Returning to the Sect

Family scandals were best kept behind closed doors. Penglai Immortal Sect Deputy Sect Master Leng Qingqiu and the two Palace Masters, Zhengyang and Xuanyin—three Void Refining cultivators working together—had failed to detain Yaoguang. Naturally, they had no intention of advertising such an embarrassment. As for Demon King Tuntian... The Penglai Immortal Sect made no public announcement regarding him either. They merely ceased their previous policy of contraction and resumed their external campaigns. They offered no word on whether Demon King Tuntian had fallen, nor did they clarify who had slain him. Yaoguang paid this no mind. That the Penglai Immortal Sect had not disclosed who killed Demon King Tuntian clearly showed they were leaving themselves some leeway in the matter. As for what that leeway was... He would likely only find out once he returned to the Penglai Immortal Sect redemption depot and presented Demon King Tuntian's corpse. Yaoguang could not be bothered to dwell on it. His entire mind was immersed in "comprehending" the Dao art Void Flicker. To be precise, he was digesting the comprehension of this Dao art. Yet the profundities involved were so vast that it was only when the Tianshang Battle Hall warship was about to reach the Heavenly Dao Sect that he finally brought this lifebound Dao art to complete mastery. ... *The maximum flicker distance increased from ten thousand li to thirty thousand li. But that isn't the point. The crucial improvements are that its activation speed has doubled, the void ripples it stirs up have decreased by more than half, and the spatial traces left behind during the flicker have become far more concealed...* Yaoguang quietly contemplated the changes and felt thoroughly satisfied with the evolution of Void Flicker. With Void Flicker at the grand completion stage, ordinary Void Cavern cultivators would likely find it nearly impossible to detect his flicker trajectory. In other words, before enemies at the Void Cavern realm could even register his position, he would already have appeared behind them to deliver a lethal blow. Likewise, even if he were surrounded by a horde of Void Cavern experts, once he flickered away, no one could immediately track his path through the spatial residue. *However, while every attribute has improved across the board, the consumption has grown substantially as well. In the past, with the stability of my grotto-heaven, I could execute three to four hundred Void Flickers in a single go. Now, with full power, I likely only have thirty or forty uses left.* Yaoguang calculated the figures. Thirty or forty uses sounded like quite a lot, but a life-or-death battle involved far more than mere instantaneous relocation; it also demanded offensive techniques. If Void Sword's consumption experienced a similar surge upon reaching grand completion, thirty or forty activations would shrink to ten or twenty. Within a few exchanges, he would be forced to retreat from the battlefield due to exhaustion. Of course, a life-or-death clash was not a turn-based game where skill consumption was fixed. He could easily reduce the range of his Void Flicker according to his needs to sustain the state of his grotto-heaven. Therefore, the sooner he brought all the Dao arts he possessed to grand completion, the better. *If I had already mastered Void Flicker to grand completion while fighting Demon Emperor Tuntian, not even relying on the power of a Demon Saint would have let it escape my pursuit. And if the realm of Void Sword had advanced as well, it wouldn't have withstood a second strike even if it blocked the first. It wouldn't even have had the chance to consume the Demon Saint's power to flee,* Yaoguang thought with a twinge of regret. Next, he needed to find a way to advance his progress in Immortal Dao: Void Shattering, followed by bolstering the Starlight Glazed Body, Light of the True Spirit, Kunpeng Sky-Devouring Technique, and Taishang Selflessness. If he could unlock Supreme Sovereign of Humanity on top of that, it would be even better. Once he patched these deficiencies and forged high-grade—or even peak—Dao artifacts tailored specifically to these Dao arts, he would not fear facing the Void Shattering realm in the slightest. "Master, we have reached the Heavenly Dao Sect," Qi Sha said. "Very well. Steer the warship directly to Nine Cauldrons Peak." Yaoguang paused, then added, "Of course, there is no need to force anyone who is unwilling to follow." "Everyone is more than willing to serve at Master's side," Qi Sha replied with a smile. Steering the warship directly to Nine Cauldrons Peak was an open, unambiguous declaration to the rest of the Heavenly Dao Sect: Tianshang Battle Hall had thrown their support behind Yaoguang. "Then let us go." Yaoguang stepped out of the vessel and walked onto the deck. In the distance, the Heavenly Dao Sect, enveloped in immortal radiance, came into view. Whenever the patrolling disciples spotted the approaching warship from afar, they bowed respectfully to show their reverence. Seeing this, Yaoguang no longer concealed his aura. Grotto-heaven force and void force interwove into one seamless whole, circulating endlessly in perfect harmony. Ordinary disciples could not discern the subtleties of this phenomenon; they merely felt that Junior Sect Master Yaoguang seemed even more unfathomable. However, Void Cavern Elder Jin Yuliu, who happened to be on duty at that moment, looked up from a distance at the figure casually sailing past on the warship—and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "How is that possible?!" He sprang to his feet, involuntarily taking several steps in the direction of the warship, his gaze filled with disbelief. "Master?" The disciples beside him looked baffled. Jin Yuliu ignored them entirely. He stared unblinkingly at the warship, sensing the perfect harmony between the figure on the deck and the void force, almost convinced he was hallucinating. "Is that... Junior Sect Master Yaoguang?" one disciple murmured, recognizing the figure aboard the ship. Watching him ride the warship openly through the sect's airspace, a disciple who knew his master had only an average relationship with Yaoguang quickly tried to curry favor: "How long has this Junior Sect Master Yaoguang even been in the Void Cavern realm? Yet he dares to pilot a Battle Hall warship and barge recklessly over the sect! If he remains in this position for another century or two, won't he be walking all over the Heavenly Dao Sect, putting no one in his e—" *Smack!* Before the clever disciple could finish his sentence, Jin Yuliu sent him flying with a resounding backhand. "Shut your mouth!" Jin Yuliu roared in a low, furious voice through his divine sense. "Who are you, a mere junior, to slander the actions of Junior Sect Master... Yaoguang?! If I ever hear you speak such words again, I will personally cripple your cultivation and expel you from the sect!" The disciple was completely dazed. He had only wanted to flatter his master with a few pleasing remarks. How had it suddenly escalated to expulsion and ruin? Jin Yuliu, however, could not be bothered with them any longer. He took to the air immediately, flying toward the peak where the Heaven Lineage Master resided. As he flew, he muttered incessantly under his breath, "Void Refining... Void Refining... How is that possible... How could it be so fast..." Beneath his tone lay an unspoken trace of sheer panic. Jin Yuliu was not the only one. Quite a few Void Cavern elders were present within the Heavenly Dao Sect at that moment. Yaoguang's high-profile passage aboard the Battle Hall warship naturally drew countless eyes. And upon looking, every single one of them was struck with absolute shock. Void Refining! The phenomenon of grotto-heaven force and void force flawlessly merging within Yaoguang was an unmistakable sign of stepping into the Void Refining realm. How much time had passed since Yaoguang broke through to the Void Cavern realm? How could he have already ascended to Void Refining?! In an instant, the news spread like a hurricane through the highest echelons of the Heavenly Dao Sect at an unimaginable speed. ... Inside the Huangtian Great Hall, the grand chamber dedicated to the sect master's administrative duties. Countless formations funneled information from throughout the Heavenly Dao Sect and its territories into the hall, gathering directly before Zong Wenxian. These reports had already been screened by his aides, meaning only matters of substantial weight reached his desk. Otherwise, the sect master would never have needed to handle them personally. At this moment, what he was reviewing was the financial ledger for the Eastern Domain. "An extraterrestrial demonic disaster? A band of demons descended from the heavens into the Eastern Domain, wreaking havoc and causing the output of our largest industry, Blood Spirit Fruit, to plunge? A request to reduce this year's tribute quota by fifty million Pure Yang Great Pills?" Zong Wenxian sneered. "It seems Shen Junyan has ideas again. If I recall correctly, he already shorted us forty million Pure Yang Great Pills last time under the pretext of internal unrest in the Eastern Domain. And now he wants to deduct another fifty million?" With that, he called out toward the hall entrance, "Langya." "Master." Below, a gentle, refined man possessing Void Cavern cultivation stood up and waited for instructions. "Instruct Yuan Miaoyi's Immortal Lineage and Zhou Xingdou's Battle Lineage to each dispatch a peak master, and lead three battle halls to the Eastern Domain under the pretext of helping them quell this extraterrestrial demonic disaster," Zong Wenxian said indifferently. "The Eastern Domain belongs to our Heavenly Dao Sect as well. Since they face trouble, our sect naturally cannot sit idly by." "Understood." Langya bowed slightly. As he transmitted the order via divine sense, he retrieved a jade talisman. "Sect Master, these are the personnel files for the disciples sent from the Northern Domain recently. Out of three hundred and sixty candidates, only one met the standards to enter the true disciple ranks." "Are you suggesting he intercepted the talented candidates to groom them himself?" Zong Wenxian asked. "Jiang Guike of the Northern Domain has always been respectful toward you, Master... Furthermore, the Northern Domain's environment is slightly harsher than the other three domains, and its population is somewhat sparse. Perhaps there truly was a lack of qualified talent. However..." Langya paused before continuing, "Every deputy sect master is effectively a local sovereign, second only to one and above tens of thousands. When one stays in the provinces for too long, surrounded by flatterers day in and day out, disloyal ambitions inevitably take root. Therefore, I suggest that Master send an envoy delegation. It will convey your concern for this deputy sect master while also serving as a gentle warning to keep him in line." Zong Wenxian looked at his disciple with a faint smile. He was thoroughly pleased with this disciple in every regard. Not only was Langya mature and prudent in dealing with matters, but he had also cultivated for just over three hundred years to reach the peak of Void Cavern. He had already planted his Dao seed and was making his final push toward the Void Refining realm. Within several decades at the quickest, or a century at the slowest, he would undoubtedly step into Void Refining. When that time came, a Void Refining cultivator in his three or four hundreds would be elevated to deputy sect master. When Langya took over the Southern Domain from him to preside over it, no one would have any grounds to object. "Well said. In that case, you shall represent me as envoy to the Northern Domain. I will have a peak master accompany you," Zong Wenxian said. "Thank you for your trust, Master. I will not disappoint you," Langya replied with impeccable courtesy. Zong Wenxian gave an approving nod. "The Southern Domain is reserved for you. While in the Northern Domain, observe closely and learn from the experience to prepare for your eventual takeover. Once you..." Before he could finish his sentence, he sensed Yuan Miaoyi's aura rapidly approaching. Before the person arrived, a divine sense message preceded her: "Sect Master, something has happened! That Yaoguang... has broken through to Void Refining!" Hearing Yuan Miaoyi's hurried message, Zong Wenxian froze momentarily, failing to process the words. Only when Xiang Zhenlong's divine sense arrived immediately afterward, carrying the exact same revelation, did Zong Wenxian shoot to his feet. "What did you say?! Void Refining?!" *Whoosh!* Two streaks of light flashed into the great hall, revealing Yuan Miaoyi and Xiang Zhenlong. Their expressions were exceptionally grave. "Yes." Yuan Miaoyi, Master of the Immortal Lineage, took a deep breath. "He openly displayed the profound marvel of flawless integration between grotto-heaven force and void force as he sailed above our Heavenly Dao Sect. Any Void Cavern expert with discernment could tell that he has stepped into the Void Refining realm."