The Modern Martial Immortal

Chapter 276: Choice

After discussing matters at length, Li Hanqiu, Li Qingshan, and Yaoguang finalized the future development plan for the Nine Cauldrons Sect.

All mortals were required to reach the Foundation Building Realm as soon as possible, so they could survive independently on the North Sea Star rather than relying entirely on the sect’s protective array.

As for the more than thirty thousand Foundation Building cultivators and those above, they were instructed to focus fully on cultivation, with spirit stones supplied without restriction.

In addition, considering the potential threat posed by Heavenly Venerable Jiang, the sect temporarily abandoned the name Nine Cauldrons Sect and instead presented itself externally as the Nine Heavens Sect.

Following local customs, the Nine Heavens Sect also underwent structural reforms, establishing new ranks including menial disciples, outer sect disciples, inner sect disciples, and true disciples.

However, the role of true disciples here differed from those on the North Sea Star.

On the North Sea Star, the relationship between a true disciple and their sect resembled that of a company and its investors!

A true disciple used their talent as leverage to attract investment, while the sect valued the potential returns that talent could bring. In turn, the disciple relied on the sect’s influence and resources to secure better opportunities for development.

A true disciple was more like a subsidiary company's chairman. Each side took what they needed, achieving mutual benefit.

But within the Nine Heavens Sect, true disciples bore the responsibility of inheriting the sect’s legacy. Ordinary disciples were one thing, but if any true disciple suffered even the slightest mishap, the sect would treat it as a blood feud that would never be resolved.

After half a month of arrangements, all matters within the Nine Cauldrons Sect—or rather the Nine Heavens Sect—had been properly settled. Soon after, Li Qingshan, Li Hanqiu, and Yaoguang gathered once more.

"For the entirety of North Sea Star, resources are the most critical factor. The Cloud Sword Sect governs thirty-six cities east of the Yunchuan Mountains, with over a million cultivators. Their income comes mainly from three sources: taxation, plundering, and self-produced resources," Li Qingshan explained, recounting the intelligence he had gathered. "Taxes are paid in Primordial Treasured Pills. The sect doesn’t care who controls each city, as long as sufficient pills are handed over. For example, Huaigu City, with tens of thousands of residents and guarded by a Heavenly Fire Realm cultivator from the Fang family, has to submit 880 pills annually. Most other cities contribute roughly the same."

He produced a chart. "Taxation yields about thirty thousand Primordial Treasured Pills each year. Their sect’s own production is under ten thousand. The remaining forty thousand or so come from plundering other factions."

"That sums up to eighty thousand Primordial Treasured Pills per year, or just over sixty Pure Yang Grand Pills," Li Hanqiu said.

The conversion ratio was extremely low.

"The ratio of the Pure Yang Grand Pills to the Primordial Treasured Pills is 1:1200. The Primordial Treasured Pills are mainly used by Foundation Building, Unity Realm, and Core Formation cultivators. Some Heavenly Fire Realm cultivators also use them for cost efficiency. However, the true core resource in this world remains the Pure Yang Grand Pill, especially after reaching the Foundation Building Realm and through the Unity Realm. It is said that a single Pure Yang Grand Pill can perfectly regulate a cultivator’s essence, qi, and psyche, allowing them to reach the threshold for breaking into the Unity Realm." Li Qingshan paused before continuing, "Our sect already has many cultivators capable of breaking through to the Unity Realm. If we had enough Pure Yang Grand Pills, within a year, we could have over three thousand Unity Realm cultivators and more than a hundred Core Formation cultivators."

Having personally consumed a Pure Yang Grand Pill and possessing a deep understanding of the Unity stage, Yaoguang nodded in agreement.

However, relying on Pure Yang Grand Pills to complete the accumulation needed to reach the Unity Realm was far too extravagant. A Foundation Building cultivator could reach peak level with just over a hundred Primordial Treasured Pills. Though it would take one or two additional years, saving over a thousand pills was clearly worth it to most people.

"Cultivation resources truly are the foundation of cultivation, especially when treasures like the Pure Yang Grand Pills and Void Dao Pills exist on North Sea Star. Our next priority is to secure enough of them as quickly as possible," Li Hanqiu said.

"While organizing the information, I also discovered another issue," Li Qingshan added, glancing at Yaoguang. "This problem may be no less serious than the threat posed by Heavenly Venerable Jiang."

"What problem?" Li Hanqiu asked.

"The Heavenly Dao Sect," Li Qingshan said gravely. "One of the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects."

He continued quickly, "The Heavenly Dao Sovereign technique practiced within our sect is a secret art exclusive to true disciples of the Heavenly Dao Sect. Any sect treats its inheritance extremely seriously, especially true-disciple-level inheritances. If they discover someone has learned it without their permission, they will retaliate with the harshest measures possible..."

On the North Sea Star, such harsh measures often meant extermination.

Hearing this, Li Hanqiu turned his gaze toward Yaoguang. "Did you obtain your inheritance from the Heavenly Dao Sect?"

He then asked Li Qingshan, "What about the Primordial Creation Art?"

"I couldn’t find any information about the Primordial Creation Art or the Creation Group behind it," Li Qingshan replied. "Either they are not a top-tier force on the North Sea Star, or they don’t belong to this world at all."

"The Primordial Creation Art is balanced and steady in nature. It doesn’t match the more aggressive style common on the North Sea Star. It likely comes from a top inheritance in a neighboring great world," Yaoguang said, pausing briefly. "But regardless of its origin, we cannot stop cultivating it."

He looked at Li Hanqiu. "You’ve seen the cultivation framework of the Cloud Sword Sect. It’s not nearly as stable and profound as the Primordial Creation Art."

Both Li Hanqiu and Li Qingshan nodded in agreement.

That was especially true of Li Hanqiu, who had studied the full Primordial Creation Art. He had expectantly opened the Cloud Sword Sect’s supreme manual, said to contain a method to produce Azure Golden Core cultivators, only to find it utterly disappointing.

"In that case, we should suspend the use of the Heavenly Dao Sovereign array art and conceal it for as long as possible," Li Hanqiu said. "As for the Primordial Creation Art, we’ll disguise it to some extent. Hopefully, by the time the Creation Group notices us, we’ll already have the strength to handle the situation."

"Agreed. If we reject what fate offers out of fear of potential risks, we’ll never become true powerhouses," Li Qingshan said, nodding firmly.

"To grow stronger, we must obtain resources quickly. And the fastest way to obtain resources on the North Sea Star is plundering them."

"We need time to recover and develop. Plundering carries too many hidden risks. It isn’t the right strategy for us at this time," Yaoguang replied.

Li Hanqiu nodded.

He felt a trace of guilt in his heart. Although the Cloud Sword Sect had enmity with them, and one of its Crimson Golden Core cultivators had killed his junior brother Qi Chixin, making their retaliation justified, it still had not warranted extermination.

Yet in the end, they had wiped out the entire Cloud Sword Sect. The truth was that the harsh environment of the North Sea Star had forced their hand.

One must eliminate the source of trouble completely or it will return.

It could only be said that the brutality and relentless competition of the North Sea Star had turned people into monsters. The strong devoured the weak, and morality had long since collapsed.

Those who were soft-hearted simply could not survive here. They would be stripped clean, devoured, and even mocked as fools after death.

His junior brother Qi Chixin had been the perfect example.

"If we don’t resort to plundering, then there’s only another option... Bounties," Li Qingshan said. "We’re close to the Sea of Chaos. That place is covered year-round by terrifying thunderstorms and tsunamis, making it nearly impossible for ordinary cultivators to survive. The ones hiding there are vicious bandits and desperate criminals. The Great Shang Immortal Dynasty, the Immortal Martial Sect, and even distant sects have issued numerous bounties. If we eliminate one of those bandit groups, not only can we seize abundant spoils, but we can also claim a substantial reward."

"The bounties in the Sea of Chaos..." Li Hanqiu murmured, clearly tempted.

On the North Sea Star, once someone reached the Void-Piercing Realm, they would immediately rise to the top tier of the entire world and become a dominant figure.

Unless they were completely irrational or possessed extreme tendencies, even cultivators of the Fiendish Dao who massacred entire cities would still be recruited by Fiendish Dao sects.

There was no need for them to hide in the Sea of Chaos.

With Li Hanqiu's strength, as long as he was cautious, this was indeed a viable method.

"The Sea of Chaos bounties can serve as a backup option, but right now, Perfected Lord, your top priority is to fully refine the World-Stabilizing Ring and stabilize your condition," Yaoguang said. "And while the probability of encountering Void-Piercing Realm experts in the Sea of Chaos is low, the place is filled with extreme environments. Some areas are deadly even to Void-Piercing Realm cultivators. Right now, the Nine Heavens Sect relies entirely on you. If anything happens to you, our situation will become even more dire. Therefore, we should adopt a more stable approach to secure our initial resources."

He paused slightly before continuing, "If anyone is to take on bounties, it should be me."

"You?! Absolutely not!" Li Hanqiu rejected the idea immediately. "Compared to me, you are the true hope of restoring the Nine Cauldrons Sect. No matter what, you cannot be put at risk."

"Without enduring hardship, how can one grow?" Yaoguang replied calmly. "Life in the Great Cangwu World has been too comfortable. Perhaps it made you forget that when I was in the Yaoguang World, I fought my way up step by step."

Li Hanqiu recalled the information they had gathered about Yaoguang’s past and hesitated briefly before saying, "I know you’re capable, but compared to venturing out, I believe your priority should be to improve your strength as quickly as possible..."

"That’s why I said we should first obtain our initial resources through a safer method," Yaoguang said firmly. "Once I use those resources to elevate my strength to the Crimson Golden Core Realm, or even the Radiant Sun Golden Core Realm, ensuring I won’t face life-threatening danger in the Sea of Chaos, then I can take on bounties."

After saying this, he looked at Li Hanqiu. "I bear part of the responsibility for the current state of the Nine Cauldrons Sect. I cannot allow you alone to shoulder the burden of the entire sect—"

"Enough of that," Li Hanqiu interrupted, waving his hand. "We are all part of the same sect. If one prospers, all prosper. There is no such thing as your responsibility or mine. Those who are capable do more, those who are less capable do less. Everyone is equal, each fulfilling their role for the prosperity of the Nine Cauldrons Sect."

He looked at Yaoguang, understanding both his determination and his sense of guilt. His tone softened slightly. "If you insist on taking bounties, I won’t stop you. But at the very least, you must have the power to survive against an Azure Golden Core cultivator before I can be at ease."

"Agreed," Yaoguang nodded.

"What was the safer method you mentioned earlier?" Li Hanqiu asked.

"Sect Leader Li said earlier that sects in this world guard their inheritances extremely strictly, so powerful divine abilities rarely circulate outside," Yaoguang replied. "As it happens, I possess quite a number of such inheritances. My suggestion is to sell some of these divine abilities in batches. If all goes well, we should be able to obtain our first batch of Pure Yang Grand Pills."

"Selling divine abilities... that also carries considerable risk," Li Hanqiu said.

"In the North Sea Star, nothing is absolutely safe. Even if we shut ourselves in and do nothing, danger will come sooner or later!" Yaoguang said calmly. "The core principle of this world is competition. It is ingrained in every cultivator. Since we are here, we must adapt."

At this point, he sighed softly. "Danger will always exist. But I believe that as long as we grow fast enough, danger won’t be able to catch up to us. And when danger finally arrives, if we already possess the power to deal with it... At that point, we will become the danger."