New Era

The matter of the Supreme Elder was thus settled.

With the sect competition in Gu Jinlai offered eighteen spirit crystals, a large number of Spirit Artifact, and top-notch materials, coupled with the fact that he had accumulated enough prestige within the Creation Sect after several months of purges, his rise to the position of Supreme Elder did not encounter much controversy.

Although people Gu Jinlai have not been fond of the position of Supreme Elder.

However, we can breathe a little easier about the Creation Gate matter.

"Grandmaster Jiang, apart from the group that was selected by the elders beforehand and the group whose origins are somewhat questionable, all of our Creation Sect's Void Returning Realm disciples and stewards are here."

At this moment, in the outer hall of the sect, Yu Xu led Gu Jinlai up to a high platform.

Before him stood a massive group of disciples and stewards numbering as many as three thousand.

As a medium-sized power, the Creation Gate has always been the overlord of the Storm Plains, ruling over hundreds of millions of people.

Although only those with Spirit Root can cultivate in the Xuanxian Realm, after 100,000 years of development, the cultivation system of this world has become incredibly mature, and the growth rate of its disciples is no less than that of the Changsheng Realm.

It's simply because environmental limitations make its manifestation weaker.

Gathering three thousand Void Return Realm cultivators, as is the case here, is not a difficult task.

If loyalty to these people had not been required Gu Jinlai, increasing that number to five thousand would not have been difficult.

"Let's begin."

Gu Jinlai, they have directly produced a top-grade Dao artifact.

This is the Dangshen Bell.

A Dao artifact specifically designed for the soul.

It can be used to launch soul attacks, killing enemies invisibly, and also has the effect of tempering the mind.

From the stage of "Core Forming" to "Spirit Refining," cultivators are laying the foundation for the stage of "Qi Refining Spirit Transformation to transform into spirit." The transformation from Primordial Spirit to "returning to emptiness" involves the first round of mental and spiritual transformation.

The Primordial Spirit of the Longevity Realm, having tempered their bodies and nourished their spirits with Qi, possess powerful minds and spirits. At the True Lord Primordial Spirit, they can often project their divine thoughts outwards. However, in the Profound Immortal Realm, even the top Primordial Spirit cultivators, though capable of projecting their divine thoughts outwards, do not operate them very smoothly.

Only after reaching the state of returning to emptiness and completing a round of mental transformation can one's divine thoughts truly be directed at will.

Therefore, the first batch of mecha pilots Gu Jinlai to be selected from among the three thousand disciples at the Void Returning Realm.

"Concentrate."

Gu Jinlai.

After all the disciples had solemnly prepared themselves, they immediately activated the Divine Bell. Instantly, a series of resounding, bell-like sounds erupted from this superior-grade Dao artifact, impacting the minds and consciousness of the three thousand people present and disrupting their self-control.

Before long, the first group of people with weak mental control were eliminated, suffering and falling into a coma, and were taken away by Yu Xu and others who were guarding outside.

As time went on, more and more people fell ill.

After more than ten minutes, only 590 people remained in the arena.

"Let's choose them."

Gu Jinlai said, "Follow me."

At his command, he took to the air and headed towards a mountain peak shrouded in a magic array.

Five hundred and ninety selected individuals followed closely behind.

After passing through the formation, a dozen elders and protectors were already waiting in a square surrounded by many courtyards.

Each of them had mastered a considerable number of tools, large and small, for training in multitasking.

"There are fourteen peaks in the Creation Sect, and you are currently on the sect's newly established fifteenth peak, the Divine Martial Peak. I am currently acting as the peak Peak Master, and you will focus on cultivating mental strength and mental control."

This Gu Jinlai.

Upon hearing this, the 590 people who had persevered immediately became excited.

Gu Jinlai has now accumulated a great reputation in the Creation Sect, especially after he wiped out the Ye family, which cleansed the atmosphere within the sect and earned him the admiration of those disciples whose passion had not yet cooled.

And return to emptiness...

This happens to be the stage with the largest number of disciples.

After all, disciples with poor cultivation levels have no right to consider their future or be oppressed by the Ye family.

Hearing that they could become disciples of the Divine Martial Peak, a venerable leader throughout Gu Jinlai, they were naturally overjoyed.

"First, I need to record your mental strength."

Gu Jinlai gave an order.

At that moment, the elders and protectors in the room took out pieces of crystal and began to test them.

In the realm of Xuanxian, those who reach the True Immortal stage often place great emphasis on cultivating their mind and spirit, which has led to the development of numerous methods and tools for tempering the mind and spirit.

The One Thought Divine Crystal in front of us is a treasure used to test the mental strength of cultivators.

Because this group of people had been selected by the Divine Bell, their mental strength was quite outstanding.

Among them, more than a dozen people had reached a level of mental strength comparable to that of Mahayana saint.

"Your mental strength has been recorded. I will have someone conduct a test in six months. The test will focus on two points: the growth of your spiritual power and the control of your spiritual power. Only those who have made progress in these two areas will be able to continue to stay at Divine Martial Peak."

Gu Jinlai, he changed his tone and said, "As a member of the Divine Martial Peak, you will not only be able to enjoy the mental tempering of the Divine Bell every three days, but you will also have an unlimited supply of Spirit Nourishing Pill. As long as you can refine them yourselves, you can take them at will."

"Unlimited access to Spirit Nourishing Pill!?"

The disciples' eyes widened immediately.

The Xuanxian Realm is different from the Changsheng Realm; all spiritual-related materials and heavenly materials and earthly treasures are extremely expensive.

The Spirit Nourishing Pill, which requires several kinds of spiritual herbs, is one of them.

Even if a Mahayana Saint devotes a great deal of time to completing sect missions, the contribution points he earns in a year can only be exchanged for one or two Spirit Nourishing Pills at most.

And here...

It can be supplied indefinitely?!

"The Spirit Nourishing Pill and the Divine Bell can only ensure the growth and control of your mind, but you need to train on your own. In addition, you need to use the materials in front of you to adapt to and learn a special way of fighting. Even if you pass the test of the growth and control of your divine sense in six months, if you cannot adapt to this new way of fighting, you will still have to leave Divine Martial Peak."

Gu Jinlai, he quickly distributed a beginner's training manual for mecha pilots, which he had spent some time compiling, to everyone.

A mountain peak capable of providing an endless supply of Spirit Nourishing Pill, and a group of disciples whom the sect is so dedicated to nurturing—one can imagine how important they will be in the Creation Sect in the future.

The disciples who received the booklet all began to study it patiently.

Those Gu Jinlai have all smiled slightly.

"Finally on the right track."

He nodded to Yu Xu: "I'll leave the distribution of supplies and other matters to you. If you have any questions, just send me a message. I'll be in charge of the assessment six months from now."

"Yes."

Yu Xu gave a slight bow.

At that moment, Gu Jinlai a single step, traversing the void, and quickly appeared in the Creation Cave.

As the Supreme Elder of the Creation Sect, he now possesses the qualifications to enter and exit the Creation Cave Heaven.

If Gu Jinlai were to make a request, Jiang Yujian would probably be willing to give him the Heavenly Dao of Creation.

"Brother."

Gu Jinlai quickly arrived beside Jiang Yujian, who was located in the void of the cave.

At this moment, Jiang Yujian was not refining the Cheng Ying Mech. The power of the Creation Heavenly Dao was continuously flowing into the Creation Pill Furnace, the only top-grade Dao artifact of the Creation Sect.

"You've come at the perfect time."

Seeing the Gu Jinlai, Jiang Yujian cast a pill-making incantation, and pills quickly flew out of the Creation Pill Furnace.

"The Nine-Turn Creation Pill you requested is ready."

He quickly poured the pills into porcelain bottles, and judging by the quantity, there were hundreds of bottles.

After finishing the pill refining, he was still puzzled. "The cultivation of the Core Formation Realm is only a few years, why did you spend so many heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and even make me spend precious spirit crystals to activate the Creation Heavenly Dao and refine so many Nine-Turn Creation Pills?"

He said this doesn't mean that everyone in the Xuanxian Realm can form a core in just a few years.

Instead, if it takes more than ten years to reach the Core Formation stage, there is no value in cultivating them, and naturally they will not appear in his sight.

"I have my own purpose."

This Gu Jinlai.

Jiang Yujian shrugged after hearing this, without asking any further questions.

After all, the materials and spirit crystals are all from Gu Jinlai. He simply used the Creation Heavenly Dao to refine this Nine-Turn Creation Pill, which can only make a person's essence, energy and spirit perfect.

For him, who is destined to relentlessly pursue the path of Creation and Heavenly Dao in the future, each time he operates the Creation and Heavenly Dao, it is actually a highly efficient cultivation session.

"I need to leave for a while."

Gu Jinlai, he instructed, "The Creation Sect only needs to patiently wait for the first batch of mecha pilots to complete their training and the first batch of Cheng Ying mechas to be manufactured. Then we can prepare for sweeping across the Flame River. This will not take too long, as short as one year or as long as three years. The Creation Sect will definitely begin its expansion. What you need to do is prepare for the arrival of this moment."

As he spoke, he laughed, "What if we don't even have enough True Immortals to oversee the various grotto-heavens by then?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yujian said somewhat helplessly, "There really isn't one. However, during this period, Master has been out contacting the Cloud Soaring Sect, the Nine Refinements Pavilion, and some elders who are developing elsewhere. Once they return, they should be able to alleviate some of the problem of the scarcity of True Immortals."

As he spoke, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, "Our Creation Sect is, after all, an ancient force with a history of over ten thousand years, and we still have some foundation."

"That's good. Let's make some contact first. Once our Creation Sect has enough grotto-heavens, we won't have to worry about those True Immortals who went out not returning."

This Gu Jinlai.

True immortals must rely on grotto-heavens to cultivate into celestial immortals.

However, a grotto-heaven must be built on Spirit Vein to maintain its operation, and the resources required for its construction are far beyond what any true immortal without a background can afford.

In such circumstances, it would be the norm for eight or ten true immortals to crowd into a single grotto-heaven to comprehend its mysteries.

Even a very small number of people who cultivate to become celestial immortals will have their own grotto-heavens breached for some reason, forcing them to wander around. Ultimately, unable to rebuild their own grotto-heavens, they will serve those forces that possess them.

"So you're... going to report the situation to that Supreme Immortal Lord Taiyi? If you need any help from us, please speak up as soon as possible."

Jiang Yujian said.

"No need, I can handle it myself."

He waved his hand, as if to say something from Gu Jinlai.

At that moment, he left the cave with a large number of Nine-Turn Creation Pills refined by Jiang Yujian and left the Creation Gate directly.

As far as the Xuanxian Realm goes...

It's still relatively stable.

Because of the power of spiritual energy, any war involving the consumption of spiritual energy among these forces will attract intervention from all sides.

In addition, the unique cultivation system of Celestial Immortals allows True Immortal-level forces to survive peacefully in the Xuanxian Realm by relying on their grotto-heavens, without worrying about being swallowed up one day because they offended a powerful figure they couldn't afford to offend.

Of course, this stability refers to the power that possesses the hidden realm.

For those cultivators at lower levels, oppression, plunder, and killing are also common occurrences in order to advance their cultivation.

Even illusory immortals and true immortals would go to great lengths to seize Spirit Vein and materials needed to build their own grotto heavens.

In the void, it has maintained a floating state Gu Jinlai, and was directly projected to the outside of the immortal realm using the void projection technique.

Then, through Liu Feiyun, who had already arrived in the Immortal Kingdom from the Holy Dynasty, they found Zhao Xi.

Sensing the Gu Jinlai aura emanating from Liu Feiyun, Zhao Xi looked somewhat envious. "It's truly an incredible and profound method. Unfortunately, the path of cultivators is too 'self-centered,' emphasizing 'I am heaven and earth,' which runs counter to the Celestial Master's concept of transforming into all things. In fact, even the innate deities' 'born and nurtured by heaven and earth' are more in line with the Celestial Master's path than cultivators."

"You flatter me, Immortal Master Zhao."

Gu Jinlai relayed this through Liu Feiyun, while also asking, "How long until the Star Gate opens again?"

"It will be at least five months from now."

As Zhao Xi spoke, he asked, "What happened on your end?"

"No, it's not..."

Gu Jinlai said, "However, I have a method that, if all goes well, can completely resolve the problem of the Myriad Star Sword Sect within the next three years. But this method requires taking away a large number of spirit crystals from the Immortal Kingdom."

"Completely eliminate the Myriad Star Sword Sect within the next three years!?"

Zhao Xi was startled. "Didn't you say that the Myriad Stars Sword Sect has an Immortal Lord? What method can be used to eliminate such a threat as the Myriad Stars Sword Sect?"

"Immortal Lord Zhao should know about the Cheng Ying mechs produced by our Qian Tian, right?"

This Gu Jinlai.

Zhao Xi nodded.

After deepening his cooperation with Gu Jinlai, he even sent a group of Celestial Masters and Celestial Lords to Qian Tian, whereupon he naturally learned about the Cheng Ying mecha that Qian Tian was working hard to forge.

"Immortal Master Zhao knows about the Cheng Ying Mech and also knows that the Xuanxian Realm has researched the power of 'Heavenly Dao' to its extreme. As for me, I just happened to enter a force called the Creation Gate. That force possesses a 'Creation' Heavenly Dao. As long as there are enough materials and spirit crystals, it can quickly manufacture Cheng Ying Mechs."

Gu Jinlai, he laughed and said, "I have already told you about the situation in the Xuanxian Realm. Due to the Spiritual Qi energy, True Immortals cannot fight for long, and Celestial Immortals have to rely on the Cave Heaven. Therefore, the Cheng Ying Mech, which does not rely on the Spiritual Qi system at all and has almost unlimited energy, can match the combat power of True Immortals in direct combat. If it is used to attack the Cave Heaven, its continuous firepower output is even more useful than that of a peak True Immortal."

"The Shadow-Bearing Mech, which doesn't rely on Spiritual Qi system, boasts combat power comparable to a True Immortal!?"

Zhao Xi was taken aback, then his eyes gleamed.

"Really!?"

He had witnessed the power of the Cheng Ying mech.

They can unleash top-tier combat power even in the Realm of Immortality.

Due to the harsh environment, although the True Immortals and Void Immortals of the Longevity Realm do not dare to boast that they can kill enemies of higher realms in the Profound Immortal Realm like the Saints and Celestial Person, it is still not a problem for them to have a significant advantage.

Therefore, the Cheng Ying mech, which possesses top-tier Void Immortal combat power in the Immortal Realm, can unleash power approaching that of a True Immortal when deployed there...

Absolutely possible!

"Of course it's true. Right now, all I lack is enough spirit crystals to keep the Creation Heavenly Dao running and producing mechs."

He said with a smile, "Gu Jinlai."

In fact, his statement that the Cheng Ying mecha's combat power is close to that of a True Immortal in the Xuanxian Realm is rather modest.

In terms of flexibility and control over the Chengying mecha, the Returning Void Celestial Person is far inferior to the Celestial Lord in his True Spirit form.

Only when the Heavenly Lord's True Spirit and the mecha are united can the combat power of a Cheng Ying mecha be truly brought to its limit.

Just like a driver who knows how to drive and an experienced driver who has achieved perfect harmony with the car and can drive on any road, the level of driving ability between the two is simply not on the same level.

In particular, the mechs produced by the Heavenly Lords using spiritual materials are often perfectly matched with that Heavenly Lord, which is equivalent to modifying a vehicle. From this point of view, the performance they can achieve is even better.

Like in Gu Jinlai, if he were to meticulously craft a Cheng Ying mecha, even using the same technology, he estimated that he could perform at the level of a peak True Immortal, or even a supreme True Immortal.

Of course, the cost is estimated to be more than ten times that of a mass-produced mech.

"If your mechs can even handle the powerful Myriad Star Sword Sect..."

Zhao Xi took a deep breath. "After we deal with the Myriad Star Sword Sect, will this batch of mechs be able to return to the Realm of Immortality through the Star Gate and further deal with the Demonic Beasts?"

"Slaying the Demonic Beasts is no problem, but..."

Gu Jinlai, pausing for a moment. "Mechs are powerless against Demonic Spirit. Demonic Spirit only needs to kill the pilot inside the mech, and the mech is essentially useless... Although there is such a thing as artificial intelligence, its wartime reaction is far from comparable to that of a Void Returning Celestial Person who possesses divine sense... I am worried that when the mechs slaughter Demonic Beasts, the Demonic Beasts will transform into Demonic Spirit to attack, and we... do we have enough power to withstand the tactical changes of the Demon Realm?"

"Demonic Spirit..."

Zhao Xi also came to his senses.

The threat from the Demon Realm is never Demonic Beasts, but Demonic Spirit!

While Devil Master and Overlord-level Demonic Spirit are currently unable to enter the Realm of Immortality, Spirit Venerables are not subject to such restrictions.

To confront the Spirit Lord...

Even the Heavenly Ruler needs a numerical advantage.

Although the Immortal Kingdom secretly cultivated a large number of Heavenly Lords, they only numbered a few hundred in total.

The only consolation is that the spiritual energy also enhances the Heavenly Ruler's abilities.

Otherwise, there would be no need to fight at all.

However, no one knows how many Demonic Spirit spirits the Demon Realm has accumulated over thousands of years.

With no creators born in the last thousand years, if Zhao Xi were to truly confront the tactical changes of the Demon Realm, all he could do was activate the Transformation Heavenly Dao in advance and take a gamble.

"We can only take advantage of the time difference."

Zhao Xi said, "After destroying the Myriad Stars Sword Sect, the Creation Sect is fully preparing for war and producing a large number of mechs. Meanwhile, I will take advantage of the time when the Transformation Spirit Heavenly Dao is no longer under the control of others to nurture it to perfection as quickly as possible. Once the Transformation Spirit Heavenly Dao is perfected, and with my vast cave heaven as a backing, I will kill as many Spirit Venerable-level Demonic Spirit as come."

"How long will it take for the Heavenly Dao of Transformation to reach its full potential from its current state?"

This Gu Jinlai.

"In order to appease the Myriad Stars Sword Sect and prevent them from suspecting us, we did not build cave heavens and collect spirit crystals on a large scale around the world. The total amount of spirit crystals we could obtain each year was only around thirty, most of which were used for war. In the eyes of the Myriad Stars Sword Sect, we only had about ten spirit crystals left over each year. In reality, we obtained more than fifty spirit crystals each year."

Zhao Xi said solemnly, "However, if we no longer need to disguise ourselves and allow all the cave heavens to collect spiritual energy and condense spiritual crystals, the annual spiritual crystal production will reach more than one hundred. If we establish cave heavens in various places, the annual spiritual crystal production can reach three hundred in three years at most. And when the Transcendent Heavenly Dao is perfected, one thousand spiritual crystals will be enough."

"How many spirit crystals have you secretly hidden?"

"After I took some of it from you, now there are only two hundred left."

"Two hundred..."

Gu Jinlai nodded. "I'll take these two hundred spirit crystals with me. Let's deal with the Wanxing Sword Sect problem first. As for the Demonic Beasts changing their tactics..."

He thought of that terrifying being hidden deep within the spirit realm, and a guess formed in his mind.

"I think that as long as we don't let the Cheng Ying mechs fully enter the Eternal Life Realm and make them realize the crisis of being completely wiped out, they will not take the step of invading the Eternal Life Realm in the form of Demonic Spirit."

"Um!?"

Zhao Xi glanced at Gu Jinlai.

After a moment, he finally chose to trust him completely.

"Good."

Zhao Xi nodded. "Do you plan to take these spirit crystals back and forth through the Star Gate in five months, or do you want to try going through the Myriad Star Sword Sect's passage? You have the Mirage Dragon Pearl on you, so you should be able to hide from their senses."

"It can't be hidden."

Gu Jinlai shook his head. "Because of the special nature of the 'Heavenly Dao' system, the gods possessed by the immortals of the Xuanxian Realm are much stronger than those of the beings in our Changsheng Realm."

"God..."

"Let's wait five months."

This Gu Jinlai.

"Okay, I will have them collect as many spirit crystals as possible over the next five months so you can take them back with you."

Zhao Xi responded.

As for sending someone to take two hundred spirit crystals through the passage between the Immortal Kingdom and the Myriad Stars Sword Sect...

No one mentioned it.

Everyone who enters the Myriad Stars Sword Sect is under strict surveillance.

Unless Gu Jinlai intends to confront the Wanxing Sword Sect right now, this method is meaningless.

Blue Star.

Star Federation.

At this time, on a coastline in the Starshine Federation, 600 miles from the Cosmic Light Laboratory, a building 100 meters high was finally completed with a large amount of manpower and resources.

After several inspections, on this day, almost all the high-ranking officials of the Starshine Federation gathered at a command center dozens of miles away from this building.

Looking at the massive building, Harriman, the head of the Apocalypse Project team, couldn't help but exclaim, "After nearly three years and an investment of trillions of dollars, this Star Spirit Platform is finally complete!"

"Alright, Dr. Harriman, the final round of checks has passed. So, shall we now attempt to activate the Star Spirit Platform? Ladies and gentlemen, you have been eagerly anticipating what is about to unfold—a truly miraculous scene."

As the president's spokesperson, Laucorlen, a member of the Apocalypse Project team, urged.

"This will be the greatest moment of the 21st century, a moment that will be recorded in history!"

Robert's voice echoed in the command center. At the same time, he stepped aside slightly, making way for the elderly man in a suit and tie, who was nearly seventy years old. "This beginning of a new era in human civilization will be personally initiated by President Edward."