I Can Upgrade My Talent Infinitely

The destruction he had caused in the Celestial Demon Sect’s Earth Realm undoubtedly made the Demon Spirit Sect and the Black Ghost Cave wary.

These two Evil Dao Core Formation Sects definitely did not want him appearing in their Earth Realms and inflicting too much damage on their affiliated Foundation Establishment Influences.

’By taking advantage of this and halting my activities in the Celestial Demon Sect’s Earth Realm, I’ll give the Demon Spirit Sect and the Black Ghost Cave the impression that I could strike their own territories at any time.’

Of course, this was just Fang Yun’s speculation. Both the Demon Spirit Sect and the Black Ghost Cave could potentially take action, though the former was far more likely to do so than the latter.

After all, the Demon Spirit Sect followed the same cultivation path as the Celestial Demon Sect.

"What if both the Demon Spirit Sect and the Black Ghost Cave make a move?"

"Then I won’t hold back," Fang Yun said with a smile.

’In that case, I’ll have to do the very thing the Demon Spirit Sect and the Black Ghost Cave are afraid of.’

’They wouldn’t be surprised by the consequences, because it’s precisely what they fear.’

"It’s fine if the Black Ghost Cave and the Demon Spirit Sect make a move. We’re not afraid of them anyway," Miao Qinghong remarked.

"Elder Miao is right. Times have changed."

Fang Yun agreed with Miao Qinghong.

With the current strength of the Celestial Cloud Sect, combined with that of all its affiliated Foundation Establishment Influences, they truly had the power to withstand a siege.

Fang Yun was also quite concerned about the strength of the sect’s affiliated Foundation Establishment Influences.

While helping them by Refining pills and increasing their strength did earn him Talent Points, that was only a small part of his motivation. More importantly, he hoped to make them genuinely more powerful.

The affiliated Foundation Establishment Influences were a key part of their defense against the Evil Sects.

"Elder Fang Taishang, when do you plan to begin the final step of your plan?" Miao Qinghong asked directly.

Fang Yun’s plan had already reached its penultimate step.

According to the original plan, the final step was a decisive battle with the Celestial Demon Sect, with the goal of completely annihilating them.

"I can’t give a specific time yet. We still need to keep an eye on the movements of the Demon Spirit Sect and the Black Ghost Cave, especially the Demon Spirit Sect." Fang Yun then added, "But while the exact timing is uncertain, based on how the situation is developing, it will be soon."

"Good." Miao Qinghong nodded. "In that case, I’ll prepare to attempt my breakthrough to the mid-Core Formation Stage next year."

"If Elder Miao can reach the mid-Core Formation Stage, our plan to eliminate the Celestial Demon Sect will proceed even more smoothly," Sect Leader Duan Qingyun said with a smile.

Duan Qingyun could already faintly sense that the end of his life was near.

When Core Formation Stage Cultivators had such a premonition, it usually meant their remaining Life Span was less than ten years.

He was already nearly five hundred years old.

Barring an unnatural death, most Core Formation Cultivators passed away peacefully between the ages of four hundred fifty and five hundred.

In the less than ten years he had left, Duan Qingyun desperately wanted to accomplish something meaningful.

Previously, he wouldn’t have dared to dream of seeing the fall of the Celestial Demon Sect in his lifetime. But as Fang Yun’s plan was implemented, and successfully at that, the possibility of witnessing their demise grew ever larger.

This made him, who was not originally one for rashness, grow more aggressive in his thinking.

’The final step of Fang Yun’s plan, the decisive battle against the Celestial Demon Sect, it has to happen within the next ten years.’

But a hope was just a hope; Duan Qingyun had no intention of trying to force Fang Yun’s hand.

If they deviated from the plan and something went wrong, the blame would be his to bear.

"Elder Fang Taishang, can the final step of the plan be executed within ten years?" Duan Qingyun asked, voicing his thoughts.

"Sect Leader, I can only say there is a sixty percent chance it can be executed within ten years."

It was a question that couldn’t be answered with a simple yes or no.

There were still many factors that could alter the situation.

"Sixty percent..."

Sect Leader Duan Qingyun finally nodded.

Those were very high odds.

...

「One month after the Celestial Cloud Sect launched its large-scale offensive against the Celestial Demon Sect, at the Demon Spirit Sect’s headquarters.」

The upper echelons of the Demon Spirit Sect convened for a meeting.

It wasn’t an emergency meeting, but rather a regularly scheduled one.

Aside from discussing some of their own sect’s internal affairs, the rest of the meeting was devoted to the Celestial Demon Sect and the Celestial Cloud Sect.

"Elder Pang, has Lu Yaoling from the Celestial Demon Sect still not come looking for you?"

"No," Pang Feng said, shaking his head.

"That’s strange. In the past, Lu Yaoling would have been here long ago."

"After what happened last time, they’ve rarely contacted us. We’ve had to be the ones to reach out to them for updates."

"Speaking of which, can someone fill me in on the Celestial Demon Sect’s current situation? I’ve been in seclusion recently."

"The Celestial Demon Sect’s situation is grim. The Celestial Cloud Sect’s mobilization this time is on a larger scale than ever before. Their affiliated Foundation Establishment Influences have all dispatched at least half of their Foundation Establishment Spirit Refiners..."

When it came to the current situation in the Celestial Demon Sect’s Earth Realm, there was much to discuss.

According to the latest intelligence, many Qi Refining Influences within the Celestial Demon Sect’s Earth Realm had been wiped out due to a lack of reinforcements. Now, the small territories these influences once held have been occupied by Spirit Refiners.

It was safe to say that the territory within the Original Celestial Demon Sect’s Earth Realm that actually belonged to the Celestial Demon Sect was gradually shrinking.

"Is there any news from the Celestial Demon Sect about the mysterious Spirit Refiner?"

"We just contacted them two days ago. The Celestial Demon Sect’s reply was that there have been no recent traces of the mysterious Spirit Refiner’s activity. No influences have been wiped out without a trace lately; it’s as if the mysterious Spirit Refiner has simply vanished."

"How could the mysterious Spirit Refiner just disappear? He must be hiding."

There had been a suspected appearance of the mysterious Spirit Refiner in their own Demon Spirit Sect’s Earth Realm before, but with no follow-up incidents, they had chosen to treat it as a non-event.

The mysterious Spirit Refiner was a major headache for them as well.

They always felt he could pop up anywhere, at any time, and start causing trouble.

"The Celestial Demon Sect is already in this state. Are we still not going to make a move?" one of the Supreme Elders asked.

A small faction among the Demon Spirit Sect’s leadership still believed they should support the Celestial Demon Sect.

But the minority had to yield to the majority, especially since the most prestigious Supreme Elder, Pang Feng, was also against providing aid.

"Don’t you all find the Celestial Demon Sect’s current behavior very interesting?"

"Elder Bi, you mean... the Celestial Demon Sect is intentionally not asking us for aid."

"Exactly. They’re waiting for us to offer help proactively, so they don’t have to give up anything in return."

Among the Supreme Elders who opposed aiding the Celestial Demon Sect, this Elder Bi would only change his stance if the Celestial Demon Sect was willing to pay a sufficient price.

Expecting their support without being willing to give up anything in return was simply a fool’s dream.

"When Lu Yaoling came to me for support before, he never mentioned what the Celestial Demon Sect was willing to offer in return," Pang Feng added, recalling his conversation with him.

"That proves my point. Back when their situation was better, they weren’t willing to offer us anything. Now that things are this dire, getting them to pay up will probably be even more difficult."

"Why do you say that? Isn’t the Celestial Demon Sect’s situation even more critical now?"

"It is more critical, yes. But once the Celestial Demon Sect is truly destroyed, you all know what we will have to face."

The Celestial Demon Sect drawing the Celestial Cloud Sect’s fire was a good thing for them.

But if the Celestial Demon Sect were to be truly annihilated by the Celestial Cloud Sect, it would be an entirely different story.

"The Celestial Demon Sect won’t be wiped out that easily. At most, more of their territory will be occupied."

"But just sitting here waiting isn’t a good plan. While the chances of the Celestial Demon Sect actually being destroyed are low, it’s not impossible."

The high-ranking members of the Demon Spirit Sect fell silent, all of them contemplating the potential gravity of the situation.

The fact that the Celestial Demon Sect was showing no sign of asking for aid, especially after they had learned about the dire situation in their Earth Realm, paradoxically made them even more concerned than before.

"I don’t have many days left. I will defer to everyone’s decision."

This time, Pang Feng intended to follow the consensus of the other Supreme Elders.

As a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, he too had less than ten years of his Life Span remaining.