The Biyou Immortal Market typically catered to the seventh through ninth levels of the Golden Core realm.
The supplies sold and exchanged there were basically of that tier as well.
Only during special events or grand gatherings would Void Piercing-grade resources ever appear on the market.
Naturally, there was no way to procure the various Dao artifact-grade materials Yaoguang required on short notice.
However, the more than 8,160,000 Pure Yang Great Pills exchanged from over eighty million contribution points were gathered in just a few short hours.
Carrying such a staggering sum of Pure Yang Great Pills, Yaoguang and Qi Sha returned directly to the Tianshang Battle Hall warship waiting at the skyport.
Without delay, Yaoguang summoned every member of the Tianshang Battle Hall.
Under everyone's eager and expectant gazes, he gave the command: "All Void Piercing Battle Immortals of the Tianshang Battle Hall, step forward."
The four Void Piercing Battle Immortals immediately stepped forth.
"During this time, the four of you have campaigned alongside me and rendered remarkable service. Each of you is granted five hundred thousand Pure Yang Great Pills."
As Yaoguang spoke, he placed previously prepared spatial treasures directly into their hands.
"Five hundred thousand Pure Yang Great Pills?!"
The eyes of the four Void Piercing Battle Immortals went wide, shock written across their faces.
An ordinary Void Piercing cultivator's entire annual income was barely over a million pills. How long had they been following Yaoguang? Barely a few months!
Moreover, they had not faced any real danger.
Yet here it was...
Five hundred thousand Pure Yang Great Pills in their hands just like that?!
"Offer your thanks to Hall Master Yaoguang," Qi Sha said from the side. "Deep down, you know best how much effort you actually put into slaying those demons during this campaign. It is purely due to Hall Master Yaoguang's benevolence that you are receiving such a reward."
The four Void Piercing Battle Immortals exchanged glances and bowed in unison. "We thank the Hall Master!"
One of the Void Piercing Battle Immortals felt his heart flood with guilt as he bowed.
Not long ago, while Yaoguang was locked in life-and-death combat with the three demon kings, he had deliberately probed and incited Qi Sha to turn on Yaoguang.
And now...
What was repaying evil with kindness?!
This was repaying evil with kindness!
This junior sect master was truly a person of consummate nobility.
After accepting their bows, Yaoguang turned his gaze to the others and continued, "Ninth-level Golden Core cultivators, step forward."
At once, twelve cultivators who had condensed Azure Blue Golden Cores stepped forward in excitement, their eyes shining brightly toward Yaoguang.
None of them were young anymore; the oldest had cultivated for more than eight hundred years, while the youngest was over three hundred, having long exceeded the age limit for true disciples.
With old age and declining vitality, their essence, qi, and spirit could no longer compare to those of youthful Azure Blue Golden Cores.
Yet...
It was not impossible for them to attempt a breakthrough into the Void Piercing realm in the future.
"For your merits in slaying demons, each of you is granted one hundred thousand Pure Yang Great Pills."
"Many thanks, Hall Master!"
This time, without any prompting from Qi Sha, the twelve ninth-level Golden Core cultivators gave thanks from the bottom of their hearts.
"Everyone else, regardless of cultivation level, is granted ten thousand Pure Yang Great Pills each."
Yaoguang waved his sleeve, scattering mounds of Pure Yang Great Pills.
Ten thousand Pure Yang Great Pills!
Some seventh-level Golden Core Battle Immortals had never seen such a vast fortune in their entire lives.
Upon receiving the pills, every single one of them trembled with sheer excitement.
"There are sixteen others who have repeatedly rendered outstanding service and deserve special commendation. Each of you is granted an additional one hundred thousand Pure Yang Great Pills."
With that, Yaoguang bestowed the final batch of Pure Yang Great Pills upon those cultivators who had scouted rank-nine great demons, discovered the Scarlet Scale Demon, or mastered specialized secret arts.
This immediately prompted them to kowtow and offer their deepest gratitude once more.
With more than eight million Pure Yang Great Pills distributed in total, every member of the Tianshang Battle Hall was filled with profound gratitude toward their hall master.
Watching this scene, Qi Sha could not help but sigh with emotion.
During all his years serving as the acting hall master of the Tianshang Battle Hall, he had only the bare minimum allowance to work with. Everyone following him had lived tight, meager lives.
Yet how long had they been following Yaoguang? Everyone had earned more than what they could make in years, a decade, or even several decades...
Seeing the excitement and bright smiles in their eyes, boundless feelings surged within him.
Following a hall master like Junior Sect Master Yaoguang...
The Tianshang Battle Hall truly seemed poised to carve out a bright future at last.
However, once everyone had received their pills, Qi Sha knew he had to step forward and speak as the former acting hall master.
"Hall Master Yaoguang's conduct is beyond reproach. Looking across the entire present state of Beihai Star, you could hardly find another hall master as noble and magnanimous as Hall Master Yaoguang. He has fulfilled his utmost duty toward every single one of us. Since the hall master has treated us so impeccably, if anyone proves ungrateful and secretly harms the hall master or the Tianshang Battle Hall, no matter who it is, once I find out, not a single one will leave the Tianshang Battle Hall alive!"
His chilling divine sense swept across the entire hall. "No matter which peak lord, lineage head, deputy sect master, sect master, or supreme elder stands behind you, there will be no exception! Do you hear me?!"
"Understood! We will never let down the hall master or deputy hall master!"
"We only came to the Tianshang Battle Hall because we couldn't stomach petty scheming and deceit! If I catch anyone bringing that kind of filth into our hall, I'll be the first to deal with them before the hall master or deputy hall master even needs to lift a finger!"
"The hall master's generosity and benevolence are unprecedented! I am utterly convinced! From this day forth, I will follow the hall master's every order without hesitation!"
The members of the battle hall shouted in loud affirmation, eager to pledge their very lives.
Yet...
Both Yaoguang and Qi Sha understood full well that shouting pledges was one thing, but actual actions were another.
There were inevitably members within the Tianshang Battle Hall connected to other peak lords, lineage heads, deputy sect masters, or the sect master himself. It merely remained to be seen whether they could be ferreted out, or whether they would step forward on their own to pledge true loyalty.
***
With the distribution of the Pure Yang Great Pills complete, the morale of the entire Tianshang Battle Hall surged to an unprecedented high.
Yaoguang did not disturb the battle hall members as they celebrated and shared their joy with one another, instead heading straight to the captain's quarters.
The fact that three Void Piercing demon kings had ambushed him earlier without his intuition picking it up made him realize that he still had a major blind spot.
Namely, a shortcoming in detection and perception.
To know oneself and know one's enemy was to be undefeated in a hundred battles.
The main reason he had previously been so invincible in the Cangwu Great World was due to the immense advantages granted by his Dharma Idol realm and divine sense.
Upon reaching the Void Piercing realm, the boundaries between essence, qi, and spirit were no longer clear-cut, making detection and perception Dao techniques utterly indispensable.
However, deciding which specific Dao technique to select gave him a bit of a headache.
*Theoretically, a void-detection Dao technique would be best. For example, Void Ripples. As these ripples spread, any secret or anomaly within the space ahead can be detected... Its drawback is limited range, poorer precision, and vulnerability to targeted counter-methods.*
Thoughts flowed through his mind. *On the other hand, the True Spirit Light, which directly touches upon the Grand Dao of the Soul, perceives things through the soul itself. Any being possessing a 'spirit' cannot escape its awareness... But it also has flaws: it can only detect living beings with souls and cannot sense inanimate objects. If an opponent lays a formation, I can tell living creatures are inside, but I won't be able to perceive the formation itself.*
He reviewed the information on these various Dao techniques, torn with indecision.
When all was said and done...
He simply had too many choices.
One thousand and eighty-eight Dao techniques.
Examining just one a day would take nearly three years.
Someone with no options would never have to wrestle with such a dilemma.
After a long while, his focus finally settled on the Dao technique "True Spirit Light."
It projected the power of the true spirit outward, allowing one not only to sense any living creature, but at its peak, to perceive the soul origin itself, judging a person's hostility, goodwill, and moral nature straight from the depths of their soul.
The purpose of perception was prevention.
This single advantage gave True Spirit Light an edge that no other Dao technique could match.
Just as Yaoguang decided to cultivate True Spirit Light as an auxiliary technique, Lu Li's escaping light appeared outside the warship, requesting an audience on urgent business.
When brought to the captain's quarters, the Penglai Immortal Sect Perfected Lord gave a slight bow and got straight to the point: "Perfected Lord Yaoguang, please seal off our surroundings first."
Yaoguang was mystified, but confident in his own strength, he did not believe Lu Li could pose any threat to him.
With a wave of his hand, he activated the room's defensive array and even casually cast an isolation formation of his own.
"Could there be an issue with those artifact-crafting materials?" Yaoguang asked.
"Rest assured, Perfected Lord Yaoguang. Procuring materials on the scale of a billion points is not difficult for our Penglai Immortal Sect."
As Lu Li spoke, he took out a jade talisman. "The reason I have come is that Deputy Sect Master Leng has an important matter to discuss with you."
As he activated the jade talisman, a wave of divine sense surged out from it, quickly coalescing into a woman clad in an ancient-style gown, appearing exceptionally sharp and decisive.
"Deputy Sect Master Leng..."
Looking at her and recalling Lu Li's title, Yaoguang instantly recognized her identity. "Deputy Sect Master of the Penglai Immortal Sect, one of Dao Lord Penglai's three great disciples, Leng Qingqiu?"
"Junior Sect Master Yaoguang, forgive me for taking the liberty of visiting you in this manner."
Leng Qingqiu dispensed with excessive pleasantries and came straight to the point: "I see that you do not bear the distinctive Dao charm of a Dao seed. You have yet to plant your Dao seed, correct?"
Yaoguang was uncertain of her intentions, but since he had not cultivated any concealment divine abilities or Dao techniques, the depth of his cultivation could not be hidden. Thus, he answered truthfully, "I have not."
"Wonderful," Leng Qingqiu said quickly. "I would like to ask a favor of you, Perfected Lord Yaoguang. I need you to make a trip to the border between the deep sea and the outer sea to lure out a demon king possessing the bloodline of the Heavenly Peng."
"What do you mean?" Yaoguang asked, puzzled.
"Recently, we encountered an extremely troublesome problem near the outer sea. Among the demon race, a demon king possessing the bloodline of the Kunpeng has been constantly slipping across the border between the deep and outer sea to launch surprise raids, relying on its natural gift for the void and mastery of its lifebound Dao technique."
The deputy sect master's tone grew grave. "In less than ten years, the squad led by this demon king has slain three of our Penglai Immortal Sect's Void Piercing elders and twelve true disciples! Countless other disciples and deacons have fallen to its claws. Yet they act with extreme caution. Despite having at least six to eight demon kings, they never attack peak Void Piercing experts who have already planted Dao seeds. Instead, they target ordinary Void Piercing cultivators and gifted true disciples. And the moment they strike their target down, they immediately rely on their innate gifts to vanish into hiding."
She looked at Yaoguang. "Perfected Lord Yaoguang, you attained the Void Piercing realm before reaching a hundred years of age, and you even hold hope of reaching Void Refining within the next century. You have already been placed on the demon race's Void Piercing bounty list. In particular, your recent slaying of three demon kings has caused your rank on that list to skyrocket, placing you in the top ten!"
"And then?"
"If you appear near the outer sea, Demon King Tuntian is very likely to be lured out to attack you. When that happens, we can strike from within and without, eradicating this grave menace once and for all!"
Leng Qingqiu looked directly at Yaoguang. "I know this will place you in danger. But I promise you, I will lead our people to follow closely behind you at all times to ensure your safety. Furthermore, our Penglai Immortal Sect is willing to offer handsome compensation!"
She paused, then raised a single finger, speaking with profound emphasis: "A Dao artifact. How does that sound?"
Chapter 336