After learning a bit more about the world, Aotian and Rihai sat in reflective silence.
Despite the new information putting the current strength of the Infinite Dao Sect into perspective, Aotian wasn't truly worried. He already had a plan to achieve his goals without drawing too much attention from the inner continents.
Shaking his head, he returned to his senses and noticed her worried expression, which left him helpless.
Pulling her gently into his arms, he caressed her back softly. After a year, practically twenty-four hours a day at her side, Aotian already knew her better than many old married couples knew each other.
"Hai'er, don't worry. Nothing will happen to us. We won't lose this peaceful life we have, and we'll live many, many years together. I will never leave you alone," he said softly, kissing the top of her head.
"You don't know…" This time, Rihai didn't accept his words and hugged him tightly. "My father was known as the peak of the cultivation world, and even so… he's no longer here," she murmured, her voice filled with fragile sadness.
Rihai didn't fear pain, nor death… but she feared losing those she loved and being alone again.
Especially after finding a stable and peaceful life with the person she loved. The sect had also become a welcoming place, and after getting used to everyone in it, she felt safe and comfortable. The Infinite Dao Sect was nothing like the sects outside, full of conflicts, malice, and betrayals.
But a war against the world, with uncertain prospects, put at risk everything she had learned to value, especially the person she loved—Aotian—which made her anxious and insecure.
Seeing her lying on his chest in sad silence, he couldn't help but regret speaking. If she believed it was just a war against a Golden Core sect, and not against the entire world, she wouldn't be like that.
But he quickly shook his head. He knew it wouldn't take long for the truth to be revealed, and he needed to get as much information from her as he could now, so it was more prudent to have spoken.
"Hai'er, don't worry. There will still be time before the real challenges begin. The sect won't go around declaring war on the world or acting recklessly. It won't be as dangerous as you imagine. I swear that to you," he said softly, stroking her golden hair.
Watching her like that, Aotian reflected on his decision to act in a month, even though he could have waited to marry before starting the war.
It wasn't a lack of willingness to wait and marry first, but rather anxiety. Since discovering the issues with Rihai's spiritual roots, he didn't want to waste any more time, as he couldn't bear to see her continue suffering. He needed to speed things up.
But that wasn't the only reason.
Another reason was that he still hadn't completed his dual cultivation technique, which was proving harder to build than he expected. From the skill's feedback, he knew he was on the right path, but many pieces of information were still missing to complete it. For that, he needed to rely on the strength of other domains and acquire more knowledge.
But the main reason is that the sect's progress was too fast, and the current techniques were not enough to keep up with it for much longer.
"Hai'er, we'll deal with things as they come. First, the Eternal Sovereign Sect. Then we'll get married. From there, we'll face whatever comes together. What do you think?" he asked gently, holding her chin and lifting her face, revealing her worried expression.
Rihai looked at him with a complicated gaze, but in the end, she decided to trust him again and fight to not worry so much about the future to the point of losing the present.
"Haah… alright." She sighed and agreed with a slight nod before her eyes became unwavering. "I will protect you, Tian'er, no matter what happens." Her once hesitant face gained determination.
Seeing her like that brought a smile back to Aotian's face.
Rolling his eyes, he looked at her with a hint of amusement.
"I'm the one who's going to protect you. Who told you to put the cart before the horse?" he teased, amused.
"Hehe, you protect me, I protect you. Isn't that fair?" She smiled softly, hugging his neck again and gazing at him with her beautiful blue eyes just inches from his black ones.
"Well… seems fair…"
He smiled back, murmuring, as he closed the distance between them and captured her soft lips with his.
…
Later, an announcement was made to the entire sect, revealing that they would attack the Eternal Sovereign Sect in a month.
Once again, the Infinite Dao Sect went into an uproar. But it wasn't fear—it was happiness and excitement.
They might not know the full strength of the sect, but what little they knew already placed them leagues ahead of the Eternal Sovereign Sect. To them, this was simply an event to distribute Contribution Points.
With confidence and enthusiasm, everyone doubled their training that month, preparing for what was to come, trying to increase their strength to contribute more in the war and to protect themselves better.
Unfortunately, they would end up disappointed, as most of them would be assigned to explore cultivator tombs. But either way, training harder wouldn't harm them.
The one most excited about the mission, however, was Bai Yan, the former swindler and now core disciple of the Punishment Pavilion.
His home domain was precisely that of the Eternal Sovereign Sect. And there lay his sworn enemy, the one responsible for his parents' death: the Heavenly Poison Sect.
…
Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye, and on that particular day, Aotian was refining his body.
His spiritual roots had created thousands of energy patterns throughout their entire length, emitting a special energy that spread to every cell in his body, nourishing and strengthening them.
His body was already much stronger than at the beginning, but as his cells became stronger, the energy of the technique became less and less capable of enhancing them. Because of that, the time required for each new level doubled with every advancement.
Once again, Aotian's cells were pushed to their limits under the nourishment of that energy, and, with a tremor running through his entire body, they underwent a great metamorphosis.
Aotian gritted his teeth, enduring a pain that coursed through every inch of his body like an electric current. Fortunately, it ended within seconds, and he relaxed.
Clenching his fists and closing his eyes to analyze his body, Aotian smiled in satisfaction as he felt the immense power contained within his flesh and muscles.
He estimated that, with his current strength, he could defeat ordinary mid-stage Foundation Establishment opponents using only his body. With some powerful fist techniques, even late-stage wouldn't be a problem.
A satisfied smile formed on his lips, and he pulled up his status to check it.
[Host: Long Aotian
Cultivation: 5th level of Foundation Establishment
Body Cultivation: Qi Refinement Perfection
Physique: Mortal
Qualifications: Low-Grade Five Element Spiritual Root (Low Qualification)]
Aotian looked at the status with satisfaction.
He had been close to the 5th level of Foundation Establishment for twenty days, so the breakthrough came naturally. And, with his new progress in body cultivation, reaching the perfection of the Draconic Body Refinement technique, he was extremely pleased.
But, remembering the progress of the sect disciples, his lips twitched slightly.
Rihai was already nearing the 9th level of Foundation Establishment, not far from recovering her former cultivation.
Xiao Ling, with a perfect root, had already reached the 7th level of Foundation Establishment. Jingjing, the little girl with a special physique, had also caught up, being at the same level.
Unlike them, Rihai didn't need to stop her cultivation to stabilize her realm, as her dantian was already at Foundation Establishment Perfection. She only cultivated her roots, and, with their slow recovery, her talent skyrocketed, making her progress extremely fast.
Either way, Aotian felt the pressure. His own roots were of low grade, and even with his avatars helping him cultivate with their powerful minds—forcing his talent up to something close to a mid-grade root—it still wasn't enough.
'Damn desert continent, with no resources to upgrade roots!' he complained mentally, recalling his fruitless searches over the past months. Then, a hesitant idea arose in his mind. 'Should I send Bao Wuji to one of the mid-continents to search for such things?'
He brought his hand to his chin, scratching it, and the more he thought about it, the more viable it seemed.
'Uh… I'll think about it more later. As tempting as it is, I need to consider all the pros and cons,' he reflected, his eyes shining with thought.
Although he wanted to improve his talent, in reality, faced with the pressure of having disciples more talented than himself, Aotian wasn't too worried. After all, even if they reached Foundation Establishment Perfection, they would need to stop and accumulate a huge amount of Contribution Points before they could exchange for a Golden Core cultivation technique. Moreover, they would still have to pay off the debt from the Foundation Establishment technique first.
Unlike the Foundation Establishment techniques, Aotian wouldn't offer credit this time, accepting only upfront payments.
First, he didn't even have Golden Core techniques to provide at the moment. Second, he had only allowed credit before because Qi Refinement cultivators were weak and not very useful to his plans. Foundation Establishment, on the other hand, gave disciples considerable strength, making them more useful and safer.
But Golden Core cultivation was a completely different story. If Aotian let ten thousand disciples reach that level before him, the power would become hard to control. Not even his outer elders could handle it, and even the inner ones would be powerless before such a large number of powerful cultivators.
Therefore, both to make the disciples' lives a bit harder, to finally recover the investment made in them, and ultimately to maintain control of the sect's power in his hands, they would have to work incredibly hard to accumulate the required amount of Contribution Points before even dreaming of a Golden Core technique.
This would also give him time to gather enough materials to synthesize the techniques and advance to the Golden Core himself with his main body.
The only one who wouldn't need to worry about Contribution Points was Rihai, but since she couldn't advance before fixing her roots, Aotian wasn't in a hurry to create a more advanced technique for her.
Either way, it was a winning game.
'You cultivate faster than me? No problem, wait until I catch up and surpass you, and then I'll let you continue progressing.' Amusement flashed in Aotian's eyes.
Shaking his head to clear away wandering thoughts, he closed his eyes again and tried to continue refining his body, checking if there was any loophole that would allow him to advance further with the Refiner-Tier Draconic Body Refinement technique.
But, to his disappointment, his cells didn't even react to the energy released by the technique. They were already completely accustomed to it and remained inert, having reached the limit of progress that energy could offer.
Helpless, he opened his eyes, aware that he needed a higher-level technique to continue his refinement. There were no shortcuts.
With no other option, he scattered elemental stones around and returned to regular cultivation, waiting for the day of war to begin.