I am a high-level martial arts master.

Guangming, the sky was bright.

Ye Li held Jiang Xiyue in his arms and they slept together fully clothed, but it was just tenderness and nothing more.

After all, the city is now full of people at the peak of the Innate Realm, with a wide variety of methods.

Ye Li had no intention of engaging in erotic activities at this time.

The girl's warm breath brushed against the side of her neck, carrying a hint of dependence and unease, and she had already drifted off to sleep.

The voice of the dragon girl's remnant soul rang out in his mind at just the right moment: "Boy, have you thought it through?"

"Hmm," Ye Li responded inwardly, his thoughts clear: "The Heavenly Illusion Immortal Sect is the best option right now."

Dragon Girl: "Oh? Tell me about it."

"First of all, the Heavenly Illusion Immortal Sect is not a demonic immortal sect. Although they both regard small countries as ants, the atmosphere towards their internal disciples is completely different between the two factions."

"For example, the Blood River Immortal Sect used to follow the same dog-eat-dog style as the Initial Saint Demonic Sect, and they treated their own disciples the same way. I'm afraid that if I went in, I would be instantly refined by those Grandmasters, Martial Saints, elders, and sect leaders."

"But for sects like the Heavenly Illusion Immortal Sect, the security is much better once you enter."

"I've looked into it. The strongest acquired talent in the Heavenly Illusion Immortal Sect is only ranked 24th on the Prodigy Ranking. Once I enter, I can immediately move up in rank and be cultivated as a core member."

"As for resources, as you have said, the Heavenly Illusion Immortal Sect is one of the top sects in the Southern Territory, with a profound foundation and a vast collection of cultivation techniques and scriptures, which can definitely meet my core needs."

The dragon girl chuckled, "It seems you've already made up your mind."

Ye Li nodded slightly, but did not immediately go out to say that he wanted to join.

Although he already had a preference, he was now in control and should stall for another two or three days; after all, it wasn't him who was in a hurry. Over the next two days, Ye Li held talks with each of these immortal sects.

Ye Li led them on a tour of Guangming, recounting its past as a battlefield of the Ji Kingdom, and watched as the various immortal sects raised their prices, wanting to see their bottom lines.

After three to five days, Ye Li saw that the time was almost ripe.

As dawn broke, Ye Li didn't delay any longer. With a slight thought, he precisely sent a clear intention into Gu Feichi's sea of ​​consciousness, who was waiting quietly in the clouds outside Guangming City:

"Brother Gu, Ye Li has thought it through. I am grateful for the kindness of the Heavenly Illusion Immortal Sect and wish to join your sect to study the Great Dao together."

Almost the instant the thought was uttered, a clear voice, brimming with undisguised joy, resounded across the sky:

"Hahaha! Excellent! Fellow Daoist Ye truly possesses keen insight and can see things from afar!"

Gu Feichi's figure appeared before Ye Li like a streak of light, accompanied by hearty laughter.

His face wore a genuine smile, all traces of the previous gloom and urgency gone, as if all the anxiety he had felt before had never happened.

Clearly, Ye Li's choice pleased him greatly.

"Now that Fellow Daoist Ye has joined our sect, we are family! The sect leader and others are already prepared within the sect, awaiting your arrival!"

Gu Feichi was full of enthusiasm, his gaze sweeping across the entire Guangming:

"From now on, the Xia Kingdom will be under the protection of my Heavenly Illusion Immortal Sect and will not be disturbed by other sects."

As soon as he finished speaking, several other powerful divine thoughts surged forth like a tidal wave, carrying obvious resentment and anger.

"Hmph! Gu Feichi, impressive tactics!"

Li Wujiu of the Blood River Sect manifested on a cloud of blood, his face ashen.

"Ye Li, have you thought this through? Join my Blood River, and you can take any resources you want, enjoy any beauties you desire, and live a life of unbridled pleasure! Going to the Heavenly Illusion Immortal Sect will only bring a bunch of rules and regulations, making you feel restricted!"

The other innate masters also urged him to stay:

"Young friend Ye, our sect also possesses profound martial arts knowledge, which can help you solidify your foundation and unleash your boundless potential! Would you like to reconsider?"

Faced with these final attempts to persuade him to stay, Ye Li smiled and said:

"I am grateful for the kindness shown to me by all the seniors. Although I am not destined to join any of the immortal sects, no matter which sect I join, we are all martial artists from the Southern Territory. The path of martial arts is long, and there will be opportunities to make friends again."

Ye Li's voice was not loud, but his words were eloquent. Although the immortal sects were unwilling, they ultimately chose to remain silent.

The Heavenly Illusion Immortal Sect is not a pushover. Since Ye Li has already made his choice, continuing to entangle them would only lead to a complete breakdown in relations, which would be a loss. They couldn't recruit him, and they certainly couldn't afford to make him a mortal enemy.

After all, Ye Li's absence is a loss for the sect, but it's actually a good thing for these people.

Although the sect has abundant resources, high-level resources are not supplied at will.

The cultivators at the peak of the Innate Realm from these various sects don't need to worry about Ye Li competing with them for resources after advancing to the Innate Realm.

If it weren't for the fact that inviting Ye Li to join the sect would bring massive contributions, some cultivators at the peak of the Innate Realm wouldn't even want to invite a wolf into their homes.

Gu Feichi's smile widened, showing his appreciation for Ye Li's decisive public statement.

The next moment, a stream of light shot out from his fingertips. It was not fast, but it carried a sense of solidity that connected him to the earth.

Ye Li saw that it was a token made of ancient material that was neither gold nor jade, with intricate cloud patterns outlining the character "幻" (illusion).

The token fell silently, landing precisely on the ground of Guangming City beneath its feet.

The token in his hand touched the ground without making a crisp sound; like a drop of water merging into the ocean, it instantly disappeared into the depths of the soil. At the very moment the token merged with the earth…

Rumble!!!

The entire territory of the Xia Kingdom, and even the surrounding million-mile area, experienced a massive earthquake in an instant!

Centered on the capital of Xia Kingdom, an invisible force of rules instantly spread out, like a hungry whale opening its gaping maw in the abyss!

plunder!

Plunder the earth's veins! Plunder spiritual energy! Plunder life force! Plunder destiny!

The surrounding kingdoms of Xia, including Fengyu and Yuze, as well as tens of thousands of smaller kingdoms that were previously unaffected, all felt the dramatic changes at this moment! The once fertile plains of Fengyu lost their luster at a visible speed, the water levels of rivers plummeted, the once clear water began to turn turbid, and the spiritual energy content dropped drastically.

A sense of despairing barrenness permeated the world.

The King of Fengyu rushed out of the palace in terror, his face ashen as he looked at the lifeless earth beneath his feet.

Within the small countries surrounding Xia Kingdom, everything from the spiritual herbs atop the highest mountains to the essence of mineral veins buried deep underground, and even the sparse spiritual energy drifting between heaven and earth, was drawn by an invisible force and surged wildly toward Xia Kingdom.

The soil's fertility, spiritual energy concentration, and the fortune of heaven and earth in the entire region were forcibly plundered and gathered in a corner of the Xia Kingdom by the will of the immortal sect represented by this token in an extremely domineering way!

In contrast, the Xia Kingdom:

Where the token merged, a deep dragon's roar echoed from the depths of the earth.

A pale golden beam of light, visible to the naked eye and composed purely of the earth's vital energy, shot into the sky, piercing the clouds. It then transformed into countless points of light, which fell evenly onto every inch of the Xia Kingdom's land.

The concentration of spiritual energy in the world surged tenfold or even a hundredfold, as if by explosion!

With each breath, the dense spiritual energy, almost liquid in nature, automatically seeped into the pores of all living beings.

Above the Xia Kingdom, even visible spiritual mist condensed, falling in wisps and strands to nourish all things.

Those mountainous and wild places that were originally sparse in spiritual energy now have a spiritual energy concentration that far exceeds that of the secret places where the royal family cultivates!

Under the free nourishment of spiritual energy, the originally ordinary soil instantly turned dark and shiny, exuding a refreshing earthy fragrance and a rich life force.

The withered grass and trees were reborn on the spot, sprouting new shoots and growing at an astonishing rate.

In the blink of an eye, tender grass sprouts from the barren Gobi Desert, transforming it into lush green land. In the farmland, newly planted ordinary rice seeds instantly head, fill, and mature, their grains plump and radiating an alluring glow!

This is no longer ordinary land, but a true spiritual and fertile land, where Dragon Tooth Rice grows that can be consumed by martial artists.

Not only the land, but the value of rare and precious materials is skyrocketing. Ordinary fish and shrimp are even gleaming with light, showing signs of transforming into demons. Du Xiaoyuan and the other two innate masters from the Xia Kingdom were the first to feel this earth-shattering change.

The true energy within their bodies circulated, condensed, and grew at an unprecedented speed!

The bottleneck to their second transformation, which had been troubling them for years due to the decline of spiritual energy, was showing signs of loosening under the influence of this abundant spiritual energy! This made them tremble with excitement and tears streamed down their faces.

"The Immortal Sect protects us! This is truly the protection of the Immortal Sect!" Du Xiaoyuan roared to the sky, his voice filled with awe and ecstasy.

From that moment on, the Xia Kingdom truly defied fate and changed its destiny.

Breaking through to the Body Tempering Realm will be a piece of cake within the Xia Kingdom.

As long as one consumes Dragon Tooth Rice every year, supplemented by physical training techniques, one can naturally break through to the Body Tempering Realm in such an environment before adulthood.

The probability of breaking through to the Acquired Realm is about the same as the probability of breaking through to the Perfected Body Tempering Realm.

A young man with even a little talent, cultivating basic techniques in such a rich spiritual environment, will make rapid progress. If he works hard for ten or eight years, breaking through to the early stage of the Acquired Realm will be a natural outcome!

In the past few decades, the Xia Kingdom had produced only one Xiantian (a type of innate being).

Now, Du Xiaoyuan and others even see the possibility of tens of thousands of new innate talents emerging in the Xia Kingdom in the next few decades!

Moreover, the foundations of these newly innate beings will be far more solid and robust than theirs!

The overall martial arts strength of the Xia Kingdom is about to usher in an unprecedented golden period of explosive growth!

This arrogant approach secretly alarmed Ye Li.

And that is the purpose of that token.

This demonstrated their alignment with the Heavenly Illusion Immortal Sect, directly absorbing the spiritual energy of tens of thousands of surrounding countries to replenish themselves, thus reviving the spiritual energy of the entire Xia Kingdom. Furthermore, they wouldn't need to worry about the National Fortune Tournament for the next thousand years.

All of this was paid for silently by the thousands of small neighboring countries, whose spiritual energy cap was reduced by about 10% in each country.

Furthermore, as the Xia Kingdom expands its territory, more small countries will have their spiritual energy plundered.

Within the Immortal Sect, while there are methods to replenish spiritual energy out of thin air, none are as simple, direct, and efficient as direct plunder. After all, small countries have no human rights.

And this is still considered the proper way of the immortal sects.

If the Blood River Immortal Sect were to take action, all the warriors in the surrounding hundreds or thousands of small countries would be reduced to blood and gore.

At that time, martial artists are not heartless; they will turn into blood and mud to protect the flowers!

By directly using the method of blood sacrifice, the lives of countless martial artists can replenish the spiritual energy of the Xia Kingdom, and the benefits gained will be even greater.