Nuclear-powered Sword Immortal

Chapter 144: Chapter 141 Supreme Elder

"Venerable Daoist Elder."

Gu Jinlai was somewhat surprised.

The few Heavenly Masters beside Zhang Lihuo opened their mouths, wanting to say something.

But then they seemed to think of something, and each closed their mouths, saying nothing.

Given the plight of the Great Sun Heavenly Sect at present, if they did not find a way to struggle out of desperation and seek change within peril, it wouldn’t be long before they followed in the footsteps of the two branches of Heavenly Master lineages that had already been exterminated by devils.

Of course, they could choose to fully take refuge with the Daqian Imperial Family.

After all, the Daqian Imperial Family had always feared that the demonization of Demon Spirits was merely a strategy.

Once they truly annihilated the Heavenly Master system, letting the Heavenly Master lineage be completely severed, and then swept across the world in their Demon Spirit guise, how would cultivators stand against them?

Although cultivators who had undergone Refining God could also harm Demon Spirits, their lethality was negligible.

Let alone Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, even powerful Devas faced peril when confronting medium-sized Demon Spirits.

In certain specific circumstances, small Demon Spirits could even extract the spiritual energy of Devas until their death.

Therefore, the Daqian Imperial Family has always attached great importance to the cultivation of Heavenly Masters.

It’s just that their method of cultivation was different from the individual sects; instead, they wanted to train Heavenly Masters like they were training an army.

If the Great Sun Heavenly Sect really did choose to take refuge with the Daqian Imperial Family, they might save their lives, but the Great Sun Heavenly Sect would be in name only.

Right now, the Great Sun Nine Refinement Visualization Method propagated by the Great Sun Heavenly Sect has refined a Heavenly Monarch, so turning to rely on him would indeed be the best method.

Moreover, this Heavenly Monarch himself has no small territory, governing five cities and dozens of counties, managing millions of people, and can be called a regional overlord.

In this way, by taking refuge with him, they would not bring shame upon the standing of the Great Sun Heavenly Sect.

"The Great Sun Heavenly Sect wishes to honor the Heavenly Monarch as Venerable Daoist Elder, ready to serve at the front and rear, at the Venerable Daoist Elder’s disposal."

Zhang Lihuo stated again.

Having witnessed the shining Great Sun displayed by Gu Jinlai, he realized that the other party’s mastery of this cultivation technique was far above his own.

Perhaps...

He had cultivated to the level of Seven Refinements, Eight Refinements, or even Nine Refinements Perfection.

Unlike him, who had been stuck at Six Refinements and unable to break through.

There’s no order in learning; he who has achieved is the teacher.

During these difficult times for the Great Sun Heavenly Sect, with the mindset to take refuge with Gu Jinlai, honoring him as the Venerable Daoist Elder and placing the hope of the sect on him was unquestionably the best choice.

"Venerable Daoist Elder of the Great Sun Heavenly Sect..."

Gu Jinlai contemplated briefly.

What consequences would becoming the Venerable Daoist Elder of the Great Sun Heavenly Sect bring about?

Devil pursuit.

A massive pursuit by devils.

Many devils see Heavenly Masters as a thorn in their side; for this reason, some devils have even evolved special abilities that can sense the spiritual fluctuations emitted by Heavenly Masters from afar, thus gathering devils to encircle and annihilate them.

When Gu Jinlai led his Demon God Warriors out to hunt devils, the frequency of encountering devils was much higher than other demon hunters, in fact, because of his identity as a Heavenly Master.

If he accepts the Great Sun Heavenly Sect, the number of devils that come to Lingxiao City upon hearing the news will definitely be much higher.

But...

This is a good thing.

Gu Jinlai is currently worried about not having enough Demon Blood Essence to cultivate a batch of Demon God Warriors and to augment the strength of Lingxiao City. He has even considered venturing deep into the Yunqi Mountain Range to exterminate devils as a form of training.

If these devils truly infiltrate Lingxiao City, it will only make his Demon God Warriors team even stronger.

Of course, the premise is that he can withstand these devils, even the pursuit by Great Demons.

Looking back over a hundred years of devil encirclement of Heavenly Masters, for one Heavenly Master, Great Demons would be deployed; for a Great Heavenly Master, Middle Level Demons would be called in.

If it’s a Heavenly Monarch...

Not to mention Upper-level Demons, even Demon Kings, given the right conditions, would cross borders to kill.

So far, Gu Jinlai has not been attacked by Upper-level Demons or Demon Kings, which can only mean that his status as the Heavenly Monarch is somewhat inflated.

Although he has condensed a True Spirit, the intensity of his spirituality is only comparable to a newly promoted Great Heavenly Master.

Presumably, in the eyes of the devils, his threat level is not even as high as that of the top Great Heavenly Master of the Great Sun Heavenly Sect, Zhang Lihuo, right in front of him.

"If you honor me as the Venerable Daoist Elder, I can agree. However, since I am not a Heavenly Monarch cultivated solely by the Great Sun Heavenly Sect, whether the Great Sun Heavenly Sect is truly worthy of my dedicated attention as the Venerable Daoist Elder, or even worthy of being taught the Condensation Technique for a brand-new Great Sun Core, will depend on your performance."

Gu Jinlai said.

The Great Sun Core!?

Zhang Lihuo’s heart trembled.

Gu Jinlai is willing to teach it!?

He clearly felt the pure and intense power derived from the Great Sun Core demonstrated by Gu Jinlai just now.

If he could optimize his Great Sun Core to that extent, merely by re-refining his spirituality, his chances of becoming a Heavenly Monarch would greatly increase.

It would become almost natural for his disciples at the Heavenly Master Realm to achieve the status of a Great Heavenly Master.

In an instant, the helmsman of the Great Sun Heavenly Sect bowed respectfully: "I will not disappoint the Venerable Daoist Elder."

"Since you have sought refuge with me, begin by practicing the Great Sun Demon God Body Refining Method to replenish the Essence Qi that has been depleted through years of Qi Refining and God Transformation,"

Gu Jinlai said, casting a glance at them.

Among these people, the eldest, Zhang Lihuo, was probably not even seventy, yet they all looked wrinkled and white-haired with age.

Standing beside each other, they seemed to be from different eras.

After all, thanks to Qi Refining, Gu Jinlai, now seventy-one years old, appeared to be only in his mid-thirties, a handsome middle-aged man, which far surpassed these Heavenly Masters in terms of appearance.

"Thank you, Venerable Daoist, for imparting the technique," said Zhang Lihuo, Zhang Yukan, and several other Great Sun Heavenly Sect Heavenly Masters as they bowed simultaneously.

They had already learned about the mysteries of the Great Sun Demon God Body Refining Method from Zhou Mingshi.

For people like Zhou Mingshi, who had started cultivating this technique, their faces were clearly more rosy and their complexions a world apart from when they had first joined Gu Jinlai.

"There’s no need to thank me. While practicing the Great Sun Demon God Body Refining Method, don’t relax your efforts in refining gunpowder. Soon, I will have someone teach you the methods for refining bullets and shells. Once you show your ability and value, I will grant you the new Grand Sun Nine Refinements Visualization Method," Gu Jinlai said, pausing before adding, "Let’s set the completion of ten artillery cannons as the target."

Creating an artillery cannon was not an overly complex task, though many parts required detailed and fine craftsmanship.

That’s where the Heavenly Masters came in; these parts required their skills.

Under normal circumstances, crafting an artillery cannon would take a Heavenly Master about half a year’s time.

Should they be willing to spend their own money to buy Primordial Spirit Pills, this time could be greatly reduced.

"Ten artillery cannons?" Even though Zhang Lihuo didn’t know what artillery cannons were, Gu Jinlai had provided a clear promise. He had made up his mind to complete this goal as soon as possible, even if it meant working day and night, to obtain the new Grand Sun Nine Refinements Visualization Method and reconstruct the Great Sun Core.

"Please rest assured, Venerable Daoist. I will not disappoint you," Zhang Lihuo said, clasping his hands.

Finally, he made another request, "Venerable Daoist, our Great Sun Heavenly Sect still has several hundred Heavenly Master Apprentices..."

"They can all be summoned to Lingxiao City. I will allocate a space for the Great Sun Heavenly Sect to station."

Gu Jinlai agreed readily.

At that time, a Heavenly Master Apprentice was considered a top-level artisan.

"Thank you, Venerable Daoist. With the Venerable Daoist showing such great kindness to our Great Sun Heavenly Sect, we will devote ourselves wholeheartedly to repaying the Venerable Daoist," Zhang Lihuo said, signaling with his hand.

A nearby Heavenly Master took out a box that was one meter square.

As he opened the box, it revealed twelve oval treasure mirrors, each about one foot in size.

"Venerable Daoist, this is a gift from our Great Sun Heavenly Sect," Zhang Lihuo said.

"What is this..." Gu Jinlai instantly recognized the connection between the twelve oval treasure mirrors. Judging by the spiritual fluctuations emanating from them, they were at least Spiritual Artifact level treasures.

"This is a set of Thousand-mile Light and Shadow Mirrors forged by our Great Sun Heavenly Sect. Even if these twelve mirrors are thousands of miles apart, they can reflect the images within each other. They are extremely effective for communication, transmission of Cultivation Techniques, and exchange of information, doubling the results with half the effort," Zhang Lihuo explained.

"Oh?" After examining the mirrors briefly, Gu Jinlai quickly understood the purpose of these oval mirrors: they were for video communication.

Although in this world, a Primordial Spirit Monarch could engage in Sword Flight, crossing a thousand miles would exhaust even a true Monarch.

The value of a set of mirrors that allowed for video chatting and real-time communication was self-evident.

With these twelve mirrors, any emergency in the five cities under Gu Jinlai’s control could be immediately known to him.

"You’ve been thoughtful."

"The Venerable Daoist is the most honored being in our Great Sun Heavenly Sect. It’s only right that we present top-level Spiritual Artifacts at the first opportunity," Zhang Lihuo said, with some regret, "In truth, our Great Sun Heavenly Sect once built a Radiant Platform. This treasure could accurately lock onto the user’s spiritual fluctuations to act as a hub, maintaining the operation of one hundred and eight Thousand-mile Light and Shadow Mirrors. Even the Daqian Imperial Family depended on our sect for information transmission. Sadly, the Radiant Platform has been destroyed, and to rebuild it, even with over a hundred Heavenly Masters working together, would take over a decade."

"The Radiant Platform?"

Gu Jinlai considered its capabilities.

That was essentially a signal base station.

He immediately thought of his own observatory.

Could the technology of the Radiant Platform be integrated with the radio telescopes at his observatory to enhance the precision of the information?

If so...

"Do you have the method for forging it?"

"Of course, we do," Zhang Lihuo replied. "However, we haven’t brought those scriptures with us. When the next group of our sect’s disciples arrives, they will bring all the records and scriptures of the sect. Then, Venerable Daoist, you may browse them to your heart’s content."

"Good."

Gu Jinlai nodded his head.

If Zhang Lihuo was truly willing to open up all the scriptures of the Great Sun Heavenly Sect to him...

Then teaching them the new method for condensing the Great Sun Core was not a problem at all.

...

Blue Star.

In the observatory.

Xie Yusheng, who had just taken a few days off, continued to go to work and slack off.

He then received another fragmented transmission of data for several hours from that self-proclaimed "alien from Qian Star."

Adopting the philosophy of making use of his idle time, he started going through the data.

After a while, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

"Heavenly Sword Missile? They’ve made it?"