Chapter 211: Rare Treasure
In the Psyche Kingdom's Void Psychic World. Li Hanqiu, the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s pillar, appeared within this space. He surveyed the surroundings for a long while, remaining silent. Until...
"Martial Uncle." Li Qingshan spoke. "Yaoguang has arrived."
Li Hanqiu turned around. Yaoguang had already seen this pillar of the Nine Cauldrons Sect countless times through recordings and images. He recognized him at once. "Perfected Master."
"It was our Nine Cauldrons Sect that wronged you." Li Hanqiu looked at him and let out a sigh.
Li Qingshan froze. Then, as though a long-held suspicion had finally been confirmed, his pupils abruptly constricted. "If our Nine Cauldrons Sect had not been too weak, if it had already reached maturity, how could you have been forced to hold back and not dare break through to the Dharma Form Realm?"
Yaoguang did not find it strange that Li Hanqiu, a Golden Core cultivator, could see through his cultivation state at a glance. Body refinement, qi refinement, and psyche refinement followed different paths, but once one reached a certain level, many principles were shared among them.
"Thank you for your concern, Perfected Master. I actually think my current state is quite good." Yaoguang paused briefly before continuing, "If I were in another sect, I might not have enjoyed such a relaxed environment for cultivation and growth."
Li Hanqiu sighed inwardly at this, yet also felt a measure of relief. "For the Nine Cauldrons Sect to gain a genius like you, and to have you assist the sect so wholeheartedly, truly is a blessing."
"You flatter me," Yaoguang replied.
"I’m speaking the truth. Your talent in psyche refinement is unprecedented. And only with such exceptional aptitude in psyche refinement can one, in the future, place it at the core, integrate body refinement and qi refinement, and truly step into the genuine Golden Core Realm," Li Hanqiu said.
"The genuine Golden Core Realm?" Yaoguang’s heart stirred. He quickly voiced the question that had long lingered in his mind. "I’ve always heard that the Golden Cores of the current era are extremely unstable and riddled with flaws. Is that... true?"
"The news has already spread to the point that it can’t be contained anymore. Even if we wanted to deny it, we couldn’t," Li Hanqiu said. "The so-called evolution of the Golden Core in our generation is inseparable from the invasion of the Lunar Fiend Empire. At the time, however, the circumstances left us no room to hesitate. Even knowing that the path we chose was extreme, we had no choice but to walk it."
He then glanced at Yaoguang. "But you are different. You still have time. You can proceed step by step, building a solid foundation and laying the groundwork to become a true Golden Core cultivator in the future."
"A solid foundation. Do you mean an immortal foundation?" Yaoguang asked.
"The immortal foundation is one aspect. Body refinement and psyche refinement are another," Li Hanqiu said. "A truly perfect Golden Core requires more than just a deep foundation. The cultivator must also possess a powerful physique and an equally powerful psychic mind! Using a star-god-level body as the vessel, boundless true origin as the energy source, and psychic thought strong enough to distort chaotic space-time to bind the Fusion Fire within the body, one then forms the true Golden Core! Only such a Golden Core can be genuinely stable and free."
He paused for a moment. "That Golden Core wouldn't be like ours, which relies entirely on multiple layers of powerful arrays to restrain, suppress, and stabilize our strength. If we're separated from those arrays for too long, the Golden Core might go out of control, and if things go wrong... it will simply explode, turning into a burst of light that illuminates the starry sky."
Yaoguang felt genuinely surprised upon hearing this. "So body refinement, qi refinement, and psyche refinement must all be cultivated together to stabilize the Golden Core?! But... in the present world, even those who establish an immortal foundation don’t necessarily place much emphasis on physique or psyche refinement!"
"That’s because even focusing solely on qi refinement already demands one’s full effort. How many can spare the attention to also pursue body refinement and psyche refinement? The only thing they can do is achieve sufficient attainment in qi refinement first, then refine qi into psyche, strengthen the primordial psyche, and afterward use powerful psychic consciousness to probe the body, forcing it to undergo transformation, until eventually every acupoint contains a fragment of stellar power," Li Hanqiu explained.
To have each acupoint contain stellar power was the cultivation method of the Star God Realm. After a star lord refined a fiend-god body, the next step toward entering the Star God Realm required refining all the energy and mass of that fiend-god body into the acupoints.
Once one ignited 108 acupoints within the body, and the stellar power contained in each acupoint reached the Meteor Star level, that marked the early stage of the Star God Realm. When the stellar power in every acupoint reached the Heavenly Star level, that was the middle stage of the Star God Realm. Lastly, the Primary Star corresponded to the late stage of the Star God Realm.
In theory, these corresponded respectively to the Crimson Golden Core, the Radiant Sun Golden Core, and the Blazing White Golden Core. In practice, however, the actual combat power of the two paths was nowhere near comparable.
A Meteor Star-level star god could effortlessly dominate Foundation Building cultivators, but against a Golden Core cultivator... A single full-strength strike from a Crimson Golden Core cultivator could instantly annihilate a Meteor Star-level star god. Of course, unleashing all that power carried a high risk of destabilizing the Golden Core itself and leading to collapse, but even so, the disparity between the two was evident.
That was why everyone yearned to form a Golden Core, rather than walk the path of a star god. Furthermore, compared to Golden Core cultivators who could at least live three to five hundred years, star gods and Dharma Form cultivators had even shorter lifespans, only two to three hundred years at most.
"Something is definitely wrong here," Yaoguang said.
He possessed information about the Dharma Form Realm, but due to limited progress, it was largely confined to cultivation in the Dharma Form Realm and the application of psychic thought.
"It is wrong." Li Hanqiu nodded. "That’s why we intended to promote a new cultivation system on the North Sea battlefield, dividing cultivation into nine realms of qi refinement, nine realms of Golden Core, and the Void-Piercing Realm. Unfortunately, the information we obtained was incomplete, and prevailing views across Cangwu could not be changed overnight. We had no choice but to temporarily shelve the idea, waiting until Cangwu is truly unified and these realms are fully refined before forcefully implementing it."
"The North Sea battlefield?" Yaoguang froze. Then, as realization struck him, his pupils sharply constricted. "Our war with the Lunar Fiend Empire isn’t over yet?!"
"The war with the Lunar Fiend Empire has ended, but... the Lunar Fiend Empire isn’t the only force in that world. There is another powerful faction there, known as the Heavenly Fiend Empire!"
"The Heavenly Fiend Empire?!" Upon hearing Li Hanqiu’s words, Yaoguang immediately made a connection in his mind.
Back when he had been in Yaoguang World, Yaoguang had once heard of this faction from Mo Guang, the president of the Rebirth Society. At the time, he had assumed that Mo Guang himself belonged to the Heavenly Fiend Empire. But...
That made sense. The Great Cangwu World contained thousands of sects, large and small. The Cangwu Alliance Council alone recognized over two hundred nations. The world behind the Lunar Fiend Empire was home to more than a single country... That was perfectly normal.
"All Golden Core cultivators tacitly agree that the Great Cangwu World must unite as one precisely because the threat of external enemies still exists. The time we Golden Core cultivators had decided for ourselves, and for all sects, was about one hundred years. Within that time frame, the entire Cangwu had to become a single whole. It cannot continue as it is now, with factions fighting each other and needlessly consuming Cangwu’s internal strength," As Li Hanqiu said, looking at Yaoguang. "This agreement was established when we repelled the Lunar Fiend Empire. As of now, the time remaining to us is no more than thirty to forty years."
"Thirty to forty years..." Yaoguang muttered.
"Yes. During this period, chaos is inevitable. Conflict between the major sects will be unavoidable. With your strength and talent, you may even have hope of cultivating a true Golden Core in the future. If I personally guarantee you, you can choose to stay out of it entirely!" Li Hanqiu said.
That was precisely why Li Hanqiu had wanted to meet Yaoguang. With his talent, he had a chance at the Golden Core Realm, but the situation ahead was clearly unstable. To prevent a figure like him, someone who could represent the future hope of Cangwu, from falling in the inevitable war of unification, allowing him to withdraw in time was the best possible choice.
Yaoguang understood this. After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "Will the Golden Core cultivators truly refrain from intervening in this war of unification?"
Li Hanqiu fell silent for a while before replying, "I can’t give you a definite answer. Everyone knows that power shouldn’t be wasted on internal conflict, and that Golden Core intervention would only make things worse. But when a truly critical moment arrives, whether Golden Core cultivators can remain uninvolved is something no one can guarantee. Just like me. Not long ago, I made my stance clear. The Nine Cauldrons Sect must not be destroyed unless the final moment has arrived."
"I understand now." Yaoguang let out a sigh.
If Golden Core cultivators could truly guarantee that they would not take the field, the pressure on him would have been far lighter. But the reality was different. Of course, this answer was not the best possible outcome, but it was within his expectations. After all, none of his plans had ever relied on an enemy’s mercy or their willingness to follow the rules.
He smiled faintly. "There are still thirty to forty years left. We can decide when the time comes."
"Your power has already drawn the attention of certain people. Although the Origin World spirit treasure can conceal things to some extent, it won’t last long..." Li Hanqiu paused, then said, "If a Golden Core cultivator makes a move against you, I will intervene. But if that happens, you likely won’t be able to remain active in the open anymore. Otherwise, if I repeatedly ignore the rules like this, it will easily provoke everyone’s hostility."
"I understand." Yaoguang nodded. Golden Core cultivators could ignore rules. But if such behavior happened too often, it would inevitably stir resentment among others.
Ultimately, the core issue was that the Nine Cauldrons Sect possessed only a single Golden Core cultivator, Li Hanqiu, and thus had to consider the attitudes of the other top immortal sects. If the Nine Cauldrons Sect had enough Golden Core cultivators, and if they were strong enough, then there would be no opposition.
"I’ll make sure I gain enough strength to protect myself as soon as possible," Yaoguang said.
"Good." Li Hanqiu then turned to Li Qingshan. "Give him that item."
"Mhmm. I already have it with me," Li Qingshan replied with a nod.
"I’ve left an imprint in the Void Psychic World. If you encounter danger, contact me through it." Li Hanqiu glanced at Yaoguang and smiled faintly. "I’ll be waiting for you to grow."
Yaoguang returned the smile. "I’ll try not to keep you waiting too long."
Sensing the confidence in Yaoguang’s words, Li Hanqiu was momentarily taken aback. Then his mood brightened, and he burst into hearty laughter. After that, his figure vanished.
Li Qingshan also nodded toward Yaoguang. Inside the communications room, the sect master of the Nine Cauldrons Sect solemnly took out a treasure box. "All thirteen of us, including Martial Uncle, spent some time discussing this. With unanimous agreement, we have decided to hand this item over to you."
Still unclear as to what it was, Yaoguang opened the box. The moment he cracked it open, a dazzling golden radiance burst forth from within. When the box was fully opened, a semi-transparent golden root resembling ginseng emerged.
"This is..." Yaoguang stared at it, his pupils constricting sharply as realization struck.
"A rare natural treasure, the Heavenly Spirit Root," Li Qingshan said with a smile. "It can be used to plant a spirit root within you, allowing you to cultivate qi as well. It is a supreme treasure."
