Chapter 405: Chapter 187: Disturbance
Shen Xiuyong looked at Chen Qing and chuckled.
"You sneaky kid, reaching Astral Force just like that! Your uncle here is gratified, but also a little jealous."
He let out a deliberately exaggerated sigh. "Sigh... Back when I broke through, it was a life-or-death struggle. I exhausted all my family’s resources. How could it compare to your smooth sailing?"
Shen Xiuyong had indeed poured a great deal of blood, sweat, and tears into breaking through to the Astral Force Realm.
Hearing this, a slight smile touched the corners of Chen Qing’s mouth. "You jest, Junior Martial Uncle. This disciple’s fortunate breakthrough was only possible thanks to the Sect’s nurturing, and even more so, your wholehearted assistance."
The gratified smile on Shen Xiuyong’s face faded slightly. He patted Chen Qing’s shoulder and walked with him out of the Council Hall and into the covered walkway.
Shen Xiuyong’s smile disappeared, and his expression grew more serious. "The Quenching Gang Pills the Sect Leader gives you each month are treasures for consolidating your Astral Force Cultivation and refining your True Astral. Their medicinal power is far beyond that of the Quenching Essence Pills or Truth Condensing Pills of the past. You’ve just entered this realm, so your foundation is paramount. You must make good use of these pills to polish your Cultivation until it’s seamless. Do not rush ahead recklessly."
Chen Qing nodded.
Having taken a Quenching Gang Pill before, he naturally knew its benefits.
When the Elixir entered his stomach, it transformed into a vast and pure medicinal power that could merge into his True Astral without much refinement, making it even more condensed and pure.
More importantly, he could clearly feel that with the aid of this medicinal power, the Cultivation progress fed back by his Heaven Rewards Diligence Fate Plate was indeed slightly faster than when he absorbed the Earth Core Milk Mist in Langya Pavilion.
Although this increase in speed wasn’t world-altering, the difference would become apparent over time.
Chen Qing pondered for a moment before speaking. "The Quenching Gang Pills are certainly extraordinary. Their medicinal power is vast and pure, and they’re of great benefit to refining my True Astral. It’s just... three pills a month feels a bit like a drop in the bucket."
’Back when I was the Chief Disciple,’ he thought, ’even though I didn’t rely entirely on elixirs, the Sect still supplied me with ten high-quality Truth Condensing Pills and Quenching Essence Pills each month to help me rapidly accumulate True Qi.’
Now that his realm was higher and the elixirs were more precious, the quantity had actually decreased.
If he had a sufficient supply of elixirs to complement his Heaven Rewards Diligence, his Cultivation speed would surely rise to another level.
Hearing this, Shen Xiuyong shook his head, his tone tinged with a bit of helplessness.
"You should be content, kid. Refining these Quenching Gang Pills is extremely difficult. The main ingredients required are all rare Treasure Medicines that have aged for many years and are hard to collect. The success rate of refinement isn’t high either. For our Wutai Sect to be able to stably supply several Astral Force Elders with these pills every month, we’re already pouring in all our resources. It’s truly not easy."
He paused and gave an example. "You know of Qixia Manor, right? Aside from the Great Manor Master and the Second Manor Master, who can get Quenching Gang Pills stably, the other Astral Force Elders’ shares are inconsistent. They need to perform meritorious deeds to exchange for them. In comparison, the treatment the Sect Leader has given you is already extremely generous."
Chen Qing nodded.
After reaching Astral Force, Cultivation focused more on quality than quantity. One needed to slowly refine their True Astral with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, and ordinary Treasure Medicines had very little effect.
The Wutai Sect’s ability to provide a stable supply truly demonstrated the Sect’s deep foundation.
If it were a Loose Cultivator in the Astral Force Realm with no sect backing, they would probably have to go to the black market and purchase them at exorbitant prices from powers like the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. The cost would surely be immense. The only other option would be to rely on slow, grinding work, spending decades polishing their cultivation. Even breaking through a minor realm would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Most of the experts in the Jianghu who appeared to be Loose Cultivators were actually deserters from other sects or forces.
But a true Loose Cultivator who managed to cultivate to the Astral Force Realm was never a simple character.
Every single one of them had gone through life-and-death struggles, crawling and clawing their way up from the very bottom.
"Only those like the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect, or the great Noble Families with thousand-year-old legacies..."
Shen Xiuyong sighed, his expression complicated. "They control the resources of several regions, and their foundations are unfathomably deep. Only they can provide a continuous stream of Cultivation Resources for the Astral Force Realm and even higher realms to their disciples, making their Martial Arts path much smoother..."
Chen Qing nodded and said, "The Upper Sect’s foundation is profound. It is truly extraordinary."
’My junior martial uncle seems to know a great deal,’ he thought. ’He must have had contact with disciples from Upper Sects or Noble Families in the past.’
"Now that you’ve entered this realm, there are some things you should see more clearly."
Shen Xiuyong took a deep breath. "In the end, sects like our Wutai Sect, the other Three Sects of Yunlin Prefecture, and even renowned sects like Fenghua Path and Prisoner Dragon Path, are all nothing more than vassals of the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect."
He paused for a moment, his gaze distant. "Our existence, to a large extent, is to manage the resources within this vast territory on behalf of the Upper Sect and to collect tributes on time. As for the true core assets—like Unparalleled Martial Arts, supreme True Scriptures that can condense Divine Sense and allow for True Essence Body Tempering, or secret elixirs... they are all held firmly in the hands of the Upper Sect. They rarely flow outward. If a lower sect wishes to obtain any of them, they must either perform some earth-shattering meritorious deed or pay an unimaginable price."
Chen Qing listened quietly, inwardly agreeing.
He had just gotten a glimpse of the mysteries of the True Essence Realm from the *Observation Record* in the Tingchao Armory. Hearing Junior Martial Uncle Shen’s words now, his understanding deepened.
The Upper Sect used its control over advanced Cultivation Techniques and resources to strictly restrain its subordinate sects. This was the very foundation of its transcendent status.
Shen Xiuyong’s tone shifted as he looked at Chen Qing. "If you can use this opportunity to enter Xu Wang Mountain, and eventually gain the favor of the Upper Sect and receive even a tiny shred of their True Inheritance... perhaps, you might truly have a chance to touch that realm above Astral Force—the True Essence Realm!"
As he said the three words "True Essence Realm," Shen Xiuyong’s voice dropped unconsciously.
For any master in the Astral Force Realm, the temptation of extending one’s life by decades and peering into the higher mysteries of Martial Arts was enough to make their heart surge.
