Allies

Nine Cauldrons Sect. Half a month before the conflict reignited between the Myriad Beasts Sect and the alliance of the Shaman Sect, Immortal Alliance, and Wuji Astral Palace, Yaoguang had already received word from within the Virtual Spirit Realm. The dealings between the Immortal Alliance and Wuji Astral Palace had taken place inside the Virtual Spirit Realm. Even though several Dharma Idol cultivators—Lin Deng, Feng Ao, and Luofu—had concealed the matter with extreme vigilance, Yaoguang had still uncovered the truth of their scheme by infiltrating with his Heavenly Dao Formless secret technique. He had shared this news with no one, contacting only Li Hanqiu. Just as anticipated... This could be considered the dress rehearsal for the final decisive battle of the Cangwu Great World. *** After recounting the information he had learned, Yaoguang remarked with a touch of emotion, "I never expected Wuji Astral Palace to actually join hands with the Immortal Alliance. I thought they wanted to dominate the Cangwu Great World all by themselves and become its sole sovereign." "Wuji Astral Palace's power is indeed formidable, placing them above every other sect, but they also have deeper considerations," Li Hanqiu said, vaguely grasping the crux of the matter. "Namely, Beihai Star." "Beihai Star?" Yaoguang's mind stirred, and he quickly caught on. Wuji Astral Palace was strong here in the Cangwu Great World, yet the world's truly top-tier figures were not concentrated here. Instead, after completing their counteroffensive against the Moon Demon Empire's home territory and defeating the invasion, they had gone to the far more prosperous and powerful Beihai Star. Counting back the years, that had taken place eighty years ago. Eighty years! Who could tell how well that group had developed on Beihai Star? And who knew which faction among them was currently the most powerful? Even Wuji Astral Palace could not guarantee that if they completely annihilated one of those lineages, someone returning from Beihai Star wouldn't settle scores with them later. Precisely because of this, the Golden Divine Temple—which claimed 311 spiritual power nodes yet possessed neither presentable experts nor warships, with conventional forces so weak they were inferior even to some large sects—was still thriving to this day. Conversely, factions like the Artifact Sect, Pill Sect, Yang God Sect, and Divine Demon Palace had gradually faded into obscurity. The Artifact Sect was slightly better off; only their forces in the Cangwu Realm had been largely wiped out, and some survivors were said to remain. As for the Pill Sect, Yang God Sect, and Divine Demon Palace... They were practically eradicated, having exited the stage of history in both the Cangwu Great World and Beihai Star. "Therefore, Wuji Astral Palace needs to rally a circle of allies. At the very least... they cannot allow themselves to become too isolated," Li Hanqiu said, glancing at Yaoguang. "And the same goes for us." Yaoguang nodded in understanding. Now he understood why, despite continuous friction among the top immortal sects, they always maintained a measure of restraint and never completely tore off all pretense. Originally, he had thought this was due to the deterrence of Golden Cores. But now it seemed... The situation on Beihai Star was also a factor they had to take into serious account. "Then let us proceed according to our previous discussion," Yaoguang said. "Wuji Astral Palace rallies the Immortal Alliance and Taiyin Sect, while we draw over the Myriad Beasts Sect, Golden Divine Temple, and Fatian Pavilion." "Right. Our priority moving forward is to reclaim and develop the Shiwan Dashan, so it would be unwise to clash with Wuji Astral Palace prematurely. Therefore, we need to find something to keep Wuji Astral Palace occupied..." Li Hanqiu waved his hand, projecting a luminous map displaying the distribution of power across the Cangwu Great World. "This matter must start with the Golden Divine Temple!" "The Golden Divine Temple!?" "Indeed. We must find a way to reconcile the Sacred Flame Cult and the Golden Divine Temple, stabilize the situation across the Heiyan Continent, and perhaps even achieve the continent's unification!" Li Hanqiu pondered carefully before continuing, "I believe both the Golden Divine Temple and the Sacred Flame Cult would be more than glad to see this happen. After all... the Heiyan Continent has been mired in war for nearly a century. Every sect is utterly sick of this state of chaos and yearns to escape conflict as soon as possible. Once the Heiyan Continent frees itself from war and focuses on development, with their sheer abundance of spiritual power nodes, the Golden Divine Temple's spirit stone output could even surpass one billion in the future!" "The spiritual power nodes of the Heiyan Continent..." Yaoguang had gathered plenty of information from the Virtual Spirit Realm, and based on it, he already knew that of the five continents in the Cangwu Great World, the Heiyan Continent possessed the most spiritual power nodes. If the spirit stone production capacity of those nodes were truly unleashed... Every sect across the entire Heiyan Continent would experience meteoric growth. "Wuji Astral Palace would hardly want to see a peacefully developing Heiyan Continent. That continent's potential... is far too vast! If all those spiritual power nodes were brought online instead of being abandoned or seized due to war, the Heiyan Continent's prosperity would skyrocket before everyone's eyes. On top of that, with a power on the level of the Six Great Immortal Sects like the Golden Divine Temple present, once it unites the Heiyan Continent..." Yaoguang paused, leaving the rest unsaid. If such a scenario unfolded, the threat posed by the Golden Divine Temple would be even greater than that of the Nine Cauldrons Sect. "Indeed, which is why they are bound to stop it," Li Hanqiu said, pointing to a faction on the virtual map before them. "The Taiyi Sect," Yaoguang said. "Exactly." Li Hanqiu nodded. "This is the nail Wuji Astral Palace hammered into the Heiyan Continent. For a hundred years, the Taiyi Sect has grown rapidly under Wuji Astral Palace's nurturing, quietly infiltrating and annexing surrounding factions to strengthen itself. If the Golden Divine Temple reconciles with the Sacred Flame Cult, Wuji Astral Palace will certainly not sit idly by; they will activate their chess piece, the Taiyi Sect... But this chess piece is quite special." "Special!?" "Yes. Decades ago, Wuji Astral Palace also underwent a period of internal turmoil, where the Rising Faction and the Conservative Faction came into conflict. In the end, a representative of the Conservative Faction came to the Taiyi Sect to take charge. That man is the current cult master of the Taiyi Sect, Hu Xi. In other words, the Taiyi Sect and Wuji Astral Palace are virtually one and the same entity, rather than merely a local faction backed by them." Li Hanqiu paused before continuing, "Over the years, this representative of the Conservative Faction has constantly sought to swallow up the Heiyan Continent and claim this land teeming with spiritual power, all to prove his lineage's capability. Wuji Astral Palace traveled ten thousand li to the Heiyan Continent to wage war against the Black Feather Sect essentially to clear obstacles for the Taiyi Sect. Right now, Wuji Astral Palace has pulled back from the Heiyan Continent because they need to free their hands to suppress us, which has already caused discontent within the Taiyi Sect. If the Golden Divine Temple and the Sacred Flame Cult are permitted to reconcile on top of that, an outside force like the Taiyi Sect will have virtually no room left to expand." "So, for the sake of the Taiyi Sect's growth, they must prevent the Golden Divine Temple and the Sacred Flame Cult from reconciling, and drag the Heiyan Continent back into war to deny them any chance of full-scale development," Yaoguang said. "Precisely. This concerns the clash of interests and worth between the Conservative and Rising Factions. If they fail, the Conservative Faction will never again have any say within Wuji Astral Palace. And if they lose their footing in the Taiyi Sect, all of Wuji Astral Palace will become a monolithic domain ruled solely by the Rising Faction." Li Hanqiu considered the matter briefly. Knowing that Yaoguang would learn this sooner or later once he turned his attention toward the Taiyi Sect, he added, "Word has it that this cult master possesses yet another identity: he is a descendant of Hu Daoyan, a Supreme Elder of Wuji Astral Palace who journeyed to Beihai Star!" "A Supreme Elder who journeyed to Beihai Star!?" "Indeed." Li Hanqiu nodded. "So he is undoubtedly doing everything in his power to achieve notable results by the time contact is reestablished between both sides... After all, it's impossible that a Supreme Elder would have only a single descendant." "The situation on the Heiyan Continent... really is rather complicated," Yaoguang said. "With so many spiritual power nodes, that continent has always been fiercely contested by the various major sects. The Taiyin Sect and Fatian Pavilion have footholds on the Heiyan Continent as well, but after all, a top immortal sect like the Golden Divine Temple resides there. The factions backed by those others fall far short of the Taiyi Sect's standing, being inferior even to the Black Feather Sect, so they can hardly sway the true balance of power on the Heiyan Continent." Li Hanqiu looked at Yaoguang. "The reason I am confident in persuading the Golden Divine Temple and the Sacred Flame Cult is precisely because of our improved spirit-gathering formation techniques. If we step forward and assist them in building improved spirit-gathering formations to double the output of all their spiritual power nodes, they will never be able to resist such a temptation, even if they see right through our true motives." He then added, "Naturally, in helping them improve the formations, they cannot skimp on a single spirit stone owed to you. It all depends on whether you agree." "Of course." Yaoguang nodded slightly. "If I am willing to sell even the Convergence-Dispersal Ring, why would I hold back improved spirit-gathering formations? Master Li, you need only negotiate a favorable price for me. Regardless of what percentage of profit you ultimately secure, I only ask for half of our share." "Haha, then it's a deal! Rest assured, I won't let you down. To say nothing of the Golden Divine Temple, the Sacred Flame Cult is likewise an ancient power with plenty of spiritual power nodes. Our take will certainly not be meager," Li Hanqiu said with a laugh. "Furthermore, improving spirit-gathering formations isn't something accomplished overnight. In the meantime, cooperation between us and the Golden Divine Temple is bound to grow tight. When the time is ripe, we can bring forth the Convergence-Dispersal Ring, and forming an alliance led by our Nine Cauldrons Sect will be completely natural." "Then I will trouble you to make the trip in person, Master Li," Yaoguang agreed. Once fighting broke out between the Golden Divine Temple, Sacred Flame Cult, and the Taiyi Sect, Wuji Astral Palace would have no choice but to support the Taiyi Sect to protect their interests on the Heiyan Continent. When that time came, they would have little leisure to target the Nine Cauldrons Sect. With any luck, the Nine Cauldrons Sect could enjoy another eight to ten years of development. And the Nine Cauldrons Sect was already in a phase of rapid growth; with another eight to ten years of development, the first cohort to practice the Xuan Yuan Creation Technique would surely come into their own. Yaoguang's own cultivation could also climb to a whole new stage. By then... Whether in terms of top-tier combat power, sky-patrol warships, or battle institutes, the Nine Cauldrons Sect would truly possess the strength to confront and even triumph over Wuji Astral Palace in a direct clash. Coupled with having won over allies on the Heiyan Continent such as the Golden Divine Temple and Sacred Flame Cult... Even if the Immortal Alliance and Taiyin Sect wanted to make a move, they would have to think long and hard about the consequences.