Chapter 318: Why Am I Always the One Losing Out?

The number of techniques in the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion’s library grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, clearly showing its popularity.

—

Mingwang Province, at the Celestial Sword Sect, the elders were both shocked and puzzled by the sudden surge of enthusiasm among Great Yan Province cultivators to upload their techniques.

“When the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion was first released, no cultivator was willing to upload their techniques. Why has the situation suddenly changed, with everyone now scrambling to upload? Even the major factions are acting the same way.”

“The Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion now has a million techniques, with even a considerable number of Heaven-tier ones. It’s unbelievable. Are the cultivators of Great Yan Province all so generous?”

“This Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion is truly convenient. Any technique you search for can be found. I’ve even come across a few fascinating sword manuals that can be cross-referenced with our sect’s sword techniques.”

“I glanced at the first page of the Invincible Seven Demons Sword. It’s truly profound. Burning one’s essence, each strike more terrifying than the last, culminating in a final, life-consuming blow that annihilates everything. It’s a desperate but divine skill. I plan to buy it and see if I can adapt its essence into swordsmanship.”

“A pavilion that gathers the cultivation techniques of the entire Great Yan Province. This is an unparalleled treasure for any cultivator. If we had the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion when we first embarked on the path of cultivation, perhaps we could have traveled even further on the immortal path.”

“To gather all the techniques of the cultivation world into one library, what a bold idea. And the most surprising part is that it actually worked.”

The elders engaged in animated discussion, marveling at the convenience of the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion.

Elder Dugu, however, spoke thoughtfully, “The Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion’s popularity isn’t because the cultivators of Great Yan Province are generous, but because of the remarkable methods of the Heavenly Origin Saint Master.

“First, he introduced the rule that only the first uploader could earn a share of the profits, creating hesitation in the hearts of cultivators. Then, after the pavilion’s release, he uploaded a selection of stored techniques, instilling a sense of urgency among cultivators. These two strategies combined, made cultivators fear that the techniques they held would be uploaded by others and that they’d miss out on the earnings.

“It wasn’t just ordinary cultivators. Even those with unique techniques felt the pressure and hesitated, leading them to upload as well.

“Thus, the Heavenly Origin Saint Master had calculated everything long before the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion was launched. And yet, we doubted whether the pavilion could succeed. What a massive gap in foresight!”

Elder Dugu’s explanation of the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion’s sudden success left the other elders in awe.

They had always looked down on the cultivators of Great Yan Province, carrying an air of superiority.

But when it came to the Heavenly Origin Saint Master, they were utterly convinced of his genius.

Such a monstrous talent as the Heavenly Origin Saint Master was rare, even in Mingwang Province.

Yan Bailu listened to Elder Dugu’s admiration for Ye Chen, a radiant smile gracing her face as she swung her bare feet with even more delight.

At this moment, one elder suggested, “Given the circumstances, should our Celestial Sword Sect also continue uploading techniques? Aside from our secret arts, should we upload the rest of our collection? After all, there are many buyers in the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion. Some techniques have already sold tens of thousands of copies in this short time.

“Moreover, many techniques in our sect’s library are not unique to Mingwang Province. Why not upload them early to gain an advantage?”

Hearing this, several elders were tempted.

Their lives had improved significantly since the introduction of trade with other provinces.

If they could earn another income stream through their techniques, the Celestial Sword Sect might truly rise again. They might even no longer have to worry about spirit stones in the future.

Elder Dugu also pondered seriously, “The Heavenly Origin Sacred Land has now expanded its business to Penglai Island. In the future, selling the Heavenly Origin Little Spirit Communicator in Mingwang Province is inevitable. With the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion’s extraordinary utility,

it will undoubtedly become popular among Mingwang cultivators as well.

“If we upload our techniques early, we can indeed gain the upper hand. But that’s not all. We can also take advantage of this time to acquire techniques from outside and upload them. I have a hunch that in the future, the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion might become the only place cultivators go to buy techniques.

“The more techniques we upload now, the more we’ll earn in profit shares later. After all, techniques are essential, and every generation of cultivators will need them. One day, the annual share earnings alone might be enough to make us rich without doing anything.”

The elders were filled with anticipation as they listened to Elder Dugu’s vision of the future.

They turned their eyes in unison to their sect master, Yan Bailu. Such an important matter required her decision.

Yan Bailu smiled radiantly.

“I trust the Heavenly Origin Saint Master. The Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion has great potential!

Use half of the spirit stones we’ve earned from our overseas ventures to purchase techniques.

However, avoid acquiring Yellow-tier techniques, and limit the number of Profound-tier ones.

“The prices of techniques in the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion are so low that cultivators will naturally choose better, more efficient methods to cultivate. Yellow-tier techniques and spells are likely to become obsolete. Even if we upload them, they’ll probably go unnoticed.

“Focus on acquiring techniques that are at least Profound-tier or higher. To earn a share of the profits, popularity is what matters most.”

The elders wholeheartedly agreed with Yan Bailu’s reasoning.

For a moment, they were struck by realization.

With the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion’s emergence, would Profound-tier techniques become the minimum standard for cultivation?

If that happened, how much would the overall strength of the cultivation world increase?

It was almost unimaginable.

—

In Great Yan Province, uploading techniques had become a common practice for every cultivator.

From basic to advanced methods, ancient sect inheritances, and even some forbidden secrets of existing major sects appeared in the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion.

These were often uploaded in secret, for the cultivation world was far from safe.

Not even disciples were spared.

Even elders might fall or be captured outside.

Thus, no matter how securely a lineage is preserved, there’s always a chance it could fall into someone else’s hands.

Previously, cultivators who acquired these great sect lineages wouldn’t dare openly sell them and would only practice them in secret.

Now, with the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion, no one knows who uploads the techniques.

So why not upload them and earn a share of the profits?

This situation left the higher-ups of many major factions in Great Yan Province fuming.

Their lineages were being uploaded by outsiders to earn profit shares!

Those were their techniques!

It felt no different from their wife giving birth to someone else’s child.

Yet, the rules of the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion were clear: whoever uploads first earns the spirit stones.

And the force behind the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion was none other than the Heavenly Origin Sacred Land and its Saint Master.

That man could kill even Great Advancement cultivators.

Who would dare court death by expressing dissatisfaction?

They could only grit their teeth and accept it.

Some factions, in their anger, even secretly uploaded their remaining secret techniques.

After all, they couldn’t guarantee their lineages wouldn’t be leaked.

Rather than risk others uploading them first, why not take the initiative and earn some spirit stones?

As a result, the number of techniques in the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion grew even further.

Over these past days, the elders responsible for reviewing techniques were overwhelmed with work.

Even Earth-tier techniques, once rare, had become so common that they found them nauseating to review.

Without the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion, they could never have imagined that Great Yan Province’s cultivation world possessed so many techniques.

—

Great Mystery Sacred Land…

The Great Mystery Saint Master sat in the grand hall, listening to the elders’ reports with a look of disbelief.

“The Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion has taken off?

“Countless cultivators are uploading techniques?

“How is that possible?”

The Great Mystery Saint Master had only been in seclusion for two days, yet this sudden news completely stunned him.

This was nothing like what he had imagined!

He immediately entered the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion to investigate.

Currently, the library housed a staggering 1.7 million techniques.

Within the library, the Great Mystery Saint Master even saw numerous secret techniques from major factions.

This shocked him further.

Were these factions insane?

They had uploaded their own lineages?

How could they bear to do so?

When the elders explained the progression of the upload frenzy, the Great Mystery Saint Master sneered and immediately concluded, “This is clearly a scheme orchestrated by the Heavenly Origin Sacred Land itself.

“All the cultivators in Great Yan Province have been duped.”

The many setbacks he had suffered had made the Great Mystery Saint Master increasingly astute.

He saw through the essence of the matter at a glance.

The elders nodded in agreement.

The cultivation world had no shortage of clever individuals, and many had suspected this from the start.

But so what if they knew?

Plenty of people didn’t understand the situation. And those who didn’t understand were busy uploading techniques.

Everyone worried that someone else would upload the techniques they knew first.

It was an unsolvable dilemma.

The Penalty Elder turned to the Great MysterySaint Master,

“Saint Master, even if this is all a ploy by the Heavenly Origin Sacred Land, we must act now.

“In these past two days, more and more techniques have been uploaded to the Immortal Net Sutra Pavilion. Many techniques under our Great Mystery Sacred Land’s control have already been uploaded by other cultivators.

“I roughly estimated the sales of those techniques, and the numbers are staggering. If those techniques had been uploaded by us, we’d have already earned at least 200,000 high-grade spirit stones in profit shares.

“But now, while the techniques have been uploaded, all the spirit stones have gone to others. We’ve gained nothing at all.

“Saint Master, shouldn’t we hurry and upload the remaining techniques that haven’t been uploaded yet?”

Hearing the figure, the elders all felt a pang of heartache.

The Great Mystery Sacred Land was currently in dire financial straits.

If they had this amount of spirit stones, the benefits would be immense.

Moreover, profit shares from techniques would continue to flow in indefinitely.

They could earn even more in the future.

But now, others had taken all the profit.

It was an absolute loss.

Thinking about this, they couldn’t help but cast reproachful glances at the Great Mystery Saint Master.

Under their gaze, the Great Mystery Saint Master felt utterly dejected.

At this moment, he was filled with despair.

Why could Ye Chen succeed at everything?

Anything even remotely connected to Ye Chen always left him at a disadvantage.

Why was it always like this?

“Upload all the techniques!” The Great MysterySaint Master sighed deeply, accepting his fate.