Chapter 863 - 679: Returning Home in Glory
Over ten days later.
All was calm and orderly on Starlight Island.
Shen Xuan had already handed over the island’s affairs.
True Master Wei Chen also rushed back from the Wilderness to assist Li Ruyi in overseeing matters.
He had served as the Deputy Island Master for many years, with seasoned experience.
With his presence, Shen Xuan and Qin Yuehan felt more at ease.
These days, Qin Yuehan stayed tirelessly busy with preparations.
She inquired meticulously about the current state of the Qin family on Purple Maple Mountain and meticulously purchased numerous spiritual objects in Starlight Immortal City as gifts for the elders in the clan.
She carefully deliberated every gift, fearing a lapse in etiquette and worried it might not be sincere enough.
"Is everything prepared?"
Shen Xuan took a sip of spirit tea and looked at the newly busied Qin Yuehan.
"It should be about done."
Qin Yuehan gently stroked the clan’s genealogy book, checking the gift list once more.
Appropriate gifts were prepared for every living elder in the clan.
She felt slightly tense at heart, with more of a subtle anticipation.
"Then we shall set off tomorrow. The sooner we go, the sooner we return."
Shen Xuan spoke in a flat tone.
He generally disliked these social interactions.
But for Qin Yuehan’s sake, some matters must be attended to.
Human relationships are inherently about mutual concessions.
As long as she is happy, taking time to handle these things is no big deal.
He even considered re-condensing her inner core to help her solidify the fake pill.
Thus, her lifespan could be extended, and her realm could potentially ascend.
However, an appropriate secret technique had yet to be found.
Although such secret techniques existed within the Demon Race, they were held by Demon Infant Cultivators.
Moreover, they were exceedingly dangerous and might not be suitable for Human Race cultivators.
In the Profound Origin Realm, True Pill True Masters only accounted for twenty percent of the Fake Pill True Masters.
If the technique of pill solidification could be mastered and improved, the enhancement of the Human Race’s cultivator’s strength would be more significant than refining the Purifying Foundation Pill.
"In the future, if the opportunity arises, such secret techniques must be sought after and gathered."
Shen Xuan privately vowed.
The next morning.
Shen Xuan and Qin Yuehan quietly departed from the island, both riding the Silver-Horned Celestial Horse.
This celestial horse, now over a hundred years old, is merely Tier Two Upper Grade.
This was only possible due to Shen Xuan’s considerable effort using spirit plants for nurturing.
Demon Beasts have long lifespans; it still has a five-century lifespan, twice that of Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
Slow growth is rather common.
The Silver-Horned Celestial Horse spread its wings, its entire body shimmering with silver brilliance, majestic beyond compare.
It raised its head and neighed, its voice resonant like metal and stone, swiftly transforming into a streak of silver light, soaring straight into the sky.
Ascending above the clouds into the Ninth Gale Heaven, the celestial horse unfolded its wings, flying swiftly on the wind.
Its speed was extreme; the surrounding clouds were torn, leaving behind long trails.
In the high-altitude, the gale chilled fiercely; the cold pierced the bones.
With a slight thought, Shen Xuan’s Spiritual Qi shield from a Golden Core True Master naturally expanded, lightly enveloping Qin Yuehan within.
At her fake pill realm, she might feel discomfort at such heights.
The shield’s warmth was like spring, isolating the external gale and cold.
Qin Yuehan nestled by Shen Xuan’s side, gazing at the rapidly passing sea of clouds below and the faint outlines of the mountains, her heart at peace.
There was also uncontainable joy.
Years ago, she was born into the mundane Mortal World.
Despite her Commandery Princess status, she did not receive attention from the Qin family’s ancestral lineage, unable to join the Profound Celestial Sect.
It was her grandfather who noticed her Spirit Root and went to great lengths to invite Mr. Yan to initiate her.
Thereafter, she followed Mr. Yan and joined the Cyan Cloud Sect.
Now, she had finally returned home in glory.
Her husband is an Ice Technique Golden Core, a Divine Power Realm Body Refining Master, and a Tier Four Cultivator. Who would dare ridicule her even slightly?
Shen Xuan lowered his gaze to overlook the entire Song Country.
In his view, the distribution of Spiritual Mechanism throughout the Song Country was crystal clear.
There were seven places where Spiritual Qi was most concentrated.
Like seven brilliant pearls on the earth.
These are naturally formed core regions centered around Tier Four Spirit Veins.
Scattered among them are some Tier Three Spirit Veins, like stars adorning and guarding those seven cores.
Further out are the Tier One and Tier Two Spirit Veins, where Spiritual Qi gradually diminishes.
As for the broader land, it is a Land of Absolute Spirit, even impoverished in Spirit, a wasteland.
By some grand rivers, mortal dynasties have established scattered cities, like a few oases in a desert.
Yet throughout the Song Country, the vast majority of areas remain a wilderness rarely visited by humans.
Shifting sight southward, at Song Country’s border, where it adjoins the Wilderness, Spiritual Light and murky demon energy mixed and flickered, a chaotic aura.
Shen Xuan watched for a while, understanding at heart, and felt a bit of sentiment.
Regions suitable for cultivators and mortals to survive had long been completely developed.
The Spirit Veins of this land support a maximum number of cultivators and mortals.
Once exceeded, resources become scarce.
Mortals can endure as long as they don’t starve, being flexible in population size.
This land likely can sustain billions of mortals.
But the number of mid to high-tier cultivators is strictly limited.
If not entering the core zones of the seven sects’ influence, loose cultivators are almost impossible to gather sufficient resources to impact the Core Formation.
Now, the Golden Transformation Pill, Core Formation Spiritual Objects, and Soul-Protecting Pill have become the standard for impacting the Core Formation.
At least the first two are indispensable.
But in Song Country, without joining a sect, acquiring the Golden Transformation Pill and Core Formation Spiritual Objects is as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Even within top-tier sects like the Cyan Cloud Sect, internal Core Formation Seeds compete intensely, often requiring the full support of a clan to possibly exchange for a Golden Transformation Pill.
"Thus, it is not that these sects do not desire expansion."
Shen Xuan’s mind was as clear as a mirror.
"Rather, there is nowhere to expand. They can only harshly exploit loose cultivators and set numerous rules to block loose cultivators’ paths of advancement."
Not to mention impacting Core Formation.
Even achieving Foundation Establishment within loose cultivators accounts for less than one percent.
The vast number of Qi Cultivation cultivators is the underlying tone of the cultivation realm in the Profound Origin Realm.