The Modern Martial Immortal

"Yaoguang... With such outstanding talent, why did he not tell us earlier? If he had told us sooner..." Li An sounded somewhat unreconciled.

"Telling us?" His words were cut off bluntly by an elderly Void-Piercing Realm cultivator. "I think cultivation has ruined your brain. Back then, Li Hanqiu clearly told Wan Liugui that Yaoguang’s talent was exceptional, and Wan Liugui repeatedly suggested that we give Yaoguang some support, even if only to build a good relationship with him. And what did you say? What did you do? Wan Liugui was even driven to the battlefield by all of you."

The senior Void-Piercing Realm cultivator snorted coldly. "Fortunately, Yaoguang was smart enough not to come looking for you as soon as he arrived on the North Sea Star. Otherwise, he would probably have become a puppet used by you people to win Heavenly Venerable Jiang’s trust."

His sharp words left the people who had stood on Heavenly Venerable Jiang’s side utterly ashamed.

Fortunately, they also knew this was not the time to worry about face.

Xie Xiong said, "We missed an excellent opportunity. Since things have already come to this, we can only make amends as quickly as possible!"

He turned his gaze toward the old man. "Elder Jue Kong, you have always had a good relationship with Elder Wan. Please, take a trip and invite Elder Wan and the others back. Our only hope is that Elder Wan steps forward and resolves this through his relationship with Elder Li Hanqiu. We all belong to the Cangwu lineage. There is no need to let this matter deteriorate beyond repair. That would not benefit either side."

"That's right, Elder Jue Kong. We came all the way from the Great Cangwu World to the North Sea Star. If we cannot unite as one, we will be completely eliminated sooner or later. The North Sea Star’s environment is too competitive to survive alone."

"Elder Jue Kong, whether the Cangwu lineage can usher in a turning point depends on you."

The other Void-Piercing Realm battle immortals also spoke up one after another.

"A turning point? Are you serious? What kind of turning point are you hoping for now?" Elder Jue Kong swept a cold gaze over everyone present. "Not long ago, you sent people to assist Heavenly Venerable Jiang against Yaoguang, trying to capture and kill him at the Biyou Immortal Market. Do you really expect Yaoguang to be willing to help the Cangwu lineage? On what basis?!"

Greene’s face flushed red.

He had been the one who gave the order to dispatch a Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal to help Heavenly Venerable Jiang capture and kill Yaoguang.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but after a long while, he seemed to change his tone slightly. "A-At the very least, for the sake of both of them belonging to the Cangwu lineage, we should make Yaoguang and Heavenly Venerable Jiang stop killing each other."

"When Heavenly Venerable Jiang held the advantage, I did not see any of you jumping out to say that they both belonged to the Cangwu lineage and should not kill each other. Now that Yaoguang has reached the Void-Piercing Realm, become the young sect master of the Heavenly Dao Sect, and displayed boundless potential, you finally remember that he belongs to the Cangwu lineage?" Jue Kong waved his sleeve sharply. "With that kind of attitude, you still want to fix things? Whoever wants to go can go. Don't come looking for me."

"Alright, alright, Elder Jue Kong. We are only trying to find a way to prevent our Cangwu lineage from splitting apart. Please don't be angry," Xie Xiong said quickly.

"I am afraid your efforts will be useless. Heavenly Venerable Jiang needs to speak first and attempt reconciliation, if we want that," another Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal said. "After all, you were previously determined to stand on Heavenly Venerable Jiang’s side. Now, even if you want to fix things, and even if Yaoguang agrees after Elder Wan persuades him, what if Heavenly Venerable Jiang refuses? What if he insists that the Cangwu lineage exhausts all its strength to kill Yaoguang and forces us to choose between the two? When the time comes, will you act or not?"

Xie Xiong, Greene, Li An, and the others’ hearts sank.

Those words sounded crazy, but Heavenly Venerable Jiang was capable of giving such an order.

"If anyone is to blame, that's us. We invested too much in Heavenly Venerable Jiang over the years. The sunk cost is too great, and it has become a burden. We can't afford to lose that investment," Elder Jue Kong slowly said. "Especially since we left ourselves no room to maneuver. We severed our own arms and voluntarily exiled every force that might have been able to threaten Heavenly Venerable Jiang. Now, we have basically become hostages of Heavenly Venerable Jiang."

The elders fell silent.

The sunk cost. Everyone understood that that was the real reason behind their situation, but was unwilling to admit it.

Even though they knew Heavenly Venerable Jiang’s demands had grown increasingly excessive, they could only indulge him because the Cangwu lineage could not afford the loss.

Once they failed, the Cangwu lineage would have nothing left.

"Since things have already come to this, words are useless." Elder Jue Kong shook his head. "Let us follow what Elder Wan suggested at the very beginning. Do not put all our eggs in one basket."

He looked at Xie Xiong, Greene, Li An, and the others. "We will divide our forces into two parts. One part will continue to support Heavenly Venerable Jiang, while the other will pledge itself to Elder Wan. Then, through Elder Wan, we will use Li Hanqiu’s connection to contact Young Sect Master Yaoguang. That way, if one side encounters disaster one day, the Cangwu lineage’s inheritance will not be completely severed."

"Our lineage is already the weakest of the nine lineages. If we divide ourselves into two parts again... How are we supposed to establish ourselves in the Taiyi Immortal Sect?" Li An was somewhat worried.

His words made many people nod inwardly.

This was, in fact, the concern of everyone from the Cangwu lineage.

They lacked a sense of security.

All things considered, they were not true Void-Piercing Realm cultivators, but only a group of Void-Piercing Realm battle immortals.

It was precisely because of this lack of confidence that they had become so eager to nurture Heavenly Venerable Jiang and help him, a direct disciple of the Supreme Jade Emperor, break through to the Void-Piercing Realm.

So much so that even though they clearly knew some choices had been wrong, they could only continue down the wrong path.

"Actually..." Jian Hanzhou suddenly raised a hand, signaling that he wanted to speak. "I think that if we really split into two parts, and one part supports Yaoguang, as long as we can really gain Yaoguang’s acceptance, our lineage might not necessarily run into problems. In fact, it might be the opposite."

"Hmm?" Xie Xiong, Li An, Greene, and the others all turned their gazes to him. "What do you mean?"

"In reality, the Taiyi Immortal Sect took in our Cangwu forces and allowed us to form our own lineage partly because it wanted to make an example of their desire for talent. The Supreme Jade Emperor accepted Heavenly Venerable Jiang as a disciple partly for public reputation and propaganda. Under these circumstances, as long as our lineage does not commit a major mistake, the Taiyi Immortal Sect will not do anything to us merely because our strength has weakened." Jian Hanzhou chose his words carefully.

His words stirred many people’s thoughts.

"In addition, even if the strength of our lineage in the Taiyi Immortal Sect weakens, as long as Heavenly Venerable Jiang can reach the Void-Piercing Realm, he will still be able to protect our lineage by relying on his relationship with the Supreme Jade Emperor and the talent he has displayed."

Jian Hanzhou’s thoughts were very clear. "Even if Heavenly Venerable Jiang cannot reach the Void-Piercing Realm for the time being, as long as Young Sect Master Yaoguang accepts us, we can benefit from his influence. If he can go one step further and reach the Void-Refining Realm in the next few hundred years, the Taiyi Immortal Sect would never exterminate us, even if just to give Young Sect Master Yaoguang some face..."

He paused, then looked at the Void-Piercing Realm battle immortals. "It would be equivalent to us gaining an additional layer of protection."

Everyone understood what Jian Hanzhou meant. They quietly considered what he had said, thinking over the matter.

Heavenly Venerable Jiang and Yaoguang had a feud. But the only truly important things when considering relationships between sects were each sect's interests.

If Yaoguang reached the Void-Refining Realm in the next few hundred years and became the deputy sect master of the Heavenly Dao Sect, the Cangwu lineage could become a bridge between the Taiyi Immortal Sect and the deputy sect master of the Heavenly Dao Sect.

In that case, their lineage would become valuable, and the treatment they would receive might even improve.

After they understood this point, many people present were immediately tempted.

How long had it been since Yaoguang came from the Great Cangwu World to the North Sea Star? Twenty years!

In just twenty years, he had reached the Void-Piercing Realm from the Heavenly Fire Realm. With such terrifying talent... Even though they favored Heavenly Venerable Jiang greatly, they had no choice but to admit one thing. Heavenly Venerable Jiang’s talent was far inferior when compared to Yaoguang’s.

Yaoguang was not merely a tiny bit stronger than Heavenly Venerable Jiang. He surpassed him by a vast margin, enough to make them reconsider their past decisions.

In addition, Yaoguang was suspected of possessing a special physique related to the void. Compared with other Void-Piercing Realm cultivators, his process of comprehending the power of the void would certainly progress by leaps and bounds, and his chances of reaching the Void-Refining Realm within a century were extremely high.

He was already important enough that the Taiyi Immortal Sect would give him some face.

"Elder Jue Kong and Jian Hanzhou’s suggestion is feasible!"

"Adversity leads to prosperity. We cannot continue like this."

"We placed all our bets on Heavenly Venerable Jiang, but he seems to take these benefits for granted. To avoid losing everything and regretting it when it is too late, it is time for us to try another method."

After understanding the implications behind this matter, the Void-Piercing Realm battle immortals all voiced their agreement.

"Then now, only one problem remains," Jue Kong said calmly. "How do we make Yaoguang accept us?"

These words also made many people calm down.

Yaoguang might be able to accept Wan Liugui and the others, but them...

"How about... we play the Great Cangwu World card? We can return everything that belonged to the Nine Cauldrons Sect in Cangwu to him?" Greene suggested.

"Return it? Do you think that if Yaoguang needs the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s territory in the Great Cangwu World now, he would still need us to return it? Even if he occupied the entire Great Cangwu World, do you think the Taiyi Immortal Sect would offend Yaoguang over such a trivial matter? And us... Could we really fight Yaoguang to the death over this?" Jue Kong snorted coldly.

"Then what should we do?" Greene frowned.

The others also racked their brains, but still could not come up with a solution.

After a full dozen minutes, Xie Xiong finally let out a long breath. "Anyone who makes a mistake has to bear the consequences. We are no exception. It is only natural that Yaoguang does not accept us. In fact, given what our lineage did at the Biyou Immortal Market not long ago, even if he personally acted to wipe out our lineage, we would only have ourselves to blame."

His words caused many Void-Piercing Realm cultivators’ expressions to dim.

"The only thing we can do now is have Elder Wan and the others take a group of promising people with them and see whether they can gain Yaoguang’s acceptance. They can preserve some talents and ensure that if we ever experience a catastrophe, the Cangwu lineage’s traces in the North Sea Star will not be completely erased."

As Xie Xiong spoke, he glanced at Li An and Greene. "No matter what, the fact that a peerless genius like Yaoguang has emerged from our lineage is a blessing for us. Perhaps the future of the Cangwu lineage no longer lies with us, but with Yaoguang... As for us fossils who have already walked the path of battle immortals, let us be buried with the passage of time and bear the consequences for everything we have done."

After hearing this, Greene, Li An, and the others fell silent.

A long while later, Li An finally said, "That is right. If you do something wrong, you have to accept punishment. Thinking that you can apologize, offer compensation, and let everything pass, then have everyone get along happily from then on... How could anything be that simple?"

Greene also sighed.

At the critical moment, they had made the wrong choice.

One wrong step had led to every step being wrong.

Things had already reached this point; there was nothing left for them but regret.

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