Shallow

*Whoosh!* Executing Void Flicker several hundred times in succession, Yaoguang crossed another million li to return to the battlefield. However, before he even reached his destination, Qi Sha came out to meet him of his own accord. Clearly, his battle against Demon King Jinchan had already concluded. This was only natural. Demon King Jinchan's lifebound Grand Dao was not particularly suited for head-on combat. Pitted against Qi Sha—who cultivated the Grand Dao of Destruction and had brought its corresponding Great Annihilation Sword Qi close to minor mastery—how could the demon king possibly match him? The moment they met, Qi Sha presented Demon King Jinchan's corpse. "Master, I have not failed your command!" "Good," Yaoguang said. "Let us leave this place first." Yet just then, he seemed to sense something. With a wave of his hand, the Heaven-Sealing Stele manifested once more. "Since you are in such a hurry to meet your ends, I'll send you on your way." The sealing space inside this Dao artifact was trembling incessantly, on the verge of collapsing as if Demon King Wuying and the other two demon kings were about to punch straight through it. "Guard the perimeter," Yaoguang commanded. "Understood," Qi Sha replied. Mere demon kings—he had little doubt Yaoguang could handle them. Back in the Void Piercing realm, Yaoguang had been able to fight three demon kings at once. Now that he had stepped into the Void Refining realm... Even if he had only recently broken through, simply bypassing the conversion process between grotto-heaven power and void power granted him a tremendous boost in strength. Under such circumstances, faced with Yaoguang dealing with these three demon kings, the only thought in Qi Sha's mind was: *Have fun.* As it turned out, handling ordinary demon kings was indeed effortless and leisurely for Yaoguang now. Among the three demon kings suppressed beneath the Heaven-Sealing Stele, Demon King Wuying merely excelled at concealment, possessing nothing noteworthy in direct combat. As for the other two demon kings... Had they possessed the capability, they would have seized the chance and fled long ago, just like Demon King Sanshou. Thus, after releasing the three demon kings, Yaoguang slew all of them without taking much time at all. However... What surprised him slightly was that despite this brief delay, the three Void Refining experts of the Penglai Immortal Sect had not caught up. "The Penglai Immortal Sect truly suffers from a lack of talent," Yaoguang remarked. Qi Sha paused, then asked, "Did something happen?" "Nothing much. I simply crossed paths with that Deputy Sect Master Leng again," Yaoguang said simply, offering no further explanation. Connecting this with Yaoguang's attitude and pondering briefly, Qi Sha guessed at the truth. "The Penglai Immortal Sect was founded only a century ago, after all. In every respect, it falls far short compared to the other top sects. Dao Lord Penglai wished to be all-embracing, using her prestige as a Dao Lord to recruit enough Void Piercing, Void Refining, and even Void Shattering cultivators to bolster the sect, granting Penglai the true foundation of one of the Ten Immortal Sects. Yet her four disciples do not share that vision." "All four disciples are inept?" Yaoguang was somewhat surprised. "The eldest disciple, Shi Lin, is slightly better. Her cultivation reaches as high as Void Shattering, but her breakthrough had little to do with her own natural talent. Dao Lord Penglai practically forced her up through sheer power; otherwise, given her aptitude, she likely would never have broken through to Void Piercing in her entire life. Precisely because she knows her own shortcomings and that she consumed much of Dao Lord Penglai's favor, she feels guilty toward her three junior fellow disciples. With Dao Lord Penglai having little time to instruct them, Shi Lin practically raised her three junior siblings by hand, indulging them to an extreme degree." Speaking of her, Qi Sha lowered his voice slightly. "Yet her temperament is ultimately too soft, lacking decisiveness. She is by no means suitable to serve as acting sect master. Unfortunately, Dao Lord Penglai has no one else available. Even knowing Shi Lin is unsuited to oversee sect affairs great and small, she has no choice but to leave her in the seat of acting sect master." Hearing this, Yaoguang nodded. A sect master with courage, vision, and shrewd methods was indeed vital to a sect's development. "Then there are Deputy Sect Masters Leng Qingqiu and Zhan Xiao. The two of them were completely spoiled by Shi Lin. Supposedly, it was better in the past, but ever since the Penglai Immortal Sect was founded, Shi Lin constantly drilled into their heads the idea that Penglai is newly established with a thousand things waiting to be done, and that as disciples, they must safeguard their master's legacy and foundation at all costs. Over time, this made Deputy Sect Master Leng petty and envious of talent. She looks at everyone as if they harbor designs on the Penglai Immortal Sect's family fortune." At this point, Qi Sha could not help but chuckle. "As for Zhan Xiao, he is obstinate and self-opinionated, the sort of cultivator who is entirely self-centered and cannot brook any dissent. Yet he prides himself on having conviction and decisiveness, believing this is exactly how one ought to govern a sect." Yaoguang felt rather speechless upon hearing this. What kind of eccentric oddities had Dao Lord Penglai taken as disciples? "As for their youngest junior sister, Shui Yunhan, there is little to say. Her talent is decent; she entered the sect less than a century ago and is already at the Void Piercing realm. However, because Shi Lin pinned high hopes on her and those around her showered her with ceaseless praise, calling her a peerless prodigy and unparalleled under heaven... over time, she came to believe it without a shadow of doubt. It is said she looks down her nose at everyone she meets..." Having said that, Qi Sha glanced at Yaoguang. A peerless prodigy? In the presence of his master, Yaoguang, who would dare call themselves a peerless prodigy?! Reaching Void Refining in less than a century! Across all contemporary cultivators on Beihai Star, who could compare to him? "By your account, Shi Lin truly is unfit to oversee the Penglai Immortal Sect," Yaoguang said. Hearing this, Qi Sha hurriedly added, "The information I gathered came from hearsay across various quarters, so it may not be entirely accurate. I even suspect major sects have been fanning the flames from the shadows, wanting the world to believe the Penglai Immortal Sect has a bleak future. That way, they discourage anyone from joining Penglai, making it easier to carve up the sect once Dao Lord Penglai ascends to the immortal realm in the future." Yaoguang nodded. "Dao Lord Penglai should be able to see that, shouldn't she? Would she not take precautions?" "Naturally she would," Qi Sha said. "Dao Lord Penglai likely knows she is not adept at instructing disciples, and being occupied with preparations for the 'Dao contention', she lacks the time to teach them properly. Thus, she chose to place some secretly nurtured talents into forces such as the Ten Immortal Sects, the Four Great Celestial Dynasties, the Three Immortal Martial Sects, and even the Six Demonic Sects, intending to use their mature training systems to help raise a worthy successor..." At that point, he looked at Yaoguang. "There are likely quite a few people within our Heavenly Dao Sect who suspect you are one such disciple sent by Dao Lord Penglai." Yaoguang frowned upon hearing this. Such a perception was by no means favorable for him. "If Master truly shares deep ties with the Penglai Immortal Sect, it matters little. But if the connection is ordinary... please draw a clear line with them as soon as possible. Otherwise... trouble may well follow," Qi Sha cautiously cautioned. Yaoguang glanced at him... From Qi Sha's cautious tone, it was not hard to deduce that he, too, harbored some suspicion of that sort. After a brief silence, Yaoguang finally spoke: "I have no profound connection with Dao Lord Penglai. Regarding my true disciple status, I did receive a favor from her, but that is all. Now that we have slain Demon Emperor Tuntian, that debt of gratitude is repaid." Hearing this, Qi Sha did not know whether to feel regret or relief. Only after quite a while did he say, "Whether it is the Heavenly Dao Sect or the Penglai Immortal Sect, Master had best consider the matter thoroughly." Reflecting on the unpleasant encounter with Leng Qingqiu—particularly the words she had spoken—Yaoguang vaguely understood that certain aspects of that deputy sect master's conduct had likely been deliberate. Her purpose was to sever any possibility of him joining the Penglai Immortal Sect. *Narrow-minded and shortsighted,* Yaoguang thought to himself. He looked toward the warship appearing in his line of sight ahead. "Alright, let us head back." "To the Biyou Immortal Market?" "First, back to the Heavenly Dao Sect," Yaoguang said, pausing momentarily. "What we slew was not Demon King Tuntian, but Demon Emperor Tuntian. For a being of such stature, the contribution points should multiply several times over. But if I go to claim them now, Deputy Sect Master Leng will certainly find ways to welsh on the debt. I will claim those bounties once my status becomes that of a deputy sect master and I have consolidated my Void Refining realm." "As Master wills," Qi Sha nodded slightly. As a Void Refining-level demon emperor, Yaoguang slaying Demon Emperor Tuntian should yield at least two billion contribution points. That was the bare minimum. Properly reckoned, a bounty of three billion for Demon Emperor Tuntian would be standard. Three billion from this alone, combined with Demon King Jinchan, Demon King Wuying, and the rest of the demons... The total value already exceeded a Dao artifact. When interests on the scale of a Dao artifact were involved, being cautious was only prudent. With that, the two descended onto the Tianshang Battle Hall's warship. As the members of the Tianshang Battle Hall returned one by one, the vessel gradually accelerated, clearing the Outer Sea and setting course for the Heavenly Dao Sect. ... "A sect held together entirely by Dao Lord Penglai alone." Inside the captain's lounge, Yaoguang could not help but sigh with feeling as he reflected on what he knew of the Penglai Immortal Sect. This sect... truly rested on Dao Lord Penglai's shoulders alone. And yet, a makeshift outfit like this—with not a single presentable expert besides Dao Lord Penglai—could still be numbered among the Ten Immortal Sects. The immense influence of a Dao Lord was readily apparent. However... Yaoguang focused his mind on the ancient tree manifested from Higher-Dimensional Cognition. After repeated fierce battles, especially slaying the Void Refining-level demon Demon Emperor Tuntian, he had accumulated an abundance of Demon Hunting experience. Now that he had leisure time... Without hesitation, he swiftly channeled all of this "experience" into the branch representing [Immortal Dao: Void Shattering]. As the boughs grew rapidly, a deluge of information regarding the Void Shattering realm surged forward. Among this information, aside from numerous cultivation insights regarding the Void Shattering realm, the most important for Yaoguang were the Dao technique comprehensions. These comprehensions were exquisitely profound; even he would need some time to digest them. Fortunately, the span between Void Shattering and the Dao Integration realm representing a Dao Lord was immense. Even after slaying so many demon kings—including a demon emperor—the final progress increase remained modest. The growth came to a stop at twenty-three percent. Though it had only risen to twenty-three percent, the insights it encompassed... "The two Dao techniques, Void Sword and Void Flicker, can now be advanced to great mastery."