Chapter 300: Chapter 257: Sect Changes
Cloud Summit.
At a meeting between the Sect Leader and the Supreme Elders, Elder Bai Heyan was also present.
There was, of course, a reason for Bai Heyan’s presence.
"Elder Bai, what are the results of Elder Fang’s Foundation Establishment Pill refining?" asked Duan Qingyun, the Sect Leader of the Celestial Cloud Sect, as he looked at Bai Heyan.
"The latest batch of materials for the Foundation Establishment Pills has been completely used up. Elder Fang refined a total of twenty-two batches, yielding three Upper-grade Foundation Establishment Pills, eleven Middle-grade ones, and eight Lower-grade ones."
"Good! Very good!" Duan Qingyun nodded in satisfaction.
The results were even better than he had expected.
"Twenty-two batches of Foundation Establishment Pills, and he actually produced three Upper-grade ones. If we didn’t know Elder Fang’s background so well, I’d suspect this was his first time refining them," said Supreme Elder Zheng Wuji.
Recalling the most famous Elders of Alchemy in the sect’s history, not a single one could compare to Fang Yun.
This was a blessing for the Celestial Cloud Sect.
Zhong Yankun smiled and said, "My great-grandson-in-law’s talent, whether in alchemy or artifact refining, is beyond question."
"Great-grandson-in-law? Isn’t that still up in the air?"
"It’s only a matter of time," Zhong Yankun replied at once.
"I’m telling you, Elder Zhong Taishang, you’re just making trouble for yourself. Setting a test for those two? With Elder Fang’s talent in alchemy and artifact refining, what kind of test is even necessary? If I had a granddaughter instead of a grandson, I’d have married her off to him long ago."
Hearing this, Zhong Yankun retorted, "If Fang Yun didn’t like her, would you really force your imaginary granddaughter on him?"
Zheng Wuji was left speechless and had no rebuttal.
Given Fang Yun’s current talent and importance to the Celestial Cloud Sect, not even the Supreme Elders could force him to do anything.
Unless all the Supreme Elders and the Sect Leader were in unanimous agreement.
As the conversation turned to Fang Yun, Supreme Elder Wang Lingwei also chimed in.
"Elder Fang is an elder of Artifact Casting Peak. Having him accept alchemy missions was a truly excellent decision."
Had this been some time ago, she never would have said such a thing.
In the beginning, when Fang Yun first displayed his Alchemy Talent and started accepting alchemy missions from the Dan Cloud Pavilion, she had felt the drawbacks outweighed the benefits.
It wasn’t until Fang Yun’s Alchemy Talent became more and more astonishing that her attitude toward him did a complete one-eighty.
Now that Fang Yun’s Alchemy Talent had reached a certain level, as far as she was concerned, the benefits of him getting involved in the affairs of Dan Cloud Peak would far outweigh any negatives.
The upper echelons had reached a consensus on their attitude toward Fang Yun long ago.
But at the end of the day, Fang Yun was destined to be Zhong Yankun’s great-grandson-in-law. Therefore, when it came to their relationship with Fang Yun, the other Supreme Elders were at a significant disadvantage.
At times like this, they couldn’t help but envy Zhong Yankun for having a good great-granddaughter who had captured Fang Yun’s affection.
"With the increased quality of our Foundation Establishment Pills, the number of elders in our Celestial Cloud Sect will surely rise. This is extremely beneficial for us. In the future, we might even be able to counterattack the Celestial Demon Sect..." Duan Qingyun explained, detailing the impact of Fang Yun’s pill refining.
As the Sect Leader of the Celestial Cloud Sect, Duan Qingyun had always felt frustrated by the sect’s consistently defensive strategy against the Celestial Demon Sect.
But the sect’s strength was what it was; they had no choice but to defend. To take the offensive, they needed the power to back it up.
Once the sect’s overall strength increased, everything could change.
The future Duan Qingyun spoke of was a long way off.
To rise up against the attacks from the Celestial Demon Sect, the clandestine aid given to them by the Demon Spirit Sect, and the looming threat of the Black Ghost Cave watching like a hungry tiger, the current strength of the sect’s upper echelons was simply not enough.
Three at early-stage Core Formation and one at the middle-stage—it wasn’t nearly enough.
Once the number of Foundation Establishment Elders in the sect increased, the next effect would be a rise in the number of high-level Core Formation cultivators.
With more people cultivating to the Peak of Foundation Establishment, even without the help of any Core Formation Spiritual Objects, the sheer number of them would eventually lead to an increase in Core Formation Cultivators.
As Sect Leader Duan Qingyun’s thoughts reached this point, his mind turned back to Fang Yun.
If Fang Yun could successfully reach Core Formation, it would be immensely significant for the Celestial Cloud Sect.
If Fang Yun couldn’t break through to the Core Formation Stage, then given his current age, his influence on the sect would last two hundred years at most. After that, unless another elder like him appeared, the sect would slowly revert to its former state without his presence.
And for another cultivator with astonishing talent in both alchemy and artifact refining like Fang Yun to appear... that might not happen even in two or three thousand years.
But if Fang Yun succeeded in reaching Core Formation, his influence on the sect could last for five hundred years.
With five hundred years of development, many things would be different.
Regarding Fang Yun’s Core Formation, they were all still searching for Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects to cleanse his Spirit Root. Compared to before, the importance of this task had been raised even higher.
"The Sect Leader is right. If this continues, it’s not impossible that the number of elders in the sect could one day surpass one hundred."
From the founding of the Celestial Cloud Sect to the present day, the number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators had never surpassed one hundred, not even during its most prosperous periods in history.
"It will be difficult in the coming decades," Supreme Elder Zheng Wuji added.
They were still in the midst of a great war with the Celestial Demon Sect.
In the past, during such times, the number of sect elders would invariably decrease to varying degrees.
During a great war, sacrifices were inevitable.
Sect Leader Duan Qingyun nodded lightly, then turned to Bai Heyan.
"Elder Bai."
"Present."
"When will you arrange for Elder Fang to refine Third Tier pills?" This was a matter of particular concern to Duan Qingyun, and he needed an update.
