Winds of Change

Li Hanqiu and Yaoguang received Yelisa, Fu Long, Ye Lin, and several other Dharma Idols and Golden Cores. Although the Myriad Beasts Sect had grown wary of the Nine Cauldrons Sect and equally apprehensive of Yaoguang, given the current situation, cooperation between the two sides was clearly the best outcome. Following discussions among their higher echelons, the two great sects signed a series of agreements. Although they had not yet formed a strategic alliance, their relationship advanced a step further. As for why a strategic alliance had not been forged... Both sides had their own considerations. On one hand, in the eyes of the Myriad Beasts Sect, the former Nine Cauldrons Sect had essentially been a down-and-out household propped up entirely by Perfected Li Hanqiu alone. Even though the Nine Cauldrons Sect had recently published a report showcasing their vigorous development over the past twenty years, such deeply ingrained perceptions could not be overturned overnight. On the other hand... The Nine Cauldrons Sect wished to direct the order of the Cangwu Great World in the future, and the Myriad Beasts Sect harbored the very same ambition. To a certain degree, the two were partners in cooperation as well as competitors. Under such circumstances, neither side brought up the matter of a strategic alliance, maintaining a tacit understanding. Even so, these negotiations pushed their relationship to a new stage. With the drawing together of these two top immortal sects, a new world order was gradually taking shape. ... "The Nine Cauldrons Sect has really stood tall all of a sudden," Ye Lin, the Golden Core cultivator, could not help but remark after returning to the Myriad Beasts Sect's Virtual Spirit Realm. Hearing this, Fu Long nodded slightly as well. Recalling what the Nine Cauldrons Sect had looked like twenty years ago... It was simply hard to believe. At that time, the Nine Cauldrons Sect had at best barely reached the level of a large sect. Leave aside comparing them to powers like the Shouyang Sect, Great Sun Sword Sect, or Brahma Divine Kingdom; even the Liusha Sect, which had been crushed effortlessly by the Wuji Astral Palace, possessed conventional strength not one bit inferior to theirs. "Enough. This isn't necessarily a bad thing," Yelisa said. "You and I both know the situation with the Wumen. It's the Immortal Alliance and Wuji Astral Palace stirring up trouble behind the scenes, looking to constrain us and wear us down. Under these circumstances, suddenly having such a potent partner like the Nine Cauldrons Sect to help draw away some of the pressure from the Immortal Alliance and Wuji Astral Palace does us more good than harm." "We understand that as well. It's just... the change came so quickly that it's hard to get used to." Fu Long spoke, unable to resist glancing in the direction of the Nine Cauldrons Sect. "Do you think... the Nine Cauldrons Sect truly obtained the Beihai Star inheritance?" "The first few layers of the Xuan Yuan Creation Technique are already in your hands. The completeness of this technique and the depth of knowledge it represents could never be created from scratch in a short time by some prodigy. With such evidence before us, whether it is true or not is already abundantly clear," a Myriad Beasts Sect Golden Core said. "It seems Yaoguang is the practitioner of the Beihai Star inheritance... And if the Beihai Star inheritance truly is so formidable... even if we restrict Yaoguang of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, what about the next ten or twenty years...?" Ye Lin was somewhat worried. However, none of the Myriad Beasts Sect Golden Cores replied to her words. They did not know how to respond. After a long silence, Fu Long spoke: "Send a transmission to Beihai Star... Presumably, the Immortal Alliance and Wuji Astral Palace will do the same. Even if people over there cannot come in person, at least... see if the cultivation techniques can be transmitted over first. Otherwise, if we let the Nine Cauldrons Sect grow for another ten or twenty years... the first-mover advantage we built up over all these years will likely be surpassed by them." Hearing this, the other Golden Cores nodded in deep agreement. ... Similar conversations occurred not only in the Myriad Beasts Sect, Immortal Alliance, and Wuji Astral Palace. The Taiyin Sect, Fatian Pavilion, and Golden Divine Temple were the same. Despite the vast distance, that monumental battle erupting in the starry void had been observed through various means by many Golden Cores and Star Gods. It was precisely because they had witnessed that battle that their thoughts were so tangled and conflicted at this moment. "The Nine Cauldrons Sect... I recall that twenty years ago, they seemed utterly mediocre... the sort of backward faction we could have wiped out simply by dispatching a few battle institutes. How did they suddenly become so formidable?" "The Wuji Astral Palace and Immortal Alliance—what colossal powers they are! Calling them the foremost and second-ranked top immortal sects of Cangwu today wouldn't be an exaggeration at all. Yet... the top two great sects joined forces, only to be defeated by a Nine Cauldrons Sect that couldn't even make the rankings? They say even Zhan Ke and Miller, two Radiant Sun Golden Cores, had to forfeit every single spirit treasure on them as compensation just to save their lives. Something like this... is just too surreal." "I feel like I only spent a dozen years focusing on stabilizing my Golden Core and trying to seal away part of my power... How did the entire world change in the blink of an eye?" "Over the years, we've maintained fairly decent relations with the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Let's send an envoy delegation to visit them. I wonder if they might assist us in stabilizing the situation on the Heiyan Continent." ... Brahma Divine Kingdom. The Brahma Divine Lord, a paramount figure who had formed a Crimson Golden Core, was likewise examining the intelligence gathered from various quarters. As well as... An important proposal for the Cangwu League sent jointly by powers including the Wuji Astral Palace, Immortal Alliance, and Myriad Beasts Sect... "Re-signing the pact forbidding Golden Cores from interfering in the Cangwu Great World... and this time, the scope of signatories has expanded so broadly..." Looking over the agenda, this powerhouse who styled himself the Brahma Divine Lord could already guess under what circumstances the Golden Cores of those sects had convened this conference. "So, they are afraid?" He looked up, his gaze seeming to cross hundreds of thousands of li of kingdom territory, past the Shiwan Mountains, to see the flourishing and rapidly growing sect behind the mountain range. "Afraid of that Golden Core cultivator named Yaoguang from the Nine Cauldrons Sect!?" Although he found it somewhat hard to believe that the mighty Wuji Astral Palace, Immortal Alliance, and Myriad Beasts Sect could actually be cowed by a single Golden Core from the Nine Cauldrons Sect... Every piece of information before him pointed unmistakably to this very fact. He turned his gaze once more to the map of the Brahma Divine Kingdom. The map covered a vast territory, with three regions marked in two distinct colors. Two blue regions represented the Brahma Cult and the Brahma Gate, which the Brahma Divine Kingdom had long yearned to annex. If they could swallow these two powers, the Brahma Divine Kingdom would leap forward to rival the top immortal sects. Apart from lacking some foundation and not possessing enough Golden Cores overseeing them, their conventional strength would not pale in comparison to the Golden Divine Temple, Taiyin Sect, or Fatian Pavilion. The other region, in red... Was the Shiwan Mountains. The Shiwan Mountains belonging to the Nine Cauldrons Sect. In recent years, more and more battle institutes from the Nine Cauldrons Sect had been stationed in the Shiwan Mountains. Although a full-scale clash had not yet erupted with the Brahma Divine Kingdom... The situation had grown increasingly tense. If his guess was correct, the demonstration of strength the Nine Cauldrons Sect planned to stage soon under the guise of an "inspection parade" was intended to intimidate the Brahma Divine Kingdom into retreating on their own accord. If they did not pull back... Those newly deployed battle institutes would surely pour forth in full force. When that time came, every cultivator of the Brahma Divine Kingdom garrisoned in the Shiwan Mountains would face a life-or-death crisis. "Sigh." The Brahma Divine Lord let out a long sigh. He cast another glance at the intelligence reports concerning Yaoguang and the Nine Cauldrons Sect's suspected thirty-three elite battle institutes, and finally... Issued an oracle to the Divine Kingdom's Pope. Less than half a day after the oracle was delivered, an announcement was published within the Brahma Divine Kingdom: "In order to bring all disciples of the Brahma lineage back into the embrace of the Brahma Divine Lord as swiftly as possible, over the next twenty years, the Brahma Divine Kingdom shall shift its development focus, concentrating on facilitating the unification of the three traditions—the Brahma Cult, the Brahma Gate, and ourselves—into one family..." The proclamation made no mention of the Shiwan Mountains. Yet now that the Brahma Divine Kingdom had placed its focus on the Brahma Cult and Brahma Gate... Matters in the Shiwan Mountains would naturally have to be set aside. In truth, less than a day after this news was broadcast, word reached the Shiwan Mountains, and one elite battle institute and main battle institute after another began an orderly withdrawal. The moment they pulled back, the Nine Cauldrons Sect received word. At Li Qingshan's command, the battle institutes that had long been deployed to the Shiwan Mountains advanced rapidly. Without losing a single soldier or expending an arrow, they reclaimed the Shiwan Mountains entirely. ... "Subduing the enemy without fighting," Li Qingshan said with a hearty laugh upon receiving the news from the front lines that the Shiwan Mountains had been completely reclaimed. Though Lou Yuyu felt a tinge of regret at not having made an example out of the Brahma Divine Kingdom to scare the rest, war was something that... Once begun, inevitably cost lives. To subdue the enemy without fighting was indeed the finest outcome. "When we grow strong, neighboring factions inevitably become friendly and reasonable. Even hostile powers no longer dare dispatch sky-patrol warships on a whim to blockade us or besiege our borders. At most, they might voice a bit of condemnation and wag their fingers," Jiang Zhuoyue said with a smile. "With the recovery of the Shiwan Mountains, all the territory originally belonging to the Artifact Sect has been fully reclaimed! Add to that the victory won above the highest heavens by Perfected Yaoguang and Perfected Li against the Immortal Alliance and Wuji Astral Palace... the prestige our Nine Cauldrons Sect currently enjoys is not one bit inferior to that of the Artifact Sect at its absolute peak," said Zhou Lijian, who, as Hall Master of the External Publicity Hall, was exceptionally sensitive to shifting tides across the Cangwu Great World. "Restoring ourselves to the peak of the Artifact Sect is not enough. Reborn from the ashes of the Artifact Sect, our Nine Cauldrons Sect seeks to be far more glorious, far stronger than the Artifact Sect ever was. Therefore, we must continue to strive," said Zhu Yanyu, who oversaw the dissemination of the Xuan Yuan Creation Technique, her eyes shining bright. "Still, I believe that day is no longer far off." The other hall masters nodded in deep agreement. "All of this was brought about by Perfected Yaoguang. Perfected Yaoguang has truly altered the destiny of our Nine Cauldrons Sect," Liang Qiu remarked with deep emotion. "Years ago, when we clashed with the Great Sun Sword Sect, Chisongzi of the Great Sun Sword Sect appraised that Perfected Yaoguang alone was worth four battle institutes. Looking at it now, how could it be merely four battle institutes? Forty! Even four hundred would not suffice!" Lou Yuyu spoke with spirited pride. "He has already leaped over the dragon gate and soared through the highest heavens. His every move stirs the winds of change across the Cangwu Great World! The future trajectory and history of the Cangwu Great World will all be written by his hand!" The other hall masters nodded in deep concurrence. Yaoguang joining their sect was the greatest blessing heaven could ever bestow.