Inside his mountain dwelling, Yaoguang set up a communication amplification formation and placed the jade talisman within it. Before long, two figures of light materialized.
They were none other than Li Hanqiu and Li Qingshan.
Upon seeing Yaoguang, both Li Hanqiu and Li Qingshan broke into looks of delight.
Li Qingshan could hardly contain himself and blurted out, "Perfected Yaoguang... have you truly attained Void Piercing?"
"I have," Yaoguang nodded slightly. "However, the situation here at the Heavenly Dao Sect is somewhat complicated, so I did not bring you over right away."
"Prudence is best. We've always known you to be steady and cautious. If you didn't call us over right away, you must have had good reason," Li Hanqiu agreed.
He had always placed immense trust in Yaoguang.
A master craftsman capable of forging Dao artifacts who could nevertheless remain patient and bide his time—this alone proved just how astonishingly disciplined Yaoguang was.
"Void Piercing still falls a bit short. Once I reach Void Refining, things should be fairly secure," Yaoguang said. After giving it some thought, he offered a rather conservative estimate: "It should be within the next ten years."
"Ten years?!"
Li Hanqiu froze, then his eyes went wide. "Ten years?! Void Refining?!"
Beside him, Li Qingshan wore the same look of utter disbelief.
Void Refining!
This was Void Refining!
Over the century since the Cangwu lineage arrived on Beihai Star, they hadn't even managed to produce a single Void Piercing cultivator. Yet Yaoguang... was already looking ahead to Void Refining?!
"Mm," Yaoguang nodded slightly.
His uncertainty mainly lay in how much [Merchant] experience this Dao artifact transaction would yield. If it were truly calculated at a hundredfold profit, bringing in a billion Pure Yang Great Pills, the resulting experience boost would definitely propel his realm to the Void Shattering level.
Once at Void Shattering, the path ahead would be clear. Having already chosen his Dao seed, he would soon be able to reshape his grotto-heaven and step into the Void Refining realm.
If additional costs cropped up along the way and the experience fell short...
Then he would just have to find another way.
He would either spend eight to ten years—or three to five years at the fastest—to forge another Dao artifact, or head to the Deep Blue Sea to hunt sea demons.
That was why Yaoguang had given a ten-year timeframe.
"Void Refining! Void Refining! Void Refining in ten years!"
Li Hanqiu muttered the words over and over.
They knew that once Yaoguang reached Beihai Star, endowed with its abundant cultivation resources, his talent would inevitably fuel rapid growth and see him soar. But...
Reaching Void Piercing in such a short time was already incredible, a joy beyond their wildest hopes.
And now...
Yaoguang was actually claiming he was confident he could attain Void Refining within ten years?!
Void Refining!
In top sects, such figures held immense authority, effectively forming the decision-making core. And Yaoguang...
Needed only ten years?!
"Good! Good! Good! That's wonderful!" Li Hanqiu could not help but clap his hands, overwhelmed with joy. "Yaoguang, don't worry about us! For the next ten years, focus on your cultivation. Put everything into reaching the Void Refining realm first. If you truly make it to Void Refining, none of the problems facing us will be problems anymore."
"No matter. When I say ten years to Void Refining, that doesn't mean I must stay in seclusion for ten years straight." Yaoguang looked at Li Hanqiu. "Did members of the Cangwu lineage reach out to you?"
Li Hanqiu hesitated for a good while before saying, "Not the entire Cangwu lineage, exactly, but my master Wan Liugui's branch."
Having broached the subject, he held back no longer. "The Cangwu lineage effectively split in two three years ago, when you reached Void Piercing and displayed such world-shaking talent. One faction is still centered around ancient figures like Gelin and Li An, while the other coalesced around my master, Wan Liugui. They recently returned from the Beihai battlefield and only just arrived on Beihai Star."
"Split in two..."
"In fact, back when Master returned from the Cangwu Great World to the Taiyi Immortal Sect on Beihai Star, he proposed to Xie Xiong, Gelin, Li An, and the others that there was no need to place all their bets solely on Jiang Tianzun. He pointed out that your talent was equally astonishing, and that the Cangwu lineage ought to nurture you as well. But..."
"I understand," Yaoguang said with a nod.
He already understood what Li Hanqiu meant, and also what the rest of the Cangwu lineage was planning.
However...
He was not, after all, a native cultivator of Beihai Star.
If he were native to Beihai Star, he wouldn't care whether internal divisions existed; once offended, he would spare none of them.
Better to kill by mistake than let one slip away.
But having hailed from the Cangwu Great World, he remained slightly more rational, believing in directing grievances at their rightful source.
Besides, when facing Jiang Tianzun back then, had Wan Liugui not sided with Li Hanqiu, Li Hanqiu—a freshly ascended, highly unstable Void Piercing Battle Immortal—could never have deterred Jiang Tianzun, who had condensed an Azure Blue Golden Core.
In that respect, Wan Liugui had done him a great favor.
"If it is only the people belonging to Perfected Lord Wan Liugui's branch, I have no objections if you wish to take them in, Perfected Lord Li."
"Truly?"
Joy flickered in Li Hanqiu's eyes.
Yet he quickly added, "Do not let them interfere with your decisions, and do not compromise yourself on my account. Yaoguang, if you feel this is improper, I can refuse them..."
"No need." Yaoguang waved a hand.
He happened to need a group of people...
A group whose interests aligned with his own, who possessed decent strength, and whose potential losses would not cause him too much heartache, to deal with the issues at the Fine Gold Mountain Range.
Their arrival came at just the right time.
"Have Perfected Lord Wan bring his people over."
As Yaoguang spoke, a thought seemed to strike him, and he added, "You can also bring some people over from the Jiuxiao Sect... Though the situation here at the Heavenly Dao Sect hasn't fully stabilized, as long as my cultivation advances quickly enough, anyone harboring ill intentions will surely not dare show it. Therefore, we can begin taking advantage of the Heavenly Dao Sect's environment to cultivate disciples from the Jiuxiao Sect."
"Then we shall do as you say, Yaoguang." Li Hanqiu nodded. "I will arrange the personnel at once."
Yaoguang nodded slightly in return.
Ending the transmission, he took to the air once more, traversing the void. This time, he soon arrived at the Battle Hall under the jurisdiction of the Battle Lineage.
Sensing Yaoguang's aura streaking toward him like a rainbow, Battle Lineage Master Zhou Xingdou immediately soared into the air to greet him. "Has Junior Sect Master Yaoguang consolidated his realm? I imagine it will not be long before you make yet another leap forward. Truly worthy of congratulations."
"May your words ring true, Lineage Master," Yaoguang replied courteously. "I have come this time to assume my post as a hall master of the Battle Hall."
Presently, according to Zong Wenxian, the policy regarding Yaoguang was primarily to observe him.
If he was willing to behave and serve quietly as junior sect master, the Heavenly Dao Sect had no objection to gaining another Void Piercing combatant—or even a future Void Refining-level powerhouse.
However, if he stirred up trouble or became further entangled with the Penglai Immortal Sect, they would do everything in their power to freeze him out of inner circles and strip him of real authority.
As for placing him in charge of one of the Battle Hall's subordinate halls...
This was an authority that had to be granted to every junior sect master.
In this way, possessing a measure of martial power, the junior sect master could conduct sect affairs with greater ease.
"I have already prepared the personnel for you, Hall Master. Please follow me."
Smiling, Zhou Xingdou led Yaoguang toward a cluster of mountains.
Among the mountains, defensive formations were strict and solemn, and sharp, combative auras soared into the sky.
At the horizon, one could even spot Golden Core battles underway, seemingly drilling divine abilities.
Catching sight of the Battle Lineage Master from afar, the acting hall master quickly issued orders, and hundreds of streaks of light promptly descended toward the main peak of the mountain range.
"Of our Battle Lineage's thirty-six halls, the majority are on the Beihai battlefield fighting the Six Demonic Sects, the Nine Lineages of Demon Immortals, and the Ancestral Gods of the Ten Directions. Only six halls routinely guard the sect. And among those six, Tianshang Hall, led by Elder Qi Sha, boasts the strongest average combat strength."
As Zhou Xingdou spoke, he descended alongside Yaoguang onto the main peak.
On the main peak, the four hundred-odd Golden Core Battle Immortals of Tianshang Hall were already assembled, among them quite a few inner disciples with Radiant Sun Golden Cores or Incandescent White Golden Cores who had committed offenses and been relegated to the Battle Hall.
They stood formed in neat, orderly battle arrays.
At the fore stood four Void Piercing Battle Immortals.
Though not directly positioned inside the formation, they were linked as one with the battle array formed by these Battle Immortals.
With this battle array and four Void Piercing Battle Immortals, even a genuine Void Piercing expert trapped inside would face mortal peril.
If one added the acting hall master, who was also a genuine Void Piercing expert...
Any Void Piercing elder surrounded by such a hall would surely meet their doom.
"Qi Sha, from this day forth, Tianshang Hall falls under Junior Sect Master Yaoguang's command. You were notified of this earlier. Now, go ahead and complete the handover."
Zhou Xingdou turned his gaze toward an armored man among the crowd.
Yes, armor.
In a world where all protective treasures at the Magic Treasure level could change shape at will, that someone would actually wear a set of archaic battle armor that noticeably impeded movement...
Was peculiar indeed.
As Battle Lineage Master Zhou Xingdou spoke, Qi Sha turned and walked slowly toward Yaoguang.
The instant they stood face-to-face, Yaoguang could clearly sense the solidity and stability of this Void Piercing expert's grotto-heaven.
This was...
Unmistakably an expert at the peak of Void Piercing.
Moreover, clinging to him was a terrifying aura that inspired dread and alarm—an aura...
Of destruction.
"The Grand Dao of Destruction?" Yaoguang remarked.
This was one of the core Daos, second only to the four supreme Daos.
"Qi Sha is indeed a Void Piercing elder who walks the Grand Dao of Destruction. His prowess ranks among the very top of our Heavenly Dao Sect's Void Piercing elders. His blade has slain two demon kings and a god king—foreign races comparable to the Void Piercing realm."
Zhou Xingdou chuckled and added, "Well then, you two get along well. I will take my leave."
Having finished the introduction, the Battle Lineage Master transformed into a streak of light and departed swiftly.
Meanwhile, Qi Sha handed the Hall Master Token directly to Yaoguang.
As the token came into his grasp, Yaoguang quickly sensed a resonance connecting him to the hundreds of cultivators in this hall. With just a bit of drill, he would be able to command them thoroughly, executing all manner of formation shifts to surround and slaughter foes.
A truly ingenious formation, Yaoguang thought to himself.
"Junior Sect Master Yaoguang, was it?"
Just as he was sensing the formation, Qi Sha spoke up. "I know you possess extraordinary talent, and I know you have a special constitution, but... there is one thing I must make clear to you beforehand."
Yaoguang's gaze immediately settled on Qi Sha.
Inwardly, he had already guessed what was coming.
"Every Battle Hall exists to campaign against foreign races on the Heavenly Dao Sect's behalf, slaughtering demons and resisting the god race. That is where our duty lies," Qi Sha said in a deep voice. "If you intend to use Tianshang Hall's strength for internal factional strife or rooting out and massacring rivals, forgive me, but I will not agree, nor will I take part. I have said my piece. If you are dissatisfied, you are free to swap us for another hall as soon as possible."
With that, he cupped his hands, then turned toward the rest of the hall and waved a hand. "Resume training."
At once, the hundreds of cultivators dispersed and returned to their respective duties.
"A prickly one?"
Hearing this, Yaoguang smiled.
Leading a hall was the junior sect master's rightful prerogative, but Sect Master Zong was clearly reluctant to relinquish real authority. Thus, a hall like this—one that never engaged in internal power struggles or even feuds with other sects—had been handed over to Yaoguang.
However...
"Slaughtering demons and resisting the god race."
He watched Qi Sha walk away.
"You'll have plenty to do in the days to come."
Chapter 325