In the main hall of the Grand Wei Treasure Palace.

Jiang Yi said softly, "Cat Master, fetch the Nine-Bud Essence Pill that True Master Shao presented. Deliver it to Gu Changling for me."

Hearing this, He Shouzhen hurried to the storeroom to retrieve the medicine, handing it to True Master Xuanmiao, who was stationed at the formation’s core—the bronze pillar.

’Xiao Jiang is trying to win people over. Such is the way of an Upper Cultivator!’

True Master Xuanmiao swaggered to his feet. Tucking away the square, red sandalwood box made from thousand-year-old spirit wood, he transformed into a long rainbow and streaked out of the Treasure Palace, flying toward the Gen Peak encampment.

After Gu Changling was promoted to a True Inheritance disciple, he repeatedly fought in Magical Combat for the Gen Peak Grotto-heaven, rendering distinguished service.

He had once been the standard-bearer for the master-disciple lineage in their rivalry against the descendants of the Eight Monarchs.

Whether Jiang Yi could secure his position as the Daoist depended mainly on whether Patriarch Mingxuan above supported him.

However, it also required support from below to accumulate his own power and foundation.

People like Shao Guansu and Liu Jing from Zhen Peak, Luo Xuanming from the direct lineage of the Eight Monarchs’ descendants, as well as Feng Yuan, the True Inheritance of Li Peak, and Qu Liu’er, the True Inheritance of Kan Peak.

They each represented different "cliques" and "factions" within the Innate Sect.

Jiang Yi’s use of two True Monarch Talismans to kill Luo Qingya, a clan elder at the Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer Heaven, was a case of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys. Yet, his choice to forgive Shao Guansu and Liu Jing, who had offended him, and even Gu Changling, who had nearly become a great enemy blocking his path on the Dao, was done with this specific goal in mind.

’They are all talented people, and they all have their uses!’

After True Master Xuanmiao had departed, Jiang Yi lowered his gaze and thought to himself:

’Gu Changling studies the Great Society Treasure Jun True Skill. His Dao Foundation is of the "Combined Heavy Mountains" type, allowing him to absorb immense earth qi and transform it into vast Magical Power.’

’The injuries he sustained have damaged his foundation, as if the roots of a majestic mountain range had been severed. If this continues, his body will decay, his Life Essence will be flawed, and he will never again be able to reach Perfection.’

’A single Nine-Bud Essence Pill can, at best, only increase his Cultivation Merit by twenty or thirty percent. It treats the symptoms, not the root cause.’

Shao Guansu, slow on the uptake, looked toward Jiang Yi on the high seat and asked hesitantly:

"Senior Brother Gu was injured because he angered True Monarch Luo?"

Jiang Yi nodded with a smile.

"Besides a True Monarch, who else could make a True Inheritance disciple of Gen Peak Grotto-heaven, a top-tier Dao Material of the Innate Sect, so fearful that he doesn’t even dare to feel hatred?"

Shao Guansu kept his head down, speechless.

He had thought that a "Vessel of the Dao" like Gu Changling wouldn’t receive such harsh punishment, even if he did defy a True Monarch.

"True Master Shao, your perspective is still too shallow. In Gen Peak Grotto-heaven, True Monarch Luo is supreme. Since True Monarch Luo did not want to see me take my position, Gu Changling should have taken the initiative to be the blade that killed or destroyed me."

"If he was unwilling, then he was ’useless’."

"The [Demon Dao] Dharma Lineage has never raised useless people."

"This is a principle that you, True Master Shao, should understand."

Jiang Yi said slowly.

He had personally braved danger to gather the complete Six-Harmonies Great Medicine and condense the highest grade of True Qi, all to show Patriarch Mingxuan...

...that he had a chance to ascend to the [Shao Yang] position and could serve as the Crown Prince of the Innate Sect.

This was the attitude a Lower Cultivator had to show to an Upper Cultivator.

"If Gu Changling steps down, who else in Gen Peak Grotto-heaven can carry the banner?"

Shao Guansu felt a pang of sympathy. Among the descendants of the Eight Monarchs, the Shao clan had long been in decline; otherwise, he wouldn’t have proactively sided with the Daoist in hopes of securing a future for himself.

"There are plenty of other candidates,"

Jiang Yi said coldly:

"The Yanfu Vast Land is filled with infinite Opportunities, but most are in the hands of the True Monarchs. Grotto-heavens, blessed lands, resources, a path on the Dao—a True Monarch can grant all of these."

"Do you, True Master Shao, really think that the thousand-year-old clans of the Eight Monarchs’ descendants are truly lacking in Dao Materials?"

Shao Guansu’s expression dimmed, and he was instantly struck silent.

The [Demon Dao] ruled the world. The Eight Sects jointly controlled the Nanzhan Continent, with countless Dharma Lineages beneath them.

If a True Monarch was determined to cultivate someone, even a hopelessly dull-witted idiot would have a decent chance at Foundation Establishment.

"Daoist, are you trying to win over Senior Brother Gu? To give him a hand?"

Shao Guansu pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"Senior Brother Gu is a person who values old loyalties. Even though True Monarch Luo damaged his Dao Foundation, made him fight in the Hongshui Dharma Assembly, and caused him to suffer a crushing defeat that ruined his reputation..."

"...he shares a master-disciple bond with True Monarch Luo. It’s impossible for him to defect to Changming Heavenly Pool. Besides..."

Shao Guansu was about to choose his words carefully, but Jiang Yi cut in:

"Besides, I can’t possibly contend with True Monarch Luo."

"True Monarch Luo could give Gu Changling the Opportunity for Foundation Establishment, guide him in Daoist Techniques and True Skills, and allow him to draw upon the grotto-heaven’s temporal light."

"Even if Changming Heavenly Pool is rich in Spiritual Resources, for a Cultivator who is determined to attain the Golden Position, such things are ultimately just external objects."

"Is that what you were trying to say, True Master Shao?"

Shao Guansu’s heart shuddered. This Daoist truly saw things with crystal clarity, his insight as sharp as an eagle’s eye. His thoughts and considerations were not at all like those of a mere Qi Cultivation Lower Cultivator.

He himself was a Foundation Establishment True Master, so he certainly understood that upon entering this Realm, Spiritual Materials and Resources were easy to obtain, but Opportunities for Cultivation were incredibly rare and difficult to find.

"You’ll find out in the future, True Master Shao."

Jiang Yi said with a meaningful smile:

"Whatever a True Monarch can bestow, I may be able to give as well."

’The Celestial Book is enough to bridge the massive gap between me and a True Monarch. The only question is whether Gu Changling is smart enough to be worth my effort.’

So Jiang Yi thought.

The moment this thought arose, he suddenly froze.

’Is this the heart of an Upper Cultivator?’

’To see countless Dao Materials as mere tools, to be arranged and manipulated at will?’

...

...

「At the Gen Peak encampment.」

Two of the auspicious clouds above Gu Changling’s head had dissipated. His Merit was greatly diminished, and his expression was bleak.

His entire Cultivation Merit had been bestowed upon him by True Monarch Luo of Gen Peak Grotto-heaven.

The Great Society Treasure Jun True Skill he studied was the result of the True Monarch’s painstaking efforts to deduce and improve it;

As for perfecting his Dao Foundation and advancing his Cultivation, the True Monarch had personally guided him, teaching him step-by-step and clearing his doubts.

"Even if the True Monarch were to demand I atone with my life, it would be perfectly just."