Now, whether it is the Daming World or the Sky Wasteland, it seems that the world's carrying capacity has reached a limit, allowing only the existence of monks of the Nine Realms of Spirit but unable to produce real Immortal Daoist strongmen.
This is a helpless fact derived by many supreme strong ones through perusing countless records and combining their own circumstances, who believe that it is precisely because of such a cruel truth that numerous geniuses with unparalleled talent have been unable to step onto the Immortal Path and attain longevity, transforming into undying and immortal True Immortals.
It was also for this reason that after the Revival of the Ancestral Land, these supreme strong ones joined forces to develop the current plan of the merger of the two worlds. They wanted to integrate the Sky Wasteland into the Daming World, elevate Heaven and Earth, seize the creation, and break through to the Immortal Path.
Pei Xuanjing approved of this deduction, or rather, by combining some of his own experiences, he was even more certain of this point.
Whether it was before the revival of the Daming World or in the worlds that Pei Xuanjing projected and simulated, the constraints of the world's upper limit proved this point.
In Pei Xuanjing's view, the reason why the Daming World and Sky Wasteland could not give birth to Immortal Daoist strongmen was because of the limitations and constraints imposed by Heaven and Earth, the problem of the ultimate capacity for containment.
To give birth to Immortal Daoist strongmen, one had to either strengthen the world's limits, like the Daming World did during its Revival, or ascend to higher realms by becoming a celestial being, as Pei Xuanjing had experienced in the World of Myriad Manifestations.
However, despite his perusal of countless records, he was never able to find any evidence of the so-called higher realms' existence. Therefore, if one wanted to step onto the Immortal Path, there was only one way before them: to promote the ascent of the Daming World and in doing so, break through the limits to accommodate Immortal Daoist strongmen.
This integration of Sky Wasteland into the Daming World was but an attempt; if successful, it would mean this path had no issues. Even if it did not produce Immortal Daoist strongmen in one attempt, Pei Xuanjing would continue to push for it, pursuing further elevation of Heaven and Earth.
Heaven and Earth Ascension has its good and bad for all living beings.
The advantage is simple: the opening of the upper limit of Heaven and Earth means one can go further, and the creation borne from Heaven and Earth Ascension is a rare opportunity for living beings. Even if the majority cannot enjoy much of the creation, the fundamental nectar of the ascension is bestowed upon every creature Between Heaven and Earth, which no one can take away.
Of course, there are also disadvantages. The elevation of the upper limit of Heaven and Earth means that the difficulty of cultivation decreases, but for most cultivators, their talent and aptitude can only support them up to their current limits—meaning the gap between them and the top cultivators will widen even more.
Cultivation is like rowing against the current: one must progress or face regression. Normally, one needs to cultivate day and night just to maintain oneself. Yet, after the Heaven and Earth Ascension, the speed of cultivators' advancements will become even faster.
In Pei Xuanjing's view, this will undoubtedly lead to more severe internal competition among the majority of cultivators.
Therefore, after hearing all this, Zhu Houji immediately understood that with Heaven and Earth's limit +1, only those with strong talents would be able to rise along with the Heaven and Earth's limit for a +1 increase. Most other cultivators would only make marginal progress, which is equivalent to being downgraded without doing anything.
"Decades of accumulated power in the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, if after Heaven and Earth Ascension, not only could not narrow the gap with those top forces but would be further widened," Zhu Houji thought helplessly.
Although this outcome was hard to accept, Zhu Houji, with his wisdom, found the conclusion to be without fault, entirely correct.
Zhu Houji's heart was extremely conflicted, not knowing what to do for a moment.
However, his Great Ming Divine Dynasty was still doing alright, at least many strong ones in the Divine Dynasty had Divine Positions within them. With Heaven and Earth's Ascension, it also meant an enhancement of the authority of Divine Positions. Although it couldn't match the immediate benefits gained by those top forces, given time, this difference could be entirely made up for.
The ones truly at a loss were the mid-tier forces. After Heaven and Earth Ascension, the gap between forces would widen significantly, with the distinctions between the strong and the weak becoming more apparent.
"Since that's the case, Mr. Wu, you may as well go into seclusion. If there is a need, you may speak directly. Whatever I can do, I won't refuse," Zhu Houji said to Wu Shijiu.
He now understood that with such an obvious disparity in breaking through to the supreme realm before and after the Heaven and Earth Ascension, undoubtedly, many besides Wu Shijiu would take this opportunity to try their luck and break through, not wanting to remain confined here any longer.
Indeed, Wu Shijiu was preparing to break through at this moment, while many Spirit Realm Eightfold Cultivators from top forces, as well as numerous strong ones from first-rate forces, have coincidentally entered into secluded cultivation.
No one wanted to miss this opportunity. For those top forces, the Immortal Path might be open with the ascendancy of Heaven and Earth, and so they needed to do their utmost to give birth to more powerhouses, securing more interest.
And for the many first-rate forces, especially those with long-standing traditions, they have been stuck in their positions for too long, constantly waiting for a supreme powerhouse of the Nine Realms of Spirit to emerge and lift them into top-tier forces.
Previously, although they had some aspirations, the pressure they faced was not too great, and they had ample time to strategize and prepare.
But now, with these supreme beings pushing the merger plan of both worlds, this undoubtedly disrupted their original plans, forcing many first-rate forces that were previously concealing their strength to reconsider their plans. Unless they were content to miss this chance and remain in the second tier in the future.
Many wise individuals from these first-rate forces speculated in their minds that perhaps this sudden upheaval was an open scheme orchestrated by the top-tier forces to force them into revealing themselves and making a choice.
After all, the structure of the world Between Heaven and Earth had been stable for years. For any supreme powerhouse not from an original top-tier force to emerge would mean that many of the entrenched interests would need to be redistributed.
Thus, although the top forces did not oppress overtly, they still suppressed them covertly to prevent too many disruptors from sharing their interests and upsetting the current structure.
Otherwise, why over the years, only the Taixu Venerable broke through to lead the Taixu Sect in ascending to a first-rate force?
The Taixu Sect indeed has a long heritage, but there are many other first-rate forces that are no less distinguished, yet many Spirit Realm Eightfold Cultivators from these forces have not attempted to break through. It's not that they lack the confidence, but they fear the unforeseen complications that may arise.
"Hmm, he has indeed made a decision and is prepared to break through at this time." After receiving the message from Wu Shijiu, the thought that it was indeed as expected surfaced in Pei Xuanjing's mind.
When Wu Shijiu first came to ask him, Pei Xuanjing had been so blunt in telling him, and the meaning was very clear.
If Wu Shijiu was considered Pei Xuanjing's collaborator back then, then with Pei Xuanjing's suppression of the Taixu Venerable and his current promotion to the Spiritual Realm Level Nine Strongest, Wu Shijiu was no longer sufficient to be Pei Xuanjing's collaborator.
Collaboration is established on the premise of equality in strength. If there is a great disparity in the power between the two parties, even if they speak of collaboration, it is nothing but empty talk. It is not a matter that depends on the will of the parties involved; ultimately, everything rests upon strength.
This was like the collaboration between Witch God Sect and the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, where Zhu Houji and Wu Shijiu went to great lengths to bring Pei Xuanjing into the fold, and the Witch God Sect Leader also wanted Pei Xuanjing's agreement before he considered the collaboration valid.
That's because, quite simply, even though the Divine Dynasty was strong, compared to the Witch Deity Teaching, it was as different as clouds and mud. Their partnership was unequal, and only with Pei Xuanjing's agreement could they stand on an equal footing and have a right to talk on equal terms. Otherwise, everything was meaningless.
"Going forward, the layout of powers between Heaven and Earth will change even more. A force without a Supreme Strong has absolutely no right to speak." Pei Xuanjing had a clear understanding in his heart, and he muttered to himself, "However, even among Supreme Strong, there are various levels of strength. If they cannot seize this opportunity, when these top-tier forces are temporarily distracted and rise, then it will be even more difficult to rise again in the future."
Canglang Palace once dominated among the first-class forces because of the support of Taixu Venerable, and therefore did not suffer too many targeted actions.
After Taixu Venerable was suppressed, if it were not for the covert targeting by the top-tier forces, even if the Great Supreme could not win, he would not have faced such an irreversible situation.
Still, Canglang Palace was ultimately destroyed, not only because they offended Pei Xuanjing, but also because the top-tier forces did not wish to see Canglang Palace ascend.
However, the affairs of this world are always full of variables. The emergence and rise of Pei Xuanjing caught these top-tier forces off guard, and the power he displayed shocked them deeply.
Regardless, though, their desire to strengthen themselves and suppress the first-class forces had not changed and could even be considered a test.
For any first-class force, the benefits and status gained after ascending to a top-tier force are beyond their current imagination, of course, so are the obstacles and hardships they must face.
Many situations are now quite evident: the top-tier forces have made their move. Either you break through now, or you wait to break through after the Heavenly and Earthly Promotion.
But after the Heavenly and Earthly Promotion, even if you successfully break through, you still can't join the top-tier and will continue to be suppressed by them.
No one wants to forever live in someone else's shadow. If there was no opportunity, then so be it. But now that the opportunity is right before their eyes, to let it slip away would lead to inevitable regret and a sense of loss in the future.
Moreover, if many Monks of the Eightfold Spirit Realm break through and ascend together this time, they will actually avoid many threats and risks.
After all, in the past, even if the top-tier forces were unwilling at heart, their targeting and suppression were carried out covertly, not overtly, to avoid public anger.
This time, not only are cultivators from the first-class forces breaking through, but Independent Practitioners from the Spirit Realm Eightfold who are eligible for ascension will also begin their retreats simultaneously.
No matter the underlying reasons, the most fundamental point is that for various reasons, the top-tier forces currently have neither the opportunity nor the attention to spare on them. They've managed to find a gap in time to break through without facing obstacles.
Seizing this opportunity is like the carp leaping through the dragon's gate, transforming with the wind into a dragon, breaking through to the Spiritual Realm Level Nine to become a Supreme Strong. And then, with the benefits of Heaven and Earth Ascension upon them, they can immediately solidify their foundation and truly stand among the top.
But if they miss this chance, waiting instead for after the Heavenly and Earthly Promotion, when the top-tier forces further strengthen, they will face even more difficult circumstances. The likelihood of rising to a top-tier force and changing the status quo will be nearly impossible.
"However, all of this is irrelevant to me. As long as I stand at the very peak, the changes and transitions in this world cannot take what belongs to me," said Pei Xuanjing, his eyes flashing with a trace of chilliness and confidence.
At his level, as long as his own cultivation faces no issues, then with the passing of time, he will only grow stronger. Then, everything will have its share for him, and no one will want to openly confront him.
Of course, while the inherent pattern is rigid and does not conform to Pei Xuanjing's knowledge and ideas, today's Supreme Strong are the main trend, and even Pei Xuanjing cannot go against them. He can only chart a course cautiously.
Throughout the countless years, Pei Xuanjing has realized one thing, that is, no matter what he wants to do or what ideals he wants to promote, sufficient strength is required to carry it out. Otherwise, it is nothing but idle talk.
You can avoid using force, but you cannot be without the ability to use force. Reason and ideals are to persuade others, but the existence of force is to make those who are unreasonable calm down and listen to your reasoning.
The strength of Pei Xuanjing is what makes the Golden Core Dao so desirable, sought after by countless people. The strength of Pei Xuanjing is what causes the Taoist Academy to prosper day by day and makes disciples willing to practice the Taoist Skill he has carved out. At the core of it all, strength is the ultimate truth.
"Regardless of them, the next step is to strengthen myself, perfect my Taoist Skill, and then promote it throughout the world, exploring the Road of Immortal Dao." Pei Xuanjing pushed aside these thoughts for the time being and focused on the present.
At the moment, more than a thousand people in the Longevity World had completed their cultivation. Among them, some had succeeded in forming their Golden Cores, others had failed, but regardless of success or failure, for themselves and even for Pei Xuanjing, it was all a gain, albeit to varying degrees.
The cultivation samples of more than a thousand people, the experiences of success and failure, made Pei Xuanjing highly familiar with the process of forming the Golden Core, giving birth to the immortal aura, and then undergoing the Thunder Tribulation. He began to analyze and summarize these cases, noting the similarities and differences to find a more perfected and simplified method of forming the Golden Core.
"Next, what we need to wait for is the readiness of everything, and then the beginning of the plan to merge the two worlds," Pei Xuanjing's profound eyes stirred with ripples.
To tell the truth, he was very much looking forward to the plan to merge the two worlds.
Just as he had said to Wu Shijiu, the Supreme Strong of the Nine Realms of Spirit had reached the limit of Heaven and Earth and were unable to unleash their strongest power due to the restrictions of Heaven and Earth.
Even a powerhouse like Pei Xuanjing was capable of breaking through the limits of Heaven and Earth and releasing a force that surpassed Heaven and Earth, but this was only in the state of real combat, and most of the time, Pei Xuanjing still deliberately restrained his own power.
Therefore, he was very much looking forward to the Sky Wasteland merging into the Great Ming World; when the time came for Heaven and Earth to ascend and the limits to increase, perhaps he would find himself subject to far fewer constraints.
Pei Xuanjing looked forward to the merging of the two worlds, and many Cultivators between Heaven and Earth were also anticipating the ascension, all wishing to take this opportunity to gain fortune and advance further.
However, at this time, the return of the thousand-plus Cultivators who had participated in the Golden Core consolidation plan in the Longevity World inevitably caused a great sensation.
Over a thousand people entered the Longevity World, and in the end, half of them successfully condensed Golden Cores, and among them, half used their own power to give birth to immortal essence. This calculation shows a success rate of one quarter, but considering the environment and Formation Techniques that Pei Xuanjing had created for them, he believed that the actual success rate of Golden Core consolidation was probably no more than ten percent.
"But a ten percent chance is actually quite good," Pei Xuanjing thought to himself, "Compared to the past when countless people were left at the gate unable to succeed in Cultivation, a ten percent chance is actually quite high."
Of course, this ten percent chance refers to Cultivators who are qualified to cultivate the Golden Core Dao, not all Cultivators, but even so, with such a huge base of Cultivators, if it were to be promoted, it would result in countless Cultivators condensing Golden Cores.
And by that time, as more and more Cultivators of the Golden Core Dao appear, they will naturally innovate and spread the Golden Core Dao more widely and prosperously.
Pei Xuanjing was the pioneer and founder of the Golden Core Dao; he could strive to forge a path from nothing at the beginning, but to expect Pei Xuanjing alone to push the Golden Core Dao to its pinnacle was simply impossible.
Therefore, all that Pei Xuanjing could do had been done, and now it was up to those Cultivators who continuously stepped onto the Golden Core Dao to act, combining their wisdom to make the Golden Core Dao thrive even more, while Pei Xuanjing would also draw lessons to strengthen his own Golden Core Dao.
Whether it's the forces of Sky Wasteland or the native forces of the Great Ming World, they couldn't immediately participate in this matter when they first received the news, but that didn't prevent them from closely following its development.
Now that these Cultivators have returned, even though the Taoist Academy and the Shenxiao Sect tried as much as possible to keep it a secret, they couldn't truly make it leakproof, especially under the watchful eyes of a power like the Sky Mechanism Pavilion that deduces the secrets of Heaven.
Moreover, as the promoter of this affair, Pei Xuanjing had no intention of concealment at all. After completing the experiment and having verified and refined the Golden Core Dao, he also placed the adjusted Cultivation methods of the Golden Core Dao into the Dao Academy Contribution System as these people left the Longevity World.
Upon discovering these skills, the various forces immediately exchanged them, allowing their own Sect members to study and attempt them.
Of course, having exchanged several methods, they could only let a few people try them, it wasn't as if they exchanged a method to allow many people to Cultivate it.
Pei Xuanjing had once made it a rule that no one could privately teach an exchanged method. Each method circulated from the Dao Academy Contribution System was imprinted with Pei Xuanjing's spiritual consciousness; once teaching was completed, the method would self-destruct, and the Cultivator's own power wouldn't be able to break Pei Xuanjing's restrictions to teach the skill.
Of course, the reason these forces respected such rules, aside from restrictions set by Pei Xuanjing, was also because there was a lesson learned from the past.
Initially, when Sky Wasteland just arrived, a top-tier force had a powerhouse who tried to take a shortcut, wishing to Cultivate reference from the skills left by Pei Xuanjing, but couldn't gather enough Contribution Points in a short time. Thus, they sent disciples to exchange one method each and then swap lessons among themselves.
It just so happened that Pei Xuanjing's power had just broken through and he had not yet upgraded the restrictions of the Dao Academy's exchange system, so their trick succeeded.
However, when Pei Xuanjing found out later, he was enraged and sent down an Avatar to execute the powerhouse and his many disciples; if it weren't for the Supreme Strong speaking up for them, Pei Xuanjing would have even annihilated that Sect.
Even so, a force once protected by several Spirit Realm Eightfold powerhouses consequently declined, leaving only one Spirit Realm Eightfold Cultivator struggling to support it, falling from its top-tier status.
Since then, the warning has been set, chilling those Cultivators who initially wanted to game the system, as Pei Xuanjing maintained the stable development of his Dao Academy Contribution System with an iron fist.
The Golden Core Dao was a Cultivation system that Pei Xuanjing himself practiced and taught without any reservation, even recognized by numerous Supreme Strong at the Shenxiao Debate Conference.
The emergence of such a new system naturally attracted the attention and trial of all parties and Cultivators, but they had been blocked from entry before.
Now that Pei Xuanjing had opened up the latest methods and so many Cultivators had successfully condensed Golden Cores, it was proven that this path was feasible, and these forces wouldn't let it slip by.
So, when the news of these people successfully condensing Golden Cores spread throughout Heaven and Earth, it sparked another craze for Cultivating the Golden Core Dao.
Some with exceptional talents believed they deserved stronger skills and could follow in Pei Xuanjing's footsteps as the ones to take the Golden Core Dao to its peak; some had reached a bottleneck under the current system and found it difficult to make further progress, hoping to see the Golden Core Dao help expand their Cultivation limits; others were desperate and turned to it in a last-ditch effort…
Regardless, the Golden Core Dao became a popular trend in the World, enticing countless pursuers, flocking to it like ducks to water.