Annihilation

"Insolent...!" Seeing Yaoguang, a newly advanced Crimson Golden Core, dare to counterattack, the Zhou family Golden Core was genuinely surprised. From their earlier exchange of words, he had thought he had thoroughly taken his opponent's measure and could manipulate him at will. While killing him outright might have been a stretch, through psychological pressure and strategic posturing, forcing these people—who surely believed that a wise man doesn't fight against impossible odds and a gentleman does not stand beneath a falling wall—to surrender several hundred Pure Yang Great Pills should have been child's play. He had never imagined the man would actually dare resist! That roar of "Insolent" had erupted almost entirely on instinct. He had intended to establish an overwhelming aura to intimidate them, avoiding an actual fight to the death. Yet before the word had even finished echoing, it morphed instantly into shock. "Wait!" This sword qi's power... He wasn't a Crimson Golden Core! He was definitely not a Crimson Golden Core like them! And when the 438 beams of sword qi, guided by divine mind, shot with pinpoint precision toward every Zhou family cultivator present—at a speed and with a lethal edge that no Core Formation, Heavenly Fire, or Constant Light realm cultivator could possibly withstand—that shock twisted instantly into sheer terror. "Not good!" Three shocks in a single day. Twists and turns at every step. A sudden, catastrophic plunge. Nothing could have described it better. "You're not a Crimson Golden Core...!" The Zhou family Golden Core roared in fury. Stirring his divine mind, he swung the top-grade dharma-treasure flying sword in his hand, unleashing dozens of sword rays burning with blistering heat to intercept the 438 beams of sword qi Yaoguang had brought down. Yet... it was useless. Every single one of these 438 beams of sword qi possessed enough power to pose a lethal threat to a Crimson Golden Core. The collision between his intercepting sword rays and Yaoguang's sword qi was a textbook example of smashing eggs against a boulder. The instant they met, his sword rays collapsed, shattering into shockwaves that rippled violently in every direction. Screams of tearing air echoed continuously. One beam of sword qi after another pierced the Crimson Golden Core's defensive line. Before the other Core Formation, Heavenly Fire, and Constant Light realm cultivators could even react, the beams impaled their bodies. The piercing edge and searing heat within instantly incinerated their flesh. Whether Constant Light realm or Core Formation realm, under the assault of these sword qi beams, they were like statues of cultivators sealed away for thousands of years, thoroughly rotted, suddenly brought into the sun only to be swept by a violent wind... Shattered. Reduced to nothingness. In a flash, ashes of bodies incinerated by the extreme heat and the lingering stench of burning drifted through the air. Aside from the desperately resisting Zhou family Crimson Golden Core and a few Constant Light cultivators fortunate enough to be standing right next to him, a single volley had nearly wiped out all 438 Zhou family cultivators. It was as effortless as sweeping dust off a table. "No! No! No!" The sight tore a hoarse screech of terror from the Zhou family Golden Core. His eyes bulged, brimming with utter disbelief. A Radiant Sun Golden Core! The man before him was without question someone who had condensed a Radiant Sun Golden Core! No! Even a Radiant Sun Golden Core might not be enough! An Incandescent White Golden Core! Quite possibly, this was an existence who had achieved an Incandescent White Golden Core—someone capable of becoming a deacon even if he joined a top-tier grand sect! Yet... why?! Why would such an awe-inspiring powerhouse adopt an unassuming posture, acting as if he were on equal footing with Crimson Golden Cores like them?! If he was truly this powerful, or if he genuinely coveted the resources aboard their ship, couldn't he have simply robbed them outright? Why indulge in the twisted amusement of waging a war of words with them, wasting precious time?! Right now, however, was clearly not the time to ponder such questions. With over four hundred and eighty Zhou family cultivators dead in an instant, the Golden Core trembled violently from head to toe. Nor was he the only one. The few Constant Light cultivators who had narrowly survived, such as Zhou Xueyan, were in the exact same state. They had kicked an iron plate. They had truly kicked an iron plate! Had they known that the passerby was a Radiant Sun Golden Core, or even an Incandescent White Golden Core, they would never have dared disturb him in the slightest. In fact, had this grand master openly displayed his Incandescent White Golden Core cultivation as he passed, their life-and-death struggle with the Black Shark Pirates would have ground to an immediate halt. They would have been terrified that their clash might annoy the senior and bring doom upon them all. Yet they also understood that this was neither the time for regret nor indignation. Zhou Xueyan, ever renowned for her quick wits, was the first to plead piteously: "Mercy! Senior, have mercy! We failed to recognize Mount Tai, blind to an immortal standing right before our eyes! We truly deserve ten thousand deaths! Our Zhou family, our Panlong Island is willing to apologize to Senior! All these goods are tokens of our sincere apologies—please take them all! This humble woman is also willing to become your maidservant to make amends to Senior..." "If I kill you, the goods are mine all the same." Before Zhou Xueyan could finish, Yaoguang casually pointed a finger. A streak of golden light flashed and vanished. "No..." Before they could even discern what that golden streak was, a shrill, agonized scream erupted beside them. That was... Third Uncle's voice?! In the next second, boundless, blistering heat erupted from their bodies. To their horror, they found themselves completely consumed by flames. At terrifying speed, their true essence, bodies, thoughts, and wills were utterly incinerated. They could not even voice a final scream. Like the Constant Light, Heavenly Fire, and Core Formation kin before them, they were swallowed by the scorching heat and turned to ash. "Take inventory of the materials!" Yaoguang instructed Xu Nianhua. "Understood." Xu Nianhua respectfully acknowledged and swiftly descended toward the large ship. Meanwhile, Yaoguang glanced in the direction where the Black Shark Pirates had fled, then took a single step forward. Using the Two Realms Ruler as his vanguard to ripple through space, he executed the Nine Transformations of Heavenly Walk and gave chase in an instant. Pirates in the Sea of Chaos were notoriously vicious and vindictive. He had nothing to fear himself, but what if they targeted the Jiuxiao Sect? It was better to kill them all. *** At that moment, a thousand li away, the two Golden Cores of the Black Shark Pirates were still fuming with bitter resentment. "Bastards! How dare they ruin our score! Damn them to hell!" "A haul worth two to three thousand Pure Yang Great Pills, ruined just like that?! If I ever find out who they are, I'll slaughter their entire sect, leaving not even a dog or chicken alive!" However, the two were merely spouting vicious threats to maintain their imposing image before their subordinates. In truth, unless one belonged to the genuine Black Dragon Pirates, who could possess an intelligence network vast enough to track down two obscure Crimson Golden Cores across the immense, chaotic expanse of the Sea of Chaos? Just then, one of the Crimson Golden Cores sensed something and abruptly retrieved a combat power detector. Activating the device, he saw a combat power reading flashing red, hurtling toward them at extreme speed. Staring at the repeated "WARNING" alerts flashing across the screen and the numbers displayed, the Golden Core felt his soul nearly leave his body in fright: "F-Five hundred and thirty thousand?!" Five hundred and thirty thousand combat power?! And... this lifeform boasting 530,000 combat power seemed to be... closing in on them at terrifying speed?! "Not good! Is that the Zhou family prodigy Zhou Wenxian coming after us?! No! Zhou Wenxian only possesses the strength of a Radiant Sun Golden Core; surpassing 200,000 combat power is his absolute limit! How could it possibly reach 530,000?! This reading..." The Golden Core shuddered violently and jerked his head upward. Right at the edge of the horizon, a streak of golden light tore through the firmament. Spotting their six warships, the golden light abruptly decelerated, skimming across the surface of the sea. As it swept over the water, the ocean seemed sliced clean open by the violent gale surging around him. White waves reared ten, twenty, even dozens of meters high, continuously rolling outward to either side. It looked as though a pale scar had been violently ripped into the ocean. Such terrifying momentum left both Black Shark Pirate Golden Cores rooted to the spot, not daring to twitch a muscle, despite being battle-hardened veterans who had weathered countless storms. With a sharp whistle, the golden light came to an abrupt halt right before the six small vessels. The sudden stop unleashed a tempest that slammed into the six ships, instantly capsizing the two closest to him. Even though those aboard tried to mount their swords and flee to the other vessels, the overwhelming wind pressure threw them off balance. Dozens tumbled into the ocean one after another, kicking up enormous sprays of water. Yet the two Black Shark Pirate Golden Cores had no leeway to care about their subordinates' lives. With wide eyes, they stared at the terrifying figure that had suddenly appeared—radiating a staggering 530,000 combat power! When they finally got a clear look at his face, an unprecedented terror devoured their hearts like a demon. "It's you?! You're actually..." "Impossible! Impossible! How could it be you?! How could you possess this level of strength... No... Senior, spare our lives!" A hallmark of Beihai Star. Those with backbone were an extreme rarity. Most people never hesitated when it was time to beg for mercy. Only such individuals could survive smoothly and grow strong. And once they did grow strong, such experiences often drove them to redouble their exploitation of cultivators weaker than themselves. Yaoguang paid them no heed. Extending a hand, an incandescent white glow blossomed in his palm like a white lotus in full bloom. "No!" Sensing fatal danger, the two Golden Cores cried out in despair. Vaulting into light, they unleashed their strongest secret arts, fleeing frantically in opposite directions. Unfortunately... the disparity was far too vast. Two Crimson Golden Cores possessed a combat power of several tens of thousands at most. Facing Yaoguang holding nothing back, they were simply not on the same level. Once formed, the white lotus shattered like porcelain. Countless delicate petals fluttered outward, raining down upon every single Black Shark Pirate. It was as if a shower of white flowing light had fallen from the heavens. Every Black Shark Pirate brushed by a white petal screamed in agony as the extreme heat and flames incinerated them to ash. Even the two Golden Cores fleeing for their lives using secret arts were no exception. The white lotus petals caught up in an instant, igniting their bodies and reducing them to ash amid shrill screams. Unlike the destruction of the Zhou family fleet earlier, however, these white petals only incinerated their physical bodies, leaving their defensive treasure weapons entirely unharmed. Yaoguang stepped forward, collecting all the assets of every cultivator above the Heavenly Fire realm. "Even mosquito legs are meat," Yaoguang murmured. He still had the entire Jiuxiao Sect to support; he could not afford to squander anything. However... once cultivators on Beihai Star acquired any wealth, they either spent it on luxury or converted it into resources to enhance their strength as quickly as possible. Rarely did they hold onto vast fortunes without using them. "Paupers! With so many cultivators, they couldn't even scrape together a thousand Pure Yang Great Pills." Yaoguang grumbled under his breath. Just as he finished tallying his gains, Xu Nianhua caught up and offered a spatial treasure: "True Person, the Zhou family cargo is worth approximately two thousand Pure Yang Great Pills, and the spoils gathered from their bodies amount to about one thousand four hundred Pure Yang Great Pills." Yaoguang nodded. "Good. Let's continue toward the Heavenly Dao Sect."