Chapter 563: Chapter 388: Another Change

Right now, aside from him, the person with the highest status in the sect was Song Qiaoqiao.

During his seclusion, Song Qiaoqiao would serve as the Interim Sect Leader.

Information sent to him during this time was mostly received by Song Qiaoqiao. If a message was particularly important, it would still be delivered directly to him.

For some minor yet urgent matters, Song Qiaoqiao would handle them directly on his behalf.

Although handling sect affairs affected Song Qiaoqiao’s cultivation, her total training time had actually increased. This was because much of her pill-refining work was handed over to Fang Yun’s vessel avatar to complete.

"The Demon Spirit Sect has continued to move against us, but their actions aren’t very aggressive. For now, the Black Ghost Cave has made no move."

’The Black Ghost Cave still hasn’t made a move.’

Since the Black Ghost Cave still hadn’t acted, it must mean the Demon Spirit Sect was acting against them unilaterally.

The Demon Spirit Sect’s behavior seemed very strange to Fang Yun.

He considered many reasons but couldn’t fathom the Demon Spirit Sect’s motive.

’Are they just trying to provoke us?’

The Demon Spirit Sect is guarded by an Elder from the Black Dragon Hall.

But times were different now.

The Celestial Cloud Sect of the past wouldn’t have dared to move against the Demon Spirit Sect at a time like this, but that didn’t mean the current Celestial Cloud Sect wouldn’t.

As his own power grew, the consequences of killing a Black Dragon Hall Elder would diminish.

Because if the Black Dragon Hall sent another Elder, even one at the Peak of Core Formation, the sect now had the strength to handle it better.

Of course, there was no need to do so just yet.

Having taken over the Celestial Demon Sect’s Earth Realm, they still hadn’t fully assimilated it. Many areas had yet to be restructured, and all of this would take time.

The Demon Spirit Sect was stirring up trouble on its own.

It would be fine to slowly consume their Earth Realm.

When to take the first piece of territory from one of the Demon Spirit Sect’s subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences—that required careful planning.

「Spring passed and autumn came.」

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

Over these three years, the Black Ghost Cave had not made a single move.

Their struggle with the Demon Spirit Sect continued.

Amid the constant friction between the two sects, Fang Yun didn’t know how much effort the Demon Spirit Sect was truly expending, but he knew his Celestial Cloud Sect hadn’t even used twenty percent of its strength.

There was good news at the beginning of this year.

Within the Original Celestial Demon Sect’s Earth Realm, the territories formerly belonging to its subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences had all been outfitted with Second Tier Grand Arrays, thanks to the tireless efforts of their sect’s two Array Elders.

As for setting up Tier One Grand Arrays on Tier One Spirit Veins, far more Array Masters were capable of that.

Even among the Celestial Cloud Sect’s subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences, there were several Tier One Array Masters.

And among the Celestial Cloud Sect’s own Inner Sect Disciples, three could now be called Tier One Array Masters.

These three disciples all had the aptitude to become Array Masters and had eventually succeeded, but when compared to Zheng Chunyu, even the most talented of them was still leagues behind.

At the peak of Cloud Summit, three figures were seated.

Fang Yun, along with the siblings Huang Mengzhu and Huang Mengyang.

Not long ago, Huang Mengzhu had reached the true Peak of Foundation Establishment, putting her just one step away from the Golden Core Stage.

For Huang Mengzhu, with her Three Spirit Roots, to reach the true Peak of Foundation Establishment at her age was remarkably fast. A century ago, many Sect Elders of the same age and Spirit Root type would have struggled just to break through to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, with most lingering in the mid-stage.

Medicinal pills had played a huge part in this.

With the aid of the appropriate pills, Huang Mengzhu had succeeded in breaking through to the next Realm on her first attempt during all three major advancements within the Foundation Establishment Stage.

"Sister, this is a Top-grade Golden Core Pill. Whenever you’re ready, you can use it to attempt your breakthrough to the Core Formation Stage," Huang Mengyang said, handing a specially crafted pill bottle to Huang Mengzhu.

Even as a Supreme Elder of the sect, it was difficult for him to obtain a Top-grade Golden Core Pill using Contribution Points.

He had only managed to acquire it with Fang Yun’s help.

Currently, the Celestial Cloud Sect only possessed two Top-grade Golden Core Pills in total.

Both had been created by Fang Yun through refining three years ago.

Fang Yun found it a great pity that the last two batches of Golden Core Pills he refined back then hadn’t yielded two more Top-grade ones.

If the sect had three Top-grade Golden Core Pills, then with Huang Mengyang’s status as a Supreme Elder, he could have obtained one without needing help from him, the Sect Leader.

Fang Yun hadn’t changed the rules regarding how Supreme Elders could obtain a crucial pill like the Golden Core Pill, so the old regulations still applied. According to those rules, the ability to acquire one depended mainly on the sect’s current supply.

It was a good rule, and Fang Yun had no intention of changing it.

"A Top-grade Golden Core Pill!"

"With this Top-grade Golden Core Pill, Sister, your chances of reaching Core Formation are even greater than mine were! You can’t fail. If you do, I won’t acknowledge you as my sister anymore," Huang Mengyang said with a laugh.

He was throwing the words Huang Mengzhu had once said to him right back at her.

When Huang Mengyang had attempted his breakthrough with a Middle-grade Golden Core Pill, his chance of success had been just over sixty percent. Now, with a Top-grade Golden Core Pill, Huang Mengzhu’s chances were close to seventy percent, even with her Three Spirit Roots.

A nearly seventy percent chance was the highest probability of success any Peak of Foundation Establishment Elder in the Celestial Cloud Sect had ever had when attempting to break through to the Core Formation Realm.

In the future, that probability would surely be surpassed time and again.

If an Abnormal Spirit Root Cultivator were to take a Top-grade Golden Core Pill to attempt a breakthrough to the Core Formation Stage, their chances of success would exceed ninety percent.

If an Abnormal Spirit Root Cultivator still failed with such high odds, they would become a laughingstock for the rest of their life.

"Don’t you worry. I’m determined to remain your sister," Huang Mengzhu said, putting away the Top-grade Golden Core Pill.

With a nearly seventy percent chance of success, she was quite confident in her ability to reach the Core Formation Stage.

The sect currently had seven Core Formation Cultivators, and Huang Mengzhu was confident that she would soon raise that number.

"Mengzhu, if you have any questions about breaking through to the Core Formation Stage, feel free to ask me or Mengyang."

"Understood, Brother Fang Yun."

After Huang Mengyang produced the Top-grade Golden Core Pill, the trio’s conversation turned to the topic of Foundation Establishment Cultivators attempting to reach Core Formation.

As the Sect Leader of the Celestial Cloud Sect, Fang Yun’s status in the sect’s history was already unprecedented and likely never to be surpassed.

The middle and upper echelons of the sect all held him in high esteem.

On a personal level, he regarded Huang Mengyang and Huang Mengzhu as his own younger brother and sister.

Take this Top-grade Golden Core Pill, for instance. Even if Huang Mengyang hadn’t procured it for his sister, he would have stepped in to give Huang Mengzhu one to aid her breakthrough.

Of course, given the deep bond between the siblings, Huang Mengyang would have done whatever it took to get the best possible support pill for Huang Mengzhu.

If he, as Sect Leader, were to do certain things, it could lead to unsavory rumors. Therefore, it was better that Huang Mengyang handled it.

...

...

「At the headquarters of the Ghost-Controlling Sect.」

The Great Cave Master of the Black Ghost Cave had arrived here once again.

Just as before, he was quickly granted a meeting with the most powerful figure in the Ghost-Controlling Sect, the Supreme Elder he referred to as Old Ghost Tang.

"Great Cave Master, things are not developing as we had anticipated." Old Ghost Tang already knew what the Great Cave Master of the Black Ghost Cave had come to discuss.

"We anticipated everything that’s happened so far, but I never expected the Celestial Cloud Sect’s follow-up to be so slow."

Frankly, the Great Cave Master of the Black Ghost Cave had even factored in the potential appearance of that mysterious Spirit Refiner from the Purple Mist Sect.

But he had never imagined the Celestial Cloud Sect would act as if it had forgiven the Demon Spirit Sect, refraining from launching a storm-like offensive against them.

In the Great Cave Master’s view, the Celestial Cloud Sect’s sluggish offensive, though still an attack, was little different from simply forgiving the Demon Spirit Sect for its past provocations.

"It’s been five years, and the Demon Spirit Sect’s Earth Realm is still completely intact. That’s not how the Celestial Cloud Sect dealt with the Celestial Demon Sect back then."

"Is it possible that the conflict between the Demon Spirit Sect and the Celestial Cloud Sect isn’t as severe as the one between the Celestial Demon Sect and the Celestial Cloud Sect was?" Old Ghost Tang suggested.

That possibility seemed to be a plausible, if somewhat weak, explanation for the current situation.

"I don’t think that’s possible. You have to understand, Old Ghost Tang, an Elder from the Celestial Cloud Sect successfully achieved Core Formation last year. That further increased their power. The Celestial Cloud Sect should have made a major move against the Demon Spirit Sect then."

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