Chapter 208: A Brief Education of the Upper Regions and its Five Great Sects.
The Black Tortoise imparted some wisdom.
"In our existence there are countless minor existences known as expanses, the Eternal Lands and the Nine Divine Heavens are expanses located in the Upper Regions. Then there's the Dao Layers which are infinite layers of minor expanses located in the Lower Regions. One thing you must understand is that, no matter how far apart in power these expanses are, there is a story that ties them all together.
In the Upper Regions, there are five dominant sects - Star Sovereign Sect, Blood Emperor Polarity Sect, Tranquil Moon and Sky Sect, Forefather Sun and Sky Sect, and of course... the Heavenly Court Sect."
With arms folded and a fairly stern expression, Yang Wei nodded as he listened to Xuanwu's every word.
"The Heavenly Court Sect are the dominating sect in the Upper Regions, they reside in the Heavenly Dao Domain. With the superiority they have over the other four sects, they have the power destroy any sect that decides to defect. And in some very good cases, they choose to erase a sect simply out of fear that they might be surpassed...
the Blood Emperor was refining a pill that could change everything, and push his Blood Emperor Polarity Sect to a higher power, the Star Sovereign Sect warned him and his sect, yet he wouldn't listen. He took the risk of slaughtering every Celestial Dragon he could find, all so he could refine a pill that would put him on a level above the Heavenly Court Sect."
"The Heavenly Court Sect caught wind of this, and one of its Patriarchs suppressed him and sealed the Blood Emperor. However, he had left the secrets of the Blood Dragon Strengthening Pill with his sect to protect their superiority among the five sects.
It seemed as though everything would be fine, even without their Founding Patriarch, but that instantly changed when they realized the Blood Emperor had sealed away access to the Blood Dragon Pool which was the one thing they needed to refine a Blood Dragon Strengthening Pill.
This badly damaged the influence of their sect, but somehow, they managed to fight to maintain their status among the five sects for a more than a million years."
"Then, when word of the Celestial Serpent Sect being established by two serpent goddess born from the Sage of Origin came to pass, that was the first mention of a Catalyst."
Yang Wei rubbed his chin and nodded slowly.
So, that means Suzhen and... her sister? Are Catalysts then.
The Black Tortoise's eyes flashed a white-hot color and it sent a vision into Yang Wei's mindscape, then explained.
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"What you are seeing, is the warning Divine-Emperor, a great elder in the Heavenly Court Sect, issued to the established Celestial Serpent Sect roughly 10,000 years ago. They were warned never to allow the Blood Emperor Polarity Sect to gain access to the blood of their guardian dragons or there would be repercussions.
Of course, being the weaker of the two sects, the Celestial Serpent Sect couldn't fight off the Blood Emperor Polarity Sect and they failed to protect two of their four Celestial Dragons - the Earthen Titan and Aqua Lotus Dragon."
When the vision stopped, Yang Wei got shook a bit. Not only had he seen some familiar faces like Bai Suzhen, Liáng Xīnyuè and Fangblade, he saw some faces he'd never seen before, yet somehow felt like he knew them.
So, that would explain why Yurong said in her visions there were four dragons. Bai Suzhen and the woman with black hair, they made Yàndiān and his siblings from their essence... but only him and Bìlóng survived.
Yang Wei looked back at Xuanwu and confidently said, "I understand where this is going."
The Black Tortoise nodded, waiting for him to continue.
The white-haired mage cleared his throat. "The reason the Azure Tree is going to be destroyed is because of the actions of the Celestial Serpent Sect 10,000 years ago. Their failure to stop the Blood Emperor Polarity Sect from making a new Blood Dragon Pool from the celestial essence of the earth and water dragons, caused all this..."
"Yes," said Li Meixiu after being silent for almost an hour; but considering time could be made stagnant in this space, it didn't matter. "The only reason the Heavenly Court Sect didn't take any action was because they knew the Azure Tree is a Catalyst World—a minor expanse where important events occur."
Nodding thoughtfully, Yang Wei continued to pick up more and more information and each one came faster than the last, "But, now that they're ready to destroy it, I'm guessing they have a plan?"
He looked at both Xuanwu and Li Meixiu—they were both silent.
"Even you guys don't know?"
A heavy sigh escaped his lips, but then he shrugged.
"Well, it doesn't matter. All I have to do is kill this Divine-Emperor and everything should be fixed, right?"
Xuanwu deeply breathed out from his nostrils as he shook his head. "No, it is unlikely you possess what it takes to defeat Divine-Emperor, and even if you did... you would simply be seeking death. The Heavenly Court Sect would descend and grant the entirety of the Azure Tree, a fate worse than death."
Shaking his head, Yang Wei folded his arms and said, "While I don't appreciate your lack of faith in me. I'll play it smart and look for another alternative..." he looked at the tortoise, "What do you suggest?"
"For now, you must save the Azure Tree and show the Heavenly Court that you can indeed match their power. After that, there's the possibility your sect will be trialed in court... considering it could happen at anytime, you must use that time to focus on your cultivation while I speak with the sects in the Upper Regions and see what will be decided..."
Yang Wei looked at his hand and thought for a moment.
I have to learn a way to integrate magic into cultivation as soon as possible... if I can do that, then I should be able to destroy the entire Heavenly Court Sect myself. I can't let them harm the people I value... no.
He looked back at Xuanwu.
On Li Meixiu's side, she closely studied Yang Wei and could clearly tell it was the first time she'd seen him look so serious.
If there was a way to push him to Asura Realm, he'd surely have enough enlightenment on how to mix magic and cultivation to become one... then, those very few and far between will be an obstacle for him.
"So, I'm guessing I should be returning to the Lower Regions now?" Yang Wei asked.
Xuanwu held out a claw and pointed it at his forehead.
"For now, I will give you this..."
The moment his claw made contact with his forehead, Yang Wei felt his Spiritual Domain explode. He could see himself being wrapped around in what looked like strings that that had countless stars inside them. The strings fused with his meridians and it was then, Yang Wei realized what this truly was; Stellar Essence Meridians!
His cultivation level climbed up to 5th level of Spirit Gathering!
"Before one can comprehend the Heavens, one must for comprehend the Earth. You have cultivated the Harmony Earth Veins and now, I have granted you the only Stellar Essence Meridians I possess... now, you shall possess a body built to contain the stars of this endless world!"
After this was done, Yang Wei looked at himself, scanning his body with his eyes like a person who had just survived an accident. "Hm, and I thought I'd have to work hard to acquire these," he chuckled.
"RAWR!"
Tianyi jumped off Xuanwu's shell and immediately hugged Yang Wei and started licking him.
Yang Wei chuckled without restraint as he pat the relentlessly licking Tianyi on the back. "Haha! Alright, that's en-- hah! That's enough Tianyi!"
"Senior Xuanwu requested to see him, so I brought him here a few days ago..." Li Meixiu said.
It had only been less than a day since she Tianyi was kept in her care, but occasionally, time would run differently in the Upper and Lower Regions.
"I see." Yang Wei, still smiling brightly, held out Tianyi and gave him a good look. "Wow, you're already 6th level of Mortal Realm? That's impressively scary."
"Rawr!" Tianyi cheerfully barked back.
Slowly, clouds in the Northern Boundless Sea of Stars started to mask Xuanwu's vast existence until it completely shrouded his presence.
"Son of Magic, your goal remains the same... You are the only one who can change the Magic and Martial Worlds and usher in a new era. Your mastery of cultivation must rival your mastery of magic... it is only then you will attain true enlightenment."
Yang Wei nodded gently and listened as the voice faded away.
After that, he looked back at Li Meixiu. "I have to return to the Lower Regions, I'll talk to you later... and, thank you for everything you've done." He stared at her with a sincere face to show her he really meant every word.
Li Meixiu's chuckled and said, "Whatever, I'll take you back."
"That won't be necessary," he said.
"Uh, no, I have to. You need a certain level of power to cross from the Upper Regions back to th—"
Before she could say anything more, Yang Wei used his hand to tear open a hole in the Northern Boundless Sea of Stars through which he disappeared.
Blinking with wide eyes, Li Meixiu said, "Eh?"