Chapter 294: "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility."

Chapter 294: "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility."

Chen Qiu's lips twitched slightly, feeling a bit lost for words at the moment. Wasn't it said that the First Rank Continent, "Evergreen Continent," was on the verge of collapse, and no one could enter?

The group of people from the Immortal World were waiting outside, preparing to gather their forces and send people in once the continent temporarily stabilized.

Why could the Demon Clan be the first to enter?

They all had the means to freely traverse the Lower Rank Continents, but it was clear that the Demon Clan's method was slightly superior.

"I want to go too."

He didn't beat around the bush and directly expressed his thoughts. Whether it was feasible or not, he had to say it, otherwise, how could he expect the other party to guess his intentions?

"Sure!"

The response from the other side was equally straightforward.

"There are spirit stones everywhere, and we can't pick them all up. If you want to come, I can pull you over right now."

"Wait."

After hesitating for a while, Chen Qiu finally spoke up, "Can I bring some people with me?"

"Why not? If there aren't enough people, even you alone won't be able to collect them all. This isn't about competing in strength; it's about who has more people. The more people, the more they can collect."

"We need to act fast. I estimate that in one more day, this continent will stabilize, and there will likely be many people entering. By then, it will be difficult to find any left."

"Okay, then wait for me for a moment."

Chen Qiu immediately prepared to contact Ba Dan, as it was Ba Dan who had informed him about this matter. If he went in and this information came to light later, although Ba Dan might not say anything, after all, Ba Dan still owed him a favor.

But this matter was still a bit embarrassing.

Most of the time, he considered himself a decent person.

After explaining the situation briefly.

A hundred breaths later.

"Master Chen!!!"

A voice filled with excitement suddenly came from a distance, and then countless towering giants appeared, running towards them with excitement and roaring laughter. The scene was truly awe-inspiring, a once-in-a-million-years sight!

The ground shook violently.

"Damn it!"

Fat Dragon, who was sitting on a chair nearby, chewing on a dog tail grass, was shaken into the air. He barely managed to stabilize himself before angrily cursing, "Can't you guys fly?!"

"Of course we can!"

Ba Dan, panting heavily, quickly ran up to Chen Qiu and said in a trembling voice, "But the Maan Clan's bodies are too large. Flying in the air consumes spiritual energy too quickly. We're about to enter the Evergreen Continent, a place without spiritual energy. It won't be easy to replenish spiritual energy, and we'll have to consume spirit stones to do so, which is a waste."

"Save some spiritual energy now, and you'll have more strength later."

Then, he turned to Chen Qiu, his face serious and grateful, "Master Chen, thank you. Rest assured, we'll stick to our previous agreement. No matter how much the Maan Clan gains this time, we'll give you seventy percent, and the Maan Clan will take thirty percent."

"Why don't you take more?"

Chen Qiu looked at the countless towering giants behind Ba Dan and frowned, "Do you have to support so many people? Isn't their daily food consumption a significant expense?"

"Hey."

Ba Dan scratched his head, "There are quite a few of us, and our daily consumption is indeed substantial. But it's different. We estimate that the Maan Clan will have to stay in the Fifth Rank Immortal Realm for a long time, maybe even close to a million years, before we have a chance to ascend as a whole clan."

"Even if you give us many spirit stones, it will be difficult for us to digest them quickly and advance to the Sixth Rank Immortal Realm."

"But Master Chen, you're different. I've heard your story in the teahouse. Your cultivation speed in the Immortal Realm is extremely rare. The only thing you lack is spirit stones. I believe that with enough spirit stones, your cultivation will soar to new heights."

"The utilization rate of spirit stones is higher on your side."

"Moreover—"

Ba Dan paused and smiled, "When Master Chen reaches the Sixth Rank Immortal Realm, or even the Seventh Rank Immortal Realm, will you forget about your friend Ba Dan? By then, I can also share in your glory, right?"

"But my cultivation level is too high for this continent; I can't enter. I've brought the younger generation of the Maan Clan."

"They are at the Body Integration Stage and below."

"After entering, you don't need to worry about them. Don't trouble yourself, Master Chen. Just let them act freely."

"That's good."

Chen Qiu also smiled and contacted Deceptive Buddha again, "Since everything is ready, let's go."

After a few breaths.

A flash of white light appeared, and the entire world suddenly spun. The feeling lasted for what seemed like several years.

Finally, the scene before them brightened.

"Ugh, ugh!!!"

Tens of thousands of retching sounds echoed as the towering giants uniformly bent down and began to vomit violently. The scene was beautiful, like a waterfall, both spectacular and awe-inspiring.

Chen Qiu forcefully suppressed his urge to vomit, his body floating in the air. He averted his gaze from below and held his breath, his face turning pale as he looked at the suspended Deceptive Buddha, "Is this a normal process?"

How could he describe the previous pulling process? It felt like being thrown into a tumble dryer for a few years.

He had no time to think about spirit stones now.

Even he felt like finding a place to throw up.

He was at the Body Integration Stage, and even he felt this way. The younger generation of the Maan Clan below were vomiting even more dramatically.

"It's not a normal process."

Deceptive Buddha rubbed his nose, looking a bit embarrassed, "But this Evergreen Continent is on the verge of collapse, right? So, the pulling process might have some issues. Although it can be pulled normally, the entire process might be a bit challenging."

"Never mind."

Chen Qiu shook his head, about to say something, when he looked up into the distance and suddenly froze in place.

This...

What kind of world was this?

The entire sky was blood-red, and the thick smell of blood in the air was almost tangible. A crimson sun hung high in the sky, and the Sky Cavern he had seen in Profound Heaven Continent was now like countless stars filling the entire sky.

Scattered traces of spiritual energy leaked out from the Sky Caverns.

Initially, it must have been a spectacular sight, with a vast amount of spiritual energy escaping from the Sky Caverns. But after so long, most of the energy had turned into Spirit Stones, and the remaining energy had almost completely dissipated, leaving behind the current scene.

He appeared beside a city.

As his Divine Sense swept through, he experienced for the first time what it meant by 'corpses across ten thousand miles'. This was the first time he had seen so many corpses; the entire city was piled high with them, creating an extremely terrifying and chilling sight.

He had rarely seen corpses before.

Although he had quite a few undead under his command, those who died at his hands usually didn't leave behind even their souls. They were directly obliterated by heavenly thunder, leaving no trace.

The city beside him was not so much filled with corpses as it was with shredded flesh.

This continent had been polluted. Not long ago, everyone on this continent suddenly gained a button. When pressed, it would randomly kill someone on the continent and grant a Spirit Stone. This was the result of that action.

After death, the entire body would explode with a loud bang, turning into a mist of blood and countless pieces of flesh.

The city's architecture was stained red, and the large amount of blood formed rivers that flowed out of the city. Now, in the daylight, the scene was already frightening enough to scare many children under fifty years old.

Seeing Chen Qiu's expression, the Deceptive Buddha also sighed, "The scene does look a bit chilling, I admit. Although our Demon Clan isn't exactly a righteous one, this is the first time I've seen something like this."

"We do occasionally harm people."

"But to be honest..."

"The entire Demon Clan, over tens of thousands of years, hasn't killed as many people as there are here in a single city."

"This is nearly a hundred million lives. In a single thought, the Heavenly Dao took them all away, killing them all. If the Heavenly Dao Sinister Ranking is accurate, the Heavenly Dao should be ranked first, right?"

". . ."

Chen Qiu turned his head towards the Deceptive Buddha, remaining silent for a moment.

"What are you looking at me for?"

The Deceptive Buddha shrugged, "I'm speaking the truth. Normally, I wouldn't dare say this, as walls have ears. But the Heavenly Dao on this continent has already collapsed. In other words, this continent is now a place free from the control of the Heavenly Dao."

"I'm just venting. Who can stop me?"

"On this continent, even if you kill someone with a virtue value of over 100 million, there will be no punishment. This place is not governed by the Heavenly Dao."

". . ."

Chen Qiu silently memorized these words, finding a way to deal with those with high virtue values. In the future, when encountering such enemies with high virtue values who are difficult to defeat, he could bring them to a continent where the Heavenly Dao has collapsed.

However, he was currently curious about something else.

"Where did you hear those terms like 'team building' and 'venting'?"

"Where did you hear them?"

The Deceptive Buddha paused before realizing, "Oh, these are our clan's slang, or what you humans would call dialect. 'Team building' means gathering, and 'venting' is complaining about something unpleasant."

The Deceptive Buddha then took out a map from his pocket and handed it to Chen Qiu, "This is a map of this continent. It marks the cities on this continent. To avoid our two groups wasting time in the same cities, the Demon Clan has agreed to divide the territory, with this city as the boundary, and we will head west."

"You can take this city as your boundary and go east, right?"

"I've discussed this with the Demon Clan, and we won't argue with you."

"Besides, the Demon Clan isn't good at fighting, so even if we wanted to, we couldn't win."

"Thank you."

Chen Qiu took the map, just about to say something, when the Deceptive Buddha waved his hand, "Alright, no more talk. Time is tight, and I need to hurry to collect Spirit Stones. We'll meet back here in a day. Remember that."

"Don't be greedy."

"When the sun sets and rises again, we must leave. By then, this continent will gradually stabilize, and many people will likely enter from the outside. The Demon Clan still wants to secretly make our fortune without drawing too much attention to our existence."

"After you leave, try not to mention us. I'm giving you this basic trust."

"If you come, we'll leave together."

"If you don't leave and decide to stay and collect more, that's fine too. We won't wait for you, but remember, you must leave before the sun sets tomorrow. After the sun sets tomorrow, this continent will completely collapse."

"The nightfall tomorrow will bring eternal silence."

"If we're late, we'll disappear along with this continent from the heavens and earth."

"Alright, that's all. Contact me if you have any questions. See you tomorrow."

As he finished speaking, the Deceptive Buddha shot off towards the horizon without hesitation. Just before leaving, he sent a message through his Divine Sense to Chen Qiu, his tone filled with resentment, "Why didn't you tell me you had a good relationship with the Maan Clan?"

"The Demon Clan and the Maan Clan don't get along."

"A long time ago, someone from the Demon Clan transformed into a female giant and deceived a Maan Clan leader, causing him to become enraged and declare eternal enmity with the Demon Clan."

"And that Dragon Clan member by your side, haven't you noticed his eyes have turned red?"

". . ."

Chen Qiu looked at the departing figure of the Deceptive Buddha, raising his eyebrows slightly. He was unaware of the history between the Demon Clan and the Maan Clan, but it seemed normal for such ancient races with tens of thousands of years of history to have had conflicts.

For example, this time, Chen Qiu had gathered his subordinates from various continents, including the Dragon Clan leader Ao Tian, to collect Spirit Stones. It was a waste not to utilize such a large workforce.

At this moment, Ao Tian's eyes were red as he looked down at the group of Manzu below, who were vomiting. It was evident that if they weren't currently allies, Ao Tian would have pounced on them.

After all, the relationship between the Manzu and the Dragon Clan wasn't very good either. Tens of thousands of years ago, the Dragon Clan was a staple on the Manzu's menu. Nowadays, the delicious taste of dragon meat and various cooking methods were all passed down from the Manzu tens of thousands of years ago.

For the Manzu, the flea-like meat of the Demon Clan could only be used to fill the gaps in their teeth.

Only a large-sized creature like the Dragon Clan, with its dense and tender meat, was a true delicacy.

"Umm..."

Chen Qiu was at a loss for words, unsure of how to console his friend. Having too many friends wasn't always a good thing, and it seemed like these friends didn't get along well with each other.

"It's fine."

After taking a deep breath, Ao Tian shook his head. "I know what to do. Just now, I was influenced by the emotions in the inheritance. You know, tens of thousands of years ago, the Dragon Clan and the Manzu were always at odds. The inherited memories tell us that the first thing to do upon encountering the Manzu is to kill without hesitation!"

"Is it really kill without hesitation?"

Fei Long, who was floating beside him, asked curiously, "Tens of thousands of years ago, weren't the Manzu the food of the Dragon Clan? Then, shouldn't the Manzu be stronger in terms of combat power? In that case, shouldn't the first thing to do be to escape immediately? And who would have the ability to kill without hesitation?"

"What do you know?! What do you know?!"

For some reason, Ao Tian suddenly became irritated and blurted out, "How could it be escaping? The Dragon Clan never retreats! Besides, if the Dragon Clan hadn't been defeated back then, how dare a small tribe like the Manzu provoke us!"

"The Dragon Clan is the number one clan in the world!"

"On par with the Human Clan!"

"In the past, there were only three great clans in the world—the Human Clan, the Dragon Clan, and the Demon Clan. Where did the Manzu come from? I don't know which obscure corner they crawled out of, daring to be so arrogant!"

"Of course."

Chen Qiu patted Fei Long on the shoulder. "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Since there's nothing else to do, let's get to work. You six teams can decide on your routes. Take a look at the map."

Then he turned to a Manzu leader below, "Take a look at this map. We'll head northwest, and you'll go southwest. Try to be as fast as possible. We'll meet up here tomorrow when the sun rises. Don't be greedy."

After giving instructions, the six teams from Mock Heaven Sect and the group of Manzu flew off towards the horizon.

The city below was already empty, not a single spirit stone in sight. It was evident that the Demon Clan had already visited this place.

Chen Qiu, along with Fei Long and the others, prepared to head to the farthest city at the edge of the continent.

Chen Qiu had a relatively high amount of spiritual energy, and it was more convenient for him to replenish it. In this spiritless land, he had very few restrictions. Even when absorbing the spiritual energy from spirit stones, he did it faster than others.

The spiritless land had almost no effect on him.

Others had to be more conservative with their spiritual energy, but he didn't have that concern.

However, this continent had too many cities—thousands of them, to be exact. There was no way they could visit all of them in one night, so they could only choose some of the larger cities, where the number of creatures and the amount of spiritual energy were sufficient.

The remaining cities would be left for those who came later.

Moreover, the spirit stones they could collect were not limited to those scattered in the open. There were also the treasure vaults of families, shops, and more!

All the wealth of a continent was now laid bare before everyone, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that could drive anyone crazy. Although it was only a first-rank continent, it didn't have high-grade heaven-grade treasures.

But spirit stones were a different story.

Even in the Immortal Realm, they were a universally accepted currency, usable on any continent. No one would ever complain about having too many of them.

Chen Qiu led Fei Long and the others, flying towards the edge of the continent at top speed. Along the way, they passed several cities, all of which were strewn with shattered stones, blood, and flesh, with countless spirit stones scattered in pools of blood.

People with weak mental fortitude would likely develop mental demons, even if they managed to collect a lot of spirit stones.

The Manzu didn't have to worry about this. Sometimes, having a simple mind had its advantages, like in this situation, where they wouldn't overthink things and would just focus on collecting spirit stones.

The Demon Clan also wouldn't think too much. Although the Deceptive Buddha claimed to be a good Buddha, the words "deceptive" and "demon" didn't sound very positive. Even if they weren't the kind of demons who enjoyed slaughtering creatures, they wouldn't be much better. As for the members of Mock Heaven Sect, they needed to be concerned. Those with weak mental fortitude might indeed develop mental demons.

Up until now, he hadn't seen a single survivor.

"I guess I'll never want to eat strawberry cake again," Fei Long said, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he followed behind Chen Qiu. "This is too tragic. The most important thing is that this incident happened completely out of the blue. No matter how strong your cultivation is, you'd still die."

"If this had happened on the Jiang Taiping Continent just now, we might also be like those below, turned into a pile of shredded flesh?"

"Mhm."

Chen Qiu nodded, sighing softly without saying much more. This wasn't something that could be solved by having a high cultivation level. It was fate. When fate brought you to this point, there was nothing you could do, no matter how high your cultivation.

It was like someone choking to death on a sip of water while eating—it was fate.

All he could do was strive to improve his cultivation, advance to higher-rank continents, and eventually return to the Profound Heaven Continent to bring out the people of Daxia Kingdom.

As for the other continents, he couldn't afford to worry about them.

In the vast expanse of the Profound Heaven Continent, there existed countless First Rank Continents, a number so vast it was akin to an astronomical figure. It was estimated that at any given moment, a First Rank Continent was collapsing, and there was simply no way to save them all, especially not with his limited abilities.

Soon, Chen Qiu and his group arrived at the very edge of one such continent, where he took out the "Pulling Stone" given to him by Ba Dan. Activating it with his spiritual energy, a white light flashed.

Countless spirit stones rushed towards him from within the city.

He opened up his miniature world and absorbed them all.

".”

Chen Qiu gazed at the mountain of spirit stones piled up in the rear mountain of his miniature world, each one stained with blood. He couldn't help but twitch his lips, feeling that maintaining a solemn demeanor was the least he could do to respect the deceased.

But...

But there were so many spirit stones!

It was hard to contain his excitement at the sight of such abundance. After a long while, he finally exhaled and thought back to his struggles in Daxia Kingdom. Earning a single spirit stone had been a challenge, and he had forced himself through 999 failed Foundation Establishment attempts just to earn a few tens of thousands of lower-grade spirit stones. Yet here, every spirit stone was of middle grade.

A quick estimate revealed that there were likely millions of spirit stones.

It was like finding a windfall, proving the saying wrong that good fortune doesn't fall from the sky.

For a moment, he couldn't help but marvel at his luck. He quickly began collecting the spirit stones from one city after another.

He focused on gathering the surface-level spirit stones.

Meanwhile, Fat Dragon, Xing Dou, and the manager were sent out by Chen Qiu to scavenge the wealth from various powers and shops within the city. The riches within a city were not insignificant, but the process of gathering them was tedious.

It wasn't as convenient as using the Pulling Stone.

"Forget it," Chen Qiu muttered.

After scavenging several cities, he noticed that Fat Dragon and the others hadn't even finished with the first city. Frowning in thought for a while, he called them back and unleashed a torrent of spiritual energy, uprooting an entire city and lifting it into the air.

He then turned the city upside down, shaking out the flesh and blood within before tentatively attempting to place it into his miniature world. He had never tried to fit something so large into his world and wasn't sure if it was possible, but he had to try.

The area of his miniature world wasn't that large, and the surroundings of Mock Heaven Sect were void. While the length and width were limited, there was no restriction on height.

Chen Qiu planned to stack the city like building blocks on top of Mock Heaven Sect, as he couldn't bear to leave such treasures behind.

However, the next moment—

Chen Qiu froze in his tracks. Just as he was about to place the city into his miniature world, a message suddenly appeared in his mind, asking if he wanted to expand his miniature world, requiring a consumption of one million middle-grade spirit stones.

Could his miniature world be expanded? How did he not know about this?

The voice sounded familiar, like the one from the second or fourth gate's artifact spirit in Mock Heaven Sect.

Perhaps it was because he had never placed something so large in his miniature world before, and it was assumed he didn't need to expand it.

But there was no specific standard for how much area a million middle-grade spirit stones could expand, and if it were in the past, he might have hesitated and thought it over. A million spirit stones were not a small amount, and it would be a strain for him. Moreover, a larger miniature world didn't offer much benefit.

But now, things were different!

Expand!

As a portion of the spirit stones piled up in the rear mountain of his miniature world turned into powder and dissipated into the air, the void surrounding Mock Heaven Sect began to stir. Gradually, the void solidified into a vast expanse of land.

A withered land.

Devoid of plants and flowers, it seemed like even flowers would wither and die there.

But it was enough.

Once the stirring ceased, Chen Qiu looked at the expanded area and grinned. The added space was not insignificant; it was slightly larger than the area of a city, and it was all profit.

A single city could yield more than a million spirit stones.

The deep wealth within a city far exceeded a million spirit stones, and now he could even expand his miniature world. It was a profitable deal.

First Rank Continents weren't particularly wealthy.

He had spent a long time scavenging in one such continent, and by the time he left, he had only gathered a million spirit stones. The difference now was that previously, he had targeted major powers for scavenging, limiting his targets.

But now, he was scavenging everything.

In this city, with millions of lives, if each person had just one spirit stone, it would amount to millions.

The rest was simple.

Chen Qiu stuffed all the cities he had already scavenged into his miniature world, which had now expanded significantly.

"Hey," Fat Dragon said, his face beaming with uncontrollable joy, nudging the manager with his elbow. "You look like you've got something on your mind."

".”

The manager, with a complex expression, remained silent for a while before whispering, "Reporting to the Great Elder, there's nothing on my mind. It's just that with so many seals, I might have to work on breaking them until the next life."

"Hmm?"

Fat Dragon stiffened, letting out an awkward laugh. "The greater the power, the greater the responsibility, right?"

Indeed, that was true.

With so many cities, storage ring seals, treasure vault seals, and various other seals, the manager had enough work for the next few centuries without needing to do anything else. He could just focus on breaking the seals one city at a time.

"Besides, didn't you say your favorite thing was breaking seals? You'd go without food or water if given enough seals to break."

"Ha!"

The manager forced a stiff laugh, his face rigid. "Yes, indeed."

PS: Please point out any typos, and I'll fix them later.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end