Chapter 487 - 354: Don’t Blame Me
"Sect Leader Yan, the situation is rather dire, so I’ll be brief. My master is truly tied up, so I’m asking on his behalf: Do you have your Heaven-Reaching Order with you?"
Fang Qingyuan’s change of topic was far too abrupt. ’Why is he suddenly asking about the Heaven-Reaching Order?’
Yan Nanxing had acquired this Heaven-Reaching Order with merit points earned during the wars of expansion long ago. Fifty or sixty years had passed, and he still hadn’t been able to bring himself to use it.
In the eyes of enfeoffed Sect Leaders like Yan Nanxing, a Heaven-Reaching Order was a life-saving treasure. It was just like the incident with Xiao Xuan of the Lingliang Sect back then. The Spirit Wood Alliance and the Pill Alliance had conspired against him, and no matter how the Lingliang Sect struggled, it seemed they couldn’t escape falling into the clutches of one of the two.
In the end, the use of a single Heaven-Reaching Order summoned an Inspector Envoy from the Great Zhou Academy, which was the only thing that prevented the Lingliang Sect from being completely consumed by others.
Now, hearing Fang Qingyuan ask about it, Yan Nanxing knew the man clearly had designs on his Heaven-Reaching Order, which immediately soured his mood.
’A Heaven-Reaching Order is a life-saving treasure. Why are you asking about it?’
But he certainly couldn’t say that out loud; it would be too confrontational. So, Yan Nanxing decided to try and brush the matter aside with a laugh.
"Unfortunately, I keep a treasure like that stored back at my sect. I wouldn’t just carry it around with me."
Fang Qingyuan naturally didn’t believe Yan Nanxing’s excuse. Yan Nanxing was the pillar of the Yan Gui Sect; how could he not keep such a life-saving item on him at all times?
But since Yan Nanxing said this, he clearly didn’t want to discuss the matter. Fang Qingyuan, regardless of his cultivation or status, currently lacked the leverage to pressure Yan Nanxing into willingly handing over the Heaven-Reaching Order. He would have to find another way.
’So, what could possibly be important enough to make Yan Nanxing willingly give up his Heaven-Reaching Order?’
’It could only be one of two things: his own cultivation or the survival of his sect.’
With this in mind, Fang Qingyuan asked:
"Sect Leader Yan, observing your vigorous spirit and essence, and the richness of your soaring aura, I presume your cultivation has reached Golden Core Perfection?"
When it came to his cultivation, Yan Nanxing was willing to talk, so long as the Heaven-Reaching Order wasn’t mentioned.
"That’s right. After more than three hundred years of cultivation, I’ve finally reached perfection. I remember back when I was just a Tier One Qi Cultivation Disciple, I was always knocking about in the Outer Sea..."
Seeing Yan Nanxing about to launch into old stories, Fang Qingyuan, who had no time for it, quickly interrupted:
"Sect Leader Yan, I can see your Golden Core is perfectly formed, and your cultivation can advance no further at this stage. When do you plan to attempt Nascent Soul Formation?"
At the mention of this, Yan Nanxing lost his earlier enthusiasm. He was silent for a moment, then spoke after a few breaths.
"When one reaches the precipice, one must be bold. At my age, I certainly have to give it a try."
"Then have you chosen a location for your Nascent Soul Formation?"
"Where else could it be..."
Yan Nanxing said helplessly, "The enfeoffment lasts for three generations. My Yan Gui Sect can’t just pick up and move."
’So it will be on White Mountain.’ And undergoing Nascent Soul Formation on White Mountain was a rule all Cultivators in the White Mountain Territory had to obey.
But after achieving Nascent Soul Formation on White Mountain, one could never leave the mountain for the rest of their life. What was the difference between that and being imprisoned?
Fang Qingyuan, for one, didn’t want to be bound by such a restriction. And from Yan Nanxing’s expression, he knew that the man most likely didn’t want to, either.
But not wanting it didn’t mean there was another option. Fang Qingyuan wasn’t the Sect Leader of the Beast Taming Sect’s Main Mountain; he couldn’t promise Yan Nanxing a Tier Five Spirit Land for his Nascent Soul Formation. His only angle was to work on the success rate.
"To tell you the truth, I want to borrow your sect’s Heaven-Reaching Order. It’s not for me. You know Chu Hongshang, the ancestor of the Nanchu Sect, right? She’s in our Military Array Great Stronghold right now."
Hearing this secret so suddenly, Yan Nanxing shuddered. He was now beginning to regret coming here.
"The Nanchu Sect possesses a Secret Technique for Nascent Soul Formation. Afterward, I will accompany you to the Nanchu Sect to ask Chu Hongshang for it. Furthermore, our White Mountain Beast Taming Sect will be indebted to the Yan Gui Sect and will surely repay you in the future."
In that moment, Fang Qingyuan had offered two benefits: one was the Secret Technique for Nascent Soul Formation, the other was the survival of the Yan Gui Sect.
If Yan Nanxing succeeded in his Nascent Soul Formation, then all would be well. But if he failed, he would have to consider which was more valuable for the Yan Gui Sect: a single Heaven-Reaching Order, or the friendship and favor of the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect.
Did the various sects of Nine Stars Square fear the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect?
Of course they did. But by comparison, they were even more afraid of the Spirit Wood Alliance and the Pill Alliance—especially the Spirit Wood Alliance.
Ever since the Spirit Wood Alliance won the war against the Pill Alliance, they had become the dominant power in this Land Realm.
Although the Pill Alliance was still resentful in all sorts of ways, the war’s outcome was clear. What was the use of refusing to accept it?
The Yan Gui Sect’s enfeoffment was for three generations, but what about after that? How many sects could hold onto their original grant after three generations?
Very few.
This was a problem faced by all sects with three-generation enfeoffments.
Yan Nanxing was already in his late three hundreds. If he didn’t attempt Nascent Soul Formation now, while he still had the drive, then by the time he was approaching four hundred, it would be too late for regrets.
And if Yan Nanxing were to unfortunately fail at Nascent Soul Formation, without him—the founding leader—who among the disciples who had grown up sheltered within the sect could possibly prop up the Yan Gui Sect?
The Spirit Wood Alliance had long been eyeing the various sects of the Nine-star Marketplace like a tiger stalking its prey. They had even declared that they would wait for the three-generation enfeoffments to end and then devour them all.
A mere few hundred years was a price the Spirit Wood Alliance could afford to pay.
It wouldn’t even take a few hundred years. Only fifty or sixty years had passed, and the Lingliang Sect was already on its second generation. Furthermore, recent news suggested that the Second Generation Sect Leader’s health had been poor ever since that incident back then, and he was showing signs of premature decline.
And among the Lingliang Sect’s third-generation disciples, not a single one had reached Golden Core Cultivation.
When the sect was first established, it was protected by the Great Zhou Academy and perfectly safe. But what would happen when that protection was gone?