Alan looked at the notification and fell silent.
"Now, my survival will depend on the choice I make here. Obviously, out of all these, there are only two viable choices. One is the bloodline, and the other is the cultivation art," he muttered as he looked at the rewards.
"The bloodline would obviously improve my talent tremendously, but the cultivation technique is necessary if I want to survive in this place," he mumbled while looking around.
There were only dead bodies around him. He didn't know if he would even be able to find food here. In that case, he would need the cultivation technique so that he could survive by relying on spiritual energy nourishment instead of food.
"But the talent of this body is worthless, so I don't know if I'll even be able to cultivate such a high-level technique like the Immortal Technique given by the system," he muttered while wondering what he should choose.
"Powerful bloodlines also carry inheritances, though relying on a bloodline is also a gamble," he mumbled.
"No wonder the system is giving such insane rewards. This is literally hell-level difficulty," he muttered with a sigh.
"Hm, randomly gambling will surely get me killed. Let me go and see if I can find a cultivation technique here. Even the most basic one will do," he mumbled as he began moving toward the sect library.
That place was the most likely location to search first.
But the moment he arrived there, he realized he wouldn't be finding anything. The entire place had been completely emptied. All the manuals had been looted; not even a single page remained.
Which was normal. In a Divine Sect like this one, even the most basic cultivation techniques started at the Earth Rank.
"Speaking of cultivation techniques, if I remember correctly, the ranks go from Mortal, Spirit, Earth, Heaven, Divine, Ancient, and many more above that which I don't remember," he muttered.
After that, he began searching through the outer sect disciples' residences first.
He went through every house, hoping to find some hidden manual, but even the disciples' abodes had been completely stripped clean.
Still, Alan didn't lose hope.
Minutes turned into days, and days turned into weeks.
"I wonder if I can even find one," he muttered weakly as his body was nearing its limit. If he didn't find one soon, he would have no choice but to gamble on the system rewards.
"This is the last true disciple cave," he mumbled as he entered the final cave residence of a true disciple, the second highest-ranked disciples within any cultivation sect.
Alan began searching around the room carefully, going through every crack, nook, and corner but once again he didn't found anything. Just as he was about to admit defeat, he suddenly noticed that one portion of the ceiling looked slightly different.
Thinking that he had finally hit the jackpot, he dragged a chair beneath it and stood up. He began examining it carefully and soon discovered that it was a fake ceiling.
There was a hidden space inside.
Alan opened it and climbed upward, arriving in a small secret room.
Inside, he found many manuals.
Seeing them, his eyes lit up with excitement as he hurriedly began checking each one of them. After searching for a while, he finally found a cultivation technique.
And not just any cultivation technique.
It was the major cultivation art of the Profound Yin Sect.
The Moon Empress Art.
Although the name sounded feminine, it was only because the founder had been a woman. In reality, it was actually a gender-neutral cultivation technique.
Alan felt like crying when he saw it.
He quickly began checking the other items present inside the room. There were several pills, which he recognized immediately. As a servant disciple, Tian Long's duties had included delivering cultivation resources to other disciples, so he possessed basic knowledge about medicinal pills.
"There are many pills here that can help me," Alan mumbled.
However, he only took what he currently needed and left the rest behind. At the moment, he didn't possess a storage ring, so it was impossible for him to carry everything with him.
Alan first returned to the cave and closed the door. Thankfully, the formations were still working, so he sealed the cave completely.
"Okay, System, I choose the Emperor of Endless Hell Bloodline," he said as the system notification flashed before him.
[ Transferring and integrating the bloodline... ]
Suddenly, golden-black runes began to form around Alan's heart as the blood inside his body slowly turned into a golden blackish-red color.
His heart started beating like a war drum, each beat echoing heavily through the cave.
Thum!
Thum!
Alan himself felt unbearable pain spreading throughout his body as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
"Bastard system, you didn't tell me it would hurt this much!" Alan roared as the pain struck him like countless blades stabbing into his heart again and again.
Alan fell to the ground and rolled in pain. His veins bulged across his body while black and golden marks spread over his skin.
The pain only kept increasing.
It felt as if his blood was being burned and replaced at the same time.
"Aghhh!"
Alan slammed his fist against the floor as sweat covered his entire body. His clothes were already soaked.
The golden-black runes around his heart slowly spread through his veins like living symbols. Wherever they passed, his flesh trembled violently.
Crack!
Small cracking sounds came from inside his body.
His bones, muscles, organs, and blood were all being strengthened forcefully.
Alan almost fainted several times, but he forced himself to stay awake. He knew that losing consciousness during something like this could be dangerous.
Minutes slowly passed.
Then hours.
The violent heartbeat inside the cave finally began to calm down.
Thum...
Thum...
The runes slowly disappeared into his body.
Alan lay on the floor breathing heavily. His entire body was covered in black impurities mixed with blood.
For a few seconds, he did not move at all.
Then he slowly opened his eyes.
His pupils had changed.
A faint golden-red glow could now be seen deep within them.