After the Illusion Realm rankings ended.
Just as Lu Ze had predicted, the player count for "Eight Directions Venerables" plummeted.
The players had come for the rewards in the first place. Now that the event handing out Spirit Stones for staying online was gone, they naturally left.
After all, with that many Spirit Stones being spent and nothing coming in, even a major sect could not possibly hold out.
The Illusion Alliance's Alliance Leader seemed to retain a sliver of hope for "Eight Directions Venerables" and made a few adjustments.
For instance, rolling back the drop rate for top-tier loot, or offering extra rewards for knife-run trades...
Once drop rates had been openly raised, no amount of later adjustment could easily reverse the decline.
Leave them unchanged, and rarity lost all meaning.
Roll them back, and players who joined afterward would always feel like second-class citizens...
So even after the rollback, the response remained lukewarm, and the exodus of players continued.
Without a player base, organic activity like knife runs naturally became unsustainable.
No matter how generous the Illusion Alliance's knife-run rewards were, without any player demand, things simply could not pick up.
As for Blood Crow and Rakshasa, the two Elders who had originally created "Eight Directions Venerables"...
Rumor had it that a battle of tremendous magnitude had erupted on Luofeng Continent.
Had the Heart Demon not intervened in time, Blood Crow would almost have beaten Rakshasa to death.
Even so, Rakshasa had suffered severe injuries and was recuperating within the Illusion Alliance.
As for why Rakshasa had not returned to the Azure Peak Sect...
It was not a matter of unwillingness, but of being unable to return.
Once Rakshasa's identity as an Elder of the Azure Peak Sect was exposed, public opinion throughout the cultivation world erupted in