Five days had slipped by since the opening of the Shadowfallen Burial Mountain, vanishing almost unnoticed.

In the Infinite Dao Sect, inside the cave of Aotian and Rihai, the two were together in his room, lying on the bed.

Aotian rested with his head on his wife’s lap, gently embracing her waist, while Rihai tenderly caressed his hair.

But unlike usual, he seemed quiet, his face looking weary.

Rihai watched him with worry and distress. Whenever she asked what was wrong, he only shook his head, saying he was just mentally exhausted.

She didn’t know what he had been doing to end up like that, and since he didn’t wish to reveal it, she could only sigh and take care of him.

It had been four days since she noticed the change in his behavior, and with each day that passed, he seemed even more fatigued.

In the past few days, whenever she could, she went to him to help him relax, massaging his head to ease whatever stress he might be feeling.

As for Aotian, with his eyes closed, he calmed down just by breathing in the fragrance of his wife, finding some rest amid the strain.

‘Haah… finally over,’ he thought, letting out a quiet sigh of relief as he released the last cultivator’s head through his avatar Bao Wuji.

In the past few days, he had processed over five hundred thousand years of memories. Even with many powerful minds helping him, and after discarding all the useless information, the sheer amount was still absurd for someone who hadn’t even reached fifty years of age.

The accumulation of perceptions, insights, and knowledge had become a cascade pressing down on his mind. Moreover, the very act of processing so many memories at high speed was extremely exhausting.

More than once, he thought about giving up, feeling it might not be worth it, that there were easier paths. But in the end, he chose to persevere and use this burden as tempering to strengthen his will and mind, while also greatly enhancing his overall understanding of the cultivation world.

And now, relieved to finally be done, he reviewed his gains.

In addition to countless techniques from lower realms, his focus was on Nascent-Tier ones, and he made a rough mental count of what he had obtained without repetitions:

– Spells of various elements:

1,845

– Cultivation techniques: 201

– Soul Search techniques: 32

– Auxiliary Arts Inheritances: Alchemy 28, Forging 26, Talisman 36, Formations 27, Puppets 3, Music 1, Painting 1, Sword 25

– Qi Disguise techniques: 127

These were the main gains, though there were also other secondary techniques.

Unfortunately, overall, the cultivators knew a far greater number, but many were repeated since they came from the same twelve powers, making duplication inevitable. Furthermore, not everyone mastered auxiliary inheritances, further reducing the gains—which was a shame.

Still, Aotian was satisfied. Among the cultivators, there had been one who possessed a rare inheritance of painting and music obtained from some ruin, which was already valuable and made him happy, even if it wasn’t enough to synthesize.

As for the puppet-making inheritance, though less rare, it was still quite uncommon on the continent. That art was extremely complex, requiring talent in forging, alchemy, and formations simultaneously. Many barely had aptitude in one of these fields, let alone all of them. On top of that, the practice was absurdly expensive, consuming high-level materials and resources.

Normally, talented people from the three fields had to join forces to attempt the feat of delving into such an art. Relying on a single person was nearly impossible. Even in groups, the chances of success remained low. Still, since such collaboration was possible, this art was rare yet existent. Otherwise, no one would waste time with such an impossible inheritance, and it likely wouldn’t even exist on the continent.

‘With this number of techniques I’ve acquired, I can synthesize both Nascent Soul spells and cultivation techniques, which is already very good. The disguise techniques are also sufficient for the Heritage Pavilion elders to generate knowledge for a complete synthesis, which isn’t bad at all.’

With his eyes closed on Rihai’s lap, he reflected, a faint smile appearing on his weary face.

‘This way, for the first time, my inner elders can also cultivate on their own, which is great,’ he thought in relief.

Until now, only the outer elders cultivated independently. The inner ones always advanced only by following the main body. Of course, that would still continue, since having the same root meant the main body advanced faster with its smaller cultivation. But having the alternative of cultivating by themselves was completely different from not having it at all.

Avatars cultivating independently could bring back new insights from higher realms, which would be extremely useful and would accelerate the cultivation of the main body once he reached that realm.

Leaving these thoughts aside, he shifted his consciousness to Tian Zhu, who was flying above the mountain peak, gazing at the horizon outside the sect, his black robes swaying calmly in the wind.

There, in the distance, several cities rose. With his powerful vision, he saw crowds descending from flying ships loaned by the Infinite Dao Sect to its vassal, the Bamboo Sword Sect, who were responsible for filling the cities with civilians.

The common people disembarked from the ships with both curiosity and fear, but upon seeing the magnificent city and breathing in the pure air, they were astonished, their eyes widening in shock.

Soon, the regular armies of those cities arrived to organize the population and assign areas.

Tian Zhu’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

‘The quality of the spiritual energy in this region is steadily increasing. It won’t take long before it matches perfect first-level veins, or even second-level ones. Once rogue cultivators discover this, they’ll probably come in droves. Even under the threat of the Infinite Dao Sect, some fools might still stir up chaos among the civilians…’

Aotian pondered silently, with a serious expression.

‘The formations set up in the cities can, under the city leader’s control, deal with individuals causing chaos in the open, but it’s not good if the city armies remain weak and powerless should something happen behind the scenes.’

‘Perhaps it’s time to absorb those cultivators with mid-grade roots whom I ignored before and integrate them into the Infinite Dao Empire. I could invest downgraded versions of synthesized techniques… something with a fifth of the sect’s techniques’ effectiveness or less. It would still be formidable, especially for those with mixed roots, but manageable. Before that, however, I must ensure such information doesn’t leak. Even if it wouldn’t affect the sect too much should such bastardized techniques spread, it would still impact the imperial army.’

He reflected and made a mental note of the idea for later.

Tian Zhu’s gaze then lowered onto the sect, where some disciples were flying, most of them heading toward the Missions Pavilion.

The sect had been growing emptier, as disciples were always in search of contribution points. This only intensified as more of them reached Foundation Establishment perfection and could no longer advance further.

Calmly, Tian Zhu brought a hand to his chin, thoughtful.

‘I already have enough foundation to add some things to the sect and help train the disciples. I could provide contribution points for excellence in specific challenges, encouraging them to improve their own realm and not just focus on cultivation speed. This will also make them stay longer in the sect, interact with each other, build camaraderie, a sense of belonging, and a healthy competitiveness.’

His mind lit up, recalling the many inspirations he had gained from reading the minds of those elders and observing the operations of other sects and powers.

‘Competitions in auxiliary arts must also be added to the list, both within and outside the sect. The internal ones will encourage disciples to improve their auxiliary arts, which is the final step toward fulfilling the sect’s mission. The external ones will attract talents from outside and bring visibility, strengthening the overall growth of the sect.’

With his plans solidifying, Aotian controlled Tian Zhu to return to the main hall, ready to continue studying the avatar’s cultivation realm as well as synthesizing the new techniques.

…

Outside the Shadowfallen Burial Mountain, Bao Wuji watched seven Nascent Soul cultivators paralyzed by the formation. Among them were four men and three women, all with vacant eyes.

It wasn’t that he had done something directly to them, but over the past five days, they had witnessed their companions die one after another. Now, they knew their turn had come, and they had long been numb, hopeless of changing such a fate.

Perhaps, in the beginning, when their numbers were still many, they might have believed in some chance of salvation. But now, after so long, with only seven of the original two hundred and forty remaining, hope had nearly vanished.

To their surprise, however, the man simply removed the spoils from the last corpse, as he always did, destroyed the body, but unlike before, did not approach any of them.

The old man in golden robes merely observed them for a moment and finally spoke:

“The power from which this old man hails does not enjoy staining its hands with the blood of good people — not unless it is truly necessary. From the memories several of them carried about you seven, none spoke of cruelty. Only of good hearts — even naïve ones — kind even to the weak, even when they had no ties to you. For that reason, this old man will not kill you.”

The simple words immediately shocked the cultivators. Light returned to their eyes, and the hope of survival reignited.

Still, they remained cautious, staring fixedly at the old man without blinking. Perhaps they didn’t fully believe it, or found it hard to accept that things could be so simple.

They had seen people spared before—for having strong spirit, determination, talent, or usefulness. But it was the first time they had ever heard of someone being spared simply for being… a good person.

It was unheard of.

That was not how the cultivation world, where the strong devoured the weak, usually worked.

Yet, there they were, being saved by what many despised… their kindness.

Bao Wuji smiled softly and stroked his beard.

“Who says the heavens do not aid the good? In any case, though I can release you, you will have to wait here a little longer until I resolve some matters. After that, I will give you the choice: to leave, or even follow me, if you so wish.”

After speaking, he rose into the sky before their wide, dazed gazes.

His gaze turned to the place where the ancestors of the twelve powers had once been, now empty.

A playful gleam shone in his golden eyes.

He had seen the direction in which they had fled days earlier, and from the memories he had stolen, he knew exactly what lay in that region.

‘Time to catch the big fish.’

With that amused thought, Bao Wuji waved his hand and a rift appeared.

Taking a step forward, he vanished from the place.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep