Within the deepest areas of the Infinite treasures mountain, an array formation larger than any previously seen or described formations could be seen engraved on one particular ancient structure. This ancient structure was bigger than all the previous ones in the outer area of the infinite treasures mountain. There was a completely dark room within this described ancient structure, and without a glint of light, the chamber was so dark that one couldn't even describe anything within it. But suddenly, a set of white teeth emerged from within the darkness as if someone smiled, the smiling figure then opened its mouth as it released loads of Qi breaths, but the next moment, the emerged set of white teeth slowly closed its mouth again as it then blended into the darkness, a heavy voice reverberating after.
"Freedom."
The ten thousand-plus cultivators heard the echoing announcement of the Gong descendant. While some became excited with the presented opportunity, others remained skeptical and rational about the situation. A group of ten cultivators wearing matching uniforms argued within one of the distant ancient buildings of the outer area.
"I think we shouldn't interfere; we don't even know the origin of the person we are searching for and how strong he is. Only heavens know what uncertainty we will encounter if we ignore this factor and join the others searching for this man."
"Coward, don't you understand the presented opportunity? We have lived for three thousand years; even if we combined our accumulated wealth, it wouldn't even amount to five hundred thousand law spirit stones, but now there is a one million law spirit stones reward, plus five high-grade treasures for some stupid guy who offended an ancient family. And also, we might gain the favor of the descendant from an Ancient family; think about that."
"Everyone calm down; you both have valid points, but we must consider the background of this Gong descendant. He's from an ancient family, and if you all noticed; all his escorts were Star Entities or higher, it would be a risk not helping him. Although we don't know who this silver-haired person is, we must at least not choose sides until we determine which side possesses the advantage."
This same conversation and reasoning were occurring in the other ancient buildings and the minds of some rogue cultivators, but some still ignored their thoughts as they began searching for the silver-haired person.
In the mid areas of the infinite treasures mountain, an old man in green attire flashed in the space towards a certain direction leading to the deeper areas of the infinite treasures mountain. Multiple long green swords circled behind the old man as they radiated with Qi; suddenly, the old man stopped mid-air upon hearing the bounty message. This old man was the Spiral Sword Celestial who previously interacted with the Gong descendant. Hovering in the space with hands behind him, he thought.
'Who is crazy enough to offend a descendant of an ancient powerhouse? And by the bounty reward, the Gong descendant seemed quite offended to offer a million law spirit stones and some high-level treasures for some nobody. But I don't understand why he would waste such resources when he has his escorts of Star Entities; unless he's being skeptical. But why would a proudful descendant from an ancient family use others to handle his matters? Let's search for who this silver-haired kid is first.'
The next second, the old man raised two fingers as one of the multiple green swords circling behind him moved to his front; he closed his eyes as if issuing a command to the sword, the next moment, he stretched his arm as the sword vanished in the direction of the outer areas. The old man then vanished into the direction, heading towards the core area of the infinite treasures mountain.
Far in the outer areas inside the infinite treasures mountain, Patrick stood confidently with a solemn expression as he stared into the distance. Moments ago, after the Gong descendant issued a bounty on him, he could hear the discussions of many cultivators and groups considering searching for him; some cultivators in groups even disbanded due to their disagreements, while others worked together as they hunted for the silver-haired person mentioned in the message. Not long after, chaos erupted as thousands of cultivators engaged in battles; their targets were anyone with silver hair or in black clothing. Loud booming sounds echoed in the ancient buildings as the conflicts between the cultivators activated the array traps in the buildings, killing most of them in the process.
"Surrender now, and I will kill you painlessly."
"What nonsense, simply because I have silver hair doesn't mean I am the one, can't you see my blue attire? does this look black and peculiar to you?"
"You think I am a fool? you must have changed your clothes after the bounty was placed on you; come on, guys, let us bring his head and claim our rewards."
Patrick watched his system interface as it displayed an event happening in one of the ancient buildings; a group of Celestial Emperors surrounded one Celestial Emperor, but this person had silver hair. Some held the treasures they had gained from their treasure hunting as they used them to attack the man. These similar scenarios occurred in other locations of the infinite treasures mountain, as many aimed at any silver-haired person. Only the women were safe from the attacks despite having silver hairs, but that didn't stop them from attacking silver-haired males.
"Since he intends to reduce the competition, I will make it even easier for him."
Patrick spoke with a serious expression; he could see the innocent silver-haired males getting attacked and almost at the brink of death; although there weren't many, the few silver-haired cultivators were surrounded by large groups as they struggled for their lives, trying to prove they weren't the mentioned targets. Their battles even caused cracks in some of the ancient treasure buildings. Patrick opened his lips as his voice reverberated within the dimension of the entire mountain and even causing the space to tremble intensely.
"If you value your lives, remain at your locations; if you don't, come for your deaths."
TREMBLE!
Over ten thousand plus cultivators were busy gathering treasures or attacking silver-haired people when suddenly, a male voice filled with power and regality resounded in the atmosphere; this voice was countless times more authoritative than the Gong descendant as it caused the souls of thousands of cultivators to shiver in fright. Some even had panicked expressions as sweat dripped from their foreheads, while others stood stunned. Suddenly a male cultivator within one ancient building broke the silence.
"Could that voice be from the person we are searching for?"
With this question, many of the nearby cultivators within the same building stepped from their stupors as they also stopped their attacks on the silver-haired male cultivators; they thought about the question as some began contemplating their actions.
"If the voice was from indeed the man we are searching for, then I don't think I will participate anymore. Just now, his voice alone made my Celestial Emperor cultivation soul shiver with fear; I can't even imagine how strong he is if we confront him."
"Same, it felt like getting lost in complete darkness. Although the rewards are good, I better stick with my millions of low-grade treasures than die a pointless and greedy death."
"You guys are just scared, even if he is strong, with over five thousand or more Celestial Emperors; I believe not even a Star Entity would survive. And besides, the voice came not far from the dimension entrance, which means he hasn't even gathered any treasures yet, so this is an opportunity to attack him. You cowards can stay; I will go claim my fortune."
These same conversations occurred in other areas of the dimension as the next moment, the thousands of male and female cultivators decided whether to attack or continue accumulating their low-grade treasures. Within one ancient treasure building, ten cultivators in yellow armors were swallowing countless low-grade treasures into their space rings when they heard the thundering and domineering words of a male figure, but after, they continued gathering the infinite treasures which kept appearing every time the men swallowed them in their space rings.
These yellow-armored men are the escorts who were with the girl that approached Patrick previously; they didn't react or search for the silver-haired man because they had previously received a message from their lady, ordering them not to interfere at all cost. So, they continued their treasure accumulation even after hearing the thundering words of Patrick.
At the dimension entrance, the Gong descendant and his hundred escorts heard Patrick's words; the Gong descendant scoffed as he spoke, "Arrogant," he then started walking from the stone array platform, after two steps, his figure began floating in the air. The one hundred black-hodded subordinates of the Gong descendant slowly followed after their master. The group of the ancient descendant flew in the sky as they headed towards where the voice sounded from.
Patrick stood on a high plateau as he waited for the cultivators. As expected, the next moment, multiple figures began appearing in the sky; some appeared in groups while others by themselves, but the sky above Patrick was getting filled will cultivators from different races and genders. Numerous cultivators appeared on the ground as they surrounded Patrick, with many already activated their cultivation techniques and skills, while others held treasures and weapon artifacts.
"I thought I told you the consequence if you interrupted my path again."
The Gong descendant floated in the air as he heard this silver-haired person speak directly to him; he then recalled the last words this person spoke before entering the portals, "Block my path again, and your entire ancient family will compensate for it," but he immediately scoffed at the memory as he thought. 'How outlandish of this measly peasant to threaten my ancient Gong family, but I want to see just what level of strength you possess first.' The next moment, the Gong descendant spoke.
"Consequence? How arrogant of you to claim you can wipe out my Ancient Gong family; you are nothing but an ignorant fool with less understanding of the world, but since you boast of me suffering consequences, let's see how you handle over six thousand Celestial Emperor cultivators."
Patrick stood with an expressionless mood as he stared at the Gong descendant, he listened to the insulting words of the man, but instead of acting immediately, Patrick turned to the surrounding floating and standing cultivators as he began speaking.
"When I look at you guys, I see pathetic, weak-minded, and cowardly fools. As cultivators, you have chosen to defy even the heavens that created this universe; you have chosen to go against the restricted laws of nature as you pursued the Doa of cultivation and immortality, and with great efforts and sacrifices, you all have made it this far. But while you challenge the will, power, and authority of the heavens, you bow to the order of a man; if so, does your fear for humankind surpasses even that of the heavens, which possesses power infinitely greater than all creations combined? Do you mean that this man from the Ancient Gong family and his entire Ancient legacy have power equal to that of the heavens?
Most of you fear these ancient powers because of their powerful backgrounds and legacies, but where are your indomitable wills? Where are your un-subservient selves that survive the heavenly tribulations, later ascending the immortal realm? Are you willing to exchange your eons of life sacrifices for licking the ass of some ancient powerhouse?"
The surrounding cultivators listened to Patrick's speech as it caused a change in their expressions. Some floating cultivators who activated their techniques slowly began retracting their Qi's as they calmed down; some on the ground retracted their weapons and treasures as they became intrigued. These cultivators felt relatable to Patrick's speech; they have sacrificed so much to be where they are now; they had challenged even the heavens by surviving the lightning tribulations. But here they are, bowing to the orders of their fellow humankind; the more some cultivators thought about Patrick's words, the more they lost interest in the bounty.
"And haven't you guys understood yet why a descendant of an ancient family is issuing a bounty on some nobody like me when he has a hundred escorts, of which they all are at least Star Entities? I think of two reasons: to test my strength and reduce the competition by having your guys kill each other after I'm dead. Because after you kill me, who will claim my bounty? There are over five thousand of you, but one of me, you will be forced into death matches until a winner emerges. There will be fewer competitors for the treasures by then; he could easily kill the winner and take everything. So that's why I call you guys pathetic, weak-minded, and cowardly fools."
The whole surroundings became quiet as the thousands of cultivators remained stiff in their positions; they were slowly comprehending what they had heard, and from their convinced expressions, it seems they were already red-pilled. Some floating cultivators slowly began descending as they landed beside Patrick, stating they were now with Patrick; the other standing cultivators also acted as they slowly began clustering around Patrick. They then stared at the floating ancient Gong family party as their eyes declared their intentions.
The Gong descendant hovered in the space with a bewildered expression as he saw the thousands of cultivators slowly gather around this silver-haired person; he clenched his fan even tighter as it broke, the next second, the body of the Gong descendant began radiating with an ominous aura as he spoke in a heavy, slow tone.