The Sect Leader walked into the Ancestral Hall and stopped before the statue of the sect’s founder.

He respectfully lit three sticks of Spiritual Incense, bowed several times, and then placed them in the Incense Burner before the statue.

"You should come and pay your respects to the founder as well."

Yang Jing followed the Sect Leader’s example, taking three sticks of Spiritual Incense and respectfully bowing three times to the founder.

After Yang Jing finished, the Sect Leader casually sat down on a Meditation Cushion in front of the statue.

"Yang Jing, since you practice the Tai Shi Five Elements True Talisman Scripture, you must be aware of the marvels of the Five Elements Wheel, yes?"

Yang Jing cautiously sat on a Meditation Cushion in a subordinate position.

"Indeed. The more I cultivate, the more I feel that the Five Elements Wheel has endless miraculous uses."

The Tai Shi Five Elements True Talisman Scripture had certainly been a massive help to him. It wasn’t just that it allowed him, a person with a Middle Grade Spirit Root, to cultivate faster than a genius with an Upper Grade Spirit Root.

If it weren’t for the True and False Five Elements Wheel, he would never have been able to so easily refine the Spiritual Mechanism produced by the Celestial Demon into Magical Power.

When enhanced by the Five Elements Great Escape, the wheel’s Refining Power over Spiritual Mechanism was terrifyingly potent.

The Sect Leader formed a series of Magic Formulas with his hands. Suddenly, a Five Elements Dharma Wheel, looking just like a Magical Treasure, flew up from behind him, blazing with light and suffused with auspicious energy.

Yang Jing’s eyes widened. He had never imagined that the Five Elements Wheel could actually be summoned out of one’s Dantian.

"The various Lifebound Magical Treasures recorded in the Tai Shi Five Elements True Talisman Scripture are all quite powerful, but when it comes to compatibility with the Cultivation Technique, how can they compare to the Five Elements Wheel that we have cultivated and circulated for a thousand years?"

The Sect Leader said with a hint of pride.

"Sect Leader, can the Five Elements Wheel really be refined into a Magical Treasure?"

Yang Jing instantly thought of the Five Elements Magical Sword. That technique also involved condensing Magical Power into a Flying Sword. However, the essence of the Five Elements Magical Sword was ultimately just a clump of Magical Power. The moment it lost the constraint of Sword Intent, it would instantly dissipate into nothing.

"Of course it can be. It just requires a specific opportunity."

Zhang Yuan said, looking at Yang Jing.

"Condensing a Golden Core into a Nascent Soul is incredibly difficult. Even with the help of a Nascent Soul Pill, it only increases the chance of success by twenty percent. But if you have the Five Elements Wheel as a Magical Treasure, it can add another twenty percent on top of that. On a normal day, you can even release the wheel from your body to refine Spiritual Qi, which is like having a Golden Core Cultivator with an Upper Grade Spirit Root cultivating for you."

Yang Jing knew the important part was coming. He immediately focused his full attention, waiting for the Sect Leader to continue.

"This opportunity is the Nine Marvelous Creation Qi. This Qi is incomparably profound. It possesses the Power of Creation and can transform the illusory into the real, forging truth from falsehood. The Five Elements Wheel, which is merely a condensation of Original Magical Power, can become a true, tangible Magical Treasure by refining just a single wisp of this Qi."

Sect Leader Zhang Yuan retracted his Five Elements Wheel into his Dantian.

"This Qi is produced by the Nine Marvels Sect’s Tier Six Spiritual Treasure, the Nine Marvels Creation Tripod. Every thousand years, it can produce one hundred and eight wisps of Nine Marvelous Creation Qi."

"The Nine Marvels Creation Tripod is the ultimate Spirit Treasure of the Nine Marvels Sect. It fell along with the Central Continent long ago. A Tier Six Spiritual Treasure cannot be used lightly in the Nine Heavens World. Every activation consumes its original Essence Qi, and it must recuperate within a Tier Six Spiritual Vein for a thousand years to have any hope of recovery."

At the mention of a Tier Six Spiritual Treasure, an envious look couldn’t help but appear on Sect Leader Zhang Yuan’s face.

The Five Elements True Spirit Sect had shallow foundations. Its founder was merely an Independent Cultivator and left no Spirit Treasures for the Sect. The Tier Five Spiritual Treasure passed down in the sect today was refined by a later Divinity Transformation Ancestor Master.

"Even among Tier Six Spiritual Treasures, the Nine Marvels Creation Tripod is one of the absolute best, just one step away from Tier Seven. Its demand for the Heaven and Earth Spirit Mechanism is thus even higher. Even while dormant in a Tier Six Spiritual Vein, its original Essence Qi continuously dissipates day and night. The Nine Marvels Sect was naturally frantic about this and tried every possible solution. Eventually, they discovered a fragment of the Upper Realm in the Outer Realm of the Nine Heavens World. At the core of this fragment was a Spiritual Eye, and the Spiritual Qi within it was identical to that of the Upper Realm."

"Unfortunately, this fragment Small Realm was also discovered by the Outer Celestial Demons. It became the Outer Celestial Demons’ home turf. After a great battle, the Nine Marvels Sect suffered heavy losses. Not only was their Divinity Transformation Sect Leader injured, but they also lost several Nascent Soul Elders. Out of desperation, they had no choice but to request aid from the experts of the Central Continent. An agreement was made at that time: of the Nine Marvelous Creation Qi produced by the Nine Marvels Creation Tripod, the Nine Marvels Sect would only take eighteen wisps. Every thousand years, the descendants or disciples of those experts, as long as they are in the Golden Core Realm, can go to that fragment Small Realm to compete for the Nine Marvelous Creation Qi after handing over a single Top-Grade Spirit Stone."

"The founder of our Five Elements True Spirit Sect shone brilliantly in that battle. Relying on his self-realized Great Five Elements Divine Light Prohibition, he slew a Demon Venerable of the Celestial Demons and secured two slots for us, his descendants."

As Sect Leader Zhang Yuan spoke of this, his face filled with pride.

Most of the other allied experts had only managed to secure a single slot for their descendants and disciples.

These two slots were a major reason why the Five Elements True Spirit Sect had never gone a generation without a Nascent Soul Cultivator for tens of thousands of years. It allowed the Five Elements True Spirit Sect to firmly establish its foothold in the Western Continent.

Yang Jing looked at the founder’s statue, wreathed in the curling smoke of Spiritual Incense, and his heart stirred. As a fellow cultivator who had also started as an Independent Cultivator, he could fully imagine the immense hardships and obstacles the founder must have faced to achieve such greatness.

He finally understood why both Fiery Fire True Monarch and the Sect Leader had called this a great opportunity.

’Setting aside the various wondrous uses of the Five Elements Wheel after it becomes a Lifebound Magical Treasure, that extra twenty percent chance of Nascent Soul Formation alone is enough to drive countless Golden Core Cultivators into a frenzy.’

’Combined with the Nascent Soul Pill, that’s a forty percent success rate for Nascent Soul Formation. It’s almost like having one foot already in the Nascent Soul Stage.’

"The day to enter the Small Realm for Qi Collection is eighteen years from now. As it happens, cultivators from our Six Sects are all required to travel to the Central Continent for a time after their Core Formation. You can head to the Central Continent a few years early to experience its wonders and avoid being stuck in the Western Continent like a frog in a well."

Sect Leader Zhang Yuan said.

The Central Continent was rich in resources. After completing their Core Formation, disciples of the Six Sects would all travel there to gather materials for refining Magical Treasures and to seek out Spirit Pills that could enhance their Magical Power.

These disciples would typically stay in the Central Continent for thirty or forty years, only returning to the Western Continent when summoned by the Sect.

Yang Jing slowly let out a breath. ’Eighteen years,’ he thought. ’I never expected the Five Elements True Spirit Sect to have an opportunity like this. If I miss it this time, given the lifespan of a Golden Core Cultivator, it would be very difficult to wait for a second chance.’

’Moreover, the Golden Core Cultivators in the Sect will surely fight tooth and nail for an opportunity like this. Amidst all the open strife and veiled struggles, all sorts of underhanded methods will probably be used.’

’Yet the Sect Leader gave one of the slots directly to me. It shows how much he trusts and values me.’

"Thank you for your guidance, Sect Leader."

Yang Jing bowed solemnly.

The Sect Leader accepted the bow calmly. Although Yang Jing’s combat power, Talent, and Merit Points all ranked him among the very best of the Five Elements True Spirit Sect’s Golden Core Disciples, there were still quite a few dissenting voices about giving this slot directly to him.

Even within Yang Jing’s own master-disciple lineage, many people were opposed to it.