Chapter 666 - 526: 2nd-Tier Middle Grade Gathering Essence Tree (2)

He fell into deep thought, forgetting the passage of time. The rain gradually stopped, and the mist disappeared.

After a long while, Ji An came back to his senses and activated the Azure Sky Yangming Technique.

The crimson sun appeared, and countless glistening jade-like leaves fell down.

"These two spells are really interesting."

He chuckled lightly. The Green Dragon Water Moon Skill is a Water and Wood Dual Birth Technique, and the Azure Sky Yangming Technique is a Wood and Fire Dual Birth Technique, yet neither is primarily led by the Wood Element.

The Green Dragon Water Moon Skill condenses a Taiyin Illusion, while the Azure Sky Yangming Technique forms a solar illusion, both containing profound Yin Yang transformations.

With the two spells cast in succession, like the setting moon and the rising sun, a mysterious collision occurred in the void, yet it did not affect the growth of the spirit plants.

The crimson patterns on the cyan seedlings shimmered with flowing light, with five-colored droplets of water gathering at the tips of the leaves before falling to the ground.

The droplets immediately merged into the crimson soil, their traces quickly vanishing.

The seedlings had already grown to two feet, reaching up to the knees.

Now, the time for Pearl Blood Rice to grow to maturity has been shortened to about a year and seven or eight months; the effects of the Golden Core level planting techniques are indeed quite good.

Ji An strolled to the Fire Crystal Ants’ nest; these demon insects were much more robust than those at Red Flame Peak.

The red sand they produced appeared particularly lustrous, likely due to long-term consumption of Fire Coral surface crystals.

After so many years of cultivation, the fertility of this soil is indeed stronger than that of Red Flame Peak.

Before the spiritual veins have been enhanced, the little world has already cultivated Tier Two Upper Grade Red Cloud Pines.

The pine nuts yielded from these spirit pines, once roasted, possess a better taste and purer spiritual energy, making spirit wine brewed with these pine nuts more popular.

Moreover, the yield of pine nuts here is also higher than that of spirit pines of the same tier-level at Red Flame Peak, with each tree yielding about twenty pounds more—it’s no small number.

Ji An packed the red sand into a storage bag and then scattered it in the Spirit Field.

These things ultimately originate from the land and eventually return to the land.

He then cast spells on other Spirit Fields and planted some Jade Leaf Mulberry, fully utilizing the surplus cyan land.

In the future, White Jade Peak would be able to gather more Tier Two Upper Grade honey, perfect for grilling fish.

After completing all of this, Ji An retrieved the Wuji Xinghuang Banner back into his body and left the little world.

...

Luofeng Valley, Wanhua Hall.

The bells under the eaves rang with a serene sound in the wind, while white mist rose from the incense burner inside the hall.

Fire Cloud Daoist Master sat solemnly in the main seat within the hall and said in a deep voice:

"News arrived yesterday that Lin Qiu Bai of the Golden Spirit Sect has successfully broken through to become a Golden Core Cultivator. What do the two junior brothers think of this matter?"

He felt considerable envy in his heart; over the years, the Golden Spirit Sect had produced three Golden Core Daoist Masters, whereas Luofeng Valley had produced only one.

Another disciple with potential for breakthrough had perished under the Chaos Thunder Tribulation, and years of hard cultivation had turned to nothing.

Now the power dynamics at the high levels of the two sects have completely reversed, with Luofeng Valley at a distinct disadvantage.

The lifespan of Daoist Master Zhengyang, the Sect Leader of the Golden Spirit Sect, is running out, but he himself has less than a hundred years remaining.

If this growth of the Golden Spirit Sect continues unchecked, there’s a possibility that Luofeng Valley might become a vassal.

He couldn’t allow the sect’s millennia-old foundation to decline under his leadership; he had to do something.

Huayang Daoist Master stroked his goatee and said:

"Senior brother, although the Golden Spirit Sect is growing stronger, they too have significant hidden dangers—it’s likely their spiritual veins cannot support many Golden Core Daoist Masters absorbing spiritual qi.

As of now, this issue isn’t apparent, but in due time, conflicts will surely arise."

"By then, they will face only two options. The first option is to continue like before, with a few Golden Core Daoist Masters taking turns guarding while other cultivators go out seeking opportunities.

If they choose this, it benefits all parties involved and wouldn’t directly conflict with us."

Back when the spiritual veins of the Golden Spirit Sect hadn’t been raised to Tier Three Lower Grade, Daoist Master Zhengyang and Master Yuxiao operated in this way.

Otherwise, it would certainly affect the cultivation of the earth veins.

He paused for a moment and continued:

"As for the second option, it would be to seize a new Tier Three spiritual vein.

I predict they wouldn’t dare to venture deep into the Ten Thousand Mountains to expand their territory; if not, they would inevitably target us or aim at Yuanhe Mountain.

If the previous understanding among the Three Sects is broken, our relationship can never return to what it once was."

The prolific emergence of Golden Core cultivators from the Golden Spirit Sect over the years is something nobody anticipated.

Fire Cloud Daoist Master pondered and said:

"Junior brother’s analysis is reasonable, and I think so too.

However, I believe that in the short term, the Western Continent will maintain a superficial peace, without major conflicts, but a century from now, it’s hard to predict. How should we plan ahead to seek opportunity for the future?"

Being a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, as long as he lives, he remains the sole Golden Core cultivator of the Western Continent. If he were to fight desperately, he’s confident of killing any other Golden Core cultivator.

Other forces will surely exercise caution, fearing retaliation due to his limited lifespan.

This would prevent open conflicts from erupting, at least until he ascends, maintaining peace in the meantime.

Chong Xuan Daoist Master, having recently broken through to the Golden Core, had distinct features and a piercing gaze:

"Senior brother, I believe we should form a covert alliance with Yuanhe Mountain to jointly resist the rise of the Golden Spirit Sect."

Never place hope in a competitor’s mercy; doing so puts your life and death in their hands.

Fire Cloud Daoist Master smiled slightly, "Junior brother, do you have a plan? Please elaborate if you do."

Should he pass away, the power would be entrusted to the two junior brothers, and he hoped his successor would be proactive.

Chong Xuan Daoist Master coughed lightly and began speaking:

"Fierce conflict benefits no one. I propose we suppress the Golden Spirit Sect’s development within the boundaries of the rules.

Cyan Cloud Immortal City is the financial center for our Three Sects; we can ally with Yuanhe Mountain to suppress the disciples of the Golden Spirit Sect together."

"This is just one aspect. Next, we reduce external sales of pills, especially for the Chao Origin Stage level.

Then we retain the pills within the sect or support Yuanhe Mountain with them, strengthening ourselves while indirectly weakening our competitors..."

The rapid growth of the Golden Spirit Sect had long since raised his vigilance, leading him to consider countermeasures early on.

If possible, he even hopes to directly forge an alliance with Yuanhe Mountain.

Fire Cloud Daoist Master maintained his smile; regardless of the outcomes of these plans, the fact that such detailed strategic thinking was presented signifies that the counterpart was genuinely contemplating matters concerning the rise and fall of the sect.

Willing to spend time and effort in this regard reassures him when it comes to transferring his power.

The three engaged in a discussion and preliminarily devised a plan.

Fire Cloud Daoist Master nodded slightly and said:

"Lin Jiuxiao broke through, and the Golden Core Ceremony will soon be held.

At that time, we should take the opportunity while attending the ceremony to engage in deep, private conversations with Master Beichen.

Compared to us, he should be more unwilling to see a colossal force emerge in the Western Continent."

Currently, no new Golden Core cultivators have emerged from Yuanhe Mountain, and Master Beichen should feel the impending crisis.

Chong Xuan Daoist Master sighed and said:

"Restraining only treats the symptoms, not the root cause; I believe there’s a need for reforming the sect.

Since the Golden Spirit Sect established the Agricultural Hall, the gap in spirit farming between us and them has been narrowing.

Now they’ve even produced a Golden Core level spirit farmer. The longer the time passes, the harder it will be to contain their rise.

No matter the time, being strong in and of itself is the most important.

I believe we need to implement a plan, sparing no expense to intensively train disciples with Golden Core potential."

Actions to hinder competitors might also have latent problems and could become the trigger of overt conflicts.

Only with equilibrated strength can the situation be maintained in balance.

Fire Cloud Daoist Master nodded in deep agreement. He contemplated for a while and said:

"The content of the Golden Spirit Sect’s reforms is no secret, but nobody anticipated that merely changing methods would yield such significant results.

I’ve also been contemplating the feasibility of advancing such reforms in our sect recently. Where do you think the resistance would be if we implement them?"

Huayang Daoist Master stroked his beard, "It’s simply a matter of interest—everyone needs to redistribute the outcomes, and some disciples might feel their interests are infringed upon.

The Golden Spirit Sect’s reforms were carried out from the bottom up; they didn’t touch on the interests of disciples above the Foundation Establishment Stage.

However, if we intend to carry out such bottom-up reforms, the effect would be too slow."