Refinement

"Deputy Sect Master Yaoguang of the Heavenly Dao Sect! Hahaha, you were destined for this calamity!" The Void Refining demonic cultivator known as Xie Tong revealed himself in an instant. There was no longer any need to keep up the pretense. With a big fish like Yaoguang caught in their trap, this grand invasion by the Shadow Moon Sect was already an unqualified success. "Back then, your Heavenly Dao Sect seized thirteen prefectures from our Shadow Moon Sect! Slashing down a deputy sect master of yours today will serve as a little interest on that debt! Sixing, Guiyue, Heiri, attack together! Slay the fish and haul in the net!" This Void Refining demon showed not the slightest hint of pride typically held by a Void Refining powerhouse; he directly rallied the three Void Piercing cultivators accompanying him to launch a joint siege. As for himself, his three pairs of eyes flared simultaneously, condensing six beams of murky radiance that shot straight toward Yaoguang. Having stepped forward, Yaoguang had never expected these demonic cultivators to engage him in an honest duel in the first place. "One Void Refining, three Void Piercing... Deterring the rabble with this should be plenty." His expression did not shift in the slightest. Yet Taishang Selflessness—that Dao art pointing straight to the Grand Dao of the Soul—was already unleashed. Although this Dao art had not been cultivated to great mastery like his Void Sword and Void Flicker, it had nevertheless reached the realm of minor mastery. A Void Refining expert would possess at least one Dao art cultivated to minor mastery, and if it were a lifebound Dao art, it would carry additional enhancements. As for Xie Tong before him, his lifebound Dao art was the Mind-Intimidating Profound Light, which pointed directly to the Grand Dao of the Heart. The Grand Dao of the Heart and the Grand Dao of the Soul were quite similar, yet one was an ordinary Dao while the other was a core Dao; one focused on heart fluctuations and the seven emotions and six desires, while the other encompassed the foundational core of sentient beings. In other words, the Grand Dao of the Soul was something akin to a superior Dao above the Grand Dao of the Heart. Only cultivators who failed to master the Grand Dao of the Soul would settle for the Grand Dao of the Heart. Just as practitioners unable to master the Grand Dao of Destruction would settle for the Grand Dao of Slaughter or the Grand Dao of Calamity. Facing the assault of Xie Tong's Mind-Intimidating Profound Light, Yaoguang executed a Void Flicker, materializing directly behind the Void Refining demonic cultivator. In the next instant, the Heaven-Sealing Stele unfurled... It drew the Void Refining demonic cultivator directly inside. This abrupt turn of events caught the three Void Piercing demonic cultivators summoned by Xie Tong off guard. Then they reacted swiftly. "He has a sealing Dao artifact!" "No matter how powerful the artifact, it won't trap Lord Xie Tong for long! Hold him down with everything we have and force him to divide his strength, so we can help Lord Xie Tong break free!" The three Void Piercing demonic cultivators responded with exceptional speed, each unleashing Dao arts to strike at Yaoguang. Only... The Daos mastered by demonic cultivators generally centered on the heart, the soul, or darkness. Among the three Void Piercing demons, aside from Heiri, whose mastery of the Dao of Slaughter made him skilled in direct melee combat, the remaining two—Sixing and Guiyue... One commanded a heart Dao art, while the other commanded a Dao art of the Dao of Death. Neither had attained minor mastery in their respective Dao arts. Nor had their cultivation reached the stage where they could plant a Dao seed and form a lifebound Dao art. When the two Dao arts struck, they were practically ignored by Yaoguang's Starlight Glazed Body and Taishang Selflessness. Weathering the Dao art attacks, he flickered in an instant beside Heiri, who specialized in slaughter arts, and brought down a strike of the Void Sword, instantly shattering the demon's form. Immediately after, his lifebound grotto-heaven manifested, directly refining the Void Piercing demonic cultivator. Whenever the demon struggled in the slightest, Yaoguang slashed out another Void Sword strike, obliterating his physical form. Watching this unfold, Sixing and Guiyue felt a chill run through their hearts. Yet, gritting their teeth, they continued their assault on Yaoguang. However, their Dao arts could not even scratch Taishang Selflessness or the Starlight Glazed Body. Instead, Yaoguang seized an opening and sliced through their demonic bodies as well. This sight terrified the two demonic cultivators out of their wits, prompting them to recoil in panic. "Just how many Dao arts has he mastered?!" "At least four! And all of them at minor mastery! On top of that, he has at least two Dao artifacts—that golden sword light and the spatial Dao artifact that sealed Lord Xie Tong!" Sixing and Guiyue felt their scalps tingle. Four Dao arts at minor mastery! Two Dao artifacts! How could they possibly fight this?! "Damn it, didn't he just break through to the Void Refining realm? Five or six years ago at most?! How could someone cultivate four Dao arts to minor mastery in five or six years?!" "This level of combat power and armament... is top-tier even among Void Refining experts! Let alone our side with only one Void Refining and three Void Piercing cultivators—even if three Void Refining experts attacked together, they might defeat him, but they wouldn't necessarily kill him... What kind of big fish is this? He's a monstrous sea beast!" Sixing and Guiyue exchanged a glance. In the next breath, both disengaged without prior coordination and fled at full speed toward the horizon. There was a saying that when calamity strikes, people scatter in all directions. When holding the upper hand, they swarmed together. When the tide turned against them, they scattered in flight. Selfish demonic cultivators pushed this behavior to its absolute extreme. Given the strength Yaoguang had displayed, any hope of killing him was gone. And since they could not kill him, the fishing plan had failed. At a moment like this, self-preservation came first. As for the sealed Xie Tong and Heiri, who was being refined... What did that have to do with them? They were demonic cultivators; why would they care about camaraderie, benevolence, or righteousness? "Thinking of escaping?" Watching the two fleeing Void Piercing demons, Yaoguang's expression did not change. He was about to execute a Void Flicker to cut them off. Yet right at that moment, he sensed a disturbance. The Heaven-Sealing Stele trembled violently, rippling with countless shockwaves as if on the verge of being breached. Seeing this, Yaoguang ceased refining the Void Piercing demonic cultivator Heiri. With a grasp of his hand, the Swimming Dragon Sword burst into ten thousand streaks of golden light, each carrying a sharpness capable of tearing anything apart, instantly shredding Heiri to pieces. Immediately after, he pinched his fingers into a sword and pointed down at the demon's body, which had been torn into tens of thousands of fragments. A terrifying force of destruction erupted from his fingertips. This was... The Great Annihilation Sword Qi! When Yaoguang custom-crafted the Annihilation Sword for Qi Sha, he had naturally learned this Dao art along the way. Compared to the all-penetrating Void Sword, the Great Annihilation Sword Qi was clearly far more effective at eradicating formless, amorphous entities like demonic cultivators. As the surging Great Annihilation Sword Qi formed from destructive power rolled forward, the shredded remnants of the demon's true body were instantly ground into nothingness. Having done this, he waved his right hand, opening the Heaven-Sealing Stele. Xie Tong leapt out, wielding a thunder halberd. Yaoguang glanced at the crack on the Heaven-Sealing Stele... His gaze fell upon the thunder halberd in the demon's grasp. "A Dao artifact of the Grand Dao of Thunder? It seems I will be getting an unexpected bonus." Yet Xie Tong, having nearly shattered the Heaven-Sealing Stele to escape using that thunder halberd, did not waste a single breath. His figure blurred, transforming into a bolt of lightning that shot toward the horizon at incredible speed. *Rumble!* Thunder boomed along his wake! This Shadow Moon Sect demonic cultivator... had fled immediately without uttering a single word? "The small fry can go if they must, but a big fish like you... had better get ready for the cooking pot!" The Two Realms Ruler flashed on Yaoguang's body. Stepping through the void, he materialized directly in front of Xie Tong in an instant. This spatial traversal technique caused all six of Xie Tong's eyes to contract... Yet his reflexes were exceptionally sharp. The Mind-Intimidating Profound Light condensed within his pupils and shot forth, while the thunder halberd in his hands swept out immediately after, unleashing a lightning bolt of dazzling purple light that crashed directly toward Yaoguang. Facing this thunderous assault, Yaoguang swept his hand through the air. The Void Sword completely devoured the thunderous power, continuing unabated to slash toward Xie Tong's body. At the same time, the Starlight Glazed Body gleamed, blending with the vast aura of Taishang Selflessness that seemed to merge his spirit with heaven and earth, effortlessly deflecting the Mind-Intimidating Profound Light. *Rumble!* Xie Tong brandished his halberd, appearing like a god of war riding a purple thunder dragon. Yet against the unyielding sharpness of the Void Sword, which shattered all dharmas with pure force, the sky full of lightning offered no resistance at all. He could only watch helplessly as the Void Sword slashed into his body, severing half of his torso clean off. The severed half seemed to possess astonishing vitality and will, lunging back toward his main body of its own accord in an attempt to fuse together once more. Yet as Yaoguang's second Void Sword strike descended, Xie Tong's main body was forced to recoil violently. Simultaneously, the Great Annihilation Sword Qi following right behind struck the severed half, and the Grand Dao of Destruction contained within instantly annihilated it into nothingness. "So what were you thinking? Your lifebound Dao art is clearly the Mind-Intimidating Profound Light, yet your Dao artifact is a halberd of the Grand Dao of Thunder? Couldn't you have traded it for one that enhances the power of the heart?" Yaoguang's almost emotionless divine mind echoed across the void. These words... filled Xie Tong with immense frustration. Did he not want to trade the thunder halberd for an artifact of the Grand Dao of the Heart? A treasure like a Dao artifact... having even one already put a cultivator ahead of half the Void Refining realm, all right? A Dao artifact perfectly tailored to one's own Dao was something one could only dream of finding! "You are definitely no newly ascended Void Refining cultivator! No new Void Refining expert could master so many Dao arts... especially your Void Sword... It has definitely reached great mastery! Just who are you?!" Xie Tong roared. Yaoguang said nothing, bringing down another strike of the Void Sword. Xie Tong had no choice but to swing his thunder halberd again to counter. While attempting to block the Void Sword with lightning, he tried to flash aside and dodge. Yet at that moment, the power of the Heaven-Sealing Stele projected downward. Although it did not pull the Void Refining cultivator inside this time, it interfered with and suppressed the space around him, causing his evasive maneuver to falter slightly. In the next instant, the edge of the Void Sword struck his demonic body once again. "No!" Xie Tong roared in fury, forced to dissolve himself into demonic mist. Seeing this, Yaoguang summoned his grotto-heaven without hesitation to forcefully refine the Void Refining demon. "Stop! Yaoguang, I am a peak master of the Shadow Moon Sect! If you kill me, it means all-out war with the Shadow Moon Sect..." Xie Tong's divine mind erupted as he hastily drew his mist-like form together, attempting to reconstitute his body. However... how could Yaoguang give him the chance? Just as his body was about to reform, the Void Sword driven by the Swimming Dragon Sword split into thousands of sword beams, slicing him apart once more. The scattered demonic essence was swiftly absorbed and refined by the grotto-heaven, steadily bolstering its strength. Throughout the process, no matter how the Void Refining demonic cultivator pleaded or threatened, Yaoguang remained completely unmoved. Even when the demon directed his demonic qi to corrupt Yaoguang's grotto-heaven, it failed to produce the slightest effect. Having integrated the Heart of the Void, Yaoguang's grotto-heaven possessed resistance to corruption far exceeding that of ordinary Void Refining practitioners. The refining process... lasted a full three days. Three days later, the Void Refining demonic cultivator was completely refined away, vanishing like smoke. Yaoguang, on the other hand, saw his grotto-heaven glowing with resplendent radiance, its durability significantly enhanced. The sheer effect was no less profound than a thousand years of bitter cultivation by an ordinary Void Refining expert.