Chapter 885: Returning to Emerald Cove Island P9
What did Aksai’s recent announcement mean?
Even if only ten percent of those Core Nirvana Pills ultimately helped their users form a successful Spirit Core, it would still mean the birth of ten new Core Formation Lords.
That alone was enough to shake the entire Dadangar Subcontinent.
Several cultivators subconsciously checked their guild tokens.
Quite a few had accumulated enormous amounts of contribution points over the past several years.
Their expressions brightened.
Some of them almost rushed toward the guild treasury.
However...
Aksai’s next sentence instantly froze everyone in place.
"These pills cannot be exchanged using your existing contribution points."
The smiles on many faces stiffened.
Aksai continued calmly.
"They may only be exchanged using contribution points earned from these special missions."
"Like I said, these are special missions with special rewards. Previous contribution records will not count toward these particular rewards."
The excitement instantly transformed into helpless frustration.
Many cultivators nearly cried inwardly.
Yet, not a single person dared voice any dissatisfaction. The Guild Master himself had personally announced the rules.
Who would dare question them?
Ignoring their reactions, Aksai continued speaking.
"I strongly recommend forming groups consisting of at least six to eight cultivators of similar cultivation realms before accepting these missions. The dangers within these regions are no longer what they once were."
"Traveling alone will significantly reduce your chances of survival."
His indifferent voice echoed across the silent square.
"As for how you choose your teammates... that is entirely your own decision. Remember, the pills will be distributed as per the guild’s usual style, which is first come first serve."
Whoosh!
Before anyone could recover from the shock of his announcement, Aksai disappeared.
His figure shot into the sky like a streak of emerald light before vanishing beyond the clouds within a few breaths.
The gathered loose cultivators remained standing in stunned silence.
Many of them still stared blankly at the massive spectral screen hanging above the guild.
Others had already begun discussing which missions to take and whom to recruit into their teams.
The guild managers quickly stepped forward and started maintaining order before the entire place descended into chaos.
None of that concerned Aksai anymore. He had already left Wuyum County behind.
***
The wind whistled past him as he flew toward Emerald Cove Island.
His expression remained calm. Yet there was a trace of helplessness hidden deep within his eyes. After a long silence, he murmured to himself.
"Let’s hope some of you survive the coming chaos..."
"...and forge a better future for yourselves as well as this subcontinent."
His voice was so soft that only the passing wind heard it.
Earlier, after speaking with the Purple River Lord, Aksai had genuinely considered disbanding the Emerald Cove Guild.
In the end...
He chose not to.
Not because he had changed his mind midway.
But because he realized something.
The Emerald Cove Guild and the Purple River Sect were fundamentally different.
His guild was merely an organization that employed loose cultivators. A place where resources were exchanged for labor.
If Aksai had suddenly dissolved the guild while publicly revealing the Empire’s impending invasion, the consequences would have been disastrous.
Loose cultivators would immediately panic.
Instead of remaining organized, they would scatter in every direction like frightened birds. Many would flee into mortal kingdoms to hide.
Others would seize territories, rob caravans, occupy Spirit veins, or exploit ordinary people simply to prepare themselves for the coming catastrophe.
That would create even greater chaos than the imperial invasion itself.
There existed an unwritten rule throughout the cultivation world.
No matter how fiercely cultivators fought one another, ordinary mortals should remain largely unaffected.
Most mortal kingdoms rarely even realized that sect wars were taking place around them. To them, life simply continued.
Aksai had no intention of becoming the one who shattered that balance.
Unlike the disciples of established sects, loose cultivators possessed very few bottom lines when survival was concerned.
Many would abandon any sense of morality if they believed it increased their chances of living another day.
That was precisely why, instead of frightening them, Aksai chose to tempt them.
Greed.
Ambition.
Hope.
Those three things were far stronger motivators than fear.
The special missions would naturally draw the overwhelming majority of the guild’s members away from the mainland.
The Spirit resources required for exchanging a single Foundation Establishment Pill or Core Nirvana Pill were intentionally known to be located across distant and dangerous regions.
No individual could complete those missions efficiently alone.
That was why Aksai had specifically recommended forming groups of six to eight cultivators.
In reality, most groups would likely consist of eight or even more members.
Gathering enough resources for one person’s reward would already require months.
After obtaining one member’s share, the group could not simply abandon the others.
Everyone would naturally stay together until every member had earned enough contribution points to exchange for their desired reward.
By the time those missions were completed...
Months...
Or perhaps years...
Would have already passed.
By then, the initial wave of turmoil sweeping across the Dadangar Subcontinent would likely have already reached its conclusion. This was because he had verified the empire’s might firsthand. The campaigns wouldn’t last particularly long simply because the natives were too weak.
Of course, Aksai had not overlooked one crucial detail.
Before leaving Wuyum County, he had secretly instructed the guild managers to make special arrangements.
If the guild members eventually returned with their harvested resources only to discover that the Emerald Cove Guild no longer existed, they would still receive every reward they had earned through other secret means.
No matter what happened to the guild itself.
No matter where the headquarters eventually moved.
Those contribution points would remain valid.
Otherwise, the very people whose lives he had indirectly saved would only curse him for deceiving them.
Aksai understood loose cultivators all too well.
To many of them, advancing their cultivation was even more important than preserving their lives. Without tangible rewards, good intentions meant nothing.
By announcing those special missions and extraordinary rewards, Aksai had quietly dispersed the vast majority of the Emerald Cove Guild’s members without causing panic.
Whether they realized it or not, he had already given them the best chance he could offer to survive the storm that was about to engulf the entire Dadangar Subcontinent.