Direction

"910,000!" Just as Yaoguang executed this Sky-Cleaving Strike with seasoned mastery, Li Hanqiu's voice rang out, unable to contain his emotion. "The combat power of that strike reached 910,000!" His divine sense fluctuated with a faint tremble. "That is the limit of what over ninety percent of Deep Blue Golden Cores can achieve! For you to reach this level with only an Incandescent White Golden Core... Once you formally step into the Deep Blue Golden Core realm, your combat power will definitely reach 1.2 million, or even 1.3 million or 1.5 million!" Up to 1.5 million combat power once he entered the Deep Blue Golden Core realm! How terrifyingly powerful was that?! There was probably not a single Deep Blue Golden Core in the entire Taiyi Immortal Sect who could rival him. As for Jiang Tianzun... Even having mastered a supreme divine ability, and even with a Void Shattering realm Supreme Elder as his master, his combat power was estimated to be only around one million. In other words, once Yaoguang formed a Deep Blue Golden Core in the future, he would directly surpass Jiang Tianzun and become an even stronger existence! What staggering talent was this?! "It didn't even break a million?" Yaoguang, however, frowned upon hearing this. Wielding a peak spirit treasure, the Swimming Dragon Sword, and fully activating his Child of the Void talent to unleash a supreme divine ability, his combat power had not even reached the million mark? "If a supreme divine ability isn't enough, I'll try a Dao art!" Taking a deep breath, the Dao art Void Sword circulated continuously in his mind. Even more powerful spatial ripples radiated from the edge of the Swimming Dragon Sword. At the same time, the resonance between his Child of the Void traits and the outside world reached its absolute peak. At this moment, he had the impression that as long as he could slash out with this sword, he could slice open and tear apart the void before him like silk cloth, creating a genuine spatial fissure. Yet no matter how he sensed and built up his momentum, the feeling remained just out of reach. And as Yaoguang began channeling the Dao art Void Sword, even Li Hanqiu, who stood before him having cultivated into a Void Piercing Battle Immortal, felt a sudden jolt of terror. Looking at Yaoguang's Swimming Dragon Sword, the ripples emanating from that peak spirit treasure seemed to hold an unspeakable horror. Once unleashed... Even if Li Hanqiu fully activated the power of his primal cavern, he might not be able to withstand it. Moreover, this inability to withstand it was not the targeted kind. Because Void Piercing Battle Immortals could not precisely control the power of the primal cavern within their bodies, the frequency of their primal cavern's operation was easily perceived and deduced by opponents. An opponent needed only to analyze these frequencies during battle, then use a divine ability or secret technique specifically designed to disrupt frequencies to deliver a targeted strike. Doing so could easily break the balance of a Battle Immortal's primal cavern, causing it to collapse and leading to their demise. This was why it was said that whenever a primal cavern Battle Immortal failed to kill an enemy quickly, they ran the risk of being counter-killed. The primal cavern frequency was an unavoidable, fatal weakness of a Void Piercing Battle Immortal. Yet looking at Yaoguang now, Li Hanqiu sensed a threat from his sword fundamentally different from secret techniques targeting primal cavern frequencies. That was... a formidable means capable of shattering a Void Piercing Battle Immortal's primal cavern through direct, frontal force, causing it to collapse entirely. This was true for Void Piercing Battle Immortals, and it was equally true for genuine primal cavern cultivators facing such an attack. At most... a true Void Piercing realm cultivator's primal cavern was more stable, requiring even greater offensive power to break. *** "I can't do it." After a long while. Panting slightly, Yaoguang stopped. Looking at the spatial ripples slowly dispersing from the Swimming Dragon Sword in his hand, he had to admit one thing: right now, he still could not unleash the Dao art Void Sword. "My own power is too weak, and the 'void ripples' I can project are far too limited. Under these circumstances, no matter how great my talent or how proficient I am with the Dao art, one cannot make bricks without straw." Just like a toddler who had only just learned to walk—even if gifted the soul of a martial arts grandmaster, if they went up against an ordinary, unarmed adult office worker, they would still get easily thrashed. Dao arts were ultimately a domain only Void Refining cultivators touched. Even among Void Piercing cultivators, those who could master Dao arts were exceedingly rare. Without exception, they were vice sect masters of major sects who had obtained Dao artifacts in advance, or the direct legacy disciples of Void Shattering Supreme Elders. To come into contact with and cultivate a Dao art while still at the Deep Blue Golden Core stage... that was likely only possible for direct descendants or personal disciples highly valued by Dao Lords. "For a Void Piercing cultivator to master and release a Dao art, they must rely on a Dao artifact. Relying on my Child of the Void talent, I might be able to unleash void-type Dao arts without a Dao artifact once I reach the Void Piercing Realm. But to do so below the Void Piercing Realm, I must have a matching void-type Dao artifact... In fact, even a matching void-type Dao artifact wouldn't be enough; I myself must also possess an extremely high comprehension of this Dao art." Yaoguang pondered. Right now, having grasped only the basics of Void Sword—at roughly an "entry" level of mastery—was clearly insufficient. He would need to reach at least initial mastery, or even major mastery, to have any hope. "Major mastery of a Dao art... Many Void Shattering cultivators remain stalled at initial mastery. Those capable of major mastery in a Dao art are without exception the crème de la crème of the Void Shattering realm. After all, once a Dao art is cultivated to perfection, one can essentially comprehend a Great Dao. And once a Great Dao is formed... one can open up the Dao Lord realm!" Yaoguang thought to himself. To achieve major mastery of a Dao art... his current realm of [Immortal Path · Void Refining] was clearly not enough. At the very least, he needed [Immortal Path · Void Shattering], and the progress would need to reach at least 41%. "My next tasks are to raise my strength to reach the Void Piercing Realm as soon as possible, gain enough 'experience' to elevate my cultivation realm, and upgrade the Swimming Dragon Sword into a Dao artifact as quickly as possible." Yaoguang planned his path forward. As for upgrading... They already had a plan. If he could sweep through the bandits on Great Shang's bounty board, that should just about suffice. "Yaoguang." Li Hanqiu looked at him, uncertainty and shock in his expression. "Just now, you..." "I was trying to cultivate a Dao art, but looking at it now, it was clearly a failure," Yaoguang explained briefly. "A Dao art, eh?" Hearing this, Li Hanqiu couldn't help but chuckle wryly. "Isn't it a bit too early to think about cultivating Dao arts? After all, not even all Void Piercing cultivators practice Dao arts." "Planning ahead," Yaoguang replied with a smile. "After all, at this rate, it won't be long until I reach the Void Piercing Realm." At those words, Li Hanqiu froze slightly, only then realizing that the one talking about practicing Dao arts wasn't some ordinary Incandescent White Golden Core, but Yaoguang! In just ten years, he had gone from the Heavenly Fire realm to condensing an Incandescent White Golden Core! With such talent and brilliance, could condensing a Deep Blue Golden Core be far off? And once at the Deep Blue Golden Core, the only step left was to collapse the supergiant-state deep blue star into a primal cavern. As long as he successfully took that step... From then on, the carp would leap over the dragon gate, the sea would be vast and the sky boundless, and he would stand atop the pinnacle of the world in one bound. Furthermore, he already possessed the ability to craft Dao artifacts. Wielding a Dao artifact and comprehending Dao arts... It was only natural. Indeed, it was time to plan ahead. "Good! Good! Good!" Li Hanqiu repeated the word three times. At his current horizon and breadth of knowledge, he truly knew of nothing else to say besides "good." Although he was a Void Piercing cultivator, Yaoguang's achievements had already surpassed him in certain respects. He was in no position or capacity to comment further. "Next, I plan to make a trip to the Sea of Chaos," Yaoguang said with a smile. "I imagine that with my current strength, True Sovereign won't worry anymore." A smile appeared on Li Hanqiu's face as well. "With 910,000 combat power and the treasures in your possession, so long as you don't run into a true Void Piercing powerhouse, you can retreat safely from any crisis. Naturally, I won't hold back your growth. However, many treacherous areas in the Sea of Chaos can pose a fatal threat even to Void Piercing cultivators. When you go out to temper yourself, you must still remain cautious." "I understand." Yaoguang nodded. "My first step will be to 'inquire' among the locals about the situation in the Sea of Chaos before taking any further action." The Sea of Chaos had become a paradise for bandits and wanted criminals precisely due to its harsh environment and numerous natural formations. It was because mortal peril existed that Void Piercing cultivators viewed those bounties—each worth well over a hundred thousand Pure Yang Great Pills—as chicken ribs, hardly worth the gnawing. Yet if there were no danger to their lives, even a hundred-odd thousand Pure Yang Great Pills would never be passed up by these Void Piercing experts. After all, the annual income of a Void Piercing cultivator with a shallow foundation was only a few hundred thousand Pure Yang Great Pills. Though Yaoguang had confidence in his survival capabilities, he was not arrogant enough to look down on perilous lands that could trap and kill even Void Piercing cultivators. At this point, Li Hanqiu looked at Yaoguang, hesitating as if wanting to say something. "Is there something else?" Yaoguang asked. "Yaoguang, you're only fifty-five now, right? Less than a full sixty-year cycle, yet you've already formed an Incandescent White Golden Core. With this kind of strength, you can easily join a top faction. Moreover, with your staggering 910,000 combat power, competing for the position of a true disciple would be a breeze. Once you become a true disciple, you'll have the backing of a top sect, and anything you do from then on will undoubtedly go much smoother," Li Hanqiu said. "I've considered it, but I believe that even if I join a major sect, it might not offer me much help. On the contrary, it would only constrain me," Yaoguang said. "To be honest, I didn't originally intend to bring this up with you. After all, you've always been very independent, and with my limited perspective, I shouldn't interfere too much. However..." Li Hanqiu weighed his words carefully. "In the broader environment of Beihai Star, very few people can remain aloof and uninvolved. Almost every Void Piercing cultivator has to pick a side. Moreover, having a top faction as a backer versus not having one are two entirely different things." Hearing this, Yaoguang's mind stirred. "Has someone extended an invitation to True Sovereign Li?" "Yes." Li Hanqiu nodded. "After learning that a Void Piercing Battle Immortal had emerged in the Yunchuan Mountain Range, both Great Shang and the Immortal Martial Sect sent representatives." He glanced at Yaoguang. "I imagine you've heard how chaotic the Yunchuan Mountain Range is, yet in the past ten-plus years, have we encountered any disruptions? On one hand, it's because a Void Piercing cultivator like me, whose depth is hard to fathom, still carries some deterrent power. On the other hand..." His tone carried a trace of gravity. "It's also because these top sects are extending courtesy before using force."