To ordinary mortals, a year could be considered a long time.
Yet to Core Formation cultivators who had formed their internal cores and enjoyed a lifespan of a thousand years, it was nothing.
Though it had been merely a short year, the Jiuxiao Sect—reformed from the Nine Cauldrons Sect—had completely settled down in the eastern reaches of the Yunchuan Mountains.
Because the Jiuxiao Sect had displayed terrifying martial prowess when annihilating the Yunxiao Sword Sect, the other hegemon-level factions in the Yunchuan Mountains dared not provoke them lightly. Some even sent emissaries, offering to yield a portion of their interests in exchange for mutual peace.
In need of rest and consolidation, the Jiuxiao Sect did not refuse.
Under these circumstances, over the course of the year, the Jiuxiao Sect brought in no fewer than a hundred Pure Yang Great Pills.
Half of these hundred Pure Yang Great Pills were consumed by Yaoguang alone. Some of the rest were given to the twenty-four newly selected disciples who were being cultivated as true disciples.
The remaining dozens of pills were exchanged for other resources to thoroughly overhaul the grand defensive formation left behind by the Yunxiao Sword Sect.
With this completely revamped mountain-protecting grand formation, overseen by Xu Nianhua, Fang Yueming, and others who had broken through to the Heavenly Fire realm, it could hold out for quite some time even if attacked by a Radiant Sun Golden Core.
And a Radiant Sun Golden Core...
was essentially the pinnacle of combat power in the Yunchuan Mountains.
...
Inside the workshop.
*Crack!*
Accompanied by a soft sound, the final spirit treasure met its end in ruin.
"It's over."
Yaoguang withdrew his gaze with a touch of regret.
Yet when he turned his eyes to the other three treasures beside him, a smile surfaced once more.
The Swimming Dragon Sword.
The Boundary-Crossing Ruler.
The Heaven Sealing Stele.
Over the past year, he had exhausted all his spirit treasures and materials, crafting a total of two top-tier spirit treasures and one Dao artifact.
Moreover, compared to other top-tier spirit treasures, the Swimming Dragon Sword and the Boundary-Crossing Ruler possessed immense spirituality and profound foundations, giving them a significantly higher probability of advancing to Dao artifacts.
If the chance of other spirit treasures successfully "attaining the Dao" was less than one percent, these two treasures had at least a thirty percent chance.
Of course, thirty percent was still somewhat low.
However, he was about to set off for the East Sea Immortal Market, where he could purchase more top-tier materials. He could then use artifact-refining arts and spirit-nurturing arts to temper these materials into the two spirit treasures, enhancing their spirituality and Dao charm to increase their odds of attaining the Dao.
"Under my deliberate guidance, the Swimming Dragon Sword developed toward spatial cleaving. Furthermore, the ripples created by severing the void are precisely captured by the Boundary-Crossing Ruler, which relies on void ripples to traverse space. The synergy between the two is exceptionally high, and combined with my Child of the Void talent, the three achieve an effect where one plus one plus one is far greater than three."
Mid-analysis, he glanced at the Heaven Sealing Stele in his hand.
This was a Dao artifact capable of sealing off an area of space, creating a temporary miniature world.
It was specifically designed for trapping and binding.
It fell into the category of life-preserving treasures.
When necessary, it could also envelop an opponent within the sealed space, preventing them from fleeing upon realizing they were outmatched.
"They are all Dao artifacts geared toward the Dao of the Void... The primary reason for this is naturally the influence of my Child of the Void trait. Through it, my sensitivity to the void is not inferior even to a genuine Void Piercing Perfected Lord..."
Yaoguang estimated that if this trend continued, even before reaching the Void Piercing realm—while merely an Azure Golden Core, or perhaps even an Incandescent White Golden Core—he would likely be able to forge Dao artifacts that ordinarily only Void Piercing realm artifact masters could craft.
Naturally, this was limited to the category of the Great Dao of the Void.
"I've exhausted all the spirit treasures and materials without any extra gains, but fortunately... my cultivation is nearly ready."
Saying this, Yaoguang produced a porcelain bottle and tipped out all three remaining Pure Yang Great Pills.
Without hesitation, he swallowed all three pills in one breath.
The three Pure Yang Great Pills entered his body, transforming into energy far purer than spiritual energy and causing the fission fire within him to burn furiously.
When the flames were compressed to their limit, their internal state abruptly shifted.
Under intense temperature and pressure, the atomic nuclei underwent not only fission reactions, but began to fuse, radiating a brilliance akin to that of a stellar sun.
This light...
"Constant Light realm," Yaoguang murmured inwardly.
It was natural, a course that flowed where water carved its channel.
There was virtually no hindrance.
Once the high temperatures and pressures forged by the fission fire within his body reached their threshold, he simply stepped into the domain of Constant Light. The true origin inside him transitioned from a fission state into a fusion state, releasing vastly greater energy.
"Next is achieving the Crimson Golden Core," Yaoguang said.
To him, this presented no real challenge either.
It was merely a matter of accumulating volume.
Judging by his efficiency in consuming Pure Yang Great Pills during this period...
"Roughly a thousand Pure Yang Great Pills should be enough to complete the energy accumulation from the early Constant Light realm to the peak of the Constant Light realm, reaching the threshold required to condense a Crimson Golden Core," Yaoguang concluded.
As for the four tiers of Golden Cores, the energy required essentially multiplied tenfold for each level: ten thousand Pure Yang Great Pills could take someone from early Crimson Golden Core to peak Crimson Golden Core, a hundred thousand to peak Radiant Sun Golden Core, and a million to peak Incandescent White Golden Core.
And for him, reaching the peak of a realm—the threshold for a breakthrough—was tantamount to breaking through.
In other words, about a thousand Pure Yang Great Pills would suffice for him to condense a Crimson Golden Core.
Having broken through, he made no deliberate effort to seek others out in celebration, choosing instead to continue consolidating his condition.
Half a month later, he sensed ripples of Li Hanqiu's divine sense.
"Is the decennial auction at the East Sea Immortal Market about to begin?"
Yaoguang stepped out of his cultivation chamber at once.
Outside the peak, Li Hanqiu was already waiting.
"Did I disrupt your cultivation?" Li Hanqiu asked with a smile.
"Not at all." Yaoguang looked at him. "Fully refined?"
"I refined the Void Disk three months ago, and completely refined the Realm Stabilizing Ring a month ago."
As Li Hanqiu spoke, he opened his palm, and the Void Disk materialized before expanding directly to ten meters in diameter.
Though expanding to a ten-meter diameter was an application of spatial manipulation, not the slightest Dao charm of the Great Dao of the Void leaked during the process. Even if a Void Piercing powerhouse were to examine it closely, they would likely mistake it for merely a top-tier spirit treasure.
"In that case, let us depart," Yaoguang said.
"Do you need to make any preparations?"
"I am already prepared."
"Then we shall depart quietly. I have already instructed Li Qingshan that utmost caution must be maintained in the coming days. As for us, we will secure enough Pure Yang Great Pills as swiftly as possible and return to the sect with all speed."
With that, Li Hanqiu brought Yaoguang onto the Void Disk.
He glanced down at the Jiuxiao Sect below...
With both of them leaving, the Jiuxiao Sect was at its most vulnerable; a single Radiant Sun Golden Core would be enough to uproot the entire sect.
Yet the two of them had no choice but to undertake this trip.
He could only hope everything went smoothly and that they could make a swift return.
...
Time was pressing.
Li Hanqiu did not hold back in the slightest as he traveled with Yaoguang.
To avoid exposing the Void Disk prematurely and arousing suspicion, he did not activate the Dao artifact's void traversal.
Yet as a Void Piercing powerhouse riding the spatial ripples in flight, he maintained a speed of thirty li per second even against Beihai Star's "spiritual energy drag."
In less than half an hour, he had flown out of Yunchuan and crossed into the territory of the Great Shang Celestial Dynasty.
However, rather than plunging deep into Great Shang territory, they skirted the border, crossing several prefectures in succession as they headed straight toward Donghai Prefecture.
True to its name, Donghai Prefecture was a vast prefecture dominated by open ocean, home to hundreds of islands large and small. The East Sea Immortal Market was hosted on the prefecture's third-largest island.
After three days of travel covering millions of li, a massive island spanning over a thousand li in diameter appeared before Yaoguang and Li Hanqiu.
Though not the provincial capital of Donghai Prefecture, its commerce was even more prosperous than that of the capital.
As the two drew near, they could clearly see countless palaces, pavilions, and courtyards across the island.
Core Formation cultivators rode flying swords through the sky, darting to and fro.
Below, massive ships laden with regional specialties from Donghai Prefecture and neighboring prefectures plied the waters between the sprawling islands.
With the decennial auction drawing near, Radiant Sun Golden Core experts—ordinarily a rare sight—became commonplace during this period.
Some Golden Cores of noble standing even rode dragon-horses or dragon-eagles, galloping through the sky with such grandeur that countless onlookers stared in awe.
"We've arrived at the East Sea Immortal Market," Li Hanqiu said, checking the time. "Two days early."
From his tone, Yaoguang knew that every day spent here meant another day the Jiuxiao Sect remained in peril.
"It doesn't matter. If there is danger, Sect Master Li will send us word. If we fully activate the Void Disk for void traversal, it won't take long to return. Besides, we will be delayed here for ten days to half a month at most. Being away for such a brief spell won't just happen to coincide with someone plotting against the Jiuxiao Sect."
Yaoguang spoke up to reassure him.
Li Hanqiu chuckled, knowing he was being a bit overly anxious.
He glanced down at the many palaces, pavilions, and shops shrouded under various formations, asking, "Shall we have a look?"
"No need. With our current wealth, we can't afford anything of real value anyway. We might as well wait until after the auction, when we have time, and return under another identity."
Yaoguang pondered for a moment before adding, "Great Shang's bounty board was updated two months ago. I'll go collect a copy."
"Let me go," Li Hanqiu said. "Your strength is not lacking, but your realm is too low. The people distributing the bounty board might not hand one out to you for free, and you can hardly go about displaying your full strength everywhere you go."
"That works too."
As Yaoguang spoke, he took out two spirit-treasure-grade masks.
The concealing effect of these two masks was not particularly subtle; once worn, not to mention a Void Piercing cultivator, even an Azure Golden Core could tell they were disguised.
However, detecting a disguise was one thing; seeing through the spirit treasure to discern their true identities was quite another.
Moreover, during the East Sea Immortal Market's auction, people seeking to conceal their identities were hardly uncommon. Knowing full well someone was deliberately hiding their identity, few would go out of their way to invite trouble by trying to pry beneath the mask.
Li Hanqiu went to the immortal market's government office and revealed a sliver of his aura as a Void Piercing powerhouse, prompting someone to promptly come out and greet him in person.
Upon hearing his request, the official swiftly presented him with a copy of the bounty board.
Shortly thereafter, it even alerted an influential figure in the office. Sensing that Li Hanqiu's aura was unfamiliar, the official politely inquired whether Li Hanqiu had any interest in joining the Great Shang Celestial Dynasty.
Upon learning that Li Hanqiu was not from the region and had merely come to join the excitement after hearing about the auction, the official immediately handed over a VIP invitation to the immortal market's auction.
Yaoguang remained completely silent at the side.
The official's gaze did not linger on him either.
Once the two left the government office, Yaoguang could not help but remark, "In all of Beihai Star, only by achieving a Crimson Golden Core does one carry even a bit of weight, while a Radiant Sun Golden Core can be called making a name for oneself. But if one truly wishes to earn universal respect, nothing short of Void Piercing will do."
"I am only putting on airs by disguising myself as a 'Void Piercing' cultivator with your secret technique," Li Hanqiu said. "If the officials in that office knew I wasn't a genuine Void Piercing expert, but merely a Void Piercing Battle Immortal, they might not have treated me nearly as well."
"The treatment of a Void Piercing Battle Immortal can't match a genuine Void Piercing cultivator, but it shouldn't be that far off," Yaoguang said.
"It is vastly different. Toward a genuine Void Piercing cultivator, people show sincere respect and deference, not daring to be neglectful in the slightest. But toward a Void Piercing Battle Immortal... they are merely giving face. In plain terms, they don't bother squabbling with a dead man; it's all superficial politeness. Once an actual conflict of interest arises, those Azure Golden Cores will certainly dare to jump out and point right at a Void Piercing Battle Immortal's nose, sneering: who do you think you are?"
Shaking his head, Li Hanqiu did not pursue the subject further.
He unfurled the bounty board, his gaze landing immediately upon the very top of the list.
Gu Zhenyi, Alliance Leader of the Black Fire Alliance. Age: six hundred twenty-two. Achieved the Azure Golden Core. Possesses three supreme divine abilities and nine great divine abilities. Peak combat power: 1.09 million.
Bounty amount: 650,000 Pure Yang Great Pills.
Chapter 276