Chapter 468 - 432: Star-Forging True Disciple, War Escalation
Dragon Shadow Star Casting!
Su Ye wasn’t very familiar with the Central Sea Region.
But even so, it was enough for him to recognize the technique the silver-masked woman had used!
After all, this top-tier Secret Technique was simply too famous. In the Central Sea Region, it was practically a household name!
Dragon Shadow Star Casting!
It was the foremost of the five great secret teachings of the Star Casting Hall, one of the nine great sects of the Inner Sea!
Therefore, after she used this move, the silver-masked woman’s origins could be confirmed.
—She had to be a disciple of the Star Casting Hall.
Furthermore, her status was definitely not low.
It was highly likely she held the rank of a True Disciple!
As for having stolen the technique?
Su Ye hadn’t even considered that possibility.
’What a joke.’
He had heard of the Star Casting Hall’s reputation long ago, even though he was in the Outer Sea.
The power of this sect in the Inner Sea was simply immense, its might shaking the archipelagos!
To put it this way...
The nine great sects of the Inner Sea, led by the Jade Void Sword Sect, jointly ruled over the Yaoguang region.
This had been the structure of the Jade Light Cultivation Realm for over eight hundred years since the Reversed Moon War.
However, even among the nine great sects, there were differences in standing!
The Cultivation Realm of the Inner Sea divided the nine sects into the ’Upper Three Sects’ and the ’Lower Six Sects’!
The rankings among the Lower Six Sects often changed.
It wasn’t unheard of for one sect to be seized upon, knocked from the ranks of the nine, and replaced!
But since the Reversed Moon War, the status of the Upper Three Sects had never changed.
The Star Casting Hall...
was counted among the ’Upper Three Sects’.
It was on the same level as the Jade Void Sword Sect, the leader of the Inner Sea!
Although the Jade Void Sword Sect was still the undisputed number one in the Yaoguang Inner Sea, this classification was enough to show the strength of the Star Casting Hall!
Especially in the last two hundred years, the Star Casting Hall had forged alliances and, in one fell swoop, annihilated Mixed Element Mountain, one of the nine great sects, and propped up Immortal Peak Palace to take its place.
Relying on Mixed Element Mountain’s fifth-order Spirit Vein, the Star Casting Hall drained its resources dry. With an explosive bout of luck, they produced several Nascent Soul cultivators in two hundred years. The sect’s prestige soared, its might shaking the Yaoguang Sea Region!
It had even faintly shown signs of wanting to challenge the Jade Void Sword Sect for the top position among the nine sects.
How could a secret teaching from such a powerful sect be stolen? Or rather, even if it were stolen, who would dare use it in public?
’If the Star Casting Hall discovers that someone stole a secret teaching, the punishment starts with the extermination of nine generations of their family. The thief themselves would be subjected to endless torture, then refined into a puppet and forced to personally kill all their relatives and friends.’
’Then, their soul would be extracted and made into a Sky Lantern.’
’With enough skill, one of these Sky Lanterns could burn for at least a hundred years...’
Su Ye had seen a Sky Lantern before. The Cyan Profound and Spirit Realm sects also had secret teachings that had been stolen, and the thieves were also turned into Sky Lanterns.
The resulting soul Sky Lanterns were placed in the Inheritance Hall, where they were scorched day and night, emitting light... and to be honest, the light from these Soul Lamps was quite bright.
The only problem was that the wails of the souls were rather miserable and distracted Su Ye from his reading—so he usually activated a Silence Array.
’Tsk tsk...’
Compared to such a fate, a quick death would be a mercy.
Su Ye put himself in her shoes. If he had stolen the technique, he would never use it unless he was absolutely certain he could kill his opponent and silence them for good.
Given the silver-masked woman’s performance, the possibility that she had stolen the technique was extremely low.
"Therefore..."
"She is a True Disciple of the Star Casting Hall," Su Ye said with certainty.
’A True Disciple from the Star Casting Hall came all the way to the Day Flame Sea Region to intervene in this war?’
’A True Disciple of her caliber, if she were alone, could be said to be out for training. But she’s concealing her identity and has brought two late-stage Golden Core cultivators with her... the "training" explanation doesn’t hold up. So, this is the will of the Star Casting Hall? They’re the ones secretly supporting the Candle Python Cave’s invasion of the Flame Alliance...’
Su Ye pondered and reached a preliminary conclusion.
But this only made Su Ye more confused, his eyes flickering.
’What do they want?’
To drive pirates and heretical cultivators to invade the Flame Alliance, and even personally enter the fray by dispatching several late-stage Golden Core experts, including one of their own True Disciples?
Going to such great lengths could only mean that the Star Casting Hall believed this investment would yield an extraordinary return.
But... what could this barren Outer Sea, which didn’t even have a single Nascent Soul cultivator, possibly possess that would attract so much attention from the Star Casting Hall?
Su Ye couldn’t understand it.
The sea region directly administered by the Star Casting Hall was several times larger than the Day Flame Sea Region in area alone. Including its subordinate factions, it could only be described as vast and boundless!
If one were to look closer and calculate its specific output, it would completely dwarf that of the Day Flame Sea Region by an unknown number of times.
Su Ye rubbed his chin and muttered, "Curious..."
He couldn’t help but feel a growing interest in the potential prize that had the Star Casting Hall so concerned.
"However, for me, the danger is much more apparent than the potential benefits..."
Su Ye shook his head, a warning bell ringing in his mind. ’After I get back, I have to step up my intelligence gathering...’
Now that he had confirmed the Star Casting Hall was the backer of the Candle Python Cave, the outcome of the battle in the Day Flame Sea Region was no longer that important.
The Star Casting Hall’s objective, the scale of their investment, and their determination.
The True Treasure Pavilion’s intentions, their actual support, and their capabilities.
These were the key factors!
It was like the Korean War—North and South Korea themselves weren’t the most important part. The struggle for dominance between the two bloc leaders behind them, the US and the USSR, was what would decide the outcome!
Su Ye wrapped a strand of his long hair around his index finger and murmured.
"The worst-case scenario is that the True Treasure Pavilion is too preoccupied to intervene, doesn’t consider the Day Flame Sea Region a core interest, and just hands it over..."
"If that happens..." Su Ye’s face twitched. He would have no choice but to flee.
"I hope it doesn’t come to that. If the Flame Alliance falls and the Candle Python Cave takes over the Day Flame Sea Region, even if I retreat to the Cyan Profound or Spirit Realm Sea Regions, it’s not guaranteed that I’ll be able to stay out of it..."