Qin Renhuang just became an immortal, and you told me this is the prehistoric time

Now, under the competitive pressure and allure of cultivation techniques brought by the Mulan people, the likelihood of these "hidden treasures" being forced out has greatly increased. Similarly, in order to quickly obtain enough points, some Mulan cultivators will certainly return to the grasslands to explore ancient herb gardens or secret realms that may only be known to a few even within their own tribes.

"This is how to maximize profits."

Ying Xuan thought to himself.

He was like the most patient fisherman, watching the fish in the pond fight and struggle for the bait, eventually sending the fattest part into his net.

Suppressing his thoughts of leaving for the time being, Ying Xuan waved his hand and took out the dozen or so storage bags he had obtained from Feng Xianzi. He roughly used his divine sense to break through the faint remaining restrictions on them and dumped out all the contents.

slam-la-

First, there were hundreds of jade slips of different colors and textures, piled up into a small mountain.

Ying Xuan scanned it with his divine sense and found that it contained mostly cultivation techniques, insights into alchemy and weapon crafting, travel experiences, and records of geography and secret realms.

He quickly categorized the jade pieces, keeping those related to void passages, ancient secrets, and unorthodox techniques separately, as these might be of some reference value to him.

Next came a large pile of refining materials, shimmering with various colors of precious light and radiating spiritual energy. Many of them were unfamiliar to Ying Xuan, but he could sense their unique attributes and powerful spirituality. They were clearly top-tier items rarely seen in this world, and some might even not belong to this world.

Ying Xuan didn't stand on ceremony and collected all the materials, putting them into the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends Formation. According to their attributes, he distributed them to the corresponding star islands, allowing the power of the formation to slowly nurture them, which might be useful in the future.

Finally, there were a dozen or so jade boxes, sealed very well and covered with numerous talismans. Upon opening them, one would find all sorts of bizarre and wonderful spiritual herb seeds or seedlings, radiating astonishing life force and fluctuations of laws! Some resembled ice crystals, some looked like dancing flames, and some were entwined with fine electric sparks... Clearly, these were extremely rare, even possibly extinct, spiritual roots that Feng Xianzi had collected over hundreds of years of travel.

Ying Xuan's eyes brightened slightly. He carved out a separate area on the core island of the grand formation, set up an ingenious spirit-gathering and time-sequence array, and carefully transplanted the seeds and seedlings into it.

These things, if brought back to the Qin Dynasty in the future, will be of immeasurable value.

Just as he finished dealing with this windfall, a respectful transmission talisman pierced through the formation and flew to him.

Ying Xuan clicked on it, and a slightly reserved male voice came from inside.

"Reporting to the Sect Leader, your subordinate Xuan Yun of the Qingxu Sect of the Yue Kingdom has been ordered to compile a list of new disciples from the Mulan Grassland and a brief description of their abilities. This has now been preliminarily completed and is presented to the Sect Leader for preview."

It was a former mid-stage Nascent Soul elder from the Tianxing Sect who had led the "welcome" of the Mulan people.

A moment later, Elder Xuanyun personally came to the outer perimeter of the core island and respectfully presented a cyan jade slip.

Ying Xuan remotely took the jade slip into his hand and immersed himself in it with his divine sense.

The jade slip contained detailed information, listing the names, tribes, cultivation levels, and specialties of the hundreds of Nascent Soul cultivators who came from the Mulan Grassland, as well as their personalities and whether they had any old grudges with the former members of the Tianxing Sect.

It's clear that Elder Xuanyun has put in a lot of effort, and perhaps he also has the intention of taking this opportunity to curry favor with the sect leader while simultaneously putting a bad word to the Mulan people.

Ying Xuan casually glanced at them, his gaze lingering briefly on a few names—all of whom had reached the late Nascent Soul stage and were skilled in combat or possessed special techniques.

He didn't care about the factions and grudges within the Mulan monks; all he cared about was whether these people were "useful" and whether they could contribute their value in the future for the sake of points.

After reading the jade slip, Ying Xuan's voice once again resounded throughout the Tianxing Mountain Range, majestic and domineering, leaving no room for doubt.

"The new disciples of Mulan Grassland have been registered and are now members of my Tianxing Sect. I have already reviewed their abilities as previously described. From this day forward, all Nascent Soul cultivators shall, according to their respective strengths, be assigned to the Battle Hall, Pill Hall, Weapon Hall, Array Hall, Spirit Plant Hall, and Punishment Hall, etc., to await the command of the hall masters, participate in sect affairs, and accumulate contributions."

The existing job assignments will remain unchanged for the time being. All hall managers must treat everyone equally, without favoritism based on background, and must not tolerate old grudges causing trouble. Those who violate this rule will be severely punished!

The sound, like a divine decree, echoed through the mountains.

All cultivators, regardless of what they were doing, immediately stopped and bowed in the direction of the Star Palace.

"I will obey the sect leader's decree!"

The voices were in unison, but the emotions they conveyed were all different.

Some of the Mulan monks looked delighted, as it meant they had been officially accepted and could begin working for the sect.

Some of the former Nascent Soul members of the Heavenly Star Sect had slightly cold eyes. The sect leader's arrangement was tantamount to letting these "barbarians" directly enter the core hall of the sect. Although it was said to be "at their disposal," who knew if it would reduce their power and resources? But they dared not have the slightest objection. The corpse in front of the mountain gate was still vivid in their minds.

Ying Xuan didn't care what his subordinates thought at all.

After issuing the order, he casually tossed aside the jade slip containing the information of the Mulan cultivator, as if it were just a trivial matter.

His gaze returned to the library, and his divine sense began to rapidly browse through the vast collection of books, especially those on the Nascent Soul stage and peak-stage cultivation techniques.

"Hmm? There are actually a few cultivation techniques of Nascent Soul stage demon cultivators? The records are quite mysterious, but unfortunately... there's no time to wait for those demon cultivators to come to us."

Ying Xuan shook his head with a hint of regret. The sense of urgency brought about by his stagnant strength made it impossible for him to leisurely plan ahead and slowly attract and reap the benefits from all the cultivation forces in this realm as before.

"We must determine as soon as possible whether this stagnation in strength is simply due to the limitations of this world, or whether it's because my spiritual root clashed with some underlying law when it was formed, or whether there are unknown hidden dangers in my spiritual root itself..."

This thought was like a thorn stuck in Ying Xuan's heart. Although rationally he tended to believe the former and thought that his cultivation should recover and grow after returning to the Great Qin World and breaking free from the shackles of this world's laws, the slightest uncertainty about the very foundation of his own path made him uneasy.

If it weren't for the Mulan Grassland's generous gift, which sparked a new wave of resource exchange within the sect, making him feel he could reap another big harvest... he would probably already be carrying his core gains, trying to explore those coordinates, and preparing to forcibly leave.

"Faster...squeeze out the last bit of value."

A resolute glint flashed in Ying Xuan's eyes.

He stopped paying attention to the disturbances in the mountains and began to focus more intently on selecting and copying the highest-level and most unique cultivation manuals, especially those involving the application of different attribute laws or those with special concepts. At the same time, he was also quietly keeping an eye on the "income" from the Treasure Pavilion and the Spirit Plant Hall, waiting for the last few pieces of "fat meat" to be delivered to his mouth.

……

Inside the Spirit Plant Hall, Han Li, who had just finished dealing with a batch of affairs, stood by the window of his hall master's meditation room and heard the sect leader's decree that resounded throughout the mountains.

His face was expressionless, but his eyes were exceptionally deep.

He knew perfectly well that the sect leader was grooming him to be the "next sect leader," or at least had given him that hint and opportunity.

Logically speaking, seeing the sect leader so casually, even somewhat deliberately, arrange for a large number of Mulan cultivators with whom he had old grudges to enter the sect's high-level institutions and disrupt the original power structure, he should feel worried, dissatisfied, or even aggrieved.

But strangely, Han Li didn't feel any of these emotions.

On the contrary, he felt that this might be... a good thing?
The original Tianxing Sect, due to the sect leader's almost hands-off attitude and the excessive trust and power given to the early Nascent Soul cultivators, gradually became too powerful and even formed interest groups, deceiving their superiors and subordinates and only caring about themselves.

He complained before because he couldn't stand this.

Now, a powerful force from the Mulan Grassland, deeply at odds with the old interest groups, has been forcibly inserted. In order to ensure their own survival and development, fierce competition and checks and balances are inevitable. The sect leader's seemingly casual, even somewhat wicked, arrangements have precisely broken down the old, almost rigid power structure.

"If it doesn't break, it won't stand."

These four words flashed through Han Li's mind. The biggest hidden danger of the original Xiantianxing Sect was that those Nascent Soul elders wielded too much power and had impure motives. Now, introducing a powerful external competitor, although it may cause chaos and friction in the short term, in the long run, it may force everyone to focus more on serving the sect.

Instead of spending all their time figuring out how to fool the sect leader and how to gain personal benefits, this kind of competition must be kept within the rules as long as the sect leader is still around. This might actually make the sect operate more efficiently and be more "healthy" internally.

Of course, all of this is predicated on the sect leader possessing absolute and overwhelming power to control the situation. And this, at present, seems beyond doubt.

"only……"

Han Li's gaze swept over the figures of the Nascent Soul cultivators outside the window, some excited and some gloomy. He gained the deepest and most direct understanding of the phrase "the strong are respected".

The sect leader possesses invincible power, so he can set rules and arrange everyone's fate at will.

He can treat hundreds of Nascent Soul cultivators as nothing, killing them at will; he can also force two opposing forces together, completely disregarding their willingness or potential infighting. Because his will is the highest law.

He doesn't need to consult anyone's opinion or consider anyone's feelings. In the eyes of the strong, the weak may truly have no "rights," only differences in "value" and "obedience."

I am now also a weakling.

To change anything, to protect anything, to pass on anything… the prerequisite is always having sufficient power. How much use will the sect leader's token and expectations be after the sect leader's departure? Han Li dared not be optimistic.

The only thing he was certain of was that he had to seize every opportunity to make good use of the Heavenly Bottle and improve his strength as quickly as possible. Only when he was strong enough would he be qualified to consider the things that the "next sect leader" should be considering.

He withdrew his gaze from the outside world's turmoil, turned back to his desk, picked up a jade slip containing key points for cultivating a rare spirit grain, and began to study it with focused concentration. No matter how the outside world changed, improving himself and accumulating capital was always his top priority. And the Spirit Plant Hall was currently his most important foundation and source of capital.

He must manage this place well, cultivating more and better spiritual herbs and grains in order to earn more points, exchange them for higher-level cultivation techniques, and at the same time, reserve enough "food" for any possible changes in the future.

Near the main peak, inside a cave dwelling shrouded in layers of restrictions and filled with spiritual energy, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was almost dripping with water.

A dozen or so Nascent Soul cultivators, originally from the Seven Sects of Yue Kingdom and the Nine Kingdoms Alliance, gathered here. Each of them had a gloomy face, and their eyes flashed with anxiety, resentment, and even a trace of deeply hidden malice.

They had just received news that the sect leader had sent over a dozen new jade slips containing Nascent Soul cultivation techniques to the core of the library, the "Nascent Soul Pavilion"! This news was like a spark thrown into boiling oil, instantly igniting the long-suppressed fear and greed in their hearts.

"More than a dozen books... I heard that they even contain several cultivation techniques for Nascent Soul demon cultivators! Their breakthrough paths are completely different from those of human cultivators, but if we can comprehend their mysteries and apply them to other areas, it might be of unimaginable benefit to us in breaking through our bottlenecks!"

A mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from the Nine Kingdoms Alliance, with a scar on his face, had a hoarse voice and bloodshot eyes.

"Benefits? You need to be alive and have enough points to exchange for them!"

Beside him stood a late-stage Nascent Soul elder from the Qingxu Sect of the Yue Kingdom, his face ashen, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"Those barbarians from the Mulan Grasslands have offered up hundreds of void passage coordinates. This is like handing a knife directly to the sect leader! The sect leader is probably verifying those coordinates day and night now. Once he finds even one that is slightly stable... will he still stay in this realm?"
He'll be gone in the next few days or months! We must gather enough points to exchange for these new cultivation techniques before he ascends!

"Easier said than done!"

A Nascent Soul female cultivator from the Hidden Moon Sect, who used to be charming and alluring, now looked haggard.

"Didn't you see? Over at the Treasure Pavilion, the Mulan people are acting like madmen! Their tribal system is far more united than ours, who come from different sects! For points, they're really willing to bring out their tribal totem bone artifacts that have been passed down for tens of thousands of years, and their most treasured monster materials to exchange for them!"

What about us? The seven factions of Yue and the alliance of nine kingdoms—they sound like a lot of people, but in reality, each has their own ulterior motives. If we were to join forces and compete with the Mulan people in resource exchange, could we possibly outcompete their united will?

These words struck a nerve with everyone.

These "old subordinates," though seemingly larger in number, are riddled with internal factions and entangled in grudges. Previously, in their struggle for points and opportunities to be mentored by the sect leader, they had secretly sabotaged each other and engaged in cutthroat competition. To truly unite and suppress the clique of the Mulan people would be an impossible task.

"boom!"

With a muffled thud, a hot-tempered early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from Huadaowu slammed his fist into the jade table beside him, cracking the corner of the table.

His eyes were bloodshot, as if they were about to spit fire, and he stared intently at the direction of the main peak's Star Palace, roaring in a low voice.

"Why should we! We were the first to respond to the sect leader's call and give our full support, which allowed the Tianxing Sect to become the most populous and powerful sect in this realm in such a short time! Without us, where would the Tianxing Sect be today? But what about now?" (End of Chapter)