"The Flame Ruins Sect truly lives up to its reputation as a sect led by God King. I never expected that the guide would be a Chaos Great Sage."
Lu Qingshan was slightly surprised.
Then, the flames on the Great Sage Chi Xuan suddenly surged in the void, like an exploding Star Level. Before them, Time-Space seemed to melt, and a Time-Space passage formed by solidified flames appeared, radiating terrifying fluctuations.
"Let's go in. It'll be much faster to get back to the Flame Ruins Sect from here than by traveling."
The Great Sage Chi Xuan spoke.
After saying that, he went inside first.
Lu Qingshan hesitated for a moment, but quickly followed.
Since we've chosen to go to the Flame Ruins Sect, we must bear these necessary risks ourselves. Besides, the person in front of us is Chaos Great Sage. If he truly harbored ill intentions, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble.
Behind the Yanguang was a Time-Space portal. Even Lu Qingshan, who had mastered the source of the Space-Time Law, felt slightly dizzy upon entering it. However, this feeling disappeared after only a moment.
Lu Qingshan found himself in a completely unfamiliar place.
The sky here is dark red, and many parts of the ground are also crimson, like lava gushing from a volcano. Not far ahead is a majestic mountain gate, with the three Elder Gu characters "Flame Ruins Sect" engraved on it.
With just one glance, Lu Qingshan felt as if countless flames were dancing within the words, threatening to completely scorch his eyes.
Don't look at it too much.
The Great Sage Chi Xuan offered a reminder.
"The three characters 'Flame Ruins Sect' were personally written by the God King. If one is a powerful cultivator of the Great Dao of Matter, one might gain something from them. As for others—even looking directly at them would cause harm. Fortunately, you are Eternal True God. If you were an ordinary True God, I would have stopped you earlier."
"Thank you, Great Sage."
Lu Qingshan said gratefully.
"No need to be so polite. Now that you've joined the sect, you're an inner disciple of the Flame Ruins Sect. You can call me Martial Uncle from now on."
The Great Sage Chi Xuan shook his head slightly.
"Uncle-Master!"
Lu Qingshan immediately changed how he addressed him.
As they arrived at the mountain gate with the Great Sage Chi Xuan, two burly and composed guards stood on either side of the gate, dressed in dark red armor. Upon seeing the Great Sage Chi Xuan, the two guards bowed in unison.
"Greetings, Martial Uncle."
Great Sage Chi Xuan nodded slightly and looked at Lu Qingshan beside him, saying, "This is Xue You, a new disciple who joined the sect through the Flame Ruins Token. One of you should take him to complete the entry procedures."
"He actually joined the sect through the Flame Ruins Token— " The two guards looked at Lu Qingshan with a different expression, a mixture of curiosity and envy.
Lu Qingshan also looked at the two guards.
Although these two were merely Void True God, what surprised Lu Qingshan was not their weakness, but that they were both geniuses recognized by the system.
Name: Wu Huan
"Evaluation: Third-Class Genius (can take on apprentices), base return 10,000 times."
Name: Wu Mu.
"Evaluation: Third-Class Genius (can take on apprentices), base return 10,000 times."
It was one thing for both of them to be Third-Class Genius, but Lu Qingshan hadn't expected that their base return multiplier would be a staggering ten thousand times.
This is the Universe Ocean dimension; only by taking on First-Class Genius as disciples can one receive such a return multiplier.
Although I was surprised, upon reflection, I could understand it to some extent.
The Origin Continent is not even in the same league as the Universe Ocean.
The difference between levels here is too great, and even within the same level, the difference is enormous; it can even result in an instant kill.
The same applies to treasures. A treasure that might be worth a hundred or a thousand times more is still only at one level. If it were still like before, where a third-class treasure only offers a hundred times the return, then the value of the return would be greatly reduced.
Raising the criteria for judging geniuses and increasing the basic cashback for them would actually be more suitable.
Third-Class Genius receive a return of ten thousand times their initial investment; it's unclear how many times the return would be for second-class or First-Class Genius.
Lu Qingshan glanced at the Great Sage Chi Xuan beside him. Both of them were Void True God, and both were considered Third-Class Genius. The Great Sage Chi Xuan was probably at least second-rate, or even first-rate. However, Lu Qingshan did not investigate. It was fine to probe the two Void True God with his consciousness, but if he probed the Chaos Great Sage, he would definitely be discovered, and it would also be very impolite.
" Xue You, my mission is complete once I bring you back to the mountain gate. Now you can go with them; they'll take care of the formalities for you."
The Great Sage Chi Xuan seemed to be in a hurry to leave.
"Yes, Uncle-Master."
Lu Qingshan nodded.
The Great Sage Chi Xuan then turned and left. After he left, the two guards exchanged a few words, and the one named Wu Huan stepped forward and said, "Senior Brother Xue You, please follow me."
"You entered the sect before me, so why do you call me senior brother? Is it because in this sect, strength determines rank?"
Lu Qingshan asked.
"No—" Wu Huan explained, "In our Flame Ruins Sect, outer disciples must address inner disciples as 'Senior Brother,' even if the outer disciple is Eternal True God while the inner disciple is merely True God. Of course, in our sect, if someone becomes Eternal True God, they would generally have already become an inner disciple. Furthermore, the Chaos Great Sage is at the level of a sect elder, and any disciple must address him as 'Uncle-Master.' Senior Brother joined the sect through the Flame Ruins Token, starting as an inner disciple, and is stronger than us, so naturally, he should be addressed as 'Senior Brother.'"
"Is it really that difficult for an outer disciple to become an inner disciple?"
The two walked and talked.
"It's very difficult—out of a hundred outer disciples, perhaps only one will become an inner disciple. Not only do you need sufficient talent, but you also need to meet the contribution requirements. Wu Mu and I guard the mountain gate to accumulate contribution points. However, the task of guarding the mountain gate is very simple..."
It's a single task with very low risk and minimal contribution points gained.
Wu Huan was very polite to Lu Qingshan, the newly joined inner disciple, answering all his questions and explaining some of the sect's rules to him, clearly showing his goodwill.
After all, the gap between outer disciples and inner disciples is too great. Lu Qingshan became an inner disciple as soon as he entered the sect, and he also possessed the strength of Eternal True God. He might very well have a chance to become a personal disciple in the future.
A direct disciple is someone who has the potential to break through to the Chaos Great Sage level.
If Xue You becomes a personal disciple in the future, this relationship alone will make it very easy for him to enter the inner sect.
Leaving the mountain gate and crossing the vast square, they soon arrived outside a group of palaces.
Here, they arrived outside a palace with a plaque above its entrance that read "Hall of Internal Affairs."
Wu Huan led Lu Qingshan's Xue You Clone into the main hall and exchanged a few words with the steward in front of the counter.
Next, Lu Qingshan took out the Flame Ruins Token and handed it to the other party. Soon, his name was recorded in the list of inner disciples. The steward then took out a dark red token, a key to a cave, and a jade bottle.
"Inner disciple Xue You, this is your identity token. The token represents your status as an inner disciple. Communication within the sect and accepting missions all require this token, so you must keep it safe. Losing it will cause a lot of trouble. Also, inner disciples have their own exclusive cave dwellings. Yours is in Zone B, number 19456. Once you refine this key, you will have complete control of your cave dwelling. Furthermore, that jade bottle contains ten thousand Cosmic Sand, resources needed for inner disciple cultivation, which can be obtained by completing missions..."
"You can either take it or purchase it using Cosmic Sand. This is your resource for one era; you can collect it again from the Internal Affairs Hall in the next era."
Thank you.
Lu Qingshan accepted all three items. The dark red token was imprinted with the words "Xue You," and he would have to explore its other functions himself. As for the key, he could refine it directly with divine power.
Finally, there was the jade bottle.
This bottle is a storage container with a large interior space. It contains a neatly stacked pile of Cosmic Sand that emits a dark golden light. Each grain is like a miniature world, radiating pure power and some indescribable and terrifying aura.
Lu Qingshan knew that it was the power of the Great Dao.
Cosmic Sand can only be condensed by God King.
It contains the aura of the Great Dao exclusive to God King; some God King even need to exchange large amounts of Cosmic Sand to comprehend it if they wish to cultivate the Great Dao.
Moreover, although there are only 10,000 of these Chaos Sands, their actual value is incredibly high.
Even the entire fortune of Eternal True God might not contain these.
And this is only the cultivation resources of an Flame Ruins Sect, which is equivalent to one billion days in a single era.
Take Lu Qingshan himself, for example. He has been in the Origin Continent for a hundred days, but he still has zero resources. Even before he rented the cave, at his peak, he only had a little over three hundred Chaos Crystal.
A single grain of Cosmic Sand can be exchanged for ten thousand Chaos Crystal.
The original owner sold the flowers and plants he personally picked, earning only a little over three hundred Chaos Crystal in profit. The Xue You Clone, on the other hand, provided him with one hundred million Chaos Crystal for free as soon as he joined. This is the benefit of joining a major power.
After leaving the Inner Palace, Wu Huan led Lu Qingshan to a valley.
Here lies a vast Chaos Ruins, where the aura of Chaos Law is incredibly profound.
If one were to comprehend the Chaos Law here, the speed would be more than ten thousand times faster than outside.
After walking for a while, Wu Huan stopped and looked ahead, saying, "Senior Brother Xue You, the inner disciples' cave dwellings in Area B are just ahead. We outer disciples are not allowed to enter. My cave dwelling is in Area C, number 5673212. Senior Brother, please make the arrangements. Welcome to my cave dwelling so I can entertain you."
"Alright, I'll visit my junior brother's home once I've made all the arrangements."
Lu Qingshan nodded.
He knew the Wu Huan wanted to befriend him, but he felt the same way.
This Wu Huan is Third-Class Genius ----
Ten thousand times the return.
Although they are currently fellow disciples, they could potentially become master and disciple if the other becomes a disciple. While the Flame Ruins Sect offers excellent benefits, including 10,000 Cosmic Sand upon entry and the ability to collect them once every epoch—a huge fortune for other Eternal True God —it's still not enough for Lu Qingshan. Both his main body and Xue You Clone possess Perfect Divine Body, and the amount required for body refinement alone is astronomical.
He needs to recruit one or two disciples to snowball his influence, and the Wu Huan, who guided him to join the sect and showed him goodwill, are naturally the best choice at present.
After bidding farewell to the Wu Huan, Lu Qingshan walked alone to the area where the inner disciples lived.
Each cave here has its own number, and the key to the cave can also sense the location of the cave.
In just a moment, Lu Qingshan arrived outside his cave.
This place is very close to the Chaos Ruins.
Built almost right next to the Chaos Ruins, Lu Qingshan could even see the Chaos Crystal and Chaos Stone that had been born from the Chaos Ruins.
These things lay there quietly, unclaimed.
It seems that if it weren't for the restrictions imposed by the sect, all the inner disciples of the Flame Ruins Sect would be rolling in money, so rich that they wouldn't even bother to pick up money from the ground.
Lu Qingshan only glanced at it before activating his cave key. The cave door slowly opened, and the array also opened the passage.
Just as Lu Qingshan was about to enter the cave.
Suddenly, a fiery red figure flew over.
Lu Qingshan stopped and looked at the figure. The person was the Master of Fire Saint he had met in the Sunken Moon Pool. His Flame Ruins Token given to him by the other party.
The Master of Fire Saint's aura at this moment was far stronger than it had been in the Sunken Moon Pool. His body was surrounded by the fluctuations of the fire's origin, like the rising sun. Moreover, he had already broken through to the Eternal True God Level, and clearly, he had not just broken through.
" Fire Saint!"
Lu Qingshan spoke.
" Xue You - long time no see -" The Master of Fire Saint grinned, walked up to Lu Qingshan, sized him up, and continued, "I knew you would come. The Origin Continent is not easy to navigate, is it? You only came here after breaking through to the Eternal True God, you must have suffered a lot."
"Really."
Lu Qingshan nodded. Although he had only recently passed through the cycle of reincarnation and had been activated by the Flame Ruins Token be brought here, it wasn't long before...
He had indeed experienced a disaster before; if he hadn't been cautious, he would have been destroyed along with that Chaos Great Sage- level beast.
What the Master of Fire Saint said wasn't entirely wrong.
The Master of Fire Saint continued, "Others will definitely have a hard time, but you are Xue You. I have already witnessed your talent in the Sunken Moon Pool. You were able to become Eternal True God in a short time on your own. Even if you didn't come to the Flame Ruins Sect, you would definitely do well."
"Indeed, I can manage on my own, but the Flame Ruins Sect is ultimately God King Sect, a powerful force. Countless people yearn to join such a force but cannot obtain it. Since I have this opportunity, of course I will not give it up. Back then, when you, Fire Saint, gave me the Flame Ruins Token, weren't you also certain that I would definitely come here in the future?"
Lu Qingshan suspected that the Master of Fire Saint might have a contradictory personality due to his contradictory answers.
"Actually, I wasn't entirely sure you would come to the Flame Ruins Sect at first, but your talent was so outstanding that I didn't want to miss out on such a talented person."
The Master of Fire Saint looked around and then said, "With your talent, being an inner disciple is really a waste of your potential. However, every personal disciple needs my master's approval. My master is currently in seclusion. When he comes out, I will mention you to him. As long as you pass my master's test, you will become a personal disciple of the Flame Ruins Sect. The treatment of a personal disciple is incomparable to that of an inner disciple."
Thank you.
Lu Qingshan raised his hand in a polite gesture.
Although the Master of Fire Saint is arrogant, this guy has indeed been a great help to him.
He was able to join the Flame Ruins Sect entirely because he met the other person in the Sunken Moon Pool.
As he expressed his gratitude, Lu Qingshan's consciousness subtly swept over the Master of Fire Saint.
Information about the Master of Fire Saint also appeared in his perception.
As expected, it's impossible for the Golden Finger not to acknowledge the God King's personal disciple.
Name: Fire Saint
"Evaluation: Second-Class Genius (can take on apprentices), base return of 100,000 times."