Chapter 448

411. Chapter 410: Cultivation Exchange

Sun Sun Boxiu, as vice-dean of the Golden Academy, now led a group of Spirit Power realm experts to meet the delegation from the Immortal Immortal Continent in the Golden Hall; seeing the elderly man with white hair and a ruddy complexion at the head of the group, Sun Sun Boxiu's heart sank.

The old man appeared kind and benevolent, but his life force was terrifying—if one closed their eyes and sensed it, such intensity could not possibly belong to a human, but rather to a mythical creature from legend.

Indeed.

Cultivators, after undergoing profound life transformation, have long since departed from human essence; strictly speaking, they are humanoid lifeforms.

"This elder is extremely powerful—exactly as our earlier analysis predicted. Cultivators from the Immortal Immortal Continent grow more terrifying with age; no matter how gifted an evolver may be, no matter how hard they chase, how could someone who has cultivated for less than ten years possibly rival those who have cultivated for decades, even centuries?"

"Moreover, the cosmic energy—no, the spiritual energy—of the Immortal Immortal Continent is currently at its peak, and with at least several thousand, even ten thousand years of development, every aspect utterly crushes Earth."

Sun Sun Boxiu sighed inwardly in helplessness.

Only after directly encountering this peak-level cultivation world did he truly understand the vast gulf between the two worlds.

Had it not been for the divine cross-realm strike days ago that stunned them, the Immortal Immortal Continent would never have engaged Earth's evolvers in peaceful exchange—they would have seized control outright, and many would have been enslaved by these cultivators, just like the black elves who once harvested cotton in history.

"Old Taoist Tai Tai Xianweng, leading seventy-two disciples of the Immortal Immortal Continent, comes to pay respects to the Golden Academy. May all your disciples flourish and attain eternal life."

The old man called himself Tai Tai Xianweng; he smiled and bowed, then added: "In this visit, I bring ten scrolls of cultivation methods, one hundred and twenty spells, thirty spiritual artifacts, three treasure artifacts, and five hundred jade scrolls on medicine, arrays, history, divination, elixirs, and more, to gift to your academy. I hope our two worlds may resolve past misunderstandings and jointly exchange cultivation methods to prove the Great Dao."

As he spoke, spiritual beasts dragged in carts of jade slips and magic treasures, neatly arranging them to one side.

Sun Sun Boxiu glanced at them, but showed no trace of joy.

He knew these items could not be especially precious—they were likely basic cultivation methods and historical records from the Immortal Immortal Continent; if the Golden Academy truly sought them, acquiring them wouldn't be difficult. Still, their voluntary delivery was beneficial, accelerating understanding and avoiding unnecessary detours.

As for the cultivation methods and spells, he had no intention of allowing Golden Academy students to study them.

It wasn't out of selfishness—he dared not let students learn the methods sent by them, for if problems arose, hidden dangers emerged, or the techniques proved easily countered, what then?

The Golden Academy is a gathering place for experts and elites; if trouble broke out here, Earth would lose all hope.

After brief thought, Sun Sun Boxiu smiled politely: "Old Taoist Tai Tai Xianweng is too kind. Under heaven's collapse and frequent disasters, whether the Immortal Immortal Continent or Earth, we are both victims of this calamity. Compared to the hidden dangers lurking in other worlds, our past disagreements mean nothing. Your willingness to bring your disciples here to exchange cultivation methods and foster friendship between our realms is a tremendous blessing. As vice-dean of the Golden Academy, I warmly welcome it."

His meaning was clear.

Don't fixate on Earth—your cross-realm gate is open too; other dangerous worlds may soon come for you. Your world is not invincible.

"The dean speaks wisely."

Tai Tai Xianweng stroked his beard and smiled: "Thus, exchange between our realms is urgent. The Immortal Immortal Continent is not Earth's enemy. We are willing to assist you in quelling the various natural disasters on Earth, offering our humble strength to make up for past mistakes. I humbly request your approval."

Sun Sun Boxiu's expression shifted slightly.

Were they trying to find a legitimate excuse to settle on Earth?

But it was hard to refuse.

Sun Sun Boxiu said: "This matter concerns the nation—it's beyond my authority as vice-dean. But I will convey your goodwill. I believe mutual aid and benefit will be approved. Please wait a while longer, Old Taoist."

Tai Tai Xianweng smiled and did not press the issue; he continued: "No matter. I shall stay here for a time. Whenever you need our aid, I will not hesitate—I and my disciples will come at once. But let us discuss that later. Today, I wish to discuss Dao and exchange methods with your academy. Dean, surely you won't refuse?"

"Mutual learning and sparring is a good thing. How could I refuse?" Sun Sun Boxiu said.

Tai Tai Xianweng said: "In the Immortal Immortal Continent, we cultivate the Dao of Immortal Cultivation. Beginners enter the Qi Refining realm; the highest attain the Mahayana realm and transcend mortality to become Immortals, who are further divided into Human Immortals and True Immortals."

He spoke fluently, explaining the cultivation realms of the Immortal Immortal Continent.

Beginners enter Qi Refining, then Foundation Establishment, Jin Dan, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Tribulation Crossing, Mahayana, followed by Human Immortal and True Immortal.

Sun Sun Boxiu and the other Golden Academy experts frowned.

According to this ranking, their Spirit Power realm experts should be equivalent to Jin Dan cultivators—but their actual combat power was uncertain. Still, Jin Dan cultivators were likely stronger, for their cultivation system was highly refined, with alchemy, arrays, talismans, spells, sword cultivators, and more.

In contrast, Spirit Power evolvers, though practicing multiple arts, lacked a complete system; their combat potential could not be fully unleashed.

In fact, not only did Golden Academy experts harbor such doubts—the Immortal Immortal Continent cultivators themselves were unsure how their strengths compared under this realm division.

Outside the Golden Hall.

Other students gathered to watch, overhearing the conversation; they were astonished and began whispering among themselves.

"What? My Soul Realm status, in the Immortal Immortal Continent, is barely Foundation Establishment? What nonsense—send one of their Foundation Establishment cultivators here, I'll snap his head off." A Soul Realm student growled.

"Three levels—Medium Soul, Soul Perception, Soul Awareness—combined still fall short of their single Qi Refining level?"

"They have twelve layers of Qi Refining—hard to say—but their system is clearly complete. Ours stops at Spirit God Realm; higher realms still await pioneers to discover them. But they've already transcended mortality to become Immortals."

"Though they cultivate as Immortals, our multi-disciplinary approach isn't necessarily inferior."

They discussed; the Immortal Immortal Continent cultivators discussed too.

"An evolver in Spirit Power dares compare himself to a Jin Dan cultivator? They don't even deserve it. I've seen Spirit Power evolvers fight—if a Foundation Establishment cultivator wields even a low-grade treasure artifact, he can cut them down. Facing a Jin Dan cultivator? No need for anything else—a single breath of Three-Flame True Fire reduces them to ash."

"True. Their Soul Realm is even more fragile. I've never seen such foolish cultivation—souls unstable, not resting in the dantian or spiritual sea to nurture Jin Dan or Nascent Soul, instead constantly soul-projecting and wandering about. It's self-sabotage. Still, their physical development is decent—they've fully unlocked their bodily potential. But they just have raw strength and no idea how to use it."

"What good is strength? Can't withstand a single spell. And when they fly? They just stand there, staring helplessly."

"This world has only cultivated for ten years. Exchanging with them is a waste. Even giving them a basic Qi Absorption technique would keep them studying for years. Old Taoist Tai Tai Xianweng is too lenient with these primitives. If it were me, I'd unleash the pressure of a Soul Transformation master and crush them all. Primitives fear power, not virtue."

They freely commented via spiritual sense transmission.

Inside the Golden Hall, Tai Tai Xianweng and Sun Sun Boxiu both understood: debating the merits of cultivation methods alone was meaningless. You claim Spirit Power evolvers' multi-disciplinary potential is limitless; I claim Jin Dan cultivators fly and vanish at will, wielding spells effortlessly—both are just words.

The real answer? Simple: fight.

Tai Tai Xianweng seized the opportunity to propose a sparring match.

After brief thought, Sun Sun Boxiu agreed.

He wanted to know how evolvers and cultivators truly compared in strength—it affected countless future issues. If conflict arose and they became enemies, at least they'd know whether their foe was strong or weak. And if the Golden Academy could demonstrate some strength now, perhaps it would instill caution in them.

"But if we merely spar to a draw, students won't fully unleash their power. If it's a life-or-death duel, it may harm relations between our realms. How about this? Students fight, while we watch. If a student is in danger, we intervene to save them—and that counts as defeat." Tai Tai Xianweng stroked his beard and smiled.

Sun Sun Boxiu said: "Fair. No problem."

Tai Tai Xianweng said: "Then I'll add a prize. If your academy's student wins, I gift him this treasure artifact—the Lustrous Golden Light Mirror."

As he spoke, his palm turned, and a crystal-clear mirror floated into the air.

At its center glowed a golden mirror, mesmerizing and radiant with divine light—clearly an extraordinary artifact. Merely floating there, it drew in surrounding cosmic energy, devouring it like a sponge; the user could summon it at will.

"Fine artifact," Sun Sun Boxiu couldn't help but praise.

After their earlier exchange, he now knew: artifacts in the Immortal World were ranked—Spirit Artifacts, Treasure Artifacts, Immortal Artifacts. Most cultivators used Spirit Artifacts; only Nascent Soul and above could wield Treasure Artifacts, which had lower, middle, and upper grades.

Immortal Artifacts were the domain of major sects—only True Immortals could forge them, and they were rare beyond measure.

Thus, Treasure Artifacts were truly precious in the Immortal Immortal Continent.

"Old Taoist Tai Tai Xianweng is testing the Golden Academy's depth—he's confident he'll win this sparring." Sun Sun Boxiu's expression shifted again. Now he had to offer a prize too—but after thinking, only a Complete Oddity could rival this artifact.

A fragmented Oddity wouldn't do—it had to be complete.

A complete Oddity contained cosmic energy sufficient to power cross-realm travel; each one was vital to the Golden Academy.

But now, he had no choice.

"Since Old Taoist Tai Tai Xianweng offers a Treasure Artifact as prize, I won't be stingy." Sun Sun Boxiu looked toward a certain location within the Golden Academy.

The next instant.

A crimson glow shot out from the Golden Academy's cross-realm base.

It was a scale—like red jade, yet radiating a staggering energy field.

"A dragon scale?" Tai Tai Xianweng's expression changed sharply.