Chapter 1379: The Cause and Reason
“A sect stronger than you wants you to pay tribute. A sect on par with you will want to seize your territory. The world is just that chaotic, that cruel. One mistake, and the lives of the entire sect are forfeit!”
At this point, Ren Yanyu paused.
The big fish eats the small fish. The law of the jungle was all too normal in the cultivation world. Unless the Broken Army Sect could one day produce a Void Refining cultivator, only then would they have some confidence.
“And second-rate sects and families like the Pure Yang Hall, just like us and the Dragon-Catching Sect, are constantly fighting over cultivation resources, and also thinking about how to eliminate the other party.”
“Some of these struggles can be fought out in the open, with direct slaughter and plunder. Others, due to the constraints and balance maintained by the first-rate sects, will employ other means of competition.”
“Second-rate sects like the Pure Yang Hall have a much wider sphere of influence. For a Nascent Soul cultivator like me, it would probably take several years of non-stop flying to get from one side of their territory to the other…”
Hearing this, Li Yan was inwardly speechless. Although he had long known how vast the Immortal Spirit Realm was, the scope of a second-rate sect’s territory was something that even the top-tier sects of the lower realm could not compare to.
And such a colossal second-rate sect was just a drop in the ocean in the Immortal Spirit Realm.
There were also some reasons here that Li Yan was unaware of. The larger a sect was, the wider its territory, but it didn’t necessarily mean it had more subordinate cultivation sects or families.
Usually, they would only allocate a portion of their territory for others to use, keeping the larger portion for themselves. This was because many places were dangerous and unexplored territories that they had yet to fully excavate.
This was why Li Yan had seen many places with rich Spiritual Energy but no sects established when he was out and about.
After a third-rate sect like the Blood Lantern Sect received its assigned territory from a subordinate of the Pure Yang Hall, they would likewise only give a portion to the likes of the Broken Army Sect, keeping the larger portion with richer cultivation resources for themselves.
There were even some areas that the Pure Yang Hall had not yet explored before directly allocating them.
When a third-rate sect like the Blood Lantern Sect got their hands on such a territory, even though they knew that their superiors were using them as cannon fodder to uncover its secrets, they would still keep it for themselves and explore it at the risk of their lives. This way, if they succeeded, even if they weren’t sure if the Pure Yang Hall would take it back, at least they would be the first to get their hands on the best treasures.
“…The Pure Yang Hall itself has many more areas to inspect. In addition, the Pure Yang Hall cannot give its subordinate sects no benefits at all.”
“Therefore, besides giving each sect its own territory and arranging for some resource-rich locations, they would also generally demarcate some particularly dangerous and unexplored areas.”
“Often, such an area, if allocated to any single sect, might not be able to be explored to uncover its secrets. So, it is left for several subordinate sects to explore together.”
“And the matter I’m talking about is related to one such previously unexplored area!”
“This secret realm is jointly explored by its four subordinate sects and families: the Blood Lantern Sect, the Seven Tigers Alliance, the Spirit Subduing Manor, and the Heavenly Mountain Garden.”
“In the early stages, many people died trying to investigate the situation inside.”
“At that time, as long as they were Foundation Establishment or higher disciples of their sects, including us subordinate sects, they could all go and investigate.”
“Under such circumstances, countless low-level disciples died, and even seven of their Spirit Transformation cultivators perished inside.”
“The price paid for excavation and exploration was considerable. Of course, I’ve only read about this in the classics, because it happened a long time ago.”
“Here, apart from a third-rate sect like the Blood Lantern Sect, which has continued to exist due to the balancing protection of its superior sect, small sects like ours have been replaced time and time again.”
“Over the years, they have explored some areas of that secret realm and have also obtained many benefits from it.”
“Although some of the top-tier treasures were taken by the Pure Yang Hall, the remaining treasures, herbs, and other cultivation resources are still exceptionally precious, enough to make these four third-rate sects and families ecstatic.”
“After opening up these unknown areas, the superior sect, apart from stipulating that treasures and herbs that reached a certain grade must be handed over, did not take back that secret realm.”
“This allowed the four major powers, relying on the benefits obtained from this secret realm, to produce one Spirit Transformation, and even Void Refining, expert after another!”
As Ren Yanyu said this, a look of longing also appeared in her eyes.
“And in that secret realm, there grows a ‘Great Nothingness Tree.’ The ‘Great Nothingness Fruit’ that grows on it is the main ingredient for a pill called the ‘Divine Void Pill,’ which is refined when a Spirit Transformation cultivator advances to the Void Refining Realm…”
When Li Yan heard this, his perpetually calm expression finally showed a slight change. This “Great Nothingness Fruit” was actually a heavenly material and earthly treasure for advancing to the Void Refining Realm.
This was the first time he had heard of this treasure. The Immortal Spirit Realm was indeed the Immortal Spirit Realm; one could so easily obtain clues about such a heavenly treasure.
On the other side, Ren Yanyu continued her narrative.
“…Due to the laws of heaven and earth in the secret realm, the ‘Great Nothingness Fruit,’ which matures every five hundred years in the outside world, matures every three hundred and thirty-three years in the secret realm.”
“That ‘Great Nothingness Tree’ can bear thirteen Great Nothingness Fruits each time. Nine of them will be taken by the Pure Yang Hall first.”
“The remaining four are left for the subordinate sects and families to compete for, in order to hone the combat strength of their cultivators and encourage them to constantly strive for improvement, thereby increasing the overall strength of the Pure Yang Hall.”
“Because the ‘Great Nothingnothingness Fruit’ is a treasure for advancing to the Void Refining Realm, the four major sects and families would fight to the death whenever they acted. This was a situation the superior sect was unwilling to see, as it would clearly decrease their overall strength.”
“Therefore, the Pure Yang Hall stipulated that a large number of Spirit Transformation cultivators were not allowed to participate, only teams of Spirit Transformation cultivators were allowed to compete.”
“Thus, every time the ‘Great Nothingness Fruit’ matures, it is led by a Spirit Transformation cultivator, who leads a group of Nascent Soul cultivators in a team to compete for it.”
“The four sects and families also have their own plans. They don’t want too many of their Nascent Soul cultivators to perish either, as that would shake their foundations.”
“So they require their subordinate sects to also send people to help in the competition. A small sect like ours must send one Nascent Soul cultivator from each family to participate in the small team led by the Blood Lantern Sect’s Spirit Transformation cultivator.”
“Adding the Blood Lantern Sect’s own Nascent Soul cultivators, a team has about ten people. If there are many subordinate sects, some sects might not even need to send anyone to fight. The specific participating cultivators are arranged by the third-rate sect itself.”
“The Blood Lantern Sect has many subordinate Nascent Soul cultivators. My senior brother and I have both participated a long time ago and haven’t for a long time. This time, we’ve been assigned the task again, and it’s something that simply cannot be refused.”
After saying this, Ren Yanyu paused again. She saw a questioning look in Li Yan’s eyes.
Sure enough, when Li Yan saw her pause, he knew she was leaving an opening for him to ask questions, and he didn’t hold back.
“There are only four ‘Great Nothingness Fruits.’ They surely won’t be for us. What kind of benefits do the small sects get for sending cultivators to help?”
Li Yan didn’t think that with only four “Great Nothingness Fruits,” any would fall to the subordinate small sects, but the Blood Lantern Sect wouldn’t let their subordinate sects contribute for nothing.
“Elder Li is right. The ‘Great Nothingness Fruit’ can only fall into the hands of the four sects and cultivation families of the Blood Lantern Sect. The rewards for a small sect like ours are not certain.”
“It depends on whether the Blood Lantern Sect can obtain the ‘Great Nothingness Fruit’ that time, and how much we contributed in the competition.”
“If the Blood Lantern Sect returns empty-handed, our reward will be some magical treasures and medicinal pills, and the tribute we have to pay in the following years will be reduced to varying degrees.”
“If we render meritorious service in this operation, we will generally be rewarded with three to five supreme-grade Spirit Stones and a large reduction in the sect’s tribute. For us, this is also a considerable benefit.”
“After all, the main combatants there are the Spirit Transformation cultivators, not us. We just need to stop others from interfering with our own Spirit Transformation cultivators.”
“Of course, this is not absolute. Sometimes, when the Spirit Transformation cultivators of various parties are locked in a battle and cannot determine a winner, and are in a stalemate.”
“Then the task of picking the ‘Great Nothingness Fruit’ will be completed by us!”
Ren Yanyu explained to Li Yan.
Li Yan nodded. He had understood the ins and outs of this matter. After thinking for a moment, he asked again.
“Fellow Daoist Ren, besides being the main ingredient for refining the ‘Divine Void Pill,’ does the ‘Great Nothingness Fruit’ have any other uses?”
“The ‘Great Nothingness Fruit’ is not only the main ingredient for refining the ‘Divine Void Pill,’ but also the main ingredient in many pills for Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation cultivators, and the effect is even better.”
“If a Nascent Soul cultivator consumes it directly when facing the heavenly tribulation during Spirit Transformation, it can form a membrane between their internal organs to help them transcend the tribulation, increasing the success rate of Spirit Transformation by about twenty percent.”
Ren Yanyu was not surprised by Li Yan’s question. As a cultivator, he would naturally be interested in heavenly materials and earthly treasures. And since he was a cultivator who had ascended from the lower realm, it was natural that he didn’t know much about these things.
Sure enough, after hearing this, even Ren Yanyu could see his surprise.
Li Yan pondered for a moment before asking again.
“Then won’t the ‘Great Nothingness Fruit’ be damaged during the competition?”
This time, after hearing Li Yan’s words, Ren Yanyu’s beautiful eyes narrowed. She then gave Li Yan a meaningful look, but Li Yan’s expression had already returned to calm.
“During the competition, the fruit will of course be damaged, but it basically happens in front of everyone. So even if it is damaged, everyone knows how it was damaged, and everyone knows how many are left in the end.”
“Situations where one would rather destroy the ‘Great Nothingness Fruit’ if they can’t get it, especially when under siege, are not unheard of, but there is absolutely no way to secretly take it away.”
“Because after coming out, every cultivator’s storage pouch must be thoroughly inspected by the leading Spirit Transformation cultivator. Finally, they will verify the quantity. It’s very difficult to fish in troubled waters!”
Ren Yanyu was born with a heroic spirit and never liked to mince words. She seemed to have seen right through Li Yan’s thoughts.
Li Yan rubbed his nose. After hearing her account, he had indeed had some ideas, especially after learning that the “Great Nothingness Fruit” could be used against the Spirit Transformation heavenly tribulation and increase the success rate by twenty percent. He was extremely tempted.
Now, Li Yan was back in the same situation as when he had just entered the Malevolent Spirit Sect. Back then, he had to complete his Foundation Establishment as soon as possible to return home.
And now, his strength in the Immortal Spirit Realm was just like back then, just a small ant. And Li Yan still wanted to “go home,” so he had to work hard at all times and seize every opportunity.
Even though his thoughts had been seen through, Li Yan was not embarrassed.
He suddenly remembered something and asked again.
“By the way, isn’t the Pure Yang Hall afraid that a Void Refining cultivator will appear in the Blood Lantern Sect if they give them the ‘Great Nothingness Fruit’?”
Hearing this, Ren Yanyu immediately understood the meaning behind Li Yan’s words.
After Li Yan returned from the Donglin Family last time, he had relayed the words that their Supreme Grand Elder wanted to say to Shangguan Tianque to her.
At that time, it had set off a stormy sea in Ren Yanyu’s heart. She had not expected that the Supreme Elder of the Donglin Family would also have an accident when preparing for Spirit Transformation.
Li Yan’s words now were because of that incident. She shook her head.
“The Pure Yang Hall has controlled the four sects and families for too long. They have long since planted many pawns in these forces. Many of the important positions in the four major sects and families are held by people from the Pure Yang Hall.”
“If a Void Refining Realm expert appears below, he will be directly pulled up to be an elder of the Pure Yang Hall. To put it bluntly, he’ll be a hostage. Otherwise, your sect can just leave this place on its own.”
“This is completely different from us. If a Spirit Transformation cultivator appears among us, we can become independent at any time. And the most important point here is that the Blood Lantern Sect’s territory is also extremely vast, so vast that you can’t bear to part with it.”
“Even if he wanted to go out and establish his own sect, because his family and business are so large, it would be very difficult to find such a suitable foundation for a sect again. Wherever they go, they will arouse the resistance of other forces.”
“All of this can only be said that the Blood Lantern Sect is not yet strong enough and still needs to rely on other forces to support the survival of such a large sect.”
“Unless they are forced into a corner, they will not go out to establish their own sect. Otherwise, they will just be a piece of fat meat coveted by others.”
“A sect like the Broken Army Sect is different. Just a few Nascent Soul cultivators and a territory of tens of thousands of li. In fact, it’s pretty much the same whoever they are subordinate to.”
“Once someone in the sect achieves Spirit Transformation, they might go in search of a more suitable place. Unless one day they reach the vast foundation of a sect like the Blood Lantern Sect, only then will they be at ease being subordinate to a certain second-rate sect!”
Ren Yanyu stopped explaining here.
But Li Yan had already understood. His side was too weak. It was like a rogue cultivator. If you wanted to join a sect, the other party would still have to see if you were strong enough.