I took the emperor's words to heart and excused myself from the crowd. The competition continued and apparently with me removed from the venue, many of the alchemists felt more confident about their own ability. The later parts of the competition were bound to become heated up.
An imperial guard came over and asked me to follow after him. And once I was in the presence of the emperor, he clapped his hands and everyone left the area leaving me and the emperor alone.
"Shen Bao, may I ask how old are you?" the emperor asked.
"About eighty-four," I said.
"Hmm, Eighty-four and still stuck at the Foundation Establishment, such waste of talent." The emperor said. "But I doubt it has anything to do with your own talent, you have prodigious talents, a genius mind, still I can't understand how you can't go beyond your current level."
I shook my head at the emperor, "Unlike the kids you saw today, I only started cultivating less than a year ago."
"Oh, then that explains much. Still, it's such a shame you couldn't cultivate earlier, you'd have rocked waves within the continent of Zhou, I'm sure of it."
"Opportunities present themselves at different times for everyone, my time came late, but I won't complain." I shrugged0
"Good optimistic view, I admire it. Still, back to the real reason why I invited you here. The Seven Peak Mountain Sect is not what you would think." The emperor said.
"Is it a sect that will take any possible chance to either bind me to them or force me to reveal my alchemical knowledge? Is it a sect that will try to enslave me and make me bend the knee, chain my will and freedom? Or is it all of the above?" I said and waited for the emperor's reaction.
His calm steadfast yet grim expressions were all the confirmation I needed.
"If they are such sect, then you don't need to worry, in a world of cultivation, if one is too weak to hoard their knowledge and treasures then they are undeserving of it. I won't bend my knee, even if I have to run to the depths of the earth."
"Hah, good, I have an even greater admiration for you, Shen Bao, you don't scare against the odds."
'If you know about the Primordial Dragon Serpent chasing after me, this Seven Mountain Peaks sect is nothing but a minor nuisance.'
"Still, it would leave a bad taste in my mouth if I were to allow one of my countrymen to go to foreign territory unguarded or at least without a method to save their skin." The emperors said and threw me a talisman.
It was a red talisman filled with thousands of inscriptions.
"This is an escape talisman, it will teleport you a hundred thousand leagues in a random direction. None under the Soul Transformation could ever hope to know where you went, and even those above it will not waste the time it will take to chase after you. Use it when you feel yourself in a bind." The emperor said.
I took the talisman and cupped my hands at the emperor, "Many thanks, I'll make sure to repay the favor, how about I fix that dagger of yours?" I asked.
The emperor smiled, "That talisman is worth an entire kingdom, a mere dagger is of no significant value compared to it, this is a favor I have given, and I expect it to be paid back in the future." The emperor said.
"Then I owe you a favor," I said and placed the talisman in my holding bag.
"What are you planning to do now?" the emperor said.
"Since the Seven Mountain Peaks are expecting me to come to them, I'll need to leave the country of Zhou, I can't cause you trouble."
"Good, sensible, and responsible, thank you." The emperor replied.
"But, before I leave, I'll need a lot of materials, I have some things to make and craft before I ready up to journey to the Seven Mountain Peaks," I replied.
"Then be sure to visit the Imperial Pavilion, I'll leave word with them so you may procure things at reduced costs, if you have any other request mention them to the clerk there and I'll see if I have anything in my personal treasury."
"Many thanks," I said as I cupped my hands again at the emperor and turned to leave.
Then I remembered something, since I already have the talisman in hand, I could just ask.
"Do you know about this?" I asked as I showed the emperor the sect sigil of one of the cultivators that attacked the purple cloud sec.
"Three-Legged Crow. The Dark Yang Sect. Where did you get this?" The emperor asked.
"Do you know about the Purple Cloud Sect?"
"Yes, it's a minor sect within my country, nothing too fancy, but what do they have to do with a fifth-tier sect, this one is even grander than the one you're going to visit." The emperor said."
"This means you don't know yet. The Purple Cloud Sect has been razed to the ground a couple of months ago. Courtesy of this exact sect. Now that I know their name I'm a step closer to my agenda."
"Shen Bao, the Dark Crow Sect isn't something a mere Foundation Establishment can challenge. The mere thought of trying to challenge them will award you with an untimely death." The emperor replied.
"I know, I'm not strong enough yet, and still don't understand the power difference between sects and their tiers. How come you're a Soul Formation cultivator and the only lord over a country. You're comparable to a seventh-tier sect. What makes other sects higher in tier?" I asked.
"Since you already said that you just started cultivating a year ago, this information must have been hidden from you. Simply put, quality and quantity. I alone am the only Soul Formation cultivator in the entirety of Zhou, and with the alliance of a couple of sects, my country is left alone and away from strife. Though I have many sects under me, the highest cultivator among them is barely a Nascent Soul cultivator."
"As for sixth tier sects, a Soul Formation cultivator can only be an elder, and the Sect Master is usually either at the peak of Soul Formation or had taken the first step in the Soul Transformation level. The higher you go, the more you'll need, and just to put it in perspective. An ascendant, can only lord over a fourth-tier sect, such as the Dark Crow sect. But since the planet we're on has barely any saint Qi, most cultivators once they ascend they leave the planet in search for higher planes of existence. Where they'll find Saint Qi and cultivate their Ascendant statues to become higher." The emperor replied.
"Then there are no third-tier sects on this whole planet?" I asked.
The emperor shook his head, " A third-tier sect will need a Saint-level cultivator, something that the whole Qi in this planet cannot provide. However, there is a nearby planet that has the possibility to nurture Saint Qi, it's called Planet Ji-Tian. It's far larger than this planet and has greater resources. That's the destination of most ascendants, none stays here as it will delay their cultivation, and the ones that stayed are acting as big fish in a little pond, bullying the weaker cultivators." The emperor explained.
I nodded, 'Right, but the Poison God mentioned of the existence of Holy Grounds, how many cultivation levels there are? And look at me I'm still stuck in Foundation Establishment while there are so-so many levels up ahead. Damn, I need to step up, or else I'll be mowed down by this whole cheesy power-creep scenario.
"Thank you for your time and explanation, I'll keep it to heart. I'll be heading off right now." I said.
"Godspeed, child, Godspeed."