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Not long after the elders of the Wuji Astral Palace arrived, factions such as the Immortal Alliance, Taiyin Sect, Myriad Beasts Sect, Fatian Pavilion, and Golden Divine Temple were not far behind. After all, their standing within the Cangwu lineage of the Taiyi Immortal Sect was roughly equal, and their technical capabilities were on the same level; under such circumstances, their arrival times naturally did not differ by much. After quickly learning about the current situation in the Cangwu Great World, the cultivators from these factions headed straight above the nine heavens to offer congratulations to Li Hanqiu. They congratulated him that the Artifact Sect had found a worthy successor. Even though the Nine Cauldrons Sect and the Artifact Sect were technically separate matters, the Nine Cauldrons Sect had ultimately been built upon the foundation of the Artifact Sect. In the future, when that Dao Child Jiang restored the Artifact Sect to glory, he would inevitably have to deal with Li Hanqiu. In that sense, the Nine Cauldrons Sect enjoyed the advantage of proximity. Therefore, establishing good relations with them early on was hardly a bad thing. However... While these cultivators returning to Cangwu offered their congratulations to Li Hanqiu, Li Hanqiu himself felt little joy. ... Within the Virtual Spirit Realm maintained personally by Yaoguang. Li Hanqiu, Li Qingshan, and Grand Elder Huang Tianhao—who could be considered an old hand from the Artifact Sect—all wore solemn expressions. "The Artifact Sect..." Huang Tianhao let out a long breath. "Compared to the other sects, the Artifact Sect suffered the heaviest losses during the war against the Moon Demon Empire. If the surviving personnel of other sects after defeating the Moon Demon Empire was ten, the Artifact Sect had at most one left... I thought that once the powerhouses from Beihai Star returned, even though our Nine Cauldrons Sect has already unified the Cangwu Realm, those mighty cultivators would still refuse to recognize our rule over Cangwu because the power behind the Artifact Sect was weak. Never did I expect... such an astounding turn of events." "A personal disciple of a Supreme Elder of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, condensing an Azure Blue Golden Core." Li Qingshan said in a deep voice, "This status is likely far weightier than we imagined. Could it be... he rivals the Void Piercing Realm?" "I fear it is not as simple as the Void Piercing level we know, but a true Void Piercing Realm," Li Hanqiu said. "According to the description in the Xuan Yuan Creation Technique, an Azure Blue Golden Core... is almost equivalent to having half a foot in the Void Piercing Realm. What is more... he caught the eye of a Supreme Elder and was taken as a personal disciple." "Half a foot into the true Void Piercing Realm." Hearing Li Hanqiu's words, both Li Qingshan and Huang Tianhao felt heavy-hearted. Having already come into contact with the Xuan Yuan Creation Technique, they clearly understood just how much more complete the orthodox cultivation system was compared to their own. Someone like Yaoguang, even without relying on an external core, would dare to contend with a Radiant Sun Golden Core once he reached the Fission Realm. Even if he was a special case with realm advantages, others reaching the Fusion Realm would surely have no trouble rivaling a Radiant Sun Golden Core. That was equivalent to fighting enemies across two full realms. Once he truly formed a Radiant Sun Golden Core... suppressing the entire Cangwu Realm with a wave of his hand would be effortless. In other words, if that true disciple from the Artifact Sect could also cultivate to a true Void Piercing Realm, all the Void Piercing powerhouses of the Cangwu Realm who had gone to Beihai Star swarming him together might not even be a match for him. After all... even at its peak, the Cangwu Great World had only had two dozen or so Void Piercing cultivators who reached that realm through extreme paths. "Actually, there is only one thing I am truly curious about." At this moment, Yaoguang spoke up. He looked at Li Hanqiu. "Did those people from the Wuji Astral Palace and Immortal Alliance who came from Beihai Star... speak the truth? Does Beihai Star... really have immortals?" This question also caused Li Qingshan and Huang Tianhao's spirits to rise. Li Hanqiu pondered and said, "One or two people might fake it, but with everyone repeating the same account, we have no choice but to believe it." He looked at Yaoguang. "Furthermore, Xie Niepan of the Myriad Beasts Sect, who returned from Beihai Star, fought side by side with me a century ago. I know his character; he wouldn't lie about this..." "Immortals." "Undying and imperishable, eternal and indestructible." "The legends are actually true... Such great life forms really exist in this world." Yaoguang took it somewhat better. He had already glimpsed the concept of "immortals" between the lines of some information he had previously gathered. Yet hearing Li Hanqiu's affirmation, Li Qingshan and Huang Tianhao were deeply shaken, their states of mind no calmer than Qiao An's had been when he learned the news. "Tales of cultivating immortality have existed since antiquity. Outside, it is even said that this vast and boundless starry sky flourished precisely because of the legacies left behind by 'immortals.' In other words, all of us should be inheritors of the Immortal Path, which is why we once styled ourselves 'immortal cultivators.' It is only that compared to true 'immortals,' our current gap is far too vast—so vast that our comprehension of 'immortals' has become unreal, leading us to doubt whether 'immortals' truly exist." Li Hanqiu said, glancing at Yaoguang. "Just like your Yaoguang Realm. If contact between it and our Cangwu Great World were severed for several centuries or a millennium, would people there also begin to doubt whether immortal cultivators truly existed in the world, finding it difficult to imagine any life form capable of releasing energy comparable to a star on their own?" Hearing this, Yaoguang nodded. He agreed with Li Hanqiu's reasoning. "Beihai Star holds the secret to attaining immortality. As one can imagine, the allure of this secret to the world's cultivators is immense. Countless cultivators will inevitably flock to Beihai Star like moths to a flame. In such a competitive environment, any force capable of gaining a firm foothold and dominating a territory is, without exception, teeming with experts." Li Hanqiu took a deep breath. "I do not know how many from Cangwu later achieved the Void Piercing Realm, but back when the Moon Demon Empire was defeated, there were as many as twenty-six Void Piercing cultivators and hundreds of Golden Cores. Yet, with so many Void Piercing cultivators, upon entering the Taiyi Immortal Sect they only formed a single lineage, with eight other lineages and six great halls like them. That shows just how formidable the Taiyi Immortal Sect is. Under such circumstances, for someone from the Artifact Sect lineage to stand out and even be taken as a disciple by a Supreme Elder of such a behemoth... no wonder the people from the Wuji Astral Palace, Immortal Alliance, and Myriad Beasts Sect are doing everything they can to curry favor." Li Qingshan and Huang Tianhao looked solemn. If that true disciple held such immense weight, and if he truly intended to restore the Artifact Sect... then the Nine Cauldrons Sect... would there still be any need for it to exist? Would there still be any basis for its existence? After all these years of toil, they had finally restored the Nine Cauldrons Sect to its former glory, only for it all to go down the drain?! After all, they were completely different people from those in the Artifact Sect back then. "The restoration of the Artifact Sect is not yet the biggest problem. The greatest problem is that true disciple taken under Supreme Elder Yuhuang's wing." Li Hanqiu exhaled a long breath, his gaze falling onto Yaoguang. "Do you know that true disciple's name?" "Does it have something to do with me?" Yaoguang quickly made a connection. "Indeed." Li Hanqiu nodded. "Before the Artifact Sect fell, it heavily promoted the cultivation methods from the North Sea battlefield. Among those methods, besides the Golden Core and Void Piercing paths that took extreme routes, there were middle-tier cultivators who advanced steadily step by step. And among all those steady cultivators, the one with the highest achievement forged an Immortal Foundation! He established an Immortal Foundation!" He added, "At that time, those who established Immortal Foundations were far fewer than today..." "Even now, there aren't many who can establish an Immortal Foundation," Huang Tianhao remarked. In large sects, there were typically only three to five people who established an Immortal Foundation, and even in top-tier immortal sects, only eight to ten. Across the entire Cangwu Great World, cultivators with such talent numbered no more than two hundred in total. "Immortal Foundation?" Hearing Li Hanqiu bring this up, Yaoguang keenly connected the dots. "An Immortal Foundation from the era of the Artifact Sect?! Jiang Tianzun?!" Back then, he had interacted with members of the Xuelong Xie family in the Yaoguang Realm. At that time, the Yaoguang Realm was supposed to be governed by the Xie family, yet the Jiang family refused to leave, and the Xie family dared not make the slightest move against them. Precisely because the Jiang family had produced a Jiang Tianzun. A figure who had established a Dao Foundation—or so it had seemed. Now, it appeared... "Jiang Tianzun actually established an Immortal Foundation?" "Yes." Li Hanqiu nodded. "Jiang Tianzun began cultivating at age twelve, attained Foundation Establishment at twenty-two, and established an Immortal Foundation at twenty-eight. Fearing that the Moon Demon Empire would target and stifle him, he claimed externally that he had merely established a Dao Foundation. Later, he followed the Artifact Sect seniors into the counteroffensive against the Moon Demon Empire... and was appointed by the sect master at the time as the Dao Child of the Artifact Sect, the successor to the next generation of the sect. His talent was rarely seen in this world..." Here, his voice paused slightly, his mood growing heavy. "A true genius shines on any stage. Over the past few decades, he entered the Taiyi Immortal Sect alongside the Artifact Sect seniors and clearly shone with dazzling radiance, exhibiting unprecedented talent and potential. In just a few short decades, he cultivated an Azure Blue Golden Core and was accepted as a disciple by Supreme Elder Yuhuang of the Taiyi Immortal Sect." Jiang Tianzun. Hearing this name, Yaoguang was genuinely astonished. Who could have thought that the Jiang family, which in his eyes should have been wiped out decades ago, could still leave behind such a massive looming threat?! Beside them, Huang Tianhao was somewhat bewildered. "This Jiang Tianzun truly can be called extraordinarily gifted, but what does his extraordinary talent have to do with True Person Yaoguang?" Li Qingshan glanced at him and explained briefly, "In the era of the Artifact Sect, the Yaoguang Realm was a subsidiary world administered by the Jiang family, used specifically for nurturing artifacts." With just this explanation, Huang Tianhao understood the truth, his pupils shrinking abruptly. Now, the subsidiary world once governed by the Jiang family had become the Yaoguang Realm. As for the Jiang family, the realm's original hegemon... "Wait!" At that moment, Yaoguang seemed to recall something. "Not long ago, I received word that a Star Gate was directly connecting to the Yaoguang Realm..." At the time, he had felt strange about it. If powerhouses from Beihai Star were returning, they should be connecting to the Cangwu Great World. Why connect to the Star Gate in the Yaoguang Realm instead? Looking at it now... The Jiang family had long regarded the Yaoguang Realm as their personal domain. If Jiang Tianzun wanted to return home to have a look, the first place he would naturally head to was the world that had birthed and raised them. Once the Star Gate connected the two worlds and Jiang Tianzun discovered the dramatic upheaval in the Yaoguang Realm, the Su family members in the Yaoguang Realm would... "I must go to the Yaoguang Realm and destroy the Yaoguang Realm's Star Gate!" The moment Yaoguang finished speaking, his figure vanished directly from the Virtual Spirit Realm. Sensing Yaoguang's departure, Li Qingshan and Huang Tianhao looked at each other, both seeing the worry in each other's eyes. Destroying the Yaoguang Realm's Star Gate would only treat the symptoms rather than the root cause. It bought time, but how long could it buy? "Sigh." At this moment, Li Hanqiu let out a sigh. He turned his gaze to Li Qingshan. "I leave the affairs of the sect to you from here on. Yaoguang has sacrificed so much for the sect over the years; now that he faces a crisis, the sect cannot simply stand by and do nothing." "Martial Uncle?! Things... might not have reached an irredeemable state..." Li Qingshan said, though he hardly believed it himself. After all, the Nine Cauldrons Sect and the Artifact Sect were fundamentally not the same thing. After a long while, he said bitterly, "If that Jiang Tianzun has truly formed an Azure Blue Golden Core... even you, Martial Uncle, couldn't possibly be his match." "If a Radiant Sun Golden Core won't do... what about the Void Piercing Realm?" Having said that calmly, Li Hanqiu vanished from the Virtual Spirit Realm.