Broke! That was Lu Yuan's immediate thought! Even back in Jin Kingdom, Lu Yuan had never been this poor. His spirit stones were completely depleted, not a single one left. Raising so many Cloud-line spirit beasts required a substantial amount of spirit stones, and he currently had none. If he were still in Jin Kingdom, he wouldn't have worried much about lacking spirit stones. While Jin Kingdom didn't possess vast quantities, gathering a few thousand mid-grade spirit stones there wouldn't have been difficult. But now, being within the Kui Gate, he had no idea where to procure any spirit stones. Without them, he could still cultivate, but the speed would undoubtedly slow significantly, let alone the prospect of assaulting the seventh level of the Grand Dao Realm—the Apex of the Canopy of Celebration.

Forget it, he decided to set that aside for the moment. He’d take the rest of the day to rest and deal with it tomorrow.

The next day, Lu Yuan found his twenty-third Senior Brother, Qin Shuangcheng. "Senior Brother, I've only just entered the Xi Gate and don't know how to acquire spirit stones. I've run out of what I had." As one cultivates for longer periods, the spirit stones possessed generally increase, but concurrently, the consumption of spirit stones also escalates.

Qin Shuangcheng replied, "Generally speaking, there are three ways to obtain spirit stones in the Xi Gate. The first is to exchange points for them, but exchanging points for spirit stones involves a significant cut taken by the sect, so I advise against it. The second way is by completing missions, but usually, only Senior Brothers above the Hun-Cave Realm get missions; we rarely receive any. The simple missions within the Xi Gate are long occupied by the core disciples under other Supremes. After all, there aren't many easy missions in the Stone Gate, and if the core disciples fight to claim them, it won't even fall to us disciples under Supreme Taishi." This alluded to the awkward position of Supreme Taishi's lineage now. Lu Yuan had been in the Sword Gate for some time and understood the situation; hearing this, he realized the reality.

Qin Shuangcheng paused slightly before continuing, "The third way is that the Sword Gate distributes spirit stones once a year. Ordinary disciples receive very few, true disciples a bit more, and we core disciples receive even more. However, even our faction under Supreme Taishi receives very little, because the distribution of spirit stones is decided by the lineage of Supreme Xuanyuan."

Up to this point, Qin Shuangcheng had given Lu Yuan a brief rundown of essential common knowledge.

It turned out that the Nine Supremes largely each had their own official duties.

For instance, Supreme Xuanyuan, the foremost of the Nine Supremes, governed the spirit veins of the Xi Gate! Yes, the spirit tuns!

Back in Jin Kingdom, what they called 'mines' then would only occasionally yield a few scattered spirit stones upon excavation. But in the Central Celestial Dynasty, refinement from ore was entirely unnecessary. The spiritual energy in the Central Celestial Dynasty was astonishingly abundant, condensing into spiritual veins composed entirely of spirit stones.

These spirit veins, rumor had it, even had different grades. Qin Shuangcheng explained that spirit veins were divided into eleven tiers: starting from the first-tier spirit vein, ascending through the ranks up to the ninth-tier spirit vein, then the Earth-tier spirit vein, and finally, the Heaven-tier spirit vein. Of course, a supreme great sect like the Xi Gate couldn't possess Earth-tier or Heaven-tier veins; the highest they could have was an eighth-tier spirit vein.

The wonder of an eighth-tier spirit vein was almost unimaginable; it could produce vast quantities of ultimate-grade spirit stones. Ultimate-grade spirit stones were even more profound than high-grade spirit stones—one ultimate-grade stone was equivalent to ten thousand high-grade stones. That was the situation rumored to be in the Central Celestial Dynasty... Spirit veins from the first tier up to the third tier produced mid-grade spirit stones, though the mid-grade stones from a third-tier vein were purer and the vein itself vastly larger. Veins from the fourth to the sixth tier produced high-grade spirit stones, while those from the seventh to the ninth tier produced ultimate-grade spirit stones. Earth-tier veins produced Earth-grade spirit stones, and Heaven-tier veins produced Heaven-grade spirit stones.

Lu Yuan listened, finding it almost unbelievable.

In Jin Kingdom, the highest grade he had ever encountered was the mid-grade spirit stone. He considered himself one of the top figures in Jin Kingdom, the dignified Head of Mount Hua, yet he had never even seen a high-grade spirit stone, which demonstrated that Jin Kingdom essentially lacked them.

Yet, here in the Central Celestial Dynasty, a first-tier spirit vein yielded mid-grade stones, high-grade stones began appearing from the fourth tier, and ultimate-grade from the seventh. Then there were Earth-grade and Heaven-grade stones beyond that. Truly, it was an inconceivably vast world; simply hearing about it made one yearn for it.

Spirit stones were critically important to a sect.

Since Supreme Xuanyuan managed the distribution of spirit stone resources, it highlighted the status of the First Supreme. Of course, word was he jointly managed it with Supreme Dongye, but Supreme Dongye rarely concerned himself with affairs, allowing the lineage of Supreme Xuanyuan to gain dominance.

After finishing this basic primer, Qin Shuangcheng began introducing the other Supremes.

For example, Supremes Shangguan Hu and Baili governed the defenses of the Fen Gate.

Supreme Gongyang was in charge of ancient relics such as the Sword Scrolls.

After detailing these roles, Qin Shuangcheng said with a wry smile, "Ah yes, you need to be prepared. Although we are all core disciples, our faction under Supreme Taishi receives significantly less than those under the other Supremes."

Lu Yuan was already aware of the awkward standing of Supreme Taishi's faction, so he wasn't overly concerned.

He couldn't change the current situation. But one day, he certainly would.

The Stone Gate, with so much internal strife and complex factions—how could one truly elevate and expand the Xi Gate?

Internal conflict wasn't inherently wrong, but it needed to be controlled within certain bounds. The current Sword Gate was clearly out of control; there were even rumors of collusion with external forces, like those from the Ancient Civilization. Unless these elements were purged, the Xi Gate could not be purified.

This was the Central Celestial Dynasty's last supreme sect centered on the Xi doctrine. He hoped to preserve it as much as possible and see it flourish; otherwise, the final bastion of faith for those who practice the Xi path would collapse.

"In two months, it will be time for the annual spirit stone distribution. Perhaps I can lend you some spirit stones to use," Qin Shuangcheng offered.

Lu Yuan shook his head. "Never mind, there's no need. It’s only two months; it will pass quickly enough."

During the following two months, Lu Yuan continued his cultivation on Mount Kong, focusing primarily on refining his mana. However, he persistently failed to break through to the seventh level of the Grand Dao Realm—the Apex of the Canopy of Celebration. He desperately wanted to test what it felt like to have a Canopy of Celebration crowning his head, knowing this was the final stage of his Cloud Dragon Ten Transformations Heart Method. And so, two uneventful months slipped by.

Two months later, the time finally came for the spirit stone distribution. Nine individuals from Supreme Taishi's faction, led by Qin Shuangcheng, ascended upon their Xi and flew off. Qin Shuangcheng announced, "Supreme Xuanyuan's faction is situated on Dragon Head Mountain on this planet."

Dragon Head Mountain! What a commanding mountain name.

Such travel took some time, but eventually, they reached Dragon Head Mountain. In truth, while a planet was immense, everyone present was at the Grand Dao Realm, capable of rapid Xi travel; it didn't take too long. Traversing the entire planet would consume far more time, but Mount Kong and Dragon Head Mountain weren't actually that far apart.

So this was Dragon Head Mountain? The entire mountain range undulated like the body of a dragon, with the highest peak resembling the dragon's head. The mountain was overlaid with dense restrictive formations, seemingly far more numerous than those guarding Mount Kong. Qin Shuangcheng tossed out an incantation talisman, which melted into the Dragon Head Mountain's formations. A moment later, a fair-skinned, red-lipped Daoist boy arrived. "Please follow me." Daoist boys of this rank were usually not high in status, comparable to true disciples. Facing numerous core disciples, he should have addressed them as Senior Brother, but any Daoist boy from Supreme Xuanyuan's lineage held a superior standing; he didn't use the title 'Senior Brother' at all, merely stating casually, "Everyone, please follow me."

Qin Shuangcheng and the others were long accustomed to the customs of Supreme Xuanyuan's faction and paid it no mind.

Within the restrictive layers of the Hundred Dragon Head Mountain, a gateway capable of holding over ten people materialized.

This time, the spirit stone distribution was set to take place in the cave of the third-tier spirit vein on Dragon Tail Peak. Guided by the Daoist boy, they soon arrived at Dragon Tail Peak. Upon reaching it, Lu Yuan noticed the spiritual energy was exceptionally rich. They approached a cave entrance and found the disciples from the other Supremes' factions already assembled there.

The disciples of Supremes Xuanyuan, Duanmu, Shangguan, Nangong, Gongyang, Dongye, Xiahou, and Baili—the other eight Supremes—had arrived earlier.

Lu Yuan felt a slight surge of anticipation. The moment to receive spirit stones had finally arrived; this was truly a benefit of being a core disciple.

He had been desperately poor recently, so poor he lacked spirit stones even to feed his Cloud-line spirit beasts. He was relying on this batch of stones to survive.

As soon as Supreme Taishi's faction arrived, the core disciples from the other eight factions began assessing Lu Yuan in unison. Qin Shuangcheng and the other eight under Supreme Taishi had mediocre aptitude, unworthy of note. It was only Lu Yuan, hailed as a genius, who merited some attention.

Xuanyuan Ling, from Supreme Xuanyuan's lineage, smiled faintly. "Junior Brother Lu." He walked up to Lu Yuan, his face carrying a smile. Xuanyuan Ling was handsome, possessing an air of maturity, and whenever he spoke or acted, there was always a sense that he held the greater momentum.

When this esteemed person addressed him so courteously, Lu Yuan returned a casual salute. "Senior Brother Xuanyuan seeks out Junior Brother for what matter?"

Xuanyuan Ling gave a faint smile. "Junior Brother Lu's aptitude in the Way of the Sword inspires our admiration. Last time, within the Xi Scroll, you actually comprehended thirteen types of Xi Intent—a peerless genius of the Stone Gate. My master, Supreme Xuanyuan Wang, was greatly impressed upon hearing this, believing it a great pity to keep a peerless genius like Junior Brother Lu under Supreme Taishi."

"My master, Supreme Xuanyuan, believes that if Junior Brother Lu is willing to join Supreme Xuanyuan's lineage, my master will certainly nurture Junior Brother as a peerless genius, following the cultivation path reserved for the Xi Gate's unparalleled talents."

Hearing Xuanyuan Ling say this, those nearby let out quiet gasps.

In the Sword Gate, following the cultivation track for a peerless genius was vastly different from the path for ordinary talents.

Generally, ordinary geniuses and disciples were simply brought under a Supreme's command to be nurtured as core disciples. However, there were several hundred such core disciples currently. Following the peerless genius cultivation track, throughout the long history of the Sword Gate, from the previous Sword Master to the present, there have been fewer than ten individuals.

The disparity in resources received was terrifyingly immense.

This was a massive lure.

Supreme Xuanyuan was trying to poach a talent from Supreme Taishi.