Information

"If this experience is invested into Artifact Refining and the Divine Path, Artifact Refining would reach Level 10, sufficient to forge spirit treasures, and the Divine Path should also be able to step into the Dharma Idol stage. But if used on formations and the Martial Path... I would have to choose between reaching Star God in the Martial Path or advancing formations to Level 7 or Level 8..." Yaoguang pondered. For formations, reaching Level 6 to optimize the Spirit Gathering Formation was enough for now. Level 7 was not yet of any practical use. Formations truly were not like artifact refining. With artifact refining, so long as he gave attentive guidance, other artifact refiners could master the techniques after testing them a few times. Formations, however, not only took a long time to lay down, but even when he broke every detail down into the simplest components to teach them, the formation masters below still looked completely bewildered, their eyes blank. "There's no rush with formations. But artifact refining... raising it to Level 10 to forge spirit treasures is quite crucial. If Li Hanqiu of the Nine Cauldrons Sect could be equipped with a second- or even third-generation spirit treasure..." A gleam flashed in Yaoguang's eyes. In truth, calling Great Cultivators First Tier, Second Tier, all the way to Fifth Tier was a convention that had only become popular recently. A century ago, early Foundation Establishment had been referred to as Level 4 of the cultivation system, mid Foundation Establishment as Level 5, and late Foundation Establishment as Level 6. Meanwhile, early Foundation Establishment with an established Dao Foundation was termed Level 4, Second Generation; an established Immortal Foundation was Level 4, Third Generation, and so forth. However, because a Second Generation with a Dao Foundation was far too powerful compared to ordinary Foundation Establishment, it did not align well with the formation and dharma artifact systems. In the end, the First Tier through Fifth Tier classification was adopted. Today, the cultivation system and the artifact refining system had been further refined. Artifact refining in particular was leagues ahead of other fields, making the strength multiplier provided by dharma artifacts even more concrete. Essentially, being one generation ahead in dharma artifacts yielded a massive advantage, allowing a cultivator to fight two or even three opponents of equal standing at once. Being two generations ahead was enough to bridge an entire realm gap. In other words, a Third Tier Great Cultivator equipped with a third-generation flying sword could narrowly contend against a Fourth Tier Great Cultivator wielding a first-generation flying sword. If the equipment gap reached three generations—meaning a Third Tier Great Cultivator wielding a fourth-generation flying sword against a Fourth Tier Great Cultivator with a first-generation flying sword—the Third Tier cultivator could even achieve outright victory. If that was true for Great Cultivators in the Foundation Establishment realm, one wondered... What about Golden Core cultivators? "In this day and age, it's not that Level 10 artifact refiners don't exist, but they are all remnants from the war against the Moon Demon Empire. They haven't kept up with the evolution of the Golden Core realm, so none possess the ability to forge even a second-generation spirit treasure. As a result, all Golden Core cultivators currently use first-generation spirit treasures. At best, those only withstand the full unleashing of their power—they don't offer the slightest amplification..." Yaoguang thought to himself, *If I elevate my artifact refining techniques to Level 10 and can craft second-generation, third-generation, or even fourth-generation spirit treasures...* By that time, would the Golden Core patriarch of the Nine Cauldrons Sect not be able to fight ten alone? After a moment, he suppressed the thought. If he truly unveiled such a spirit treasure, the repercussions would be catastrophic. The one capable of taking on ten alone would be Li Hanqiu, not him. Once the other Golden Core cultivators learned of this, they would eliminate him at any cost to restore the strategic balance between the sects. Therefore... Even if he wanted to craft fourth-generation spirit treasures, it would have to wait until after he became a Star God. Seen in this light, the choice became obvious. "Personal strength is the foundation. Without sufficient strength, no matter how extraordinary your technology is, you dare not bring it out. Otherwise, you're merely slaving away for the benefit of others." With this thought, Yaoguang focused his attention on the Divine Path branch. Compared to the Martial Path branch, the Divine Path branch converted into usable strength more easily. Even if that strength was oriented toward utility and support. *Hum!* As experience poured in, the branch representing the Divine Path grew at an astonishing pace, swiftly reaching its pinnacle. It blossomed and bore fruit. At the exact moment the Divine Path broke through to the Dharma Idol stage, representing Level 7, Yaoguang's Origin Spirit jolted violently. Under this tremor, the world before him seemed to undergo an immense transformation—shifting from monochromatic monotony to vibrant, multi-layered richness. This richness... Enlightenment dawned in Yaoguang's heart. It even felt somewhat familiar. "It's the profound mysteries of chaotic space-time contained within the Zixiao Divine Lightning!" In theory, one could comprehend the mysteries of chaotic space-time when undergoing the Zixiao Divine Lightning. Yet in the mortal realm, an Origin Spirit realm cultivator truly capable of taking that step was one in ten thousand. Just like Yaoguang... Only upon reaching the Dharma Idol stage did he clearly realize how insurmountable it was to grasp the mysteries of chaotic space-time through the Zixiao Divine Lightning alone. It was like handing someone an elementary school arithmetic textbook and expecting them to solve the seven Millennium Prize Problems. "The biggest difference between not comprehending the mysteries of chaotic space-time and comprehending them lies in perception range. For the former, it depends on divine mind coverage, whereas for the latter, it depends on divine mind intensity. As long as one's divine mind is powerful enough, by comprehending and permeating spatial distortions, it can cross space directly." Yaoguang quietly sensed the power of the Dharma Idol stage. *In other words, as long as my divine mind is strong enough, let alone scanning a target a hundred thousand li away, a Dharma Idol spirit cultivator could effortlessly perceive someone even across a hundred thousand light-years! If the divine mind were infinite, one could even survey the far reaches of the starry sky!* This was practically a dimensional leap. Prior to the Dharma Idol realm, a divine mind sweep was like a line drawn across a flat sheet of paper. The length of that line was the extent of the divine mind's reach. Yet upon achieving a Dharma Idol and touching the mysteries of space-time, the divine mind was no longer a line confined to the paper; it became a line drawn by a pen tip. This line was traced by a pen tip existing in another dimension and could appear at any arbitrary point. At the same time, when the line no longer originated from the paper itself, drawing was no longer the only way to extend it. Even if the pen tip remained stationary, pulling the paper beneath it would still produce a line. "Through understanding the chaotic space-time mysteries, my divine mind can act like a pen tip in another dimension, tracing a line at any coordinate at any moment. Likewise, it can drift along the flow of space-time, scouting across a hundred thousand li, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of li..." At this moment, he faintly understood why Heavenly Palace cultivators existed, and why Dharma Idol experts habitually resided high above the nine heavens. Because... The world was in motion. Heavenly Palace cultivators took advantage of the world's rotation and movement to vastly expand their perception range, mimicking Dharma Idol cultivators. By fixing their gaze upon a single point, they could completely survey that entire region across the world's rotational cycle. The only constraint was that the process took as long as the cycle itself. If a cycle took one day, a Heavenly Palace cultivator required a full day to observe all the information in that region. Yet if twenty-four Heavenly Palace cultivators were stationed across that region, the scanning interval shrank to one hour. If there were 1,440 Heavenly Palace cultivators, it would be reduced to a single minute. As for Dharma Idol cultivators... They kept themselves in horizontal sync with the world's motion. Then, maintaining that relative motion, they constantly diffused their divine mind. So long as they perpetually remained integrated with chaotic space-time, their divine mind would eventually blanket the entire world along the currents of space-time force. Naturally, that was only a theoretical ceiling. Blanketing the entire world placed an immense drain on the divine mind—one that no single Dharma Idol cultivator could sustain on their own. Unless... Others were willing to supply their mental energy as fuel to sustain that expenditure. "The Virtual Spirit Realm." Understanding clicked in Yaoguang's mind. The Virtual Spirit Realm was the mechanism by which Dharma Idol cultivators gathered divine mind energy. When others logged into the Virtual Spirit Realm using their divine sense, divine mind, or spirit intent to look up information and communicate, it was undeniably convenient. Yet in doing so, they were essentially providing energy to the realm, granting the Dharma Idol cultivator behind it the power to monitor their surroundings. "No wonder every sect pours so much effort into cultivating their own Heavenly Palace cultivators, or even developing their own Dharma Idols and Virtual Spirit Realms, despite having access to the legacy Virtual Spirit Realm left behind by ancient Dharma Idols. Using someone else's Virtual Spirit Realm is tantamount to stripping yourself bare before their eyes... This level of information dominance..." Yaoguang took a deep breath. Terrifying. Truly terrifying. No wonder people said whoever controlled the Virtual Spirit Realm held information hegemony. "Dharma Idols, the Virtual Spirit Realm, information hegemony..." Yaoguang composed himself. Pondering, he carefully linked his divine mind into the Virtual Spirit Realm. The moment he entered, he immediately felt four immense divine minds permeating the space. Each occupied a core territory, yet all four were simultaneously infiltrating, scanning, reading, and even restricting data within the territories controlled by the others. "Four Dharma Idols, then!" Yaoguang murmured inwardly. Based on the directions and territories these four regions represented, he gradually identified the factions backing them. "One from the Myriad Beasts Sect, one from the Immortal Alliance, and the other two... belong to the Wuji Astral Palace." This distribution did not surprise him. He sensed the data flow in the Virtual Spirit Realm once more... Even though he did not possess a Virtual Spirit Realm of his own right now, by virtue of his higher-dimensional manipulation of the divine mind, he was fully capable of suppressing the transmission of divine minds in any region. He could even distort and alter the information and divine thoughts within that sector. For instance, if he faced that sky-patrol warship from the Wuji Astral Palace again... He could twist an order originally meant to attack Longxiang City into an order to rescue it. Of course, the Wuji Astral Palace had its own Dharma Idol cultivators and its own Virtual Spirit Realm, making its core communications impossible to tamper with so easily. However, for factions lacking a Dharma Idol cultivator... "I think I understand why the Liusha Sect was crushed so effortlessly." Realization dawned upon Yaoguang. *The Liusha Sect never developed a Heavenly Palace network and relied entirely on the Myriad Beasts Sect, the leader of the Northern Alliance back then, for intelligence transmission. But... the Myriad Beasts Sect only had one Dharma Idol cultivator, whereas the Wuji Astral Palace had two. Once one Dharma Idol pinned down the Myriad Beasts Sect at their doorstep, forcing them to respond with everything they had, the second Dharma Idol was free to turn their attention toward the Liusha Sect... Trapped in an information black zone, it's likely the Liusha Sect Master's counterattack orders couldn't even reach his Great Cultivators accurately.* He extended his senses once more toward the Black Feather Sect on the Heiyan Continent... Sure enough, an imposing Dharma Idol cultivator was entrenched above the Heiyan Continent. However... The Black Feather Sect had outright outlawed the Virtual Spirit Realm, declaring that no one was permitted to connect to it. This made communications within the Black Feather Sect excruciatingly difficult. Yet at the same time... Without an endless stream of cultivators feeding energy into the Virtual Spirit Realm, the Dharma Idol presiding over the Heiyan Continent could not replenish his power and had to rest and recover at regular intervals. Whenever he rested, vigilant allies would immediately tip off the Black Feather Sect, and the sect would instantly launch a counterattack. These strikes dealt little real damage, but the sheer insult was immense. If the Wuji Astral Palace chose to pursue them, the Black Feather Sect simply dispersed into small cells and refrained from using the Virtual Spirit Realm altogether, making them nearly impossible to track. And if they chose not to fight back... The enemy had just struck you, yet the Wuji Astral Palace didn't retaliate? Was the title of Cangwu's number-one sect meant to be a joke? "I knew it—there's an expert pulling strings behind the Black Feather Sect." After observing for a while, Yaoguang reached a swift conclusion. "The Black Feather Sect will never truly defeat the Wuji Astral Palace, but... for the Wuji Astral Palace to thoroughly suppress them, it will take at least ten or twenty years." This was not a mere guess! It was a definitive conclusion deduced from reality! In other words... For the next decade or two, the Nine Cauldrons Sect had no need to fear a resurgence from the Wuji Astral Palace, nor did they need to tread lightly with cautious probing. They could act boldly and decisively in the East Sea Archipelago! "Xuanming Sect, jumping around so gleefully just because you have the Wuji Astral Palace at your back, are you?" He called out toward the room outside, "Tang Fenghua, help me get in touch with Sect Master Li. I have vital intelligence to share with him."