Chapter 264: Points Ranking
Song Jiulai returned to the mines.
She quickly put the recent events out of her mind.
After seeing that the players were stable overall, despite their various troubles, she refocused on her own routine of working, slacking off, and cultivating.
While cultivating the Dragon Transformation Bone, she noticed that her absorption of nature’s spiritual energy accelerated as she began forming the second Dragon Shadow.
But for now, she needed to strengthen an escape technique, so Song Jiulai chose to cultivate Lotus Birth Kill.
Mastering this Cultivation Technique would serve her well.
Of course, a mental method that could be purchased on the open market could never compare to the exclusive Cultivation Techniques of a Major Sect.
Unfortunately, she had no way to acquire a better one.
Lotus Birth Kill was a bit like Palm Thunder. Once she grasped the fundamentals, all she needed was long-term practice to solidify it, and its power would grow with her Realm.
It was different from the Dragon Transformation Bone.
Half a month into the ranking period, Song Jiulai, having already stabilized Lotus Birth Kill at the First Layer, opened her eyes.
Today was the day the points were tallied, and the top ten players would be able to create new puppets.
The ones with the highest points were the trio of Mu Qiu, Honghuang, and An Xiu.
This was because the three of them had gone to the Dragon Frost Swamp and gathered a great deal of spirit materials.
During this time, all three of them had also entered the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Their breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Stage was purely a result of running into trouble.
Mu Qiu was already on the verge of Foundation Establishment to begin with, and the three of them—Mu Qiu, Honghuang, and An Xiu—had been far more diligent in the Dragon Frost Swamp than Song Jiulai.
Longevity Sect disciples didn’t even need to rest; when they got tired, they just took Elixir Pills to replenish their Spiritual Energy. Their efficiency left ordinary Cultivators in the dust.
They weren’t in a mine but in a land rich with spirit materials.
They had already confirmed that the system could bypass the normal restrictions on Dragon Breath Spirit and transport it back to the Sect’s warehouse.
By exploiting this bug, they could bring Dragon Breath Spirit directly back to the Longevity Sect.
Dragon Breath Spirit couldn’t be sent through a Teleportation Array, but it could be teleported by the system.
Unfortunately, the yield was simply too low.
A piece of ore containing Dragon Breath Spirit was ten times more expensive than ordinary ore.
The higher the rank of the ore, the greater the price disparity.
For example, a First Rank ore might only be worth one low-grade spirit stone, but if it contained Dragon Breath Spirit, its value would jump to ten low-grade spirit stones.
A Second Rank ore with Dragon Breath Spirit had its price increased twenty-fold. And so on—the higher the rank, the more absurd the price became for ore containing Dragon Breath Spirit.
This was understandable. After all, Dragon Breath Spirit could boost a Magic Treasure’s power, allowing it to transcend its rank.
It was during this process that they ran into danger.
While gathering spirit materials, Mu Qiu ran into a Fourth-rank demon beast!
Perhaps it was fate that Mu Qiu would face a trial for his Foundation Establishment breakthrough; a Fourth-rank demon beast was fundamentally beyond what anyone in the Qi Refinement Realm could handle.
But as luck would have it, the Fourth-rank demon beast appeared to be heavily injured and had fled to their location.
Unable to retreat, the trio had no choice but to fight. Relying on their Magic Treasures, Elixir Pills, and impressive teamwork, the three of them worked together to slowly grind the Fourth-rank demon beast to death.
The system reported that An Xiu’s chest was pierced through during the fight. In their desperation, they had used a Disposable Magical Treasure given to them by Nan Qi, which finally allowed them to finish off the Fourth-rank demon beast.
If not for the quick application of elixirs and the breakthrough in his cultivation right after the battle, an ordinary Cultivator with such an injury would have been a goner.
Back in her own Qi Refinement Realm days, Song Jiulai had struggled immensely just to deal with a Third-stage Demon Beast, and that was with the help of Lü Rufeng and his team. Of course, she was only at the Qi Refining Middle Stage then; the fight pushed her into the Late Stage.
In any case, reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage was a good thing.
On the points leaderboard, the three of them were far ahead of the pack.
Even with the double points bonus, the new players couldn’t possibly keep up with the veterans.
Wuming and Qing Guo, two players Song Jiulai held in high regard, hadn’t even made it onto the leaderboard.
Even the most gifted artisan can’t work without materials.
One had been confined ever since entering the Sea View Sect, while the other was still living like a hermit in the wilds of the Taixue Sect. The upside was that they hadn’t encountered any danger; the downside was that they hadn’t earned any points.
Qing Guo hadn’t been idle, though. She had splurged to purchase Palm Thunder, giving her a way to protect herself. Beyond that, she had explored large parts of the Taixue Sect’s territory.
She had committed the map to memory, but it hadn’t been much use.
At the Early Stage of Qi Refining, she couldn’t travel too far. She headed east, but somehow didn’t encounter a single demon beast, only managing to collect a few pathetic-looking spirit materials.
It was as if the entire region had been deliberately swept clean. It was so desolate that even after half a month of walking, she hadn’t found a single trace of a Sect or another Cultivator.
’But her intuition and analytical skills are quite sharp.’
In such a desolate place, even a Cultivator could be led astray by the turbulent Spiritual Energy and ominous auras.
Yet, so far, Qing Guo hadn’t made a single wrong turn.
’Wuming is cultivating in the Sea View Sect, but he’s not allowed to go out. The Sect must be deliberating something. What’s strange is that no elder has taken him as a disciple yet; he was only made an Inner Sect Disciple.’
There was no way the Sea View Sect would ignore a talent with a Metal Spirit Root. They had simply made Wuming an ordinary Inner Sect Disciple for the time being.
This was somewhat unexpected.
After all, the disciple with the Water Pool Orange Spirit Root had been accepted directly by the Fifth Elder.
Perhaps the Metal Spirit Root was simply too exceptional, and the higher-ups were arguing over who should get to be his master.
In any case, that was a matter for the Sea View Sect to consider.
It all sounded manageable enough.
Still, almost none of the new players had made the leaderboard. Even with the points bonus, they couldn’t compete with the veterans.
Most of the new players had now settled in.
Dozens of disciples had entered the Taohua Sect and the Liuyun Sect, but the majority remained in the Longevity Sect. The rest chose to become Loose Cultivators.
These so-called Loose Cultivators were only ’loose’ in that they didn’t join another sect; in reality, they were still disciples of the Longevity Sect.
A few particularly bold players had even teamed up to head for the Netherworld Sect, while several others made for the Fierce Eagle Sect.
Since these two sects weren’t on the list of currently unlocked locations on the map, this trip gave them a chance to join.
Song Jiulai ticked them off on her fingers. ’Fierce Eagle Sect, Taohua Sect, Liuyun Sect, Netherworld Sect, and the annihilated Spirit Fox Sect... basically, those are all the small sects in the vicinity of Demon Cave Valley.’
Those were the ones they had information on, at least.
The goal wasn’t necessarily to control the surrounding territories. Instead, the players needed to radiate outward. Having them infiltrate these other sects was the best way to conceal the Longevity Sect’s own development. At its core, it was all for the Longevity Sect’s growth.
’As long as I can reach the Nascent Soul Realm soon enough...’
Song Jiulai’s brow twitched at the thought. Then, they would at least have the potential to become a Major Sect.
After all, the Sea View Sect had established its footing by relying on its Nascent Soul Ancestor.
She glanced at the points leaderboard. The top three spots were held by Mu Qiu’s trio, and most of the names that followed were familiar faces as well.
It was Zhen Weida’s group, in fact.
Song Jiulai recalled something.
She frowned slightly. ’These people are all connected to Fan Guzhou’s business dealings. It seems my decision was too hasty. I’ve miscalculated somewhere.’
The speed at which one earned points from commerce was in a different league from killing monsters. And that was with Chen Miaomiao and the others not having yet converted their massive profits into points.
Otherwise, Mu Qiu’s trio wouldn’t have been able to sweep the top three spots.