Rare Treasure

The Divine Kingdom's Virtual Spirit Realm. Li Hanqiu, the anchor of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, materialized within this space. He surveyed the surroundings closely, remaining silent for a long time. Until... "Martial Uncle." Li Qingshan spoke, "Yaoguang has arrived." Li Hanqiu turned around. Yaoguang had already seen many images of this pillar of the Nine Cauldrons Sect and recognized him at once. "Zhenren." "Our Nine Cauldrons Sect has wronged you." Li Hanqiu looked at him and sighed. Li Qingshan was taken aback; then, as if some suspicion in his heart had finally been confirmed, his pupils constricted sharply. "Were it not for our Nine Cauldrons Sect being too weak, unable to truly come into its own, why would you not even dare to break through to the Dharma Idol Realm?" Yaoguang was not surprised that Li Hanqiu, a Golden Core Zhenren, could see through his cultivation realm at a glance. Body refining, qi refining, and spirit refining merely followed different paths, but often, once one's realm reached a certain height, the three shared common ground. "Thank you for your concern, Zhenren. I feel that things are quite fine as they are." Yaoguang paused, then added, "Had I gone to another sect, I might not have had such an accommodating environment to cultivate and grow." Hearing this, Li Hanqiu sighed inward, yet felt somewhat gratified. "That the Nine Cauldrons Sect could gain the joining and tremendous aid of a genius like you is truly our sect's great fortune." "You flatter me," Yaoguang said. "I speak only the truth. Your talent in the path of spirit refining is truly unprecedented. Moreover, only with exceptional talent in spirit refining can you use it as the core in the future to integrate the two systems of body refining and qi refining, thereby stepping into the true Golden Core Realm," Li Hanqiu said. "The true Golden Core Realm?" Yaoguang's heart stirred, and he quickly voiced the question that had been on his mind: "I have always heard that the Golden Cores of the present era are extremely unstable and fraught with all sorts of flaws. Is this news... true?" "It has spread to the point where it can no longer be concealed. Even if one wished it to be false, it cannot be," Li Hanqiu said. "The evolution of the so-called Golden Cores of our generation is inextricably linked to the invasion of the Moon Demon Empire. However, the situation at the time left no room for hesitation. Even though we knew the path we took was exceedingly extreme, we had no choice but to walk it." Having said that, he glanced at Yaoguang. "But you all are different. You still have time to take it step by step, build a solid foundation, and lay the groundwork to become a true Golden Core in the future." "A solid foundation—do you mean an Immortal Foundation?" Yaoguang asked. "An Immortal Foundation is one aspect, but body refining and spirit refining are another," Li Hanqiu explained. "For a truly perfect Golden Core Realm, a cultivator must not only possess a robust foundation, but also a formidable physique and mind! With a Star God-level physique as the vessel, violent true essence as the power source, and a divine mind powerful enough to warp chaotic space-time to bind the fusion fire within the body, one can then form a true Golden Core core! Only then can such a Golden Core be genuinely stable and under full command." At this point, he paused. "Rather than like us, completely relying on powerful formations to suppress and stabilize our power. Once separated from the formations for too long, the Golden Core easily loses control, and if things go wrong... it will detonate directly, turning into a flare of radiant fire illuminating the starry sky." Yaoguang was somewhat surprised upon hearing this. "One must cultivate body, qi, and spirit all together to stabilize their Golden Core?! But in today's world, even those who build an Immortal Foundation don't necessarily place that much importance on physique and spirit refining..." "Because in qi refining alone, people already must exert all their strength. How could they spare the attention to manage body refining and spirit refining as well? The only thing people can do is, after achieving sufficient attainment in qi refining, refine qi into spirit to strengthen their Origin Spirit, and then use their potent divine sense to perceive their physical vessel, causing the body to transform until every single acupoint harbors the power of a star," Li Hanqiu explained. Every acupoint harboring the power of a star. This was precisely the cultivation method of the Star God stage. After a Star Lord cultivated a demon god body, if they wished to step into the Star God stage, they needed to refine all the energy and mass of the demon god body into their acupoints. When one could ignite the one hundred and eight acupoints in their body and raise the astral power contained in each acupoint to the Falling Star level, that was the early Star God stage. Once the astral power in each acupoint reached the Sky Star level, that was the mid Star God stage. A Primary Star corresponded to the late Star God stage. In theory, the three corresponded to the Crimson Red Golden Core, Radiant Sun Golden Core, and Incandescent White Golden Core. Yet in reality, the combat prowess between the two sides was not on the same level. A Falling Star-level Star God naturally bullied Foundation Establishment cultivators effortlessly, but against a Golden Core Zhenren... An all-out strike from a Crimson Red Golden Core could even kill a Falling Star-level Star God instantly. Naturally, an all-out strike from a Crimson Red Golden Core might very well destabilize their own condition and lead to their demise, yet this very point illustrated the vast gulf between the two. This was why everyone yearned to cultivate into a Golden Core rather than follow the Star God path. Moreover, compared to Golden Core cultivators who could at least live three to five hundred years, Star Gods and Dharma Idols had even shorter lifespans, lasting only two to three hundred years. "Something must have gone wrong somewhere," Yaoguang remarked. His mind contained information regarding the Dharma Idol, but... Since his progress was limited, this information was largely focused on cultivation during the Dharma Idol stage and the application of divine mind. "It is indeed flawed." Li Hanqiu nodded. "That is why we intended to promote the brand-new cultivation system from the North Sea battlefield, dividing cultivation into nine layers of qi refining, nine layers of Golden Core, and the Void Piercing Realm... Unfortunately, the materials we obtained were incomplete. Compounded by the fact that the mindsets of everyone in the Cangwu Realm cannot shift overnight, we could only shelve the idea for now, waiting until Cangwu is truly unified and these realms are perfected before forcefully promoting it." "The North Sea battlefield?" Yaoguang froze, then, as if realizing something, his pupils shrank. "Our war with the Moon Demon Empire hasn't ended?!" "The war with the Moon Demon Empire is over. But... the Moon Demon Empire is not the only power in that world. In that world, there also exists a formidable power called the Heavenly Demon Empire!" "The Heavenly Demon Empire?!" Hearing Li Hanqiu's words, Yaoguang immediately made a connection. Back in the Yaoguang Realm, he had heard of this faction from Mo Guang, the chairman of the Rebirth Society. Back then, Mo Guang had assumed Yaoguang was from the Heavenly Demon Empire. Then again... It made sense. The Cangwu Great World had thousands of sects, large and small, and the Cangwu League boasted over two hundred renowned nations; for the world behind the Moon Demon Empire to possess more than a single nation... Was only natural. "The reason all the Golden Cores tacitly agree that the Cangwu Great World must unite is precisely because the external threat still looms... The window of time we Golden Cores have set for ourselves and all the sects is only a hundred years. Within this century, the entire Cangwu Realm must become a unified whole; it cannot continue fighting separate battles as it does now, pointlessly consuming the Cangwu Realm's inner strength." Li Hanqiu continued, looking at Yaoguang. "This agreement was forged when we repelled the Moon Demon Empire. At present, the time left to us is only thirty or forty years." "Thirty or forty years..." "Yes. Turmoil is bound to erupt during this period, and war between the major sects is inevitable. With your strength and talent, you even have hope of cultivating into a true Golden Core in the future. With my endorsement, you can choose to stay out of it!" Li Hanqiu said. This was why he wanted to meet Yaoguang in person. With his talent, a Golden Core was within reach. Yet the situation below was clearly restless. To prevent a talent like him—one who could represent the hope of the Cangwu world—from falling in this inevitable war of unification, pulling him out in time was the best choice. Yaoguang understood this. After pondering for a moment, he spoke up: "Will the Golden Cores... truly not intervene in this war of unification?" Li Hanqiu fell silent for a moment before saying, "I cannot give you an answer. Everyone knows that power should not be squandered on internal strife, and actions by Golden Cores would only escalate the civil war. But when a critical juncture truly arrives, no one can guarantee whether a Golden Core can stay out of it. Just as I recently demonstrated with my own stance, the Nine Cauldrons Sect must never fall before the final hour has arrived." "I understand." Yaoguang sighed. If the Golden Cores were truly guaranteed not to enter the fray, his pressure would be far lighter. Yet as it turned out... That was clearly not the case. Of course, while this answer was not the best outcome, it was well within his expectations. After all, none of his plans had ever relied on the enemy's mercy or adherence to rules. At this, he smiled faintly. "Aren't there still thirty or forty years left? It won't be too late to decide when that moment comes." "Your power has already drawn the attention of certain people. Although the spirit treasure 'Origin Realm' can conceal it to some extent, it won't last very long..." Li Hanqiu paused, pondered briefly, and said, "If a Golden Core truly moves against you, I will step in to stop them. But in that case... you likely won't be able to remain on the surface any longer. Otherwise, repeatedly flouting the rules like that will easily make you a target for everyone." "I understand." Yaoguang nodded. For the Golden Core Realm, rules could be disregarded. Yet doing so too often would ultimately provoke grievances from others. Of course, when it came down to it, the Nine Cauldrons Sect had only Li Hanqiu as its sole Golden Core, so it had to consider the attitudes of other top immortal sects. If the Nine Cauldrons Sect had enough Golden Cores and were strong enough, no dissenting voices would exist at all. "I will ensure I attain sufficient power to protect myself as quickly as possible," Yaoguang said. "Good." Li Hanqiu then turned toward Li Qingshan. "Hand that treasure over to him." "Yes, I have it on me." Li Qingshan nodded. "I have left an imprint in the Virtual Spirit Realm. Should you encounter danger, you can contact me directly through it." Li Hanqiu looked at Yaoguang with a faint smile. "I await your growth." Yaoguang smiled as well. "I shall do my best not to make you wait too long." Sensing the confidence in Yaoguang's words, Li Hanqiu was momentarily stunned, and then burst into hearty laughter in high spirits. Then, his figure vanished. Li Qingshan gave Yaoguang a nod as well. Inside the communication room. The Sect Master of the Nine Cauldrons Sect solemnly produced a treasure box. "After the approval of all thirteen of us, including Martial Uncle, it was unanimously decided to bestow this treasure upon you." Puzzled, Yaoguang opened the treasure box. Just cracking it open a sliver, a dazzling golden ray of light shot out from within. Once the box was opened fully, inside... Lay a translucent, ginseng-like golden root. "This is..." Looking at the object, Yaoguang's pupils shrank sharply as a thought instantly struck him. "A rare treasure of heaven and earth—a Heavenly Spirit Root!" Li Qingshan said with a smile, "A supreme treasure that can plant a spirit root in you, allowing you to take up qi refining alongside your path."