Cards on the Table

High above the Nine Heavens. From within the Immortal Alliance and the Wuji Astral Palace, as many as six Radiant Sun Golden Cores stepped away from the stabilizing formations on which their survival depended and surged into the starry cosmos. Li Hanqiu naturally could not turn a blind eye to this sight. Rising to his feet, he set out to intercept them. Yet the moment he appeared, four of the six figures rushing into the depths of space broke away from the group and moved to intercept him instead. After only moments of traversing the void, the two sides met. "Master Li, please halt," said Lu Xi, the leading Golden Core cultivator of the Immortal Alliance, taking a step forward. "Master Li owes our Immortal Alliance an explanation for what happened ten years ago." "An explanation? What sort of explanation do you want? Was that matter ten years ago not already put to rest? What, do you plan to use a single incident to repeatedly extort my Nine Cauldrons Sect? Does the Immortal Alliance have even a shred of credibility left as a great sect? Any moral standing at all? Or... do you truly believe our Nine Cauldrons Sect will simply endure your Immortal Alliance's bullying without striking back?" Li Hanqiu said coldly. "Heh. For the Nine Cauldrons Sect to announce Yaoguang's cultivation base at this juncture—is it not merely to inform the world that your sect now possesses a second apex powerhouse, and thus ought to wield greater influence in our Cangwu Great World? But just because he publicized his strength does not mean we are obliged to take it at face value. Exactly what he amounts to must be tested firsthand before it counts," said Qiao An, a Golden Core cultivator from the Wuji Astral Palace, with a faint smile. "Tested? What kind of test requires deploying two Golden Cores?!" Li Hanqiu said heavily. "If it were only Miller from the Immortal Alliance, I would not lift a finger to stop him. Yaoguang would gladly announce to the world his place at the apex through a battle with that Radiant Sun Golden Core. But now you have Miller and Zhan Ke acting together, using numbers to bully the few? Do the Wuji Astral Palace and the Immortal Alliance possess no shame?" He swept his sleeve sharply. "Step aside at once! Otherwise, do not blame me for showing no mercy! When the world shatters from our battle, you will be the greatest sinners of the Cangwu Great World!" "The world shatters? Li Hanqiu, you have had those words on your lips every day for years. You may not tire of saying them, but we are sick of hearing them." Lu Xi's expression turned fierce. "Come, then. I would love to see just how you intend to shatter this world. But let me tell you this: if anything happens to you, this Golden Core, your Nine Cauldrons Sect's heritage... can forget about surviving." Just then, two more streaks of light hurtled in from the distant horizon. The energy pouring from the Golden Cores within them was vast and mighty, illuminating hundreds of thousands of li around them. Even amidst the deep, desolate silence of the cosmos, they blazed with dazzling brilliance. "It's Ye Lin and Fu Long from the Myriad Beasts Sect." The Golden Cores of the Immortal Alliance and the Wuji Astral Palace instantly identified the auras of the newcomers. Arriving alongside the two Golden Cores was the formidable divine mind of Ye Lisha, a Dharma Idol cultivator from the Myriad Beasts Sect, which rang out ahead of them: "The Immortal Alliance and the Wuji Astral Palace remain as tyrannical as ever! You have not even unified the Cangwu Great World, yet you are already oppressing its other factions—even demanding that Radiant Sun Golden Cores bow to your whims? Once you unify the Cangwu Great World in the future, will everyone, including us Golden Cores, have to jump at your command and be ordered about like servants?" Her burst of divine mind held nothing back, virtually amounting to an open denunciation within the Virtual Spirit Realm. In truth, when seven Radiant Sun Golden Cores from the Immortal Alliance, the Wuji Astral Palace, and the Nine Cauldrons Sect consecutively stepped out of the formations that stabilized their cores, they had already drawn the gaze of every major faction. At this moment, cultivators watching this stretch of the cosmos were not limited to the Immortal Alliance, the Wuji Astral Palace, the Nine Cauldrons Sect, and the Myriad Beasts Sect. Factions such as the Taiyin Sect, the Fatian Pavilion, the Golden Divine Temple, the Brahma Divine Kingdom, the Brahma Cult, and the Taiyi Cult were likewise focusing their attention on this celestial expanse. If they truly acted with unreasonable tyranny, it would indeed risk driving many factions that originally admired their might straight into opposition. Realizing this, Qiao An hurriedly stepped forward. "Everything our Wuji Astral Palace and the Immortal Alliance do is solely for the peaceful development of the Cangwu Great World. It is merely that Master Li Hanqiu threatens to shatter heaven and earth the moment things do not go his way. Such conduct—constantly holding the hundreds of millions of living beings across the Cangwu Great World hostage—is simply too intolerable. Patriarch Lu Xi's tone was only somewhat harsh because of that. If Master Li Hanqiu can promise never again to throw around threats of destroying the Cangwu Great World, we are willing to make concessions." Li Hanqiu immediately saw through the malice behind Qiao An's words. "The ones who bring instability to the Cangwu Great World have never been our Nine Cauldrons Sect, but you—the Wuji Astral Palace and the Immortal Alliance! Why was I forced into that corner last time? Was it not because the Immortal Alliance pressed us aggressively? And the time before that, the Wuji Astral Palace sailed a sky-patrol warship straight into the heart of my Nine Cauldrons Sect's territory! What, was I not even permitted to fight back under those circumstances?" He waved his sleeve forcefully. "As long as the Immortal Alliance and the Wuji Astral Palace pledge never again to encroach upon the territory of any faction, I, Li Hanqiu, will shut my doors and dutifully stabilize my Golden Core inside my palace! Can your Immortal Alliance and Wuji Astral Palace promise that?" "Our Wuji Astral Palace merely spreads the gospel of freedom to those sects, protecting their ordinary people from internal oppression. Could it be that the Nine Cauldrons Sect can watch oppression and slaughter happen within other sects and remain completely indifferent? In standing idly by, where is your sense of responsibility as a major power?" "Oppression and slaughter? Which sect's internal oppression and slaughter could compare to yours? Do not forget that the Liusha Sect remains a field of ruins to this day, and countless families were torn apart in the Black Feather Sect because of the Wuji Astral Palace's intervention. Your Wuji Astral Palace has no right to speak such words!" Li Hanqiu countered without the slightest mercy. By this point, the two Golden Cores Ye Lin and Fu Long had arrived. "Master Li speaks the truth. The Wuji Astral Palace and the Immortal Alliance are the greatest sources of instability in the Cangwu Great World," Fu Long proclaimed loudly. "Does Master intend to fight them? The two of us can easily hold back two of their Golden Cores. As for the remaining two, they surely cannot stop you, can they? You will have plenty of time to go reinforce Master Yaoguang." Li Hanqiu glanced at this Golden Core elder of the Myriad Beasts Sect. Clearly, the Myriad Beasts Sect was assisting the Nine Cauldrons Sect only because they were compelled to gather every possible ally against the pressure exerted by the Immortal Alliance and the Wuji Astral Palace. Deep down, they wished for nothing more than to see Li Hanqiu battle the Golden Cores of the Wuji Astral Palace and the Immortal Alliance to the death. Ideally, Li Hanqiu would perish together with one or two of them. He raised his head and looked toward Planet 6713 at the far reaches of the cosmos. Two Radiant Sun Golden Cores... This was already the best outcome arrived at after weighing the pros and cons among the three factions. After all, both sides had reached a tacit understanding on this matter. Moreover, judging from what Yaoguang had said earlier, he should have the strength to handle two Golden Cores. Even setting victory aside, if he could merely withstand their assault and pull off the magnificent feat of facing two alone, the Nine Cauldrons Sect would undoubtedly reclaim the glory of the Ten Great Immortal Sects of old and be formally recognized as the seventh top-tier immortal sect of the Cangwu League! At this thought, Li Hanqiu let out a cold snort. "Words are useless. In the end, do you not simply want to see Yaoguang's true strength? Then watch!" Fu Long and Ye Lin felt a touch of disappointment, but they could say nothing more. The Golden Cores of the Immortal Alliance and the Wuji Astral Palace exchanged smiles and directed their gazes toward Planet 6713. What followed would be a contest of means between the three Golden Cores. *** On the desolate Planet 6713. Yaoguang was calmly refining the planetary core energy he had just absorbed. Sensing the two Golden Cores rapidly closing in, he looked up slightly, his formidable divine mind arriving before them in advance. "You have arrived." This astounding reach of divine mind caused Miller of the Immortal Alliance to sink slightly in his heart. On the surface, however, he revealed nothing, his face hardening with severe authority. "Yaoguang, ten years ago at Dengxian Tower..." "Enough. Spare me the superfluous nonsense. I know very well what you intend to do, and you understand full well why I am waiting for you here. That being so..." As Yaoguang spoke, his immense Star God body gradually contracted, shifting into a form optimal for combat. "What are you waiting for?" Hearing Yaoguang's blunt words, Miller and Zhan Ke exchanged a glance. "Since you refuse to see reason, we shall grant your wish." The next instant, the Golden Cores within them began to turn, releasing horrifying amounts of energy. Because they could not precisely control the utilization of every fraction of energy within their Golden Cores, the majority of the power leaked outward during its rotation. The outward manifestation of this was that both men instantly transformed into terrifying fireballs spanning tens of thousands—or even hundreds of thousands—of meters in diameter. Blinding white radiance mingled with temperatures reaching tens or hundreds of millions of degrees radiated ceaselessly from them, producing light and heat that defied direct gaze. Had this form been unleashed within the Cangwu Great World, merely displaying it would suffice to boil oceans and incinerate the sky, reducing any being below the Golden Core realm to ash. Yet to them, this was nothing more than energy dissipating from the turning of their Golden Cores. As the rotation of their Golden Cores reached the limits of what their bodies could endure, Miller, bathed in blazing flames and searing light, suddenly clenched his empty hand forward. Six rings of light manifested before him. The ring closest to him was merely ten thousand meters across, while the farthest stretched to a diameter of one hundred thousand meters. "Six Suns Divine Sword! Cleave!" Triggered by his divine mind, a sword ray pierced out from his Golden Core, passing through these rings of light and undergoing layered amplification. With each ring it traversed, the sword ray strengthened by a degree, and the high temperature it emitted grew all the more scorching. By the time it cleared all six rings of light, not only had the sword ray expanded to a staggering diameter of thirty thousand meters, but the temperature and terrifying condensation of energy contained within it had reached a level capable of instantly piercing through and shattering an entire planet. Swoosh! Brilliant light dazzled the heavens. A colossal sword of light thirty thousand meters wide pierced through the cosmos at near-light speed, shooting straight toward Yaoguang a million li away. At such terrifying speed, spanning the distance of a million li between them required less than two seconds. And in those less than two seconds, Yaoguang had already completed his preparations. The brilliance radiating from his external core was not in the least inferior to Miller's. Furthermore... A pillar of energy remarkably similar to the Six Suns Divine Sword surged out, piercing through the sea of stars to meet the attack head-on. Yes, head-on. Without the slightest delay, evasion, maneuvering, or dodging. Relying directly on the sheer might of this Crimson Golden Core, he clashed against it head-on.