Chapter 21 The Seven Sect Alliance
"Yes, they were other cultivators from the Seven Sect Alliance. In a way, they're in collusion with the demons. They made a decision to destroy our sect—and a few smaller ones that had sided with us."
"Tell me more, Elder. Does that mean there are no true immortal sects left in the world?"
"The Seven Sect Alliance hasn't fully sided with the demons, but they've struck a pact and maintain the status quo. There were sects like ours that refused to accept any peace terms or stay neutral. We believed we had to fight evil, not hide behind a protective barrier."
"What kind of barrier, Elder? I saw glimpses of it in your memories."
"After the demons invaded our planet—which, among cultivators, is called 'The Realm of Emerald Sky (碧穹境)'—the immortal sects managed to reclaim one island and erected a protective barrier around it. It's a mountainous region, covered in eternal artificial mist and shielded by a formation powered by the Seven Sects, using barrier spirits and Qi drawn from the planet's acupuncture points. That barrier is nearly impossible to break—any force strong enough to do so would erase all life from the planet. Even attempting such a large-scale attack would shatter the planetary Qi and kill everything anyway. So, the demons chose to tolerate the enclave's existence.
As for attacking the Moon—their main base—even that seems pointless to the Alliance. If shattered, its fragments would rain down on the planet and cause catastrophic devastation.
In the end, it's a stalemate. The demons don't want to destroy their feeding grounds, and the isolated sects within the barrier aren't a serious threat to them. There's also the matter of Heaven's punishment—obliterating an entire world would bring divine retribution.
So, the sects gradually gave up and accepted coexisting with the demons and everything they do to mortals."
"But not our sect. And not our allies. We fought a guerrilla war, always searching for a way to drive the demons off this world.
Eventually, the Seven Sects struck a formal truce with the demons—under the condition that a representative of the Alliance would act as the sole envoy of the immortals, through whom all negotiations would be handled. They also agreed to put an end to all subversive actions against the demons—meaning sects like ours would be pacified and brought under Alliance control.
We refused to submit to their envoy—and were immediately attacked by the very immortals of the Seven Sects. Brothers, or so we thought. Fools. They didn't even realize the demons had already planted seeds of ambition in their hearts and turned them against each other with mere words. It's... tragic."
Zhen remained silent, absorbing the weight of what he'd just heard.
The Seven Sect Island? A barrier?
"Master... you mean there's an entire island of immortals?"
"Yes. East of Yun Du Continent, across the ocean, lies a whole landmass surrounded by a magical barrier and shrouded in artificial mist. Everyone living there cultivates the Dao and has no implants.
But that doesn't make them saints. Some of them are just fools—like the leaders of the Seven Sects."
Zhen stared off, lost in thought.
If even immortals were capable of betrayal… what could be said of mortals?
Could it be that even to thousand-year-old Nascent Soul elders, the Dao was just a convenient wrapper for ambition?
"Do you think we'll ever return to the island of the Seven Sects?" Zhen finally asked after a long pause.
"Of course. But first, you need to form your core—and help transplant my hun soul into a new body.
There's no point stepping onto the Immortal Island before you've formed a core. You'd be seen through and destroyed in no time. But don't worry. With the resources you carry—enough to found a small sect—and my experience, it won't be too difficult. You also have a decent constitution. I didn't want to inflate your ego, but you were born with a fairly strong Spirit Root of Heavenly Purity. That's a great foundation for forming a core."
"A Spirit Root of Heavenly Purity?"
"To practice alchemy, you either need to be born with a Spirit Root or forge one through special preparatory techniques. It's located at the base of the lower dantian and connects to hidden meridians. You could say it's the spiritual bridge for refining Jing, Qi, and Shen.
Up until now, you didn't need one—cleansing your channels was enough. But to form a minor internal elixir, a Spirit Root is essential. Its purity and structure directly influence the speed of transformation and an alchemist's power.
Yours is pure and well-formed from birth. That means you don't need to spend years creating and refining it. It's not unique—many people on the Immortal Island have it—but it's a good head start. Some spend decades forging one."
"Did you have a Spirit Root from birth, Master?"
"Yes, though mine wasn't very pure. I spent two years refining and strengthening it. In the end, I formed a fifth-tier Golden Core."
"Golden Cores have tiers?"
"Yes. They're generally divided into twelve tiers based on purity and the amount of True Qi accumulated. The more True Qi, the higher the tier.
A first-tier core must be composed exclusively of high-purity True Qi accumulated to sufficient density.
Most disciples of large sects form cores of the seventh to third tiers, then slowly purify them toward the first. Only then do they attempt forming the Soul."
"Is it possible to form a first-tier core from the start?"
"Yes. Many patriarchs have done just that—formed a first-tier core and reached the Nascent Soul stage within a few years. It's rare, but not impossible."
"But... you formed your core at seventy, right? From your memories. And you're still at the Core stage? Is purifying the core really that difficult?"
"Exactly. In over two centuries, I haven't managed to refine my core even to the second tier.
Refinement gets harder the further you go. Going from twelfth to seventh tier is easy enough with pills and elixirs. But from there, each level becomes slower and more difficult.
That's why most immortals who reach the Core stage stay stuck there. Only a few hundred have reached the Nascent Soul stage, and those who've gone beyond it in the last thousand years... you could count on one hand."
"What about the demons? How are they so powerful if they defy Heaven's will?"
"They rely on advanced technology—and the life force of millions.
They can't ascend, but they've built their own kind of pocket reality where their princes live in excess. Since Heaven's laws prevent them from forming a true Nascent Soul and ascending, they're forced to extend their lives by draining humans, creating pseudo-cores that maintain their existence.
Some of the strongest among them supposedly form pseudo-Soul using millions of harvested lives and secret techniques. They can't ascend—but those pseudo-Souls become tools of vast influence and weapons in their internal struggles.
But when it comes to fighting immortals, they mostly rely on technology—especially their vimanas."
"Immortals have vimanas too?" Zhen was entranced by the elder's tales, momentarily forgetting his situation. Mouth slightly open, he looked like a child listening to campfire stories from his grandfather.
"We do, but ours are more like crude imitations. Or partial copies. Theirs are built on their homeworld, and their tech is tightly guarded.
The Seven Sects did capture some and tried to reverse-engineer them—but I've never heard of any success.
Their world has had hundreds of thousands of years to refine these machines."
"If we drive them off, won't reinforcements come from their homeworld?"
"Of course they will. That's why the goal isn't just to win a battle.
We have to transform humanity—and the planet itself—so the demons will never again see it as fertile ground for their farm."
"That sounds... amazing. Does the Sect of Refining the Void have a plan for that?"
"Not a detailed one. Just a general vision—and the portion of the plan I was entrusted with.
First, we have to survive. Rebuild the sect. That's our priority for the next few years.
As my memories unlock within you, you'll start to understand our sect's broader purpose. But as for the actual execution… we'll have to work that out ourselves. The details were known only to the sect head and grand elders. I wasn't one of them."