The so-called Three Northern Lakes region was the territory of the Xiyu Alliance. It was the premier prosperous hub of the cultivation world, home to numerous Daoist traditions and an overall formidable level of strength. Among them, the Pure Void Virtue Sect, the Siming Sect, and Flying Soul City were universally acknowledged as major sects, standing on equal footing with the Li Chen Sect. Because they resided at the core of the cultivation world, their strength actually surpassed that of the Li Chen Sect.
As for the Haoran Sect, it was a tier-one sect striving for the top three, second only to the aforementioned three and surging with fierce momentum in recent years. Yu Ci had heard of it many times while at the Li Chen Sect, and most of the time it was discussed in the same breath as the Siming Sect. This was primarily because both were orthodox Confucian sects; they occasionally had disputes over scriptural interpretations, but on the whole remained extremely steadfast fellow travelers. Most of the time, the two sects had to be viewed as a single entity.
When Yu Ci had earlier seen that Cai Xuan's cultivation base was quite impressive, yet noted his lack of seasoning, he had been wondering how the Northern Wasteland could produce such a greenhorn. It turned out he was a disciple from a prestigious, powerful sect out to temper himself in the world, and that explained everything.
Looking closely at Cai Xuan, his early-stage Pill Condensation cultivation base matched his own, and what was rare was how remarkably young he was. This youthfulness wasn't just in physical appearance, but in his entire being from the inside out. Yu Ci guessed he was at most around thirty years of age, roughly the same as himself. To be able to