The Modern Martial Immortal

Chapter 187: The Origin World

Yaoguang said calmly, ”I have already captured your psychic thought signature. I will invite you in now. I won’t interfere with the rest.”

Li Qingshan nodded.

—Alright.

Immediately after, a headache crept up on him.

Even though they had rewarded Yaoguang with a spirit treasure, the man instantly repaid the favor by contributing an even more powerful spirit treasure. The sect master was unsure how to compensate him next.

After some thought, he decided that Yaoguang’s treatment would have to be raised again. He was half a Dharma Form cultivator, after all. Promoting him directly to hall master and giving him the treatment of a deputy sect master was hardly excessive.

Unfortunately, Yaoguang had only joined recently, making it impossible to ascertain whether he truly shared their ideals and would be willing to stake everything for the sect’s prosperity. If not for that, Li Qingshan would not have minded letting him take the position of sect master.

As things stood, both sides had to spend enough time to deepen their understanding of one another. Yaoguang sensed the direction indicated by the communication guidance. After locking onto the position, his psychic thought erupted.

Space-time seemed to twist on another level that did not belong to the material world. Instead, it belonged to the world of psychic thought, psychic consciousness, and the mind itself. It was as if a special form of telepathy had formed between two people, one that was countless times clearer.

After establishing that telepathy, he directly guided another strand of psychic consciousness into the Psyche Kingdom.

Li Qingshan’s psychic consciousness continuously perceived his surroundings.

—This is...

Yaoguang briefly explained, ”I hope you don’t mind, but the space formed by this Void Psychic World is limited right now.”

Ultimately, his psychic thought intensity was still limited, making it impossible to support too many external connections.

—For now, only the hall masters and regional heads know about this. About one or two hundred people. Having an absolutely secure channel of communication should be more than enough.

”I will transfer the permissions now. How you explain this to them next is up to you.”

—Alright.

In truth, as the lord of the Psyche Kingdom, Yaoguang was capable of monitoring all information within it.

Letting others discuss sect affairs within this Psyche Kingdom demanded trust no less than Yaoguang disclosing the existence of this spirit treasure. It meant that from this day onward, as long as Yaoguang maintained constant surveillance, the Nine-Cauldron Sect would hold no secrets from him whatsoever.

Thus, with a shift of Yaoguang’s intent, part of the Psyche Kingdom’s control authority transferred to Li Qingshan.

For now, the sect master only obtained the ability to communicate and exchange information. Functions such as blocking psychic thought communication, interfering with transmissions, modifying psychic thought information, or creating restricted psychic thought zones still had to be carried out by Yaoguang personally. Nevertheless, the ability to contact any cultivator at any time through the Psyche Kingdom left him deeply astonished.

—So this is how Dharma Form cultivators control the Void Psychic World. It is truly unbelievable.

Yaoguang smiled as he introduced it further, ”Next, contact the others and record their psychic thought, psychic consciousness, and psychic will fluctuations. When necessary, you can send messages to them directly.

”The Void Psychic World will then transmit the information using their recorded fluctuations. This form of communication is extremely difficult to interfere with, no matter the environment or distance. Of course, unless this Void Psychic World is destroyed.”

Li Qingshan made a resolute declaration.

—As long as our sect stands, such a thing is inconceivable!

Yaoguang nodded.

After that, he instructed Li Qingshan on how to use the various functions of the Psyche Kingdom. The sect master was only a Foundation Building cultivator after all. His proficiency with the Psyche Kingdom was far inferior to Yaoguang’s. It’d take some practice before he could use the Psyche Kingdom’s power to draw people in and transmit messages seamlessly.

Afterward, Yaoguang withdrew his psychic mind. He recalled his exchange with Li Qingshan.

Does a top-tier spirit treasure like the Origin World truly exist? he questioned inwardly.

Thinking back to Li Qingshan’s reaction at the time, as well as the suggestions the sect master had proactively raised during their subsequent discussions, Yaoguang vaguely grasped the truth. A knowing smile appeared on his face.

***

Once he had adapted to the various functions of the Void Psychic World, Li Qingshan smiled as well. After some thought, he summoned his disciple, ”Immediately place all Origin World-related information under the highest secrecy level.”

”As you wish.”

As the disciple turned to leave, Li Qingshan seemed to recall something. ”Wait.”

In a world where psychic cultivators and Dharma Forms ran rampant, there was no such thing as absolute secrecy, so he changed his mind. ”Erase all information related to the Origin World.”

”Erase...” The disciple hesitated. ”We may not be able to completely erase it.”

”I know. Just carry it out.”

Many things involved two separate questions: whether they could be done at all, or whether they should be done.

The information that had been erased, the Origin World, and Yaoguang. He had a secret, but was willing to give it up for the sake of the sect. Moreover, it was a secret of such staggering magnitude. Exposure would bring him dangers beyond imagination.

Naturally, Li Qingshan could not probe into it. Not only that, he also had to assist in concealing it properly and make sure no information leaked whatsoever. That was the only way for Yaoguang to truly set his mind at ease.

Li Qingshan inwardly repeated the word, “Trust.”

It was something even more precious than hope.

Hopefully, these arrangements could buy them a little more time—until they fully trusted each other, the Nine-Cauldron Sect grew strong enough to eliminate all risks, and the truth could be revealed openly and without fear.

***

The emergence of the Void Psychic World sent shockwaves through the Nine-Cauldron Sect, overshadowing the improved level 6 spirit-gathering array subsequently introduced by Yaoguang. Of course, Yaoguang himself had no desire to draw too much attention.

On one hand, he returned to teaching the array casters. On the other, he kept a low profile within the Psyche Kingdom, quietly observing and lurking. Brimming with fighting spirit and enthusiasm, the sect members discussed how to launch a major campaign across the East Sea.

Naturally, he did not neglect his cultivation to the star lord path either. After allocating the remaining experience points for the Array Caster and Psyche Dao branches, he still pushed his Martial Dao progress to 91%. It gave him far more efficient cultivation methods even if he hadn’t reached the Star God Realm.

Coupled with the existence of the Stellar Soul, he steadily entered the stage of condensing a life-bound star, also known as the second tier of the Star Lord Realm.

Of course, the resources expended during this period were far from insignificant, especially during the phase of condensing his life-bound star. It seemed nearly half the Nine-Cauldron Sect was mobilized, continuously delivering batches of resources to him and accelerating his realm advancement.

Naturally, he had no intention of letting the Nine-Cauldron Sect work for free. He paid them in full. There was no helping it. He had too many spirit stones. If he did not spend some, he wouldn’t know where to save them.

As someone with the Merchant profession, he inherently bore the responsibility of facilitating resource circulation. If he hoarded spirit stones and left them unused, how much could they possibly consume on their own?

Even after bringing in Lin Xia, Leng Jun, Su Yaoxue, and others from the Su family to help spend them, his spending still lagged far behind his earnings.

It was also at this time that the higher ups of the Nine-Cauldron Sect officially established the strategic plan for the East Sea.

To ensure the feasibility of advancing fifty thousand kilometers into the East Sea, the sect even brought previously hidden cultivators into the open, assigning them to assist with regional defenses.

Over a thousand major cultivators were stationed at the East Sea front. More than four hundred were sword cultivators. Although the Sea Guardian Institute sword cultivators could only be used for defensive assistance, the scale of the manpower deployment clearly showed the sect’s resolve to reclaim the islands.

The deputy master of the Warfare Hall, Lou Yuyu, personally oversaw this campaign. Murong Hui, the master of the Heavenly Palace Hall, acted in support. Accompanying them was Gao Shenghan, master of the Profound Array Hall. Three core-level figures of the Nine-Cauldron Sect personally rushed to the front lines, taking command amid the tense atmosphere enveloping the Nine-Heaven Domain.

Within the Void Psychic World, the Great Sun Sword Sect, First Yang Sect, Star Sea Sect, Great Yue Dynasty, Ancient Immortal Sect, and Xuanming Sect all stepped forward simultaneously, accusing the Nine-Cauldron Sect of manufacturing tensions in the East Sea.

The Infinite Star Palace also came forward publicly, declaring that it would certainly protect the interests of its allies in the East Sea. It further stated that it had submitted the matter to the Council of Elders. Once approval was granted, it would deploy two third-generation Sky Patrol Warships to the East Sea.

Unbeknownst to them, the Nine-Cauldron Sect’s ability to gather and process information within the Void Psychic World had advanced to a whole new tier.

Although they could not infiltrate the Infinite Star Palace’s Void Psychic World, they could nonetheless infer the movements of its Sky Patrol Warships by tracking traces left behind by high-tier cultivators.

At the very least, not a single Sky Patrol Warship was advancing toward the East Sea. Coupled with the repeatedly confirmed intelligence that the Infinite Star Palace was stuck in war, the Nine-Cauldron Sect unanimously concluded that Infinite Star Palace was simply bluffing and carrying out strategic intimidation. Thus, they no longer hesitated.

First, they openly condemned in the Void Psychic World the actions of various sects that had occupied Nine-Cauldron Sect islands in the East Sea. They presented batch after batch of evidence, proving the islands had belonged to them since ancient times. The Nine-Cauldron Sect, after all, was the legitimate inheritor of the Artifact Sect’s legacy.

At the same time, they sternly warned all occupying forces to withdraw immediately, or their actions would be deemed a territorial invasion of the Nine-Cauldron Sect. The release of the announcement plunged the Cangwu Alliance into three days of heated debate.

Once the three-day ultimatum expired, Lou Yuyu issued a single command, and the first detachment of 108 sword cultivators departed from the Nine-Heaven Domain. Each wielded Purple Firmament Type 13 flying swords. Under the coordination of powerful psychic cultivators, they charged straight toward a large island that had been lost not too long ago. It was Fangyuan Island, which lay relatively close to the Nine-Heaven Domain.

During the incursion of the Infinite Star Palace’s Sky Patrol Warships into the Nine-Heaven Domain, the Xuanming Sect had seized this island. Now, they would be made an example of.

The Nine-Cauldron Sect had naturally chosen the most rampant among them as its first target.