Advancement

At this moment, Qi Sha could clearly sense a terrifying thought rapidly sprouting within his heart. "Perhaps Junior Sect Master Yaoguang possesses a special constitution—a void-type special constitution. Perhaps when he executes void-type Dao arts, their might is amplified, which is why the Dao arts he unleashes possess such miraculous power..." The Void Piercing cultivator repeatedly tried to convince himself. Yet even so, as he gazed upon the Swimming Dragon Sword controlled by Yaoguang, the turbulent emotions in his eyes only flared more fiercely. He even gave birth to the thought of summoning everyone in the Tianshang Battle Hall to surround and kill him. Yaoguang was merely a newly ascended Void Piercing cultivator. If he was suddenly ambushed by three Void Piercing demon kings, caught off guard, and slain by them, not a single person could find any fault with it. Once this thought appeared, it grew with terrifying speed, threatening to spiral completely out of control. Yet just as this greed and desire were about to entirely erode his mind, the humanity formed through countless experiences along his path of cultivation finally allowed him to rein himself in. What caliber of talent, what remarkable gifts did he, Qi Sha, possess?! If he truly wanted to become a marauder cultivator, to bow his head and drift along with the mainstream current of Beihai Star, how could he possibly have ended up in his current state? As early as when he was a true disciple, he could have become the disciple of a peak master, a lineage head, a deputy sect master, or even a grand elder or Sect Master Zong Wenxian. Yet precisely because he had his own convictions, his own principles—firmly believing that the martial might of humanity should not be squandered in internal strife, but rather dedicated wholeheartedly to slaying demons and resisting foreign races—he refused to wallow in the mire with anyone else. It was because of this that he lost the opportunity to become a junior sect master, was relegated to the Battle Hall, and had languished until today. If he were now to abandon everything he had stood for over all these years just for three Dao artifacts, what kind of person would that make him? What would all his years of steadfast endurance amount to? As these thoughts surged, the greed and desire within Qi Sha's heart swiftly subsided, restoring his composure. Having undergone this intense psychological struggle, his mind felt as though it had passed through an unprecedented tempering, becoming even clearer and more transparent. Along with it came a deeper comprehension of the Dao of Destruction. Maintaining his calm and summoning every ounce of his focus, he remained at the edge of the battlefield to guard Yaoguang's flanks and prevent any demon from escaping. At the same time, he summoned several Void Piercing Battle Immortals. "Seal off the perimeter. Not a single demon from this cohort is permitted to escape." However, one of the Void Piercing Battle Immortals tentatively sent a divine mind transmission: "Hall Master, the power of the Dao arts Yaoguang is unleashing seems somewhat contrary to reason. Could it be that he carries..." "Have you forgotten?" Before the Void Piercing Battle Immortal could finish, Qi Sha cut him off. "Junior Sect Master Yaoguang possesses a special constitution—a void-type special constitution. Such a special constitution not only allows him to better comprehend the power of the void, but also amplifies the might of void Dao arts." "A special constitution?" Hearing this, the Void Piercing Battle Immortal wore a look of sudden realization. "No wonder the same Dao arts display such astonishing scale and are rich with Dao charm in his hands. So it was due to a special constitution." As for whether he truly believed it, that was up for interpretation. "Mm." Qi Sha glanced at him. With his understanding of the Void Piercing Battle Immortals, he was confident they understood what he meant. Right away, the Void Piercing Battle Immortals led the other cultivators of the Tianshang Battle Hall to fly rapidly in all directions. They formed an enormous perimeter, encircling the demons on the battlefield from the outside to ensure not a single demon could slip away. Meanwhile, on the battlefield... The battle between Yaoguang and the other two Void Piercing demon kings had also reached a white-hot pitch. Although each Void Piercing demon king had painstakingly cultivated an innate Dao art capable of unleashing astonishing power, Yaoguang possessed the Heaven-Sealing Stele, which allowed him to pin down one of them on his own. Combined with the Swimming Dragon Sword and the Boundary-Crossing Ruler at his disposal, in a one-on-one scenario, these Void Piercing demon kings were simply no match for him. After a few clashes, Yaoguang seized an opening. Relying on the advantage of his Child of the Void trait that allowed him to cast Dao arts faster, he closed in instantly and executed a decisive kill on one of the demon kings. With that demon king dead, the final remaining demon king fell into panic and attempted to flee. Yet without any need for Qi Sha to intervene, Yaoguang alone used the Heaven-Sealing Stele to leave him stranded, unable to advance or retreat. This was not the outer sea, after all. Once targeted, a demon king had no chance of calling for reinforcements and could only fight to the death. As the Void Sword slashed down repeatedly, this Void Piercing demon king soon followed in the footsteps of the two before it. *Swish!* A streak of golden light pierced the air. The Swimming Dragon Sword quickly returned to Yaoguang's hand. With a wave of his sleeve, he stored away the corpses of the three Void Piercing demon kings. Reflecting slightly on the clash just now, he remarked with some emotion, "Void Piercing demon kings... are nothing more than this." A Void Piercing expert that the Cangwu lineage had dreamed day and night of cultivating had fallen under his sword just like that. Although it was merely a Void Piercing demon king whose equipment was somewhat inferior to a human Void Piercing cultivator, its profound mastery over its innate Dao art meant its combat prowess was in no way inferior to any human Void Piercing expert. Yet such an outcome was hardly surprising. Setting aside the Child of the Void trait, Yaoguang possessed three Dao artifacts alone, his realm comprehension had reached the peak of Void Refining, he commanded five Dao arts, and his grotto-heaven had evolved to its pinnacle form. With so many advantages on his side, if he still could not triumph over three ordinary Void Piercing demon kings, it would have been a waste of such favorable conditions. With the three demon kings slain, the demons riding upon the manta-ray great demon naturally scattered in all directions. Yaoguang paid no heed to any notions of bullying the weak. The Heaven-Sealing Stele pressed down, and the Swimming Dragon Sword shuttled back and forth amidst the horde. In the blink of an eye, the two hundred great demons carried upon the manta ray were slaughtered clean. Throughout the entire process, whether they were rank-seven, rank-eight, or rank-nine great demons, none possessed the slightest leeway to resist. The vast disparity between Void Piercing and Golden Core was demonstrated to the utmost in this slaughter. Only after Yaoguang had wiped out this entire cohort of demons by himself did Qi Sha, having composed his mind, lead the crowd forward. Cupping his hands, he proclaimed in a ringing voice, "The Junior Sect Master's divine abilities are boundless! His might shakes the deep sea, and the demon hordes submit!" As soon as he spoke, the other cultivators of the Tianshang Battle Hall also shouted in unison, "The Hall Master's divine abilities are boundless! His might shakes the deep sea, and the demon hordes submit!" "You overpraise me." Yaoguang swept his gaze across them. Through this battle, taking on three alone and slaying three Void Piercing demon kings, he had thoroughly demonstrated his sheer might. The gazes the Tianshang Battle Hall cultivators directed toward him were filled with deference, reverence, and even worship. Even the Void Piercing Battle Immortals were no exception. However, what Yaoguang observed most attentively was Qi Sha, the Void Piercing acting hall master. This time, he had unreservedly displayed three great Dao artifacts—the Swimming Dragon Sword, the Boundary-Crossing Ruler, and the Heaven-Sealing Stele. Even a Void Refining cultivator, let alone a Void Piercing one, would find it difficult to rein in the greed in their heart at the sight of such equipment. Coupled with the situation where he was facing three demon kings... It had been the absolute best opportunity to kick someone while they were down. Of course, Yaoguang had not intentionally feigned weakness either; he had appropriately displayed his formidable strength. Otherwise, for a newly ascended Void Piercing cultivator to expose three Dao artifacts, how would that differ from malicious baiting? What cultivator could withstand such a temptation? The final outcome... Left him quite surprised. Although Qi Sha's demeanor had seemed slightly off at the beginning, he had quickly recovered. Afterward, he showed not the slightest hint of overstepping throughout the entire encounter, remaining vigilantly on guard at the edge of the battlefield the whole time. Such conduct astonished Yaoguang. At this moment, Yaoguang met Qi Sha's gaze... He could see Qi Sha's envy and yearning for the Dao artifacts on his person, yet overall, it was completely open and upright. Qi Sha wanted these things, but he would obtain them openly and honorably through his own abilities. For such character to exist on Beihai Star... *No wonder he performed so brilliantly during his time as a true disciple yet never attached himself to any backing or patron, and even after achieving Void Piercing with the Grand Dao of Destruction as his Dao seed, he never landed a single lucrative position, serving merely as an acting hall master in the Tianshang Battle Hall,* Yaoguang thought to himself. Yet a person of such principles and steadfast conviction... Was truly worthy of trust in his eyes. Others, including the likes of Chi Yu of the Chi Family and Ling Ruogu of the Ling Family, could only be considered partners of mutual interest, far from being worthy of genuine trust. "It seems our conspicuous advance has drawn the attention of the demons. However, I believe mobilizing three demon kings is likely the absolute limit of the forces they can muster in this sea region. Otherwise, if they gathered in greater numbers, it would easily invite a strike from Dao Lord Penglai," Yaoguang remarked. "That may be true, but to be safe, we should still avoid nearing the boundaries of the outer sea and restrict our activities to regions closer to the inner sea," Qi Sha said. "Mm. Let us destroy that demon lair first," Yaoguang said, then seemed to recall something. "However... hundreds of great demons... Aside from that lair, there probably isn't anywhere else concealing so many great demons. We might end up making a wasted trip." Qi Sha nodded. Yet having come this far, they still had to go see for themselves. Immediately, the group set off once more toward the demon lair. Once the warship started back up and things quieted down, Yaoguang finally had the leisure to focus his mind on the ancient tree within his spiritual world. Relying on the energy obtained from 【Demon Hunting】, pushing 【Immortal Path · Void Refining】 to the Void Shattering stage was more than sufficient. *No time like the present...* With a thought from Yaoguang, the energy belonging to the 【Demon Hunting】 branch began to pour into 【Immortal Path · Void Refining】. 92%, 94%, 96%, 98%... Amidst countless insights and reflections regarding the Void Refining realm, this branch rapidly grew to its absolute limit, blooming and bearing fruit. After forming a Dao fruit, the branch still did not stop growing. Only after the progress pushed forward by roughly another 4% did it slowly taper off. Such a rate of progress... With a brief calculation, Yaoguang quickly arrived at an answer. "Slaying a Void Piercing demon king only pushes the progress by about 1% now?! According to my earlier calculations from slaying great demons, during the Void Refining realm, slaying a Void Piercing demon king pushed the progress by as much as 10%—meaning from Void Refining to Void Shattering, hunting ten demon kings was enough..." After some contemplation, he reined in his thoughts. One hundred Void Piercing demon kings... That was no small sum. Likely only the outer sea held any hope of gathering that many. Yet in the outer sea, behind the Void Piercing demon kings stood demon emperors and demon sovereigns. Once the situation turned sour, they would immediately hole up and call for aid, making slaying them vastly more difficult. Still... It made sense. Above Void Shattering was the Dao Lord realm; it was only natural for progress to slow down at this stage. Having settled his mind, Yaoguang thoroughly digested the information brought by the realm breakthrough, making final preparations for selecting his Dao seed.