Aside from the Outer Sea, the Jingchu Realm's mainland has three major first-Rank Nascent Soul forces: the Qingyun Sect, the Hundred Battles Sect, and the Dao Sect. These three powers each govern an area spanning tens of thousands of miles, with their territories intertwined and constantly competing, leading to continuous minor skirmishes though no major wars.
There are three major second-Rank Family forces: the Jing Province Li Family, the Ba Province Luo Family, and the Hai Province Ye Family. These major forces mutually check and balance each other, forming a tripartite standoff that has brought a long period of peace to the Jingchu Cultivation World.
Among them, the Qingyun Sect occupies three provinces: Yan Province, Zheng Province, and Ji Province. It governs a population of 30 million, and within the sect, there are two Nascent Soul Old Ancestors: Fen Tian Zunzhe, a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivator, and Fen Huo Zunzhe, a Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivator. The Sect Leader, Dao Ming Immortal Master, is at the Golden Core Late Stage, just one step away from becoming a Nascent Soul Venerable. The sect boasts as many as twenty-six Golden Core Masters, countless Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and over ten thousand Qi Refining Cultivators.
The Hundred Battles Sect, on the other hand, occupies four provinces: Yun Province, Meng Province, Xi Province, and Tai Province. Except for Yun Province, the other three provinces are relatively barren. Within the sect, there are three Nascent Soul Old Ancestors: Hundred Refinements Venerable, a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivator, and Wei'an Venerable and Wei'da Venerable, both Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivators. The Sect Leader, Zhongli Immortal Master, is at the Golden Core Late Stage, and the sect has over thirty Golden Core Cultivators and more than ten thousand other Cultivators, making its strength slightly inferior to that of the Qingyun Sect.
The Dao Sect occupies five provinces: Shu Province, Jing Province, Han Province, Xiang Province, and Xiang Province. All five provinces are relatively prosperous. Within the sect, there are four Nascent Soul Old Ancestors: Elder Qinghuo, a Nascent Soul Late Stage grand Cultivator, Qingming Venerable, a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivator, and Qing Yun Venerable and Qinghe Honored One, both Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivators. The Sect Leader, Yuan Kun Immortal Master, is a Golden Core Late Stage Cultivator. The sect has over fifty Golden Core Master Cultivators, more than a thousand Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and over twenty thousand Qi Refining Cultivators, making it the strongest among the three Nascent Soul forces, overpowering the other two. This has led to the other two appearing to form an alliance.
Below these three major forces are countless Golden Core and Foundation Establishment affiliated forces. Conflicts often arise between these forces over resources, leading to Golden Core powerhouses engaging in combat. As for the Nascent Soul Stage, it is highly controlled; there have been no incidents of Nascent Soul Venerables fighting. After all, Nascent Soul powerhouses possess the ability to move mountains and fill seas. Once a Nascent Soul Venerable engages in combat, it is feared that an area spanning ten thousand miles would be razed to the ground, with both humans and Yao Beasts perishing within the combat zone. The scope of impact and the destructive power are unimaginable, so unless it is a particularly important matter, they generally will not take action.
Among the second-Rank Family forces, the Jing Province Li Family has over three thousand Family Cultivators. Their Old Ancestor, Li Wentai, is a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Venerable, and the Clan Chief, Li Xuecheng, is a Golden Core Late Stage Master. There are thirteen Golden Core Masters in the clan, with over three thousand more Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining Cultivators.
The Ba Province Luo Family has over four thousand Family Cultivators. Their Old Ancestor, Luo Huan, is a Nascent Soul Early Stage Venerable, and the Clan Chief, Luo Jin, is a Golden Core Late Stage Master. There are eight Golden Core Masters, with over two thousand eight hundred Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining Cultivators, and over a thousand Guest Elder Cultivators.
The Hai Province Ye Family is an old Family force. Their Old Ancestor, Ye Jianlai, is a Nascent Soul Late Stage Venerable, and Ye Jianming is a Nascent Soul Early Stage Venerable. The Clan Chief, Ye Changkong, is a Golden Core Late Stage Master. There are eighteen Golden Core Masters in the clan, and over three thousand six hundred Foundation Establishment Stage and Qi Refining Stage Lin Clan. Among the three major families, the Ye Family is the strongest.
The Huilan Mountain Range, where the Lin Family is located, falls within the jurisdiction of the Dao Sect, specifically in the Han Province territory. There are quite a few smaller forces there, and around the Lin Family, there are five Foundation Establishment forces. Each of these five families occupies several Spiritual Mountains for Cultivation, and their Spiritual Vein Ranks are not high.
These include the Foundation Establishment Late Stage forces of the Lei Family, Huang Family, and Cai Family, the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage forces of the Liu Family and Zhou Family, as well as over twenty Qi Refining families. Each Qi Refining Family is affiliated with one of these five Foundation Establishment families. The Lin Family has four affiliated forces: the Zou Family, Xi Family, Lu Family, and He Family. The Clan Chief of each of these four affiliated forces has Qi Refining Late Stage cultivation. The Lin Family and the Lei Family have been mutually hostile, with continuous minor skirmishes, though they only dare to act covertly behind the scenes and not openly. At least on the surface, they appear quite amicable. Furthermore, these five Foundation Establishment forces are affiliated with the Golden Core force, the Hundred Refinements Sect.
The Hundred Refinements Sect is famous for Artifact Refining. Within the sect, there are three Golden Core Immortal Masters: one in the Middle Stage and two in the Early Stage, along with over twenty Foundation Establishment Cultivators and over a thousand Qi Refining Stage Cultivators. The five Foundation Establishment forces have been openly and secretly vying for Cultivation resources. Among them, the Lin Family and the Huang Family are allies, with their Lin Clan intermarrying, forming a natural alliance. The Lei Family and the Liu Family are allied, while the remaining Cai Family struggles to survive by remaining neutral, thus obtaining the fewest resources. These five forces mutually restrain each other, and over the years, no large-scale conflicts have occurred; they remain relatively restrained. On the surface, cooperation is maintained as required by the Hundred Refinements Sect, which desires competition but not major casualties. Later, the Hundred Refinements Sect intervened, and the six families jointly established a small Cultivation market.
The six forces jointly established a market called Lanfang. The market has over thirty shops, of which the Lin Family owns five: one selling Medicinal Pills, one selling Magical Artifacts, one for acquiring various Materials, a general store, and a Spirit Food restaurant. These five shops bring in over ten thousand Spirit Stones in annual income for the Lin Family. Medicinal Pill income accounts for 70% of this, as the Lin Family's Old Ancestor is a Third-Order Pill Refiner, and the Lin Family is also renowned for Alchemy.
There are also external forces that come to open shops in the market. The market is constantly frequented by over seven hundred Loose Cultivators and Cultivators from various forces who come to the Dabie Mountain Range to search for Spirit Medicine and Yao Beast Materials. Therefore, over a thousand Cultivators typically stay in the market year-round. In particular, outsiders also bring some locally rare Cultivation resources to the market, greatly enriching the market's Cultivation resources. The daily management of the market is jointly handled by the five families, who permanently assign two Foundation Establishment powerhouses to oversee it and deter minor troublemakers. The open and secret commercial competition among the five Foundation Establishment forces is also a situation the Hundred Refinements Sect wishes to see; competition among affiliated forces is beneficial for the Hundred Refinements Sect to control them. Therefore, as long as the competition among the five families is not excessive and they submit their tributes on time each year, the Hundred Refinements Sect generally does not interfere and allows them to develop freely.
However, the Hundred Refinements Sect also specifically suppresses the Lin Family and the Lei Family because they are the most likely to produce Golden Core powerhouses. The Hundred Refinements Sect does not want to see Golden Core powerhouses emerge among its affiliated forces, as it would affect its ruling position. Therefore, the Lin Family's Old Ancestor and the Lei Family's Old Ancestor have been hesitant to take the final step to Breakthrough to Golden Core, partly due to the Hundred Refinements Sect's suppression and partly due to a lack of resources for Breakthrough. The Lin Family's Old Ancestor, at over 360 years old, is nearing the Lifespan limit of 400 years. Therefore, the Lin Family's Old Ancestor generally avoids combat, fearing that injuries during combat could affect his Lifespan and thus bring about the Lin Family's demise.
In recent decades, the Lin Family has also been secretly searching for Cultivation resources to Breakthrough to Golden Core, especially the Golden Core Pill. This Medicinal Pill can increase the chance of Foundation Establishment Breakthrough to Golden Core by 40%. Taking this Medicinal Pill to Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage, even if it fails, will not result in loss of life. However, refining the Golden Core Pill is extremely difficult, requiring Spirit Medicine that are over eight hundred years old, and the Pill Formula is held by major Nascent Soul forces. A small quantity of Golden Core Pills flows into the market at major auctions held by various forces each year, and their price is extremely high. One Golden Core Pill requires at least 200,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. According to the Spirit Stone exchange rate, one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones can be exchanged for one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, and one hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones can be exchanged for one High-Grade Spirit Stone. The legendary Top-Grade Spirit Stones are probably only held by Nascent Soul Old Ancestors.
For the past few decades, the Lin Family has been secretly exchanging for Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, hoping to participate in the Dao Sect's large-scale auction, held once every thirty years, to contend for the Golden Core Pill. Currently, the Lin Family has over 100,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, but there is still a significant shortage of Spirit Stones to compete for the Golden Core Pill at the auction. The entire Lin Clan began to economize and increase revenue five years ago, but the Spirit Stone deficit remains substantial, and the auction will be held in six years. Earning over 100,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones in these six years would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens without a heaven-sent Opportunity. At this time, several Elders of the Lin Family are also secretly discussing this matter.