The Xuqi Sect
The Xuqi Sect was not an ordinary sect. Of course, the Fragment Sect was not 'ordinary' either, but there was a difference between the two groups.
In the Xuqi Sect, even the weakest members were at the Origin Soul Realm!
Because of this, the arrangement and landscape within the sect was far too different compared to the other superpower organisations. Actually, the Xuqi Sect was relatively small compared to the other superpowers due to their low number of members and their lack of resource-producing lands, but its 'small' size of a few thousand miles did not detract from its grandeur.
After entering through the gate, one of the two entrances into the Xuqi Sect, Yaan felt as if he had entered a whole new world. The concealing mist from before was nowhere to be seen, as if it had been burned away by the brilliant lights which hung above in the sky. The entire sect was illuminated by these lights, striking a breath-taking spectacle of seven colours, all converging down from above, illuminating the scenery below.
An endless valley came into view below the giant sword. The sword slowly glided through the skies, allowing the curious disciples and elders to peer down into the valley. Whilst it could indeed be described as a 'valley', this was no typical valley…in fact, entire lakes, rivers and even mountain peaks could be found within the depths of this valley, as well as sitting atop the countless enormous towering natural pillars of stone which pierced up into the sky, creating a sort of maze all around.
Whilst Yaan was curiously looking around him at this scenery which had once again expanded his understanding of the possibilities of the cultivation world, the Immortal Ancestor's voice appeared in his head, transmitted using a direct soul communication method.
'There are only ever a few hundred Xuqi Sect Elders at any one time, so each member is able to occupy their own region within the sect. The true value of the Xuqi Sect is found within the centre of the sect, as I'm sure you already know.'
Yaan remained silent, since he didn't want to alert the Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord to the fact that they were conversing, but he indeed knew some things about the famous Xuqi Sect lands.
After some time, they finally arrived in the central region, though this 'central region' actually took up around one half of the sect's total area. At this point, everyone stared down with reverent gazes, after all, down below them, there were countless inheritances left behind by Origin Soul Realm and Nirvana Realm cultivators, accumulated by the Xuqi Sect over a period of 30,000 years!
Many Xuqi Sect Elders, upon reaching the end of their life, would choose to leave behind their inheritance in the Xuqi Sect, joining the grand paradise known as the Righteous Inheritance Valley. However, it wasn't only the Xuqi Sect Elders who chose to leave behind their inheritances in this place…any Origin Soul Realm cultivator could contact the Xuqi Sect and choose to leave their full inheritance behind in this holy land of the Southern Continent!
The only requirements were for the person to possess at least Origin Soul Realm cultivation, and for the inheritance to be a righteous one.
Unlike the sole inheritance that Yaan had experienced, righteous inheritances tended to be far more forgiving. These inheritances almost lacked danger - so long as you were careful, you were very unlikely to lose your life. There were no traps, tricks or anything else malicious which could result in unexpected fatalities. At least, that was the case in the Righteous Inheritance Valley.
"I wonder what you think of my Xuqi Sect, Yaan?" The female immortal glanced at Yaan, smiling as she saw him looking around with intrigue.
Yaan looked up and slowly nodded, earnestly praising:
"It's very impressive. Be it the sky, the ground, the Spiritual Energy, or the inheritances, the Xuqi Sect deserves its reputation."
"Haha, are you considering joining my sect as an elder?" The female immortal shot the Immortal Ancestor a glance as she spoke half-jokingly.
"I'll do as teacher instructs." Yaan replied simply. As for his 'teacher', he remained silent, not seeming to care that the Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord was trying to sway his disciple over to her side.
'Pristine Qi Immortal has a high degree of confidence in this disciple of his, the child's loyalty must be absolute.' The female immortal concluded silently.
Yaan had his own thoughts after speaking to this woman for a few exchanges.
'It seems that this Gentle Butterfly Immortal either doesn't know about my identity as a fiend from the Demonic North, or she simply doesn't care. Otherwise, she wouldn't be trying to pull me into the Xuqi Sect like this. Of course, this could also be an act, to probe myself and the Immortal Ancestor…'
Yaan thought about it briefly, but he didn't bother trying to see through the female immortal's true thoughts by watching her closely. He knew that doing this was impossible and that he would only antagonise her by attempting to analyse her.
As they continued to move deeper into the sect, the Spiritual Energy concentration grew stronger and stronger.
'Is it a formation? Or a natural phenomena?' Yaan wondered. He realised that his worldview was still too narrow, but besides that, he didn't have the ability to see through an immortal formation. For Foundation Step cultivators, it was probably impossible to see through the true nature of the Xuqi Sect's environment.
But even so, despite not understanding the complexities of this land, Yaan could still admire the scenery. The awe-inspiring valley continued on, but now, enormous monuments could be seen every few tens of miles, each symbolising the location of an inheritance.
There were gate-ways, pillars, totem poles, flags, statues, and so on, all representing the location of an inheritance. The nature of each inheritance varied widely, some were enormous and spanned out for many miles, whilst others were no larger than a mortal commoner's garden. It was impossible to tell what exactly each of these inheritances entailed, but the inheritances were clearly not contained within separate micro-realms like the so called 'evil inheritance'.
Yaan understood well - Foundation Step cultivators could not build micro-realms capable of supporting life.
Creating a micro-realm was not actually as difficult as one might think, these miniature dimensions were contained within common storage treasures after all. However, even the largest of storage rings or spatial bags was unable to contain living organisms, this was a 'known fact' in the cultivation world.
Yaan's view on this was a bit different…since a place like that enormous inheritance could exist as a series of separate micro-realms, all of which could hold countless living beings within, then why couldn't the same principle be applied elsewhere?
In fact, Rui's soul which resided within the stone ring was the greatest evidence of this.
As for what level one needed to reach in order to develop this sort of miraculous treasure, Yaan had no idea, but his curiosity led to him paying even closer attention as they reached the centre of the Xuqi Sect…
It was said that in the centre of the Xuqi Sect, there was actually an immortal inheritance! This inheritance was said to be left behind by the first Immortal Lord of the sect, and it was a symbol of the dynasty's commitment to maintaining the Xuqi Sect as the continent's guardian.
After finally arriving at their destination, Yaan could immediately see that the rumours were true.
The giant sword stopped above a lake, but this lake was so large that it might be better described as a sea. The water was strangely still. No ripples could be seen on its surface, causing the reflections in this lake to look extremely vivid.
This lake was anything but ordinary. Transparent streams of water calmly flowed upwards from the lake, eventually dissipating into the seven-coloured sky above. After the streams of water entered the sky, they seemed to take on one of the seven colours, forming the striking lights that shone down upon the lands.
There was nothing else above or around this lake, aside from a single stone statue. The statue was not big, far smaller than many of the other statues that could be seen on the way to this place, but its presence was countless times more imposing!
Immortal!
As soon as they saw the statue, every cultivator would have this thought in their mind. This statue, this stone image of a person, could only be an immortal, and it must have been carved out by that very same immortal himself!
No ordinary cultivator could possibly sculpt such an exquisite statue, a statue which contained the lingering, domineering presence of its person, thousands of years after it was built!
Seeing the statue of this bearded man who seemed both overbearing and elegant at the same time, left the Fragment Sect members feeling breathless. It was only after quite some time had passed and they began to regain their senses, that they realised they were no longer alone here.
Actually, Yaan was the first to notice this. The statue had drawn in his gaze like everyone else, but he was more accustomed to remaining aware of his surroundings compared to these righteous cultivators. He quickly noticed that there were two other similar sized groups hovering above the lake.
There was nothing standing between the three groups, but nobody approached the Fragment Sect or the giant sword. Yaan raised an eyebrow when he noticed that others were flying back and forth between the two groups across the lake, but the Xuqi Sect Immortal Lord explained this as she spoke out loud.
"They have been informed of your presence, Pristine Qi Immortal. Unless you explicitly state that it is acceptable, nobody will visit your sect's group this time. I expect that your sect members also don't dare to leave without your permission."
The Immortal Ancestor gave a faint nod, then not long later, Yaan heard Brase's booming voice from behind them.
"Everyone, we have arrived at our destination. There is still a little over one day before the start of the exam. Teacher Immortal Ancestor has expressed his willingness for us to interact with the other organisations and cultivators."
Hearing these words brightened everyone's mood. The had been feeling worried that perhaps they would not be able to interact with the other cultivators of the Southern Continent this time. They wanted to mix with the others in order to establish connections and to engage in trade, but it wasn't worth risking doing this if there was a chance that it might displease the Immortal Ancestor. So, when the immortal expressed his willingness for them to go ahead, the elders felt relieved and the disciples felt excited.
It wasn't often that they left the sect. The Fragment Sect was simply too huge, there was no reason to leave their territories for the majority of the time. Only when there were events like this would some of the higher up members venture out into the outside world.
Even when disciples went to temper themselves by gaining life experiences, they often just did so in the outer sect nations. Sometimes they ventured into the surroundings lands occupied by and between the eight great clans, but this was less common, there really wasn't any reason to travel so far out.
It should be remembered that these superpower organisations were measured in the hundreds of thousands of miles, travelling so far was completely infeasible for most cultivators. Only Spirit Core Realm cultivators would even consider making such a journey, and only Origin Soul Realm cultivators could travel so far without too much difficulty.
'The Xuqi Sect is quite unique compared to the other superpowers.' Yaan thought mildly as he watched Sect Master Brase lead the other elders and disciples away from the giant sword, towards the distant Hukon Clan and Xuqi Dynasty.
It was typical for these two groups and the Fragment Sect to arrive before the others. The Xuqi Dynasty members always arrived first, joining together with the Xuqi Sect members initially. The Hukon Clan and Fragment Sect were located so close to the Xuqi Sect, it was only natural that they arrived promptly. As for the Beast Domination School and the Blade Justice School, these two were positioned further out, so they tended to arrive a bit later on.
'The Xuqi Sect's lands are technically quite small…but that's only if you don't include the entirety of the Southern Continent, which they treat like their back garden. However, all of this is only possible because of the Xuqi Dynasty…'
After glancing up at the female immortal, who was both the immortal lord of the Xuqi Sect and a member of the Xuqi Clan, Yaan looked out towards the floating seven coloured palace in the distance. This palace floated in the air, hovering above the lake calmly; it was clearly an impressive spiritual treasure.
'Xuqi Dynasty…' Yaan narrowed his eyes. 'The group which is backed by the Divine Court, the strongest righteous organisation on the Qi Plane…I wonder how impressive my competition will be this time.'