Chapter 283 The Way of Heaven
Chapter 283 The Way of Heaven
Dashang.
One of the Four Great Immortal Dynasties, the legacy of the Human Emperor Shang Tang.
Immortal Martial Sect.
One of the three great Martial Ancestries, the legacy of Emperor Pan Wu.
Heavenly Dao Sect.
One of the Ten Great Immortal Paths, the legacy of Dao Venerable Hongmeng.
Three Pure Sanctuaries.
Also one of the Ten Great Immortal Paths, where Supreme Purity, Xuan Qing, and Xu Qing all attained the Immortal Path in their time, their glory boundless. To this day, passed down through generations, its prestige ever-increasing, currently the most prominent Immortal Path force in the Northern Sea.
Alkaid reviewed the descriptions of these forces one by one.
As Li Hanqiu had said, Dashang was no longer suitable as an option. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire
Originally, Dashang was shared between noble families and imperial authority, but now, the Shang Emperor had centralized power excessively, seeking to emulate the former Human Emperor Shang Tang by initiating an unprecedented era of prosperity in the Immortal Path. However, the emperor himself was limited in capability, stubborn, and jealous of talented individuals, lacking the inclusiveness necessary to stabilize his rule. Consequently, Dashang was unstable, deteriorating day by day, with some Prefectures rising in rebellion under the incitement of interested parties, making it not a good place for cultivation development.
The Immortal Martial Sect wasn't bad, but it followed a combined path of Immortal and Martial arts. The sect's disciples competed fiercely, striving for self-preservation, and people had to switch to practicing as War Immortals for strength, leading to a prevalence of War Immortals. Although currently appearing mighty, it was at the cost of sacrificing potential, difficult to sustain in the long run.
The remaining Three Pure Sanctuaries, despite being powerful, were dominated by the clans of Supreme Purity, Xuan Qing, and Xu Qing. These three families exploited outsiders to the extreme, treating them as cannon fodder, and internally, they also fought ceaselessly, each intending to dominate the Sanctuaries alone.
The last option, Heavenly Dao Sect, could only be considered the tallest among the short.
The inner quarrels among Dao Vein, Immortal Vein, War Vein, and Heavenly Vein were incessant, and the frequency of elders killing disciples was higher than that in Immortal Martial Sect and Three Pure Sanctuaries.
Alkaid frowned deeply as he analyzed.
"These forces... Each one has issues, especially some decisions made by the ruling class, which are akin to a makeshift troupe."
However, a world that grouped thousands of mighty powers into one and could scavenge sufficient resources to become strong was enough; why waste so much effort and thought on other aspects?
As long as you are powerful enough, there are always people who will follow your will.
Even if many things seem completely illogical.
After a while, he still set his sights on the Heavenly Dao Sect.
It took half a day, but after thoroughly understanding the situation of this sect, Alkaid sought out Li Hanqiu.
...
"Heavenly Dao Sect, huh? I thought you would choose the Three Pure Sanctuaries since they're strong enough."
Li Hanqiu was a bit surprised.
"The Three Pure Sanctuaries practice extreme exclusion. What's most important for us is to make a big impression, but if we join the Three Pure Sanctuaries, unless we can get into the clans of Supreme Purity, Xuan Qing, or Xu Qing, that banner we raise won't carry much deterrent force,"
Alkaid explained, pausing for a moment. "Besides, compared to other sects, Heavenly Dao Sect has one major advantage, which is the Great Dao Golden Book left by Dao Venerable Hongmeng."
The Great Dao Golden Book.
During the years Li Hanqiu collected information on the Heavenly Dao Sect, he obviously knew this Spiritual Treasure like the back of his hand.
This was a top Dao Artifact fashioned by Dao Venerable Hongmeng at a great cost, and every Dao Lord of the Heavenly Dao Sect had added their own Dao to the Golden Book through generations, its accumulated power having long exceeded anyone's imagination.
And the Great Dao Golden Book had always abided by the rules written within.
These few regulations defined the baseline for the Heavenly Dao Sect.
"Then let's settle on the Heavenly Dao Sect. I'll take you there right now,"
said Li Hanqiu.
"No."
Alkaid shook his head. "The Immortal Martial Sect and Dashang have started their probes, and the sect cannot afford to be without you, True Monarch. I plan to go there by myself."
"But that means crossing the Sea of Turmoil…"
"It's a good opportunity to go around the Sea of Turmoil. On one hand, it will help accumulate some funds for the internal assessment of Heavenly Dao Sect disciples, and on the other hand, it can provide us a chance to pick a new site for our sect."
Alkaid said, unable to help himself. "The Cloud River Mountains are just too impoverished, lacking any significant industry."
Li Hanqiu nodded in agreement.
No wonder Dashang and the Immortal Martial Sect hardly took the Cloud River Mountains seriously, this land was indeed poor.
The locals here were truly destitute, and any cultivator with a bit of capability would not stay long in this place.
"To avoid wasting time, I'll set off right now."
"Delaying time isn't really an issue. Heavenly Dao Sect recruits disciples every five years, quite frequently. To them, this is a big business,"
said Li Hanqiu.
He spoke the truth. Most Immortal Path forces recruit disciples once every ten years, or even every twenty or thirty years.
The ones doing it every five years were only a few sects like the Heavenly Dao Sect.
The reason was that the assessment fee for Outer Sect disciples was a thousand Pure Yang Great Pills, and for Inner Sect disciples, it furthermore required ten thousand Pure Yang Great Pills.
This deal was very profitable.
The Heavenly Dao Sect was naturally willing to hold these events more frequently.
"The last recruitment of disciples happened four years ago. Missing this time would mean waiting another five years, and five years is not a short time for me,"
Alkaid said with a smile.
Seeing his determination, Li Hanqiu did not insist further; instead, he helped him prepare a few things that might be needed for a long journey.
...
Afternoon.
Alkaid met with Su Yaoyu.
Seeing Alkaid, Su Yaoyu appeared very delighted.
Alkaid briefly talked with her and quickly produced two Jade Talismans, "One of these Jade Talismans is for you. It contains cultivation experience from the Unity Realm to the Nascent Soul Realm. Resources are abundant on the Northern Sea Star, even those of ordinary talent can become high-rank cultivators. Take this for now, let's not speak of distant goals. First, cultivate to the Nascent Soul Realm, by then you'll enjoy a lifespan of a thousand years. The remaining Heavenly Fire Realm... wait for my return to break through."
"Yes."
Su Yaoyu nodded.
She clearly understood that the only one they could rely on now was this younger brother.
"The other Jade Talisman is for Yaoxue, Lin Xia, Leng Jun, and the others. I've compiled it on the cultivation insights of the Constant Light Realm, Crimson Red Golden Core, and Sunburst Golden Core. As long as they can comprehend and learn from it, improving by thirty to fifty percent and breaking through the boundaries shouldn't be difficult."
"This one..."
Su Yaoyu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Shouldn't you… give it to Yaoxue personally?"
Alkaid understood her meaning.
In recent years, his interactions with Su Yaoxue, Su Yaoshuang, and Su Yaoqin had been too limited, almost like strangers.
"You give it to them first, everything else, we'll discuss once we've firmly established ourselves on the Northern Sea Star," Alkaid said.
Hearing this, Su Yaoyu didn't feel it was her place to interfere with Alkaid's plans, taking the Jade Talisman, "I will urge Yaoshuang and Yaoqin to diligently cultivate, striving to assist them in reaching the Nascent Soul Realm early."
"Good."
Alkaid responded casually.
However, seeing her somewhat downcast mood, after a moment's thought, he added, "As the eldest sister, you must take good care of this family."
It was a simple statement, but it seemed to affirm Su Yaoyu's role, lighting up her eyes. She nodded joyfully, "Rest assured, I will take good care of Yaoshuang and Yaoqin."
Alkaid glanced at her and nodded with a smile.
He casually dealt with these minor matters.
The next morning, Alkaid left the Nine Heavens Sect accompanied by Li Qingshan, Li Hanqiu, and others.
Accompanying him was Xu Nianhua, who had cultivated to the Crimson Red Golden Core Realm.
He would follow by Alkaid's side, handling some minor matters.
The reason it was only Xu Nianhua, on one hand, the others were too low in cultivation; going would only hold him back, and on the other hand, Xu had remarkable talent. Now in his fifties, he had already cultivated a Crimson Red Golden Core and was qualified to assess Outer Sect disciples.
Heading to the Heavenly Dao Sect, he would also adapt to the "ordinary" cultivator's cultivation and competitive environment in a top sect.
...
Sword light ripped through the sky.
Maintaining the speed of the Crimson Red Golden Core Level, Alkaid and Xu Nianhua soared through the high skies.
In just one day, the two had crossed the Cloud River Mountains and entered the Sea of Turmoil connected to the mountain range.
Several hours into the Sea of Turmoil, on the horizon appeared a swath of clouds stretching thousands of miles.
"Avoid it," Alkaid said.
Although this cluster of clouds did not look terrifying, in the Sea of Turmoil, it was necessary to remain cautious.
This sea area was directly affected by the Star Core, resulting in stronger forces acting on this region compared to others, thereby causing various extreme environmental conditions.
Hurricanes, thunderstorms, ice storms, and other natural disasters were extremely common.
The hurricanes on the Northern Sea Star stirred up were composed of Spiritual Power, which followed the "Stellar Power Field" of the Northern Sea Star and could even induce Dao Resonance, equivalent to the residual energy waves emitted by a Dao Lord Level powerhouse.
Although not capable of gathering this force to specifically target anyone like human cultivators, it still posed a lethal threat to ordinary cultivators.
A Buddha sees 48,000 creatures in a bowl of water.
In the eyes of a being at the Dao Lord level, cultivators below the Hollow Void Realm were as insignificant as the 48,000 creatures in a bowl of water; a mere inhalation or exhalation could create hurricanes capable of destroying a large island and wiping out all 48,000 cultivators residing on it.
The two avoided the cloud cluster and missed an island on their route that could have been used for recovery and meditation.
Fortunately, they were not those low-level cultivators; even missing one resting point, they could endure a bit more and continue on to the next waypoint.
Even on the Northern Sea Star, a cultivator of the Crimson Red Golden Core was considered moderately accomplished. Apart from the enormous powers of the Ten Great Immortal Paths, in medium and small forces, a Crimson Red Golden Core could even act as an Elder.
After another day's flight, Xu Nianhua suddenly sensed something and exclaimed, "True Person."
At the same moment, he looked downwards.
He saw a large ship on the sea attempting to avoid a storm had veered off course and entered the sight of a band of thieves, now under attack by six smaller vessels.
Both sides had numerous cultivators at the Heavenly Fire Realm and Constant Light Realm. The three leading figures had even reached the Crimson Red Golden Core standard.
These people, with their sword control, surrounded the battleship, engaging in intense combat within this space of tens of miles.
"Ignore it," Alkaid said.
Minding one's own business was a survival rule for all cultivators on Northern Sea Star.
However, just then, a female cultivator at the Constant Light Realm suddenly shouted, "Uncle Three! Our reinforcements have arrived! Our cargo is saved!"
As she spoke, she quickly ascended into the void, "Big Brother Five, Big Brother Six, you've finally come! The Black Shark Thieves are doomed!"
While shouting, she also sent a Divine Sense message to both: "We are True Disciples from Panlong Island. Please, both True Persons, lend us a hand. If successful, we are willing to reward with a thousand Pure Yang Great Pills! Otherwise, if we all die here while you just happen to pass by, Panlong Island will surely investigate thoroughly!"