Cultivation: But Not a Game-Chapter 277 - 187: Unification, Expansion, and the Assault on the Grotto Heaven
Considering it’s currently the critical time for the guild to unify Ten Thousand Poison Island, everyone discussed and decided to temporarily delay the attack on the Grotto Heaven Five Elements Sect.
Second Sister returned to Mingsu Palace and requested a few Nine Heavens Capital Seal Sealing Talismans from father to reseal the secret realm entrance.
This sealing talisman is a temporary seal, lasting about a month each. With three talismans, it can be sealed for three months, long enough until the three major guilds leave. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
After sealing, the three major teams had free hands to start mobilizing in turns, persuading various small and large guilds on the island to leave one by one.
At the end of the first month, Su Yu directly mobilized the main force of the second team to the headquarters of a guild called Celestial Eagle Gang. This guild now had more than 20,000 members and, after the three major guilds left, thought they saw an opportunity, recruiting massively those unwilling to leave and expanding frantically.
Su Yu was ruthless with such forefront players; he directly transformed into a true dragon, summoned covering thunderstorms spanning over a hundred kilometers that relentlessly destroyed the City Defense Array and turned the entire city into ruins.
Break the city, eliminate all the stubborn ones, then seize all resources.
After this wave, this guild was basically wrecked.
Witnessing the downfall from nearby small and large forces, no matter how unwilling, they had no choice but to leave.
Two months later, Su Yu reappeared at Ten Thousand Poison City in the south of Ten Thousand Poison Island, the former headquarters of the Ten Thousand Poison Gang, but the resistance wasn’t from the Ten Thousand Poison Gang.
The Ten Thousand Poison Gang had already moved, but because they moved too suddenly, nobody was sent immediately to take over, leading to a collaboration of over ten forces with tens of thousands of people taking over this city, vainly hoping to block them from taking it.
Su Yu, not being polite at all, united with Second Brother and Second Sister to gather over 20,000 people to attack.
Regarding these opportunists, Su Yu was ruthless; after besieging the city, he transformed into a dragon and gathered thunderclouds. The City Defense Array had long been dismantled by the Ten Thousand Poison Gang, and the city had to withstand his blow head-on, destroying most with a massive area Thunderous Force in one wave.
Only twice transforming into a dragon was enough to crush all resisters on the island, and nobody questioned the authenticity of his dragon transformation. Other forces, willing or not, had no choice but to withdraw.
As various forces withdrew, the Thousand Star Hall became the actual owner of Ten Thousand Poison Island with over ten million players. As the island’s only guild, the recruitment speed of guild members greatly increased.
In the first month, 100,000 members were recruited.
During the second month, they started the second recruitment phase, recruiting a total of 200,000 members. Adding the previous 100,000, there were 300,000 in total, all young people, with the oldest no more than 50 years old.
Of course, this refers to ordinary members, and the requirements could be relaxed for those with great strength.
For example, those with a chance of overcoming tribulation could have the age limit relaxed to under 100.
With 300,000 players, each of the three main corps had 30,000 members, totaling 90,000.
Among the remaining 210,000, over 50,000 were players primarily focused on various life occupations, such as various craftsmen, Artifact Refiners, Alchemists, shipbuilders, and other non-combat professions.
The remaining combat personnel were 160,000, with each battalion capped at 3,000 people, totaling 53 battalions.
After consolidating Ten Thousand Poison Island, all resource areas were tallied, including three large Gu Abysses, seven medium Gu Abysses, sixteen small Gu Abysses, and seven large mines, twenty-eight medium mines, ninety-one small mines, as well as a number of special resource points such as medicinal fields.
The three large Gu Abysses initially belonged to the original three major guilds, with each of the main corps allotted one.
The remaining medium and small Gu Abysses all belonged to the guild; all guild teams only had usage rights for the Gu Abysses and could apply at any time, but did not own them.
The mines were similarly returned to guild ownership, with total monthly income collected by the guild, then distributed to each battalion.
In summary, all finances were centralized under headquarters to prevent subsidiary teams from gaining political power and developing unnecessary ambitions, and to make centralization easier.
The guild’s income wasn’t lacking either; in terms of toxic materials and Gu insect resources, the monthly income was about 50,000 gold.
This mainly referred to the industry income from selling toxic materials and Gu insects on Feixing Island by the three major guilds, which needed to be reopened by them.
Various Gu Abysses could be rented out, with a daily rent of 400 gold for large Gu Abysses, 200 gold for medium Gu Abysses, and 100 gold for small ones. Half of them were for self-use, and the other half were rented out for ordinary players on the island to use.
Even if the resource areas were theirs, they couldn’t keep it all to themselves.
After all, there were over ten million active players on the island who, although not joined in the guild, would incur constant expenses while active on the island and were considered their bread and butter. At least some of the benefits should reach them.
Half of the Gu Abysses, with daily rental income surpassing 2,000 gold, would total 60,000 gold per month.
Furthermore, there were over a hundred small and large mines on the island, with specific value depending on the type of mine, ranging from low-value lower-tier spirit mines like Primordial Copper and Profound Iron to high-value ore types like Cyan Nether Iron, Xuan Guang Crystal, and Taibai Golden Crystal.
These mines could bring in 80,000 gold in income per month.
Besides the above, there were quite a few special resource points like spirit fields and medicinal fields on the island, although not many since the environment on Ten Thousand Poison Island wasn’t very suitable for developing these fields, averaging about 20,000 in income per month.
The above noted revenue from Ten Thousand Poison Island was only a quarter of the guild’s total income, amounting to 210,000 monthly.
However, the guild’s largest income source was still taxation, as it was the only guild on Ten Thousand Poison Island; daily trades on the island required taxes.
All tax revenues from the guild’s three branches were unified, with about 440,000 gold collected monthly.
Additionally, the rental income from shops and houses in various cities amounted to about 120,000 gold per month.
Moreover, there was the guild’s own industry within the city, with a monthly profit of at least 300,000 gold.
Combining all these sources, the guild’s total monthly revenue was as high as 1,280,000 gold.
Yet, despite the high income, their monthly expenses were also substantial.
Maintaining a large guild of 300,000 people, just the daily expenses alone would be over 300,000 gold, along with additional expenses for various basic team activities, totaling around 400,000 gold in expenditures.
The remaining 880,000 gold had each of the main corps receiving an extra 200,000 gold monthly, accounting for 600,000 gold, leaving 280,000 gold remaining.
Fifty-three battalions receiving a monthly subsidy of 3,000 gold, totaling 159,000 gold.
Approximately 120,000 gold remained as backup in the guild treasury.
All of the above are supplementary funding—an additional allowance beyond daily expenses. A main unit with 3,000 gold is definitely sufficient.
Moreover, they can find ways to earn some income themselves, and only need to submit half of these extra earnings to the guild, keeping the rest. A regiment with 3,000 members can easily earn thousands of gold through diligence.
After expelling the major guilds and some deliberation, it was decided that the guild headquarters would be centered around the secret realm, establishing a new city in the canyon, named Thousand Stars City, extending influence over the northern part of Ten Thousand Poison Island.
The station of Su Yu’s Second Regiment was situated in the south of the island, at the former headquarters of the Ten Thousand Poison Gang. It has a large Gu Abyss, a ready-made city, and a large port. After taking it over, he renamed it Red Dragon City, extending influence over the southern part of Ten Thousand Poison Island.
The station of the Third Regiment of Second Brother and Sister-in-law was situated in the center of the island, at the former headquarters of the Celestial Gu Association, renamed to Ten Thousand Poison City.
The former headquarters of the Poison Dragon Gang in the southwest of the island was deemed too close to Red Dragon City, with a port depth far less than Red Dragon City’s. It was ultimately decided to abandon it, contracting it into a small fortress enclosing a large Gu Abyss within the city, turning it over to the guild.
The three cities are located at the northern, southern, and central nodes of Ten Thousand Poison Island, precisely radiating across the island.
Thus, the era of the three major guilds became a thing of the past, and Ten Thousand Poison Island entered the era of Thousand Star Hall.
By the fifth month, when the guild had fully taken control of Ten Thousand Poison Island and stabilized, it was time to address the Five Elements Sect within the secret realm.
In an internal guild meeting, Gu Zhiqiu formally proposed this suggestion.
Then it was unanimously approved.
After the meeting, the expansive guild began to assemble and mobilize, gathering over 200,000 members in just two days, and spent a considerable amount of money to hire seven Loose Immortals.
These were the Loose Immortals active on Ten Thousand Poison Island, some even elders or enshrined members of the former three major guilds. They chose to stay behind rather than follow the three major gangs off the island but did not join Thousand Star Hall.
It’s not that they didn’t want to join, but rather that they weren’t invited.
Because their requested compensation was too high, demanding 3,000 gold every month, which Su Yu and Chu Xinyue found unreasonable.
After all the hard work put into conquering this world, they expected to receive such high compensation without contributing anything. It was overly optimistic on their part.
Recruiting them wasn’t as cost-effective as cultivating their own talents, considering there was no external crisis at the moment, so they could take their time.
Of course, just because they didn’t recruit them, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t pay to hire them if necessary. After all, a Loose Immortal is valuable.
Once all preparations were complete, they tore open the seal of the secret realm again.
Once the seal was broken, a beam of light immediately shot out from the secret realm, revealing the figure of Gold Spirit Elder. He raised his head, fearlessly scolding the crowd surrounding him:
"Our sect, with good intentions, wished to take you in, yet you have the audacity to attempt to annihilate us, truly showing the hearts of wolves and ambitions of wild animals. Our sect will never compromise with you."
Su Yu stepped forward and said loudly:
"Sophistry! Clearly, you were the ones harboring ill intentions from the start."
Gold Spirit Elder furiously responded:
"Don’t smear us with false accusations; how could our sect harbor ill intentions?"
Su Yu chuckled lightly, asking calmly:
"Let me ask you, if our guild’s cultivators were to join your Five Elements Sect, in the future, would they follow your orders or ours?"
"If most of our members join the Five Elements Sect, and you threaten to block their cultivation paths, giving a single command could cause our guild to waver. Do you still deny harboring ill intentions?"
"Stop spouting nonsense; our sect comprises righteous cultivators. Such actions are impossible for us."
"Haha, perhaps you wouldn’t engage in such acts, but having the capability to do so is sufficient.
A common saying goes: an innocent person can be guilty if they’re in possession of a valuable item. Apologies in advance."
Su Yu unhesitatingly waved his hand, giving the order:
"Attack!"
A short distance away, one of the seven aligned Loose Immortals pointed a finger, and a beam of red light pierced through Gold Spirit Elder, revealing it as a projection.
Su Yu turned to the others, clasping his hands and said:
"Please, gentlemen, blaze the trail first. Besides the 2,000 gold advance fee, there will be a compensation of 3,000 gold if, unfortunately, someone falls in battle."
The leader, an elderly man, chuckled heartily and said:
"Mr. Su is indeed generous; let this old man go first."
With that, he enveloped himself in a layer of azure astral energy and charged into the gate of the secret realm.
The remaining six Loose Immortals greeted him with cupped hands, each either enveloped in their own astral energy or wielding their magical treasures, transforming into beams of light as they charged into the secret realm.
Once the six experts entered, Su Yu immediately turned and shouted:
"First Regiment, First Battalion, take your positions."
A dense group of players moved in, assembling at the secret realm entrance.
"Prepare to enter!"
Following that, countless beams of treasure light ascended as they surged into the entrance of the secret realm.
