Chapter 1516: Divinity Transformation Secrets and Zheng Yuan's Promise

Chapter 1516: Chapter 1093: Divinity Transformation Secrets and Zheng Yuan’s Promise

Inside the restaurant, the lotus leaves were currently in full bloom. Lotus flowers rose from the expanse of green, swaying gently in the air with the breeze. A delicate fragrance permeated the entire space.

However, at this moment, Ye Jingcheng was in no mood to appreciate the view. He looked at Xingyuan True Monarch, who was also looking back at him.

The anticipated anger did not appear, nor did a barrage of questions. Instead, the man stared straight at him as if they were old friends who had not seen each other for a long time. This only made Ye Jingcheng feel even more surprised and baffled.

He considered himself highly experienced; even the elders of the Ye family might not handle things better than him now. But at this moment, he truly could not see through Xingyuan True Monarch. The other party ought to be angry. Even if he wasn’t, he should have at least offered some explanation, just as Ye Jingcheng had expected. After all, his previous words had stopped just short of explicitly stating that the man was trying to ruin his path of cultivation.

A Cultivator’s Cultivation demanded absolute clarity of the Dao Heart. For particularly stubborn Cultivators, failing to fulfill a solemn promise could genuinely impact their future progress. And ruining someone’s path of cultivation was a grudge on par with murdering one’s father.

Furthermore, as the party being wooed, Ye Jingcheng had met with the lower-ranking Mansion Master Lu after emerging from seclusion, deliberately avoiding the two higher-ranking Mansion Masters. He had even forced the three of them to conceal their identities to visit Xiaoshan Prefecture. They were probably also aware that he had accepted Mansion Master Lu’s congratulatory gift.

To remain so composed after all this… Ye Jingcheng could only silently curse him as a sly old fox.

He glanced to the side, hoping to glean some clues from the others’ reactions. Unfortunately, Mansion Master Xiao and Prince Wang, who had broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, remained expressionless, save for a faint trace of worry between their brows. It seemed like a subtle hint.

“I have indeed learned some things about the Righteous Sect,” Ye Jingcheng answered truthfully, seeing that no further information was forthcoming. After speaking, he continued to listen, adopting a stance of ‘say less to make fewer mistakes’.

At the same time, his Divine Sense swept the area, checking for any Spirit Inquiry Talismans nearby. Although this lakeside room belonged to the Ye family and the Celestial Sand Sect’s Duan family, the other party had entered first. Moreover, all three were as cunning as foxes; he wouldn’t be surprised by whatever tricks they might pull.

“Then which faction do you favor?” Xingyuan True Monarch asked another baffling question.

“I have no idea,” Ye Jingcheng shook his head frankly. He had only learned about the factional struggles a few days ago; how could he possibly answer that?

“Let’s rephrase the question then. What kind of faction can ensure a long-lasting legacy?” Xingyuan True Monarch asked with a smile.

“A faction with a Divine Monarch of Divinity Transformation, such as the Zheng Huang Sect,” Ye Jingcheng hesitated for a moment before replying. At that moment, he felt Xingyuan True Monarch’s eyes brighten slightly. However, just as he thought the latter would follow up, Xingyuan True Monarch fell silent. He merely sipped his Spirit Tea at a leisurely pace, staring at Ye Jingcheng with an even more profound gaze.

“This is precisely why factions, alliances, and Sects find it easier to endure and prosper than families. So, you know what we are looking for.

“Now, do you still bear ill will toward our risky probing?”

Ye Jingcheng was instantly astonished by Xingyuan True Monarch’s words. But on second thought, the other party belonged to a Sect. A Sect could not operate like a family, where bloodline was often the absolute priority for its members.

“Many within our factions are actually people who joined the Righteous Sect later on. Wherever there are people, there are intricate power dynamics. Instead of constantly being infiltrated and evolving into family clans, we sometimes take the initiative to invite certain families to join us. The Righteous Sect is simply too massive. Any orthodox lineage or clan seems insignificant within it. Take the Blood Red Sect for example. It boasts over a hundred thousand Cultivators and more than a dozen Nascent Soul experts, and that doesn’t even count the Nascent Soul peers who aren’t part of the core,” Xingyuan True Monarch explained, startling Ye Jingcheng.

The other party was no longer just trying to woo him, nor were they treating the Celestial Sand Sect as an Affiliated Force. They wanted the Celestial Sand Sect and the Ye family to fully integrate and become true members of the Righteous Sect.

However, Ye Jingcheng knew very well that joining a Divinity Transformation Power might not be entirely beneficial. Besides, there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. He certainly didn’t believe they valued his Cultivation talent so much that they would groom him to reach the Divinity Transformation stage. That was completely unrealistic. Even if Divine Monarch Zheng Yuan were to tell him this personally, he would still find it far-fetched—let alone when the one speaking was merely a Great Cultivator at the Late Stage of Nascent Soul.

“Are you a power from the Eastern Domain, or the Northern Plain?” Xingyuan True Monarch finally began his inquiry.

Hearing this, Ye Jingcheng actually felt a bit of relief. He wasn’t quite used to being fed sugar-coated promises right from the start.

“The Eastern Domain,” Ye Jingcheng answered directly after a brief moment of consideration.

“The Eastern Domain has indeed produced two remarkable powers. Penglai spends its days raising Gu, yet unexpectedly birthed two True Dragons. How very interesting,” Xingyuan True Monarch couldn’t help but sigh in realization. One of those two powers was the Ye family; the other was naturally Medicine King Valley.

At this moment, Ye Jingcheng knew he could no longer hide the truth. The more clan members that arrived, the more obvious their nature as a family became. It was impossible to conceal; while one person might disguise themselves perfectly, a whole group could not. Their everyday forms of address, dressing habits, facial similarities, and the sheer number of Cultivators emerging were all practically impossible to hide.

When the Ye family arranged for a large number of clansmen to enter, they had already prepared for this outcome. The opposing party had merely been wavering between a few prime suspects. Therefore, when asked whether they were from the Northern Domain or the Eastern Domain, Ye Jingcheng decided to lay his cards on the table, even though he hadn’t detected the presence of any Spirit Inquiry Talismans.

“We were merely driven to desperation and left with no other choice,” Ye Jingcheng said with a face full of helplessness.

“There is no need to sell yourselves short. Although Penglai is reviled as a Demon Sect, their Dao Seed Method is unparalleled in the Great Yu Realm. Even we feel a lingering dread at Penglai’s performance. In recent years, the Three Great Immortal Sects and Immortal Families of the Central Domain were wary of a massive invasion by Penglai. That is exactly why they signed an agreement back then, completely ceding the Eastern Domain to them. However, in exchange, Penglai is forbidden from casually infiltrating the Central Domain using their Dao Seed Method,” Xingyuan True Monarch continued.

“Moreover, they are one of the rare Divinity Transformation Powers with two Divinity Transformation experts. We don’t even know if there are more hidden in the shadows, but in due time, the truth should be exposed.”

“Is Elder Xingyuan referring to the matter concerning Medicine King Valley?” Ye Jingcheng asked.

“Even without the Medicine King Valley incident, it wouldn’t be far off. And to tell you the truth, the Divinity Transformation Powers of the Central Domain lost contact with the Upper Realm over a thousand years ago. Furthermore, the current Divinity Transformation seniors—even those at the Middle Stage of Divinity Transformation—no longer dare to enter the Ascension Platform to achieve Ascension.” Xingyuan True Monarch then dropped another earth-shattering revelation.

Normally, a Divinity Transformation Cultivator could enter the Ascension Platform to ascend upon reaching the Middle Stage of Divinity Transformation. Once they reached the Late Stage of Divinity Transformation, they wouldn’t even need the Ascension Platform; they would ascend automatically. The fact that these Divinity Transformation experts had lost contact now meant they had been in contact previously. The background of the Central Domain powers was undeniably formidable.

However, thinking deeper into this made Ye Jingcheng even more horrified. This was because one of the Ye family’s three great ancestral tenets contained the words: “Never Ascend.” Coupled with the timeframe of a thousand years ago, this coincidence was extremely telling.

“I am not telling you this to be an alarmist. I simply want you to know that the further you progress in Cultivation, the more you must forge ahead bravely. At the same time, the Righteous Sect is absolutely incomparable to a Demon Sect like Penglai. Of course, as demonstrated by our probing prior to today, the Righteous Sect will never tolerate someone bearing a Dao Seed entering the Central Domain, nor will we allow anyone harboring malicious intentions to join.

“Additionally, Master Zheng Yuan asked me to pass on a message: If you can break through to the Middle Stage of Nascent Soul before the next Earth Immortal Realm opens, he will personally take you in as his disciple,” Xingyuan True Monarch added.

This statement served as the greatest possible promise. It left Prince Wang and Mansion Master Xiao beside them slightly stunned. Clearly, they hadn’t known beforehand that Xingyuan True Monarch would say such things to Ye Jingcheng.

Becoming the disciple of a Divinity Transformation True Monarch was far better than merely joining the Blood Red Faction. It also signified that Ye Jingcheng truly possessed the potential to reach Divinity Transformation.

However, on second thought, if Ye Jingcheng was telling the truth, he was only in his early two hundreds. A Nascent Soul expert of that age was rare even within the Righteous Sect. More crucially, unlike the disciples of the Righteous Sect who grew up consuming Spirit Pills and cultivating on Tier Six Spiritual Veins, Ye Jingcheng’s Cultivation environment was likely inferior even to that of Xiaoshan Prefecture. Furthermore, because he hadn’t gained much in the Earth Immortal Realm, he had likely achieved his Nascent Soul through the Five Demons Nascent Soul Secret Technique.

Such a Cultivator had immense talent despite never having consumed a Nascent Soul Pill. Coupled with the fact that he was a High-tier Alchemist, he was indeed worth such vigorous recruitment and nurturing.

They finally understood why Xingyuan True Monarch had set up such a scheme for Ye Jingcheng. Regardless of whether Ye Jingcheng had noticed the probing, they had already confirmed the origins of the Celestial Sand Sect. They also knew that the man before them could not possibly belong to a Demon Sect. Furthermore, the White Jade Sect—the largest of the other four major factions and the most skilled at winning over hearts—would now be absolutely unable to recruit Ye Jingcheng and the Ye family behind him.

“Which factions do the other Nascent Soul Powers belong to?” Ye Jingcheng asked.

“The Liu Family belongs to the White Jade Faction. The Jiang Family can barely be considered part of the Zheng Huang Faction. As for the Liuyun Sect, they are quite independent,” Xingyuan True Monarch answered without hiding anything. “If you want Tianshu Mansion, you will have to compete for it yourselves. As for the other mansions, we can fight for them on your behalf.

“Of course, if you don’t plan to develop in the Southern Wilderness Province, you can also enter the Southern Cloud Province. Wan Kun will be the State Governor there in the future. Although the inland Nascent Soul Powers are fewer and weaker, their relationship with the Righteous Sect is much closer. Furthermore, the Markets there won’t have half their shares divided among other Nascent Soul Powers.

“Overall, it’s more stable, but there are fewer opportunities for development.”

“Thank you, Senior Xingyuan,” Ye Jingcheng cupped his hands in gratitude.

“There’s no need to call me ‘Senior’. We are both in the Nascent Soul stage; just call me Elder Xingyuan,” Xingyuan True Monarch waved his hand dismissively. He then added, “If you want to exchange for any Treasures in the future, you can seek out Wan Kun. He holds significant authority within the Sect now, so exchanging for some Treasure Medicines will be very easy. At the same time, the Sect can also assist you when you refine your Lifebound Magical Treasure.

“However, before you fully enter the Righteous Sect, you will need to exchange Spirit Stones and resources for everything you require.”