Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Moving through the mystic realm in the direction of what would be the ninth celestial gate, Xuan Hao began to prepare for what he might end up encountering during the ninth celestial trial.

Learning from the eighth celestial trial, he intended to be far more careful about entering a celestial gate in the future, as he realized that it was a very real possibility that he would end up stuck inside the celestial gate in case some part of the celestial trial ended up malfunctioning like had happened during the eighth celestial trial.

Even if getting stuck inside a celestial gate might not end up killing him as his current cultivation realm allowed him to survive without the need for food and instead only relied on spiritual qi to sustain himself, he still didn't want to potentially end up getting stuck inside a celestial gate for hundreds- if not thousands of years.

After all, his only way out after getting stuck inside a celestial gate would be for him to force his way out, something that almost certainly required strength beyond the Profound Immortal Realm… And for him to breakthrough beyond the Profound Immortal Realm stuck in one location without any stimuli from external things only relying on his talent and comprehension, would certainly take a thousand years or longer.

Not to mention, without his presence, the Star Shattering Sect wouldn't be able to endure the constant scrutiny from major powers like the Blue Sea Empire and the demonic cultivators of the Frozen Wastelands.

By the time he would be strong enough to force his way out, the Star Shattering Sect would almost certainly be history… And that was not counting the existence sealed by the four ancient dao seals breaking free and destroying the Star Shattering Sect in the process…

All things considered, getting stuck inside a celestial gate wasn't something he wanted to happen under any circumstances.

Although… As he was thinking about how he might be able to get out of a celestial gate if he ended up getting stuck inside one without being able to get out again after a few hours like last time, he inevitably thought of the random teleportation talisman that he had gotten from the system in the past.

Hm… Using that teleportation talisman, I should be able to get out of a celestial gate. Although being randomly teleported somewhere on the continent is a bit worrying, it should be fine with my current strength.

In the end, he concluded that it should be fine for him to use the random teleportation talisman. Meaning that he would at least have a way out in case he ended up getting stuck inside a celestial gate.

The only worrying thing would be him ending up in some kind of forbidden ground or even right next to the current ruler of the Frozen Wastelands, but, though there was a chance of something like that happening, it was extremely low. Not to mention, with his current strength and his comprehension of the Dao of Space, he should be able to ensure his own safety in most situations.

…

At the same time Xuan Hao made his way in the direction of the ninth celestial gate to take on another celestial trial, back in the Star Shattering Sect, the overall atmosphere of the sect had undergone a clear change following Elder Song's breakthrough to the Domain Lord Realm and his overhaul of the entire sect shortly thereafter.

The change wasn't negative but could more so be described as a feeling of exhaustion that clung to every elder walking around the Shattered Star Peaks. All of them having been put to work by Elder Song, be they elders who had been with the sect for a long time, newly promoted or guest elders who had been sent to the sect by Xuan Hao a few years earlier.

Even then, underneath the exhaustion, there was a clear feeling of joy present in the eyes of these elders, as they hadn't exactly been working for free. Having managed to obtain no small amount of contribution points for their work over the past few weeks.

Now that they returned to the sect, a large portion of them wasted no time rushing to the Dao Enlightenment Monument to spend their contribution points, while others spread out to either get their hands on certain items that could be bought from the sect or to the Grand Mission Pavilion to take on more sect missions for more contribution points.

Of course, those who were planning on saving up even more contribution points were mostly those who found themselves at a bottleneck and couldn't see any real improvement from just going to the Dao Enlightenment Monument, either planning to save enough to get personal guidance from one of the sect's Dao Seed Realm Elders or an even more senior figure.

After all, inside the Star Shattering Sect, they didn't feel that there was no way forward after they found themselves at a bottleneck. Instead, they clearly saw a path out in the form of getting guidance from a senior.

This was even more so for those who had once been wandering cultivators before joining the Star Shattering Sect, as they found themselves improving after having remained stagnant in their cultivation for hundreds of years, some even thousands of years.

On the side of the disciples, the situation wasn't much different, as the large number of disciples that had recently been recruited by the sect got used to life in the Star Shattering Sect and began improving at breakneck speed with the guidance from the sect elders.

Considering that the Star Shattering Sect didn't lack cultivation resources and more so had an abundance of cultivation resources for those below the Nascent Soul Realm, the abundance of sect missions that cropped up for the younger disciples below the Foundation Establishment Realm after Elder Song's breakthrough to the Domain Lord Realm meant that there was no lack of contribution points for these younger disciples to get their hands on.

Among the changes that had taken place in the Star Shattering Sect, one of the biggest by far was the addition of new sect missions for these younger disciples who were still too weak to safely leave the sect.

Even though their missions mostly revolved around running different errands for the elders or older disciples in the main sect at the Shattered Star Peaks, the different branch sects had several new missions for these younger disciples.

From helping taking care of large fields of spiritual grain to learning firsthand how to mine spirit stones under the guidance of a senior, Elder Song had made sure that these younger disciples had countless new and exciting ways to earn contribution points.

Of course, it wouldn't be anything too exhausting considering how young most of these younger disciples below the Foundation Establishment Realm were, but at the same time it wouldn't be too easy.

In the end, everyone in the Star Shattering Sect now had something to do and a way to easily earn contribution points…

Outside of these changes to the Grand Mission Pavilion and branches of it spread throughout the sect's territory and changes to the management of the sect itself, Elder Song had also implemented other changes to the sect following his breakthrough to the Domain Lord Realm.

The most important change he had implemented was a new system that divided the different subordinate powers under the Star Shattering Sect based on strength and importance in the eyes of the Star Shattering Sect.

Through this system, it gave the sect a far easier way to manage the different subordinate powers and get what they wanted from them.

After all, the different powers that existed under the Star Shattering Sect's sphere of influence wasn't just allowed to exist for no reason, they had to give the Star Shattering Sect something in return… And that something was most often certain special cultivation resources that they created, grew or mined on behalf of the Star Shattering Sect.

This wasn't much different from before the implementation of the new system that divided the different subordinate powers up. Instead, it just allowed the sect to more easily get an idea on how much the different powers were expected to hand over and who among them were deliberately delivering less.

Considering the strength of the Star Shattering Sect and the fact that it placed no restrictions on the growth of these subordinate powers, there hadn't been any problems yet, but it was only a matter of time before someone became greedy and wanted more.

When that time came, the Star Shattering Sect would have a way to easily notice before the problem could grow large enough to seriously affect the flow of resources throughout the Star Shattering Sect and its branches.

As for punishments for the offending power… That was something Elder Song was still pondering over, as the system itself was far from finished and could still be refined further, something Elder Song himself was more than happy about, as it would also allow him to further deepen his comprehension of the Dao of Order in the process…