"We still have hope!"
"It hasn't come to the end of the road yet."
"Exactly. Although we've gathered many Gu Immortal elites, none of our families have brought out their True Inheritances for others to reference."
"With the contents of these True Inheritances exchanged among us, discovering a solution to the ant disaster is entirely possible!"
Qi Hai Old Ancestor was silent for a long while before slowly nodding. "The severity of the current situation — I trust I don't need to spell it out for anyone here. So when each family contributes their True Inheritance, I expect nothing less than your utmost sincerity! If anyone holds back or hides anything, don't blame me for enforcing justice."
"As long as it solves the ant disaster, the entire Righteous Alliance benefits. Whatever each family sacrifices will be compensated. I trust the Contribution Ranking will be the best proof of that!"
To deal with the ant disaster, the major families began bleeding.
The Hua family brought out the Snake Venom Qi Thread True Inheritance, the Nangong family contributed the Grand Mystery True Inheritance, the Xie family produced the Withered Leaf True Inheritance, the Su family offered up the Great Belly True Inheritance…
Originally, the Righteous Alliance's Contribution Ranking had been established, but it bore few names.
Previously, Qi Hai Old Ancestor had called on the families to exchange inheritances and killer moves, but these exchanges were all superficial. Who would voluntarily hand over their unique inheritances for mere trade?
But now, things were completely different.
Not only had the number of names on the Contribution Ranking exploded, but competition over the ranking positions had become extraordinarily fierce, with positions shuffling constantly.
Different inheritance contents naturally held different values — some high, some low, some prestigious, some common. It was difficult for ordinary people to appraise them.
But Qi Hai Old Ancestor was Fang Yuan's clone, and with shared realm and far-reaching insight, he could evaluate each family's inheritance with perfect accuracy.
Even when the contributing party had objections, Qi Hai Old Ancestor would convene all the Gu Immortals to deliberate together. Every single time, his assessment convinced the entire assembly.
The more often this happened, the more Qi Hai Old Ancestor's prestige grew.
Everyone in the Righteous Alliance was filled with admiration for his vast knowledge.
"Grand Elder, do we really have to hand over the Heavenly Disaster True Inheritance?"
"This is the Heavenly Disaster True Inheritance!"
"Think about how much effort and painstaking work we poured into seizing Dengtian Field just to obtain this inheritance!"
Several Song family Gu Immortals approached Song Qiyuan, all deeply reluctant.
Song Qiyuan sighed deeply, utterly helpless. "Are you not aware of the current situation? This has already spiraled beyond our control. Everyone knows we obtained the Heavenly Disaster True Inheritance. There have long been calls demanding our family contribute it. Being able to hold out until now has been the absolute limit. Now the Xia family has produced the Molten Reforging True Inheritance, the Tang family has contributed the Myriad Fusion True Inheritance — if our family still refuses to produce the Heavenly Disaster inheritance, it simply won't hold up. Everyone is watching us. Who among them would let us off?"
The Song family Gu Immortals fell into silence.
The situation had collapsed almost without anyone noticing.
In the beginning, everyone's intentions were good — to avoid war as much as possible, and to solve the ant disaster. So contribute some True Inheritances.
These inheritances mostly involved Wood Path, Food Path, and similar disciplines. None were particularly critical, and their values were generally low.
But even among low-value inheritances, there were still differences.
Some were higher, some were lower.
If the gap was marginal, nobody would have cared.
But there was this Contribution Ranking, which marked everyone's contributions for all to see!
The families at the top looked at it and naturally felt aggrieved: "Why are we contributing so much while others contribute so little? Setting everything else aside, take so-and-so family — they have that particular True Inheritance. Why haven't they contributed it? Look, our family even handed over this such-and-such True Inheritance!"
Pressed by such pressure, those at the bottom of the ranking had no choice but to act, picking and choosing several inheritances to offer.
This way, those who had been behind suddenly surged to the front, which then made the middle-ranking families feel disgruntled. And those still stuck at the back would be ridiculed by those above, pressured even further, sometimes with humiliating criticism: "Your so-called family — is this the depth of your reserves? You can't even produce such-and-such? And you dare call yourselves a supreme family?"
Gu Immortals were all shrewd creatures. When offering up their inheritances, each one thought: I'll hand over something of comparable value. As long as the ranking stays roughly the same, that'll do.
But how could that possibly work?
With so many positions on the ranking, what standard could you use to call something "roughly the same"?
Often when a Gu Immortal thought it was close enough, everyone else felt they had fallen far short.
And even if everyone was temporarily satisfied — heh, don't forget who it was appraising the inheritance values!
Qi Hai Old Ancestor's role as impartial mediator was in fact his role as impartial stirrer of trouble!
So the families began competing with one another, mocking each other, driving the rivalry ever more fiercely. The value of the inheritances each family contributed kept climbing. The more they gave, the more it stung. The more it stung, the more they resented the families still sitting below them on the ranking.
And just like that, the situation spiraled out of control.
The Song family was not the first to be forced into offering a top-tier inheritance. But the Heavenly Disaster True Inheritance had long been a thorn in everyone's side.
"I already handed over such-and-such True Inheritance. And you, Song family, you're hoarding the Heavenly Disaster True Inheritance. What exactly do you mean by that?"
"Hmph. Our family has sacrificed enormously. The Song family must sacrifice something too."
"The Song family's Heavenly Disaster True Inheritance is undoubtedly of immense value. Seizing this opportunity to obtain it openly and legitimately, with ease and righteous justification — how perfect!"
The families were not lacking in Gu Immortals, and Gu Immortals were not lacking in cunning.
The contribution of True Inheritances had become a political struggle of mutual one-upmanship, suppression, and checkmate. The Righteous Alliance was tearing itself apart from within, and the one who benefited most was none other than the exalted figure seated in the seat of honor — Qi Hai Old Ancestor.
Through this, Fang Yuan had not only obtained the Heavenly Disaster True Inheritance, but also several other valuable Refinement Path inheritances.