Heavenly Dao

Great Shang. One of the four great celestial dynasties, the legacy of the Human Sovereign, Shang Tang. The Immortal Martial Sect. One of the three great martial sects, the legacy of Great Emperor Panwu. The Heavenly Dao Sect. One of the Ten Immortal Sects, the legacy of the Hongmeng Daoist Venerable. The Sanqing Sacred Hall. Likewise one of the Ten Immortal Sects. Back then, Taiqing, Xuanqing, and Xuqing attained immortalhood at the same time, basking in boundless glory. Handed down across generations to this day, its might grew ever more formidable, making it the most flourishing immortal cultivation power in the North Sea today. Yaoguang reviewed the descriptions of these factions one by one. Just as Li Hanqiu had said, Great Shang was no longer a suitable choice. Originally, the imperial authority of Great Shang shared the realm with aristocratic clans. Now, however, the Shang Emperor was aggressively centralizing power, attempting to emulate Human Sovereign Shang Tang of old and usher in an unprecedented golden age of immortal cultivation. Yet his ability was limited, his temperament obstinate and self-opinionated, and he was envious of talent and lacked magnanimity. As a result, Great Shang was plagued by instability and deteriorating by the day, with several commanderies and provinces even rising in rebellion at the instigation of scheming factions. It was hardly a good place for cultivation and development. The Immortal Martial Sect was not bad, but it followed a path combining immortal and martial arts. Its disciples were fiercely competitive and combative. To protect themselves, people were forced to turn to the Battle Immortal path in pursuit of strength, leading to a proliferation of Battle Immortals. While it currently appeared mighty and prosperous, it was achieved at the cost of their potential—a roaring fire fueled with cooking oil that could not last. As for the Sanqing Sacred Hall, though powerful, it was dominated by three clans: Taiqing, Xuanqing, and Xuqing. These three held absolute power, mercilessly exploiting outsiders and treating them as cannon fodder. On top of that, the three factions engaged in ceaseless internal strife, each seeking sole control of the sacred hall. The last one, the Heavenly Dao Sect, was merely the tallest among dwarfs. Its four lineages—the Dao Lineage, Immortal Lineage, Battle Lineage, and Heavenly Lineage—were locked in perpetual infighting, with elders summarily executing disciples even more frequently than in the Immortal Martial Sect or the Sanqing Sacred Hall. Yaoguang frowned deeply as he read. "Every single one of these factions... has problems. Some decisions made by their ruling classes are practically no different from a makeshift amateur troupe." Still, in a world where boundless personal might could be concentrated in a single individual, gathering enough resources to grow strong was all that mattered; why waste so much energy and thought on anything else? As long as one was powerful enough, plenty of people would bend to one's will, even if many things seemed entirely contrary to reason. After a long while, he fixed his gaze on the Heavenly Dao Sect once again. Spending half a day thoroughly understanding the sect's circumstances, Yaoguang sought out Li Hanqiu. ... "The Heavenly Dao Sect? I thought you would choose the Sanqing Sacred Hall, given how formidable they are." Li Hanqiu was slightly surprised. "The Sanqing Sacred Hall is deeply xenophobic. Our primary goal is to fly a protective banner, but unless one can join the Taiqing, Xuanqing, or Xuqing lineages, flying that banner won't carry much deterrence." Yaoguang paused, then added, "Furthermore, compared to other sects, the Heavenly Dao Sect has one paramount advantage: the Golden Book of the Great Dao left behind by the Hongmeng Daoist Venerable." The Golden Book of the Great Dao. Having gathered information on the Heavenly Dao Sect over the years, Li Hanqiu was naturally well acquainted with the resounding fame of this sentient supreme treasure. It was a top-tier Dao artifact crafted by the Hongmeng Daoist Venerable at immense cost. Moreover, every successive Dao Lord of the Heavenly Dao Sect had inscribed their own Great Dao upon it. Accumulated over countless years, the power of this supreme treasure had long surpassed everyone's imagination. And the Golden Book of the Great Dao had always strictly upheld the rules written within its pages. Those few sect rules established the bottom line of the Heavenly Dao Sect. "The Heavenly Dao Sect it is, then. I will escort you there right away," Li Hanqiu said. "No." Yaoguang shook his head. "The Immortal Martial Sect and Great Shang have already begun their probes. The sect cannot be left without you, True Lord, holding the fort. I plan to go alone." "That would mean crossing the Sea of Chaos..." "A journey through the Sea of Chaos suits my purposes well. On one hand, I can accumulate funds for the Heavenly Dao Sect's inner disciple assessment; on the other, I can see whether I can scout out a new site for our sect." Yaoguang could not help but remark, "The Yunchuan Mountains are simply too barren. There are virtually no resources or industries here." Li Hanqiu nodded in complete agreement. No wonder neither Great Shang nor the Immortal Martial Sect cared much about the Yunchuan Mountains—this land was truly impoverished. Those living here were struggling wretches; any cultivator with even a shred of capability would never linger here for long. "Lest time be wasted, I shall set out at once." "You won't necessarily be wasting time. The Heavenly Dao Sect recruits disciples every five years—quite frequently. To them, it's a lucrative business," Li Hanqiu said. He spoke the truth. Most immortal cultivation factions held recruitments once every ten years, or even once every twenty or thirty years. Recruiting every five years was something only a select few sects like the Heavenly Dao Sect did. The reason was that the assessment fee for outer disciples exceeded a thousand Pure Yang Great Pills, while the fee for inner disciples required a staggering ten thousand Pure Yang Great Pills. It was an exceptionally profitable trade. Naturally, the Heavenly Dao Sect was eager to hold them often. "The previous recruitment was four years ago. If I miss this one, I'd have to wait another five years—and five years is hardly short to me," Yaoguang said with a smile. Seeing this, Li Hanqiu did not insist, merely helping him prepare items that might come in handy for a long journey. ... That afternoon, Yaoguang met with Su Yaoyu. Upon seeing him, Su Yaoyu appeared delighted. After chatting with her briefly, Yaoguang took out two jade talismans. "One of these talismans is for you. It contains cultivation insights from the Unity Realm to the Core Formation realm. Resources on Beihai Star are abundant, enough to elevate even someone of ordinary talent into a high-level cultivator. Take it. Aim for the Core Formation realm first to enjoy a thousand-year lifespan. As for the Heavenly Fire realm... wait until I return before attempting to break through." "Mm." Su Yaoyu nodded. She knew very well that the only person they could rely on now was this younger brother. "The other talisman is for Su Yaoxue, Lin Xia, Leng Jun, and the rest. It contains my summarized cultivation notes on the Constant Light realm, the Crimson Golden Core, and the Radiant Sun Golden Core. As long as they study and absorb it, increasing their chances of breaking through by thirty to fifty percent will be well within reach." "This one..." Su Yaoyu hesitated for a moment before asking, "Should you... give it to Xiaoxue yourself?" Yaoguang understood what she meant. Over the years, he had interacted very little with Su Yaoxue, Su Yaoshuang, and Su Yaoqin; they were barely distinguishable from strangers. "Give it to them for now. We can discuss other matters once we have firmly secured our footing on Beihai Star," Yaoguang said. Hearing this, Su Yaoyu did not want to disrupt his plans. She accepted the jade talisman and said, "I will urge Shuang'er and Qin'er to cultivate diligently and strive to form their cores soon." "Good," Yaoguang replied casually. Noticing a hint of dejection in her demeanor, he thought for a moment and added, "As the eldest sister, you need to watch over this family." It was such a simple sentence, yet it seemed to affirm Su Yaoyu's place. A bright light sparked in her eyes, and she nodded in delight. "Don't worry, I will take good care of Shuang'er and Qin'er." Yaoguang glanced at her and gave a warm smile and a nod. Having dealt with these trivial matters, early the next morning, Yaoguang departed from the Jiuxiao Sect, seen off by Li Qingshan, Li Hanqiu, and others. Accompanying him was Xu Nianhua, who had cultivated to the Crimson Golden Core realm. He would stay by Yaoguang's side to attend to various minor affairs. The reason he brought only Xu Nianhua was twofold: other disciples' cultivations were too low and would only hold him back, whereas Xu Nianhua possessed considerable talent, having achieved a Crimson Golden Core in his fifties, which qualified him to take the outer disciple examination. Bringing him to the Heavenly Dao Sect would also allow him to adapt to the cultivation and competitive environment of "ordinary" cultivators in a premier sect. ... Sword lights tore through the air. Yaoguang and Xu Nianhua maintained a speed characteristic of the Crimson Golden Core realm as they flew high in the sky. In just one day, the two crossed the Yunchuan Mountains and entered the Sea of Chaos bordering the range. A few hours deep into the Sea of Chaos, a mass of storm clouds stretching thousands of li appeared at the far horizon. "Steer clear," Yaoguang said. Although the storm clouds did not look terrifying, one had to maintain due caution in the Sea of Chaos. This stretch of ocean lay directly opposite the planetary core, meaning the core exerted a stronger force on this region than on others, giving rise to all manner of extreme environments. Natural disasters such as cyclones, thunderstorms, and freezing rain were exceedingly common. The cyclones on Beihai Star swept up spiritual energy that moved in accordance with the planet's stellar forcefield, at times even triggering Dao charm—akin to the residual energy waves radiated by a Dao Lord. Although this energy was not focused with deliberate intent like that of a human cultivator, it remained lethal to ordinary practitioners. As the saying went: The Buddha observes a bowl of water and sees forty-eight thousand living organisms. In the eyes of beings at the Dao Lord level, low-tier cultivators who had not even reached the Void Piercing realm were no different from the forty-eight thousand microorganisms in a bowl of water. A single breath shifting the airflow could form a cyclone capable of obliterating a large island and wiping out every single one of the forty-eight thousand cultivators living upon it. The two steered clear of the storm clouds, missing an island along the flight path where cultivators could rest and meditate to recover. Fortunately, they were not low-tier cultivators. Even after missing a resting point, they could easily push onward toward the next waypoint. Even in the demanding environment of Beihai Star, achieving a Crimson Golden Core was considered a notable accomplishment. Outside of colossal titans like the Ten Immortal Sects, a Crimson Golden Core could serve as an elder in small and medium factions. After flying for another day, Xu Nianhua seemed to notice something and suddenly called out, "True Person." At the same time, his gaze turned downward. Below, a large vessel sailing the sea had veered off course while evading a storm, straight into the sight of a band of pirates. It was currently under attack by six small boats. Both sides had numerous Heavenly Fire and Constant Light cultivators, with the three leaders having reached the Crimson Golden Core realm. Flying through the air on swords, they circled the warship and clashed across a perimeter of dozens of li, locked in a fierce battle. "Pay it no heed," Yaoguang said. Minding one's own business was the golden rule of survival for all cultivators on Beihai Star. Right then, however, a female Constant Light cultivator suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs, "Third Uncle! Our reinforcements are here! Our cargo can be saved!" As she shouted, she shot rapidly into the sky. "Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother, you're finally here! The Black Shark Pirates are dead meat!" Along with her cries, a strand of divine mind transmission echoed in Yaoguang and Xu Nianhua's Awareness: "We are true disciples of Panlong Island. We request you two True Persons to lend a hand! Upon success, we are willing to offer a thousand Pure Yang Great Pills in gratitude! Otherwise, if all of us die here and the two of you happen to pass by, Panlong Island will surely track this down to the very end!"