Strength

The Jiuxiao Sect. The Yunxiao Sword Sect they had occupied was originally a power overseen by only a Radiant Sun Golden Core, on the same level as the Xuanguang Sect and the Tianshui Pavilion. Only after Long Wuyin broke through to the Incandescent White Golden Core realm did it begin destroying the Xuanguang Sect, expelling the Tianshui Pavilion, and bringing about the unification of the region east of Yunchuan. Although the war of unification had ended in victory, the Yunxiao Sword Sect's foundation was ultimately still shallow, and in many respects it had not yet transcended the scope of a Golden Core-level sect. At the very least, Long Wuyin's cultivation chamber was also at the Golden Core level, unable to fully conceal the might of an Incandescent White Golden Core. Under these circumstances, as Yaoguang's Golden Core broke through once more, its internal pressure, temperature, and volume soaring to a brand-new peak, the phantom silhouette of a great sun spanning dozens of li enveloped the sky above the Jiuxiao Sect. Incandescent white light swirled across the phantom sun. Even though it was merely the leakage and projection of residual power, it still emanated clearly visible intense light and scorching heat, instantly startling the many cultivators across the Jiuxiao Sect awake. "Is that... a Golden Core?! With such volume, such luster... an Incandescent White Golden Core?!" The first to notice something amiss was Fang Yueming, who was the most vigilant and keen to external shifts, conscientiously serving the Jiuxiao Sect. Looking at this phantom projection spanning dozens of li around, his eyes filled with disbelief. "An Incandescent White Golden Core?! It's actually an Incandescent White Golden Core!" Li Hanqiu's figure manifested immediately afterward. Years ago, when Yaoguang had borrowed the cultivation chamber from him, he had guessed that Yaoguang was about to make a push for the Radiant Sun Golden Core realm. Little did he expect... He had actually given him yet another tremendous surprise. What he had pushed for was not some Radiant Sun Golden Core at all, but an Incandescent White Golden Core! An Incandescent White Golden Core that had nearly a ten percent chance even when pushing for the Void Piercing Realm! Put into an organization on the tier of the Ten Immortal Sects like the Taiyi Immortal Sect, it would even qualify one to compete for the status of a true disciple! Ten years! From the time they left the Cangwu Great World until now, a mere ten years had passed, yet Yaoguang had actually risen four tiers straight from a Heavenly Fire realm cultivator to break through to the Incandescent White Golden Core realm! This speed, this growth, this talent... "Good! Good! Good!" Li Hanqiu could not help letting out a hearty, boisterous laugh. "This is truly wonderful! Our Jiuxiao Sect has an Incandescent White Golden Core!" Not just him—Li Qingshan, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, was equally filled with excitement and joy. "An Incandescent White Golden Core! An Incandescent White Golden Core that qualifies one to compete for true disciple even in top-tier great sects!" Li Qingshan laughed aloud. Over these ten years, because the entire Jiuxiao Sect had received tens of thousands of Pure Yang Great Pills, everyone in the sect had been striving vigorously and cultivating diligently, but the upper echelon like them had all felt uncertain at heart. No one knew whether the Jiuxiao Sect could truly establish a firm foothold on Beihai Star, or what kind of future they could carve out. Yet at this very moment, with Yaoguang breaking through from the Heavenly Fire realm to the Incandescent White Golden Core within a brief ten years, all their doubts, confusion, and bewilderment vanished into thin air! "Truly worthy of Perfected Yaoguang! I knew all along that he would surely create another miracle, leaving everyone far behind in a manner beyond our imagination and leading our Jiuxiao Sect in a meteoric rise!" Tang Fenghua, who had once protected Yaoguang as his personal guard, also had glowing eyes. Looking toward that incandescent white phantom silhouette that spanned dozens of li and enveloped the sky above the Jiuxiao Sect, he was filled with admiration while boundless veneration surged in his heart. Was there anything in this world that Perfected Yaoguang could not accomplish?! "An Incandescent White Golden Core! In the Yunchuan Mountains, an Incandescent White Golden Core is the peak combat power! Among the other sects, the only ones overseen by an Incandescent White Golden Core are the Hundred Flowers Valley to the south and the Iron Blood Sect to the west." "Now our Jiuxiao Sect has truly secured a firm foothold in the Yunchuan Mountains. Next, is it time to expand outward?" "I have always waited for this day to come. At times I even thought pessimistically that I might never live to see it. But to think—how long has it been?! Ten years! In ten years, the dawn of hope has already blossomed before our eyes!" Veterans like Lou Yuyu, Jiang Zhuoyue, Huang Tianhao, and Murong Hui also appeared one after another. Looking toward the direction of Yaoguang's secluded cultivation, they were filled with excitement, anticipation, and emotional sighs. "Alright, everyone return to your cultivation," Li Hanqiu said. "The Jiuxiao Sect cannot rely on Yaoguang alone. I hope you will also grow as quickly as possible and contribute your share to the sect's development." "Understood." Hearing Li Hanqiu's words, the crowd respectfully responded as well. Although only Yaoguang had made a breakthrough, when these people returned and cultivated, they all felt their progress quickening, and some even directly broke through their previous realms. Previously, having witnessed Beihai Star's environment with their own eyes, each of them had been under immense pressure, as if a great boulder were weighing on their hearts, nearly experiencing qi deviation whenever they cultivated. Even so, they still had not dared to slacken in the slightest, continuing to train bitterly. Now, witnessing Yaoguang break through from the Heavenly Fire realm to the Incandescent White Golden Core realm in a mere ten years, displaying potential that rivaled true disciples of top-tier great sects, more than half of the immense pressure bearing down on their hearts suddenly lifted. Jiang Tianzun, true disciple of the Taiyi Immortal Sect?! Their Jiuxiao Sect likewise had a genius on the level of a true disciple! Once the mental pressure eased, they were like people shedding heavy burdens to travel light; their cultivation naturally advanced by leaps and bounds. Moreover, their cultivation bases were still low, and each person had received dozens or even up to a hundred Pure Yang Great Pills. Once their insights arrived, their cultivation naturally broke through one after another. ... On the other side, Yaoguang, having broken through to the Incandescent White Golden Core, continued cultivating for another two years, ending his session only after refining every last remaining Pure Yang Great Pill. "All gone." Looking at the empty spatial storage treasure, a hint of regret appeared in his eyes. If he could be given several hundred thousand more Pure Yang Great Pills, he could completely take another step forward, shatter the limit on the Golden Core's "volume," and transform it into a Deep Blue Golden Core. However, although he had not formed a Deep Blue Golden Core... "With my understanding of the Void Piercing Realm and the amplification from my Son of the Void trait, if I try to forcibly push for the Void Piercing Realm... my success rate will be four to five times higher than other Incandescent White Golden Cores." He felt a slight stir of temptation. Yet soon, he suppressed that fleeting temptation. The probability of an Incandescent White Golden Core advancing to the Void Piercing Realm was less than ten percent. Furthermore, once a collapsing Golden Core failed to transform into a "primal cavern," the cultivator would explode like a supernova in the cosmic void, turning into a burst of dazzling fireworks. Such a breakthrough could truly be called a perilous gamble with nine deaths to one life. Even if the probability increased four- to fivefold, it was merely around a 40% success rate. It was better to wait, shatter the limit on the Golden Core's "volume," and turn it into a supergiant star form. Calculating from a base advancement rate of over thirty percent for a Deep Blue Golden Core—and over forty percent with an elder protecting the Dao—with his four- to fivefold amplification, even his lowest success rate would reach 120%. In other words, as long as he was slightly serious when breaking through, he could naturally complete the transformation from a Deep Blue Golden Core to a primal cavern as a matter of course. He would not even need to build the Deep Blue Golden Core to its ultimate limit—that is, he would not have to cultivate to the peak of the Deep Blue Golden Core before attempting the breakthrough. It was merely the difference between probabilities of 60%, 80%, 100%, and 120%. And that was using the lowest calculation. If he settled into the Deep Blue Golden Core realm for longer and honed his power until it was thoroughly proficient, even with the accumulation of the early Deep Blue Golden Core stage, his success rate would likely be over 80%. "Perhaps, once I break through to the Deep Blue Golden Core stage and refine another one or two million Pure Yang Great Pills to reach the mid Deep Blue Golden Core stage, I can attempt to push for the Void Piercing Realm. Although I could continue accumulating toward the late stage or peak so that the moment I break through, I would reach a level akin to the mid Void Piercing Realm... there's no need! Rather than wasting time in the Deep Blue Golden Core realm, it's better to break through to the Void Piercing Realm early!" Once in the Void Piercing Realm, not only would he possess the ability to craft Dao artifacts, but he would also be able to cultivate and unleash Dao arts. Only then could he bring the advantage of his broad "breadth of knowledge" into full play. "Wait. Speaking of Dao arts, can I unleash void-type Dao arts right now?" A thought stirred in Yaoguang's mind. Soon, among the thirteen Dao arts, the "Void Sword" belonging to the Dao of the Void emerged and cycled through his mind. This was precisely the Dao art that the supreme divine ability Sky-Cleaving Strike pointed toward. A Dao art dedicated to severing the void and shattering "primal caverns." "Let's test it." While digesting the information of this Dao art, he stepped out of the cultivation chamber. Unleashing the Nine Transformations of Heavenly Motion, he streaked like flowing light straight toward the depths of the firmament. Thanks to the subtlety of the Nine Transformations of Heavenly Motion, when he left the cultivation chamber, not a single soul across the Jiuxiao Sect noticed aside from Li Hanqiu. Sensing that Yaoguang had emerged from seclusion, Li Hanqiu immediately traversed space right behind him. "Yaoguang." "True Monarch Li has arrived at just the right time. Help me observe in a moment what kind of might my... supreme divine ability can display now." "Testing your current peak combat power? Good, I definitely want to see it clearly." Li Hanqiu was instantly energized. Soon, the two arrived in the depths of the firmament, inside a colossal spiritual energy vortex. This kind of spiritual energy vortex was like a supergiant storm. If it swept down to the ground, the sheer spiritual energy within would suffice to uproot cities one after another, or even raze an entire province to the ground. "First, I'll release my Incandescent White Golden Core..." Yaoguang said. The next moment, a majestic sun spanning over a dozen li in diameter abruptly materialized behind him. Under the control of his powerful divine mind, solar energy was unleashed unreservedly. Incandescent white light and terrifyingly high heat instantly permeated and radiated outward across hundreds of li around. The might he displayed in just this instant already exceeded the full-power release of the Yunxiao Sword Sect Supreme Elder's Golden Core power. "Good!" Operating the combat power detector in his hand, Li Hanqiu called out, "It's at 290,000!" No sooner had he spoken than 1,080 dazzling beams of starlight seemed to flare within Yaoguang's body. The starlight and the Incandescent White Golden Core shone in mutual brilliance, as though transforming this spiritual energy vortex into a miniature cosmic starry sky. "This is... the fifth-tier Star God Body?!" Li Hanqiu quickly recognized it. A fifth-tier Star God Body, coupled with Yaoguang's spirit refining realm that seemed to have reached perfection long ago... This already met the conditions to push for the Deep Blue Golden Core?! All he lacked was enough Pure Yang Great Pills to stack the accumulation of the Incandescent White Golden Core to its absolute limit! Amid his pleasant surprise, he glanced at the combat power detector once more... "530,000! Your current combat power is 530,000!" Li Hanqiu's delight doubled. "This has already just barely stepped onto the level of a Deep Blue Golden Core!" "Only just barely stepping onto the Deep Blue Golden Core level, is it?" Yaoguang took a deep breath. Golden Core power and starlight power poured simultaneously into the Swimming Dragon Sword in his hand. As he executed the divine ability, ripples surged outward in concentric rings, centered on him. When a certain peculiar fluctuation in these spatial ripples settled into a coherent pattern, he suddenly wielded the sword to link these patterns into a unified whole and thrust forward. In midair, a visible gray trench seemed to be ripped open! Sky-Cleaving Strike.