A Sect from a Spirit Vein

In August of the 386th year of Jia Shen, two pieces of news quickly spread throughout the entire Cangzhou, swiftly becoming the hottest topic among cultivators during their leisure time, and continued to spread beyond Cangzhou.

Firstly, the leader of Cangzhou, the Xuanwei Sect, obtained a precious treasure and handed it over to the overlord-level sect, Taiyi Paradise, receiving a reward from Taiyi Paradise. That thousand-mile giant whale traversing the void, beneath which tens of thousands of cultivators clearly saw the brilliant treasure ships.

Even later, when the number of treasure ships was rumored to be eight hundred eighty-eight, people merely clicked their tongues in envy of the Xuanwei Sect’s good fortune, and no further waves were stirred.

Because it was the leading Xuanwei Sect of Cangzhou, and the overlord Taiyi Paradise of Alioth Continent!

Who dares to stir trouble on the older brother’s territory?

Therefore, what caused a stir in Cangzhou and its surrounding areas was the other piece of news released simultaneously.

It was a declaration, a statement issued by the Xuanwei Sect.

"Now, the Golden Core Sect, the Mingyu Sword Sect within our state, faces the impending destruction of the Fourth-Level Mid-Tier Spiritual Vein of their Heaven-Sundering Sword Peak, and consequently, innate spiritual qi will naturally emerge."

"This heavenly bestowed treasure is a manifestation of Celestial Fate. The innate spiritual qi originally belongs exclusively to the Mingyu Sword Sect, and no sect should covet it. But the Mingyu Sword Sect selflessly aims for further prosperity of the state, stabilizing the situation, and in return for the state commandery, voluntarily offers half of the innate spiritual qi to hold a contest for its possession..."

Once the statement was released, streets and alleys as well as all sects were in an uproar, repeatedly analyzing and extracting key points.

First, from this day on, the Xuanwei Sect’s envoys will reside at Heaven-Sundering Sword Peak to monitor the progress of the spirit vein’s demise and host the innate spiritual qi contest before the vein’s demise to determine ownership of half the spiritual qi.

Second, from this day on, the Mingyu Sword Sect will relocate from Heaven-Sundering Sword Peak to Mingjian Mountain. The spiritual vein of Heaven-Sundering Sword Peak will receive protection from the Xuanwei Sect. However, such protection is limited to Heaven-Sundering Sword Peak and does not imply protection for the Mingyu Sword Sect by the Xuanwei Sect.

Third, the spiritual vein of Heaven-Sundering Sword Peak belongs to the Mingyu Sword Sect, and the innate spiritual qi is originally their private property. They are now offering half as the grand prize of the contest, while the remaining half still belongs to the Mingyu Sword Sect—other sects must not covet it, and any forceful seizure will be seen as opposition to the Xuanwei Sect.

Fourth, the Xuanwei Sect will host the contest for the innate spiritual qi, allowing only entrants who are at or below the Golden Core level; those above the Golden Core level may not participate.

Fifth, the contest adopts a team competition format, with each team consisting of three members. Prior to each match, teams may change members, but no changes are allowed during the match until a result is decided.

Sixth, the competition adopts a points-based system, and rankings will be determined based on point totals. The top one-third of teams will receive prizes provided by the Xuanwei Sect, and the highest-ranking team will obtain the innate spiritual qi.

Seventh, only cultivators from this state or loose cultivators from other states may participate. They must first form their own teams and then register with the Xuanwei Sect, which will conduct an initial selection and announce the list of participants.

Eighth, any other matters not mentioned shall be explained by the Xuanwei Sect.

Upon the announcement of the innate spiritual qi contest, debates erupted across the state, and its nuances became apparent to many.

Originally, the Mingyu Sword Sect was an independent Golden Core Sect. If it wished to fully retain the entire innate spiritual qi on its own, the Xuanwei Sect was not obliged to support it.

However, the Xuanwei Sect was also conflicted about the innate spiritual qi. If left alone, it might lead to chaos in the state and possibly incite a war that would deplete fighting strength. If controlled, the allure of a complete innate spiritual qi was so great that it would dissatisfied the sects, led by the Nascent Soul Sect, and might lead to covert schemes with dire consequences.

Besides, Miaomiao Profound Monarch did not wish to see Yuan Xu Spirit Monarch or Kai Xuan Spirit Monarch obtain the innate spiritual qi.

But now, with the Mingyu Sword Sect voluntarily offering half and proposing that the Xuanwei Sect host the innate spiritual qi contest, everything was different!

Originally, one would have to take risks and not know what costs would be incurred, or if anything could be obtained or how much could be gained. Now, a legitimate path has been offered, albeit with reduced benefits, while the illegitimate path is guarded by the Xuanwei Sect, making everyone naturally choose to participate in the contest for innate spiritual qi.

Moreover, it was stipulated that powers like the Spirit Beast Sect and the Sikong Family, which are Nascent Soul-level forces, could join, but their contestants’ strength must be limited to Golden Core Masters. This ensures fairness in the contest, limiting the advantage of Nascent Soul-level forces, and does not completely block their way, forcing them into risky measures, as they have high confidence in their Golden Core members.

The Xuanwei Sect hosting this contest serves several purposes: first, by holding a statewide contest, it significantly boosts the Xuanwei Sect’s prestige, further highlighting its status as the leader of Cangzhou; second, through the competition, it achieves training, gathering strength, and reorganizing, and might even attract Golden Core loose cultivators to join Cangzhou; third, the top prize for the winner does not even need to be provided by themselves.

Although prizes are required for other rankings, for the affluent Xuanwei Sect, this is hardly an issue.

A win-win situation, why not do it?

Thus, the Xuanwei Sect quickly agreed to the Mingyu Sword Sect’s plan and dispatched envoys to Heaven-Sundering Sword Peak, announcing the statement across the state.

And for the Mingyu Sword Sect, this was also a result of repeated consideration and balancing.

If they gave nothing, they might end up with nothing in the end. Although the Three Sects Alliance is reputed to be formidable, they may still be inadequate against the pack of wolves and might even face the Nascent Soul.

If too little is given, it won’t be very attractive to various sects, and the risk of being coveted, robbed, or secretly attacked still exists.