I Can Upgrade My Talent Infinitely

Elder Liu of the Black Dragon Hall suspected he might have misheard.

The Celestial Demon Sect Leader was requesting aid, and unbelievably, it was because of a Spirit Refiner Core Formation Influence.

The Black Ghost Cave at least bordered the Ghost-Controlling Sect, another Ghost Cultivator Core Formation Influence. The Celestial Cloud Sect, however, didn’t directly border any Spirit Refiner Core Formation Influences.

Currently, there were only six Core Formation-level Spirit Refiner influences in the entire Qionglin Domain.

Meanwhile, whether it was the Demons, the Ghost Cultivators, or the Blood Demons, each group had over twenty Core Formation Influences—three to four times the number of the Spirit Refiners.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, I know this sounds outrageous, but it is the truth." The Celestial Demon Sect Leader recited his rehearsed lines. "For over a thousand years, our Celestial Demon Sect has suppressed the Celestial Cloud Sect. It was only in the last century, with the Celestial Cloud Sect’s steady rise, that things became like this..."

Before the Celestial Demon Sect Leader could finish, Elder Liu of the Black Dragon Hall cut him off.

"No matter how much the Celestial Cloud Sect has risen, it shouldn’t have pushed your Celestial Demon Sect to the point of coming to us for aid. If I recall correctly, the Demon Spirit Sect is on good terms with you. Even with their support, you still can’t easily suppress a single Spirit Refiner’s Core Formation Influence?"

Elder Liu still couldn’t wrap his head around it.

In his mind, Spirit Refiners were weak. If anything happened to their leader, the Purple Mist Sect, the Spirit Refiners could be wiped from the Qionglin Domain at any moment.

"That brings us to the matter of that mysterious Spirit Refiner. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Liu has heard anything about him."

"The mysterious Spirit Refiner..."

Elder Liu of the Black Dragon Hall thought back for a moment.

He seemed to recall another Elder mentioning it in passing.

He was responsible for receiving high-level visitors from other Core Formation Influences, but he wasn’t in charge of handling their official communications.

"You mean that mysterious Spirit Refiner with exceptional concealment skills? He’s broken through to the Core Formation Stage now?"

"Well..."

Faced with this question, the Celestial Demon Sect Leader faltered.

It was a difficult question for him to answer.

The Celestial Cloud Sect now had nine Core Formation Spirit Refiners, and none of them matched the description of the mysterious one.

The last one to reach Core Formation was a Core Formation Seed from the Celestial Cloud Sect, who also had great talent for Beast Taming. The intelligence gathered on him was almost entirely related to his cultivation of Demon Beasts.

"We are currently unable to confirm," the Celestial Demon Sect Leader finally answered.

In truth, they were fairly certain the mysterious Spirit Refiner had not successfully reached Core Formation. If they had been confident that he had, they would have contacted the Black Dragon Hall much sooner.

"Unable to confirm... So that’s a no, then. The Demon Spirit Sect won’t ally with you because of some mysterious Spirit Refiner who hasn’t even reached Core Formation."

At this point, Elder Liu strongly suspected the Celestial Demon Sect Leader was simply exaggerating the situation to secure support from the Black Dragon Hall.

A great Demon influence, with a superior geographical position no less, being brought to such a state by a mere Spirit Refiner sect.

"What in the world are the higher-ups in your Celestial Demon Sect even doing?!"

Without giving the Celestial Demon Sect Leader a chance to speak again, Elder Liu launched into a tirade.

He no longer wanted to hear the reasons.

A single Spirit Refiner who hadn’t even reached Core Formation had brought the Celestial Demon Sect to this state, and they were still calling him ’mysterious’—which meant they hadn’t uncovered a single thing about his identity.

’How many years has it been?’

Faced with Elder Liu’s tirade, the Celestial Demon Sect Leader offered no rebuttal; he couldn’t.

Lu Yaoling had told him that in this kind of situation, he should just listen.

He should nod as he listened, to show that whatever Elder Liu said was correct.

He was only to speak when given permission.

After a series of nods and muttered agreements, the Celestial Demon Sect Leader finally had a chance to speak.

"...After being warned, the Demon Spirit Sect showed no intention of supporting us. We understand their predicament, which is why I have come here to seek aid."

"What else is going on with the Celestial Cloud Sect? Give me the details."

"Yes, Fellow Daoist Liu." Hearing this, the Celestial Demon Sect Leader immediately began to concisely relay important information about the Celestial Cloud Sect. "The number of Core Formation cultivators in the Celestial Cloud Sect has now reached nine..."

The Celestial Demon Sect Leader was deliberately exaggerating the information about the Celestial Cloud Sect to increase their chances of receiving aid from the Black Dragon Hall.

Nine Core Formation Spirit Refiners alone was an impressive number.

Among the Demon Core Formation Influences, only the top-tier ones could boast so many Core Formation cultivators.

"Nine Core Formation Spirit Refiners. How many of them will see their Life Span exhausted within the next thirty years?" Elder Liu of the Black Dragon Hall pressed for specifics.

"Two," the Celestial Demon Sect Leader answered truthfully.

"So you’re certain there are no Late-stage Core Formation cultivators. How many are at the mid-stage?"

"Around three."

"And that Sword Cultivator? Has he broken through to the mid-stage of Core Formation?"

"That... is still uncertain..."

What the Celestial Demon Sect Leader could confirm was that ten years ago, the Core Formation Sword Cultivator was still only in the Early-stage Core Formation.

As the Celestial Cloud Sect continued to seize their territory, many of their intelligence operatives were unable to venture out. This made gathering information difficult, and what little they did get was scarce—especially intelligence concerning the area around the Celestial Cloud Sect’s headquarters.

"However, for a Sword Cultivator from the Celestial Cloud Sect, breaking through from Early-stage to mid-stage Core Formation is only a matter of time," the Celestial Demon Sect Leader added.

"I have a general understanding of the situation now. Wait here. As for whether you will receive our Black Dragon Hall’s support, that is not a decision I can make on my own."

"Understood, of course." The Celestial Demon Sect Leader nodded repeatedly.