygoing person.
Zhao Huoyan quickly called the director and gave him a brief explanation. But of course, decisions involving The SEIU required discussion. The director immediately convened a virtual emergency meeting with department heads.
Naturally, the meeting notice mentioned that Master Song Miaozhu was listening in.
She didn't appear onscreen, but no one dared question her presence.
No one really knew what stage her cultivation had reached.
"This rent's cheaper than housing in the cities these days," someone commented. "With how high urban rents have gotten, this deal sounds great to me."
"I agree. Managing these relics has been a nightmare. Having a secure storage site would be ideal."
"But these paper servant managers... are they really capable of preserving the relics properly?"
"Yeah, aren't they just paper constructs? Spirit items tend to be clumsy compared to real people."
At that moment, Song Miaozhu spoke up. "You don't have to worry about that. Relics stored on underworld wood shelves or in boxes are already secure. The paper servants have extensive handling experience. They've helped me manage a large inventory of relics for years. Still, if you're concerned, we can write into the contract that any damages during handling will be compensated at full value. I can afford it. But once the paper servants deliver the relics to your designated warehouse in the human realm, they're no longer responsible."
"Master Song! Could we see what the paper servant managers look like?"
She didn't reply.
Instead, two little paper servants appeared on the table in front of her, hand in hand, just within the camera's view. In a flash, a shadow puppet box appeared between them, then vanished just as quickly.
In that blink of an eye, many people recognized it as one of the relics involved in the early exchange of spirit soul data.
The paper servants gave a simple demonstration of their ability, and even tapped out a message on the keyboard with their feet: "We're clever, you know." Then they vanished back into the underworld warehouse.
No one questioned their capabilities after that.
Though they had only appeared briefly, those palm-sized paper servants had made quite an impression.
No one doubted their intelligence anymore.
They were clearly on a level far beyond any ordinary spirit item.