Chapter 60

The third Heavenly Court mission emerged, unsurprisingly causing a stir in the world.

Especially after witnessing the rewards offered by the Heavenly Court, people were thrown into a frenzy.

...

[Xiao Quan, Late Stage of Second Realm: Am I seeing things? The highest reward for this mission is actually twenty million contribution points, surpassing even the task of exploring the otherworldly portal!]

[Kong Shaomei, Early Stage of Second Realm: The traces of those cultivators have been hidden by time. Could it be that cultivators truly existed in the past?]

[Lu Wen, Late Stage of Second Realm: The Heavenly Court missions are never wrong. Since this task has appeared, there must have been cultivators in the past.]

[He Shaoyi, Early Stage of Third Realm: Fellow Daoists, do you think these cultivators might have left behind cultivation techniques? If we obtain them, will our cultivation soar?]

[Gu Fang, Early Stage of Fourth Realm: The chances are slim. Even if there are cultivation techniques left by ancient cultivators, they probably cannot compare to those available in the Heavenly Court Market.]

[Yan Haiyun, Early Stage of Third Realm: Respectful greetings to the Nascent Soul senior!]

[Wu Yang, Late Stage of Second Realm: Also paying my respects!]

...

Following Gu Fang's words, several other fourth-realm cultivators spoke up, each expressing their views on the secret realms and ancient relics.

In the eyes of ordinary cultivators, Nascent Soul cultivators are the pinnacle of human power, standing at the top of the cultivation pyramid.

Therefore,

After Gu Fang and the others appeared, the topic quickly shifted from the Heavenly Court mission to a large-scale admiration of the great powers.

Of course,

There were not many genuine admirers.

Most people, upon receiving the Heavenly Court mission, took immediate action, rushing to the legendary secret realms and ancient relics.

Because the temptation offered by Lu Qingyang was simply too great.

The minimum reward for this task was one hundred thousand contribution points, with a maximum of up to twenty million contribution points.

It is worth noting that the task of exploring the otherworldly portal was only valued at around ten million contribution points.

Although everyone knew that obtaining the full twenty million contribution points would be extremely difficult, they did not expect the full reward, and would be satisfied with even half.

Even being more conservative, obtaining just one-tenth, or even the minimum reward, would be a profitable venture.

One hundred thousand contribution points,

For many, is an astronomical figure.

Despite the Heavenly Court Market reaching the fourth realm, in reality, very few people can exchange for fourth-realm techniques.

Even those who can exchange for third-realm techniques are not as numerous as imagined.

More cultivators remain wandering in the second realm.

After all, hunting monsters is extremely perilous, and a slight mistake could result in death.

Unless they have the protection of a powerful sect or have great luck and can gather a team to serve them.

Otherwise, it is exceedingly difficult for ordinary cultivators to ascend to the third and fourth realms by hunting monsters.

One hundred thousand contribution points,

For lower-level cultivators, might take years to accumulate.

But now, just finding an ancient relic or secret realm could yield at least one hundred thousand contribution points, like a heaven-sent opportunity.

More critically,

The danger level of seeking such targets is far lower than fighting monsters to the death.

For many cultivators unwilling to risk their lives against monsters for contribution points, this task is perfect.

...

At the Alliance's high command,

Ji Xuan spoke first, "The Heavenly Court's missions do not appear out of thin air. We must find the existence of those ancient cultivators."

"If we can obtain something from the ancient cultivators' heritage, it will have a significant impact on our Alliance's army of cultivators!"

Currently, although the Heavenly Court offers countless techniques for exchange, these techniques are limited and cannot be taught to others.

The Alliance, though possessing an army of cultivators, has generally low overall strength due to the restrictions on the transmission of techniques.

For example,

Exchanging for a top-grade second-realm technique requires fifty thousand contribution points.

To train ten thousand cultivators to the second-realm perfection stage, the Alliance army would need to spend at least five billion contribution points.

This cost alone severely hampers the Alliance's plans to expand the strength of its army of cultivators.

During this period,

Some third and fourth-realm cultivators tried to create techniques using their wisdom.

Unfortunately, creating a technique is not something that can be done overnight.

Every step is filled with difficulty. To this day, even the most basic low-grade first-realm technique has not been successfully created by the Alliance.

Therefore, upon learning of the possible existence of ancient cultivator heritage, the Alliance would not miss this opportunity.

Needless to say,

Obtaining even one complete second-realm technique from these heritages would significantly boost the Alliance's strength.

If they could obtain third-realm or even fourth-realm techniques, the benefits would be immeasurable.

Ji Xuan understood the importance, and so did the other high-ranking members of the Alliance.

Therefore,

Everyone unanimously agreed to continue hunting high-level monsters while simultaneously searching for clues to secret realms and ancient relics.

...

In the depths of the Ten Thousand Mountains,

Lu Qingyang observed all the discussions of the Alliance's high command through incense smoke and did not mind their intentions.

Even if they did find ancient heritage and obtained some techniques, it would have minimal impact on the Divine Kingdom Immortal Alliance.

After all, the Heavenly Court's control over everything is not solely dependent on various techniques.

Moreover,

The Heavenly Court has infinite potential for development.

In the future, exchanges for fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, or even ninth-realm techniques could be established.

The heritage of a few ancient cultivators cannot possibly shake the foundation of the Heavenly Court.

Additionally,

There is another crucial factor.

Even if the Alliance did obtain some top-grade techniques, they would not be able to freely disseminate them for all cultivators to learn.

After all, human nature is unpredictable.

There are no absolute secrets in the world.

Once the top-grade techniques are leaked, the Alliance's advantage would vanish instantly.

Human nature is inherently selfish,

Lu Qingyang was well aware of this.

For these reasons, he did not concern himself with the Alliance's high command's thoughts. He issued this task to find secret realms and ancient relics merely to understand the secrets of ancient times and seek opportunities to enhance his own cultivation.

...

Winter passed, and spring came, the seasons changed.

A year flew by, and cultivators worldwide were diligently searching for clues to secret realms and ancient relics, but to no avail.

Just as Lu Qingyang was patiently waiting, a strange tremor surged in his mind.

Immediately after,

The sky rained blood, dyeing the earth red.

An uncontrollable sorrow rose from Lu Qingyang's heart, causing waves in his usually calm mind.