209: Failed to break through? Success?

The atmosphere in the main hall instantly became somewhat solemn.

Jiang Yezi looked at these people and immediately understood the reason.

It wasn't that many players truly wished for the warehouse to be public; rather, these people wanted to divide the resources.

He thought for a moment, organizing his words:

“Understand this: our Great Love Sect is still the largest player force, not even inferior to the native Sects, only slightly less powerful than the Three Great Sects.

“If Midnight Gao Sou can successfully Breakthrough, we will also become a Golden Core force, and everything will get better then.

“And even if Midnight Gao Sou fails, the impact on the Great Love Sect is actually not significant. After all, we started as an Immortal Foundation force, and Midnight Gao Sou isn't our only Immortal Foundation; if he dies, there are others.”

Jiang Yezi's words were indeed reasonable.

If the Great Love Sect only had Midnight Gao Sou as an Immortal Foundation, then his failed Breakthrough would directly lead to the Sect losing its top combat power, potentially causing it to be carved up or even annihilated.

Such things are all too common in the Xuanhuan World.

However, the Great Love Sect has far more than one Immortal Foundation, which significantly reduces the risk, or even eliminates it.

The various public opinions and targeting of the Great Love Sect now are essentially an attempt to force Midnight Gao Sou out, interrupt his Breakthrough, and prevent him from becoming a Golden Core.

In this situation, the Great Love Sect should not fall into disarray internally.

“But…”

“Jiang Yezi, you've forgotten something.”

The Golden Armored Foundation Establishment Cultivator pondered for a moment: “Midnight Gao Sou is no ordinary Immortal Foundation. He has a soul body, and he also possesses a Golden Core Legacy.

“Our Great Love Sect's Spirit Gathering Array, and many Medicinal Pills, are all firmly controlled by him.

“If Midnight Gao Sou dies, our appeal to low-level players will greatly diminish, and many core players might even leave directly. At that point, we will fall apart.”

Jiang Yezi was also stunned.

He quickly realized that what the Elder said was correct; Midnight Gao Sou's influence on the Great Love Sect was much higher than he had imagined.

Jiang Yezi became completely flustered, somewhat restless, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back.

At this moment, he finally understood why some Cultivators would seal off news when undergoing a Breakthrough.

It turns out that even a tiny possibility of demise can cause turmoil throughout the entire Sect, and even attract countless outsiders' covetous gazes.

Thump, thump, thump!

Just then, another person ran in from outside the main hall, panicking:

“This is bad! Many players have arrived outside the Sect Protection Array!”

Jiang Yezi pressed his temples:

“I know, I know. Aren't they just demanding to open the warehouse for inspection? That's impossible. Find a way to send them away.”

“No, it’s not just one group of people!”

The player who came to report was even more panicked:

“The leader is a black-armored blade Cultivator named ‘An Shi Wa Mei De.’ He seems to have always been an anti-fan of Midnight Gao Sou and has targeted him several times before. This time, he brought thousands of players to besiege our Great Love Sect.”

Jiang Yezi frowned: “How dare they?”

The Golden Armored Foundation Establishment Elder snorted coldly:

“They have to dare. Before, they thought Gao Sou was undergoing his Breakthrough in that mountain range, but it turned out to be just a ruse. So where exactly is Gao Sou?

“If you were to guess, where do you think he would be?”

Jiang Yezi thought for a moment, then suddenly gasped: “Are you saying he's right here within our Great Love Sect? But he's not here.”

Another Cultivator sneered:

“He, Midnight Gao Sou, didn't tell us clearly before his Breakthrough, isn't he guarding against us?

“So even if he is truly in seclusion for a Breakthrough within the Great Love Sect's territory, how could he possibly let us know?”

Jiang Yezi waved his sleeve: “Then we must defend the mountain and not let them attack.”

The Elders exchanged glances. Although each had their own thoughts, they ultimately did not object.

Everyone knew that if Midnight Gao Sou could successfully Breakthrough and return as a Golden Core, all schemes would vanish, and all crises would be shattered by his might.

However, if Midnight Gao Sou failed his Breakthrough, the Great Love Sect would disintegrate, instantly collapsing from its current position as the top player force.

Given this disparity, any individual would know how to choose.

For a time, outside the Great Love Sect's Sect Protection Array, there was a flurry of blade light and sword shadows, countless spells bombarded, and occasionally, Immortal Foundations erupted.

The great battle began… Midnight Gao Sou's body remained seated on the Dharma platform.

As the Breakthrough reached a stalemate, the Spiritual Qi within his body was almost completely drained. The medicinal properties of that great Medicinal Pill and the surrounding Spirit Stones were rapidly depleting.

Midnight Gao Sou's appearance was hunched and gaunt, even skeletal, as if he could die at any moment.

However, for Midnight Gao Sou, this was the easiest problem to deal with, as the Dharma platform itself had a Spirit Gathering effect, and the pre-built Spirit Gathering Array could continuously gather Spiritual Qi, enough for him to continue attempting the Breakthrough.

The real problem was Lifespan.

More than seven days of continuous failure had consumed a significant amount of Lifespan, in addition to the Lifespan already expended before the Breakthrough.

Now, his Lifespan was only a few years.

Once it was completely exhausted, there would be no suspense; the Breakthrough would directly fail, with no room for maneuver.

This point was clear not only to Midnight Gao Sou but also to Sect Leader Xiang Qing of Void Severing Cave, who was guarding outside his Immortal Cave.

Xiang Qing looked at Midnight Gao Sou, who was emaciated and still unable to extricate himself from the illusion, and let out a long sigh.

Finally, he no longer waited. He performed a secret technique, violently shattering the surrounding great array, and stepped out, arriving before Midnight Gao Sou as if shrinking the ground into an inch.

With a wave of his hand, Medicinal Pills floated out lightly, then were enveloped by Spiritual Qi and quickly flowed into Midnight Gao Sou's mouth, slowly releasing their medicinal properties.

Then, Xiang Qing formed hand seals and cast a spell, striking Midnight Gao Sou's forehead with a powerful palm. The spell technique activated, instantly breaking the infinite illusion.

Being forcibly pulled out of a Breakthrough state during seclusion means failure.

When an Immortal Foundation attempts to Breakthrough to Golden Core, especially when the Immortal Foundation has already been uplifted and refined, but the Golden Core has not yet formed, the Cultivator will die directly.

However, Xiang Qing was prepared. He continuously cast spells, forcibly putting Midnight Gao Sou into an unconscious state, making the unformed but already shattered Golden Core within him forcibly re-aggregate.

He was using a secret technique to help Midnight Gao Sou forcibly Breakthrough to Golden Core. Although it would only be a Ninth-Grade Shattered Core, it could still be considered a successful Breakthrough.

However, Midnight Gao Sou's condition was even worse than he had imagined. Not only was his spiritual essence scattered, but the unformed Golden Core was shattered like powder. Coupled with the rampant blood Qi within his body, there was a high possibility of the secret technique failing.

Xiang Qing frowned, sighed again, and took out a great Medicinal Pill. The pill's fragrance wafted, and even various phenomena hovered nearby, some like white deer, others like flying birds. These phenomena layered upon each other, dazzling and enchanting.

The great Medicinal Pill was forcibly injected into Midnight Gao Sou's body.

Xiang Qing continued to cast spells, relying on the new medicinal properties, finally causing the Golden Core fragments to slowly adhere together. Although countless cracks were still visible, showing a clear shattered state, it was ultimately considered a formed core.

“What a waste.”

Xiang Qing snorted coldly, waved his sleeve, and allowed the surrounding great array to restore itself, then quietly left the place.