Gains and Schemes
Over three years, Liu Yi traveled throughout the Jin State, the Fire State, the Yue State, and other states.
He trekked among strange peaks and towering mountains, passed through the bustle of streets and marketplaces, and witnessed the many faces of mortal life, comprehending the Dao amid the mortal world.
During those years, he took in the magnificent sights of heaven and earth, but never neglected his cultivation.
By now, he had comprehended 2,312 of the three thousand Great Dao Principles, leaving only the final 688.
At his current level, even without the help of other fortuitous opportunities, he could comprehend all three thousand Great Dao Principles within three years.
Not only that, his control over the Spacetime Realm had reached 30%, and his deductive ability had advanced by leaps and bounds.
Relying on his own comprehension alone, he had few equals under heaven.
If he drew on the 235.1 billion subsystems, even without using all their computing power,
the subsystems' spare computing power alone would be enough to bring his deductive ability to the level of an immortal. It was downright terrifying.
Just then, Little Yellow started shouting noisily, "Master, big news! In the parts of the Jin State, the Yue State, the Fire State, and the other states covered by the system,
every sect recruited nearly 100,000 disciples with aptitude for immortal cultivation at this Immortal Ascension Conference, and almost all of them had at least a Three Spirit Root!"
"Those immortal cultivation sects got so many promising seedlings. Their strength is bound to skyrocket."
"But didn't you want to pull those immortal cultivators down from their horses?"
"Why did you add a physique display to the system? Isn't that just helping the enemy grow stronger?"
Liu Yi sighed, his face full of frustration that iron would not turn to steel. "I've told you to read more books, but you never listen. All you do is browse TikTok and the forums, and you're always running off to brothels."
"You've been with me for so long, yet you still can't see why I did this."
"And you don't put any thought into cultivation, either. You can use the Dao Comprehension Space whenever you like, and you don't lack Energy Points."
"You're only at the Peak of the Divine Sea Realm, and you haven't even decided on the direction of your Dao after that. You have no drive at all."
"Wasn't going to brothels something I learned from you?" Little Yellow muttered, then stuck out his neck and added:
"Besides, I've already decided on the direction of my Dao. I'm going to cultivate the Great Dao of Devouring. You once told me the story of the heavenly dog devouring the sun. I want to cultivate until I become a heavenly dog like that too!"
Liu Yi's face darkened at once, and he hurried to defend himself. "Don't you go spitting blood at me! I only go there occasionally to relax and get a proper massage. I'm not like you, running to places like that every few days!"
Hearing this, Little Yellow guiltily drew in his neck. Then he gently rubbed his furry head against Liu Yi's foot and changed the subject.
"Master, why don't you turn off the physique display? That way, the immortal cultivation sects won't be able to recruit so many disciples and grow stronger."
Looking at his lazy manner, Liu Yi shook his head helplessly, a meaningful smile curling at the corner of his lips.
"How shortsighted! Don't you know that the strongest fortress often crumbles from within?"
"With 100,000 system hosts who have aptitude for immortal cultivation pouring in at once, the sects' strength appears to have increased."
"But with the system's help, these people cultivate extremely quickly. Before long, they can become the backbone of their sects, or even join the upper ranks."
"For Energy Points, most of them will sell the immortal cultivation manuals they obtain to the system."
"That way, we can obtain a vast number of manuals, enrich the store, and use them to comprehend Great Dao Principles. All I have to pay is Energy Points to get so many benefits. It's a sure profit."
"And once they have a say, they can influence their sects' decisions, so there will be even less resistance to promoting the system in the future."
"After all, who would be willing to give up such a powerful system?"
"It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality. Once they've enjoyed the convenience, it will be hard for them to go back to the way things were."
"Could you bear to stop using the system now? I'm sure you couldn't." Liu Yi glanced at Little Yellow.
"No way! Without the system, I'd be better off dead." Little Yellow shook his head vigorously, then frowned and asked worriedly:
"But with so many system hosts entering immortal cultivation sects, aren't you afraid the system will be exposed too soon?"
"Wouldn't that go against your plan to keep a low profile while developing in the mortal world first, Master? What if the immortal cultivation sects ban the Dissemination System?"
Liu Yi threw back his head and laughed, his eyes full of confidence, as though he already had the whole plan drawn up in his mind.
"Don't forget, these system hosts have all learned the ropes on the forums and TikTok. Their horizons and cunning are no worse than those of old hands. They're very shrewd."
"Competition within immortal cultivation sects is fierce. Once word of the Fairness System spreads, their advantage will be gone. Who would willingly tell anyone?"
"Even the state-protecting immortal masters of the various mortal states might not tell their sects about the system."
"Besides, what if someone lets it slip? The system's functions are so powerful. What immortal cultivator could resist using it? Look at those state-protecting immortal masters. They're more addicted to it than anyone."
"If the immortal cultivation sects find out that the system can help them recruit more geniuses and grow stronger, they might even scramble to get it!"
Little Yellow's eyes lit up at once, and his tail wagged cheerfully as he said with a face full of admiration:
"So everything was part of your scheme, Master! I knew you wouldn't help your opponents for no reason. What a brilliant game of chess you've played!"
Liu Yi smiled and said slowly, "This is only a preliminary idea. We'll have to see how things actually develop."
"The future is full of unknowns. Many things won't go exactly as we imagine. But that's all right. At least we have the initiative and the advantage for now."
Things did indeed develop as Liu Yi had expected.
The system hosts who had newly joined the immortal cultivation sects kept their mouths shut. Even the state-protecting immortal masters who had returned to their sects kept their lips sealed, never mentioning the system's existence.
To prevent word from leaking out, they even devised a set of secret codes to communicate with fellow system hosts among the immortal cultivators.
To earn Energy Points, they also sold a steady stream of precious texts from the scripture repositories of the major immortal cultivation sects to the System Store in exchange for generous amounts of Energy Points.
As for those state-protecting immortal masters in the Golden Core Realm, they were simply too eager to advance.
With their higher cultivation and greater access, they were able to get their hands on more manuals.
Apart from their sects' core inherited cultivation methods, they sold all the rest to the system for Energy Points without hesitation.
For a time, the number of Cultivation Method Secret Manuals in the System Store grew exponentially.
The major sects, however, remained completely unaware, still immersed in the joy of having recruited so many geniuses.
The newly recruited system hosts did not disappoint the major sects either. With the system's help, their cultivation progressed at an astonishing pace.
Before long, large numbers of disciples broke through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, and quite a few even advanced straight into the Foundation Establishment Realm and the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining.
Seeing that they had recruited so many outstanding disciples, the upper ranks of the major sects were all thrilled, crying, "Heaven blesses our sect!"
As a result, they overlooked certain things that were amiss.
Meanwhile, as hundreds of thousands of system hosts entered the major immortal cultivation sects,
these system hosts shared what went on inside their sects on the system's social platform, some through pictures and text, others by recording videos.
From daily cultivation to sect activities and matters great and small within the immortal cultivation sects, everything was laid bare before all system hosts.
For a time, the immortal cultivation sects that had once been so mysterious gradually shed their veil of mystery, causing a great uproar.