Sometimes ago, Daoist Blood Pill of the Jade Cauldron, a pill refining sect like the Red and Blue Fire sect, had created the Life Pill technique in order to advance to the fifth mortal coil.
Unfortunately, Daoist Blood Pill had failed in his attempt and eventually died. But before he died, he had set up a trial to give talented people his Life Pill technique as an inheritance.
It seems that after so many years, Daoist Blood Pill's dream would be achieved, and it would be used to help the Blood Skull sect grow stronger. The more Arthur thought about it, the more he believed that it was fitting.
Sword Flash waved to make everyone stop clapping. His face was serious as he said, "Right now, with seven nascent souls, we can produce seven more nascent soul patriarchs. Plus the three of us, that will make ten patriarchs in total."
"Even if I leave, there will still be nine patriarchs in the sect. That is an unprecedented number of nascent soul cultivators in the sect. It is also a number that we can't sustain in our state."
Everyone had been happy to hear that seven people could advance. So they became confused when Sword Flash said that they couldn't sustain it.
They didn't understand what he meant, so he explained it to them.
He said, "Our secret realm is only at rank 4. Normally, it should only supply mana to golden core cultivators. Even then, it has a limit to how many golden core cultivators it can provide mana for at a time. It can't sustain an infinite number of golden core cultivators."
"We are already pressing the secret realm too hard by having a nascent soul cultivator in the secret realm. Each nascent soul cultivator is equivalent to 10 to 85 golden core cultivators. By having three nascent soul patriarchs, we have pushed the secret realm to the limit of how many cultivators it can sustain for cultivation."
"If we add another nascent soul patriarch, the burden on the secret realm will be beyond its limit. I am sure of that because the entire secret realm is not enough for me to cultivate. So a fourth patriarch will cause the supply of mana within the secret to fall below the level that golden core cultivators need to cultivate."
"That's just the effect of four patriarchs in the secret realm. Four patriarchs will make it nearly impossible for the sect to produce golden core cultivators ever again. I'm sure that you imagine how much burden nine nascent soul cultivators will place on the secret realm."
"This is the other reason, apart from the requirement of materials to create the nascent soul pills, why we only have three patriarchs in the sect. If we were hell bent on having more patriarchs, we could have attacked the other sects, killed their patriarchs, and used the nascent souls of their patriarchs to create more patriarchs for ourselves."
"This has always been an option that we have used in times of need. For example, it was used to acquire enough resources for me to advance to the fifth mortal coil. But having a third patriarch has pushed our secret realm to what it can handle. There can't be a fourth patriarch."
With this said, Sword Flash stopped talking. He became silent and gave them time to digest his bad news.
The mood of everyone listening changed from confusion to being sad and downcast after hearing this reason. Even so, many people weren't willing to give up. After all, what was extra lifespan and more power compared to the fact that the sect wouldn't be able to produce more golden core people?
Arthur thought to himself, "And they said I would be the fourth patriarch. Apparently, that's not possible."
Sword Flash spoke again, "So you see now why any patriarch that advances to the sixth mortal coil must leave the sect. Even if they want to stay, this place won't have them because there isn't enough mana to sustain them."
He twirled the seven crystals in his hand and said, "If I leave, only one of you can become the patriarch of the sect. It goes without saying that this person is going to be Void Claw. He is the oldest, most prepared, and the strongest of all of you. So he gets to advance first."
"If Void Claw fails to advance and dies, Pink Ivy will go next. But if Void Claw succeeds, you guys will have to wait for Evergreen to die. She is an old hag, but it will still require a couple of centuries before she reaches the end of her lifespan. She should die 200 to 500 years from now."
Lady Evergreen snorted in anger when she heard this. At any other time, she might have spoken up to argue with Sword Flash. But for an obvious reason, she kept her mouth shut and limited herself to expressing her dissatisfaction with what he called her by snorting.
As for everyone else listening, they became distressed to hear that they would need to wait for 200 to 500 years before they could have another chance to advance. By then, over half of them would be dead.
Arthur wasn't distressed because he had enough time and could wait. Besides, when he reaches the peak of the fourth mortal coil, he is sure that he can acquire the resources he needs to advance on his own. So he didn't care much about this situation.
But the other golden core cultivators, especially the older ones, were already contemplating the things they could do to advance. What was on their mind now was the possibility of leaving the sect and going upstream if they successfully advanced to the fifth mortal coil. This is so that they won't put too much burden on the sect's secret realm.
Sword Flash said, "I know what you guys are thinking. But things haven't reached that stage yet. There is still a way out."