Chapter 635: Sharing the Spoils
The Forever-Bright Tathagata Mantra, Amitabha Sutra, Supreme Light Mantra and the Three Thousand Illumination Spell cultivated by the Virtuous Zen Master were all present. Although he was a gentle person that did not favor battling, the Buddhist cultivation he possessed was miraculous. Especially the Zen mind he had allowed him to develop a great sense of aesthesis.
Moreover, his opponent did not really hide his own tracks.
The Buddhist light reflected by the Virtuous Zen Master shone in the horizon. As void space vibrated, the figure of a middle-aged man appeared.
The middle-aged man had a rectangular face shape and he had a mature feel to him. As he stood in the sky, his sword aura shot into the Nine Heavens, like a golden pillar. As it was erected on the ground, it supported the skies.
He seemed to be independent of this world and formed an entity on his own. But at the same time, he achieved resonance with the way of the Heavens and Earth.
The Virtuous Zen Master did not move and clasped his palms, "So it’s the Shaoyang Swordmaster. It’s been a long time."
The middle-aged man in the sky was the Shaoyang Swordmaster.
A few thousand years ago, the Shaoyang Swordmaster had already reached the Immortal Soul Second Level. But as he faced the Virtuous Zen Master, who was in the Immortal Soul First Level, he dared not go close to him but stayed far away.
The Virtuous Zen Master caressed the scroll that Lin Feng gave to him and laughed while shaking his head. The Shaoyang Swordmaster was very prudent, making him very difficult to deal with as compared to others.
Shaoyang Swordmaster said calmly, "It’s indeed been a long time."
He scanned the mountain valley that the Virtuous Zen Master was on, "This boundary pathway seems to be very stable. It doesn’t seem to lead to the Barren Expanses or the Void Battleground. It seems like it leads to a Middle World."
"Among all the Middle Worlds, I have not heard of any new ones that are connected to the Divine Lands through a boundary pathway. Don’t tell me this boundary pathway leads to a new Middle World?"
The Virtuous Zen Master sighed and stood up. He stepped forward and came to the position where the Shaoyang Swordmaster stood previously.
Who knew the Shaoyang Swordmaster retreated. As he faced the Virtuous Zen Master who was of a lower cultivation, he retreated quickly. He converted into a streak of sword radiance and disappeared from the field of vision of the Virtuous Zen Master.
The Virtuous Zen Master shook his head. The Shaoyang Swordmaster was being very prudent and decisive. If he had any thoughts of resisting or fighting, he could be trapped by Lin Feng’s scroll. Only if he retreated without hesitation could he provide himself with the room to escape.
In reality, the Shaoyang Swordmaster did exactly just that.
Even if the art of swordplay that he cultivated was very calm and peaceful, as a sword cultivator, the Shaoyang Swordmaster never caved in. But today’s circumstance was special. The Shaoyang Swordmaster chose the most beneficial and correct choice.
To him, if he could escape, it was victory.
The Virtuous Zen Master sighed and passed the news to Lin Feng. After learning about the situation, Lin Feng was not vexed over it. He even smiled, "I understand the situation. You don’t have to take it to heart. Continue to hold the fort and prevent anyone from entering"
The Virtuous Zen Master was a little confused. After the Mount Shu Sword Sect received news, even if they didn’t trespass, once they spread the news, there was bound to be trouble for the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
With the current powers of Lin Feng and the Celestial Sect of Wonders, unless the Great Void Sect went all out on them, or if the other great powers allied, they would be able to bear any attacks.
But if the Celestial Wonders World became the main battlefield, then the Celestial Sect of Wonders had no choice but to postpone their plans in the Celestial Wonders World. Their progress would be delayed.
Although the Virtuous Zen Master was just a guest, they respected him and did not hide things from him. That was why the Virtuous Zen Master knew that after the battle at Xiling City, the Celestial Sect of Wonders was bound to enter a period of rapid development.
If they get involved with other powers under such a circumstance, they were bound to distract themselves.
But Lin Feng seemed to be confident. The Virtuous Zen Master agreed, but he advised Lin Feng, "Master, you must be wary of changes in the Great Qin Empire. This place is at the edge of the north foot of Mount Kunlun. Not only is it near Mount Shu, it is also near the territorial boundaries of the Great Qin Empire."
Lin Feng laughed slightly. As the Virtuous Zen Master said till here, he expressed his thought that he was considering the situation for the Celestial Sect of Wonders seriously.
"Thank you for the guidance." Lin Feng considered his words.
On Mount Yujing, Lin Feng considered carefully. To him, he was against those who kept everything to themselves. At least sharing a little of the spoils was the right thing to do.
It’s not because he was generous, but it’s important to think for the long-term. There would be more opportunities to gain more benefits in the future.
He was determined to make the Celestial Wonders World his. He yearned for the magic treasure embryo even more. Whoever dared to take it from him would get his hands cut off.
But this was strictly limited to the control of the land. He did not want others to interfere. The resources produced by the Celestial Wonders World could be shared with the other great powers.
Of course, he did not plan for these resources to be shared so easily. But establishing good relationships was very important.
Especially after since Shi Tianhao had explored the place and realized that the world had countless valuable resources that many other sects needed.
Using the method of trade, Lin Feng could also make it convenient for him to obtain various kinds of valuable resources from other great powers.
As for the problems it might cause....
Lin Feng laughed. He had to take appropriate measures. One could not afford to be too prudent. If there were benefits that outweighed the risks, then things were worth doing.
Shaoyang Swordmaster returned to Mount Shu. The Mount Shu Sword Sect would not keep the secret for Lin Feng. Very soon, the news of the Celestial Sect of Wonders developing a new Middle World had spread among the entire Grand Celestial World.
At one point, at the north foot of Mount Kunlun, a huge uproar was created and the masses gathered.
Because of Lin Feng’s and the Celestial Sect of Wonder’s might, everyone was just observing secretly and did not dare to make rash moves.
What made Lin Feng unsure of whether to laugh or cry was that the first to come knocking were a few smaller scale cultivation sects.
They did not want a piece of the land, but came over to build their ties with the Celestial Sect of Wonders more closely. They wanted to fight for a chance for their disciples to enter the Celestial Wonders World to cultivate.
Of course, many other sects also expressed their desire to purchase the resources in the Celestial Wonders World.
There were even sects that offered to be the representative of the Celestial Sect of Wonders at the north foot of Mount Kunlun.
All these were settled by Lin Feng’s disciples. He was not too bothered about them. What made him slightly interested was that the Ethereal Mountain Sect also came along.
They had always relied on the Mount Shu Sword Sect. After the Celestial Sect of Wonders dominated Mount Kunlun, many people reckoned that the Ethereal Mountain Sect was a nail embedded in Mount Kunlun by Mount Shu.
But after the battle at Xiling City, there was a rumor that the Ethereal Mountain Sect was slowly distancing itself from the Mount Shu Sword Sect. Although they did not do anything to curry favor with the Celestial Sect of Wonders, the senior management of the Ethereal Mountain Sect seemed to have other thoughts. Their attitude towards the Mount Shu Sword Sect were not as passionate as before.
Strictly speaking, the Ethereal Mountain was not far from the Celestial Wonders World. The Shaoyang Swordmaster appeared near the north foot of Mount Kunlun suddenly probably because he paid a visit to the Ethereal Mountain before discovering a weird movement over at the Celestial Wonders World. After that, he went to explore it out of curiosity.
And the visit of the Ethereal Mountain Sect this time around was viewed as their plan to switch allegiance.
This form of action might not be very favorable by bigger sects, but in smaller sects, it was very common. In order to survive amongst the great powers, these smaller sects had to be very tactical.
Although the Ethereal Mountain Sect was viewed as a ‘spy’ in Mount Kunlun when they were reliant on Mount Shu, they had always respected boundaries. They did not cause any trouble for the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
Now that the Celestial Sect of Wonders and Mount Shu Sword Sect were in conflict, the switching of allegiance of the Ethereal Mountain Sect was a good sign for the Celestial Sect of Wonders. They would also act as a model for the rest of the other powers who were reliant on Mount Shu.
That was why Zhu Yi came to receive the guests from the Ethereal Mountain Sect instead of rejecting it. Of course, he was not fully passionate too. He controlled his attitude towards them very well.
The sect leader of the Ethereal Mountain Sect, Wu Yunliang, came to pay a visit personally. As he looked at Zhu Yi, he sighed in his heart. After bidding goodbye to him, he stood within the mountains and his emotions and thoughts flowed.
A middle-aged man who seemed of the same age as him and who was in the Nascent Soul Stage said, "Senior, this is a good chance. We have always laid low for this."
Wu Yunliang looked at the middle-aged man, "Junior Li, what I’m afraid is that regardless whether I’m taking the right or wrong step, the Ethereal Mountain Sect may not recover."
The middle-aged man remained silent for a while before he sighed, "If that is so, that is destiny."
Wu Yunliang turned his body and did not look at him anymore. He looked at the moving clouds in the sky, "That’s right. We can plan things, but fate decides how everything turns out..."
The Celestial Sect of Wonders received the smaller sects and powers as they came over to visit. Although these were just brief interactions and nothing was fully concrete, they presented themselves with generosity and did not seemed too domineering.
As news spread, the other great powers were more confident and started to contact the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
The first to contact them was the Great Qin Empire.
Prince Anliang rushed to Mount Yujing. Although he held a high position in the Great Qin Empire, to build up the relationship with the Celestial Sect of Wonders, he still had to run around to get things right. He was the most familiar with the Celestial Sect of Wonders among all the important figures in the Great Qin Empire.
Shi Zongyue came with the opinions of the Great Qin Empire and acknowledged the control the Celestial Sect of Wonders had over the Celestial Wonders World. But the Great Qin Empire was hoping to send some professionals into the Celestial Wonders World to join in the development of the Celestial Wonders World.
As an exchange, the Great Qin Empire was willing to assist the Celestial Sect of Wonders in their immigration project without any conditions.