Cultivation: Beginning with the Heart Reflecting Heaven and Earth

The Heart Demon Sect is the ruler of the Western Continent, calling itself the Holy Sect. They act in a demonic style and are extremely cruel. As a result, they did not set their sights on the cultivation world of the East Sea. Instead, they were targeted by the Canglan Holy Land, which naturally enraged them. This was the beginning of a series of conflicts.

However, these things, no matter how fiercely the Holy Land and the Heart Demon Sect fought in the past, had nothing to do with the lower-level Qi Refining disciples.

Now things have changed somewhat. In the previous training mission, the Qi Refining disciples were tasked with joining the siege of the Biyue Three Sects. The Biyue Three Sects were accused of colluding with the Heart Demon Sect. In essence, it means that the Qi Refining disciples have also begun to fight against the Heart Demon Sect.

This is clearly a very clear signal, and now Mu Xue has brought it up again, so her intention is obvious.

Lu Qian was also somewhat surprised. "Could it be... that they want us to go over there too?"

He remembered that when Chu Qinggang was talking to Tao Pili, they discussed arrangements for him, including sending him to the Western Continent, citing the reason of preaching.

Even so, Lu Qian was still somewhat surprised to hear this news.

Moreover, judging from Mu Xue's words, it seems that it's not just sending one or two people over; she's going to announce it in class. Surely she's not going to send them all over?

Mu Xue stopped being mysterious at this point, "The Holy Land's plan is probably to have Zhou Tian Academy establish a branch there, and other academies should have the same plan. We might have to go there too!"

Since they're going to establish a branch in the Western Continent, it's unlikely they won't send some people over; the instructors here might also have to go.

At this moment, Mu Xue lowered her voice, seemingly very dissatisfied, and said, "That's not all... I heard they're going to recruit those geniuses from the Western Continent to our academy to take classes with us. This is simply absurd!"

Her aversion to this matter seemed even greater than that to the Western Continent, where poisonous insects roamed. It was an almost undisguised disgust, which startled Lu Qian.

He had almost never seen such strong negative emotions in Mu Xue. He didn't know if Mu Xue really hated those people, or if her personality had changed, or if she was just showing her true self in front of Lu Qian.

Lu Qian asked curiously, "If it's just about recruiting geniuses... the Holy Land seems to have always done it this way. Is there a problem?"

Mu Xue shook her head, revealing a disdainful smile. "You don't understand the people over there, that's why you think that way. Witchcraft is unpredictable and the materials they use are strange and unusual, mostly related to people, some even requiring close relatives. They're not even as good as animals; at least animals rarely eat their own kind..."

She seemed to have thought of something and didn't continue, but Lu Qian roughly understood what she meant.

Although Lu Qian came from a civilized society in his previous life, he also knew what primitive and barbaric life was like, and he understood even more where Yu Muxue's prejudice came from.

No wonder Mu Xue didn't show much disgust when dealing with the cultivators of the three sects of Biyue, but immediately showed blatant disdain when talking about the people of Xilu.

However, this overall strategic direction cannot be changed simply by the two Qi Refining disciples discussing it here.

Since the Holy Land wants to develop in the Western Continent, the more people the better. The benefits of training some locals are self-evident. It's like using barbarians to control barbarians, or buying a horse's bones with a thousand pieces of gold, creating an example to encourage the local forces in the Western Continent to join them.

Lu Qian said reassuringly, "If you really hate that place, you can just not go. The Holy Land shouldn't force you."

Since the goal is simply to establish a branch there, it's impossible to bring all the disciples from the Holy Land's academy there; at most, only a portion will be brought, taking the individual's opinion into consideration.

So if you really don't want to go, you can simply not go; it shouldn't be a big problem.

However, Mu Xue's eyes flashed coldly, and she said resolutely, "Why not go? Since we're going to establish a branch and they're sending people like us, there will definitely be preferential treatment in terms of resources. Otherwise, who would want to go there?"

"So, I'm definitely going!"

There is another reason that cannot be spoken of, which is naturally the matter of Youhuan.

Mu Xue will have to solve this problem sooner or later, and the Heart Demon Sect is located in the Western Continent. Going there now will allow her to familiarize herself with the environment and make her more confident in her future endeavors.

However, Mu Xue and Lu Qian had agreed that such matters could not be discussed openly, and their opinions could only be expressed indirectly.

Lu Qian tentatively asked, "It seems Brother Mu is going over there too?"

"There will probably be quite a few people going. Apart from those who are close to the peak of Qi Refining or those who lack talent, everyone else wants to take a chance!"

Mu Xue hesitated for a moment before speaking tentatively, "Actually, this matter might be related to the candidate sainthood sequence... If one makes a great contribution, they could very well become a candidate sainthood and receive the best training!"

Lu Qian has been in the Holy Land for so long, and he has only been able to come into contact with a few Qi Refining stage classmates and Foundation Establishment instructors. None of these people have ever mentioned anything about the Holy Son.

He remembered that Mu Xue had only mentioned it once: if one of the Ten Sons of Canglan was eligible to be chosen as a Holy Son or Holy Daughter, the Holy Land would fully support him in becoming a Nascent Soul cultivator.

But only this time, whether in other people's casual conversations or in class, he never heard the Holy Son speak again, and almost forgot about it.

Mu Xue brought up the matter again, which made Lu Qian curious. "Who is the current Holy Son? Is he going to abdicate?"

Mu Xue slowly shook her head, "There are no Holy Sons now! The Canglan Holy Land hasn't had a Holy Son for almost several hundred years. At most, there are geniuses at the Holy Son level who can receive some preferential treatment in resources, but they are still somewhat different from true Holy Sons."

Lu Qian understood immediately. A genius at the Saint Son level could obtain resources, but not the title of Saint Son. And titles are often related to power. In other words, the identity of Saint Son is likely to be somewhat unusual and possesses great power.

Before Lu Qian could voice his conjecture, Mu Xue continued, "The last time the Canglan Holy Land selected a Holy Son was several hundred years ago. At that time, the cultivation world of the East Sea was not dominated by the Holy Land. There was a sect called Taixu Sect, which, although weaker than the Holy Land, was still able to rival it."

"The Taixu Sect has a lineage called the Taixu True Scripture, which is most suitable for cultivators with the Void Spirit Root. The Taixu Sect's mastery of spatial magic is also unparalleled in the world. They set up almost all the teleportation arrays in the East Sea cultivation world. It can be said that the Taixu Sect does not need the East Sea cultivation world's shipping routes at all and can freely transport goods."

Lu Qian pondered. The Taixu Sect was skilled in spatial magic and also controlled the teleportation array in the East Sea cultivation world. Not only was it convenient for transporting goods, but it was also very convenient for recruiting people. If they were to engage in guerrilla warfare with the Canglan Holy Land, it would be almost impossible to capture them.

Even though the Taixu Sect is weaker than the Canglan Holy Land, it can still easily keep the Canglan Holy Land busy. If the two really fight, it's hard to say who will win.

"At that time, the Holy Land only had three palaces, but they were not subordinate to each other, and there were often conflicting orders. Different factions were fighting each other openly and secretly. Faced with the Taixu Sect's unpredictable attacks, the Holy Land of Canglan suffered defeat after defeat. The seemingly stronger Canglan Holy Land was forced to retreat step by step by the Taixu Sect!"

Lu Qian could roughly imagine the scene: the Taixu Sect could use the teleportation arrays set up in various places in the East China Sea cultivation world to travel around, gather manpower, and move from place to place after a hit. Different factions in the Canglan Holy Land were also fighting each other openly and secretly, so it was normal that they couldn't defeat them.

Mu Xue continued, "Therefore, in order to better mobilize the manpower of the Holy Land and avoid open and covert struggles among various parties, a Holy Son was selected after a rigorous selection process. Regardless of which side it is, as long as it is wartime, the Holy Son has the authority to mobilize anyone, even those Nascent Soul stage elders, who cannot disobey orders without a legitimate reason."

"Later, the Taixu Sect was defeated and destroyed. After the original Holy Son abdicated, the position of Holy Son was never established again. In the Holy Land, some people wanted to elect a Holy Son again, but they were all tacitly rejected by everyone, and this continues to this day."

Lu Qian nodded thoughtfully. "I see! The Holy Son's power is really that great? No one wants to have someone like that above them, so rejecting a suggestion to elect a Holy Son is only natural. But, is the desire to re-elect the Holy Son now because of dealing with the Heart Demon Sect?"

According to Mu Xue, this holy son is somewhat similar to a general in a mortal dynasty, who controls all the troops in the world, and perhaps also has the position of regent, who handles state affairs on behalf of the emperor.

It can be said that apart from the high and mighty Nascent Soul cultivators, the Holy Son has the most power. He can even mobilize Nascent Soul cultivators at will. Who would want to have another father like that?

However, it is now clear that it is time to select a Holy Son again. It is hard to say whether the Heart Demon Sect is stronger or weaker than the Tai Xu Sect hundreds of years ago. However, the Heart Demon Sect's Heart Demon Secret Manual is unpredictable and has a strong ability to infiltrate, sabotage, and turn other forces against them. It may be even more troublesome than the Tai Xu Sect, which can run around everywhere.

The Holy Land is now feeling the pressure and suddenly feels the need to elect a new Holy Son to take charge of the situation. This is probably the reason for the current re-election of the Holy Son.

Upon hearing Lu Qian's words, Mu Xue nodded naturally, "That's right. It's precisely to deal with the Heart Demon Sect that they want to re-select the Holy Son. Cultivation level and talent are not the most important criteria for judging the Holy Son; they are merely thresholds. The most crucial factor is the Holy Son's ability to handle situations, so the Western Continent serves as a touchstone."

"As long as you perform well in the Western Continent, even if your talent and cultivation aren't that great, you might still be able to enter the ranks of candidate saints. But this isn't the only way. There can be many candidate saints. For example, Luo Wei, once she successfully breaks through to the Foundation Establishment stage, should be a candidate saintess. Perhaps there are others who can do the same."

"Although there are other ways to become a candidate for Holy Son, such as having exceptional talent, exceptional comprehension, or making great contributions, the simplest way is to go to the Western Continent, perform well enough to catch the eye of the higher-ups. This is the most open path."