In the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System, ten peerless cultivation methods existed, known as the Ten Heavenly Scriptures. The Five Element Method practiced by the majority of the Buzhou Immortal Sect was derived from the Five Phases Heavenly Scripture.
Xia Meng, or rather Sect Master Xia as he was most commonly known now, started out cultivating the Metal Book of the Five Element Method when he still had been a disciple. When he reached the True Immortal Realm, he focused on mastering the Law of Metal. The moment he did so, he stepped into the Seamless Immortal Realm.
For the next tens of thousands of years, he focused on cultivating the rest of the books: Fire Book, Water Book, Wood Book, and Earth Book. Each book increased the cultivator's sensitivity toward the corresponding elemental law, and he had mastered four of the five. He was just missing mastery of the Law of Earth.
The final inspiration Sect Master Xia needed came from the most unexpected place, Xi Tianyi, a junior who was not even a hundredth of his age.
The moment he mastered all five books of the Five Element Method, the Daotree within Sect Master Xia began to tremble. At the top of the tree, a small flower bud began to emerge. It was a tiny thing, almost inconspicuous. As time passed, it began to grow larger but never blooming.
Sect Master Xia's body began to devour the surrounding spiritual qi like crazy, as if his body was a black hole. When Sect Master Xia opened his eyes, calm confidence exuded from his gaze. He no longer emanated the aura of an immortal monarch but an immortal emperor.
"Congratulations on your advancement," Tianyi said as he appeared in the unique space.
Sect Master Xia laughed happily. The more he looked at Tianyi, the more pleased he felt. "Thank you, Little Xi. If you hadn't shown me this, who knows how long it would have taken me to reach the Extremity Immortal Realm."
"Next, you have to absorb the other versions of yourself in other timelines, right?" Tianyi asked.
Sect Master Xia nodded. "Among other aspects."
"So, I assume that Sect Master is going to retreat and consolidate your gains?" Tianyi asked.
Sect Master Xia made an apologetic expression. "We'll have to discuss this matter another day."
Tianyi nodded in understanding. The moment one broke through was when they gained the most insights. Missing this opportune moment for any reason was practically a crime. Tianyi's Past Incarnation teleported Sect Master Xia back to his abode and resumed control of Cultivation Online while his main body opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was his mother staring unblinkingly at him. Ignoring his spiking heartbeat, Tianyi closed his eyes once more. It was not just Sect Master Xia who gained something, Tianyi also had his gains. When Sect Master Xia realized his epiphany, his understanding was also relayed to Tianyi, thanks to being in the Nine Heavens Universe.
Sect Master Xia's understanding was not something Jinshu, Jadewill, Fairy Firefly, Southfist, or any of the other beta testers could compare to, even if they had cultivated for a hundred years inside Cultivation Online.
During the hundred years that Ba Shifang played the role of the Sword Sovereign’s son, he had mastered four of the five elemental laws, which Tianyi had mastered as well after synchronizing with his clone. And thanks to Sect Master Xia, Tianyi also mastered the last of the five elemental laws.
The moment he did so, he could feel the Nine Heavens Universe changing, evolving.
The changes disrupted the system of Cultivation Online he had put in place, so Tianyi expelled all the beta testers. In the universe, a new constellation emerged. After the Vermillion Bird, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise Constellation, the Yellow Constellation emerged in the spot between all four of them.
The heavenly body closest to the solar star in the center of the universe after Eight Heaven was naturally Seventh Heaven, and it stopped producing immortal qi, releasing essence instead.
Along with the increase of essence, Tianyi felt his control of the universe increase. He immediately began to manage it to become orderly. Compared to the numerous stars, Tianyi discovered that stars were actually in the minority. Around eighty percent of them were debris, and nineteen percent were rogue planets. The last percentage was actual solar systems of planets orbiting stars.
They were so far away that it would be practically impossible for anyone but Tianyi to travel to them from another solar system. Even divinities would need countless years to travel between solar systems.
Under Tianyi's control, he moved the rogue planets to orbit pre-existing stars, artificially creating solar systems. While he was doing this, he teleported Ba Shifang into Ninth Heaven, where he displayed the last elemental law Ba Shifang needed to master.
Tianyi had a sudden thought. 'Huh, my clone is going to have the same amount of laws mastered as an immortal emperor like Sect Master Xia. Too bad we can't convert our mastery directly into combat prowess.'
He began to focus on comprehending other laws, such as the Law of Death and the Law of Life. His mastery of the five elemental laws boosted his sensitivity toward other laws with a multiplicative effect. The more laws he mastered, the faster he would master newer laws.
While Tianyi was comprehending the worldly laws, the outside world shook. Buzhou Immortal Sect once more had three immortal emperors. In addition, they now had an immortal sovereign, cementing their hegemonic power in the entire Huang Realm.
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When Immortal Pathway, the sect master of the Eight Pillar Sect, sought an audience with the grand elders, he was directly summoned by Emperor Infinity. Upon entering, he saw Emperor Infinity and Soulseek waiting for him.
"Grand Elders, the Buzhou Immortal Sect has a new emperor!"
Emperor Infinity sighed. He could not blame Monarch Pathway for losing control of his emotions. "Did the Buzhou Immortal Sect reply to our request for aid?"
Monarch Pathway shook his head. "They claim they don't have time with the unrest rising in the Heaven Continent."
The three people stayed silent. They knew that once the Buzhou Immortal Sect destroyed the Tripartite Alliance and the Anti-Heaven Alliance, they would have no more enemies. Although they may lose a portion of their strength and members in the war, they would no longer have any force opposing them. Their development would progress at an unprecedented rate, and perhaps, no other force than the Buzhou Immortal Sect would exist.
What would happen if everything was united under them? Would they be content to stay in Heaven Continent? The answer was no, and they would set their sights on the other two continents.
"Perhaps they would set their sights on the Saintly Scholar School?" Monarch Pathway hopefully asked.
Emperor Soulseak shook his head. "Although the Saintly Scholar School is new, its founder Lao Tzu, cannot be underestimated. Compared to the calm Mortal Continent, if I were Buzhou Immortal Sect, I would set my sights on Earth Continent. The turbulent period is better for them. They might even ally with the Anti-Earth Alliance and have both sides injure the other before swooping in to take over."
Sweat coated Monarch Pathway's back as he visualized the scenario. "Please guide me, what should we do?"
Emperor Infinity and Emperor Soulseek turned silent. What could they use to force the Buzhou Immortal Sect to move? What was more enticing to them than becoming the hegemon of the whole Huang Realm?
"In addition to the realm artifact, offer the Extreme Yin Mantra or the Extreme Yang Tempering Method if they come to our aid," Emperor Infinity said.
"Grand Elder!?" Monarch Pathway cried out. "We musn't! The Extreme Yin Mantra and the Extreme Yang Tempering Method are derived from the Yin-Yang Heavenly Scripture and are the core of our sect's inheritance. The consequences will be unimaginable if we hand it over!"
"Shortsighted," Emperor Infinity said. "What use are these two methods if the Eight Pillar Sect is destroyed? Besides, it would take a long time for the Buzhou Immortal Sect to digest the method, the time that we need. Either choice is a gamble."
"We can continue as we are now, defeat the Anti-Earth Alliance while sustaining major losses. One of us might even die," Emperor Infinity said, motioning toward himself and Soulseek. "If, by some chance, the Buzhou Immortal Sect sustains heavy losses like us, the board would be reset. But do you think the Buzhou Immortal Sect will sustain more losses than us?"
Monarch Pathway stayed silent.
"Even if their Sword Sovereign somehow dies against the Cloud Goddess, that would still leave them with three immortal emperors, or two at the most optimal. However, such chances are too low. The Tripartite Alliance and Anti-Heaven Alliance do not have a single Immortal Emperor," Emperor Infinity continued. "That's why we must take a gamble. Gamble that we can use them to eliminate the Anti-Earth Alliance and cause them heavy losses even if they become the sole hegemon of the Heaven Continent."
"After that, the Heaven and Earth Continents will have no opposing force. From there, it will be a gamble to see which side can accumulate enough forces to launch a war against the other side," Emperor Infinity said. "Send your disciple, Duan Muli, as a hostage if you have time. It's clear that Yang Linyin possesses the greater talent, and he reached the True Immortal Realm much earlier than your disciple."
Monarch Pathway sank into deep thought. Finally, he sighed. "As Grand Elder Infinity wishes."
After Monarch Pathway left, Emperor Infinity sighed. "Do you think I'm being foolish?"
"No," Emperor Soulseek said. "Compared to you, I understand your urgency more. In my time, the Eight Pillar Sect and Buzhou Immortal Sect were actually more equal in strength, but when it came to your era, the difference in strength also increased. Now, it's even further apart. The more time passes, the difference in our strength will increase even more until we are nothing but bugs to the Buzhou Immortal Sect."
"Ha, that's going a bit too far, don't you think?" Emperor Infinity said. "Although I see your concern. Let's gamble it all."
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Inside the Cloud Goddess Cult, which had become the headquarter of the Anti-Earth Alliance, the top leaders of the Cloud Goddess Cult, Five Element Sect, and Drifting Feather Sect were all gathered.
"The Buzhou Immortal Sect has another emperor," Monarch Fiveseal, one of the Five Element Sect's grand elders, said. "They already have higher quality immortals and more to boot, and now, their higher-end combat power has increased by one."
"Our Anti-Heaven Alliance has the Cloud Goddess, who can compete with the Sword Sovereign, but what does the Tripartite Alliance have? Only two half-step immortal emperors!" The sect master of the Drifting Feather Sect said with displeasure.
"Complaining isn't going to help us much," said the sect master of the Five Element Sect. "What we should focus on is how to combat the Buzhou Immortal Sect. With the increase in strength, I doubt our previous efforts to draw in one of the first-rate sects will bear fruit now."
"A pity. I heard that Boundless Mountain showed displeasure after their sect master candidate was executed by the Buzhou Immortal Sect," Monarch Fiveseal said. "Still, they didn't show much enthusiasm. Perhaps the fault lay with them, hence why they endured this humiliation. Even if we draw them in, we can't give them too much trust."
"Grand Elder Fiveseal is right," The sect master of the Five Element Sect said. "Rather than trying to turn one of the forces into a traitor, it would be better to ally with the Tripartite Alliance."
"It's not that simple," the sect master of the Drifting Feather Sect. "Our forces are unequal. The only reason they survived is because of our existence. Without us, they would have long been cleaned by the Buzhou Immortal Sect. However, despite this, they will not take kindly to becoming beneath us and will want an equal standing in cooperation."
"Heh, they sure like to dream. They should be happy that we deign to ally with them," The sect master of the Five Element Sect said.
"The problem lies in the fact that we cannot do anything to them unless we want to worsen our situation," Monarch Fiveseal said, causing the people in the room to grimace. He turned toward the Cloud Goddess, who had stayed silent all this time. "What do you think?"
The Cloud Goddess leaned on her cloud throne. "We should not take action for now."
An invitation appeared in her hand. "I believe we should attend the marriage ceremony of the Sword Sovereign's son. Gather information and plan our next step from there. However, we should still reach out to the Tripartite Alliance just in case."
The people in the room nodded. They had originally not planned to attend, thinking it was a trap, but they heard the news from their informants in the Earth Continent that the Eight Pillar Sect would also send people to attend, greatly boosting their confidence.
With the decision already engraved in stone, Tianyi's wedding just became a bit more exciting.