Reception Island was not large. The group of immortals explored every corner but found nothing, and soon gathered at the center of the small island.
At the center of the island, they made a shocking discovery!
A towering obelisk, its entire body gleaming as if forged from gold, radiating a soft, crystalline glow.
An Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu House—the Merit Stele!
Text continuously surfaced on the Merit Stele, describing Reception Island and the details of Paradise Earth's True Inheritance.
To obtain Paradise Earth's True Inheritance, one had to accept the various tasks inscribed on the obelisk and earn Merit upon completing them. The more Merit one accumulated, the more valuable the items that could be exchanged for.
If one refused to accept these terms, the Gu Immortals could only sit idly on this small island, unable to leave or venture to any other place within the Paradise realm.
Of course, Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable was compassionate and would not let these people leave empty-handed. The various immortal materials on the island had been prepared specifically for them, to be divided among themselves.
After three hundred days, everyone would be teleported out.
The immortals erupted in an uproar.
"So there really are immortal materials on the island. Those Cloud-Ladder Leaf Hearts, Clear Wind Grass Stems, Rooster Iron, and such—they weren't fake."
"They've all been taken! Dammit, that thorough sweep left absolutely nothing for us!"
"I reckon it was that Chu Ying."
"Where is Chu Ying? Why haven't we seen him yet?"
"I've found Chu Ying!" Fairy Flower Butterfly suddenly called out.
The immortals hurried to her side, rounding to the other face of the Merit Stele. Following where Fairy Flower Butterfly pointed, they saw text gradually appearing on the stele's surface.
Merit Ranking—Chu Ying, eighty-two Merit.
Aside from Chu Ying, no one else was listed.
"That bastard!" Ren Xiuping gnashed his teeth.
Just then, Chu Ying's Merit value jumped sharply from eighty-two to ninety-three.
Immediately after, the Merit Stele flashed brilliantly.
The immortals hastily retreated several steps.
The light and shadow dissipated rapidly, revealing Fang Yuan.
"Chu Ying!" Bee General barked in a low voice.
"So you've finally decided to show yourself." Tu Toutuo's eyes were bloodshot—he was thinking of the massive pit where the Rooster Iron had been.
"Oh, you're awake." Fang Yuan nodded at them, his expression indifferent.
"Hey, what kind of attitude is that!" Shen Tan fumed with indignation.
Fang Yuan's nonchalant attitude sent the immortals into a rage.
Shen Congsheng stepped forward, his expression cold, his aura imposing: "Tell me—are all the immortal materials on this island yours now?"
"Who else could it be but me?" Fang Yuan retorted, utterly unmoved by Shen Congsheng's overwhelming pressure. He then walked to the other side of the Merit Stele and began browsing the various tasks listed on it, paying them no further attention.
The immortals glared with fury.
This bastard—hoarding everything for himself, and with such arrogance!
Ren Xiuping said in a sinister tone: "We've read the text on the stele too. The immortal materials on this island were arranged by Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable, specifically left for everyone. Chu Ying, you took them all by yourself—that's going too far, isn't it? You owe us an explanation!"
Fang Yuan didn't even glance at him. He pressed his palm against the stele's surface and accepted another task.
Whoosh.
A flash of white light, and he vanished.
The immortals were stunned.
Shen Qi was furious: "That bastard!"
"Where did this guy even come from? He doesn't give a damn about us, and even less about Lord Shen Congsheng," Ren Xiuping said, his face ashen, his voice frigid.
"After we get out, we'll investigate his identity thoroughly." Shen Congsheng was ultimately an Eighth Transformation expert and the head of the Shen clan. Having calmed himself, he approached the Merit Stele just as Fang Yuan had done.
"Chu Ying is so brazen simply because he's relying on the fact that within this Paradise, we cannot make a move against him," Shen Congsheng considered silently. "Chu Ying is merely a Seventh Transformation, an isolated rogue immortal—we'll deal with him sooner or later. What matters most right now is this Merit Stele."
Fang Yuan's actions had undoubtedly provided an excellent example for all the immortals present.
In the previous life, Miao Mingshen and his group had hesitated upon reaching the stele, choosing instead to first divide up the island's immortal materials before returning to accept tasks.
But in this life, Fang Yuan had awakened early and struck first, scouring the island clean.
All that remained before the immortals was this Merit Stele.
The Merit Stele held quite a number of tasks.
Help the merfolk in the South Border Coastal City harvest golden lotuses from the Silver Lake.
Yuan Island was suffering from drought and needed wells constructed.
The Three Mark Tribe lacked medicinal ingredients, plague was spreading, and they urgently needed a large supply of herbs.
The Flute-herding Tribe had become lost in the fog—guide them out.
The Yuan Springs on Xu Xia Mountain had developed problems and urgently needed treatment.
...
The Gu Immortals stared, momentarily dazed.
Just like in the previous life, they faced the same dilemma.
These tasks were merely titles, with no detailed descriptions whatsoever. The Gu Immortals could not obtain any substantive information about them.