Chapter 227 - 149: A Familiar Name, So What if It’s a Saint Venerable?

Chapter 227: Chapter 149: A Familiar Name, So What if It’s a Saint Venerable?

As soon as the group appeared in the sky above the coast, Song Changlin immediately extended an invitation.

"Flying over this coastline will bring us to the core Earth Realm of Thousand Sects Island.

"Does Young Master Qin have a destination in mind? If not, why not accompany us to Cyan Mist first? Once we reach the sect, we can pay you the remaining thirty thousand Middle-grade Spirit Stones and properly thank you for saving our lives."

Initially, Jiang Hao had wanted to politely decline. However, upon seeing the hostile factions of the Cyan Mist Sect appearing from all directions almost simultaneously, his brows couldn’t help but furrow.

After briefly weighing his current situation, Jiang Hao offered a faint smile. "I have just arrived in this realm and truly have nowhere to go for now. Since Elder Song has offered, I, Qin Fan, will respectfully comply."

Hearing this, Song Changlin was instantly overjoyed. "Please, Young Master."

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

The countless Cultivators of the Cyan Mist Sect flew across the sky above the coast. Ancient cities stood in great numbers along the shore, teeming with countless local Cultivators who all looked up to gaze at them, their eyes inevitably filled with admiration and respect.

"It’s the Cultivators of the Cyan Mist Sect."

"The Cyan Mist Saintess, Mu Wanli! Heavens, that’s the number one Saintess of the Cyan Mist Sect! The Cyan Mist Saintess, Mu Wanli!"

Seeing the reactions of the local Cultivators below, Jiang Hao’s understanding of the Cyan Mist Sect reached a new level. The sect’s strength and status within Thousand Sects Island were evident.

However, what shocked Jiang Hao even more was the new world unfolding before his eyes.

At the end of the endless horizon ahead, rugged islands pierced the sky as Wang Yang roared. If one were to look down from the zenith of the firmament, the entire world seemed to be laid out within the endless Xuanhai, composed of a hundred thousand island chains. Some of these islands, despite being called islands, were unimaginably vast.

"Everyone, fly along the island chains. Do not mistakenly trespass on any island affiliated with a sect," several elders of the Cyan Mist Sect repeatedly warned during their flight.

The terrifying, massive procession swept between the island chains, deliberately avoiding those unimaginably massive Holy Islands. It was glaringly obvious that Holy Sects were established on all the major islands. Those were other people’s territories, and even though the Cyan Mist Sect’s current lineup wouldn’t necessarily fear them, there was no need to provoke them.

Between the major islands lay chains formed by countless smaller islands. These were considered unclaimed territories where they could fly freely. Furthermore, these island chains came in all sorts of bizarre shapes, encompassing everything imaginable. Some islands were tens of thousands of feet tall, piercing the sky like solitary pillars. Flying among these island chains, Jiang Hao and the others seemed rather insignificant.

"What terrifying Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. No wonder so many formidable Holy Sects have been born in a mere hundred thousand years," Jiang Hao murmured, deeply shocked as they traversed the myriads of island chains.

The Spiritual Qi here was even more terrifying than that in Celestial City. Above some of the vast islands that the Cyan Mist Sect Cultivators intentionally bypassed, the concentration of Spiritual Qi even rivaled that of Nanling.

"Young Master, just as Elder Song mentioned before, Thousand Sects Island has a total of three Celestial Veins and nine hundred and ninety-seven Earth Veins. What we are flying over right now is one of the Earth Veins," Mu Wan Ning continuously explained to Jiang Hao along the way.

"Legend has it that tens of thousands of years ago, there were dozens of sects on this Earth Vein, but now it is entirely the Earth Realm of the Wuwang Sect.

"Ahead is the Earth Realm of the Celestial River Sect, which is also on an Earth Vein.

"And over there, that is the Earth Vein of the Celestial Star Sect.

"This is the Earth Realm of the Cyan Profound Sect. To the left is the Xuanming Sect, and to the right are the Spirit Sword Sect and Spiritual Qi Sect..."

Every place she pointed out was enveloped in radiant light, with purple clouds rising from the east. The depths of those islands exuded supreme pressure.

Other than Holy Sects, the one thing this place lacked the least was water. Entire sect Holy Lands were built among the Divine Peaks of the archipelagos. Waterfalls that cascaded from tens of thousands of feet high could be seen everywhere, and the group had already flown through countless sky-piercing waterfalls. Compared to the Eastern Domain, this place felt more like the true Cultivation Realm. The scenery was as picturesque as a painting.

However, beneath this stunning wonderland likely lay endless murderous intent.

What was even more frightening was that even after entering Thousand Sects Island, the Cultivators of the Cyan Mist Sect still needed to constantly rely on flying and Teleportation Arrays to cross this world. Just how massive this Earth Realm was, even Jiang Hao couldn’t imagine.

According to Song Changlin, there were still hundreds of sects in Thousand Sects Island that existed in more than just name. This number seemed massive, but compared to the boundless island chains, it appeared somewhat insignificant. This also meant that any given sect here ruled over an unimaginable expanse of territory. Pick out any random one, and it would undoubtedly be a colossal behemoth.

"Miss Mu, how strong is the weakest sect within Thousand Sects Island?" Jiang Hao couldn’t help but ask the question hidden in his heart.

However, the answer he received nearly made him jump in fright.

"The sects of Thousand Sects Island all share a unified title, which is Holy Sect," Mu Wan Ning answered. "Holy Sects are divided into nine grades. The top three grades are first-rate Holy Sects, the middle three are second-rate Holy Sects, and the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades are third-rate Holy Sects. Anything below that is considered an unranked faction.

"These unranked factions are sects that control the poorest Earth Veins, but no matter how poor they are, they are still within the ranks of Holy Sects."

Those that weren’t Holy Sects had clearly ceased to exist long ago.

"A Holy Sect is actually just a faction that has Cultivators of the Saint Realm standing guard over it," she continued. "The ones left in Thousand Sects Island today are at least inheritances of Holy Sects. There might be some small, unnoticed factions left, but they are likely reaching the end of their decline.

"As for the weakest Holy Sect, they must have at least one expert at the Saint Realm First Heaven to hold down the fort."

Hearing this, Jiang Hao’s eyes nearly bulged. Even the worst Holy Sect had a Saint at the Saint Realm First Heaven holding the fort?

"What the hell kind of terrifying Earth Realm is this?" he thought. "The conditions for survival are as hard as ascending to the heavens!"

"Then what about the strongest Holy Sect?" Jiang Hao asked instinctively. If the weakest was already this strong, wouldn’t the strongest defy the heavens?

At the mention of the strongest, Mu Wan Ning’s pretty face immediately filled with immense pride.

"The strongest are undoubtedly the six major Celestial Vein Saint Sects. Of course, this isn’t absolute, but these six Holy Sects are the closest to the apex. They are established on the three great Celestial Veins, controlling various numbers of Earth Vein sects beneath them.

"For example, the Cyan Mist Sect and Divine King Hall on the Southern Celestial Vein, the Divine Sword Sect and Wenda Court on the Northern Celestial Vein, and the Kunlun Sacred Realm and Hehuan Sect on the Eastern Celestial Vein.

"As for how strong these top-tier Holy Sects are, let’s put it this way: a top-three grade Holy Sect that qualifies as a first-rate sect will have at least one powerhouse at the Ninth Heaven of the Saint Realm standing guard, and their total number of Saint Realm Cultivators will be around ten.

"Meanwhile, a first-grade Holy Sect among the first-rate ones, such as the six major Holy Sects, will have at least two or more powerhouses at the Ninth Heaven of the Saint Realm keeping watch, or two or more Saint Venerable Powerhouses standing guard. As for their Saint Realm Powerhouses, the number can reach up to twenty or thirty.

"However, looking across the entire Thousand Sect Island Realm, there are no more than five existences at the Saint Venerable level. One of them is Senior Sister Cyan Mist’s biological father, the Evergreen Saint Venerable, who is also my master.

"Another one is Senior Sister Cyan Mist’s Holy Mother, Saint Venerable Changkong, who is, of course, also my master."

Mu Wan Ning’s words were like a clap of thunder, leaving Jiang Hao unable to calm down for a long time. The concept that ’the strong rule’ was truly taken to its absolute extreme in Thousand Sects Island. When this concept was applied on a sect-wide scale, it became even more terrifying.

Seemingly noticing the shock in Jiang Hao’s heart, the pride on Mu Wan Ning’s face faded considerably as she consoled him, "You don’t need to worry, Young Master. Although Thousand Sects Island has countless sects and powerhouses as common as clouds, the vastness of its territory is immeasurable. It’s not that easy to accidentally provoke a Great Cultivator of the Saint Realm."

Jiang Hao nodded numbly. This girl was clearly afraid she had scared him. Though he was very shocked internally, Jiang Hao wasn’t so frightened that he’d lose his nerve.

"So what if powerhouses are as common as clouds?" he thought. "Right now, it’s the second phase of the prodigy supremacy battle. At most, only Daoist Cultivators can attack the younger generation, while Saint Venerables can only stare helplessly. This is an era where the younger generation can act without scruples. If they piss me off, I’ll just block their Holy Sect’s main gates and shout curses—what can they do to me?"

After a brief chat, the group continued their journey.

It had to be said that Thousand Sects Island was indescribably massive. Classifying it as merely a corner of the Eastern Domain felt a bit like putting the cart before the horse to Jiang Hao. Perhaps because they ran out of things to talk about along the way, Mu Wan Ning continued to introduce the Earth Realms of the passing sects to Jiang Hao.

During this process, Mu Wan Ning unintentionally mentioned a sect that Jiang Hao was familiar with.

"The Beardless Sect?"

Hearing this sect’s name, Jiang Hao subconsciously let out a sound of surprise.

This wasn’t the first time he had heard the name of the Beardless Sect. Li Qingyi, the proud daughter of heaven from the Li family in Xingyue City, had apparently been accepted as a disciple by this sect back then.

Originally, Jiang Hao had always thought the Beardless Sect was just a minor sect in some Earth Realm of the Eastern Domain. He never expected it to actually be a Holy Sect in Thousand Sects Island. And the Sect Leader of the Beardless Sect was precisely one of the many powerhouses invited into the Cyan Mist Sect’s Holy Hall, currently a guest within the Cyan Mist Saint Hall.