The Truth

Blinding light visible to the naked eye flared across the starry cosmos. The instant Yaoguang collided with the planet, cobweb-like fractures spiderwebbed across the point of impact. Countless chasms—spanning several li, tens of li, and dozens of li wide—tore open across the surface of the earth, spreading outward at an inconceivable speed to reach thousands or even tens of thousands of li in length. This terrifying breadth and depth directly ripped through the planet's crust and mantle, causing surging magma to erupt from within. In the blink of an eye, the entire planet turned into a fissure-riddled ball of fire. Yet... That was not all. As the concussive force of the impact continued to propagate, the planet's magma and liquid layers were completely torn apart, shattering and spewing outward. Countless rocks, mountain peaks, and even continental plates weighing millions, tens of millions, or hundreds of millions of tons were ripped from the planet under this horrifying impact, hurled into the high skies, and blasted out into space. And as this outer matter crumbled inch by inch and peeled away piece by piece, stripped of its surface shroud, the planet finally exposed what lay deep within—its planetary core, thousands of li in diameter, radiating dazzling brilliance, virtually the essence of the entire planet. "The true essence of this planet," Yaoguang murmured with deep feeling. Yet what moved him even more was that, at this moment, relying solely on his own strength, he had forcefully shattered an entire planet. A planet sixty thousand li in diameter—larger than the world he had inhabited in his previous life. Even though he had previously controlled the Zhenhai Institute and could effortlessly unleash sword light capable of tearing through thousands of li of land, wielding planetary destructive might as well, the awe of borrowing others' strength could not be compared to the present feat of shattering a planet with his bare Star God body... They simply were not on the same level. "It turns out... I've already grown this powerful," Yaoguang thought to himself. From a mortal body of flesh and blood unable to withstand a mere bullet, he had cultivated step by step, growing until he could physically shatter a planet with the raw might of his divine body. Recalling his days at the third tier of body refining back in the Yaoguang Realm, he could not help but feel as though it had all happened only yesterday. If his current self were to look at who he was back then... Would there be any difference from looking at an ant that could be crushed to death at any moment? No! The disparity was far greater than that between a human and an ant! If he could easily shatter this planet sixty thousand li across, he could just as easily shatter the entire Yaoguang Realm. And in shattering the Yaoguang Realm, grandmasters and Martial Saints at the third or fourth tier of body refining—figures like his past self—would likely fail to elicit even a second glance from him. "Terrifying," Yaoguang muttered softly. Such power... Was truly terrifying. "If I were to kill who I was back then, I wouldn't even... feel a thing, because I wouldn't know, wouldn't care, wouldn't pay it any heed... Though what I've destroyed right now is an uninhabited, desolate planet, could there come a day when some other powerful being, seeking a high-quality planetary core, disregards the life and civilization that have flourished on a world, rips away its planetary crust just as I have, and wrenches out the core directly?" Maintaining his Star God body, Yaoguang reached out and took hold of the planetary core. He turned his gaze back toward the Cangwu Great World. It had to be said that thanks to the existence of the Virtual Spirit Realm, combined with the fact that the top immortal sects of the Cangwu Great World all aimed to unify Cangwu and needed to maintain their public standing, they had to consider their reputation and face before acting. Consequently, scenes of high-ranking cultivators indiscriminately slaughtering ordinary mortals were exceedingly rare. Yet in worlds where communication was primitive, where ordinary mortals and low-level cultivators had little access to information... High-ranking cultivators could truly do whatever they pleased. "Morals? Laws? Conscience? They simply do not exist!" Yaoguang took a deep breath. "Because to high-ranking cultivators, ordinary people and low-level cultivators are no longer the same species. Let alone Star Gods and mortals—even between Star Lords or Foundation Establishment cultivators and ordinary mortals, there is already an impassable species barrier... Does a human feel guilt when pouring boiling water over an ant nest? Does society condemn them morally?" In this moment, he reached a brand-new realization regarding the concept of "life." Only individuals on the same plane would view one another as "living beings" deserving of respect. All these years, the "personal safety" he had constantly pursued was, in truth... To prevent a day from coming when someone, just like he had destroyed this planet today, destroyed another world harboring life and civilization. And he... Would be on that world, lacking even the qualifications to earn a single glance from them. Hum! He activated the Star Devouring Technique. The energy within the planetary core was drawn forth in an endless stream, pouring into Yaoguang's Star God body. As the one hundred and eight major acupoints of his body radiated starlight in unison, the four nearest acupoints in his hands were gradually filled. Without other high-energy resources to aid his cultivation, refining a planetary core through this clumsy method became the only way for a Star God to fill their acupoints. ... One day later, Yaoguang sensed that the planetary core's radiance had dimmed slightly... "A bit slower than I anticipated. It will take roughly a month to a month and a half to digest this core," he calculated. The core of a planet sixty thousand li in diameter was not even enough to completely fill a single acupoint. The capacity of one acupoint... Would likely require the core of a planet spanning over a hundred thousand li across. The exact amount depended on the quality of that planet's core. "It must be because I'm not yet accustomed to the process. My Star Devouring Technique is at the realm of perfection, ten times faster at refining planetary cores than other Star Gods. For another Star God... relying on this crude method without a secret technique's amplification, refining a single major star's core would take well over a year. Simply filling the one hundred and eight acupoints of a third-order Star God would take over a century." The sheer scale of this number stirred a sigh from him. "To fill all one thousand and eighty acupoints would take thousands of years... and that's only filling them, without even factoring in the time required to open the acupoints. Otherwise, merely cultivating to a fifth-order Star God body would likely take one to two millennia." Cultivating a fifth-order Star God body took one to two millennia. What about spirit refining to perfection in the Dharma Idol realm? And what about qi refining's Golden Core? All of them required time. Although Core Formation cultivators under the Beihai Star cultivation system enjoyed a longer lifespan of up to a thousand years compared to the Golden Core cultivators of the Cangwu Great World, a millennium was clearly far from enough for these cultivators to advance further—to step into the Void Cavern realm, where one could warp the passage of time upon oneself and claim "boundless longevity." Under circumstances where a thousand years was insufficient to reach the Void Cavern realm, in order to attain it and become true almighty figures... They inevitably had to rely on external aids. Namely, precious cultivation resources. Thus, it was not difficult to deduce that the competitive environment in the cultivation world of Beihai Star was likely far fiercer than that of the Cangwu Realm. "No matter. There are still ten or twenty years left. When that group of cultivators from Beihai Star returns in a decade or two and I understand the situation there, it won't be too late to decide. If Beihai Star truly is fiercely competitive and fraught with lethal peril, I can simply remain in the Cangwu Realm. With my realm and the perfection of my Star Devouring Technique, in two or three centuries I can easily pile on enough progress to reach the Void Cavern realm." Yaoguang contemplated quietly. Although a Void Cavern cultivator on Beihai Star was not equivalent to the pinnacle of a world like a Radiant Sun Golden Core in the Cangwu Realm, every Void Cavern expert was an almighty being in their own right. Even if they couldn't rival a world-destroying Radiant Sun Golden Core, they were likely on par with the Crimson Golden Core tier. ... Just as Yaoguang was refining the planetary core, the Nine Cauldrons Sect suddenly announced a piece of news: "In light of the outstanding contributions made by Yaoguang, Deputy Hall Master of the Mystic Formation Hall, Deputy Hall Master of the Artifact Refining Hall, and Deputy Hall Master of the Heritage Hall, through unanimous agreement at the high-level council of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, Master Yaoguang is hereby promoted to the Supreme Elder Council, becoming the Nine Cauldrons Sect's second Supreme Elder after Master Li." This was the official announcement. It was relatively brief. Beneath it lay a basic introduction to Yaoguang. And among these details... The most eye-catching was the description of his cultivation. A tripartite cultivation of body, qi, and spirit. A Star God in body refining, a Crimson Golden Core in qi refining, and a Dharma Idol in spirit refining! When these details were made public, let alone other factions, countless high-ranking members within the Nine Cauldrons Sect itself felt their heads spin in utter bewilderment. Qin Yi, Bailu, Dong Liushui, Xu Kong, and Zhao He—those well-acquainted with Yaoguang—immediately sought out Yaoguang's "personal guard," Tang Fenghua. "Star God? Crimson Golden Core? Dharma Idol? What is going on?! A new Golden Core has emerged in the Cangwu Great World?!" "Wasn't Hall Master Yaoguang's Dharma Idol achieved only by borrowing that supreme treasure, the Origin Realm, and relying on the Heavenly Dao Alone formation? This Dharma Idol... is real?!" "Tripartite cultivation of body, qi, and spirit, and he has cultivated all three paths to the pinnacle? Is this still the Hall Master Yaoguang I know?" One question and doubt after another came tumbling out the moment they saw Tang Fenghua, who followed Yaoguang constantly and was bound to know the inside story. "Calm down, everyone." Tang Fenghua looked at them, chuckling as he pressed his hands down in a calming gesture. "I know what you want to ask. Now that the news has been released, I can naturally answer all your questions. This information is real. Master Yaoguang broke through to the Dharma Idol realm long ago, subsequently forged an external core, and elevated his physique to the Star God realm." "It's actually true..." Bailu wore a dazed expression. "All of this was accomplished ten years ago. Do you remember the attack on the Immortal Alliance's Dengxian Tower headquarters ten years back? In that battle, a mysterious Golden Core and a mysterious Dharma Idol appeared simultaneously..." Tang Fenghua paused and gave a knowing smile. "You should be able to guess who that was." "It was... really him?" "So that means... the Immortal Alliance didn't falsely accuse us after all?" Dong Liushui and Xu Kong murmured. As for Qin Yi, the Star Lord who had been in contact with Yaoguang the earliest, his expression turned rather bizarre. "So all these years, we Star Lords, Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Origin Spirits have been acting as personal bodyguards to a top-tier Master who combines the might of a Star God, Golden Core, and Dharma Idol all in one?! Good heavens, they certainly thought highly of us, didn't they?" "Haha, it was merely an expedient measure at the time to prevent dangers that might arise from Master Yaoguang prematurely exposing himself before his strength was fully consolidated," Tang Fenghua replied with a chuckle. Hearing this, Bailu had a sudden realization. "Then revealing this news now means..." Tang Fenghua nodded, his expression turning solemn. "Master Yaoguang—and our Nine Cauldrons Sect itself—already possesses ample power to protect ourselves!" Saying this, he could not help but turn his head, his gaze seeming to pierce across the vast ocean and empty void toward far distant horizons. "I am truly curious to see how those factions that targeted and suppressed us back then will react once they learn Master Yaoguang's true strength."