Chapter 877
Cultivating Henchmen
What is the first major challenge in building a spaceship?
The answer is to make it fly first.
Altitude, speed, firepower, and defense.
These four points together constitute the powerful combat capability of the Heavenly Ship. A third-tier Heavenly Ship can already completely overwhelm cultivators below the Purple Mansion stage. Although it is difficult to recover when facing a Purple Mansion cultivator alone, the advantages brought by speed and defense are enough to deal with them.
These four points may seem separate, but they all boil down to the same thing: the "drive core." This is the core technology of the Sky Ship and also the most technologically advanced. Even if the refining method is right in front of you, you may not be able to refine it.
The fourth-tier celestial warship, as an advanced version of the third-tier celestial warship, is a product created by the Celestial Craftsmanship Realm to fight against Golden Core True Persons. Unlike puppets, it is more expensive to build and can float in the air to the limit of the Golden Core stage, which is close to the height of the North Wind Layer.
Its speed is lightning fast, comparable to that of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator who is not good at speed. If there are special modifications and enhancements to its speed, it can be even faster, but it will have to sacrifice a little bit of its defense.
Needless to say, its firepower is unparalleled; it is a mobile aerial firepower platform. Whether it is a single attack or a large-scale attack, it is no weaker than a Golden Core cultivator, and may even be stronger.
Its defense is slightly weaker. Apart from the fourth-order grand formation, it mainly relies on the strength of the spiritual materials used to build the warship itself. Once the defensive formation is broken, being caught up is practically equivalent to crashing.
It's not particularly advantageous against Golden Core cultivators, but its terrifying power becomes apparent in large-scale group battles. It can directly overwhelm cultivators below the Purple Mansion stage with its firepower, while Purple Mansion stage cultivators will be targeted and eliminated.
Golden Core cultivators need to be constantly on guard against aerial attacks during combat. You may dodge many attacks, but being hit even once usually results in serious injury.
If one has sufficient resources, the more fourth-tier celestial warships the better, as their deterrent power far surpasses that of fourth-tier puppets.
However, in general, it is already quite good for Golden Core forces to be able to build a third-tier heavenly ship independently. Very few can build a fourth-tier heavenly ship, and many Nascent Soul forces may not be able to do so, such as the Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion.
The amount of technical expertise required is staggering. Just sending a rock of the same weight as a celestial vessel to such a height is a headache, let alone making that rock move at a speed comparable to that of a Golden Core cultivator.
However, this also indirectly confirms the powerful foundation of the Array Dao Academy. The sky island where the academy is located is comparable to a continent, far beyond what a single celestial warship can match.
Not long after Luoxia City advanced to the Golden Core realm, it actually refined a fourth-tier Heavenly Ship core, overcoming the most difficult hurdle. All that's left is to pour money into it.
Given Luoxia City's current resources, it would take at least several decades or even a hundred years to succeed without affecting its normal development.
This was actually a rather unwise decision, because it meant that the development of Luoxia City would be severely restricted before the Sky Ship was completed.
However, if successful, the boost to strength would be enormous, especially in the face of large-scale battles like beast tides, which is probably the main reason why Mu Guibai chose to do this.
Song Changsheng felt both shocked and envious. Ever since Lu Tianchou passed away, the Song family had lost the ability to independently build the drive core of a third-tier celestial ship, let alone a fourth-tier celestial ship.
Lu Yuxiu and Li Anmin also worked very hard, but the Heavenly Craftsmanship placed too much emphasis on talent. The Song family's third Heavenly Ship is still in a "failed" state after decades, which is a great pity.
Luoxia City has far surpassed them in this respect.
Mu Guibai raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "Why do you suddenly want the [Deep Sea Celestial Crystal]? Its scope of use is limited. Could it be that you are also planning to build a fourth-tier celestial ship?"
"You think too highly of us. Even if we had the technology, we wouldn't have the financial resources to support it. During my trip to the Eastern Heaven Cultivation World, I accidentally obtained four fourth-tier puppets."
Because the process has taken too long and our energy reserves are depleted, [Deep Sea Crystal] is the most economical way I can think of to restore our resources; other methods are currently impractical.
"Four puppets of the fourth tier, it seems the legacy you received this time is beyond my expectations. I never imagined that the Chen family of Dongtian would decline so quickly. Two thousand years ago, the founder of my city sect had an exchange with an elder of the Chen family."
These powerful True Lords have chosen to reincarnate one after another. Do you think it's possible that they foresaw something beforehand?
Although the art of divination is included among the various arts of cultivation, the ability to make deductions is not exclusive to divination masters. Once a cultivator reaches the Purple Mansion cultivation level, they can already perform simple deductions, such as the duration of seclusion.
As one's understanding of the Great Dao increases, the accuracy and content of one's deductions will also increase.
However, to predict good or bad fortune and glimpse a glimpse of the future, one must at least be a Nascent Soul True Monarch.
And this is the starting point of Mu Guibai's words.
"The three known True Monarchs have all been active within the last ten thousand years. Given the abilities of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, it is indeed possible."
However, it is certain that Jade Cleansing True Lord's existence was merely a coincidence. It is more suspicious of Heavenly Imperial True Lord and Wheel Reincarnation True Lord, as their eras of activity were very close.
If they've truly deduced some profound mystery of heaven and earth, there are certainly more than just these two. If they could communicate with other forces, perhaps they could make even more discoveries.
The two were not speaking without reason. In recent years, the situation has been turbulent, with all sorts of monsters and demons emerging one after another. Anyone with discerning eyes can see that a chaotic era is very likely to come. Chaos represents opportunities, and perhaps something else, which is why they chose to reincarnate into this era.
Ten thousand years, the timeframe matches perfectly.
After pondering for a moment, Mu Guibai said, "Communicating with others... isn't impossible."
Upon hearing this, Song Changsheng suddenly remembered that Luoxia City had accumulated a lot of connections over the years, and perhaps he could actually exchange some useful information.
"I will investigate this matter when I have time. Regardless of the outcome, chaos has already broken out in the world, and we should both start preparing for our escape route in advance."
Song Changsheng nodded and said, "Disciple understands. We have already begun to build the small world. Once we overcome the bottleneck of the ultra-long-range space teleportation array, the small world left behind by the Chen family can also become an alternative."
Compared to the vast small world with only third-order spiritual veins at most, the Chen family, possessing fifth-order spiritual veins and a large medicinal garden, is undoubtedly a better sanctuary.
However, the small world needs to protect the mortals of the family. The Song family now has millions of mortals, so relocating them is no easy task.
Moreover, the two places are so far apart that even with an ultra-long-range teleportation array, the Song family might not be able to afford the teleportation costs required for the transfer.
"It's good that you're prepared. Your vision has always been far-sighted, and I've always been at ease with you. However, there's one thing: the laws of the small world are incomplete. There might not be any abnormalities in the short term, but the drawbacks will become apparent over time. You should have noticed this in the Chen family as well. Have you thought of a solution?"
Since Mu Guibai said so, Luoxia City must have already solved the problem, but he still wanted to hear Song Changsheng's opinion first.
"I already have a solution in mind for this matter, but I haven't put it into practice yet. It shouldn't be difficult, it's just time-consuming."
"Master should know that the Song Clan possesses another small world rich in the power of laws. I intend to organize the power of laws within it and then infuse it into the vast small world via a spatial teleportation array to complete the incomplete Daoist principles of laws."
"This method is feasible, but such a huge amount of work cannot be completed in a short time. The entangled power of the laws is like a tangled mess, and it is not easy to untangle it."
Mu Guibai did not doubt whether Song Changsheng could sense the laws and Dao rhythms, but he was worried that the time spent might delay his cultivation.
Chaos is approaching, and strength will be the most important thing.
Song Changsheng understood his meaning and smiled lightly, "It will definitely take some time, but this is also a form of cultivation for me, so it won't affect my practice."
"You decide for yourself." Mu Guibai didn't press the issue, changing the subject instead: "Chan'er should be breaking through soon, right?"
"Yes, Yuechan has gained a lot from her trip to the Tianqin Cultivation World and the Array Dao Academy. She is only one step away from the Golden Core stage. I have already asked the Myriad Manifestations Palace to refine her Golden Core. She can try to break through within ten years."
"Shang'er has already completed his Five Elements, and it should be soon. I just don't know when the opportunity for a breakthrough will come."
“Senior Brother is exceptionally talented, he’ll definitely be fine,” Song Changsheng said softly.
That's what they say, but when the time comes, nobody can say for sure.
He has a good aptitude for sound, but without a special opportunity, his chances of breaking through to the Golden Core stage are questionable.
"You haven't been back for so long, there must be a lot of things to deal with in the clan. I'll go and find out some information first, and you can come to Tianyin Mountain to discuss it in detail after you've finished dealing with the clan's affairs."
"The disciple understands."
……
After leaving Luoxia City, Song Changsheng did not return directly to Cangmang Peak, but instead went to Jiangzhou.
Over the years, if we were to talk about the place in the cultivation world of the Great Qi that has undergone the most changes, Jiangzhou would definitely be one of them, even surpassing the new state occupied by Luoxia City.
Of course, the main reason is that Luoxia City needs to develop both Tuozhou and Xinzhou at the same time, and it is somewhat overwhelmed.
Besides Jiangzhou's special location, its development is inseparable from the Song family's highly attractive policies and investments. In the early stages, the auction of spiritual veins and land indirectly attracted a large number of independent cultivators and family cultivators to Jiangzhou for development. After sixty years of development, it has already begun to prosper.
Currently, there are as many as fifteen Foundation Establishment forces that are affiliated with the Song family, a number that is extremely rare even in the entire Great Qi cultivation world.
Although it is just starting out, it has great potential for development.
Most importantly, they have demonstrated their loyalty to the Song family.
These fifteen Foundation Establishment forces, along with the Zi clan to which Zi Jun belonged, had almost all their elite disciples join the Demon Suppression Guard, accepting direct command from the Song clan's Jiangzhou Garrison.
Among the three and a half prefectures under the Song family's rule, Jiangzhou is unique in this regard, and Yangzhou is currently catching up as quickly as possible.
"The Yu family has developed rapidly in recent years. Yu Xueqian does have some tricks up her sleeve." From the air, Song Changsheng looked at the busy dock below and nodded to himself.
When Jiangzhou was first established, Yu Xueqian demonstrated remarkable courage by moving her entire clan to Jiangzhou to develop the region. She was the first family to establish a foundation in Jiangzhou and remains the only female leader to date.
Over the years, Yu Xueqian has worked diligently to govern the family internally and made many military achievements externally. Except for the lack of a Purple Mansion cultivator to oversee the family, she has already ascended to the throne of the number one family in Jiangzhou, and her strength is on par with the Earth Fire Sect back then.
Having served as clan leader for only a century, his achievements were truly unexpected.
Song Changsheng stroked his chin and thought to himself, "Jiangzhou is developing quite well, but its overall strength is still a bit low. Perhaps we should put some pressure on Zi Jun to prevent the Zi family from becoming too powerful."
Of the three and a half prefectures currently controlled by the Song family, Xiangzhou, Yangzhou, and Jiangzhou all have their own representatives. Jiangzhou has the greatest development potential and the largest area, but Zi Jun, who is in charge of guarding this place, has the lowest loyalty and is not particularly outstanding in cultivation.
Previously, there was no one else available, so he could only choose Zi Jun.
The situation is different now. We have a very abundant supply of Breakthrough Pills, so we can consider cultivating a few more Purple Mansion cultivators among our affiliated forces to enhance our overall strength.
In Jiangzhou, Yu Xueqian from the Yu family is a good choice. It's not that she has particularly good aptitude, but mainly that she is pragmatic and is an old friend of Song Changsheng from the same era, so the willingness to cultivate her is naturally higher.
There are quite a few options in Yangzhou, but compared to other forces, he prefers to cultivate cultivators from the Chi clan. His disciple, Chi Li, has already reached the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment and is not far from the Purple Mansion stage.
Chi Ming has good talent and will most likely be the next patriarch of the Chi clan. He has natural potential for development, but his cultivation level is still a bit lacking, only at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
Currently, only half of Xiangzhou is in the hands of the Song family, and with Jiang Shuming and Zhang Ming in charge, that's enough for now.
As the ancestral home of the Song clan, Lingzhou naturally needed to improve its overall strength, and the Wang clan was the first choice. For hundreds of years, even during the lowest period of the Song clan, they never wavered.
Previously, the Song family did not have that ability, but now that they do, they naturally cannot forget these loyal old ministers.
In his initial plan, he intends to cultivate at least three Purple Mansion cultivators within the affiliated forces over the next sixty years to bolster the overall strength of the major states.
Keeping this in mind, Song Changsheng went to see Zhuang Yuechan as soon as he returned to Cangmang Peak, only to find that she hadn't left her room for several months.
Returning to the familiar courtyard, the peonies were in full bloom, and the sycamore tree in the center was lush and green, just as it had been when he left.
The bedroom door was tightly closed. Zhuang Yuechan sat cross-legged on a soft couch, with a zither in front of her.
She made no movement at all, yet the strings of the zither vibrated on their own, producing clear and melodious sounds.
"Is this... a sign of spiritual energy arising spontaneously?"
……
...(End of chapter)