Chapter 249: Chapter 231: Fang Yun’s Influence (2)

Fang Yun did a little research. The next batch of Cyan Clarity Pills couldn’t be refined for over two years, which was when the new Jade Patterned Profound Lotuses would mature for harvest.

As for his influence in the sect, it had risen from 58% to 61%.

Fang Yun knew exactly why.

Even though he was still in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, his influence in the sect had already surpassed 60%. Based on the patterns he’d observed, increasing it further would be extremely difficult without breaking through to a higher Realm.

Fang Yun was more than satisfied to enjoy the bonuses of high influence this early on.

He opened the Combat Talent interface.

With a thought, Fang Yun saw he had 721 Talent Points remaining.

He began the one hundred and second draw for his Combat Talent.

Shield Talent Fragment * 35

Sword Type Talent Fragment * 31

Shoe Talent Fragment * 36

After the fragments were added, the Combat Talent interface changed as follows:

[Tool] Shield Talent ★★★★ (302/720)

[Tool] Shoe Talent ★★★★ (291/720)

[Tool] Sword Type Talent ★★★★ (287/720)

The talent closest to leveling up was still four hundred and eighteen fragments short.

Fang Yun roughly estimated in his mind. ’As long as my luck isn’t too bad, I should be able to upgrade my Combat Talent to five stars before the end of next year.’

’If my luck is good, I’ll be able to upgrade it to five stars much sooner.’

Fang Yun closed the light screen and went back to reading the book in his hands.

...

"It’s about time. I’ll be taking my leave, Elder Liu."

"What are you off to do, Elder Gu?"

"I’m going into seclusion to break through to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment."

"You’re attempting your breakthrough to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment now? It seems you found something good on the outside, Elder Gu."

"Not at all."

Elder Gu shook his head. From the look on Elder Liu’s face, it was clear he didn’t know that some of the unwritten rules had recently changed.

It wouldn’t take more than a few months for all the Elders in the sect to find out about these changes.

"I bought two Middle Grade Cyan Clarity Pills from the Dan Cloud Pavilion. I’m much more confident about my breakthrough to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment this time."

"What did you say? Two Middle Grade Cyan Clarity Pills! You’ve already bought one before. To buy another pill of that grade, you should have to wait at least twenty years. Elder Gu, you’ve broken the rules."

Even as Elders, they had to abide by the sect’s unwritten rules. The sect only produced a finite amount of resources each year, and for Elders like them with no particular specializations, the resources available were even more limited.

"Don’t worry, Elder Liu. Some of the unwritten rules have changed. If I had waited another twenty years, I could have easily bought an Upper Grade Cyan Clarity Pill."

"What’s going on?" Elder Liu was utterly bewildered.

"Let me tell you, our Spirit Field Institute held a meeting recently..."

Elder Gu was an Elder of the Spirit Field Institute. As a disciple, his Planting Talent had been quite good, at least when compared to other disciples.

After becoming an Elder, however, his Planting Talent was merely average. He ranked second to last among all the Elders in the Spirit Field Institute.

"...Once I had this information, I knew some of the sect’s unwritten rules were bound to change. So, I went to the Dan Cloud Pavilion on Dan Cloud Peak. When I heard they had a stock of Middle Grade Cyan Clarity Pills, I bought two right away."

"So that’s how it is," Elder Liu nodded.

’This is fantastic news!’

’He and Elder Gu both had Three Spirit Roots, making it harder for them to break through to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment than it was for Cultivators with Dual Spirit Roots. It would be best to have a Middle Grade Cyan Clarity Pill to help break through to the next Realm.’

’He was still a long way from reaching the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage. That meant by the time he got there, he might have a chance to buy an Upper Grade Cyan Clarity Pill to aid his breakthrough.’

’With that, his breakthrough to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment would be practically guaranteed!’

"Now that these resources are being made available, both you and I should focus on accumulating more Contribution Points. After buying those two Middle Grade Cyan Clarity Pills, I not only spent all my Contribution Points, but I also have fewer than a hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones left."

If he had known this sooner, he, Elder Gu, would have started saving up Contribution Points long ago.

He had spent a considerable amount of Contribution Points since his last failed attempt to break through to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

"Yes, thank you for the reminder, Elder Gu."

Elder Liu thought about the price. ’An Upper Grade Cyan Clarity Pill costs nearly five times as much as a Middle Grade one.’

’With the Spirit Stones and Contribution Points he had now, he couldn’t afford it. But he still had time.’

’If I just do my regular tasks well and take on some extra duties, the Contribution Points I accumulate should be enough.’

’If worse comes to worst, I could always buy three Middle Grade Cyan Clarity Pills instead.’

’With my Three Spirit Roots, aided by three Middle Grade Cyan Clarity Pills, I’d have an eighty percent chance of successfully breaking through to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. That’s a very safe bet too.’

...

...

「Celestial Demon Sect, Earth Realm.」

The headquarters of the Stone Demon Sect.

Inside a cavern thick with Demon Qi were not only Elder Mo Yuanhai of the Celestial Demon Sect and the Sect Leader and Vice Sect Leader of the Stone Demon Sect, but also Foundation Establishment Demons from Iron Tiger Manor and the Feng Family.

Iron Tiger Manor and the Feng Family were both subordinate Foundation Establishment Demon factions of the Celestial Demon Sect.

After several years of fighting, the Stone Demon Sect’s strength had waned. Now, Iron Tiger Manor’s overall power was roughly on par with theirs, while the Feng Family of Foundation Establishment Demons was weaker than both.

Most of the time, a family-based power is weaker than a sect-based one of the same level.

"Manor Master Hu, Patriarch Feng, it’s time for Iron Tiger Manor and the Feng Family to act," said Shi Tianpo, the Sect Leader of the Stone Demon Sect, as he looked at the two of them.

As he spoke, he glanced over at Mo Yuanhai, the Elder from the Celestial Demon Sect.

But Mo Yuanhai currently had his eyes closed in rest, as if he hadn’t heard a word.

If the Elder from the Celestial Demon Sect didn’t speak, he, the mere Sect Leader of the Stone Demon Sect, could not move these two great Foundation Establishment Demon factions.

"Rest assured, Sect Leader Shi. Patriarch Feng and I are already here. We will naturally participate in the operations to come."

"Manor Master Hu is right. You needn’t worry about that, Sect Leader Shi."

The reason the two of them were here was not that they had come simply at the invitation of the Stone Demon Sect’s Leader.

The Celestial Demon Sect had already ordered them to come.

However, from Shi Tianpo’s expression, it was obvious that Mo Yuanhai, the Elder from the Celestial Demon Sect, hadn’t mentioned this to him.

Then again, Shi Tianpo probably hadn’t taken the initiative to ask, either.

’If we were the Celestial Demon Sect’s Elder, we wouldn’t have brought it up either if Shi Tianpo hadn’t asked.’

"Good. As long as you’ll participate in the operation," Shi Tianpo nodded.

’If we don’t get any more reinforcements,’ he thought, ’given the pressure the Stone Demon Sect is under, we might have to fall back to a defensive position.’

Now that more Foundation Establishment Influences from the Celestial Cloud Sect were involved, they didn’t dare to act rashly within Celestial Cloud Sect territory.

If anything went wrong, they could find themselves encircled from all sides.

"Sect Leader Shi, just tell us your plan. We will be sure to cooperate fully," said the Manor Master of Iron Tiger Manor.

"Yes, Manor Master Hu is right," Patriarch Feng added with a nod.

Shi Tianpo was clearly not pleased by this statement.

’What the two of them are saying is that when we move against the Spirit Refiners, they still want my Stone Demon Sect to be the main force and lead the charge.’

’They’ll act as support, not as another main force.’

’Well, it’s better than nothing.’

With that thought in mind, Shi Tianpo began to lay out some of his plans for attack.

During his explanation of the plans, whenever he mentioned a point that was disadvantageous to Iron Tiger Manor or the Foundation Establishment Demon Feng Family, they would interject with their own suggestions. If he didn’t agree to the changes, it was clear the negotiations would be difficult.

The Celestial Demon Sect Elder, Mo Yuanhai, listened to them talk.

He kept his eyes closed, resting, with no intention of participating in the discussion.

’When it comes to dealing with the Celestial Cloud Sect, our Celestial Demon Sect has an absolute advantage,’ he had always believed as an Elder of the sect. ’The historical records say as much.’

’The Stone Demon Sect, Iron Tiger Manor, and the Feng Family are all our sect’s subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences. As our subordinates, they should logically be stronger than the Celestial Cloud Sect’s subordinate influences.’

’I don’t really approve of the orders the sect handed down.’

’Right now, only three of the Celestial Cloud Sect’s subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences are involved. We should only need to deploy two of our own at most.’

’We could do without either Iron Tiger Manor or the Feng Family.’

’The advantage would still be ours.’

’But now the sect has deployed three subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences. The only benefit for me, an Elder of the Celestial Demon Sect, is that I can just sit back and relax.’

’It makes no difference whether I’m here or not.’