Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Time flew by, and after several months, the turmoil in the Southern Sea finally settled.

East Lai Island, Bright Moon Pavilion, cultivators from all directions converged like clouds.

The East Lai Grand Meet of the Bright Moon Pavilion, held once a century, was originally scheduled earlier, but due to the strife between the South Sea Sect and Mysterious Yin Island, it had been repeatedly postponed until all dust had settled. Only then was the trading event reinstated.

The conflict between the South Sea Sect and Mysterious Yin Island was not simply a dispute between two sects but a contest of righteous and evil forces within the Southern Sea's Cultivation Realm. Both the South Sea Sect and Mysterious Yin Island had numerous like-minded friends and even allied forces, with deep-seated grievances and interests clashing, creating an entanglement impossible to sever.

The strife between the South Sea Sect and Mysterious Yin Island thus involved cultivators of both righteous and evil paths in the Southern Sea Cultivation Realm. Few could remain unaffected. The various conflicts and killings had been staged all over the Southern Sea for over a hundred years until today, when the dust finally settled.

The South Sea triumphed; Mysterious Yin was defeated!

Although in the end, both Mahayana Ancestors perished, it didn't change the fact that the South Sea Sect emerged victorious.

The victors could enjoy the fruits of victory. The righteous Daoist cultivators of the South Sea, having eradicated Mysterious Yin Island and its subordinate forces, received rewards commensurate with their sacrifices. They acquired a bounty of spiritual objects, treasures, and resources like island Earth Veins—all of which compensated for their losses in the war and brought immense benefits.

The Bright Moon Pavilion keenly seized this business opportunity and restarted the long-postponed East Lai Grand Meet.

In turn, the cultivators of the Southern Sea were amenable. Those who had reaped the fruits of victory needed such an auction to transform their war spoils into resources for cultivation and to help them advance further.

Thus, with cultivators gathering from all directions, the event hall thrummed with enthusiasm.

"Entangled for countless ages, in strife for a thousand years, today we finally rid ourselves of the scourge that is Mysterious Yin Island!"

"Alas, the South Sea Ancestor, martyred in the fight against demons and guarding the Dao!"

"The South Sea Ancestor truly deserves to be the forefather of a Sect, sacrificing himself for his disciples and the inheritance of the Dao lineage."

"Not just the South Sea Ancestor, but the South Sea Sect as a whole, along with the righteous Daoist cultivators of the Southern Sea, all made enormous sacrifices to finally uproot Mysterious Yin Island."

"That old ghost from Mysterious Yin, believing that with his evil treasure capable of cutting short lifespans, the South Sea Ancestor was surely doomed to die, yet never expected the Ancestor to be so resolute in forsaking any hope for reincarnation and refining his Primordial Spirit into a sword, aiding True Monarch Cangwu to counter-kill the great enemy."

"..."

Among the seats, cultivators whispered among themselves, each discussing their own views.

The battle at Cloud Dragon Island had passed away months ago, everything had now settled, and the causes and consequences had all become crystal clear.

This was a trap, a killing game that the South Sea Sect had meticulously prepared for Mysterious Yin Island!

The South Sea Sect knew in advance that the Xuan Yin Old Ancestor had an evil method capable of cutting short the life essence of others.

Still, they attacked the formation, forcing Xuan Yin Old Ancestor to use this mana point, and then turning the tables and retreating, luring him out into the Ghost Realm array where, along with the evil cultivators of the Southern Sea, they mounted an attack on the Cloud Dragon Island held by the South Sea Sect.

Thus, the South Sea Ancestor sacrificed himself to forge a sword with his Mahayana Primordial Spirit, creating an invisible sword, which burst forth alongside the Heavenly Thunder Double Swords and struck into the Old Ancestor's sea of consciousness, dealing a heavy blow to his Primordial Spirit and pinning him down, allowing Li Cangwu to fully unleash the Heavenly Thunder Double Swords and successfully put an end to him.

This is the essence of the entire matter.

The South Sea Ancestor sacrificed himself for this purpose, even forsaking his True Spirit of the Primordial Spirit.

Although in this life, there is no concrete evidence of reincarnation, cultivators still firmly believe in it. Even when life ends and one's Dao vanishes, as long as the True Spirit of the Primordial Spirit endures, there is hope for reincarnation and a chance to live once more.

But to eradicate Mysterious Yin Island, the South Sea Ancestor boldly cut off this hope for reincarnation.

Such was his resolve!

Thanks to the sacrifices made by the South Sea Ancestor, the South Sea Sect, under the leadership of Li Cangwu, first eliminated Xuan Yin Old Ancestor and swept away the evil cultivators, and then the entire Sect rose up to annihilate Mysterious Yin Island, completely eradicating that Tao lineage and settling the affairs of the Southern Sea.

Though the victory was hard-won and tragic, they had nevertheless won.

The person is gone, but their legacy lives on.

Cultivators gathered in East Lai, awaiting the commencement of the grand event.

The Bright Moon Pavilion did not keep people waiting for long; soon, a female cultivator ascended the stage—none other than the Fairy Mingyu, Lu Mingyu.

"Esteemed Daoist friends gracing East Lai with your presence brightens the Bright Moon Pavilion..."

After the routine pleasantries, she quickly got to the point. Mingyu waved her hand gracefully, "Now, let us introduce the first auction item of this grand meet, the Five Elements Xuanyuan Sword from the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion!"

No sooner had her words fallen than the attendants brought five Immortal swords onto the stage for all to see.

"Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion?"

"Xuanyuan Sword?"

Although it was customary for auctions to start with high-quality items, Mingyu's announcement still surprised everyone.

This time, during the great battle between the South Sea Sect and Mysterious Yin Island, the duo's swords gained fame amongst the divergent schools of the Southern Sea.

The swords, needless to say, referred to the Heavenly Thunder Double Swords.

And the duo, one was none other than Li Cangwu, who had turned the tables and slain a Mahayana Ancestor with his Integration body.

The second... well, it was Li Xuanyuan from Lingbao Island's Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion!

"Lingbao Island, Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion, Li Xuanyuan!"

"South Sea's Number One Refinement Grandmaster!"

"Those Heavenly Thunder Swords were indeed forged by him!"

"This time, True Monarch Cangwu was able to vanquish the Xuan Yin old devil thanks to the South Sea Ancestor's sacrificial acts and the power of these demon-slaying Heavenly Thunder swords!"

"When the swords unite, their might rivals that of a Superior Immortal Implement. Combined with the sword skills of Sword Cultivator Cangwu, they could vanquish the Xuan Yin old devil."

"Although we've long heard of Fairy Mingyu's close association with the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion Master, we never expected the Pavilion to contribute five Immortal swords as the opening auction item."

"I wonder how these five swords compare to the Heavenly Thunder Double Swords?"

"One must not draw comparisons with the Heavenly Thunder Swords, but a creation of the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion Master is bound to be exceptional!"

The attendees buzzed with excitement, their eyes alight with anticipation.

Mingyu smiled warmly, not keeping the crowd in suspense, and began her introduction.

"These five Immortal swords are Low-Grade Immortal Artifacts, known as the Five Elements Xuanyuan Swords!"

"The five swords correspond to the Five Elements, can transition between Yin and Yang, divide into the Dualities, branch into the Four Symbols, combine into the Eight Trigrams, and possess endless transformations with unfathomable might!"

"When the Five Elements unite, they form a flawless whole, capable of both offense and defense, adaptable in advance and retreat, comparable to Medium-Grade, and nearly reaching Superior Grade."

"In addition, it comes with a Five Elements Sword Box and a Five Elements Sword Formation. The sword box serves as the formation plate, and the five swords act as the formation flags. With the Dharma Decree's activation, the Five Elements Sword Formation can be laid out, a formidable Sixth Rank, unmatched in sharpness!"

"For an Integration Sword Cultivator, with this sword and this formation at hand, even if not as powerful as True Monarch Cangwu who commands the Heavenly Thunder, in the realm of Integration, it's certainly top-notch…"

Lu Mingyu's introduction made everyone in the audience blossom with excitement, especially the sword cultivators who were burning with eagerness.

"Five Elements Xuanyuan?"

"Sword technique and sword formation?" Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

"Pavilion Master of Ten Thousand Swords, has your artifact refining skill reached such heights?"

"Not only proficient in the technique of Heavenly Thunder, but he has also mastered the Five Elements?"

"And including a sword technique and sword formation, doesn't that mean his Array Formation cultivation has reached the Sixth Rank limit?"

"Skilled in both Array Formation and Dao of Tools, entering the Sixth Rank, a grand sect's realm, and also a sword cultivator, such a person…"

"No wonder both True Swordsmen Cangwu and Fairy Mingyu have such a close association with him."

"South Sea Sect, Bright Moon Pavilion, truly has an eye for talent, vision as sharp as a torch!"

The crowd murmured, each expressing their amazement.

But the sword cultivators didn't say much, only looking at Lu Mingyu: "How do we bid for these five swords?"

Lu Mingyu shook her head with a light chuckle, "According to the wishes of the auctioneer, these five swords are to be auctioned as one, not individual bids. Moreover, Spirit Stones are not accepted as bids, only various high-tier Spirit Materials, all of which must be at least Sixth Rank, with those pertaining to the Five Elements given priority."

"This…!"

With these words, the audience was instantly in an uproar.

Not accepting Spirit Stones?

Understandable, given such a weapon and Spirit Stones can hardly measure up, not to mention the wealth of Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion, which in recent years, with the support of the South Sea Sect and cooperation with the Bright Moon Pavilion, nearly monopolized the South Sea sword market.

This forced many Artifact Refiners to stop producing sword artifacts, making it easy to imagine the amount of Spirit Stones earned.

Not lacking in Spirit Stones, natural only the Spirit Materials are desired, to continue investing in the Great Ye of sword refining,

It's only logical!

But even if it's logical, these Sixth Rank Spirit Materials...

The smaller South Sea factions are resource-poor, making Sixth Rank Spirit Materials rare, something ordinary folks dare not even covet.

Of course, such sword artifacts are also not something they could aspire to.

The group of sword cultivators, with a stern look, began to place bids directly.

"I have a piece of Superior Grade Sixth Rank Mysterious Iron Refined Gold!"

"Mere Mysterious Iron Refined Gold, I offer three Internal Pills from Integration-tier Great Fiends!"

"Integration Mahayana, while ranked Seventh Tier, but the Internal Pills are generally only of the Sixth Rank limit, how can a mere three compare to my Mysterious Iron Refined Gold, which is superior material for refining sword artifacts. With the artifact refining skill of Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion, another masterpiece like the Heavenly Thunder Double Swords could be possible."

"Sixth Rank Mysterious Iron Refined Gold, plus a piece of Sixth Rank Essence of the Void from the Lang Cang Ruins!"

"…"

The sword cultivators each raised their bids in a heated competition.

"Sword cultivators indeed live up to their name!"

"They really are rich at home."

"But to think to win these five Immortal Swords so easily…"

The bids from the sword cultivators immediately discouraged most people.

But it was only most of them. Soon a cultivator in Integration spoke up, "Three pieces of Sixth Rank Mysterious Iron Refined Gold, one plant of Fifth Rank Wood-element Spiritual Root, plus two Internal Pills from Integration-tier Great Fiends belonging to the Five Elements!"

"Hiss!"

"It's the Master of Kongling Island!"

"One of the Ten Factions of the South Sea, once a Mahayana Sect!"

"Truly, they throw their weight around!"

"This Five Elements Xuanyuan Sword, merely a Low-Grade Immortal Artifact, is it truly worth so much?"

Witnessing the imposing offer from Kongling Island, the crowd was both startled and skeptical.

"What do you know!"

"A Sixth Rank sword formation, complete with Five Elements, is a heritage item, the potential of a sect."

"Why do you think the Xuan Yin Old Ancestor, though clearly not as strong as the South Sea Sect Ancestor, has managed to contend with them for ten thousand years without ceasing, ultimately forcing the South Sea Sect to make such sacrifices and take extreme measures?"

"It's all because of that Sixth Rank Supreme Profound Yin Great Array!"

"With a Sixth Rank formation, without a Mahayana cultivator or a Sixth Rank Array Formation master to intervene, it could protect the lineage indefinitely, ensuring the sect remains unscathed!"

"This Kongling Island, although one of the Ten Sects of the South Sea and having had a Mahayana cultivator in its ancestry, doesn't possess knowledge of Array Formation techniques. Now they still use a Fifth Rank formation to protect their sect."

"This sword and this formation far exceed the value of a Medium-Grade Immortal Artifact, and aren't much less valuable than the Heavenly Thunder Double Swords."

"It's rare for the Pavilion Master of Ten Thousand Swords to auction off such a treasure, missing this opportunity would be a lifelong regret!"

The crowd buzzed with conversation, and there were even undercover agents from the Bright Moon Pavilion stirring the pot, adding weight to the importance of the Five Elements Xuanyuan Sword.

Seeing this, other major forces also began to bid, particularly the Ten Sects of the South Sea. As former Mahayana Sects with long lineages and profound potential, they had many Sixth Rank Spiritual Objects at hand. Moreover, after the battle between the righteous and the evil, they had swallowed up many forces attached to Mysterious Yin Island, amassing even greater resources.

Facing the competition from such major forces like the Ten Sects of the South Sea, the sword cultivators were bitterly resigned, helpless.

Just then...

"A section of Five Elements Divine Dragon Wood!"

A soft murmur brought silence over the entire venue.