Upon seeing Qin Shilei suddenly disappear, everyone’s expressions changed again.
Elder He, with lingering fear, explained, "This fellow surnamed Qin must have mastered the ultimate technique of instant movement. He displayed a similar move outside the secret realm back then."
"Instant movement?"
Everyone elevated the threat posed by Qin Shilei by a large margin.
Suspiciously, they glanced around, fearing that Qin Shilei might suddenly teleport over and strike them with his sword without any warning. "Alliance Leader, since our Righteous Alliance has lived in the secret realm for thousands of years, why should we venture out into that murky water? It’s better to seal the secret realm completely from now on and live here in peace." an elder suggested.
"I think we should go out and see. Perhaps the fellow surnamed Qin concealed something," another elder offered a different opinion.
Chu Ye pondered for a moment and instructed, "Elder Luo, Elder Liu, please take a few people to scout the area. Remember not to provoke Qin Shilei."
"As you command!"
Elders Luo and Liu bowed in assent.
...
Less than half a day later, the two returned to the hall.
"That fellow surnamed Qin didn't lie to us. The outside world is currently facing a catastrophic calamity."
"However, we also discovered something astonishing."
"Half a year ago, due to the thin spiritual energy of Blue Star, almost no one could cultivate. But after the apocalypse, those survivors could rapidly increase their cultivation."
"Qin Shilei became a Platinum expert in less than half a year, and he has many Gold realm experts under him."
Listening to their accounts, the dozens of Platinum experts present wore expressions of disbelief.
How many of them had cultivated for two to three hundred years to reach the Platinum realm?
"Elder Luo, did you truly investigate clearly? Did he really possess his current cultivation in less than half a year?" someone asked.
"Absolutely certain!" Elder Luo replied with great conviction.
Monster!
This was the only thought in everyone's minds at that moment.
According to the historical records of the Righteous Alliance, the fastest to advance to the Platinum realm was an ancestral martial uncle from three thousand years ago.
This ancestral martial uncle also only succeeded in advancing to Platinum at the age of sixty-nine.
He had cultivated for a full sixty-one years.
Compared to this Qin Shilei, he was like an idiot.
"Perhaps due to the great changes in heaven and earth, not only Qin Shilei's cultivation has increased rapidly, but many survivors have also progressed extremely quickly."
Elder Luo spoke again, "I suggest that our Righteous Alliance all go to the outside world to cultivate before the three-year period is up."
Elder Liu chimed in, "From our investigation, we learned that Qin Shilei possesses a rare heavenly treasure called Enlightenment Tea. It is precisely because of this treasure that he and his subordinates can quickly advance to the Gold realm and even the Platinum realm."
He then briefly elaborated on the effects of Enlightenment Tea.
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes gleamed with greed, and their breathing grew heavy.
"Can we snatch the Enlightenment Tea from him?" someone suggested.
"Snatch? Aren't you afraid he'll strike you down with a sword?" someone said with lingering fear.
Chu Ye spoke, "Everyone, feel free to voice your opinions. Let's figure out how we can obtain some Enlightenment Tea from Qin Shilei."
After much discussion, they decided to form an alliance with Qin Shilei, exchanging various treasures that he needed for Enlightenment Tea.
They also decided that even if they were to seal the secret realm, it would be three years later. Before then, the Righteous Alliance would mobilize its entire force to acquire more resources for growth.
The next morning.
Chu Ye, along with several subordinates, arrived at the Qin An Royal Mansion.
He placed a gift box on the table, "A small token of my appreciation. Please accept it, Prince Qin An."
Qin Shilei accepted the box calmly, "Alliance Leader Chu is too kind."
Chu Ye got straight to the point, "We are here today hoping to discuss an alliance with Prince Qin An, and we also hope to exchange for some Enlightenment Tea from Prince Qin An."
Qin Shilei pondered for a moment and replied, "It is my honor to form an alliance with your esteemed alliance. As for Enlightenment Tea, as long as you can offer something suitable, I can exchange some with you."
The two then discussed the specific matters of their alliance.
The first point was mutual non-aggression, meaning the Righteous Alliance would not interfere with the Qin An Royal Mansion's current sphere of influence.
The second point was that if the other party encountered an irresistible external enemy, they should provide assistance as allies.
After agreeing on the alliance, Chu Ye presented several secret manuals, "These are extremely precious manuals of our Righteous Alliance. We hope to exchange them for some Enlightenment Tea."
Qin Shilei picked up the manuals and casually flipped through them.
Five manuals rated red by the system, and one purple cultivation technique.
These manuals were all handwritten copies. Since they were not produced by the system, they would require practice to truly master.
The only purple cultivation technique was the Blood Escape technique.
Blood Escape (Purple): Utilizes the essence blood within the body to propel oneself to appear hundreds of kilometers away in a very short period. Afterward, one will enter a state of weakness for three days.
What Qin Shilei valued most was this Blood Escape technique.
If he could teach this Blood Escape technique to his close ones, their safety would be greatly enhanced.
"Alliance Leader Chu, for these manuals, I can give you five pieces of Enlightenment Tea. What do you think?" Qin Shilei stated his price.
"Agreed. May I ask if Prince Qin An needs these manuals?" Chu Ye produced more than a dozen secret manuals.
Qin Shilei flipped through them again, finding them to be ordinary red manuals, of very little value to him.
"Alliance Leader Chu, these manuals are too common, and they require a certain aptitude and prolonged practice to learn. I don't really need them."
"Then let it be. I will go back later and see if I can find anything suitable."
Chu Ye calmly collected the manuals from the table.
Their Righteous Alliance naturally possessed more valuable manuals, but how could they possibly reveal them all at once?
Even if they were to exchange them, they would only decide to offer their best after testing the efficacy of Enlightenment Tea.
As for the Blood Escape technique, due to its extreme difficulty to learn and its significant side effects, he had readily offered it.
Qin Shilei suddenly had an idea and said, "Alliance Leader Chu, in fact, Blue Star now has many top-tier items. If Alliance Leader Chu can go and retrieve any heavenly treasures, magical items, or equipment of purple grade or above, I would be very happy to exchange with you."
Chu Ye's eyes lit up, and he replied, "Certainly. After I return and test the efficacy of Enlightenment Tea, if it is truly as you say, I will mobilize everyone in our Righteous Alliance to find the items you need."
It was precisely because of Qin Shilei's suggestion that the Righteous Alliance began a large-scale search across the entire Blue Star.
The combined strength of dozens of Platinum experts and over a thousand Gold experts was immense.
In the near future, a continuous stream of top-tier items of purple grade and above would be acquired by Qin Shilei through theft or plunder by the Righteous Alliance.