Chapter 374: 351: All Beings as Collateral

Translator: 549690339

“The Immortal Sovereign doesn’t necessarily mean the Eternally Immortal Sovereign. That’s why they would fall eventually,” Ji Hongdao shook his head and chuckled lightly.

“Especially so for the owner of this Broken Palm of the Blue Stone, who is an Ancient Heavenly Lord who achieved the Celestial Fruit Position via ancient methods.”

“Achieving the Immortal Sovereign status through ancient methods doesn’t require the need to defy the Principle of Heaven and Earth as harshly as it is today.”

“As such, their strength would naturally be much weaker.”

“It’s possible that they could be killed by someone, or perish in a catastrophe.”

Without leaving much time for the cultivators present to be shocked, Ji Hongdao treated his words as trivial. He then instructed, “The task this time is urgent, there won’t be much time for rest. Today, Huang Fusong and Shangguan will take you all and familiarize yourself with the precautions to be taken within the Eternal Immortal Stronghold.”

“Construction shall begin officially tomorrow.”

“The first-stage task will be to construct the Tianxuan Spirit Locking Array beyond the Roaring Abyss.”

“Once we are done relocating the newly discovered Mystical Realm, we will rush there to construct the second Spirit-locking Formation.”

“After the construction at both sites is complete, we can return.”

“Also…”

Ji Hongdao paused for a while. He produced a small Tianxuan Mirror from his bosom, directing a beam of light towards everyone.

“Let me inform you all, the Tian Xuan Soul Locking Array popularity competition has officially begun.”

“Although most of you here are not in the competition, the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals will not let your hard work go to waste.”

“Protecting, transporting, cooperating—every bit of effort will be meticulously recorded and transformed into points. When the construction of the Great Array is complete, these points can be exchanged for the Techniques and Treasures within the Alliance.”

“Moreover, the construction of every Tianxuan Spirit Locking Array will be considered a task or merit equivalent to an upper level first class task.”

“When the Array Technique is completed, those who had significantly contributed would be awarded corresponding merits.”

“The rewards will be distributed in real-time, there won’t be any delay.”

Just as Ji Hongdao ended his words, murmurs ensued among the cultivators present. It was clear they didn’t have such knowledge prior.

Completing an upper level first class task conventionally requires an extremely high level of danger and difficulty. Ordinary cultivators would not be able to accomplish this.

But now, all they have to do is carefully construct the Tianxuan Spirit Locking Array to earn it.

How could they not be driven to madness Hearing this?

Ji Hongdao grinned slightly, “Everyone, would you like to earn the Techniques and increase your Authority Level?”

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“If you miss out, I’m afraid you’ll need to pay a price several times more in the future to earn the same rewards.”

“Therefore, put in your best effort.”

In the midst of the crowd’s excitement, Li Fan looked at the luminous board in the sky.

Perhaps because the competition had just begun, the gap between the contestants had not opened up significantly.

The list was constantly changing every single second, showcasing the extent of the competition.

The list had a total of seven hundred and eighty-three names. These were all familiar faces—students who had undergone special training in the Universal Academy.

Other than Li Fan and Xue Mu who were at the bottom with zero points, a Gold Core Cultivator named Guo Yezhong, for an unknown reason was not officially participating in the Array Construction.

“Alright, let’s hold back your excitement for now. Save your energy for tomorrow.”

After a while when he saw that the atmosphere had somewhat reached a peak, Ji Hongdao continued speaking.

“After you get off the ship, you must carry the [Black Death Talisman] with you. Even within the Eternal Immortal Stronghold, you must do so. Remember this.”

“Starting from tomorrow, some cultivators stationed in the stronghold will also act with you to prevent the Abyss Demon Sound.”

“Huang Fusong and Shangguan will detail the specific matters.”

After saying that, Ji Hongdao waved his hand. Abruptly, hundreds of charms with black radiance, akin to lightning, appeared in the sky.

They then individually flew in front of each of the present cultivators.

Upon contact, the Black Death Talisman transformed into a black line in an instant, hibernating by Li Fan’s left wrist.

Before he could even investigate the talisman, Li Fan was put under Huang Fusong’s urging. Consequently, he left the Dustcrosser Boat and temporarily stayed in the Eternal Immortal Stronghold.

True to its name as the bulwark against the Roaring Abyss, the stronghold was practically self-sufficient.

Common facilities and places that could be found in regular city-states were all available here.

Other than being unable to teleport, a Tianxuan Mirror could even be found here.

However, the place where Li Fan and the others were residing was only the outermost part of the stronghold, and based on the size of the severed palm seen earlier, it only occupies a mere segment of a finger.

To venture deeper into the stronghold was impossible due to the presence of cultivators dressed in blue garb guarding the way in.

While the cultivators were wandering about the stronghold.

Back on the Dustcrosser Boat, Ji Hongdao was still standing at the bow, gazing at the scenes within the Broken Palm of the Blue Stone.

A figure that was twisting like a phantom suddenly appeared behind him.

“Still using benefits to lure people, don’t you have any new tricks to play?” The figure spoke disdainfully, its tone full of contempt.

Ji Hongdao wasn’t surprised by its appearance. Without turning his head, he said nonchalantly, “Though it’s old-fashioned, it’s effective.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Who among the cultivators under the heavens could truly resist the allure when faced with massive profits?”

“Even you, Young Master, who claims to be ‘lofty’, wouldn’t have willingly guarded the Roaring Abyss immovably for decades without any potential benefits, would you?”

The Young Master snorted, not retorting.

After a moment of silence, he said, “Gaining something from the Abyss is my own ability. Let’s see if anyone else dares to try?”

“Guarding such a dangerous place… and now even my domain has to construct the [Tian Xuan Spirit Locker].”

“We both know very well what that is.”

“As for us cultivators……”

Ji Hongdao suddenly turned around. His expression was more serious than ever as he stared at the Young Master.

The Young Master abruptly fell silent.

“Tianxuan Spirit Locking is the tide of the times,” Ji Hongdao pronounced each word clearly. “Whoever dares to oppose it will definitely meet his end.”

“I advise the Young Master not to provoke the Dharma Transmitters’ will.”

Seeing the Young Master still seemed hesitant, Ji Hongdao sighed and said, “The situation is critical now and there’s no time to lose.”

“Heaven and Earth suddenly relaxed the restrictions on cultivation. It seems like they have given up and want to drag us down with them.”

“The Five Elders Organization has made multiple attempts but still failed to locate the Celestial Dharma Bearer. They’re eager to try something.”

“The Dharma Transmitters have also observed signs that the Principle of Heaven and Earth is reversing.”

“You should very well know what that signifies.”

“At this point, only [Tianxuan Spirit Locking], which involves using the lives of a great amount of living beings in the Xuan Huang World as collateral to get through this difficult time.”

“Only by doing so can we gradually find a way to break out of the predicament.”

The Young Master apparently couldn’t accept Ji Hongdao’s words.

He retorted, “Treating sentient beings as ants, how do you know you’re not an ant?”

Ji Hongdao didn’t care, “Of course, we’re above sentient beings.”

The Young Master snorted coldly, “Perhaps.”

“Let’s wait and see.”

His figure then trembled and vanished.