Chapter 2724 - The Tininess of the Blue Peak Continent

Eternal Essence Gold looked like the copper coins of the mortal world—round on the outside and square on the inside.

The difference was that Eternal Essence Gold was jade-like, but not jade. It was crystalline and translucent, its surface carved with naturally formed markings of the Grand Dao.

When cultivators took it in hand, it seemed as if they were holding the Grand Dao itself. They could sense an incomparably pure Eternal aura.

When examined with the divine sense, even a small piece of Eternal Essence Gold seemed to contain a sea of ever-shifting clouds glowing with misty light.

Rumor had it that Eternal Essence Gold was refined from a rare divine material found in the River of Destiny, Essence Gold Profound Jade.

Eternal Essence Gold was used to make coins, but it could also be used to cultivate.

Su Yi now held a piece of Eternal Essence Gold.

It wasn’t at all unfamiliar; after Su Yi killed Liu Shangchuan, Yu Zhensong, and the others in the Golden Spirit Hidden Realm, Qin Suqing scoured the battlefield for trophies. They included an abundance of Eternal Essence Gold, almost a thousand pieces, most of which had belonged to Liu Shangchuan of the Heart-Tempering Sword House.

It was just that at the time, Su Yi didn’t know how valuable Eternal Essence Gold was.

Luan Yunzhong sighed, then said, “Every piece of Eternal Essence Gold in the Eternal Heavens Domain is drenched in the blood of Eternals.”

The Essence Gold Profound Jade that was refined into Eternal Essence Gold was only found in the River of Destiny. That meant that gathering it was incomparably perilous!

According to Luan Yunzhong, only Heavenly Monarch-level factions and above had the means of excavating Essence Gold Profound Jade.

But the ones who really did the work of gathering it were the “mine slaves”!

“Mine slaves” were all cultivators, those the Heavenly Monarch-level factions deemed irredeemable heretics... or simply their enemies.

For instance, if two sects fought, the loser’s members were captured and sent to the River of Destiny to excavate ore. They had to work until they died.

The higher-ups of Divine Reverence Pavilion once estimated that one Eternal died for every ten pieces of Eternal Essence Gold!

That was why Luan Yunzhong sighed when he said that the gold was stained with the blood of Eternals.

“Excavating these things isn’t just dangerous. It’s a filthy business, too.” Qin Suqing also couldn't help but sigh.

Su Yi mulled that over, but he quickly understood.

Excavation required mine slaves, but where did the mine slaves come from?

It wasn’t hard to guess. Those factions involved in excavating Essence Gold Profound Jade would go to any lengths to gather enough slaves to continue their work!

It didn’t matter how despicable, dirty, low, and bloody it was.

As they conversed, Blue Peak Port came into view in the distance. The “port” was an enormous, towering gateway hovering in midair. A rain of spacetime light interwove within it, dazzling the eyes.

The River of Destiny’s boundless flow quieted around Blue Peak Port, the waters calm and smooth.

A massive white jade tower ship floated near the port. Several figures stood on board.

Their leader was an aged man in a jade crown and a purple feather coat. The old man leaned against the railing, as calm as an abyss and as grand as a mountain.

He was accompanied by three others, two men and one woman.

One was a red-faced Daoist with a curly beard, Daoist robes, and a gold and purple gourd on his back.

Another was a promising-looking young man in dark robes. He carried a jade flute, and he was saying something to the old man in the feather coat, laughing and chatting with calm composure.

The only woman among them was an icy, curvaceous beauty in blue. When her eyes moved, they were full of mature, sultry charm.

However, her brow was furrowed in apparent thought.

“Once our business here is complete, the Heart-Tempering Sword House will naturally fulfill its promise. Each of your factions will be given an opportunity to select someone to continue their cultivation at our sect,” the old man in the feather coat and jade crown said suddenly. “However, how far they can go is ultimately up to them.”

His three companions’ spirits instantly soared.

The red-faced, bearded Daoist laughed. “A disciple of our Fire Dragon Palace will soon enter the Heart-Tempering Sword House to cultivate. What an enormous stroke of good fortune!”

The man in dark robes solemnly clasped his fist. “Thank you, Senior!”

That moving yet icy beauty in blue sighed. “It’s a pity that I am not fated to enjoy this good fortune.”

The old man in the feather coat smiled. “One of the patriarchs of the Yu Family once cultivated in the Heart-Tempering Sword House. Although his accomplishments in the Grand Dao were ultimately limited, he still left his mark on our sect. In light of that, we can break our usual rules and admit an additional member of your clan to the sect.”

The woman froze, stunned, then bowed, overcome with delight. “Thank you so much, Senior! The Yu Family will not forget this kindness. All of us are endlessly grateful!”

The curly-bearded man from Fire Dragon Temple and the dark-robed man from Bluebird Palace couldn’t help but feel jealous, but they did a good job hiding it; their expressions barely shifted.

The old man in the feather coat was “just” an outer sect deacon in the Heart-Tempering Sword House, but in their eyes, he was already a prominent expert.

After all, the Heart-Tempering Sword House was a first-rate Heavenly Monarch faction!

Even if you added up all of the top factions of the Blue Peak Continent, their combined power would be far from comparable. The disparity was far too great.

The old man in the feather coat pondered, then said, “The Heart-Tempering Sword House won’t get involved in Sky Profound Court’s business, but... that doesn’t mean we won’t help you.”

His three companions mulled that over briefly. When they realized what he was getting at, there was no disguising their delight.

“Now that you’ve said that, we can rest assured!” the curly-bearded man said with a laugh.

The others repeatedly nodded along.

The old man in the feather coat gently waved his fan, then sighed ruefully. “Don’t blame me if my words are grating to the ears, but only four of the thirty-three continents of the Eternal Heavens Domain are truly top caliber. The dregs far outnumber the truly elite continents.

“And your Blue Peak Continent’s cultivation world has yet to produce a single Heavenly Monarch-level faction. It’s bottom of the barrel even among the dregs.”

The three of them instantly fell silent. The old man’s words were indeed grating to the ear, but he was telling the truth.

“Fortunately, Blue Peak Continent has never lacked capable people,” said the old man. “Over the years, several unparalleled figures have left the Blue Peak Continent and risen to prominence, each renowned in their respective regions. A few have even become Heavenly Monarchs!”

He swept his gaze across his three companions. “But do you know why those unparalleled figures who became Heavenly Monarchs after leaving the Blue Peak Continent were ultimately unwilling to return to their former home to raise families and found new orthodoxies?”

His three companions exchanged glances. It was a difficult question to answer.

The old man in the feather coat continued, answering it for them. “Because they knew that if they returned, they’d have no future prospects! The Blue Peak Continent’s foundations cannot sustain a Heavenly Monarch-level faction!”

He shook his head. “I’m saying this, not because I look down on the Blue Peak Continent’s world of cultivation, but because people always strive for greater heights just as water always flows downward.

“The Blue Peak Continent might not lack for wondrous talents and unparalleled chosen of heaven, but those who cannot leave the Blue Peak Continent ultimately have limited prospects.”

His three companions sank deeper into silence. They knew that the Blue Peak Continent was lacking compared to other, stronger continents.

But more than that, they knew that not just anyone could leave for other continents, and even among those who managed to leave, not just anyone could prove their Dao and become a Heavenly Monarch!

Never mind Heavenly Monarchs. The third of the five realms of Eternity, Silence, was a dividing line. Most Eternals got stuck at the pinnacle of Divine Wandering, unable to advance any further!

A rather awkward scenario repeatedly played out in the Blue Peak Continent’s cultivation factions. The founder of a sect, his disciples, and their disciples would all end up at the same level.

Worse, it wasn’t at all unusual for a founder’s cultivation to be inferior to his juniors’!

This situation existed in Fire Dragon Temple, Bluebird Palace, and other peak factions of the Blue Peak Continent, too.

The sect’s elders would cultivate for countless years, but their cultivation would remain stagnant, so their juniors would gradually catch up to them.

Simply put, cultivating the Grand Dao was difficult. Once you reached eternity, each realm was like a natural barrier blocking the paths of countless dazzling talents.

Most brutal of all, although Eternals were everlasting, with endless longevity, sometimes, years of hard work and bitter cultivation just weren’t enough to break through!

Take now, for instance. Bluebird Palace, Fire Dragon Temple, and the Yu Family had paid an enormous price to establish even a faint connection with the Heart-Tempering Sword House, all for the sake of sending a single cultivator from each faction there to cultivate.

Why go to such lengths?

Because, as the top factions in the Blue Peak Continent, they understood that it really didn’t matter very much who they sent to cultivate in the Heart-Tempering Sword House.

What mattered was building a connection with the Heart-Tempering Sword House!

One of the founding members of the Great Qin Empire’s Sky Profound Court had, in his youth, traveled to another continent. As luck had it, he managed to enter another Heavenly Monarch-level faction.

Although that founding member was just another inner sect disciple in that Heavenly Monarch-level faction, this connection tied Sky Profound Court and the Heavenly Monarch-level faction together.

After years of hard work built upon those foundations, Sky Profound Court’s position in the Blue Peak Continent rose. It was now one of the greatest factions in the Blue Peak Continent!

This was called building connections. When a man obtained the Dao, even his dogs and chickens ascended into the heavens.

Sending even a single person to cultivate in a Heavenly Monarch-level faction would benefit the entire sect enormously!

Bluebird Palace, Fire Dragon Temple, and the Yu Family had managed to build a connection with the Heart-Tempering Sword House. They’d be sure to use this connection to reap untold benefits in the future.

“Hm?” As they conversed, the old man with the feather coat suddenly gazed into the distance. His brow furrowed.

His three companions looked over.

"Luan Yunzhong and Qin Suqing? They... made it back alive?” exclaimed the icy beauty in blue.

The Daoist with the curly beard furrowed his brow. “It seems something went wrong during our operation in the Golden Spirit Hidden Realm...”

“Who are those men in white and blue?”

“No idea.”

As they conversed, the three of them instinctively glanced at the old man in the feather coat, only to see that his expression was as dark as could be!

The three representatives of the three factions felt inexplicable pressure, like a knife pressed against their backs. Their hearts sank.

“No matter what happened, let’s get to the bottom of this first.” The old man in the feather coat gently waved a feather fan and said expressionlessly, “It doesn’t matter if your subordinates died, but I’m sure you can imagine how dire the consequences will be if anything happened to Outer Sect Deacon Liu Shangchuan!”

The three of them stiffened, their expressions shifting dramatically.

As they conversed, Su Yi and his companions came to an abrupt halt one hundred thousand feet away. All four of them gazed at the tower ship.