Acceptance

Nine Cauldrons Peak. Xu Nianhua bowed respectfully toward Yaoguang. "True Monarch." "Take these Pure Yang Great Pills. In addition, I have written down my cultivation insights for the Golden Core stage. Use them to form an Incandescent White Golden Core as soon as possible." Yaoguang handed over a treasure tool containing a large quantity of Pure Yang Golden Pills to Xu Nianhua. Xu Nianhua hesitated for a moment before accepting the treasure tool. "Thank you, True Monarch." "Mm. Give me your identity token. I will grant you access to the formation on the Third Secondary Peak. You may cultivate there from now on." "Yes." Xu Nianhua handed over his identity token. Yaoguang manipulated it briefly and soon granted him entry and exit permissions for the formation. The mountain range where Nine Cauldrons Peak stood spanned thousands of li. Aside from the main peak where he resided, there were thirty-three secondary peaks. Housing a single person was negligible; even settling millions or tens of millions of people would pose no issue. Of course, cultivators demanded a high degree of privacy. Even though numerous formations across these mountains could partition space, having a few thousand cultivators living here would already feel crowded. Previously, Yaoguang had avoided close contact with Xu Nianhua because he had not yet clearly seen through the internal dynamics of the Heavenly Dao Sect. Now, however... Knowing that while the Heavenly Dao Sect was testing him, they kept it within certain bounds, he finally felt safe bringing Xu Nianhua under his wing. "Junior Sect Master, the materials you purchased have arrived." At that moment, Lü Suoyu's voice came from outside. "Very good." Yaoguang stepped forward and accepted the storage treasure tool Lü Suoyu handed him. Glancing over the materials inside—worth three million Pure Yang Great Pills—he nodded in satisfaction. In theory, a single Void Boundary Stone had a high probability of allowing the Boundary-Crossing Ruler to transform into a Dao artifact. But now that Yaoguang had sold the Longxiang Flying Boat, he had lost his trump card in terms of speed. If he encountered danger, he might not even be able to escape smoothly. Therefore, the transformation of the Boundary-Crossing Ruler had to succeed without fail. Taking advantage of his current wealth, he had spent another three million Pure Yang Great Pills to purchase an array of artifact-crafting materials, striving to ensure that the Boundary-Crossing Ruler's transformation would be completely foolproof. With no time to waste, he activated the formations of Nine Cauldrons Peak and swiftly set about nurturing the Boundary-Crossing Ruler using the Spirit Nourishing Technique and Treasure Refining Technique. While nurturing the ruler, he also had ample time to digest the information he had obtained when his progress in [Immortal Dao · Void Refining] was deduced to 92%. ... Several months later. Yaoguang rubbed his head, which throbbed slightly from "studying" for so long. Only after quite a while did he summarize and organize the useful information. "Of the Three Thousand Great Daos, only forty-nine circulate on Beihai Star, and there are fewer than three hundred great divine abilities—none of which are even guaranteed to let one join the Dao and become a Dao Lord..." As Yaoguang pondered, he scanned the organized information once more. "The supreme divine abilities with viable continuation paths that I can 'see' through my higher-dimensional cognition... also number only nine hundred and three. In other words, even I can likely only see nine hundred and three Dao arts and grasp nine hundred and three Dao art inheritances." This was an inherent limitation of his higher-dimensional cognition. He merely possessed higher-dimensional cognition; he was not truly omniscient or omnipotent. An ant shifting to a human perspective could clearly behold a vast world, yet humans—all-powerful as they might seem to an ant—still could not see the cosmos in its entirety. "The scope I can perceive actually extends beyond Beihai Star. I could already infer this from the Mystic Origin Creation Technique I initially obtained from the 'Creation Group.' That technique allows a cultivator to reach the ninth layer of the Golden Core without any danger, proving it is extraordinary. Yet the 'Creation Group' that possessed such a method does not exist on Beihai Star at all, which shows it originates from another world." Not only the Mystic Origin Creation Technique, but the nine hundred and three Dao arts were the same. However... Even seeing nine hundred and three Dao art inheritances did not amount to even a third of the Three Thousand Great Daos. He estimated that if he truly wanted to behold the complete Three Thousand Great Daos, he would likely have to reach a higher-level world. Such as... The Immortal Realm where immortals resided? "I will proceed as originally planned. If I still cannot obtain the complete Three Thousand Great Daos after deducing my cultivation to Void Shattering, I will condense a Dao seed with the Great Dao of the Void and advance to the Void Refining realm." Yaoguang exhaled a helpless breath. To think that at merely the Void Cavern tier, his "higher-dimensional cognition" was already revealing its limits. At that moment, he seemed to sense something. With a wave of his sleeve, the formation parted. At the same time, he sent a divine sense message to Lü Suoyu: "Go to the gate to welcome a group of people into the sect and bring them directly to me." "Understood." Receiving the order, Lü Suoyu bowed and departed. In just half an hour, led by the chief manager, a party of over three hundred people arrived as streaks of light, descending onto Guest-Receiving Peak. Among the three hundred-odd individuals, Yaoguang could disregard the rest, but the person at their head commanded his respect. Wan Liugui. This group of over three hundred people was none other than the faction of the Cangwu Lineage led by Wan Liugui—those who had disagreed with pouring all their resources into nurturing Jiang Tianzun. As the three hundred people touched down, Yaoguang arrived right on their heels. He even took the initiative to clasp his hands in greeting. "True Monarch Wan, it has been a long time." Seeing Yaoguang personally welcome them, the others felt a swell of excitement. The gazes they directed at Yaoguang were filled with novel wonder, as if beholding a living legend. As for Wan Liugui, his expression held a trace of melancholy and wistfulness, but above all, an unspeakable complexity. Only after a good while did he return the salute. "It has indeed been a long time." With that, he led the three hundred people behind him in a deep bow. "Greetings, True Monarch Yaoguang." "No need for such formality," Yaoguang said. He cast his eyes over the group... Counting Wan Liugui, there were five Void Piercing Battle Immortals. Among the rest, there were quite a few Golden Core Battle Immortals, and even about a hundred orthodox Golden Core cultivators. The two with the highest cultivation had actually formed Incandescent White Golden Cores. This sight gave Yaoguang an inkling of what had transpired. The Cangwu Lineage had likely sent every promising talent who might "threaten" Jiang Tianzun—or rather, who might be "threatened" by him—over to his side. After all, that Jiang Tianzun possessed little magnanimity. He did not call it out, merely saying, "Since everyone has come, make yourselves at home living and cultivating here on Nine Cauldrons Peak. Nine Cauldrons Peak yields a sizable revenue in Pure Yang Great Pills each year, more than enough to support you all." Hearing this, Wan Liugui took the initiative to speak. "Before arriving, I looked a bit into the properties under your name, True Monarch Yaoguang. It seems no one has yet been stationed at the Refined Gold Mountains? I have spent years running about the Beihai Battlefield and have grown rather weary. If True Monarch Yaoguang would take pity on us old bones, why not let us go to the Refined Gold Mountains into peaceful retirement?" He quickly added, "The fifty percent share of revenue from the Refined Gold Mountains will not be short by even half a coin." "The Refined Gold Mountains..." Yaoguang glanced at Wan Liugui, realizing the people of the Cangwu Lineage were eager to prove their worth. After a brief thought, he said, "I am quite curious about the Beihai Battlefield. True Monarch Wan, remain here to tell me of the battlefield's happenings. In addition, select a portion of your people to manage operations across Nine Cauldrons Peak; the rest may go oversee the Refined Gold Mountains." He addressed the numerous Battle Immortals present: "The Heavenly Dao Sect and the Taiyi Immortal Sect each hold a fifty percent share in the Refined Gold Mountains. Of our fifty percent share, half must be turned over to the sect, while the remaining half is my revenue. Of my share, you may retain ten percent to fund your daily cultivation." Hearing those words, the eyes of the Cangwu Lineage Battle Immortals lit up slightly. The materials produced by the Refined Gold Mountains could be sold for roughly six million Pure Yang Great Pills each year. Yaoguang's cut came to 1.5 million. Even ten percent of that was 150,000 pills. A hundred and fifty thousand Pure Yang Great Pills was just enough to cover their daily expenses. As for anything more, they would have to find ways themselves. Yaoguang guaranteeing them a baseline was already exceedingly generous. ... Most of the Cangwu Lineage's Battle Immortals chose to head to the Refined Gold Mountains, while the conventional Golden Core cultivators remained on Nine Cauldrons Peak. Yaoguang promptly cleared out a number of existing administrative posts on Nine Cauldrons Peak and appointed them to those roles. In this way, they effectively drew stipends from the Heavenly Dao Sect. Higher positions, such as managers, paid several thousand pills, while lower posts still offered several hundred. For a Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivator, earning several hundred Pure Yang Great Pills a year already put them ahead of ninety percent of their peers. After all, in small factions such as Hundred Flowers Valley and the Iron Blood Sect in the Yunchuan Mountains—which had Incandescent White Golden Core experts overseeing them—the entire sect's annual revenue was only a few hundred Pure Yang Great Pills. Yet while others were replaced, he kept Lü Suoyu in his position. Yaoguang had not been at the Heavenly Dao Sect for long, after all, and still needed someone thoroughly familiar with sect affairs to answer general questions. ... Inside the reception hall. After inviting Wan Liugui to take a seat, Yaoguang dispensed with pleasantries and asked directly, "What is the situation with the Beihai Battlefield?" "The Beihai Battlefield... is a war between human-led immortal cultivation factions and alien races of other cultivation systems." Wan Liugui paused, then continued, "The battlefield spans an immense area. Factions like the demonic sects and the Nine Demon Immortal Lineages dispatch forces to plunder resources from surrounding worlds. The resources of certain worlds are actually quite valuable... Take our Cangwu Great World, for instance, which contains an abundance of materials for Dao artifacts." Yaoguang nodded upon hearing this. Back then, the Moon Demon Empire had invaded for those very materials. Of course, to the demonic sects, cultivators themselves were also a type of material. And a rather cost-effective one at that. "If the assets of an entire world can be thoroughly plundered, they rival the value of a Dao artifact. After forces like the Nine Demon Immortal Lineages, demonic sects, and the Ten Divine Clans finish raiding worlds across the surrounding starry sky, they all return toward Beihai Star. Our mission is to intercept these alien groups as they return laden with spoils. Each time an interception succeeds, we can keep a portion of the captured resources, while turning the rest over to the sect," Wan Liugui explained. Yaoguang nodded. "What level of strength do these plundering alien forces typically possess?" "It depends on their scale. Because the target worlds are often located far away, they generally have someone comparable to a Void Piercing Battle Immortal operating a battleship for void traversal. Larger raiding forces are overseen by Demon Kings equivalent to the Void Cavern realm, or even Demon Emperors in the Void Refining realm. If the scale of conflict escalates, even Void Shattering experts will be mobilized." Wan Liugui paused before adding, "After all, the resistance in some worlds is not weak. In the prime of our Cangwu Great World, when dozens of Void Piercing Battle Immortals were present, fighting desperately one after another, even a Void Cavern Demon King leading a strike would find only death." "Void Refining Demon Emperors..." Hearing this, Yaoguang realized how perilous the outer battlefield was, and had no choice but to shelve his original plan. Seeing Yaoguang's inquiries, Wan Liugui seemed to realize something and said in alarm, "You are not planning to venture to the outer battlefield to temper yourself, are you? Absolutely not! The outer battlefield might not be terribly dangerous for an ordinary Void Cavern cultivator, but you are different. You are a genius with prospects of reaching Void Refining. Not only have the Ten Immortal Sects heard your name, but the demons have likely placed you on their kill list as well. If you go to the battlefield, you will be heavily targeted." "I understand." Yaoguang let out a sigh. The battlefield on the outer perimeter of Beihai Star was indeed a high-level map. "In that case, I can only go somewhere relatively safe." "Safe?" "The Deep Blue Sea, where the Demon Kings and Demon Emperors have been virtually eradicated, sounds like a good choice," Yaoguang said. With only an eight-percent deficit remaining, even if he did not hunt Demon Kings, wiping out a larger number of rank eight and nine great demons would surely be enough to make up the difference.