Changes in the Situation in the Central Region

At this moment, Yang Zhengshan had already placed his hand upon the gate of Entering the Dao. With a gentle push, he would be able to glimpse the true meaning of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and set foot upon the end of the Dao path.

The process sounded simple, but accomplishing it was incredibly difficult.

There was still a world of difference between Half-step Entering Dao and truly Entering the Dao.

The Myriad Flower Domain had existed for a million years, and there had once been as many as a hundred Lords of Authority. Yet only a few dozen people had achieved the status of Dao Master through their own insights. By comparison, there had been countless Half-step Entering Dao practitioners.

Not to mention the past million years—even in the current Myriad Flower Domain, there were several powerful Half-step Entering Dao experts.

The so-called Half-step Entering Dao meant merely touching the gate of Entering the Dao. Whether one could push the gate open and walk through it still depended on one's own insights and opportunities.

Of course, Yang Zhengshan's achievements were already extraordinary. He was not yet three hundred years old, making him extremely young even among Golden Core cultivators.

It was no exaggeration to call him a heaven-gifted genius.

After walking out of the Longevity Palace, Yang Zhengshan gazed at the clear Sky Vault and the ethereal sea of clouds, feeling as if the entire world had become different.

That feeling was not false but real.

He now stood in a new world. It was not that Heaven and Earth had changed, but that the Heaven and Earth he saw were different.

"To roam alongside the Dao—what fortune is mine!"

Yang Zhengshan flicked the Fly Whisk in his hand and laughed heartily.

"Greetings, Venerable! Venerable, you've emerged from seclusion!" Red Cloud exclaimed delightedly when she saw Yang Zhengshan.

"Yes. Has anything happened recently?" Yang Zhengshan asked with a beaming smile.

Red Cloud replied, "Venerable, you've been in seclusion for twelve years. Many things have happened in White Jade Capital, but the greatest is that Kou Ta and his wife, Hong Fuxiu, both succeeded in Core Formation and achieved the Golden Core Great Dao!"

Yang Zhengshan's eyes lit up. "Oh? They both succeeded in Core Formation?"

"Yes. True Lord Kou formed his core seven years ago, while True Lord Hong formed hers three years ago."

"Good, good, hahaha!" Yang Zhengshan was overjoyed. "I'll go see those two Dao friends first. You go on with your work."

"Yes!" Red Cloud bowed respectfully.

Yang Zhengshan flicked his Fly Whisk, and his figure floated into the air. In the blink of an eye, he arrived before the gates of Hongxiu Palace.

Looking at the plaque above the palace gates, Yang Zhengshan could not help smiling.

Hongxiu Palace!

Dao friend Kou truly had excellent fortune!

"Greetings, Venerable!"

Kou Ta came out to greet Yang Zhengshan as soon as he arrived.

"Dao friend Kou, congratulations!" Yang Zhengshan said with a smile.

"It was all thanks to your good fortune, Venerable!"

"Haha, I don't have that much fortune to spare. This was your opportunity!"

Throughout the entire Life Realm Immortal Palace, only one person could be addressed as Venerable, and that was Yang Zhengshan.

Venerable—one who stood above others.

Countless people in the world liked to call themselves venerable and ancestral, but those truly qualified to do so could be counted on one hand.

Yang Zhengshan had never previously considered calling himself venerable or ancestral. But as White Jade Capital's momentum grew stronger and stronger, everyone had gradually, almost imperceptibly, raised him to a position of prominence.

And now, by referring to himself as "this venerable one," Yang Zhengshan had completely acknowledged the fact that he occupied a lofty position.

However, the reason he accepted this fact was not that he was the master of the Life Realm Immortal Palace, but that he had reached Half-step Entering Dao.

Half-step Entering Dao was enough to claim the title of venerable and ancestral; one could even call oneself a Dao Venerable.

Dao Venerable—the venerable one of the Dao.

On the Way of Life and Death, Yang Zhengshan was the strongest existence in the Myriad Flower Domain. He was the Life-and-Death Dao Venerable.

After exchanging a few courtesies, Kou Ta led Yang Zhengshan into Hongxiu Palace. Hong Fuxiu was still in seclusion, and when Kou Ta wanted to wake her, Yang Zhengshan stopped him.

"There is no need. I only came to take a look, so there is no need to disturb Dao friend Hongxiu's seclusion. If this delays her cultivation, it will be more loss than gain." Yang Zhengshan smiled.

"Hehe, then I thank you on behalf of My Wife for your understanding, Venerable!" Kou Ta said with a laugh.

Yang Zhengshan waved his hand to indicate that there was no need for formalities. He and Kou Ta walked along the covered corridor of Hongxiu Palace, taking in the scenery within.

"Has anything happened in the outside world recently?"

"Many things have happened. I don't even know where to begin!" Kou Ta said solemnly.

"Then start with the Wuchang Ghost Sect."

"The Wuchang Ghost Sect is still at war with the Myriad Flower Demon Court. The battlefront between them remains at the central edge of the Wanhua Mountain Range. The Wuchang Ghost Sect has always wanted to attack the Central Region, but the Demon Court's Treant army has stopped their offensive!"

"In other words, the Wuchang Ghost Sect hasn't made any progress over the years?" Yang Zhengshan asked with a slight frown.

Kou Ta shook his head. "It can't be said that they've made no progress. Their progress has simply been slow. The northern part of the Wanhua Mountain Range and most of the Yunxiao Mountain Range have now become lands of death. The Wuchang Ghost Sect has erected many Giant Bone Pillars and deployed countless Yin Soldier Blood Puppets throughout the mountains!"

"It is basically impossible to take the Yunxiao Mountain Range back from the Wuchang Ghost Sect now!"

Yang Zhengshan raised his brows. Clearly, the Wuchang Ghost Sect had completed its transformation of the Yunxiao Mountain Range and the Wanhua Mountain Range. The territory it occupied across the two mountain ranges was vast, nearly equivalent to one-third of the Western Regions.

If it could seize the Wanhua Mountain Range and extend its influence throughout the Wanhua Western Regions, it would effectively control one-third of the Myriad Flower Domain.

Its authority would tower over the world!

With that, the Wuchang Ghost Sect would surpass every other faction in terms of power and influence.

It was nearly impossible for the other factions to compete with the Wuchang Ghost Sect for a Position of Authority unless someone could completely suppress it.

That raised the question: should he Compete For this Position of Authority?

He had never considered competing for a Position of Authority before. After all, his strength had not previously qualified him to contend for one.

But things were different now. He had reached Half-step Entering Dao. In the entire Myriad Flower Domain, apart from the nearing-the-end-of-his-lifespan Tianxian Dao Master, he feared no one.

In an instant, Yang Zhengshan decided that he would compete for this Position of Authority.

Strength was the strongest fuel for ambition. The increase in his strength caused Yang Zhengshan's ambition to swell countless times over in an instant.

He no longer pursued steady development. He wanted to stand at the summit of the Myriad Flower Domain, look down upon the entire domain, and gaze into the boundless Great Void.

Of course, he would not recklessly strike out. That was not his style. He had always preferred to plan before acting.

Tianxian Dao had not yet entered the fray. If he revealed himself now, he would only be asking for trouble, so he still had to lie low.

At the very least, he had to wait until Tianxian Dao entered the fray before revealing his strength.

Only then could he snatch the food from the Tiger's Mouth amid the struggle among the various factions.

"What about the Southern Region?" Yang Zhengshan continued asking.

"The war in the Southern Region is growing increasingly fierce. They say the South Sea Demon Court has sent more than a dozen Demon Kings ashore, and the Hengshan Sect has also dispatched quite a few Golden Core cultivators. However, so far, the two sides have not yet begun a major battle between Golden Core cultivators and Demon Kings!"

Yang Zhengshan fell into thought. The fact that the two sides had not begun a battle between Golden Core cultivators and Demon Kings showed that they were still exercising restraint and had no intention of fighting to the death at this time.

In fact, the fighting in the Southern Region had always been more intense than that in the Wanhua Mountain Range. It was just that the forces fighting the South Sea Demon Court there were local Southern Region factions, which was why the conflict had drawn less attention than the battle in the Wanhua Mountain Range.

"What about the Northern Region?"

"The Northern Region has instead become quiet. After the North Sea Demon Court advanced a thousand miles inland, it stopped. I don't know why."

"The North Sea Demon Court stopped?" Yang Zhengshan halted in place.

"That's right. It stopped long ago—its offensive ended about eight years ago!" Kou Ta replied.

Yang Zhengshan continued forward and entered a pavilion. "It seems the North Sea Demon Court has no intention of launching an all-out war either. They were merely establishing a foothold."

"What about the Central Region?"

Kou Ta furrowed his brows and thought for a moment before saying, "The situation in the Central Region is quite strange. Conflicts between the Wanbao Trading Company and the Tianji Pavilion have continued one after another, but neither side has ever launched a large-scale battle. The Central Region is in an uproar everywhere, and even Wanbao Immortal City has become much more chaotic."

The situation was growing more chaotic by the day. The various major factions were preparing for the coming great battle, while countless Demons and Monsters were emerging to stir up trouble.

Previously, the four regions of east, west, south, and north had been locked in constant disputes. Now even the Central Region was no longer peaceful.

After reaching the top-floor terrace of the pavilion, Kou Ta poured tea for Yang Zhengshan, who lounged against the Soft Couch.

"It seems no one wants to make a move yet."

"No one wants to make a move? Why?"

"Because they're all waiting for Tianxian Dao Master to die!"

"Tianxian Dao Master!" Kou Ta pondered this. "That's right. Tianxian Dao has not yet entered the fray, and they seem to be keeping a very low profile!"

He had never considered such matters before because they had been beyond his level.

Now that he was a Golden Core cultivator, although he could not influence the overall situation, he was at least qualified to understand these matters.

"Then should we do something next?"

He looked at Yang Zhengshan, a sharp glint blossoming in his eyes.

The Position of Authority seemed to possess boundless magic. It could stir the ambitions of countless people, plunging them into madness without their realizing it.

Kou Ta had never thought of competing for a Position of Authority himself, but he wanted Yang Zhengshan to become a Lord of Authority.

His own strength gave him no hope of claiming a Position of Authority, and he still possessed that much self-awareness.

He felt that Yang Zhengshan would also have difficulty claiming a Position of Authority, but that did not stop him from imagining it.

As the saying went, when one person attained the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascended to Heaven.

If Yang Zhengshan could claim a Position of Authority, White Jade Capital could replace Tianxian Dao, and they followers would also have a brighter future.

"Don't be hasty. The time isn't right. It isn't time for us to act yet!"

"Recently, help me collect Great Void Star Cores. I have a use for them," Yang Zhengshan said casually.

"No problem. I've already been collecting them!" Kou Ta agreed Without Thinking.

Yang Zhengshan smiled and nodded. "Then I'll trouble you."

He had reached Half-step Entering Dao, which meant he could now attempt to refine the Nine Tripod Divine Pill.

White Jade Capital's strength was still somewhat lacking and could not contend with those major factions.

Yang Zhengshan still needed to increase White Jade Capital's strength and build up its foundations. At the same time, he wanted Yu Qingyi, Yang Mingcheng, and the others to embark upon the Golden Core Great Dao.

After chatting with Kou Ta for half an hour, Yang Zhengshan went to find Yu Qingyi. Yu Qingyi had spent all these years busy cultivating Treants, and she had already begun cultivating Second-tier Treants—the equivalent of Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

After accompanying Yu Qingyi for several days, Yang Zhengshan spent a few more days handling matters in White Jade Capital. In truth, there was nothing that required his attention. All he needed to do was chat with everyone and strengthen their bonds.

Green Ox, Yue Yao, Yunxiao, Xuan Zhen, and the others—naturally, he had to meet them all after emerging from seclusion, ask about their circumstances, and exchange Cultivation Experience.

After spending nearly half a month, Yang Zhengshan finally went to the Pill Hall to refine pills.

He began with a furnace of Tongming Pills to warm up. Hmm, he was not rusty, and he had even improved.

Perhaps because he had reached Half-step Entering Dao, Yang Zhengshan had gained a deeper understanding of pill refinement.

Next, he refined a furnace of Lightning Tribulation Pills to familiarize himself with the process.

Finally, Yang Zhengshan refined a furnace of Supreme Demon Core Pills.

This time, he used three Demon Cores directly and refined five Demon Essence Pills of different attributes—three Supreme-grade and two High-grade.

Such skill left Zhang Hexuan and Yang Zongyuan utterly dumbfounded, their faces filled with disbelief.

They were now capable of refining Supreme Demon Core Pills as well. But every time they refined them, they first had to formulate a Pill Recipe according to the Demon Core, then refine the Demon Essence Pill according to that recipe. Every step required repeated deliberation, constant revisions, and endless attempts. They had to proceed with extreme caution, yet even so, their chances of refining a Supreme Demon Core Pill remained very low.

But what about Yang Zhengshan?

He had used three Demon Cores with different attributes to refine five Demon Essence Pills with different attributes, and three of those Demon Essence Pills were Supreme-grade.

This had completely exceeded their imagination.

"Master, how did you do it?" Zhang Hexuan held the porcelain plate and stared at the round pills on it, still unable to believe his eyes.

Yang Zhengshan smiled. "It's very simple. Understand the medicinal properties, formulate the mixture, and control the distribution of the medicinal properties within the furnace."

"..."

Zhang Hexuan and Yang Zongyuan looked at each other speechlessly.

It was very simple!

Everyone understood the principle, but who could actually do it?

The most troublesome part of refining Demon Essence Pills was formulating the mixture—in other words, creating the Pill Recipe.

This was a process of creating a Pill Recipe according to the attributes of the Demon Core. Every Demon Core was different, so the recipe had to differ each time as well.

Therefore, whenever they refined Demon Essence Pills, they had to spend a great deal of time creating the Pill Recipe.

But this time, Yang Zhengshan had prepared for only three days before directly tossing the three Demon Cores into the Bagua Furnace. Clearly, this did not conform to their pill-refinement process.

In truth, the principles were the same. It was simply that Yang Zhengshan could control the medicinal proportions within the Alchemy Furnace and continuously adjust them according to the changes in medicinal properties inside.

This not only required a profound understanding of medicinal properties but also absolute control over every change within the furnace.

Zhang Hexuan and Yang Zongyuan naturally could not do this, so they found it difficult to understand Yang Zhengshan's control over medicinal properties.

Yang Zhengshan did not explain it to them. It was not that he did not want to teach them, but that with their current cultivation, they were fundamentally incapable of reaching this level.

Telling them these things now would be no different from forcing seedlings to grow by pulling them upward.

"All right, clean things up. Next, we're going to refine the Myriad Wood Evergreen Pill!"

The Myriad Wood Evergreen Pill was a top-tier Third-Order Pill. It possessed the effects of strengthening the foundation and nurturing the origin, extending vitality, harmonizing with nature, and Wood Spirit Reincarnation.

The so-called Wood Spirit Reincarnation referred to this: when a cultivator died but their soul had not yet dispersed, if they had a Myriad Wood Evergreen Pill close to their body, its medicinal power would envelop their remnant soul and sink it beneath the earth. Drawing upon the vitality of billions of plants and trees, it would reform their body. Seven days later, they would burst from the ground and be reborn.

Although they would lose all their cultivation after being reborn, they would preserve their lives, and their new body would possess an ultimate affinity with the plants and trees of Heaven and Earth.

This was a Divine Pill no less miraculous than the Nine Tripod Divine Pill, and its refinement was only slightly easier than that of the Nine Tripod Divine Pill.