Divine Kingdom

Less than a minute after Yaoguang relayed his message through Tang Fenghua, his communication bracer began to vibrate. At the same time the communication bracer vibrated, Yaoguang sensed a faint ripple across the Virtual Spirit Realm, as if a Dharma Idol had cast its "gaze" toward this direction. Yaoguang's mind stirred. While answering the communication, he followed the signal fluctuations to probe into the Virtual Spirit Realm. In that instant, he actually discovered hundreds of similar signals. Every single one was strikingly identical to the signal he had connected to, and even as he observed, more similar signals were continually spawning and radiating outward. The Dharma Idol casting its gaze toward this signal was clearly unable to track all of them immediately, probing along the false leads instead. The ultimate source these signals pointed to... was the Heavenly Palace cultivators high in the nine heavens. Heavenly Palace cultivators were providing cover for the master of this signal. "Hall Master Yaoguang?" At that moment, Li Qingshan's voice rang out. It brought Yaoguang, who had been tracking this clash of divine mind communications, back to his senses. "My apologies. I got caught up watching the excitement for a moment." "Watching the excitement? What excitement?" "That also happens to be part of the intelligence I wanted to share with you, Sect Master Li." Yaoguang said, turning his gaze toward the Sect Master of the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Their interactions over this period had built a degree of mutual trust, giving him enough confidence to bring out certain "things" that previously should not have been revealed. He came right to the point. "By now, Sect Master Li should have thoroughly looked into my experiences in the Yaoguang Realm, right? You should also know that I once came into contact with a Moon Demon..." Hearing this, Li Qingshan smiled. "Is Hall Master Yaoguang worried that we suspect you of being an agent of the Moon Demon Empire? Back then, the Jiang and Xie families thought that way simply because of their ignorance. They had no idea just how high a true prodigy's talent could reach, so they labeled everything beyond their comprehension as demons and ghosts, believing Hall Master Yaoguang was a Moon Demon descended. In reality, while someone who becomes a high-rank body cultivator within two or three years in a subordinate world is rare, it is by no means unheard of." Pausing briefly, he continued, "Besides... so many of our Hall Masters have interacted with you at close quarters, and not one of them sensed anything amiss about you. That proves you are indisputably of pure human flesh and blood... And if you truly could deceive all of us at such close range, it would only prove your methods are countless times superior to ours. If so, were you really intent on doing something to us, we wouldn't stand a chance anyway, would we?" Yaoguang shrugged upon hearing this. "It seems I don't need to explain too much, then. To keep it brief: the abilities I displayed during the battle at Longxiang City should have looked very familiar to you, right?" Hearing Yaoguang put it this way, Li Qingshan was momentarily startled. Then, quickly realizing what he meant, his pupils contracted. "You mean..." "You can understand it as me obtaining a spirit treasure—a top-tier spirit treasure suited for Dharma Idol cultivators, which I acquired after getting clues from the Moon Demon I once encountered!" Yaoguang summarized in straightforward terms. "A Dharma Idol spirit treasure?!" Li Qingshan stared at Yaoguang. "You were able to produce effects similar to the Virtual Spirit Realm because of this spirit treasure?!" "Yes." Yaoguang nodded. "Not only that, its capabilities are even more miraculous than the Virtual Spirit Realm... In addition, this spirit treasure also deserves immense credit for my artifact refining advancing by leaps and bounds." "It's the Origin Realm!" Li Qingshan's eyes flashed with profound astonishment. "It must be the Origin Realm—the supreme treasure the Artifact Sect poured its entire sect's strength into creating back then to contend against the Moon Demon Empire!" "The Origin Realm?" Yaoguang was slightly taken aback. "Yes!" Li Qingshan affirmed emphatically. "The reason the Artifact Sect became the Moon Demon Empire's very first target was that, through their clashes with the Moon Demon Empire, they gradually realized the inherent constraints of creatures like the Moon Demons, who devoted themselves exclusively to the 'spirit cultivator' path. Thus, they planned to refine a mighty spirit treasure capable of suppressing the Moon Demon Empire. However, the preparations required to forge such a treasure were so colossal that word leaked out, bringing catastrophic ruin upon the Artifact Sect." He looked at Yaoguang with deep emotion. "I originally thought that tale was merely an unfounded rumor passed down through later generations... But hearing your description now... it is highly likely true. Furthermore... this supreme treasure known as the 'Origin Realm' was actually successfully forged! It must have been captured by the Moon Demon Empire, only to eventually fall into your hands after their defeat." Hearing this, Yaoguang was momentarily at a loss for words. When revealing some of his abilities, he had prepared for the worst-case scenario. Even if the Nine Cauldrons Sect truly harbored malicious intentions, they would never kill him right away before getting their hands on this "treasure." That would afford him more than enough time to turn the tables. One must always remain on guard. He just hadn't expected... that Li Qingshan... would come up with all the explanations on his own. He glanced at Li Qingshan, only to see Sect Master Li seem to realize something else. The Sect Master immediately said, "The matter of the Origin Realm is of monumental importance. The value of such a spirit treasure is comparable to half a Dharma Idol cultivator. Aside from a very few core members of the sect, absolutely no one else must be allowed to know. If anyone inquires, push all responsibility onto me." Yaoguang nodded. "So..." Li Qingshan let out a soft breath. "What exactly are the effects of this spirit treasure?" "I won't go into the legacy contained within it, but this spirit treasure can serve as a Virtual Spirit Realm. For starters, the core communications of the Nine Cauldrons Sect will no longer need the Heavenly Palace cultivators to constantly lay down diversionary decoys." Pausing, Yaoguang added, "Furthermore, when necessary, it can act just like the Virtual Spirit Realm to impose an absolute lockdown on divine mind information across a designated area, or even distort and alter it." "Good! Good! Good! That's wonderful!" Hearing Yaoguang's words, Li Qingshan couldn't contain his delight. "I assumed you contacted me this time because you had completed the improvements to the Rank 6 Spirit Gathering Formation. I never imagined you would bring us such a massive surprise." His tone carried indescribable emotion. "Do you have any idea? Factions like the Wuji Astral Palace, the Myriad Beasts Sect, and the Immortal Alliance have never slacked in their surveillance over our information. Aside from a handful of top leaders who can continuously coordinate with Heavenly Palace cultivators to ensure security, everyone else's communications... if they want them, they can intercept them in an instant. Even the disguises established by Heavenly Palace cultivators aren't a hundred percent secure; certain information still carries the risk of exposure. Yet despite knowing all this... we were powerless to stop it. Because we don't have a Dharma Idol cultivator." Yaoguang nodded in understanding. The top cultivators of the three great sects truly kept their eyes glued to the Nine Cauldrons Sect at all times. Of course, it was not just the Nine Cauldrons Sect; every major sect fell within their surveillance network. Monitoring all communications across Cangwu. A Dharma Idol possessed such capability. This was precisely why the incident at Sun Moon Peak had sent such tremendous shockwaves throughout the Cangwu Great World. The deaths of hundreds of thousands of people was one reason; another was... that the Wuji Astral Palace had completely failed to detect the impending event and give advance warning, failing to nip the danger in the bud. "I will arrange for the leaders of every region to connect to the Virtual Spirit Realm at once," Li Qingshan said without hesitation. He added an explanation at the end: "The reason we will only permit core leaders to connect is that this matter has immense implications. If word leaked out, it would inevitably cause the Wuji Astral Palace to intensify their blockade against us..." "That leads to the real intelligence I wanted to provide you by explaining this spirit treasure," Yaoguang smiled. "As you said, this spirit treasure is on par with half a Dharma Idol cultivator. Since it already possesses some traits of a Dharma Idol cultivator, it can naturally accomplish things only a Dharma Idol cultivator can do. For instance, by monitoring, observing, and analyzing the Wuji Astral Palace and the entire Virtual Spirit Realm of Cangwu, I have concluded that the Wuji Astral Palace being mired in a quagmire of war is no longer mere speculation, but an established fact." He declared with confidence, "For at least the next ten to twenty years, the Wuji Astral Palace will be unable to extricate itself from the quagmire of the Black Feather Sect, which has the backing of the remnants of the Northern Alliance." "Ten to twenty years!" Li Qingshan murmured the figure, his eyes growing brighter. Ten to twenty years was not long for cultivators. Yet for the Nine Cauldrons Sect, which had already shown signs of resurgence, it was extraordinarily crucial. If the Nine Cauldrons Sect truly could enjoy ten to twenty years of unhindered development... reclaiming the East Sea Archipelago and even the Shiwan Dashan would be well within reach, to say nothing of restoring its former glory as one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects. "Good! This is truly the best news I've received all year... With this, we can take much bolder moves in the East Sea Archipelago." Li Qingshan swiftly came to a decision. "However... keep news of your spirit treasure hidden for now. Our greatest competitor in the East Sea Archipelago is the Great Sun Sword Sect. Perhaps we can leverage the power of this spirit treasure to deal a heavy blow to the Great Sun Sword Sect. If all goes smoothly, we could use a single decisive battle to expel or even annihilate all of the Great Sun Sword Sect's forces stationed in the East Sea, including those two sky-patrol warships!" he said. "That works." Yaoguang nodded. The Great Sun Sword Sect not only possessed sky-patrol warships, but as many as six of them. Moreover, not a single one of those six was a first-generation vessel. There were four second-generation warships and two newly built third-generation warships. Two of these six warships were deployed in the East Sea Archipelago: the second-generation warship *Spring Rain* and the third-generation warship *Vajra*. Of course, although the sky-patrol warship codenamed *Vajra* met third-generation standards, both the caliber of its cultivators and its mounted armaments fell a step behind the third-generation warships of the Wuji Astral Palace. Even so, it remained an anchoring pillar of strength in the East Sea Archipelago. Sect Master Li's intention was clearly to exploit the advantage of the Virtual Spirit Realm to trap both warships in the East Sea for good. "I'll have the Heavenly Palace cultivators notify the leaders of every hall and region one by one, and then you can link up with them..." Li Qingshan said. "No need. This spirit treasure possesses a delegation function. I can transfer a portion of the authority to you, and when the time comes, you can pull them into the Virtual Spirit Realm constructed by this spirit treasure," Yaoguang said. "That will better conceal where the spirit treasure actually is." "It even has such an ability?" Li Qingshan was pleasantly surprised. "Good! Go ahead and transfer it to me. Rest assured, apart from the Supreme Elder, not a fourth soul will ever know about this spirit treasure." "Naturally, I trust the Sect Master." As Yaoguang spoke, he sensed the Dao Fruit produced when the branch representing the [Divine Path] broke through to the Dharma Idol level: Divine Kingdom. Its function was analogous to the Virtual Spirit Realm, yet far more complete. Among its features was the "Divine Favored" function, which allowed a "Divine Favored" approved by the Master of the Divine Kingdom to channel a portion of the Divine Kingdom's might.