Cultivation: But Not a Game-Chapter 61 - 29: Ancient Secret Realm, Three Major Guilds (Part 2)
About half an hour later, Gu Zhiqiu sent a message:
"The results are out."
"How is it?"
"Indeed, it’s a collaboration among the three guilds for exploration. They’ve already set up formations to seal the secret realm’s entrance."
"What’s the situation inside the secret realm? How are they exploring it? Who goes in first?"
"How would I know? They’re probably still negotiating."
"Alright."
Closed the communication and continued fighting monsters underwater.
Kept at it until the evening, when he emerged from the water, it was already dark, but the pillar of light not far away illuminated an area of dozens of kilometers.
There were more battleships than during the day, with the three parties combined totaling over a hundred.
Additionally, there were more players gathered nearby than during the day.
Not only the three major guilds, but a large number of independent teams and solo players.
"How long are we going to wait?"
Su Yu rubbed his teeth and sent a message to Gu Zhiqiu:
"Are you still waiting? I’m heading back first."
"You go ahead, I have to wait a bit longer."
"Alright."
Su Yu wasn’t very interested in this; secret realms like these usually have experts sent in first, and newcomers like him would not have a chance.
However, like Gu Zhiqiu, he was curious about the type of the secret realm, whether it was intact, and its level.
A secret realm is an independent space affiliated with the main world, roughly divided into three types.
One type is a naturally formed independent world.
The second type is a Grotto Heaven Blessed Land created by mighty immortals, possibly containing treasures left by them, but also potentially sealing many dangers.
The third type is formed from space-type spiritual treasures, with the secret realm itself being a supreme treasure.
The most valuable is naturally the last type, as the secret realm itself is a space spiritual treasure, with many treasures within.
Next is the Grotto Heaven Blessed Land created by immortals. Such a secret realm might be an immortal’s secluded estate, or an important sect location.
Even if the immortal passes away and the sect is destroyed, some treasures may remain inside.
Of course, it could also be an abandoned grotto by the immortal or sect, containing nothing.
It could also be a prison where immortals keep criminals or demons, containing no good items and being very dangerous.
The least valuable are natural secret realms, whose value is uncertain. They might hold great treasures or be normal spaces with nothing inside.
However, all secret realms inherently hold value.
Even a normal space with nothing in it can be developed, creating fertile land, establishing a nation, and proliferating life.
Returning to the Poisonous Mist Swamp, it was night. Su Yu ate something simple and went to sleep.
An uneventful night passed, and early the next morning he found two new messages, from Fu Ping and Chu Xinyue respectively.
First, he opened the message from Fu Ping:
"Brother Su Yu, come quickly to the newly discovered secret realm; there’s a good opportunity."
Then he looked at the message from Chu Xinyue:
"Come to the secret realm!"
He immediately replied to Fu Ping:
"What good opportunity is Mr. Fu talking about?"
Then he replied to Chu Xinyue:
"I’m on my way."
He used the general magic Purification Skill to cleanse himself of dirt, rose into the air, and flew toward the secret realm.
On the way, Fu Ping replied:
"The negotiation results are in. Last night, the guild and the Sword Spirit Pavilion, and the Thunder Eagle Association each sent some experts to explore the secret realm. It was discovered to be an abandoned medicine garden, belonging to an ancient sect, long neglected, with few spiritual medicines remaining and none of high quality."
"Moreover, the medicine garden has been unmaintained for years, and the secret realm is starting to collapse. Now the internal space is very unstable, and Loose Immortals or higher entering would greatly affect its stability."
"Yesterday, several level-100 monsters entered the secret realm, already affecting its stability."
"After evaluation, this secret realm was initially estimated to last a hundred years, but early opening and damage mean it’ll completely collapse in two to three decades, lacking the value of occupation."
"The three guilds discussed last night and decided to immediately send people in to collect all the spiritual medicines and leave it be."
"Oh...."
Su Yu curiously asked:
"Anyone can collect medicines, right? Why call me?"
Fu Ping replied:
"Of course, it’s not just about collecting medicines. It’s rare for three guilds to gather, and everyone wants to probe each other a bit."
"The seasoned guild experts are well-known, nothing to probe, only the new representatives of each guild’s future. Everyone wants to see the caliber of the other’s newcomers, so the three guilds agreed to each send 100 newcomers into the secret realm to compete for resources inside."
"Limited to this year’s newcomers, and you ranked in the top eight in last year’s minor test, so you have a spot."
"Oh!"
Su Yu understood.
It was just because the secret realm’s value was too low, disappointing everyone, but they did not want to end it hastily after putting in so much effort, thus leading to this idea.
Returning to the Yuanjiang River, he quickly reached the guild’s fleet and found Fu Ping, who led him onto one of the giant wooden divine ships, where many young men and women had gathered. He saw several acquaintances there, with He Shoucheng waving at him.
"Wait here, Mr. Ding will come to speak soon."
"Alright."
Su Yu went to stand by He Shoucheng, with dozens of eyes turning to look, some familiar faces among them, including He Shoucheng’s girlfriend and brother-in-law.
At this moment, He Shoucheng whispered to him:
"It seems there’s no restriction on forming teams; shall we go together later?"
"Sure."
"Want to invite a few more people?"
"I’m not familiar with the others."
"I’ll go contact them."
"Thank you."
He Shoucheng gave him a glance, then turned to speak quietly with Wei Xia nearby.
Just then, a Spiritual Wing Flying Ship arrived from afar and landed straight on the deck. A group of guild executives disembarked, and someone immediately shouted:
"Silence!"
The deck quieted down, and the guild executives walked before them, with Deputy Guild Leader Ding Hao in the center.
He did not know this before, but while leveling up recently with He Shoucheng, he heard some insider news. The Thousand Feather Guild’s leader seemed to be retiring soon, having stopped handling guild affairs a few years ago. The next guild leader had yet to be chosen, with several vice guild leaders jointly managing affairs.
Ding Hao was one of the three vice guild leaders, in charge of administration.
It’s worth mentioning that the Thousand Feather Guild leader succession is not appointed by the current leader, but candidates are selected before the leader’s term ends.
Normally, only the three vice guild leaders and the leaders of the three main squads are eligible for succession.
Usually, after five years of observation, the guild calls all core members for a meeting to elect the guild leader by vote.
Although they say the leader is democratically elected, the candidates are part of a succession system.
These core decision-makers within the guild have their factions and followers, positions are internally selected.
It isn’t necessarily their children; it could be disciples or siblings.
Therefore, if Chu Xinyue can become the leader of the guild’s second main squad, she qualifies to compete for guild leader.
Thus, her inability to control the second main squad might not only be due to dissatisfied members but also because someone doesn’t want her to grasp the squad too early to compete for the guild leadership.
At this time, Ding Hao began speaking:
"I think you all know why you’ve been gathered here today. My only requirement for you is to bring down Sword Spirit Pavilion and Thunder Eagle Association as much as possible; however many spiritual medicines you gather inside the secret realm doesn’t matter. Each enemy taken down earns you 50 contribution points and 50 silver taels, shared among collaborators."
He did not hide his intentions at all, openly encouraging them to kill:
"Killing 10 or more alone doubles the reward."
"Additionally, dying in battle inside the secret realm gives double compensation."
Someone asked:
"What about the spiritual medicines collected inside the secret realm?"
Ding Hao smiled and said:
"This secret realm is abandoned, and though there are many spiritual medicines, their value is generally low, so they’re all yours. Whatever you collect belongs to you."
"Wow!"
Everyone’s eyes lit up, excitement growing.
Even if they are low in value to the guild, they are quite valuable to them. With sufficient quantity, the rewards could be significant.
