Li Shuang looked shaken.
The disciple looked at her for a while and said stiffly, "The stone given by the Third Elder must be useful. Junior Sister Li has successfully used the energy in the stone, and the Elder must be very pleased. Perhaps she will be rewarded tomorrow."
Li Shuang responded with a look of pleasant surprise, "That would be wonderful."
The disciple nodded and walked away silently.
This day.
There was another riot of the Thousand Silk Web. Li Shuang once again used the Rebirth Art to suppress the riot. Afterward, she had the Heaven and Earth Melting Furnace exchange some of the stone's energy.
At night, Li Shuang led everyone to hunt demonic beasts as usual.
Previously, in order to allow Cang Yin and others to quickly enter Langya Palace, points were redistributed. In the previous few cycles, these disciples who had contributed points had all been compensated.
Everyone received their portion of points, and the team thus maintained harmony.
Otherwise.
If a team were to continuously force a portion of its members to sacrifice, that team would certainly not last long.
This time, another disciple asked, "Senior Sister Cang Yin and the others are not far from the second floor of Langya Palace. Should we still prioritize giving them points as before, so they can enter the second floor first?"
Everyone looked at Li Shuang.
Such decisions were always made by Li Shuang, and they were all used to it.
This time.
However, Li Shuang shook her head, "Under normal circumstances, Cang Yin and the others will be able to reach the second floor in their next cycle. This time... there's no need to rush."
Firstly.
Li Shuang had a feeling.
She and the Third Elder probably had another fight coming.
If Cang Yin and the others came up early, there would be a risk of them getting caught in the crossfire.
Secondly.
Some things can't be repeated. Li Shuang was quite confident in leading everyone to survive before, which is why she proposed this strategy.
But in these last few cycles.
The crisis grew increasingly severe, and no one could guarantee that these disciples would definitely last until the end. What if they had to withdraw early for some reason? How would their missing points be compensated?
Although they needed to work together, it was better to be as fair as possible when it came to individual interests.
Li Shuang didn't deliberately use any management strategies; she simply relied on her intuition.
"Listen to my Sister Shuang. This time, we'll stay on the first floor and make a big splash," Cang Yin said with a smile.
"That's right. We can't go up to the third floor yet, but we already have people on the first and second floors. If we work together, we should be able to cause some damage to this ascension plan."
With the basic strategy set, everyone no longer dwelled on it and focused on hunting demonic beasts.
Soon.
It was the second day of the cycle.
Li Shuang was already waiting on the second floor of Langya Palace.
After another riot was resolved, the energy in the Gloomstone was also completely depleted.
Li Shuang waited patiently for a while.
Above, the black passage appeared again in the ceiling.
The Third Elder emerged from it.
He looked at Li Shuang, his expression satisfied, "I know everything. You've handled the silk thread riots very well these past few times."
Li Shuang hurriedly said, "Thanks to the stone given by the Elder. I don't know what kind of wondrous object this stone is, but the energy contained within it is greatly beneficial for cultivating the Yellow Springs Art! Unfortunately, to deal with the silk thread riots, I've already used up all the energy in this stone."
Li Shuang regretfully took out the Gloomstone that had completely run out of energy.
The Third Elder took it and examined it, and seeing that it was indeed empty, he couldn't help but smile, "To drain a Gloomstone in one day, your talent is even greater than your Senior Sister Shuiyao's."
He looked at Li Shuang with a benevolent expression, "I've just lost a disciple, and I have no one under my tutelage. I wonder, are you willing to take me as your master and become my disciple?"
Before Li Shuang could answer, he continued, "If you agree, you can receive a reward of five thousand points. Consider it a welcoming gift from me as your master. Plus, since you completed the task of appeasing the Thousand Silk Web threads, you'll get another thousand points. Li Shuang, you can acquire six thousand points all at once."
The old man tried to aggressively entice her, his expression showing a fear that Li Shuang would run away.
Li Shuang lowered her eyes, concealing the thoughts within.
She was just a new disciple now.
She had no reason to refuse the old man's request.
If she refused, she would likely die on the spot, and there would be no future to speak of.
Li Shuang flatly stated, "Greetings, Master."
A bright smile immediately appeared on the Third Elder's face.
"Since you've become my disciple, you naturally can't be treated like ordinary disciples." The Third Elder took out three Gloomstones at once, "Take these three Gloomstones and continue cultivating. Don't worry about running out of Gloomstones; if you do, just ask me for more."
The Third Elder appeared very generous, directly handing the three stones to Li Shuang.
Li Shuang looked at the three stones, a perfectly timed glint of greed in her eyes.
"Thank you, Master," Li Shuang said, overjoyed.
Her joy didn't even need to be faked.
One Gloomstone was worth thirty thousand value points.
Three Gloomstones were worth ninety thousand value points!
While dealing with a tiger was dangerous, the rewards were indeed astonishing.
"The old man nodded with satisfaction, "Third Layer matters are busy. I probably won't come to see you until the ascension. You and I, master and disciple, will meet in the Immortal Realm."
"Yes! See you in the Immortal Realm!" Li Shuang responded.
The elder encouraged her a few more times before returning to the third layer.
Li Shuang looked at the Gloomstone in her hand and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
She had been quite worried that the elder would check her progress with the Yellow Springs Art.
However, even if he did want to check, she could easily pass with the Rebirth Art or by trading with the Heaven and Earth Melting Furnace.
But this Third Elder, surprisingly, did not proactively check.
Why was that?
Li Shuang pondered slightly.
The Yellow Springs Art was already a top-tier soul secret art, but this Third Elder himself did not cultivate this secret art.
Moreover.
When the Third Elder took out the Gloomstone, Li Shuang had a feeling that he seemed impatient to hand it to her.
He...
He dared not come into too much contact with the Gloomstone.
He had nurtured Shuiyao into a vessel for the Yellow Springs Art, but he himself still feared this cultivation method.
Li Shuang couldn't help but ponder.
All things in heaven and earth have their strengths and weaknesses.
He wanted to seize Shuiyao's body before, and now he wanted to seize hers.
But.
To seize another's soul and occupy their body was an act against the heavens, not tolerated by the Dao of Heaven.
Even if this Third Elder had profound cultivation, he could only plan slowly.
However.
No matter how high his cultivation or how meticulous his plan, taking such risks could never be perfectly flawless.
A crazy thought suddenly flashed through Li Shuang's mind.
She suddenly felt...
She could kill this Third Elder!
Kill the Third Elder!
Her points would definitely exceed one hundred thousand.
The third floor of Langya Palace would be secure!