"That’s right, and it’s why I’m here now." Jiang Yingtian paused, looking at the Demon Spirit Sect Leader. "Surely, Sect Leader Luo, you don’t wish to just stand by and watch Fang Yun of the Celestial Cloud Sect continue to grow stronger?"

"Of course I don’t. But now is not the time for us to openly intervene. Being able to secretly provide your Celestial Demon Sect with some assistance is already a significant gesture."

Jiang Yingtian was far from satisfied with the Demon Spirit Sect Leader’s response and pressed him with a series of questions.

"Not the time? Then when is? Are we supposed to wait until Fang Yun of the Celestial Cloud Sect successfully refines a Spiritual Artifact capable of countering us?"

"I’ve looked into Fang Yun’s skill in Artifact Refining. It’s incredibly difficult to refine a Spiritual Artifact capable of countering us. I fear Fang Yun would exhaust his entire lifespan before he could create such a thing."

Jiang Yingtian didn’t deny it, but he had to add, "That’s assuming Fang Yun is unable to reach the Core Formation Realm. What if he succeeds?"

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, you said ’what if’ yourself, which implies the probability is low. If we were to worry about every small possibility, then neither of us would ever have a moment’s peace."

He was happy to help from the shadows, but would only act openly when the time was right.

This was the Demon Spirit Sect Leader’s stance, and it had always been the stance of the Demon Spirit Sect.

"The Demon Spirit Sect’s position is not as secure as your Celestial Demon Sect’s. We’ve had some recent friction with the Ghost-Controlling Sect, so we don’t have many resources to spare, even for clandestine aid."

The Celestial Demon Sect was in a very favorable location. Its neighboring Earth Realms contained four major Core Formation Sects: the Celestial Cloud Sect, the Black Ghost Cave, the Dragon Demon Palace, and the Demon Spirit Sect.

Among them, both his Demon Spirit Sect and the Dragon Demon Palace cultivated systems based on Demon Power, so they normally wouldn’t move against the Celestial Demon Sect.

The Celestial Cloud Sect, composed of Spirit Refiners, was already in deep conflict with the Celestial Demon Sect. Being neighbors simply made it easier for them to try and annihilate one another.

As for the remaining Black Ghost Cave, its border with the Celestial Demon Sect’s Earth Realm was minimal, and the two sides had no major conflicts to speak of.

Thus, the Celestial Demon Sect’s strategic position allowed it to focus nearly all its strength on dealing with the Celestial Cloud Sect.

"What happened between you and the Ghost-Controlling Sect?"

"The same old problems." The Demon Spirit Sect Leader shook his head and sighed, unwilling to elaborate.

Jiang Yingtian didn’t give up, but no matter what he said, the Demon Spirit Sect Leader remained unmoved.

The reasons the Demon Spirit Sect Leader provided were more than sufficient, effectively shutting down all of Jiang Yingtian’s arguments. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

This trip.

Jiang Yingtian had gained virtually nothing.

Moreover, he suspected that the Demon Spirit Sect Leader’s story about friction with the Ghost-Controlling Sect was just an excuse to brush him off.

...

...

「The fifteenth day of the first month.」

「Celestial Cloud Sect, Artifact Casting Peak.」

In his cave residence halfway up the mountain, Fang Yun was engaged in his daily cultivation.

Two and a half years had passed since he first successfully refined a Purple Essence Pill.

During that time, he had acquired just over three million Talent Points, averaging more than one hundred thousand per month.

He was about 3.6 million Talent Points away from being able to upgrade all his Life Talents to seven stars.

’At my current rate of acquiring Talent Points, that should take about three more years.’

His influence within the sect had grown to 65% last year.

When he upgraded his Combat Talent to five stars, his influence had been at 62%.

Fang Yun knew that the three percent increase over the years was largely due to the pills and Spiritual Artifacts he refined.

Both his Alchemy and Artifact Refining were steadily raising his status in the eyes of the Sect Elders, especially among those who had been stuck at a realm bottleneck and broke through after using his Spirit Medicine.

’If my influence keeps growing at this rate,’ he thought, ’it’s highly likely I’ll reach 80% by the time I reach the Peak of Foundation Establishment.’

’That’s a terrifying level of influence. Even the three current Supreme Elders might not have that much sway.’

He finished refining and absorbing an Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pill.

Fang Yun slowly opened his eyes and saw a paper scroll floating before him.

He quickly began to read its contents.

Most of the information was about the current situation.

At his request, summaries from various sect meetings, big and small, were now being shared with him.

His power within the Celestial Cloud Sect had grown immense. As long as his requests weren’t too unreasonable, the sect would generally grant them.

"It’s about time to make a move," Fang Yun muttered after putting away the scroll.

As he practiced Alchemy and Artifact Refining more frequently, his experience grew, and the number of Talent Points he gained each month from his Life Talents steadily increased.

However, the only way to gain a large number of Talent Points at once was still through combat and killing enemies.

Compared to two years ago, battles at the Foundation Establishment Level were breaking out with increasing frequency.

The Celestial Cloud Sect had already lost a Foundation Establishment Elder from Battle Peak, but the aggressor, the Celestial Demon Sect, had yet to lose a single Foundation Establishment Demon.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators who had fallen on the Demon side were all from forces merely affiliated with the Celestial Demon Sect.

「Half a day later.」

Fully prepared, Fang Yun had already left the sect.

He was heading to the Celestial Demon Sect’s Earth Realm, his first time doing so since reaching Foundation Establishment.

This time, his target was the Feng Family, a Foundation Establishment Influence aligned with the Demons.

According to his intelligence, the Demon-aligned Feng Family currently had a total of three Foundation Establishment Demons. Two were from the Feng Family itself, both at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. The third was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment Demon from the Celestial Demon Sect.

’A mid-stage Foundation Establishment Demon and two early-stage ones,’ he considered. ’For the current me, if we met head-on and neither side used a Grand Array, I could kill them with ease.’