Recruitment

"Void Refining," Yaoguang murmured softly. In essence, this breakthrough was merely a matter of steady, continuous cultivation. Before a cultivator like Yaoguang—whose realm comprehension had long exceeded normal bounds—breaking through to this realm was entirely natural, as effortless as water flowing into a channel. It did not even stir up much of a ripple. Not even the warship's flight trajectory was disturbed. "Void Refining is about drawing energy and mass from the void, from nothingness. The void is the foundation that carries all Great Daos. Even where nothing seems to exist, at its deepest essence, it is still influenced by the Great Dao. The Void Refining realm is about excavating one's own Dao seed to strip away and extract that energy..." Yaoguang smiled faintly. "Putting it in scientific terms, at this moment, I suppose I have mastered zero-point energy." Reaching this step, the energy a cultivator commanded was theoretically close to infinite. Of course, that was merely theoretical. The Void Refining realm was still far from truly infinite energy. "If Void Piercing is primarily about condensing a Dao seed and using the grotto-heaven as a foundation to open up soil capable of sustaining it, then going from Void Refining to Void Shattering is about constantly drawing upon the power of the void... or rather, using the power of the Great Dao carried by the void to nourish the Dao seed, allowing it to flourish. And in the process of the Dao seed's growth, it will in turn fortify the grotto-heaven, endowing it with far greater mass..." Yaoguang rose to his feet. With a mere thought, he appeared directly on the warship's deck. The entire process went completely unnoticed by anyone. Even Qi Sha, a Void Piercing elder, was no exception. "By condensing the void Dao seed through the Dao art Void Flicker, I bypass the step of having to use grotto-heaven power to drive the power of the void... Now, so long as I don't run into a Void Shattering expert capable of shattering the void, even if I'm surrounded by eight or ten Void Refining cultivators, I can safely withdraw." Yaoguang sensed the Dao seed condensed from Void Flicker. He now possessed such confidence. "Additionally, I can advance my Dao art realm as well. Although it's still somewhat difficult for my current grotto-heaven to drive major-completion Dao arts, with the aid of a suitable Dao artifact, it won't be an issue. Especially the Dao art Sovereign Human Emperor—if I can master it, it can completely sustain the consumption of a major-completion Dao art. When that time comes, in terms of sheer lethality, I might not be inferior to a Void Shattering expert; at most, my endurance won't match a true Void Shattering realm cultivator." Yaoguang weighed his options. And to elevate his Dao art realm... It was not through grueling, painstaking cultivation, but rather by advancing the progress of [Immortal Dao: Void Shattering]. By his estimation, as long as the progress of [Immortal Dao: Void Shattering] reached 80%, let alone the six Dao arts he currently mastered, even elevating all the other 1,082 Dao arts to major completion would be a breeze. "Hall Master." At that moment, a slightly surprised voice came from nearby. Immediately following, the voice turned delighted: "Hall Master, you've emerged from seclusion!" Yaoguang glanced at him. It was an Azure Blue Golden Core cultivator from the Tianshang Battle Hall named Yang Feng. Among the twelve Azure Blue Golden Core cultivators, he was considered relatively young, only around five hundred years old. "Mm," Yaoguang acknowledged. Calculating slightly, he soon realized that without noticing, he had already been in seclusion for three years. Right then, his divine mind located Qi Sha. With a brief summons, the Void Piercing elder soon appeared on the deck. "Hall Master!" As Qi Sha bowed in greeting, his gaze fell upon Yaoguang. He seemed to have guessed something, his eyes filled with shock and uncertainty. Yaoguang did not proactively explain. Although he had reached the Void Refining realm, cultivation in Void Refining required piling up resources. This process was bound to be step-by-step; it wouldn't create an immediate, qualitative chasm the moment one broke through like the jump from Golden Core to Void Piercing. Compared to a Void Piercing cultivator at their absolute peak, a newly advanced Void Refining cultivator was merely stronger in having a higher Dao art realm and faster conversion of grotto-heaven power. Take combat power as an example. A Void Piercing cultivator's combat power was typically between 10,000,000 and 20,000,000. While Void Refining... Was 20,000,000 to 50,000,000. Yaoguang estimated that before fleshing out other aspects and elevating the mass of his grotto-heaven, the realm breakthrough had at most granted him a boost of around 5,000,000 combat power. After all... His intrinsic Dao art was not geared toward combat. "Has anything significant happened over these three years?" Yaoguang asked. "Tianshang Battle Hall has been calm and peaceful. Over these three years, everyone's cultivation has improved considerably, and from time to time they sought out demons to spar with and adapt to their increased strength. It has been very fulfilling," Qi Sha reported at once. "What about the Heavenly Dao Sect?" Yaoguang asked. "We've only been out for four years. The Heavenly Dao Sect hasn't inquired during such a short span. However, Elder Shu Chunqiu sent word through an emissary that things have been somewhat turbulent recently along the border between the outer sea and deep sea of the Deep Blue Sea, warning us to act cautiously," Qi Sha replied. Yaoguang nodded. Four years. To a Void Piercing cultivator with a lifespan of ten thousand years, that was merely ten days or so in the concept of ordinary mortals. Still, the message sent by Elder Shu Chunqiu... was rather interesting. Yaoguang smiled and said, "Was the chaos at the border between the outer sea and the deep sea caused by that Demon King Tuntian? Has Deputy Sect Master Leng still not caught that demon king?" "Indeed!" Speaking of this matter, Qi Sha grew animated. "To put a bounty on these demon kings, the Penglai Immortal Sect offered a price nearly equivalent to a Dao artifact. That attracted quite a few Void Piercing and even Void Refining experts from the Ten Immortal Sects to set up ambushes. However, among the demon kings under Demon King Tuntian is a Great Dao Golden Cicada, which by nature possesses an exceptionally sharp sensitivity to Dao charm and the power of Dao seeds. Even though three Void Refining and over a dozen Void Piercing cultivators arrived at the outer sea, they still failed to ferret out Demon King Tuntian and his group. Instead, the demon-led squad seized an opportunity when three Void Piercing cultivators were separated and flaunted their ferocity once again!" "Another three Void Piercing cultivators fell?" Yaoguang asked, somewhat astonished. "Two fell—they were from the Immortal Martial Sect and the Great Shang. The Void Piercing cultivator from the Sanqing Sacred Hall relied on a treasure to hold out until a Void Refining expert arrived as backup, barely saving his life, but his grotto-heaven nearly collapsed. It's uncertain whether he can ever recover it." Qi Sha smiled as he continued, "And it was precisely because of the intel he brought back that the world learned there was a Great Dao Golden Cicada among the demons led by Demon King Tuntian." "A Great Dao Golden Cicada," Yaoguang murmured thoughtfully. The demon race encompassed an immense variety of species, making it easy for all manner of strange, bizarre lifeforms to emerge. Although most possessed low intelligence and struggled with cultivation, now and then beings endowed with extraordinary innate talents appeared. The Great Dao Golden Cicada was one such creature. They were born with an exceptionally acute perception of Dao charms, the Great Dao, and Dao seeds. So long as they wished, Void Piercing, Void Refining, and even Void Shattering cultivators who had cultivated a Dao seed could never hope to approach them. Before an enemy could even draw near, they would already sense it and slip away in secret. "Unless a Dao Lord takes action and directly erases an entire region, other cultivators are truly helpless against such a creature," Yaoguang remarked. "Isn't that right? The Great Dao Golden Cicada's perception of the Great Dao involves the Soul Great Dao. And the Soul Great Dao is one of the core Daos second only to the four Supreme Daos, ranking exceptionally high among them. Its profundity is extraordinary." Qi Sha nodded. "After the Void Piercing cultivator from the Sanqing Sacred Hall spread this news, most of the Void Piercing and Void Refining cultivators who were originally interested in the Penglai Immortal Sect's 4.8 billion contribution point bounty pulled back. Even the Penglai Immortal Sect's operations in the outer sea have been scaled down considerably." "Soul Great Dao..." Hearing Qi Sha's words, Yaoguang's heart stirred. His current progress in the [Immortal Dao: Void Shattering] realm was only at 4%, and within that 4% of information, few Dao arts touched upon major completion—yet the True Spirit Light, which pointed directly to the Soul Great Dao, happened to be among them. No matter how extraordinarily gifted that demon king transformed from a Great Dao Golden Cicada was, reaching minor completion for its intrinsic Dao art at the Void Piercing stage was already its absolute limit. With the True Spirit Light reflecting the soul fluctuations of living beings and its sharp perception of good and ill will... Perhaps he could give it a try? Right now, this squad led by Demon King Tuntian was disrupting the Penglai Immortal Sect's expansion strategy. If he could kill this demon king, he could repay Dao Lord Penglai's favor while simultaneously pocketing the 4.8 billion contribution points—worth nearly a Dao artifact. Why not? "Let's go. Set sail. We'll join in the excitement too," Yaoguang ordered immediately. "Us?" Qi Sha was taken aback. He glanced at Yaoguang. "Now that you have already planted your Dao seed, I'm afraid it won't be easy to successfully lure out Demon King Tuntian." "Why bother luring it? Who's to say I can't search that demon king out myself?" Yaoguang waved his hand dismissively. "Enough, start up the warship and head toward the outer sea." With that, he cast a glance around the warship. "The standard warships of the Heavenly Dao Sect's thirty-six battle halls are, in the end, somewhat lacking. They have neither speed nor defense nor firepower, and their living space and comfort leave much to be desired. Compared to my Longxiang Flying Boat, it's far inferior. Although the Longxiang Flying Boat also lacks defense and firepower, its speed and comfort are beyond reproach. This time, if we can smoothly lure out Demon King Tuntian and slay him in one fell swoop, the contribution points we earn will allow us to exchange for plenty of materials to reforge Tianshang Battle Hall's warship." He smiled. "Tianshang Battle Hall is, after all, my very first force. If it isn't equipped with a Dao artifact-grade warship, how could that be worthy of my status?" "A Dao artifact-grade warship?! Status?!" Beside him, Qi Sha's pupils constricted sharply. Only a Dao artifact-grade warship was worthy of his status?! Just what kind of status did he have?! A deputy sect master who had broken through to the Void Refining realm?! Or... An artifact saint capable of forging Dao artifacts?! Once these speculations surfaced, they lingered persistently in Qi Sha's mind. For a moment, even knowing it was somewhat presumptuous, he couldn't resist asking, "Junior Sect Master... could you... could you have broken through?" Yaoguang glanced at him. Intent on winning over Tianshang Battle Hall, he did not conceal it, giving a slight nod. "Indeed." The moment those words fell, even though he had already suspected it, Qi Sha's eyes widened completely, his face full of disbelief. "Void... Void Refining?! Just... just like that, Void Refining?" Yaoguang chuckled. "Counting the time, it's already been ten years since I broke through to Void Piercing. Ten years to cultivate from Void Piercing to the Void Refining realm... That's quite reasonable, isn't it?" Rea... Reasonable?! Breaking through to Void Piercing and taking ten years to cultivate from Void Piercing to Void Refining—how on earth was that reasonable?! Reasonable my ass! "This... how is this possible..." "Qi Sha," Yaoguang suddenly spoke up at that moment. "From our time together, I can tell that the way you conduct yourself is different from other cultivators on Beihai Star. You possess your own bottom line. Precisely because of this, despite your formidable talent, your life's trajectory has not been smooth. But... what I value is precisely this character of holding fast to your own principles." His tone turned slightly solemn. "Now that I have attained Void Refining, I will soon be promoted to deputy sect master and will likely be sent to oversee the Southern Realm. I am in dire need of capable people by my side. Therefore, I wish to take you with me. What do you think?"