Chapter 263: Shaken
"You!?"
Before Jiang Heavenly Venerable could say anything, Wan Liugui's face instantly changed upon hearing these words.
He exploded in rage, "Hanqiu, do you realize what you're saying!? You... you are contradicting the will of Jiang True Transmission!"
"I know."
Li Hanqiu simply replied.
"No, you don't know. Do you understand what Jiang True Transmission means to our Cangwu lineage!?"
Wan Liugui's Divine Sense shook with severity, "If you think that the affairs of the Northern Sea Star have nothing to do with our Cangwu Great World, then you are gravely mistaken. Let me tell you, within the Northern Sea Star, the competition between races, sects, families, and factions is intense to the extreme. Unless it's a small-scale competition, once it escalates to a certain level, the losers will have no chance of survival!"
He glared at Li Hanqiu, "If our Cangwu lineage fails in the Northern Sea Star, not only will every person from our lineage be completely annihilated without leaving any troubles behind, but even the Cangwu Great World that we originated from will be ruthlessly destroyed to ensure that the danger is nipped in the bud. Some of the more cruel forces would not even spare the 108,000 stars surrounding our Cangwu Great World. Our Cangwu lineage has barely managed to secure a foothold in the Taiyi Immortal Sect. If we want to truly integrate into the Taiyi Immortal Sect, into the Northern Sea Star, our only hope is to become a disciple of Jade Emperor Supreme Jiang Heavenly Venerable! Only if he achieves Hollow Void and becomes the Vice Sect Leader of Taiyi Immortal Sect, will our Cangwu lineage have a true foundation!"
After saying this, he took a deep breath, "And you, as a member of the Cangwu lineage, at this moment, you actually want to contradict the will of Jiang True Transmission!?"
"If it's just for that reason..."
Li Hanqiu glanced at Alkaid whom he was protecting behind him and took a deep breath, "Then I think Alkaid's talent is even higher."
Hearing his words, Wan Liugui's brows furrowed.
Miller, Lu Xi, Qiao An, and other Golden Cores who had personally witnessed Alkaid lead the Nine Cauldrons Sect to create miracles in just twenty years fell into contemplation.
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The talent of Alkaid...
Probably no one would doubt it.
Many of them had information about Alkaid in their hands.
When he first came to the Cangwu Realm, he was merely at the high rank of Body Cultivation.
Specifically, the Seventh Layer.
Yet, in the short span of twenty years, he not only successfully completed Foundation Establishment but also instantly possessed power comparable to a Sunburst Golden Core Level.
Although it was with the help of a Crimson Red Golden Core External Elixir that he could exhibit such combat power, but...
The ability to refine External Elixirs is a form of strength in itself.
Moreover, he stepped into Star God in Body Refinement, and his Dharma Phase had even reached the pinnacle...
This kind of talent was indeed very astonishing.
Looking at the entire Cangwu Realm, there is probably no one who can compare!
But at this time, people like Susan, Yang Han, He La began to sneer.
"A frog in the well dares to contend with the heavens?"
"Hahaha, is there someone saying that this Su Alkaid's talent is higher than that of Jiang Heavenly Venerable? Haha, that's truly ridiculous and pitiful."
"The Golden Cores of Cangwu are too foolish, having never seen how high the sky is or how thick the earth is, naturally they do not understand what the three words 'Jiang True Transmission' mean, and they do not know what being a direct disciple of the Supreme means."
They laughed, and then Susan stepped forward, her gaze sweeping over Alkaid, "Your actual cultivation is only at the Fission Realm, your age... forty-three, achieving the Fission Realm at forty-three, in the case of dual cultivation among the Three Meridians, this level can indeed be considered a rare talent in the Cangwu Great World, but do you know what the standard for a True Disciple of my Taiyi Immortal Sect is?"
She shook her Divine Sense, spreading it across the starry sky, "In my Taiyi Immortal Sect, only those who form their core can join. Within a sexagenary cycle, after forming a Crimson Red Golden Core, one will be formally recorded and recognized to claim oneself as a disciple of Taiyi Immortal Sect, but this is just the lowest-level Outer Sect Disciple. To become an Inner Sect disciple, one must form a Sunburst Golden Core before the age of one hundred, and only then will the Sect light a Soul Lamp for you. As for True Disciples... what is meant by True Transmission!? Only by overpowering all peers, defeating all Inner Sect disciples, can one be called a True Disciple!"
With that, she scoffed, "A forty-three-year-old at the Fission Realm, how long until you reach the Fusion Realm? How long until you form a Crimson Red Golden Core? If you really go to my Taiyi Immortal Sect, you might not even qualify to become an Outer Sect Disciple."
Hearing Susan's mocking words, Qiao An, Zhan Ke, Miller, Lu Xi, Fu Long, Ye Lin, and other Golden Cores all gasped in shock.
A sexagenary cycle to form a Crimson Red Golden Core!?
Forming a Sunburst Golden Core before age one hundred!?
And...
If they weren't mistaken...
"The Golden Core you are speaking of... refers to that which requires the dual cultivation of Essence, Spirit, and Body in the Golden Core Realm? Body Refining Star God? Divine Refining Dharma Phase!?"
Miller asked with a slight tremble in his Divine Sense.
"What else?"
Susan glanced at him and snorted, "You wouldn't think that Taiyi Immortal Sect would waste precious resources on us War Immortals, whose Golden Core state might destabilize at any moment, leading to death and extinction of our paths?"
"How... how could it be possible..."
Zhan Ke was even more shaken.
To be only an Inner Sect Disciple upon forming a true Sunburst Golden Core by the age of one hundred!?
Such a Golden Core...
Perhaps just one person could sweep the entire Cangwu Great World, right?
But to have no qualifications for True Transmission even with such a Golden Core in the Taiyi Immortal Sect?
"Taiyi Immortal Sect, as one of the ten great Immortal Paths of the Northern Sea and a force that has given birth to a True Immortal, is one of the most top-tier existences in the entire Northern Sea Star, countless strong beings within it, with Golden Cores, Hollow Voids emerging endlessly. Do you think anyone can join it!?"
Susan said this with an air of pride.
It was as if for them to be able to enter Taiyi Immortal Sect and become part of one of the Six Halls Nine Veins was the greatest honor of their lives.
Jiang Heavenly Venerable just listened quietly and did not express any opinion.
As a True Disciple...
There were many things that no longer required his direct involvement; those eager to flatter and please him down below would naturally handle his affairs swiftly.
"Alkaid is different from the others,"
Li Hanqiu spoke with a deep voice, "Alkaid achieved Fission at forty-three, which seems a bit slow, but he spent over twenty years in a Subordinate World, starting from scratch by relying solely on himself and climbing up step by step via the path of Body Cultivation. After entering the Cangwu Great World, our Nine Cauldrons Sect provided little assistance to his cultivation. And when he entered the ninth layers of the Golden Core Realm, he had no top elixirs to enhance his cultivation. Despite that, he still reached the strength of the Fission Realm..."
While saying this, he glanced at Lin Deng, Feng Ao, Luo Fu, and others, carrying a hint of pride within the fluctuations of his Divine Sense, "Moreover, Alkaid's most outstanding attribute is not his Qi Refinement cultivation, but his prowess in the Divine Refining Path. He has reached the peak of the Dharma Phase in the Divine Refining Path! And in terms of Body Refinement, he has similarly reached the third stage of Star God Evolution."
"The peak of the Dharma Phase?"
This description at last made Wan Liugui and others, including Susan, Yang Han, and He La, show a sign of emotion.
"Alkaid has such talent in the Divine Refining Path!?"
"A peak Dharma Phase at the age of forty-three... If you consider his origins from a Subordinate World and the years he's lost in the Cangwu Great World... This talent is indeed not bad."
"Has our Cangwu Great World produced another promising seedling?"
The Divine Senses of these Golden Cores stirred.
Compared to Body Refinement and Qi Refinement, which can rely on external items, the Divine Refining Path...
Greatly emphasizes talent!
Without sufficient talent and comprehension, Divine Refining cultivation could frustrate any cultivator to the brink of death.
And to step into the Hollow Void, the most critical aspect is to refine the void into reality, turning the illusory Divine Sense and the force of the Dharma Phase into the "actual" existence of True Spirit Force.
The force of True Spirit could create worlds and form Cave Heavens, and when paired with the Chaos Void force opened up by the Qi Refinement Path, it would allow a cultivator to manage the quality of the 1,080 acupoints within their Divine Body, as if they possess the power of a Chaos Void.
With a gesture or a step, they could shatter stars.
This is the true Hollow Void Realm.
"The peak of the Dharma Phase!"
Wan Liugui's gaze fell upon Alkaid.
As Hollow Void Realms who followed the War Immortal path, they relied entirely on Formations and supreme treasures to seal the force of the Chaos Void derived from the collapse of the Golden Core within their bodies, using this force being equivalent to flirting with death each time.
Since Alkaid had such talent in the Divine Refining Path, if they could bring him to the Northern Sea Star and carefully cultivate him with the resources of their lineage... Perhaps...
They could nurture another True Disciple!
However...
He glanced at Jiang Heavenly Venerable.
Compared to Alkaid, who only possessed potential, it was Jiang Heavenly Venerable, who had already become a True Disciple, formed a Deep Blue Golden Core, and had successfully become the direct disciple of Jade Emperor Supreme, who was the true foundation of their Cangwu lineage.
It would take decades or even a century for Alkaid to grow, and the Taiyi Immortal Sect accepted their Cangwu lineage for the use of their War Immortals. Once the batch of Hollow Void War Immortals accumulated during the war period with the Moon Demon Empire were exhausted...
The Taiyi Immortal Sect's attitude might not remain as it is, allowing them to maintain their own lineage.
Therefore...
Alkaid, you're too late.
Jiang Heavenly Venerable is their hope.
As he pondered, he still spoke up, "Heavenly Venerable, although you have become a direct disciple of Jade Emperor Supreme, you will inevitably have to cultivate into the Hollow Void and compete for the position of Vice Sect Leader. And to vie for the Vice Sect Leader's position, the more support the better. Since Alkaid has such talent, I think, why not give him a chance to become your subordinate and serve you..."
"Elder Wan."
Before Wan Liugui finished his words, he was interrupted by Jiang Heavenly Venerable.
He looked at the Hollow Void serving as his Protector, "Did I hear wrong? Are you suggesting that I should take in a murderer who once obliterated a branch of my Jiang Family in the Artifact Nurturing Realm as a subordinate?"
Even as Wan Liugui was being watched by Jiang Heavenly Venerable, he felt immense pressure and hastily changed his suggestion, "I just couldn't bear to see such a prodigy from our Cangwu Great World fall like this. If you, Heavenly Venerable, fear his potential betrayal, why not plant a 'Heart-binding Curse' on him to keep him under control?"
"Why not at all,"
Jiang Heavenly Venerable replied indifferently, "What I'd like to know now is, I want to kill him now, but your disciple Li Hanqiu wants to use the power of the Hollow Void to stop me. As his Protector... do you plan to act against your disciple, or do you not?"
The direct and unambiguous nature of these words caused the pressure on Wan Liugui to skyrocket.
To act or not to act?
If he acted, Li Hanqiu would surely resist with all his might; in his barely stable Hollow Void state, he would undoubtedly die the moment he took action.
He would kill his own disciple.
And if he did not act...
As a Protector, he would be violating his duty.
Jiang Heavenly Venerable, the future hope of their Cangwu lineage, would surely be utterly disappointed with them, and then...
He would be the sinner of the entire Cangwu lineage!
This dilemma left Wan Liugui in extreme agony.