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"The Great Dao of Origin." His comprehension had reached the Void Refining level. Though his cultivation realm was not yet high, its breadth was immense. When it came to understanding the foundational knowledge of the Great Daos, perhaps not even a Dao Lord could rival him. Among the Three Thousand Great Daos, Destiny, Karma, Time, and the Void were the four foundational Great Daos, also known as the Four Supreme Great Daos. Of these, the Great Dao of Destiny served as the supreme outline of the Daos; without the Great Dao of Destiny, one could not govern the other two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Great Daos. The Great Dao of the Void was the cornerstone of the Daos, allowing the other two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Great Daos to manifest in the world. The remaining Great Dao of Time represented the movement of all things, and within "all things" were contained the other two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Great Daos. Karma ran through and connected all things, serving as the core of their evolution. Much like the four fundamental forces of physics, they constituted the four pillars of the cultivation system. Aside from these four special Daos were core Daos such as Creation, Destruction, Chaos, Soul, Origin, the Five Elements, and Yin-Yang. Setting aside the four special Daos that could be deemed both foundational and supreme, the Great Dao of Origin easily ranked among the top ten of the remaining two thousand nine hundred and ninety-six Great Daos. This was a Dao that stratified all things into hierarchies. Ants were living beings, humans were living beings, and dragons and phoenixes were likewise living beings. Yet how vast was the disparity between one life and another? Even among fellow humans who were uncultivated mortals, some possessed a strength of at most a hundred or two hundred jin, while others could exert over a thousand jin. This disparity was delineated by the Great Dao of Origin. Those who cultivated the Great Dao of Origin could elevate their lifeforms and the origin of their lives to unprecedented extremes, transforming themselves into truly perfect lifeforms. "In the torrent of information limited to the Void Refining realm, there are only thirteen Dao techniques, none of which pertain to the Great Dao of Origin. Yet descriptions of the Great Dao of Origin are plentiful. I wonder how many times over this Dao technique named 'Sovereign Human Emperor' can elevate my life origin." Yaoguang browsed through it. He quickly discerned the limits of this Sovereign Human Emperor secret technique. With a Void Piercing human as the baseline, entry level in the Dao technique augmented origin power by onefold, minor mastery by twofold, major mastery by fourfold, and upon reaching perfection, by ninefold, which combined with one's baseline origin made ten times the origin. Ten times... "I could beat a Void Shattering Grand Elder to death with pure, overwhelming origin power!" Yaoguang sighed in wonder. Yet immediately afterward, another thought struck him. Ten times a Void Piercing cultivator only upon reaching perfection in a Dao technique?! Someone who had perfected a Dao technique could already attempt Dao Integration. With that level of cultivation, wouldn't beating a Void Shatterer to death be only natural? Yaoguang shook his head. Sensing the Dao charm contained within the jade talisman, he did not immediately begin cultivating the supreme divine ability corresponding to this Dao technique. Cultivating it normally... Too slow. It would be better to wait until he advanced the realm of [Immortal Dao: Void Refining] in the future and sift through his "database" directly to see if he could find this Dao technique. "If I'm not cultivating this Dao technique, then my only choice is to keep raising my strength." Yaoguang turned his gaze to the remaining Pure Yang Great Pills. Without hesitation, he resumed his cultivation. ... In under a year. Not only the Pure Yang Great Pills he previously held, but even the 1.53 million Pure Yang Great Pills obtained from selling his spoils were completely digested. Naturally, this amount of Pure Yang Great Pills was not enough to propel his Azure Blue Golden Core into its third stage—the late Azure Blue Golden Core stage. Yet... It was enough. "My combat power has definitely surpassed 2,000,000 now. Whether it's 2,100,000 or 2,200,000, I won't know until I fight. The strongest disciple in the Heavenly Dao Sect, Yan Huang, ranks sixth on the Void Piercing Candidate Rankings, but his combat power is only 1,500,000 to 1,600,000." Yaoguang now possessed ample confidence in becoming the Heavenly Dao Sect's number one true disciple. Although Dao Lord Penglai had taken some interest in him and felt his experiences mirrored her own, still... Her talent had been astonishing beyond measure. If he truly wanted her to view him as a genius of her caliber, this battle among the true disciples was the first test. In other words, if he failed this test, their meeting would be their last exchange. Not that Yaoguang had any intention of relying on others. He might be able to break the deadlock by advancing to the Void Piercing Realm and crushing the Void Piercing cultivators from the Heavenly Dao Sect and Taiyi Immortal Sect, but doing so would inevitably invite endless subsequent trouble. He himself would be unharmed, but he feared they would bring the flames of war to the Jiuxiao Sect. Thus, Dao Lord Penglai's suggestion was indeed the best choice. "Yaoguang, Sect Master of the Heavenly Dao Sect..." Yaoguang murmured those words. Not bad at all. *Swoosh!* Just then, he sensed a spatial fluctuation sweep past. With his heightened strength, he quickly realized what had happened: "It's Perfected Lord Lu. Has he left Biyou Immortal Market?" This Void Piercing expert was among the paramount figures within the Void Piercing Realm; his presence in Biyou Immortal Market was more than enough to deter petty schemers. His abrupt departure now... "Never mind. Counting the time, the Heavenly Dao Sect's inner sect tournament should be around now. But I can bypass that process altogether. With Dao Lord Penglai's power, I will travel straight to the Heavenly Dao Sect, draw out the Golden Book of the Great Dao, and petition it directly to advance to true disciple. Once I become a true disciple, I will break through to the Void Piercing Realm immediately and become the Young Sect Master of the Heavenly Dao Sect." Pondering this, Yaoguang wasted no more time. Relying on his Child of the Void talent, he directly stirred the ripples of the void. Soon, the formation inscribed by Dao Lord Penglai was activated. As the void ripples expanded outward dramatically, a void passage was quickly opened. Wasting not another second, Yaoguang took a step through the air and entered the void passage. And less than ten breaths after he stepped into the void passage... A furious roar echoed over Biyou Immortal Market: "Who dares invade my Biyou Immortal Market?!" Amidst the shout, a Void Piercing Battle Immortal and an Azure Blue Golden Core cultivator simultaneously soared into the sky. Yet the intruders clearly had no intention of engaging the Void Piercing Battle Immortal and Azure Blue Golden Core expert. Flashing forward, they streaked directly toward the cave dwelling district—or more precisely... Straight toward the cave dwelling Yaoguang had rented. Unfortunately for them, they found only emptiness, coming away completely empty-handed. ... Yaoguang, traveling deep within the void passage, knew nothing of the commotion at Biyou Immortal Market. With Dao Lord Penglai's assistance, Yaoguang traversed the void passage and arrived directly in the depths of the Heavenly Dao Sect. Indeed. Not the outer perimeter of the Heavenly Dao Sect, but its innermost core. With overbearing might, the Dao Lord bypassed the Heavenly Dao Sect's outer defensive formations and sent Yaoguang straight through. Such a tremendous disturbance instantly alerted the sect's Void Piercing elders, Void Refining lineage masters and peak masters, and even Sect Master Zong Wenxian himself. High in the firmament, a golden light circulated, swiftly clashing with Dao Lord Penglai's power and smoothing over the torn space. Emerging from the void, Yaoguang looked at the golden light and quickly grasped what was occurring. He immediately called out in a clear, resonant voice: "Inner disciple Yaoguang, having achieved mastery in his cultivation and unwilling to waste away his years in the inner sect, now challenges the Eighty-Eight True Disciple Peaks to ascend to the pinnacle of the true disciples!" The moment these words were spoken, the elders, peak masters, lineage masters, vice sect masters, and sect master—who were already startled by the sudden manifestation of spatial power within the sect—all turned their gazes onto Yaoguang. Every face was filled with astonished disbelief. "Challenging the Eighty-Eight True Disciple Peaks?!" "An inner disciple? Is he... triggering the rules of the Golden Book of the Great Dao?" "Who is this Yaoguang? How have I never heard of such a person?" Murmurs and discussions broke out among the true disciples and Void Piercing elders. Among them, Jin Yuliu, the Heaven Lineage elder who had personally recruited Yaoguang into the sect, looked on with utter incredulity. He knew Yaoguang's strength better than anyone. Forget challenging every true disciple; even a true disciple ranked in the top thirty could easily handle him. With that kind of strength, how dare he speak of challenging all the true disciples? Had he gone mad? Wait! Weren't there rumors outside that the Xi family of Haizhou Prefecture in Great Shang had been wiped out by him? Could it be... It was true? Was that the source of his confidence?! Yaoguang paid no heed to the surrounding chatter, keeping his eyes fixed on the golden light that was currently smoothing out the void ripples. And as his words fell... True to expectation, that golden light manifested the figure of a young man. Though he took the form of a young man, his hair was entirely white, bathed in golden radiance, exuding an indefinable sense of sacred holiness. This was none other than the artifact spirit of the Golden Book of the Great Dao. All cultivators in the Heavenly Dao Sect revered him as Venerable Golden Book. "Inner disciple Yaoguang, you wish to challenge the Eighty-Eight True Disciple Peaks to attain true disciple status?" The artifact spirit spoke calmly. There was not the slightest ripple of emotion in his tone. "Yes," Yaoguang replied. "I believe this complies with the rules." "You possess the cultivation of an Azure Blue Golden Core; it complies with the rules." Venerable Golden Book swept a scanning gaze over him. "However, a hierarchy separates the inner sect and the true disciples. Those below challenging those above must bear the consequences of life and death themselves." "Understood," Yaoguang nodded. "Then come with me." With an empty wave of the Golden Book of the Great Dao's hand, a streak of golden light enveloped Yaoguang, carrying him straight toward a mountain peak of unknown myriad meters in height in the near distance. That was the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform, where Void Piercing elders resolved disputes through combat. At the same time, orders were dispatched to every true disciple across the Eighty-Eight True Disciple Peaks, commanding them to accept the challenge. Yet this act of bypassing sect rules to speak directly with the Golden Book of the Great Dao displeased Sect Master Zong Wenxian. His gaze fell squarely on Lineage Master Yuan Miaoyi of the Immortal Lineage: "The recruitment of true disciples has always fallen under the Immortal Lineage's purview. How could such a massive oversight occur that an inner disciple has alarmed Venerable Golden Book?" "This..." Lineage Master Yuan Miaoyi of the Immortal Lineage grew anxious. He had never even heard of someone named Yaoguang... After all, he was merely an inner disciple. To the Heavenly Dao Sect, such disciples were like leeks—harvested crop after crop. Who would bother paying close attention to them? Who could have imagined he would stir up such a massive commotion and make him lose face before the sect master? At this moment, a Void Piercing elder chimed in: "I have heard of this Yaoguang. He is the suspect behind the murder of Xuan Shuang, a true disciple of the Heaven Lineage. He was originally hiding in Biyou Immortal Market. To think... he dared to return to the sect." "Biyou Immortal Market?" The hearts of grand figures like Zong Wenxian, Yuan Miaoyi, and Xiang Zhenlong tightened. Behind this market stood the Penglai Immortal Sect, and behind the Penglai Immortal Sect... Stood that incomparable Dao Lord Penglai from a century ago! Just now, spatial power had spanned hundreds of millions of li to transport Yaoguang here, even stirring Venerable Golden Book! Power capable of forcing Venerable Golden Book to manifest had to be at the level of a Dao Lord! Could it be that the Dao Lord intended to intervene in this matter?! "Lineage Master Yuan." Zong Wenxian took a deep breath and looked at Yuan Miaoyi. "Regardless of what happens, this matter must be handled properly. Do not let outsiders—or Venerable Golden Book—laugh at us." "Understood," Yuan Miaoyi acknowledged the command, swiftly leading a group of people flying toward the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform.