Elder Chi saw the intelligence report and kept a calm façade, while a cold sweat broke out secretly.
It turned out that the Sect Leader Yun he had met in the barbecue restaurant was actually an Immortal, meaning that the Heavenly Court Sect possessed two Ancient Immortals.
There was no point in trying to instigate internal divisions within the Heavenly Court Sect to profit from it; he might as well just join the Heavenly Court Sect outright.
With the Jiuyou Sect now focused on running their barbecue business and lacking a target to divert the Dynasty’s attention, the Yaoyang Sect had nearly been discovered by the Dynasty on several occasions.
If this continued, their exposure was inevitable.
Elder Chi made several copies of the intelligence report and distributed them, letting the high-ranking members see the strength of the Heavenly Court Sect.
With two Immortals presiding, they could easily overturn Great Xia, and the current situation of the demonic sect being chased by Great Xia was not at all on the same level.
Obviously, the top echelons of the Yaoyang Sect were also shocked by the might of Sect Leader Yun; they simply were not qualified to plot against such an entity.
They were probably going to be wiped out before they even had the chance to scheme, leaving no trace of their souls behind.
"Another Immortal, the Ancient Heavenly Court is truly fearsome."
"Do you remember the Phoenix Ancestor? She is one of the Four Imperial Protectors, which suggests that the other three are also Semi-Immortals."
"I heard from the Jiuyou Sect that the enemies of the Ancient Heavenly Court were the Four Ancient Immortals. If they didn’t deceive me, the Ancient Heavenly Court probably has yet more cards up its sleeve."
"So we are to seek refuge with the Heavenly Court Sect? It’s absurd. Are we to hand over the foundation of our sect just because the Heavenly Court Sect is powerful?"
"Do they believe in the power of the sun? Can they help us spread the faith so that all people worship the power of the sun?"
"We aren’t handing anything over, just seeking protection. It’s not as serious as you think!"
"Not serious? I’m afraid we might not have a say in the matter when the time comes!"
The high-ranking officials argued fiercely, each holding to their convictions and not giving way to the others.
The elder with the most seniority stroked his beard and slowly said, "The Ancient Heavenly Court indeed has its strengths, but this does not mean we should align ourselves with the Heavenly Court."
"The Yaoyang Sect has its pride; how can it live under others?"
"If we were to seek refuge with the Heavenly Court, it still remains to be seen whether we’d become part of the Heavenly Court, or just cannon fodder for them!"
Many people agreed with the elder’s remarks.
"Indeed, we can’t entrust our fate to others."
"Moreover, as long as we produce results and make the world believe in the power of the sun, then we can follow the example of our ancient ancestors and use the power of faith to imbue the sun with life. When the supreme Sun God is there to protect us, our sect will not necessarily be weaker than the Heavenly Court!"
The founder of the Yaoyang Sect was an archaeologist who discovered that in times even more ancient than the Four Ancient Immortals, the ancestors were exploring cultivation systems and their faith gave life to the objects of their worship, which the ancestors referred to as "deities."
This also spawned the breakthrough to the "Divinity Transformation Stage."
From the outset, the Yaoyang Sect set a goal to draw strength from the sun, to spread its greatness, to make all people believe in the sun, and to turn the sun into a true deity.
Elder Chi felt that there was some sense to it.
"Since we cannot reach a consensus, let’s each make a concession. We can try to make contact with Saint Heir Long Jingzhou and thus get close to the Heavenly Court Sect. How about that?"
This proposal from Elder Chi met with unanimous agreement from the high-ranking members.
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…
After the meeting was adjourned, Sect Leader Chi let out a sigh of relief—it was finally over.
"I don’t even know when this damn job as Sect Leader will end."
When he was just a low-level Cultivator, his favorite activity was watching the stars and moon at night, but back then, his Cultivation Level was too low to see them clearly.
By chance, he discovered that looking at objects through two lenses made them appear larger.
Based on this discovery, he invented a telescope that could clearly view the stars.
After applying for the patent, he heard about a nearby astronomy enthusiast group and found his way to the organization, following the trail.
Only after joining did he realize that it was actually a damn demonic sect.
Once you join the Jiuyou Sect, you can’t leave; leaving means death, so he had no choice but to join obediently.
He originally intended to keep a low profile and live out his days quietly, but the higher-ups, upon learning that he invented the telescope, decided he was a talent worth cultivating. They promoted him rapidly, and before he knew it, he had mixed his way into the upper echelon.
Having reached the high ranks, he thought he might as well spend his life just mixing through.
But then when it came to electing the Sect Leader, he was unexpectedly elected with a high number of votes, on the grounds that his bald head resembled the sun.
He even comforted himself that being the Sect Leader wasn’t so bad—at least no one would boss him around.
Then he realized that this position of Sect Leader was a pitfall—nice-sounding it was called Sect Leader, but cruder terms would be a sacrifice.
Whenever the Yaoyang Sect faced significant setbacks, like unsuccessful solar research or several strongholds being taken down by the Dynasty, the higher-ups believed this was the Sun God’s punishment to the Yaoyang Sect, demanding the Sect Leader to make a sacrifice to heaven.
This wasn’t as simple as the Sect Leader kowtowing to the sun a few times; it meant the Sect Leader becoming a sacrifice, personally offering himself to heaven. It was said to be a tradition left by the first Sect Leader.
Take the sun-climbing experiment for instance—if it failed again, he feared he would be the next one to undertake the trial.
He was promoted from high-level to Sect Leader so swiftly he hadn’t even had time to find out how the previous Sect Leader had died.
It was only after becoming Sect Leader that he learned previously the sky was dominated solely by the sun with the stars being nothing but Illusory Shadows, and the Yaoyang Sect had always regarded this as a symbol of the sun’s greatness.
Then one day, the stars were no longer Illusory Shadows, but real, vivid celestial bodies, and the sun was no longer the sole ruler of the sky.
This incident caused panic within the Yaoyang Sect, leading them to believe it was an ominous sign, which resulted in the sacrifice of the previous Sect Leader.
Sect Leader Chi was terrified when he heard this, afraid the higher-ups would find a reason to sacrifice him as well, but thankfully, they were relatively rational and did not continue the practice of sacrificing consecutive Sect Leaders.
The higher-ups were all at the Body Integration Realm, and the most senior Elder was even at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage; he had absolutely no way to resist.
During his tenure, he had faced several major incidents—those that would require the sacrifice of a Sect Leader. He had survived safely because he had his own methods.
He had invented the telescope, and patent revenue poured in, generating vast wealth. According to the rules, he was supposed to pay taxes.
When it came to the point where it was necessary to sacrifice the Sect Leader, he would deliberately avoid paying taxes, letting the Dynasty take him away, for they didn’t know he was a Sect Leader of the demonic sect and handled him as an ordinary Body Integration Realm tax evader.
Normally, one would be imprisoned for a few decades, and after he was released from prison, he would continue being the Sect Leader, with the higher-ups no longer bringing up the topic of sacrifice.
"If only I could defect to the Heavenly Court Sect," he thought. It was certainly safer than this accursed place.
He took out a Token; this was a Yaoyang Token, which worked the same way as a Jiuyou Token, enabling long-distance communication.
When he last met with the Heavenly Court Sect, he had given one Token to each person. Enjoy exclusive chapters from freewebnovel
"This one should belong to Saint Heir Long Jingzhou."