Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1577 - 835: Scheming

The Northern Island remains under the watchful eye of Xiao Lu, a Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator. By steering clear of any assault on the Beishu Continent and instead claiming the island for commerce with Beishu, he has preserved harmonious ties with Beishu's leading sects.

Xiao Lu bears no connection to the Heavenly Inquiry Sect that dominated the region a century prior. Once a Nascent Soul Middle Stage figure from the Heavenly Inquiry Sect perished, Xiao Lu's Canglong Sect seized the opportunity amid the Heavenly Inquiry Sect's waning influence and swallowed it up.

The Canglong Sect completely integrated the Heavenly Inquiry Sect. With no alternatives left, the cultivators of the Heavenly Inquiry Sect opted to yield.

As a result, nearly all assets of the Heavenly Inquiry Sect ended up in the hands of the Canglong Sect.

This included the vital trade path linking the Dongqi Continent to the Beishu Continent. Given Beishu's scarcity of resources, bigger factions dismissed the worth of such dealings.

Yet, the Canglong Sect spotted lucrative opportunities. Beishu possessed certain exclusive resources, particularly the lingering lineages of Divine Skills, holding tremendous worth.

These facts stayed hidden from cultivators in the Dongqi Continent and across the broader Cultivation World.

The Canglong Sect assumed control of the Heavenly Inquiry Sect's dealings with Beishu, opting for the smartest strategy of trading favors with the Nascent Soul cultivators there.

It's downright amusing; in Beishu, a Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator boldly proclaims themselves an ancestor, something no Great Cultivator in the Cultivation World would dare attempt.

Maybe only in the isolated confines of the Beishu Continent could this occur. Millennia of separation have severed this land from external influences, fostering its own distinct framework.

This isolation explains why their Divine Skills lineages endure unbroken. In the Cultivation World, such Divine Skills heritages often invite peril. Safeguarding them demands overwhelming strength.

Should power wane, rival groups inevitably eye those Divine Skills lineages with greed.

Divine Skills transmissions can doom an entire faction; countless such heritages have vanished with crumbling organizations, leaving the Cultivation World far sparser in Divine Skills compared to Beishu.

Naturally, securing the Divine Skills transmissions stands as Xiao Lu's paramount objective. He first focuses on forging solid bonds with Beishu's Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivators. Only after grasping the sects' true dependencies will he plot to claim those Divine Skills transmissions.

Even in pursuing the Divine Skills transmissions, he insists on a flawless scheme that avoids severing ties with Beishu.

Xiao Lu possesses great patience. Across many years, he has steadily engaged with diverse Nascent Soul cultivators, amassing a web of 'friends.'

He perceives sharply that no single sect in Beishu wields dominant strength. Still, any outsider aiming to strike one sect must brace for a unified counterattack from all of them.

Yet this fails to daunt him. Just as he prepared to scheme for the Divine Skills transmissions, his 'friends' came to him.

'What brings you all here as a group?' Xiao Lu displayed no superiority. Such humility helped him win over many Nascent Soul cultivators.

He felt considerable intrigue, as besides the ancestor from the Thousand Illusion Sect, every sect sent at least one elder, and some dispatched two.

What crucial event could summon them? Usually, just one ancestor per sect appeared while the rest stayed in closed-door cultivation.

For these ancestors to abandon their sects—particularly those sending two—it had to involve a grave issue, leaving the sects vulnerable without elder safeguards.

'Senior Xiao, we seek your aid!' declared Ancestor Lu from the Senluo Sect.

Upon learning of Li Shiming's comeback to the Beishu Continent, especially via the Thousand Illusion Sect, they grew restless.

At first, they rallied all their Nascent Soul cultivators to chase Li Shiming during his vanishing act. They confiscated every magical artifact and resource from Yin Shilan, fully antagonizing Li Shiming.

At that time, they couldn't risk letting Yin Shilan advance. Had they permitted her to cultivate using Li Shiming's supplies and reach the Nascent Soul Stage, disaster would have followed.

They never foresaw that in curbing Yin Shilan, Li Shiming would reappear with dramatically boosted power.

The Nascent Soul ancestors conferred and decided to consult Xiao Lu, the Nascent Soul Middle Stage expert.

After they outlined Li Shiming's circumstances, particularly mentioning the Secret of Cave Heaven he possessed, Xiao Lu's gaze sharpened with interest, stirring his ambition.

A Cave Heaven would surely elevate the Canglong Sect to new peaks, offering far greater gains than gradual plots against Beishu.

'Are you sure? That Li Shiming has achieved Nascent Soul Middle Stage?' He turned his attention to Venerable Huike and Elder Li.

'Indeed, Li Shiming's aptitude terrifies. After a century away, he's ascended to Nascent Soul Middle Stage. Back when he departed, he was merely Late-stage Golden Core!' Elder Li affirmed with certainty.

'You label him a prodigy, yet in the Cultivation World, his name rings no bells for me!' Xiao Lu mused silently with a smirk.

Though distant from the Dongqi Continent, Xiao Lu stayed attuned to the Cultivation World's happenings.

He regularly dispatched goods back to the Dongqi Continent.

If Li Shiming truly were a prodigy, word of him would have reached Xiao Lu's ears.

He leaned toward a different theory: Li Shiming likely resorted to some taboo item to forcibly boost his cultivation to Nascent Soul Middle Stage, all to speed his vengeful return.