Chapter 30: What Is a Hegemonic Power?

Inside the special space of the Scripture Pavilion!

After Ye Qingxuan finished reading all the materials related to Fortune Cultivation, he frowned and muttered to himself:

"As expected, the restrictions on Fortune Cultivation are even greater than I imagined!"

Afterwards, Ye Qingxuan's consciousness gathered into the spiritual sense space within his mind.

Inside the spiritual sense space, Ye Qingxuan's chaotic-colored soul origin body, which had completely solidified, opened its eyes and emitted a soft light.

He looked at the Eternal Turtle avatar at the center of his spiritual sense space, examined it for a moment, and asked in confusion:

"Does my Eternal Turtle avatar count as an external incarnation?"

Feeling the seamless connection between himself and the Eternal Turtle avatar, a sense of sudden enlightenment arose. Ye Qingxuan unconsciously said slowly:

"Perhaps, my Eternal Turtle avatar should be called a Life-Bound Avatar instead?"

Ye Qingxuan tried to control the Eternal Turtle avatar, wanting to move it out of the spiritual sense space, but once again felt an inexplicable suppression from the outside world!

Realizing that this unknown suppression still existed, Ye Qingxuan smiled bitterly:

"Could it be that my plan for an avatar is going to fail before it even begins?"

Based on the information he currently understood, after becoming a Fortune Cultivator, it would be impossible for him to condense an avatar in the short term.

And now, his avatar, the Eternal Turtle, still cannot be projected outward. Is there truly no way to break this deadlock?

Taking a deep breath, Ye Qingxuan regained his confidence and said:

"So be it! So be it! If I cannot condense an avatar, then I cannot condense an avatar! It's just enduring that boundless desolation!"

Ye Qingxuan's heart remained firm and was not shaken by this.

When he made his choice back then, he had already prepared for the worst.

A mere temporary setback was not enough to crush Ye Qingxuan's confidence. For his Dao heart, these were merely insignificant trials on his cultivation path.

Besides, if the Eternal Turtle avatar could truly bear the restrictions of Fortune Cultivation for him, then, hmm, he probably wouldn't choose to have his main body leave the Xuantian Sect either.

After all, where could be safer than the Xuantian Sect?

As his consciousness withdrew from the spiritual sense space, before leaving, Ye Qingxuan glanced at the bead that had traveled with him through the crossing.

This bead, having traveled with him through the crossing, Ye Qingxuan firmly believed was no ordinary object.

However, except for a slight vibration when he first heard the words "Fortune Land" at the Ye family, in the years since coming to the Xuantian Sect, Ye Qingxuan had tried various methods, yet this bead had never shown the slightest reaction...

One of the reasons he initially chose to become a Fortune Cultivator was influenced by this bead.

"I took such a huge risk to choose Fortune Cultivation; do not disappoint me!"

After leaving this message in the spiritual sense space, Ye Qingxuan's consciousness withdrew from the spiritual sense space.

And that dark-yellow bead continued to float and sink within Ye Qingxuan's sea of consciousness, showing no fluctuations whatsoever.

Outside, as soon as Ye Qingxuan's consciousness returned, he unconsciously placed the last book in his hand back in its original position, and then Ye Qingxuan's figure suddenly vanished once again.

Not far from the Scripture Pavilion management office, Ye Qingxuan's figure reappeared.

Seeing the familiar environment before him, Ye Qingxuan, after realizing the situation, bowed to the old man dozing on a recliner inside the management office, and then withdrew!

This time, Ye Qingxuan was tactful enough not to disturb the old man with any noise.

After moving away from the management office, Ye Qingxuan did not leave the Scripture Pavilion directly.

Having come to the Scripture Pavilion with such difficulty, he certainly would not leave so easily.

Following the Scripture Pavilion's guidance, Ye Qingxuan arrived at the section containing books related to the Xuantian Sect and began to browse them.

Although he had joined the Xuantian Sect for over six years, his understanding of the sect was not detailed; he only had a rough grasp of the sect's structure through the sect handbook distributed previously!

Under the Xuantian Sect, including Xuanzhou, a total of twenty-one major provinces were governed!

Apart from Xuanzhou, in the other twenty major provinces, all provincial capitals, commandery capitals, and prefecture capitals were held by elders or disciples dispatched by the Xuantian Sect as city lords.

Provincial capital city lords were held by Void Penetration Realm executive elders, commandery capital city lords were held by True Disciples of the Soul Transformation Realm, and prefecture capital city lords were held by Core Disciples of the Nascent Soul Realm.

In addition, within the Xuantian Sect's territory, there were numerous various industries and resource points. Managing and guarding these industries and resource points was the main source of tasks for ordinary disciples within the Xuantian Sect.

Although the Xuantian Mountain Range was vast, the Xuantian Sect did not have as many rival factions as Ye Qingxuan had imagined.

Inside the Xuantian Sect, various major halls each performed their specific duties to operate the entire massive sect.

Among them were the Dharma Transmission Hall, the Ten Thousand Things Hall, the Formation Hall, the Elixir Hall, the Artifact Hall, the Talisman Hall, the Spiritual Plant Hall, the Spiritual Beast Hall, the Mission Hall, the Law Enforcement Hall, the War Hall, the External Affairs Hall, the Internal Affairs Hall, and so on!

For all matters related to cultivation, the Xuantian Sect had everything needed; completely without relying on the outside world, the Xuantian Sect could achieve self-sufficiency.

This was one of the foundations possessed by a hegemonic power with a heritage spanning millions of years!

Basically, each major hall had its own area of responsibility. All disciples could voluntarily apply for the hall admission assessment; as long as they passed, they could become special disciples of the sect and enjoy an additional benefit!

The Xuantian Sect implemented a unified management system for its disciples, and the management was not strict, only having a certain assessment mechanism.

If a disciple failed to meet the cultivation assessment standards within a certain period, they would be dispatched outside the sect to manage the sect's external industries.

Disciples within the sect were usually mobilized by the Mission Hall. Inner disciples accepted sect missions to obtain cultivation resources, while the sect relied on disciples to handle various affairs within its territory.

Disciples of different cultivation bases had a required number of missions to complete within different timeframes. Disciples who failed to complete the required number of missions by the deadline would be assigned mandatory tasks.

Under some special circumstances, all disciples would be taken over by the War Hall and arranged uniformly!

In addition, disciples of all levels would hold grand disciple competitions at different times, encouraging the sect's disciples to cultivate with generous rewards.

Basically, apart from these, the freedom of disciples within the Xuantian Sect was still very high.

However, Ye Qingxuan was a disciple of the Fortune Cultivation Institute, so these matters were irrelevant to him.

But understanding these things allowed him to have a clear perception of the Xuantian Sect.

Among the materials related to the Xuantian Sect, Ye Qingxuan also copied a map of the entire Xuantian Mountain Range.

Through this map, Ye Qingxuan realized that the area where he currently operated was merely a drop in the bucket of the entire Xuantian Mountain Range.

Within this vast Xuantian Mountain Range, the Xuantian Sect raised countless demonic beasts as sustainable resources for the sect, which could also be used voluntarily by inner disciples for trial and tribulation.

However, to enter these areas, one needed at least a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation base; otherwise, there was absolutely no permission to go to these areas.

These raised demonic beasts were also one of the income sources for the disciples of the Xuantian Sect.

Outside the borders of the Xuantian Sect!

The entire Eastern Region comprises ninety-nine great provinces, with three hegemonic powers: one clan and two sects!

Apart from the Xuantian Sect, the other two hegemonic powers are the Huangfu Immortal Clan and the Tianyuan Sect.

The Huangfu Immortal Clan occupies seventeen great provinces of the Eastern Region, the Tianyuan Sect controls nineteen, while the remaining provinces lie at the borders of these three hegemonic powers, occupied by lesser factions serving as buffer zones.

Previously, Ye Qingxuan only knew the Xuantian Sect was a hegemonic power but did not clearly understand what that signified!

This time, in the Library, he finally learned what a hegemonic power truly is.

A hegemonic power signifies that someone from that faction successfully ascended, leaving behind immortal artifacts that have advanced alongside the cultivator.

Only a faction possessing both a supreme immortal artifact and a Mahayana cultivator as its guardian can truly be called a hegemonic power.

Other factions with either a Mahayana cultivator or a supreme immortal artifact at best qualify as pseudo-hegemonic powers.

The Xuantian Sect has a lineage spanning millions of years, producing countless immortals; its accumulated heritage is astonishing, making it one of the top-tier powers even among all hegemonic factions in the Earthly Xuan Realm.

Having learned all this, Ye Qingxuan was utterly shocked!

He knew the Xuantian Sect was strong, but never imagined it could be this powerful.

This is secure; with such a mighty sect, what opponent could possibly exist in the Earthly Xuan Realm? None at all!

Backed by the Xuantian Sect, he has no choice but to ascend!

After reviewing these records, Ye Qingxuan left the Library in high spirits.

Next, he must cultivate diligently to break through to the peak of Qi Refining as soon as possible.

Yet, for some reason, Ye Qingxuan felt a vague unease, a sensation that flickered in and out, seemingly originating from the heavens and earth themselves!