"If you ask me, we could give them a drop... The Hundred Flowers Sect is quite adept at navigating social circles. Their female disciples are well-traveled and have deep ties with many Core Formation Powers."

Master Huoya stroked the few sparse strands of his goatee, his mind wandering to the graceful figure and captivating eyes of Sect Leader Yu from the Hundred Flowers Sect. The flames hidden within his sleeves flared even hotter.

"How is the Hundred Flowers Sect qualified to request Clear Spirit Jade Marrow? Senior Brother Huoya, don’t bend over backward to speak for them just because your concubine is from there."

Master Hei Feng grew anxious upon hearing this, the fat on his face jiggling.

"As I recall, the Hundred Flowers Sect doesn’t even have a single Core Formation True Man presiding over it. That Sect Leader is just a Fake Pill Cultivator... It might have been acceptable two hundred years ago, but how could they possibly be worthy of a drop of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow now?"

"Hmph. I heard a fellow Core Formation Daoist came to visit Junior Brother Feng today. Which Sect is trying to use your connections to get some Clear Spirit Jade Marrow?"

Called out by the junior brother he usually looked down on, Master Huoya’s beard bristled with anger and his eyes widened in a glare.

"There is someone... Senior Brother Fang, it’s Fellow Daoist Yangg from the Qingfeng Sect. He wishes to request three drops of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow."

"What audacity! Three drops!"

A muscle in Master Huoya’s cheek twitched as he said disdainfully, "A remote Sect from some backwater corner of the world. A country bumpkin from a small place with an appetite as big as the Holy Lotus Sect’s!"

"You can’t say that. The Qingfeng Sect is, after all, a Sect with an orderly line of succession. They haven’t been without a Core Formation True Man for a thousand years, and their Cultivation Technique is from an orthodox Daoist Family..."

Master Hei Feng knew Master Yangg’s request was a bit excessive, but he spoke up sheepishly for the sake of the Tongue Recognition Pill.

"Bullshit Daoist Family Sect! A few years ago, they were getting crushed by the Ghost Spirit Sect. Even the resources in their own heartland were plundered clean!"

Master Huoya’s words dripped with contempt for the Qingfeng Sect.

"Or we could just do as Senior Brother Feng suggests and seal up the Clear Spirit Jade Marrow, no longer selling it to outsiders... That way, we won’t have to worry about the Secret Realm collapsing in a few hundred years and our own disciples having no Core Formation Spiritual Objects to use!"

Senior Brother Feng was the other remaining Core Formation True Man of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.

He was currently in seclusion within the Ten Thousand Beasts Cave, attempting to break through to Late-Stage Core Formation.

Among all the Core Formation True Men of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, he was the most conservative regarding the handling of the Clear Spirit Jade Marrow.

When the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect first took control of that Secret Realm, it would condense one hundred drops of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow every 60-Year Cycle.

Naturally, the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect couldn’t consume this many Core Formation Spiritual Objects on its own.

They began to exchange and sell it to other powers, which later became a regular practice. They sold it for a mere twenty thousand Spirit Stones per drop.

However, the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect chose the buyers, who would also owe them a favor.

Everything went smoothly at first. Given the size of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, they had fewer than ten Perfect Foundation Establishment Cultivators in any given 60-Year Cycle.

The surplus Clear Spirit Jade Marrow flowed out to Liang Country’s Five States and Seventy-Two Commanderies. Some Cultivators even crossed millions of miles from other nations just to seek a single Core Formation Spiritual Object.

But three hundred years ago, a problem arose in the Core Formation Spiritual Object Secret Realm that the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect regarded as a Supreme Treasure.

The output of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow that year dropped to eighty drops.

One hundred and twenty years later, it dropped again to only sixty drops.

During the most recent opening of the Secret Realm, the harvest was down to just forty drops of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow.

After numerous investigations and speculations by the four Core Formation True Men, they reached a single conclusion: a thousand years after its discovery, the Secret Realm was on the verge of collapse.

After perhaps four or five more harvests of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow, the entire Secret Realm would completely disintegrate, its fragments drifting away into the turbulent currents of space.

This was why the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect had become increasingly anxious about the Clear Spirit Jade Marrow and had established two different sets of criteria for purchasing it.

If not for the fact that Clear Spirit Jade Marrow could only be preserved for a maximum of sixty years, Master Feng’s proposal would have been approved long ago—

to collect all the Clear Spirit Jade Marrow produced in the Secret Realm, not letting a single drop flow out, and reserve it exclusively for the use of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s own disciples.

"Enough! What are you two bickering about?"

Fang Tiancheng spoke slowly, his voice like muffled thunder, rolling and reverberating through the hall.

This Supreme Elder of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect had a leonine face with a broad nose. His silver-white hair and beard were a tangled mess, yet his skin was as smooth as a baby’s.

"I will find a way to deal with the Secret Realm. I found a potential solution at the Holy Lotus Sect this time... but we are currently missing two key items. If we can find them, we can at least postpone the Secret Realm’s collapse by three hundred years!"

"Junior Brother, reject the Hundred Flowers Sect’s request directly. Hei Feng was right about one thing: a mere Fake Pill Cultivator has no business asking for Clear Spirit Jade Marrow... So what if she’s well-connected? If a disciple of her Hundred Flowers Sect became the concubine of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, then I might give them some face."

"Also, you need to rein in your temperament and not indulge so excessively in the company of women... If you see no hope of reaching Mid-Stage Core Formation anytime soon, then go and guide the younger generation more often. There are six disciples at Foundation Establishment Perfection in this batch who will all attempt Core Formation within the next thirty years. You should put more effort into teaching them the secrets of Core Formation."

"I have taken Senior Brother’s words to heart. I will definitely change my ways."

Master Huoya lowered his head. Specks of Fang Tiancheng’s spittle landed on his face, but he didn’t dare wipe them away, nor did he show the slightest temper of a Core Formation True Man.

Fang Tiancheng was older than even Master Yangg and was a patriarchal figure to all the Cultivators of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.

But because he cultivated the Spirit Control Scripture, drew upon the power of his Lifebound Spirit Beast, the Gold-Devouring Earth Dragon, and had taken various Life-Extending Elixirs, he could live for a full eight hundred years.

Not yet five hundred years old, he still had plenty of time to attempt a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm.

"As for the Qingfeng Sect, they’re just a stubborn, mish-mashed Sect... They can’t let go of their self-proclaimed orthodox Daoist Family pride, yet they also want to adapt to the local customs. You can tell as much from their True Inheritance Trial. It examines a disciple’s aptitude and character, but then ends based on their combat strength. Why bother with all that?"

The Ten Thousand Beasts Sect selected its True Disciples based solely on strength.

Regardless of personal strength or the power of their Companion Spirit Beast, anyone who could fight their way to the top was qualified to become a True Disciple.

However, this position was not secure. Every two years, newcomers could launch a challenge.

Fang Tiancheng seemed to know the Qingfeng Sect very well. He had done his homework on even the minor details and knew some real inside information.

"The Qingfeng Sect’s founder crossed the sea and established a foundation in Liang Country nearly two thousand years ago. If not for every generation producing disciples capable of supporting the Sect, their lineage would have been severed long ago."

"However, this Ge Cang has the Nascent Soul Form... If he succeeds in forming his Nascent Soul, the Qingfeng Sect might truly be on the rise!"

"Senior Brother Fang, a few years ago, there were widespread rumors that Ge Cang single-handedly repelled four Core Formation True Men from the Ghost Spirit Sect. How much truth is there to that?"

Master Huoya asked out of curiosity. With his own abilities, he was confident he could face and defeat any single Cultivator from the Ghost Spirit Sect.

His Lifebound Spirit Beast, the Ding Fire Divine Crow, gathered lantern light, candlelight, and the light from thousands of homes, refining them into a ball of Immortal True Flame that had the characteristic of waning but never being exhausted.

Although it wasn’t like some True Flames that could suppress evil entities and deal extra damage to Demon Path Cultivators, the darker and colder the environment, the more it could stimulate the Ding Fire Divine Crow’s Divine Techniques.

But fighting one against two, he could only manage a draw.

Against four, Master Huoya was certain his only option was to flee in defeat. He did have some confidence he could protect himself and escape using his Fire Crow’s Divine Techniques.

He absolutely refused to believe that a Cultivator from a remote, desolate Sect could achieve such a shocking feat.

There had to be some exaggeration or falsehood in the story.

For example, perhaps Ge Cang had used some powerful, single-use Exotic Treasure to scare off the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Core Formation True Men.

"How much truth?"

Fang Tiancheng’s voice rose, thunder rumbling in his chest as he spoke with disappointment, "I see you’ve truly become muddle-headed from wallowing in the company of women... If those few Demon Pups from the Ghost Spirit Sect hadn’t run so fast, every single one of them would have had their Divine Soul Annihilated by Ge Cang!"

"True Monarch Jiulian told me himself that this young man’s talent is the kind their Holy Lotus Sect might see only once in a century. The key is that his Divine Techniques are extremely effective against Demon Path Cultivators. Even if it were me, I might not be able to deal with those Demon Pups as quickly as he can!"

"Hei Feng, go and tell our friend from the Qingfeng Sect that we can give them one drop... no, three drops of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow!"

Fang Tiancheng seemed to recall something and changed his mind.

"But I want him to personally promise you that he will owe the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect two favors... one from the Qingfeng Sect, and one from Ge Cang personally. That Fellow Daoist Yangg is Ge Cang’s senior brother; he should be able to make that decision for him, right?"

"As soon as he agrees, take my token immediately, go to the Secret Realm, and retrieve three drops of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow for him!"

"Although I look down on the Qingfeng Sect’s awkward ways, they are the most trustworthy... As long as they owe us a favor, we don’t have to worry about them not repaying it."

"Understood, Senior Brother Fang."

Master Hei Feng hadn’t expected Fang Tiancheng to agree to Master Yangg’s excessive request.

He had originally thought that securing even one drop of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow would fulfill Master Yangg’s request, giving him the face to ask for that Tongue Recognition Pill.

After his two junior brothers had both exited the Hall of Ten Thousand Beasts, leaving Fang Tiancheng alone, he closed his eyes, a hint of weariness on his face.

’According to the Holy Lotus Sect, Ge Cang is guaranteed a spot in the Lotus Secret Realm this time... When the time comes, I’ll send a message telling him to keep an eye out for Space Spiritual Objects. With both Junior Brother Feng and Ge Cang there, as long as a Space Spiritual Object appears, there’s a good chance it will fall into their hands.’

As one of the few Great Cultivators in Liang Country, few things were a secret to Fang Tiancheng.

’If I can find a piece of Void Nether Stone, I can then go to Zengguang Immortal City and win a portion of Tier Four Earth at auction. If I hire a Tier Four Array Master, stabilizing the Secret Realm for another three hundred years won’t be a problem!’

Three hundred years meant that the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect could still have five more harvests of Core Formation Spiritual Objects from this Secret Realm.

Calculated at the minimum of forty drops of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow per harvest, that would be a total of two hundred Core Formation Spiritual Objects.

It would be worth paying any price for that. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

’My old partner is getting on in years, too. He has one or two hundred years left at most... I’m confident he can reach Tier Three Peak, but how in the world is he supposed to cross over to become a Tier Four Spirit Beast!’

The deeper one’s Cultivation of the Spirit Control Scripture, the more tightly bound the Cultivator’s relationship with their Lifebound Spirit Beast becomes.

Back when he first reached Core Formation, it was the Gold-Devouring Earth Dragon that pulled Fang Tiancheng’s Cultivation forward.

Now, the situation had reversed. His Lifebound Spirit Beast’s Realm was holding back Fang Tiancheng.

The Gold-Devouring Earth Dragon possessed a trace of a True Dragon Bloodline, making the step to advance to Tier Four even more difficult than for an ordinary Spirit Beast.

Using conventional methods, he would definitely not make it in time.

Fang Tiancheng had learned a secret from True Monarch Jiulian. Several thousand years ago in Beiyuan, a Nascent Soul True Monarch’s Spirit Beast, a Golden Light Qiu Dragon, had successfully accumulated enough power after swallowing a piece of Five Crystal Divine Iron. It passed its Transformed Thunder Tribulation and became a Tier Four Spirit Beast.

As both were Spirit Beasts possessing Dragon Blood and shared a fondness for devouring Five Metals Ore, this secret held great reference value.

’Five Crystal Divine Iron... The Cultivation Realm is so vast. Where could this Tier Five Spiritual Material still be hidden...’

Compared to the Core Formation Spiritual Object Secret Realm that was in danger of collapsing, the uncertainty of his own Great Dao caused Fang Tiancheng even more anxiety.