C318 The Cornerstone of the Upper Sect
Bai Shang's gaze was hollow, his demeanor numb as he spoke with a detached indifference.
None but he could discern Yu Yuan's current condition.
Qin Yun, who had once led the Midnightshields as their sect master, attempted to use a Lunar Spirit's remnant soul to investigate. However, the pain was so intense, like needles pricking the spirit, that he was compelled to cease his probe.
Bai Shang, whose cultivation level and vitality depth remained inscrutable to the onlookers, suddenly broke the silence with his remark.
"Who might this be?"
Clad in a green gown with features as delicate as a painting, Su Yan gazed inquisitively at the stranger, her bright eyes reflecting her curiosity. "You mentioned Yu broke through his cultivation level in the blink of an eye. Is that indeed the case?"
Wei Feng, Zhan Tianxiang, and Zhao Yafu were also skeptical.
Even with their renowned talents, breaking through to the Golden Sanctum realm wasn't instantaneous.
Zhao Yafu, the quickest among them to advance, had also built up considerable experience.
Yuan Lianyao and Qin Yun had previously sensed that Yu Yuan's Golden Sanctum little world was still a long way from being saturated with spiritual energy.
Could it truly happen so swiftly?
"With just a few words from you, inside..."
Bai Shang cast a glance at Yu Yuan, shrouded in white mist, and explained, "Inside, more than ten days have passed. Your inability to see clearly and the unfathomable nature of the remnant soul is due to the fact that the space he occupies is not before us."
His statement carried a depth of meaning.
Yet, those who had attained a certain level of cultivation had their moment of realization in an instant.
Lee Yuchan, one of the select few privy to his identity, trusted his assessment implicitly. She nodded in understanding and said, "I see now."
Her nod of agreement prompted the others to reflect, and they too were taken aback by the revelation.
"The Forgeroses' Ancient Echoes of the Void mantra is truly formidable. It's no wonder there were claims that at the height of its power, Forgeroses was the foremost among the seven lower sects," Su Yan remarked, astounded.
"At its zenith, Forgeroses far surpassed the second-ranked Ethereal Void Sect."
Then, a stranger quietly drew near, his expression grave as he observed Yu Yuan at that moment.
Su Yan hurried over and offered her respects with a bow.
The newcomer was Yang Yinquan from Abyssal Dawn, accompanied by Su Xiangtian. The rest of the Abyssal Dawn cultivators remained at their original location, choosing not to follow him in seeking out Su Yan and her companions.
"The Forgeroses once had the potential to join the ranks of the three great upper sects, alongside the Sword Sect, the Sunlit Order, and the Ebon Star," Yang Yinquan remarked, his voice taking on a reverent tone. "This was because, at their zenith, the Forgeroses had given rise to a primordial spirit!"
"Primordial spirit!"
"Did the Forgeroses really once possess a primordial spirit?"
"Can it be true? Aren't primordial spirit stage cultivators exclusive to the peak practitioners of the three great upper sects?"
"The primordial spirit represents the pinnacle of human cultivation. Isn't it said to be immortal?"
"By the heavens! The Forgeroses actually birthed a primordial spirit!"
Yang Yinquan's revelation sent ripples of excitement through the younger generation gathered around Yu Yuan, igniting a buzz of conversation.
Currently, even the Ethereal Void Sect, recognized as the foremost among the seven lower sects, has not seen the emergence of a primordial spirit.
The three upper sects are revered as such because they stand lofty and unassailable, their status cemented by the presence of ultimate cultivators within the primordial spirit realm. Moreover, it's possible that each sect has more than one such cultivator.
The realms of Spirit Walk, Solar Spirit, and Unbound are still bound by the Way of Heaven and Earth, with their lifespans ultimately coming to an end.
The primordial spirit, however, is legendary for its eternal life.
The hierarchy of sects in Euwrea is not immutable. When the Ebon Star, the Sword Sect, and the Sunlit Order were first founded, they were not even considered lower sects. It was through the crucible of time, over thousands and tens of thousands of years, that they accumulated their current prestige and were elevated to the status of upper sects.
Before them, Euwrea had witnessed the rise and fall of other upper sects. Some were supplanted by emerging sects, while others vanished due to various reasons, never to reclaim their former splendor.
The simplest way to distinguish an upper sect from a lower sect is to look for the presence of cultivators at the level of the primordial spirit within the sect.
In the realm of cultivation, possessing a primordial spirit is not enough to gain recognition from other upper sects or to command respect from the lower sects. Yet, without a primordial spirit, a sect could never hope to ascend to the ranks of the upper sects. The primordial spirit is an essential condition for reaching such esteemed status!
At the height of the Forgeroses, they had a cultivator with a primordial spirit, which put them on the cusp of joining the ranks of prestigious upper sects like the Sword Sect, the Sunlit Order, and the Ebon Star. "It's such a shame that the cultivator of the Primordial Spirit Realm was confirmed to have perished in the extraterrestrial realms," Yang Yinquan lamented, his tone one of genuine regret. "A cultivator at the level of the primordial spirit is said to have eternal life, meaning their lifespan knows no bounds. However, should they be besieged by a being of equal power or fall to the combined forces of a Star-Spawned Terror and an Otherkin chieftain, they too can meet their end."
He left his statement hanging, yet the implication was clear to all. The Forgeroses once harbored a Primordial Spirit Realm expert who could have elevated them to upper sect status, but he met an untimely and unnatural death deep within the extraterrestrial Star River.
"That spell he practiced?" Lee Yuchan inquired with curiosity.
Yang Yinquan gave a slight nod, confirming, "Indeed, it was the Ancient Echoes of the Void."
At this revelation, the crowd's gaze instinctively shifted to the diminutive commander locked in combat with Jiang Moyan and Zou Jin beneath the starry sky. Who could have imagined that the Ancient Echoes of the Void, now a forbidden art within the Forgeroses, was once the linchpin that nearly propelled the sect to upper sect glory?
Why then has the Forgeroses forbidden the cultivation of such a potent spell? What has kept Shen Feiqing's master from returning from the extraterrestrial domain? And how did Shen Feiqing, once hailed as a prodigious talent of the Forgeroses, become an outcast, expelled from the sect?
These questions and more haunted the minds of those gathered. As Yang Yinquan recounted the bygone splendor of the Forgeroses, Bai Shang, who had previously spoken, seemed to vanish once more, silently retreating to stand motionless in a corner.
Yang Yinquan kept his gaze fixed on him.
Bai Shang's face remained impassive.
"The Forgeroses and our Abyssal Dawn have always been allies," Yang Yinquan said, continuing on his own. "I'm thankful that those deadly space rifts spared the Abyssal Dawn."
He glanced at the sky.
He was aware that Shen Feiqing, currently wreaking havoc, must have been privy to the inner workings of both the Forgeroses and the Abyssal Dawn. Hence, despite the Abyssal Dawn being one of the seven sects, not a single member had fallen victim to the slaughter.
At that very moment!
Jiang Moyan from the Thunder Sect, his Lunar Spirit form shrouded in lightning like a deity of thunder, was being torn apart by the space rifts.
Jiang Moyan let out a howl as his waist's jade belt and the suspended silver spheres burst one after another.
Each explosion resembled a star of condensed lightning, bursting and vanishing in the sky.
As Jiang Moyan's Lunar Spirit attempted to flee, the void around him suddenly solidified.
A figure with an unusual complexion and a striking appearance materialized out of nowhere.
With a flurry of hand movements, he cast a sequence of incantation seals that transformed into a dazzling orb of light, pinning down the space around Jiang Moyan and freezing the void in place.
The relentless space rifts continued to drift, slicing Jiang Moyan's Lunar Spirit into fragments.
In an instant, Jiang Moyan's Lunar Spirit was cleaved and scattered into various space rifts.
"It's him!"
"The Yin-Yang Acolytes who stood by Yu Yuan's side in the forbidden area!"
"What's he doing here?"
Zhan Tianxiang, Su Yan, and Zhao Yafu, who had all undergone the trials in the Moonfall Sanctuary, couldn't contain their astonishment.
Lee Yuchan, Lee Yu, and Yuan Lianyao, still aboard the Nimbuswing, had also encountered Yan Qiling and were equally stunned.
They were astounded that Yan Qiling had grown so powerful in just a year's time!
Equally shocking was Yan Qiling's sudden emergence, teaming up with Shen Feiqing to trap Jiang Moyan and seal his fate.
The connection between Yan Qiling and Yu Yuan was no secret to them. With Yan Qiling's appearance, many quickly confirmed their suspicions.
Yu Yuan and Shen Feiqing had clearly been in cahoots all along!
Observing Yu Yuan once more, they saw him enveloped in a dense white fog of spiritual energy, eagerly absorbing it. The source of this pure, potent force was a mystery, yet it propelled him to refine his little world within the Golden Sanctum at an accelerated pace. It was clear to them now.
"He must be using the ceaseless flow of spiritual energy to enhance and transform his lower elixir field," they concluded.
Zhao Yafu squinted her eyes, her smile radiating sweetness and charm. "In the middle period of the Golden Sanctum, each additional cycle of refinement signifies that one's talent surpasses that of the average person. After the third level, ordinary cultivators can progress to the late period of the Golden Sanctum. By the fifth level, one is considered a prodigy on the path of cultivation."
Her words resonated deeply with those familiar with the intricacies of this phase.
The process of tempering and rebuilding in the middle period of the Golden Sanctum is critical, whether in the Land of Quiescence or Euwrea. Often, the number of refinements at this stage can determine one's future standing within their sect.
Yu Yuan, hailing from Asvetaesi, had not yet shown the world his exceptional talent for cultivation. Advancing to the late period of the Golden Sanctum after several rounds of refinement in the middle period is a clear indicator of one's innate gift.
