Heavenly Ranking

Chapter 421 Response
Blood Crystal Realm.

This is the name the Illusion Clan gave to this world.

The reason why Xuan Guang personally led a group of powerful individuals to conquer this world was twofold: firstly, this world was not weak, as it still had a seventh-tier being preserved; secondly, it was due to the world's unique product—blood crystals.

This is a crystal refined from the blood and essence of intelligent life forms.
Its effects are very similar to those of the Body Source Crystal, and it can significantly enhance the physical strength of cultivators.

Even though the best blood crystals are only equivalent to red physique source crystals, such a world is still extremely valuable to the Illusion Clan.

As for the worlds with value, Xuan Guang, as the chief, naturally has to take priority in occupying them.

Sure enough, he led tens of thousands of elite troops from the Xuan clan and spent more than a month to finally eliminate all the resistance forces in the Blood Crystal Realm.

Perhaps a few fifth-tier survivors have slipped through the net, lurking in some corner, waiting for their chance to strike, but...

In the entire Blood Crystal Realm, no other decent force dares to openly stand up and resist the rule of the Illusion Clan.

After a few more days, once the blood crystals from all over the world have gathered, Xuan Guang will take these supplies back to the Illusionary Realm.

It was in this state of self-satisfaction that his core subordinate, Xuan Kong, hurriedly brought the news.

……

"Youzhao?"

Xuan Guang was somewhat surprised.

He was not showing his strongest form at the moment, but he still looked like he had some characteristics of a "dragon man".

"Yes, one of Youguang's two most capable lieutenants. He participated in the Heavenly Ranking War with us and ranked sixteenth on the Heavenly Ranking."

Xuan Kong continued, adding, "However, he has now abandoned the surname 'You' and adopted 'Fu' as his surname."

"Sixteen... His Heavenly Rank can only rise to the Great Heavenly Rank at most, right? How could the Great Heavenly Rank actually push his cultivation to the eighth level? Could there be a mistake?"

Xuan Guang was somewhat surprised.

"This is a message of maximum alert transmitted by Xuanmu, who is stationed in the clan, using a special method. It must be true."

Xuan Kong quickly explained, "Besides... the Light of the Underworld has already fallen at his hands, a fact witnessed by thousands of people. Furthermore, the Light of the Netherworld should also have been killed by his backlash..."

"Youguang died at his hands? That explains it."

Xuan Guang calmly said, "He must have taken advantage of You Guang's crisis to turn against his master, advance to the Extreme Heaven Rank, and then use the power of the Extreme Heaven Rank to advance to the eighth rank, thereby killing Ming Guang. He rose from the twentieth seat to the second seat in one fell swoop. This growth obviously made him arrogant, to the point that he thought he could actually challenge me."

"Currently, some members of both the You and Ming clans have changed their surname to Fu and joined Fu Guang's clan. However, compared to the total number of members of the two clans, the number of new members is only over 200 million."

Xuan Kong continued, "The main reason for this problem is that he did not follow the rules when he challenged Ming Guang. In theory, each challenge should not only be initiated ten days in advance, but also require at least three of the ten highest seats to be present as witnesses. Therefore, his second seat is not legitimate."

"What do you want to say?"

Xuan Guang frowned.

"That Fu Guang was able to kill Ming Guang head-on, so his strength is beyond doubt. To avoid any unforeseen circumstances, Xuan Mu's idea is that once you return, sir, you should directly strip Fu Guang of his second-place title on the grounds that his challenge to Ming Guang was unreasonable. Then, all of us from the Xuan Clan should swarm him and capture and kill him on the spot..."

Xuan Kong said, "Even if you can't kill him, you should at least try to deplete his strength and force out his trump cards to ensure that your battle with him will be foolproof."

Xuan Guang was naturally somewhat dissatisfied with this suggestion.

but……

Xuan Kong's words also make sense.

That Floating Light was able to kill the Dark Light must be a formidable opponent.

Although he was very confident in his strength, he also understood that in a life-or-death duel between two eighth-level beings, anything could happen.

Although Xuan Kong's suggestion was somewhat dishonorable, it could indeed significantly increase his chances of winning this battle.

Who made the process by which that fleeting light became the highest second-highest position illegitimate?

He did this to uphold the rules and traditions that the Illusion Clan has always upheld.

"Then let's do as you say."

Xuan Guang said slowly, "You and Xuan Mu should discuss how to test the waters. I will intervene when necessary."

"Understood. When you speak, we will act immediately and will not give him any chance to refute us."

Xuan Kong said respectfully.

Xuan Guang nodded, then said with some displeasure, "I didn't expect that such a thing would happen less than a month after I left!"

He glanced at the remaining 30% of the blood crystals that hadn't been delivered yet, and immediately said, "Let's not delay, let's take our spoils and go back!"

"We'll arrange it right away."

Xuan Kong quickly responded.

……

Baijieshan Caves.

Ji Fuyou waited quietly at the entrance that Xuan Guang had gone to, awaiting the return of the chief of the Illusion Clan.

Beside him, besides the newly joined Fu clan, there were also many Xuan clan members, as well as some other clan leaders, leading their elites and waiting.

These clan leaders, the "shining stars" of the clans, are mostly at the fifth or sixth level of cultivation, with some at the seventh level, but there are only four of them.

It's not that the Illusion Clan only has four seventh-tier experts left, but rather that those seventh-tier experts are basically concentrated in the three major clans of Xuan, Ming, and You.

Even so, apart from these fifth and sixth-tier cultivators, most of the Illusion Clan beings are basically at the second or third tier.

First-order... that's relatively rare.

"There are truly many strong individuals among them. For a group, quality is of paramount importance, not quantity."

He said with genuine emotion.

Meanwhile, over 300 million members of the Illusion Clan are enjoying lively exchanges in the Realm of the Void Gods.

Since they had never encountered a realm like the Void God Realm before, which allowed for direct sensory communication, all the Illusion Clan members were in a state of wonder.

Many members of the Illusion Clan, through in-depth exchanges and comparisons, experienced an unprecedented sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

The release of this intense emotion unexpectedly gave birth to a new Phantom Clan.

Just as Ji Fuyou had guessed, these newly conceived Illusion Race members did not need to search for physical forms immediately. The Void God Realm could serve as their vessel, allowing them to live freely within it.

Moreover, the way the Phantom Clan conceives new members...

"They are somewhat similar to the acquired spirits in the Mountain and Sea Realm."

He said it to himself.

Characteristics of the Phantom Clan...

This made him wonder if there was something in common between the two.

"During this period of time, although I have nurtured 6000 acquired spirits, and some of these acquired spirits have even spawned new ones, there is not even a trace of an innate spirit that can control the power of the mind."

As Ji Fuyou pondered, he couldn't help but decide to take the Illusion Clan into consideration.

The beings of the Illusionary Race crave a sense of accomplishment.

What about the spirit that comes after birth?

What are they pursuing?
"A sense of understanding of heaven and earth and nature?"

Based on the conclusions drawn from the research project on acquired spirits, Ji Fuyou speculated: "Perhaps, I can simulate the different landscapes and characteristics of different worlds and let the acquired spirits observe and comprehend them... After witnessing the different structures of different worlds, they might have an epiphany one day and give birth to innate spirits."

With this idea in mind, he quickly completed the "World Architecture" project proposal.

"To perfectly simulate the different structures and landscapes of each world, so that the acquired spirits can be moved by the splendor, mystery, and magnificence of nature, the consumption of the power of the Void God Realm is considerable. Each world probably requires a million units of Void God Realm power..."

As Ji Fuyou spoke, he glanced at his redundant computing power...

"The Cult of the Machine God is growing rapidly, but the real key lies with the Illusion Clan..."

Just thinking about the enormous market of 3 million naturally gifted spiritual beings from the Illusionary Clan...

Ji Fuyou immediately filled the budget for the "World Framework" project to the maximum.

"1000 million! Use 1000 million Void God Realm Power to construct a world! And treat this 1000 million Void God Realm Power as a long-term task! I refuse to believe that, over time, these 6000 acquired spirits will not be able to give birth to a single innate spirit!"

He even considered going to the Mountain and Sea Realm again to buy some more acquired spirit stones.

Ideally, we should also buy their innate spiritual essence.

He observed the power of the mind from the innate spirit, and then used the vast realm of the illusory gods to analyze the power of the mind.

Once he can analyze the power of the mind, he will leap into the realm of absolute power, comparable to a legend!

That is, the vitality utilization rate is 100%!

Compared to his method of accumulating experience and increasing the utilization rate of life force through cultivation, this is much faster.
"The constraints of progressing step by step are relative to ordinary people. Those geniuses who can truly create miracles and usher in new eras never follow a gradual path."

Ji Fuyou thought to himself.

The key issue is that he doesn't have that much time left.

Without taking an unconventional approach, how could he possibly possess the power to fight that star-devouring monster in the remaining three years?
While they were pondering, the battle between the two figures in the Realm of the Gods had already decided the victor.

One of the two figures was Ji Fuyou himself.

Another...

If there were any members of the Illusion Clan, they would recognize him as their chief disciple and the clan's number one expert—Xuan Guang!
The information he gathered about this "mysterious light" came from the understanding of this chief among the 300 million Illusion Clan members.

Of these 300 million people, only a very small number have actually seen the Xuan Guang, which is why the power of the Xuan Guang is somewhat distorted.

but……

Even this distorted light still displayed a power that surprised Ji Fuyou!
Of the dozens of battles he simulated, not more than one ended in a short period of time.

In two of those matches, Xuan Guang actually managed to turn the tables and kill the clones that Xuan Guang had simulated based on his current state.

"Truly worthy of being the strongest among the victorious civilizations!"

Ji Fuyou's expression was solemn, reminding himself not to underestimate the people of the world.

"If the battle cannot be ended in a short time, I will face the scenario where Xuan Guang has seen through my secrets and summons all the Illusion Clan to attack me..."

He pondered in his heart.

Next, looking at another simulated solution...

"Conventional methods cannot defeat him in a short time, and there is even a small chance that he will turn the tables and reverse the situation... There are too many variables."

Ultimately, he was the strongest member of the Illusion Clan who survived the first round of the Heavenly Ranking War.

Ji Fuyou said with a hint of regret, "Then there's nothing we can do but resort to unconventional methods."

(End of this chapter)