Free Web NovelChapter 244: Allies
At the Nine Cauldrons Sect, half a month before the Thousand-Beast Sect went to war with the Witch Sect, Immortal Alliance, and Infinite Star Palace, Yaoguang had already obtained the news from the Void Psychic World.
The deal between the Immortal Alliance and the Infinite Star Palace had been brokered within the Void Psychic World. Although Lin Deng, Feng Ao, and Luo Fu concealed the information with extreme caution, Yaoguang still learned the truth of their plan by infiltrating with the Heavenly Dao Formlessness secret art.
He did not tell anyone; he contacted Li Hanqiu directly. This counted as a prelude to the final decisive battle of the Great Cangwu World.
After Yaoguang shared the details of what he heard, he said with some emotion, "I did not expect the Infinite Star Palace to join forces with the Immortal Alliance. I thought they wanted to dominate the Great Cangwu World alone and become its sole ruler."
"The Infinite Star Palace is powerful and stands above all sects, but they have deeper concerns." Li Hanqiu seemed to grasp the key point. "The North Sea Star."
"The North Sea Star?" Yaoguang quickly understood.
The Infinite Star Palace was strong in the Great Cangwu World, but the true top experts of this world did not remain here. After they counterattacked the Lunar Fiend Empire and repelled its invasion, they went to the more prosperous and powerful North Sea Star.
Eighty years had already passed. No one knew how those people might have progressed there. No one knew which faction had now become the strongest.
The Infinite Star Palace could not guarantee that if they wiped out a certain faction here, the people from the North Sea Star would not settle accounts afterward.
Because of that, the Golden Temple, which controlled 311 spiritual power nodes despite lacking strong experts, warships, and elite battle institutes, was still able to survive to this day.
On the contrary, forces such as the Artifact Sect, the Pill Sect, the Yang Psyche Sect, and the God-Fiend Hall gradually declined.
The Artifact Sect fared slightly better. Its forces in the Great Cangwu World were mostly destroyed, but some members reportedly survived.
As for the Pill Sect, the Yang Psyche Sect, and the God-Fiend Hall, they were almost completely wiped out and disappeared from the stage of both the Great Cangwu World and the North Sea Star.
"So, the Infinite Star Palace needs to win over allies. At the very least, it cannot let itself become isolated." Li Hanqiu glanced at Yaoguang. "We are the same."
Yaoguang nodded. He now understood why the top immortal sects constantly fought yet always maintained restraint. None of them truly went all out against the others.
He originally thought the reason was the deterrence posed by Golden Core cultivators. Now it seemed like the situation on the North Sea Star also played a crucial role.
"Then we proceed as planned. The Infinite Star Palace will win over the Immortal Alliance and Lunar Sect, while we win over the Thousand-Beast Sect, the Golden Temple, and the Dharma Heaven Pavilion," Yaoguang said.
"Exactly. Our focus is on reclaiming and developing the Shiwan Mountains. We should not confront the Infinite Star Palace too early. So we need to give them something else to deal with..." Li Hanqiu waved his hand, and a projection of the power distribution across the Great Cangwu World appeared. "We should start with the Golden Temple."
"The Golden Temple?!"
"Yes. We need to find a way to reconcile the Sacred Flame Cult with the Golden Temple, stabilize the situation on the Black Flame Continent, and even unify it!" Li Hanqiu considered carefully. "From my point of view, both sides would welcome this. The Black Flame Continent has suffered nearly a hundred years of war. All sects hate this chaos and want peace. Once the continent stabilizes and focuses on development, with its vast number of spiritual power nodes, the Golden Temple’s spirit stone output could exceed one billion!"
"The spiritual power nodes of the Black Flame Continent..." Yaoguang had already gathered information from the Void Psychic World. Among the five continents of the Great Cangwu World, the Black Flame Continent had the most spiritual power nodes.
If all those nodes were fully developed, every sect on that continent would grow rapidly.
"The Infinite Star Palace will not want to see a peaceful Black Flame Continent. Its potential for growth is simply too great! If all those nodes are activated instead of being abandoned or fought over, the continent will quickly grow wealthy. And with a force like the Golden Temple there, once it unifies the continent..." Yaoguang did not finish his sentence.
If that happened, the Golden Temple would pose an even greater threat than the Nine Cauldrons Sect.
"Exactly. So they will definitely stop it." Li Hanqiu pointed to another faction on the map.
"The Taiyi Cult," Yaoguang said.
"Yes." Li Hanqiu nodded. "This is the piece the Infinite Star Palace planted on the Black Flame Continent. Over the past century, the Taiyi Cult has grown rapidly thanks to their support. It even tried to infiltrate and absorb some surrounding forces. If the Golden Temple and Sacred Flame Cult reconcile, the Infinite Star Palace will not sit idle. They will have the Taiyi Cult make a move. But the Taiyi Cult is special."
"Special?" Yaoguang was curious.
"Yes. Decades ago, internal conflict broke out within the Infinite Star Palace between the new and conservative factions. In the end, a representative of the conservative faction took control of the Taiyi Cult. That person is the current sect master, Hu Xi. In other words, the Taiyi Cult and the Infinite Star Palace are essentially the same, rather than the latter being just a tool."
Li Hanqiu paused slightly before continuing, "All these years, this conservative faction has tried to seize the Black Flame Continent and prove its strength. The Infinite Star Palace’s war against the Black Feather Sect was actually meant to clear obstacles for the Taiyi Cult. Now that the Infinite Star Palace has withdrawn to deal with us, the Taiyi Cult is already dissatisfied. If the Golden Temple and Sacred Flame Cult reconcile, the Taiyi Cult will lose all room to develop."
"So to preserve its growth, they must stop the reconciliation and drag the Black Flame Continent back into war," Yaoguang said.
"Exactly. This involves an internal struggle between the conservative and new factions over interests and ideology. If they fail, the conservative faction will lose all influence within the Infinite Star Palace. And if they also lose the Taiyi Cult, the sect will be fully controlled by the new faction."
Li Hanqiu paused. Then, after a moment of thought, he added more information, "There is something else. This sect master has another identity. He is a descendant of Hu Daoyan, a supreme elder of the Infinite Star Palace who went to the North Sea Star!"
"A supreme elder?!"
"Exactly." Li Hanqiu nodded. "So this person will surely do everything he can to achieve something before both sides reconnect... After all... a supreme elder would not have only one descendant."
"The situation on the Black Flame Continent is quite complicated," Yaoguang said.
"This continent has always been contested because of its many spiritual power nodes. The Lunar Sect and Dharma Heaven Pavilion also have their own arrangements there. But in the end, the Golden Temple remains a top sect. The forces those sects supported cannot compare to the Taiyi Cult. They are even weaker than the Black Feather Sect and can hardly influence the overall situation on the Black Flame Continent," Li Hanqiu said.
Li Hanqiu then looked at Yaoguang. "The reason I am confident I can persuade the Golden Temple and Sacred Flame Cult is because of the improved spirit-gathering array technology we control. If we step in and help them build improved arrays that double the output of all their spiritual power nodes, then even if they understand our true intentions, they won't be able to refuse."
At the end, he added, "Of course, when we help them upgrade their spirit-gathering arrays, they mustn’t pay you a single spirit stone less than what’s owed. It depends on whether you agree."
"Of course." Yaoguang gave a slight nod. "I can even sell the Gathering-Separation Ring, so improving spirit-gathering arrays is nothing. As long as you negotiate the price properly, no matter how you divide the profits, I only need half of my share."
"Then it’s settled. Don’t worry, you won’t be disappointed. Aside from the Golden Temple, the Sacred Flame Cult is also an ancient faction with many spiritual power nodes. The returns will definitely be substantial." Li Hanqiu laughed. "Besides, upgrading spirit-gathering arrays takes time. During this period, our cooperation with the Golden Temple will naturally grow closer. When the time is right, we can introduce the Gathering-Separation Ring and form an alliance with the Nine Cauldrons Sect in the leading position."
"Then I’ll have to trouble you to make the trip, Perfected Master." Yaoguang agreed.
Once the Golden Temple and Sacred Flame Cult started fighting the Taiyi Cult, the Infinite Star Palace would have to support the Taiyi Cult to secure its interests on the Black Flame Continent.
At that point, they would have little time left to target the Nine Cauldrons Sect. If luck favored them, the Nine Cauldrons Sect could gain at least another ten years to develop peacefully.
And the current Nine Cauldrons Sect was already in a phase of rapid growth. With another decade or so, the first group cultivating the Primordial Creation Art would have matured. Yaoguang’s cultivation would also step into a new tier.
By then, the Nine Cauldrons Sect, whether in top-tier cultivators, number of Sky Patrol Warships, or battle institutes, would truly possess the strength to confront and defeat the Infinite Star Palace head-on.
With the added support of allies like the Golden Temple and Sacred Flame Cult on the Black Flame Continent, even the Immortal Alliance and Lunar Sect would have to think carefully before making a move.
