Free Web NovelChapter 256: Negotiation
After showcasing its newfound strength, the Nine Cauldrons Sect entered a phase of rapid development.
With the Primordial Creation Art, which represented combat power, and the improved spirit-gathering arrays, which represented economic dominance, as its two trump cards, the Nine Cauldrons Sect swiftly expanded across the Great Cangwu World, conquering territory after territory.
One sect after another, eager to gain early access to the inheritance of North Sea Star and seize a lead of ten to twenty years, turned toward the Nine Cauldrons Sect.
As a result, the sect’s influence and authority throughout the Great Cangwu World began to rise sharply.
And it was precisely at that moment that some troubling news followed.
"Rumors?" Within the Void Psychic World, Yaoguang met with Li Qingshan and Zhou Lijian.
The hall master of the Public Relations Hall said with a solemn expression, "Yes. A large number of unfavorable rumors about us have been spreading within the Void Psychic World. In particular, those concerning the Primordial Creation Art claim that our art carries severe hidden dangers. They say that if one rushes to cultivate it, they will inevitably be unable to advance to higher realms in the future..."
He then added, "Although these claims lack any evidence, repeated rumors can distort the public's views. If they continue to spread, they will significantly affect our plans..."
"It's the Immortal Alliance and the Infinite Star Palace, isn't it?" Yaoguang said. "They have three Dharma Form experts each and also a large number of Heavenly Palace cultivators. They completely dominate public discourse within the Great Cangwu World. Even the Thousand-Beast Sect cannot contend with them."
"Yes. According to our investigation, many of these rumors came from the Void Psychic Worlds of the Immortal Alliance and the Infinite Star Palace," Zhou Lijian replied.
"Got it." There was not the slightest hint of urgency on Yaoguang’s face. "In truth, when we decided to release the Primordial Creation Art, we already anticipated that the Immortal Alliance and Infinite Star Palace would retaliate. I had expected something more sophisticated, perhaps producing arts that could rival ours in the short term, or cultivating a handful of geniuses as examples to compete with us. I didn’t expect their plans to amount to just this..."
He smiled faintly. "They still believe that they control the Void Psychic World and that public opinion is entirely in their hands."
As soon as he finished speaking, his powerful psychic thought directly penetrated into the Void Psychic World.
The psyche refinement technique he cultivated, the Taiyuan Psyche Refinement Technique, not only strengthened his psychic thought but also allowed him to split it with each advancement. At its peak, it could produce a total of 129,600 strands of psychic thought.
Of course, as the number of strands increased, the strength of each individual strand weakened. But for the purpose of tracing these rumors, it was more than sufficient.
As 120,000 strands of psychic thought swept across the Void Psychic World like a tide, the perpetrators were precisely locked onto.
Though those who spread the rumors had been cautious, once the entire Void Psychic World fell under the surveillance of his psychic thought, such caution became meaningless.
He directly traced the rumors, gathered the locations of those spreading them along with all relevant evidence, and handed everything over to Zhou Lijian.
But that alone was clearly not enough.
Yaoguang continued digging deeper, deliberately searching for the original sources of the rumor. Soon, he arrived at the Void Psychic Worlds established by the three Dharma Form experts, Feng Ao, Lin Deng, and Luo Fu.
After recording the traces of his investigation, his 129,600 strands of psychic thought rapidly converged. Once they gathered to a certain degree, they condensed into something like a sharp blade, instantly piercing through the Void Psychic Worlds created by the three Dharma Form experts.
***
Within those Void Psychic Worlds, cultivators who believed themselves completely secure were actively discussing how to sabotage the Immortal Cultivation Community Initiative.
The instant Yaoguang’s psychic thought pierced through, all their conversations, images, and streams of thought were laid bare before him, recorded one by one.
At the very moment he breached their worlds, Feng Ao, Lin Deng, and Luo Fu all jolted awake.
"Who is it?!"
"Yaoguang?! W-What are you trying to do?! Are you trying to start another war with us?"
"This is bad! Destroy that strand of his psychic thought immediately!"
The reactions of the three Dharma Form cultivators could not have been faster. But before they could strike and shatter the invading psychic thoughts, an even more immense surge of psychic thought power descended like a tidal wave, crashing violently into their Void Psychic Worlds and causing them to collapse on the spot.
As their Void Psychic Worlds crumbled, the recorded information was swiftly withdrawn and transmitted as evidence into Yaoguang’s own Void Psychic World.
A portion of it was even displayed directly as he questioned them, "Looks like the ones trying to restart a war with the Nine Cauldrons Sect are you! Shouldn’t your factions explain these rumors?"
The expressions of the three Dharma Form cultivators changed drastically. Their psychic thoughts erupted as they attempted to break free and invade Yaoguang’s Void Psychic World to destroy the evidence.
But no matter how they struggled, Yaoguang’s psychic thought was like an immovable mountain, pressing down on them so completely that they could not advance even half a step beyond their own Void Psychic Worlds.
Not only that, but since the battlefield was within their own territory, the collision of psychic thoughts caused their Void Psychic Worlds to fracture and collapse inch by inch.
This overwhelming disparity, the feeling of being crushed within their own domain, left the three Dharma Form cultivators stunned and filled with disbelief.
"How is this possible..."
"How can the gap be this large?!"
"Wasn’t his strength supposed to be at most at the peak of the Dharma Form Realm? Is this the power of a peak Dharma Form cultivator?!"
As they struggled, their shock gradually gave way to fear. And the more they resisted, the stronger that fear became.
Before clashing with Yaoguang, they had known he was powerful and suspected he was at the peak of the Dharma Form Realm. But since no peak Dharma Form cultivator had ever existed in this world, they had never understood just how powerful he truly was.
Even as they fought back with everything they had, launching counterattacks within the Void Psychic Worlds they had established, they were still steadily losing ground. Their worlds were on the verge of being completely shattered by Yaoguang. Only then did they truly realize just how despair-inducing the gap between them was.
"We can’t fight him, we really can’t! There’s no way to win!"
"How can his Dharma Form strength be so much stronger than his qi cultivation?! In terms of qi refinement, if two or three Golden Core cultivators joined forces and were willing to sacrifice one or two of their own, they might still be able to kill him. But his Dharma Form... How can it possibly be this powerful?!"
"My Void Psychic World... Stop! Stop right now!"
The Dharma Form cultivators were in a state of panic and terror.
In just a dozen breaths, Lin Deng’s Void Psychic World, which had been specifically targeted by Yaoguang during their confrontation, had already shrunk by nearly half and was on the verge of collapse. This terrifying disparity completely shattered their confidence.
"Janko! Johan! Hurry, make Yaoguang stop!" Lin Deng’s psychic thought fluctuated violently.
The entire public Void Psychic World instantly became lively and chaotic. Such drastic changes naturally drew the attention of Golden Core cultivators and star gods. Among them were even onlookers like Ye Lisha, who relished the spectacle.
"What’s going on? Why did they suddenly start fighting?"
"Why do Feng Ao of the Immortal Alliance, Lin Deng, and Luo Fu of the Infinite Star Palace look so miserable? Their Void Psychic Worlds are about to collapse!"
"I had heard that Yaoguang cultivated both body refinement and psyche refinement, and had reached the Star God Realm and Dharma Form Realm. But can it really be called a secondary path? His psyche refinement power can overwhelm three Dharma Form cultivators at once. He’s clearly primarily a psyche refinement cultivator, with body refinement and qi refinement as secondary paths!"
The Void Psychic World had suddenly become incomparably lively. Countless people gathered to witness this battle unfolding within.
Fortunately, although there were people like Ye Lisha and Fu Long who enjoyed the chaos, many others tried to mediate.
"Perfected Master Yaoguang, let’s talk this out. We still have a common enemy, the Lunar Fiend Empire. If this turns into a fight to the death, wouldn’t it only benefit our enemies?"
"The Great Cangwu World has already endured repeated turmoil over the years. It cannot withstand another clash between top experts. Perfected Master Yaoguang, please withdraw your divine ability."
"Is there some misunderstanding? If our Immortal Alliance has offended you, we are willing to compensate for any damage caused."
One after another, Golden Core cultivators transmitted their psychic consciousness toward Yaoguang within the Void Psychic World.
Meanwhile, far above in the nine heavens, the Golden Core cultivators of the Immortal Alliance and Infinite Star Palace were forced to leave their stabilizing arrays, rushing toward the palace where Li Hanqiu and Yaoguang were located.
If Yaoguang truly refused to spare Lin Deng, Feng Ao, and Luo Fu within the Void Psychic Worlds, they would have no choice but to physically force him to stop.
Yaoguang naturally understood that the Immortal Alliance and Infinite Star Palace would not sit by and allow him to kill the three Dharma Form cultivators.
He slightly withdrew part of his psychic thought power, no longer directly bombarding their Void Psychic Worlds.
However, his immense psychic thought still formed a vast net, restraining their worlds, preventing their psychic thoughts from extending even a fraction beyond their own Void Psychic Worlds.
At the same time, he presented evidence proving that the rumors had been spread by the Immortal Alliance and the Infinite Star Palace. "Everyone, take a look. This is not me making trouble without reason. It was the Immortal Alliance and Infinite Star Palace who acted aggressively first, resorting to underhanded methods."
In truth, many present did not even need to examine the evidence. When the rumors had first spread in the outside world, they had already known that it must have been the work of the Immortal Alliance and the Infinite Star Palace. But doing it was one thing. Being caught red-handed was another entirely.
Everyone glanced at the Void Psychic Worlds that had been crushed like dry wood and rotten weeds...
At that point, it was hard to blame the Dharma Form cultivators of the Immortal Alliance and Infinite Star Palace for not being careful enough. The gap in strength had simply been too great.
Now that Yaoguang held the evidence and occupied the moral high ground, while effectively having captured the three Dharma Form cultivators, the situation had completely changed.
Immediately, Lu Xi of the Immortal Alliance reacted with thunderous fury. "Such a thing actually happened?! The Immortal Cultivation Community promoted by the Nine Cauldrons Sect is clearly a great benefit to the world. I never expected that someone within our Immortal Alliance would spread slanderous rumors! Perfected Master Yaoguang, we will certainly give you an explanation!"
"I have seen the evidence provided by Perfected Master Yaoguang. This matter was carried out by the deputy hall master of our Heavenly Palace Hall and the hall master of the Public Relations Hall. We were not aware of it. Please rest assured, we will punish them severely and never allow such reckless speech in the Void Psychic World again." Johan also stepped forward to express his stance.
At this moment, he finally understood what it meant for circumstances to overpower individuals. In the past, it had always been the Infinite Star Palace and the Immortal Alliance who used their power to oppress others. But today, it was Yaoguang who used the might of his Dharma Form to oppress them instead.
