133: Chapter 133 Tianxuan Sect

Li Changqing sat upright on the white jade prayer mat by the window of the cloud ferry, his azure Cultivator robes immaculate. His fingertips gently caressed the smooth, cool scabbard of the Qingming Sword. His eyes were calm and waveless, yet a sharp edge was hidden deep within.

Outside the window, the sea of clouds churned, with layers of white clouds stretching and flowing in the currents. The sky was clear and vast, occasionally crossed by soaring immortal cranes and spiritual birds, cutting through the vast expanse of clouds.

The massive hull of the cloud ferry broke through the gale, moving steadily without the slightest bump. Only faint, shimmering spiritual light lingered around the ship, isolating it from the Nine Heavens gale and the chill of the Void Realm.

The twenty-five-day voyage was dull and tedious. Since it was inconvenient to Cultivate on the flying ship, he happened to take out a volume of the travelogue of the Immortal Master Shuangjue of the Juxing Domain, which he had obtained from the storage ring of Immortal Master Shuangjue years ago, to read slowly.

He slowly closed his eyes, his Divine Sense quietly sinking into the yellowed ancient scroll spread across his palms.

The travelogue left behind by Immortal Master Shuangjue was not an orthodox cultivation classic; it contained no obscure Cultivation Technique Dao rhymes, nor profound secret spells. However, it was filled with his observations and experiences from centuries of traveling across the Juxing Domain, life-and-death experiences in Secret Realms and dangerous lands, as well as summaries of various intelligence leaked from the Wanxiang Tower. Every word and sentence was blood-and-tear experience precipitated from traversing mountains and rivers.

The pages had been steeped in spiritual power for centuries, feeling warm and delicate to the touch, retaining a faint Five Elements spiritual aura.

Li Changqing's Divine Sense spread out slowly, carefully reading the records in the scroll.

The opening was a general map of the Juxing Domain's territory, with rivers crisscrossing and boundaries stretching for trillions of miles. Countless Sects of various sizes, ancient ruins, and dangerous forbidden lands were all marked with secret patterns, dense and clear in their layout.

The largest power in the Juxing Domain was the Star Sect, which had one Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator and dozens of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators. The Star Sect ranked 135th on the Dongyun Province Three-Star Power Ranking and 1,531st on the Tianling Continent Three-Star Power Ranking.

Among the 365 cultivation regions in Dongyun Province, the top 200 basically all had Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators presiding over them. In the few barren cultivation regions at the bottom of the rankings, it was said that a Middle Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator could be called a tycoon, and a Late Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator could be called a Great Cultivator.

Dongyun Province's overall strength ranked third among the thirteen provinces of the Tianling Continent. There were seven Void Refining Cultivators in the Tianling Continent whose cultivation was above the Soul Transformation Stage.

One of these Void Refining Cultivators was in Dongyun Province, honored as the Divine Venerable Tianyuan. He was the Grand Elder of the Tianling Continent's four-star power, the Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce.

In the Tianyun Realm, Nascent Soul Cultivators lived for three thousand years and were titled True Monarchs. Soul Transformation Cultivators could enjoy a Lifespan of ten thousand years and were titled Venerables. After breaking through to the Void Refining Stage, they immediately enjoyed a Lifespan of thirty thousand years and were titled Divine Venerables, while Peak Void Refining Cultivators could enjoy a Lifespan of fifty thousand years.

As for the Divided Soul Cultivators above the Void Refining Stage, they were called Seventh-Order Creatures in the various worlds and Heavenly Venerables in the Tianyun Realm. Both their Physical Body and Divine Soul could traverse the Void Realm. For low-level Cultivators, they had already transcended the shackles of Lifespan, with their Lifespan soaring to one million years.

They had initially grasped the Laws of Heaven and Earth, holding the Lifespan of mountains and rivers in their hands. With a wave of their hands, they could shatter mountains, and with a flip of their hands, they could suppress the seas. They were the peerless titans truly standing at the very top of the pyramid in the Tianyun Realm.

Li Changqing's Divine Sense quietly swept over this record, and a slight ripple arose in his heart.

Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Refining, Divided Soul... each level of the Realm was like climbing a heavenly ladder. Every leap between levels was a chasm, with skyrocketing Lifespans, transformations in power, and shifts in perspective, completely severing the boundary between ordinary Cultivators and mighty figures.

Three thousand years for a Nascent Soul True Monarch, ten thousand years for a Soul Transformation Venerable, tens of thousands of years for a Void Refining Divine Venerable, and one million years for a Divided Soul Heavenly Venerable.

Such long Lifespans were enough to witness the destruction of Sects and Families, and the changing of the world.

For example, this Divine Venerable Tianyuan of Dongyun Province presided over the Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce, holding the authority of a top four-star power. He overlooked the winds and clouds of an entire province, and with a flip of his hand, he could decide the rise and fall of countless Sects and Families.

Li Changqing slowly gathered his thoughts, his fingertips slightly tensing, and continued reading downward.

The travelogue also contained an introduction to the Tianxuan Sect, the Nascent Soul Stage hegemon of the Tianxuan Prefecture. Of course, this was the Tianxuan Sect of a thousand years ago; it had changed significantly by now.

The Tianxuan Sect, the supreme hegemon presiding over the billions of miles of territory in the Tianxuan Prefecture, was also a veteran quasi-three-star power in the Juxing Domain.

The ancient scroll was written with heavy ink, recording the Foundation and roots of the Tianxuan Sect in great detail.

The Tianxuan Sect had been established for twenty-seven thousand years, having gone through three iterations of rise and fall, yet it stood firm in the Tianxuan Prefecture, exclusively occupying the three most core and pure fourth-order Spiritual Veins in the entire region, firmly grasping over seventy percent of the cultivation resources of the Tianxuan Prefecture in its hands.

Over a hundred Golden Core powers of various sizes within the Tianxuan Prefecture were all attached to the Tianxuan Sect, paying tribute every year, worshiping annually, and being under its protection as well as its restraint.

The Foundation of this Sect was unfathomable. On the surface, the Sect had three Nascent Soul True Monarchs presiding over it, all of whom were veteran Nascent Souls at the Middle Stage or higher.

In particular, the Sect's Grand Elder, True Monarch Xiaoyao, had a cultivation that had reached the Peak of the Nascent Soul Stage, with half a foot stepped into the threshold of the Soul Transformation Stage. He was only a sliver of Heavenly Dao opportunity away from breaking through the shackles and forging the Dao Foundation of a ten-thousand-year Venerable.

True Monarch Xiaoyao alone was enough to suppress all powers of the same level around the Tianxuan Prefecture, intimidating the mountains and rivers for billions of miles around, making the Nascent Soul Sect powers of the surrounding prefectures dare not overstep the line by even half a step.

Besides the three Nascent Soul True Monarchs, there were over a hundred Golden Core Stage Elders in the Tianxuan Sect, with the number of Peak Golden Core Cultivators exceeding the number of fingers on two hands. The Sect had tens of thousands of Core Disciples, Inner Sect Disciples, and Outer Sect Disciples, with a hierarchical cultivation ladder and a strict system.

The ancient scroll also meticulously recorded the Sect structure and Prodigy ladder of the Tianxuan Sect, making Li Changqing, who was reading with his eyes closed, feel increasingly clear-headed.

The Tianxuan Sect was divided into three core halls: the Law Enforcement Hall, the Treasury Hall, and the Scripture Transmission Hall, each performing its own duties and governing the affairs of the entire Sect.

In addition, the Sect established the Prodigy Pavilion to recruit Core Disciples with outstanding Comprehension Ability and Heaven-Defying Aptitude within a hundred years of each generation. They were carefully cultivated, with the Sect pouring all its resources into forging new-generation powerhouses, reserving fresh blood for the Sect to push for a three-star power status.

And in this generation of the Tianxuan Sect's Prodigy Pavilion, there were many talents and Prodigies emerging. However, this was all outdated information recorded by Immortal Master Shuangjue a thousand years ago.

With nothing better to do, Li Changqing also flipped through and checked the top three Prodigies of the Tianxuan Sect from a thousand years ago.

The first was the Sect Master's Personal Disciple, Xiao Chenyu. This person was only two hundred years old, and his cultivation had already reached the Peak of the Golden Core Stage, just one step away from the Nascent Soul Stage.

He possessed a seven-inch Spiritual Root and carried the Tianxuan Sect's inherited ancient Cultivation Technique, "Xuantian Thunder Control Art." His Physical Body was formidable, his spells were domineering, and his movement techniques were treacherous. He was almost invincible among his peers, having personally killed two rampaging Peak Golden Core Yao Beasts and even survived a casual strike from an Early Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator without dying.

He was the undisputed number one among the Golden Core Cultivators of the Tianxuan Sect a thousand years ago.

The second Prodigy was named Su Qingyue. She possessed an even rarer eight-inch Spiritual Root, was gifted with extraordinary talent, and had a cold and resolute Heart-Nature. Her cultivation also firmly remained at the Peak of the Golden Core Stage.

She specialized in the Sect's "Supreme Yin Cold Art," and her spells were chillingly cold, capable of freezing spiritual power and icing the Divine Soul. Her methods were bizarre and unpredictable, and she was extremely fierce in both single and group battles, rarely having any defeats within the Tianxuan Sect.