Chapter 940: Dividing Treasure

"When the three of us leave, we should first clear out those from the ancient traditions. Though they are mere insects hiding in the shadows, if any of them manage to break through to the Divine Transformation stage, it would not be good for the Immortal Sect."

Having made this decision, Yu Baiguang began to arrange matters before their departure.

"There's no rush for that," Qianxing said. "After all, we still have over a decade. As long as two more cultivators reach the Divine Transformation stage, the Immortal Sect's overall stability will remain secure. Besides, I haven't decided whether I'll go with you two yet."

Qianxing, whose cultivation had not yet reached the perfected Divine Transformation stage, had used a secret technique of the Divine Machine Manor to calculate the heavenly mysteries. He discovered that if he were to leave Di Yuan Star in pursuit of a higher realm, his chances of success would be less than one in ten.

However, if he remained with the Immortal Sect, there was a two to three in ten chance of success.

Although Qianxing didn't understand why this was the case, it didn't stop him from considering it more carefully.

After all, no Divine Transformation cultivators from the Immortal Sect who had left Di Yuan Star in previous generations had ever succeeded.

While this time they possessed the Great Starry Sky Teleportation and had the Spirit Venerable to escort them, making the probability of finding a spirit-rich cultivation ground deep in the star river high, Qianxing had always relied on careful planning before action to reach his current cultivation level.

The Fangcun Scroll, the legacy of the Divine Machine Manor, and countless pieces of knowledge from the Immortal Sect had guided him to where he was today. Therefore, when his past successful experiences conflicted with what seemed like the best opportunity to leave, Qianxing felt somewhat indecisive.

"I see. Well, take your time to consider. But if the Spirit Venerable and I are to leave, the Immortal Sect will need to start cultivating two new Divine Transformation cultivators!"

Upon hearing that Qianxing hadn't made a firm decision, Yu Baiguang secretly hoped he would stay. With him presiding over matters, the Immortal Sect would undoubtedly remain stable, and her reincarnated self's husband and daughter would have a better environment and more time to grow.

"It's essentially those few candidates," Qianxing said nonchalantly. "But we still need to go through the motions."

Among the Immortal Sect's next generation, Qi Yuheng possessed unparalleled talent. Although he cultivated the Path of Taking the Body as a Boundary, if he could refine the World's Fetal Membrane, he might even reach the Divine Transformation stage or even cultivate a Dharma Realm.

As for the others, since the Spirit Venerable was leaving, as the guardian who had protected the Immortal Sect for thousands of years, a new Divine Transformation cultivator from the sea domain would certainly need to be arranged as its replacement. From a perspective of balance, Narcissus was the most suitable candidate.

"Senior Brother, what do you plan to do with the Empress's two inner cores?"

However, Yu Baiguang wasn't particularly interested in the new Divine Transformation cultivators. Before leaving, she only wanted to ensure sufficient living expenses for her reincarnated self's husband and daughter. So, she inquired about the most useful items from this expansion war for Chen Mobai.

"I have use for the metal-attributed inner core," Qianxing replied. "I plan to use it as raw material, along with the sixth-tier Star Gold extracted from the Empress's physical body, to refine a sixth-tier Heaven-Calculating Pearl."

Although Qianxing usually accommodated Yu Baiguang in most matters, when it came to his own cultivation path, he didn't hesitate and directly reserved these materials.

"You know," Yu Baiguang continued, "among the younger generation in my Wuqi Daoist Academy, there's an outstanding talent with the potential for Divine Transformation who cultivates the Pure Yang Scroll. That fire-attributed inner core would be quite suitable for him. I don't need anything else; how about I claim this war trophy on his behalf?"

Because the Spirit Venerable was present, Yu Baiguang used the excuse of a junior to subtly mask her true intention, though she was confident Qianxing understood her implication.

"Since you've put it that way, Junior Sister, I certainly have no objections!"

Within the Immortal Sect, Divine Transformation Grand Ancestors held absolute authority. If the Spirit Venerable hadn't already acquired the World's Fetal Membrane from another world during a previous expansion war, a sixth-tier resource like this definitely wouldn't have gone to Qi Yuheng this time.

Since the Spirit Venerable wasn't contending for them, Yu Baiguang and Qianxing were the sole decision-makers regarding the spoils from Dragon God Star.

"And there's the star core," the Spirit Venerable spoke up, addressing Qianxing. "We need to use it to replenish the spirit energy consumed during our journey. However, if you don't come with us, you'll be at a disadvantage. Do you have any thoughts on this?"

The star core contained the primordial spirit energy of a world. Although its attributes didn't align with those of the Spirit Venerable or Yu Baiguang, it could be modified and placed within a Dharma artifact for traversing the starry sky, thereby saving their spirit energy consumption.

For this reason, if the Spirit Venerable were to depart this time, it would definitely take the star core.

"Then give me the Empress's corpse," Qianxing requested.

Qianxing only made this single request. After all, there wasn't much on Dragon God Star, or even Di Yuan Star, that truly appealed to him.

"Agreed!"

Neither Yu Baiguang nor the Spirit Venerable had any objections. However, if Qianxing were to accompany them, the Empress's corpse would likely remain behind for the Immortal Sect to research the mysteries of the immortal body.

Perhaps, thousands of years from now, some brilliant individual within the Immortal Sect could research and discover a new path to the immortality of gods and demons from it.

"Besides the Sea Dragon God, there are two other divine core crystals," Qianxing added. "I've already examined them. They are indeed similar to Dao Law Fruits, but without the primordial star core of Dragon God Star, they won't regenerate. This means they are for one-time refinement and use."

The divine core crystals of the three Dragon Gods were all born from the primordial essence of that world.

And if Dragon God Star were to disappear and be destroyed, even if these crystals were perfectly preserved, they would be like rootless trees or sourceless water.

"Having these gains is already quite good," Yu Baiguang remarked. "As for what comes after, let the future generations figure it out themselves."

Yu Baiguang said this because she had achieved her current status through diligent self-cultivation. Therefore, she didn't think highly of those who needed external objects to reach the Divine Transformation stage.

"Spirit Venerable, do you favor Palace Master Narcissus or Venerable Beiming?" Qianxing asked, turning to the Spirit Venerable. The Spirit Venerable shook its head, replying, "You two can make the decision regarding this matter. I merely need a new Divine Transformation cultivator to take my place guarding the sea domain!" It had never liked interfering in such affairs, and since it hadn't participated in this expansion war, it felt it wasn't appropriate to get involved in the distribution.

The three then made another trip to the star core of Dragon God Star.

"A mission that has continued for thousands of years, still ongoing," the Spirit Venerable sighed, its gaze seemingly penetrating the star core's surface to the demonic energy hidden deep within. It recalled what Grand Ancestor Longchuo had once told it. "Who knows when it will finally end!"

The Path of Immortal Gods and Demons, beyond the stage of Indestructible True Spirit, had a realm equivalent to Pure Yang, named 'Star Sacrifice Deity!'

This realm required one to divide their true spirit consciousness into billions, imbuing them into billions of stars. After countless eons of cultivation, all stars imbued with their true spirit consciousness would coalesce into one.

Upon reaching this realm, the entire star river would become their very eyes and brows. Their mere breath could trigger calamities of annihilation, and with a single thought, they could perceive all phenomena in the world, boundless truths, and even destroy and reshape the universe!

The great calamity that once struck the central Daoist sanctuary of the Purple Firmament Star River was precisely due to the emergence of a Demonic Lord at the Star Sacrifice Deity realm!

The Immortal Sect's Five Grand Ancestors were dispatched to Di Yuan Star precisely because of this.

Di Yuan Star was one of the billions of stars where the Demonic Lord's true spirit consciousness resided. Their Daoist sanctuary had been destroyed because of this Demonic Lord, and after learning the truth, they chose to come here to purify the Demonic Lord's malevolent thoughts.

The most effective purification method was to sow Dao Laws.

Although the current state of the central Daoist sanctuary in the Purple Firmament Star River was unknown, the fact that the Immortal Sect had been able to purify demonic thoughts with Dao Laws for thousands of years without obstruction indicated that the Demonic Lord certainly had no remaining strength to attend to other matters.

Besides suppressing and purifying the demonic thoughts within Di Yuan Star, the Immortal Sect's Five Grand Ancestors had another mission: using the demonic thoughts within the star core as a reference, they were to continually absorb more stars imbued by the Demonic Lord, drawing them one by one towards the Immortal Sect, using the World Gate, a Dharma artifact obtained from the central Daoist sanctuary.

This was also the origin of the expansion wars!

Whether it was the Three-Eyed Race or Pluto, both were alien worlds completely corrupted by demonic thoughts. The Immortal Sect's struggles against them grew more tragic with each war.

The demonic thoughts deep within the star core mutually attracted, seeking to recombine!

And the Immortal Sect's Five Grand Ancestors had been given the task by the central Daoist sanctuary to prevent all of this.

Of course, this was not volunteer work; it came with remuneration. For every star purified and destroyed that had been imbued by demonic thoughts, one could claim a Dao Merit at the central Daoist sanctuary.

Dao Merits could be exchanged for rare treasures from across the Purple Firmament Star River, or even supreme secret manuals detailing the mysteries of Void Refinement and Dao Integration. For example, each of the Seven Great Heavenly Books brought by the Immortal Sect's Five Grand Ancestors was worth one Dao Merit.

For thousands of years, successive Divine Transformation cultivators of the Immortal Sect left Di Yuan Star precisely to return to the central Daoist sanctuary of the Purple Firmament Star River, report on this mission, and receive their due Dao Merits.

This matter had been passed down orally among generations of Divine Transformation cultivators in the Immortal Sect.

If the Divine Transformation lineage was broken, then the Spirit Venerable would be responsible for guiding future generations.

However, the Spirit Venerable was also growing old. It knew that if it didn't return soon, it too would turn to dust in a few thousand years. So, upon sensing the abnormal stirrings of demonic thoughts within Di Yuan Star's core, it decided to seize the opportunity of this expansion war to leave and return to its homeland.

It hoped that this mission of thousands of years could finally come to an end in its hands.

After examining Dragon God Star's core, the Spirit Venerable returned to the Immortal Sect. It needed to awaken its slumbering true body, which would take some time.

Meanwhile, Qianxing and Yu Baiguang no longer remained in seclusion. They directly issued an edict, summoning all Nascent Soul cultivators to the Spirit Cloud Treasure Hall.

Not only those on Dragon God Star, but even those guarding Di Yuan Star received the summons.

Chen Mobai, along with Venerable Chengxuan and Wenren Xuewei, immediately arrived at the Spirit Cloud Treasure Hall.

They found that they were surprisingly the fastest to arrive.

The Immortal Sect's Dual Sages were already seated before the Spirit Cloud Treasure Hall, at a large oval table, with Qianxing and Yu Baiguang each at one end.

After bowing to the two, Chen Mobai naturally took a seat on Yu Baiguang's side.

"Principal, you are the elder, please take the first seat..."

After approaching Yu Baiguang, Chen Mobai pointed to the row of seats on her left, gesturing for Venerable Chengxuan to take the first one. The latter immediately declined repeatedly, stating that the future belonged to the younger generation, and as he was old, he would prefer to step back and take the second seat.

Chen Mobai had always respected elders and cherished the young. As the two continued to defer, Yu Baiguang, now wearing a pure white veil, grew impatient and pointed to the seats on her left and right.

"You two sit here!"

At her command, Chen Mobai and Chengxuan immediately obeyed, seating themselves to Yu Baiguang's left and right.

Wenren Xuewei hesitated for a moment, and realizing she had the least seniority, she took the fourth seat.

Soon after, several Nascent Soul cultivators from the Heaven-Mending lineage arrived. They seemed to have been delayed while waiting for Ying Guanghua and the others from the Immortal Sect.

Upon his arrival, Ying Guanghua first led his group over to greet Yu Baiguang, and didn't forget to nod in greeting to Chen Mobai and the others.

Chen Mobai noticed that Grand Ancestor Baiguang seemed to cast an extra glance at Venerable Qingping, making the latter slightly uneasy.

It wasn't until Venerable Qingping sat down on Grand Ancestor Qianxing's side that his expression returned to normal.

Shortly after, the Kunpeng lineage, led by Qi Yuheng, appeared before everyone in a flash.

After bowing to Yu Baiguang and Qianxing in turn, they took seats in the center of the conference table.

Next, Venerable Sanjue, Venerable Taohua, and Venerable Yuxiao arrived together, naturally joining Yu Baiguang's side.

Venerable Sanjue and Venerable Taohua sat between Chen Mobai and Wenren Xuewei. Whether it was his imagination or not, Chen Mobai felt that Grand Ancestor Baiguang also gave Venerable Sanjue a few extra glances, making the latter somewhat uncomfortable as well.

"Venerable Yu Yi is still missing..."

At this moment, Wenren Xuewei noticed someone was still absent. She thought of a possibility and immediately reminded Chen Mobai.

Back when they refined the fifth-tier Water Spirit Talismans, the three of them had formed a friendship, so naturally, they would help now.

"Grand Ancestor, may I ask if your summons were sent to Venerable Yu Yi?" Chen Mobai asked, somewhat reluctantly, after checking a message on his phone under the table.

"She's not one of ours, so I didn't summon her," Yu Baiguang said plainly. "Senior Brother should have called her."

Yu Baiguang spoke frankly. Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai forced a bitter smile. Yu Yi was indeed on Dragon God Star, yet she hadn't arrived, clearly indicating she hadn't received a summons from a Divine Transformation cultivator.

"Grand Ancestor, should I notify her?" Chen Mobai asked subtly, not daring to imply Yu Baiguang had made a mistake. He had risen to check with Grand Ancestor Qianxing, confirming that he hadn't summoned Yu Yi either, before returning to ask this.

"You may call her then," Yu Baiguang nodded directly. Chen Mobai breathed a sigh of relief and immediately called Yu Yi.

Upon receiving the call and hearing about the situation, Yu Yi immediately used Void Walking to teleport to the Spirit Cloud Treasure Hall at top speed.

When she arrived, she looked faintly pale, clearly a sign of excessive consumption of True Qi and spiritual sense.

Teleporting all the way from Dragon God Star to outer space, and at full speed, was taxing even for a Nascent Soul cultivator like her.

"My apologies, Grand Ancestors, for my lateness..."

Upon arriving, Yu Yi dared not mention that she hadn't received official notice from the leaders. She could only offer a polite smile and apologize to the Immortal Sect's Dual Sages.

Qianxing and Yu Baiguang nodded. Yu Yi then glanced at the seating arrangements and immediately sat down across from Wenren Xuewei, giving Chen Mobai a grateful look.

However, this sight made Yu Baiguang frown slightly.

The perceptive Wenren Xuewei, witnessing this, made a mental note to remind Venerable Yu Yi when an opportunity arose.

At this point, with everyone present, Ying Guanghua stood up and declared the commencement of the Immortal Sect's Three Halls' supreme council meeting.

Ying Guanghua, as the Master of the Immortal Affairs Hall, presided over this meeting.

He began by outlining the achievements and losses of the expansion war, setting the tone that under the wise and valiant leadership of the Immortal Sect's Dual Sages, the war had been a resounding victory.

"Alright, enough with the pleasantries, let's get straight to the point!"

Ying Guanghua had asked Lan Haitian to write a ten-page speech, but after only three pages of praising the two leaders, Yu Baiguang could no longer bear it and directly interrupted him.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll be brief then..."

Ying Guanghua immediately offered a placating smile to Yu Baiguang, then flipped directly to the last page of his speech, which listed the most valuable spoils of this expansion war.

With the aid of a small Dharma artifact, virtual representations of various items appeared on the long conference table.

These included the Empress's two inner cores (metal and fire attributed), the Empress's corpse, fifth-tier purple-gold flame copper, sixth-tier Star Gold, the divine core crystals of the three Dragon Gods, top-grade elemental crystals of earth and water attributes, and more.

Items that could not be visually represented were replaced with text, such as the World's Fetal Membrane.

Seeing these items, even Chen Mobai, a wealthy man who commanded the entire Eastern Barrens, couldn't help but breathe a little faster.

"Regarding the metal and fire-attributed inner cores," Ying Guanghua said, setting down his speech, "given the tremendous contributions of the two Grand Ancestors, I propose that each Grand Ancestor receive one."

Although the distribution of these items was supposed to be decided by a vote at this meeting, Qianxing had already subtly hinted at the arrangement before the meeting began.

"Seconded!"

After Ying Guanghua finished speaking and sat down, Chen Mobai was the first to raise his hand in agreement.

In everyone's eyes, Chen Mobai and Chengxuan represented the will of the Immortal Sect's Dual Sages. So, seeing this posture, the other Nascent Soul cultivators immediately understood that this was the Grand Ancestors' intention.

A chorus of 'seconded' and raised hands followed, with no one opposing. No opposition meant it passed; any differing opinions would be decided by the two Grand Ancestors.

"In that case, I will first write down the names of the recipients for these two items," Ying Guanghua said with a smile as he stood up. He then operated the small Dharma artifact, writing the names of the Immortal Sect's Dual Sages above the two inner cores.

"You've got them reversed, switch them around!" However, just as Ying Guanghua finished writing, Yu Baiguang spoke up with a displeased expression.

"Huh?"

Everyone looked surprised. They all knew Yu Baiguang possessed a Heavenly Metal spirit root, so Ying Guanghua had written her name above the metal-attributed inner core, and Qianxing's above the fire-attributed one.

Now she was saying they were reversed!

Did that mean she wanted the fire-attributed one?

Why?

Wouldn't that conflict with her spirit root?

Amidst their confusion, everyone suddenly realized something and simultaneously looked at Chen Mobai, who was seated next to her.

The fire-attributed inner core was useless for breaking through to the Divine Transformation stage, but it could be used to refine a Pure Yang Treasure Pearl. Due to its innate Dao charm and fifth-tier essence, it could potentially become a second Nascent Soul as its wielder advanced!

Furthermore, if Chen Mobai were to become stuck at the perfected Nascent Soul stage in the future, he might even be able to use it to acquire a Divine Transformation-level avatar!

Realizing this, everyone immediately understood.

So, it was for Venerable Chunyang!

No wonder she said it was reversed!

Upon realizing this, Ying Guanghua immediately apologized, admitting he had taken things for granted, and promptly switched the names on the two inner cores.

'They must have thought I wanted to use this inner core to secure Divine Transformation-level power for the Wuqi Daoist Academy...' Yu Baiguang thought to herself. Then, she allocated two taels of Star Gold to Venerable Chengxuan. This sixth-tier material had been extracted from the Empress's immortal body. Although the bulk of it had been taken by Qianxing, and some by her for sword forging, there were still two taels remaining.

This Star Gold could be refined into the Scarlet Heart Treasure Mirror.

After Yu Baiguang emerged from seclusion, she had heard about Chengxuan's hesitation before the threshold of Divine Transformation. Although she secretly disdained such cowardly behavior, he was, after all, a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Wuqi lineage, and he had managed secular affairs for centuries, allowing her to cultivate in peace. He deserved something for his tireless efforts, even if not for merit, so she gave him this.

"Many thanks to the two Grand Ancestors! And many thanks to all my colleagues for your recognition!"

Although he was regretful about not obtaining the World's Fetal Membrane, acquiring two taels of Star Gold still satisfied Venerable Chengxuan. He stood up and thanked everyone.

Chen Mobai, too, felt a pang of envy.

If he had sixth-tier Star Gold, he estimated he could upgrade his Violet Lightning Sword again, potentially providing the Immortal Sect with another top-grade fifth-tier peerless flying sword!

However, Venerable Chengxuan's seniority was greater than his, and he was also at the half-step Divine Transformation realm. Given Grand Ancestor Baiguang's strong support, Chen Mobai was convinced and accepted the decision.

Next, a small piece of the Empress's corpse was allocated to Venerable Sanjue, who intended to research regeneration techniques with it. Yuanxu and Beiming also took a piece each, planning to place them in their respective Daoist academies for interested prodigies to study.

Chen Mobai considered that since the other three factions had received portions, his own Wuqi Daoist Academy shouldn't be left out. Moreover, it was excellent material for artifact refining, so he proactively requested a share, which was again unanimously approved.

They each received a piece of flesh, a scale, and a section of a dragon horn.

The rest was all taken by Qianxing.

After these distributions, the remaining fifth-tier purple-gold flame copper and elemental crystals equivalent to supreme-grade spirit stones generated little interest among the attendees.

Still, something was better than nothing.

According to merit, those who remained guarding the Immortal Sect received slightly less.

Nangong Xuanyu chose a piece of fifth-tier purple-gold flame copper. As a sword cultivator, his priority was undoubtedly to enhance his destined flying sword.

Venerable Yunhai, Venerable Meihua, Venerable Yu Yi, and others, on the other hand, chose supreme-grade elemental crystals and some fifth-tier materials discovered underground in Dragon God Star's sea domain.

In addition to these, Ying Guanghua also announced that the Immortal Sect's Treasury Department would distribute a war subsidy of one hundred high-grade spirit stones to every Nascent Soul Venerable. They could even exchange them for supreme-grade spirit stones if they wished.

This brought looks of delight to Yuxiao, Taohua, Ye Yun'e, and the others. This was a massive fortune they might not be able to accumulate even in a hundred years!

Indeed, one still had to rely on war to get rich!

Chen Mobai was also very pleased by this.

With this, at least he wouldn't have to be so constrained when spending spirit stones in the Immortal Sect in the future.

However, he still needed to be careful not to spend too much and cause spirit stone inflation within the Immortal Sect.

"Finally, let's discuss the World's Fetal Membrane and the three divine core crystals!"

Ying Guanghua knew this was the main topic of the day. After speaking, he glanced at the World's Fetal Membrane and the Earth Dragon God's divine core, then sat down.

"Since taking office as the Master of Kaiyuan Hall, Palace Master Qi has dedicated himself to his work every day with immense passion and perseverance. He never shrinks from challenges and difficulties, always maintaining a spirit of professionalism and dedication, regarding the preservation of the Immortal Sect's peace as his personal responsibility, and consistently holding his post regardless of day or night, heat or cold... Therefore, I believe this World's Fetal Membrane rightly belongs to Palace Master Qi!" Ye Yun'e was the first to speak on behalf of Qi Yuheng. Such matters usually required someone to act as a mouthpiece.

"If that's the case," Gongye Zhixu countered, "Palace Master Ying is also no less capable. I think he's also very suitable!"

"That's incorrect," Venerable Beiming interjected. Venerable Beiming, known among Nascent Soul cultivators for his sharp tongue and audacious remarks – there were few people in the Immortal Sect he found pleasing, and his greatest pleasure in life was verbally attacking others – interjected, "During this expansion war, Ying Guanghua merely sat in the rear, drinking tea and allocating resources. In terms of merit and effort, he's far from comparable to Palace Master Qi, who personally led the charge and killed the insect beasts. I think he's unworthy!"

"What do you know?" Ying Guanghua's mouthpiece retorted. Although Venerable Yuanxu disliked it, among those present, only he, being of equal status, could stand up to Venerable Beiming's verbal attacks. "A truly skilled warrior doesn't necessarily have obvious battle achievements. If Palace Master Ying hadn't stabilized the rear and mobilized all the Immortal Sect's resources, you wouldn't even have been able to activate the Four Symbols Dao Palace..."

At this point, it was purely about taking a stance!

Seeing this, Chen Mobai was not to be outdone. He stated that Venerable Chengxuan had been diligent for many years, deeply cultivating the artifact refining profession and nurturing many outstanding refiners for the Immortal Sect. All the Dharma artifacts on the battlefield relied on refiners for maintenance and activation, and therefore, he nominated Venerable Chengxuan!

This was purely for the sake of joining the fun, but because Grand Ancestor Baiguang was seated beside him, Venerable Beiming suppressed his urge to mock. He decided to ignore Chen Mobai for now and instead turned to verbally assault Yuanxu and the Heaven-Mending lineage.

"This World's Fetal Membrane, ideally, should allow our Immortal Sect to gain another Divine Transformation cultivator," Yu Baiguang finally said, unable to listen any longer. She cut directly to the chase. "You are all perfected Nascent Soul cultivators, and all have the potential for Divine Transformation. However, it's very simple to determine who is superior among cultivators."

That is, to have a fight!

Whoever wins will be the owner of the World's Fetal Membrane!

Although Ying Guanghua knew he was no match for Qi Yuheng, faced with such a fortuitous opportunity, he had no choice but to compete, eventually suffering defeat.

Venerable Chengxuan, however, simply smiled and chose to forfeit!

He respected Qi Yuheng's combat prowess.

When Chen Mobai heard that the victor would be decided by combat, he felt a surge of eagerness. However, given that he had a good relationship with Qi Yuheng and had previously received many fourth-tier insect beast corpses from him, he still owed Qi Yuheng a favor, so he ultimately did not make a move!

Finally, it was time for the divine cores of the three Dragon Gods!