Chapter 447: Methods for Obtaining Essence — The High Heaven Rankings and the Abyssal Void Rankings |
"Correct." Yuan Shuo nodded, his wooden face carrying certainty. "I witnessed it with my own eyes. Huang Pan witnessed it as well, and was convinced his talent was Empyrean God."
"Empyrean God..." Tang Huai was quite surprised. "The Taixuan House has fallen this far, yet they can still produce an Empyrean God talent. Truly unimaginable."
"It was only Huang Pan who said it was Empyrean God." Yuan Shuo clarified.
"Nine chances out of ten." Tang Huai had his own assessment. He pondered, "Due to disparities in age and cultivation resources, it's not uncommon in the Abyssal Void for True Radiance to defeat Empyrean God. However, Kong Ming is different — his own reserves are formidable, to say nothing of the fact that he carries a young sapling of the Seven-Branch Wondrous Tree."
"Seven-Branch Wondrous Tree?" Yuan Shuo was puzzled.
Tang Huai said thoughtfully, "It's a sapling of the Wondrous Nine-Job Tree, Buddha Land's supreme treasure, and the core of the Seven Treasures Refinement. It can significantly amplify one's Holy Classes. Even as a mere sapling, its power is considerable."
"To defeat him, this Taixuan Hong has likely pushed 8th-Tier to its absolute limit. His age probably isn't young either..." He was already forming a hazy impression of Taixuan Hong. "Possibly on par with Tong Zhuo..."
Yuan Shuo recalled Su Chen's cheeky grin. After a moment of silence, he affected a tone of admiration. "Ghost King Huang Pan remarked at the time that it was a twist of fate — the Solar-rank profession passing through ten thousand years only to end up in the Taixuan House's hands once more. But what a pity."
"Yes, what a pity indeed..." Tang Huai nodded. "Far too many people and factions have Taixuan blood on their hands. Setting aside everyone else in the Abyssal Void — among the Five Pillars themselves, only Longevity hasn't gotten involved. Who among the rest hasn't spilled their blood?"
Yuan Shuo's heart jolted. The situation seemed even worse than he'd imagined. This wasn't merely about targeting the identity of the Solar Chosen itself.
Since there was a blood feud with the Taixuan House, they'd naturally fear that Taixuan Hong might seek retribution once he grew powerful enough. With that layer in play...
He was truly the enemy of the entire world.
"Has our High Heaven also been involved?" Yuan Shuo probed cautiously.
"The human heart is hard to fathom." Tang Huai didn't answer directly — only shook his head.
Yuan Shuo feigned curiosity. "The Taixuan House stood in the Abyssal Void for so long. Did they have no friends?"
"They did..." Tang Huai chuckled lightly, his expression inscrutable. "When it was first confirmed that Taixuan Ye had perished and the Taixuan House was falling apart, there were quite a few who offered shelter."
"But alas, the Solar-rank profession was too enticing. You might want to protect them, but your family, relatives, and friends might not share that desire. Even if your prestige was sufficient, you weren't immortal. Once the protectors died..."
Tang Huai shook his head, leaving the thought unfinished.
Yuan Shuo sighed and nodded. "That's the way of it."
Then, after a moment's deliberation, he said, "Heaven Lord Tang, the Daoist Lord just now granted me one portion of Profound Limit Celestial Light, along with the accompanying materials."
Tang Huai had been deep in thought. At those words, he paused, his expression turning rather colorful. "Profound Limit Celestial Light?"
That was the very means by which Divine Dawn could metamorphose to True Radiance. Even within High Heaven, such a thing was extremely precious. And the Daoist Lord had simply granted him a portion?
Tang Huai didn't think Yuan Shuo would dare to lie. After a moment's thought, he understood. "It's probably because of the Dust Star Sea. The pie is too big — they need to placate him as much as possible."
But he was somewhat reluctant, and couldn't help asking, "In such a hurry to use it? For that Su Chen?"
"Mm. Su Chen's talent is still lacking." Yuan Shuo nodded naturally, a rare smile appearing. "Need to raise it quickly so he can catch up with High Heaven's Star Seeds."
'Catch up?' Tang Huai shook his head inwardly but said nothing outwardly. He simply offered, "Follow me."
.........
Su Chen scrolled through the premium article until the very end, then let out a long breath.
He glanced at the byline — "Taoist Wood."
His brow furrowed. "According to this author's theory, even a random glance from a passerby theoretically generates the Power of Faith — it's just so feeble as to be virtually nonexistent."
"And the Power of Faith that Evil Gods gather through their special proselytizing methods is too heavily contaminated — hence the need for purification before use..."
"As long as systematic methods are employed — such as erecting statues, spreading renown, supplemented by the so-called 'Compass' — one can steadily and continuously collect the Power of Faith, which then crystallizes into Faith Essence..."
"And within a given region, the higher the average tier of the resident professionals, the more Power of Faith can be collected."
Su Chen's eyes grew brighter and brighter. "In other words, professionals are the livestock."
Having finished reading, he roughly understood why Daoist Lord Lingxiao had wanted the Bronze Sect to join High Heaven, and why Buddha Land and Great Heaven still hadn't left after stripping the other sects.
"The Dust Star Sea is a rare and valuable collection ground for the Power of Faith — and one of the Bronze Sect's greatest assets."
Within the Bronze Sect's domain, who didn't know of the Bronze Ancient King?
In fact, due to the sect's unique tradition of succession, the very title "Bronze Ancient King" was practically etched into every person's consciousness. As for what this generation's Ancient King was actually named — relatively few knew.
This kind of highly focused Power of Faith, according to Taoist Wood's article, was among the highest quality.
"Come to think of it, the Pillars of the Abyssal Void work the same way. The Daoist Lord of High Heaven is always called the Daoist Lord across generations. Buddha Land the same. Great Heaven likewise..."
Su Chen suddenly realized. "The founders of the Dust Star Sea's great sects must have modeled their system after the Abyssal Void — establishing a fixed Ancient Throne to facilitate the harvesting of the Power of Faith. They simply lacked the method for constructing the 'Compass.'"
"Hiss — if the Power of Faith harvesting infrastructure were deployed and the Bronze Sect came to rule the entire Dust Star Sea..."
Su Chen only had to imagine it before he could see an endless stream of Faith Essence beckoning.
"However..." He shook his head, thinking. "High Heaven will definitely want a hand in this. There's no avoiding it — the Compass is a core secret. And according to that Taoist's article, the collection process is fairly slow."
"If I want to obtain large quantities of Faith Essence in the short term, I'll need to find other methods."
Su Chen changed his search terms again, scrolling relentlessly, until his eyes suddenly flickered.
"...In the short term, the primary methods for obtaining large quantities of Faith Essence are: completing tasks issued by the Yingyuan Office (all settled in Spirit Essence); becoming a Star Seed (monthly allotment); or improving one's ranking on the High Heaven Rankings or the Abyssal Void Rankings..."
"Rankings?" Su Chen's interest was piqued. He searched further and quickly gained a clear picture.
The so-called High Heaven Rankings were the internal rankings of High Heaven, covering all members across the Nine Heavens, divided into two sections: "Star Potential" and "Morning Star."
Star Potential encompassed all professionals below Morning Star. Morning Star was self-explanatory.
Su Chen's expression gradually turned amused. He rubbed his chin. "Pretty much what I expected. Competition among disciples — this kind of ranking is the best way to fire people up. Build your reputation, make a name for yourself, and earn rewards to boot. Tsk..."
He opened the High Heaven Rankings. Data cascaded down like a waterfall. The first name to fill his vision was Tong Zhuo.
[Tong Zhuo. Star Potential Ranking #1. Star Seed, Moon Seed. Affiliated with Upper Firmament Heaven. Empyrean God talent. Dual 8th-Tier professional...]
"Empyrean God, 8th-Tier, Upper Firmament Heaven..." Su Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. He wasn't overly surprised — without that level of caliber, one obviously couldn't be number one.
What did surprise him was that this person was already over a hundred and fifty years old.
"Back in the Dust Star Sea, Divine Dawn-grade Star Seeds had a reasonable chance of advancing before two hundred. The average advancement age was around two hundred and fifty."
The Abyssal Void's cultivation infrastructure was far more refined. This individual's talent was even more terrifying. Yet at a hundred and fifty, he still hadn't advanced...
Su Chen naturally didn't think the man was simply slow — he was undoubtedly pursuing additional Holy Classes.
"Is it because of top-tier Ascension Refining methods?" Su Chen's eyes gleamed. Top-tier methods required at least seven top-tier Holy Classes.
These Empyrean God talents were certainly charging straight for that goal.
"A hundred and fifty years old, seven top-tier professions..." Su Chen calculated privately. "Probably stronger than Kong Ming, since Kong Ming was still accumulating and only had five top-tier Holy Classes."
He couldn't help thinking of the Seven Treasures Refinement, designed to work with the Seven-Branch Wondrous Tree. With the Wondrous Tree in his possession, the Seven Treasures Refinement would be the perfect fit.
But that was Buddha Land's premier Ascension Refining method. Only someone of Kong Ming's caliber would be privy to it. Where would he find it?
"That's a real headache." Su Chen suddenly realized — if he altered his Holy Class attributes to align with the Seven-Branch Wondrous Tree, but couldn't obtain the Seven Treasures Refinement, what then?
He'd have to find a different Ascension Refining method. And if his Holy Class attributes didn't match that one either — would he have to alter them yet again?
"There's no way to get it through normal channels..." With that thought, Su Chen opened his panel's Dispatch page.
Apart from The Unsullied, which was currently researching Empyrean God Blood, and the World-Slaying Manifestation, which was undergoing reshaping, he'd dispatched all his other Holy Classes.
Among them, Verdant Wood Guest, Eternal Physique, and the Endless Flame — all three were aligned with the Seven-Branch Wondrous Tree. The probability of synergy was high.
"Go borrow the Seven Treasures Refinement for me, go borrow the Seven Treasures Refinement for me..." Su Chen had no idea if it would work, but he aggressively hinted at his intention for a while before putting the panel away.
"If that doesn't work, I'll have to set my sights on High Heaven's top-tier Ascension Refining methods..."
His gaze shifted downward. The second-ranked was also an Empyrean God talent, affiliated with Grand Firmament Heaven.
Third place was finally at the True Radiance level.
"Zhong Yue, affiliated with Eternal Dragon Heaven." Su Chen's eyebrow twitched. Both third and fourth were from Eternal Dragon Heaven. Quite the presence.
The rankings went on and on. Su Chen only skimmed the broad strokes.
Anyone who entered the High Heaven Rankings' top ten received rewards, divided into first-time entry bonuses and allotment increases.
For a first-time claim of the top spot, one would receive five hundred Faith Essence outright. Even if subsequently knocked off, the reward wouldn't be reclaimed.
Allotments were ten times that of ordinary Star Seeds — one hundred Faith Essence annually.
First-time second place earned three hundred. Third place only two hundred.
Fourth through tenth each received only one hundred, and only the top ten got first-time entry bonuses.
Other ranks received no first-time bonuses — only increased Faith Essence allotments and miscellaneous rewards.
"There's an exploit here. If someone deliberately lost and someone else repeatedly churned the top spot back and forth..." Su Chen immediately spotted the loophole. But on second thought, others didn't share his desperate need for Faith Essence.
After all, whether it was Morning Star Embers, damaged Morning Star Artifacts, or other items — none could be directly converted into personal strength.
Morning Star Embers in particular were entirely luck-dependent. The refining process alone took an extremely long time, and if the extracted professional power clashed with one's own, it would cause harm rather than help.
Others could only refine embers through their own bodies. They couldn't do what he did — feed them directly to a Holy Class manifested as a tangible spiritual entity.
Rubbing his hands together, Su Chen turned his attention to the Abyssal Void Rankings.
Exactly as he'd guessed, these rankings encompassed the entire Abyssal Void at the same tier.
They too were divided into Star Potential and Morning Star, but with an additional category: Radiant Moon.
"Even Radiant Moons are ranked?" Su Chen marveled, but focused on the Abyssal Void Star Potential Rankings.
The one ranked first was—
[Chang Geming, Longevity]
The profile was simple — just a name and factional affiliation.
"Longevity..." Su Chen was impressed. "As expected from the Pillar that's practically a single-lineage succession."
The top ten were almost entirely drawn from the Five Pillars. It wasn't until sixth place that Su Chen saw the name Tong Zhuo.
"Sixth? Lower than I expected." Su Chen scrolled further. Compared to the vast High Heaven Rankings, this one had only a hundred entries.
After all, it was a consolidated ranking. Those ranked too low wouldn't receive rewards from any faction, so there was no need to track that many.
Anyone who made it onto this Abyssal Void Star Potential Ranking received various rewards — including specialties and even core resources from the other Pillars.
And High Heaven offered its own internal rewards on top of that. The combined bounty was remarkably generous. Even just the hundredth spot came with a direct award of one hundred Faith Essence.
For breaking into the top ten — even just tenth place:
"First-time entry reward: five hundred Faith Essence. Allotment increase: one hundred. Additionally, the affiliated Heaven receives one opportunity for Divine Dawn metamorphosis."
"Top five: one thousand Faith Essence. The affiliated Heaven receives one opportunity to catalyze a Morning Star Spirit, plus two Divine Dawn metamorphosis opportunities."
"Catalyze a Morning Star Spirit? From 9th-Tier directly to Morning Star? They actually have methods for that." Su Chen read the fine print and murmured under his breath, eyes gleaming.
Now that was true depth of heritage. With a Divine Dawn talent, becoming a Morning Star Chosen was practically set in stone.
Now that he understood more, he also knew that challenging an existing Morning Star Chosen and stripping their status wasn't so simple either.
Internal turnover within a single Heaven was one thing. But for cross-Heaven challenges, you needed at least five consecutive victories before you could dethrone the existing Chosen and take their place.
Under equal cultivation resources, five consecutive wins was extremely difficult.
"The stronger you become, the more you empower your affiliated Heaven, which in turn makes you even stronger..."
Unlike the High Heaven Rankings, the Abyssal Void Rankings weren't updated in real-time — they refreshed only once a year.
"Once a year. It shouldn't be a Peak Star Tournament-type affair — that would involve the entire Abyssal Void, and a year wouldn't even be enough preparation time. It's probably some method of benchmarking and re-ranking."
Having just arrived, he knew far too little. Su Chen searched further before finally understanding.
"It's through the Nether Realm..."
When the Abyssal Void Rankings initiated their annual refresh, combat was conducted through the Nether Realm. Over a set period, rankings were determined based on demonstrated strength.
"The High Heaven Rankings battles are also in the Nether Realm..."
Su Chen was rather amazed. The Abyssal Void's research and development of the Nether Realm seemed to have reached an extraordinarily deep level.
Even if combatants were billions upon billions of miles apart in the physical world, they could fight in real-time through the Nether Realm.
"Interesting..." Su Chen was quite curious. In High Heaven, accessing the Nether Realm wasn't nearly as difficult as it had been in the Bronze Sect.
He gripped his token, his mind stirring — but a holographic screen popped up before him.
[WARNING: Psionic signature not detected. Please submit your psionic sample before entering the Nether Realm.]
"Can't go right now?" Su Chen pulled back his thoughts. "I need to submit my psionic sample first."
With the Eerie Spirit's abilities, he could enter directly. But that would inevitably be detected, and then he'd have no way to explain himself.
Going to the Nether Realm wasn't immediately urgent. But acquiring Faith Essence genuinely needed to be moved up the agenda.
He exhaled, a glint in his eyes. "I need to launder my talent and professional tier as quickly as possible. Once Master returns, we'll discuss it."