Cooperation

The grand auction drew to a close. With the precedent of refining and killing a Void Refining demon cultivator from the Yinyue Faction fresh in everyone's minds, the grand auction proceeded smoothly and peacefully. Everyone obediently followed the rules. Especially after Yaoguang declared that he could accept custom orders for Dao artifacts, leaving everyone to guess whether an Artifact Saint stood behind him or Dao Lord Penglai offered direct support, these factions naturally dared not act rashly. Of course, while none dared act rashly, quite a few cultivators were still waiting to watch the drama unfold. With a Void Refining demon cultivator dead, anyone knew the Yinyue Faction would not let the matter rest easily. Moreover, Sect Master Zong Wenxian of the Heavenly Dao Sect would certainly stall for a bit of time when it came to "rescue"... Though it was impossible not to send aid at all, it gave the Yinyue Faction an opportunity to exploit a window of time. It all came down to whether Yaoguang could survive this tribulation of demon cultivators when the time came. *** "Various materials worth four billion Pure Yang Great Pills." Yaoguang felt the spatial storage artifact packed to the brim. He did not put these resources to use immediately, instead focusing his attention on the ancient tree within his spiritual world. Two Dao artifacts sold. In particular, one of the Dao artifacts had an extremely low "cost," which directly increased his "experience" by... "So little?!" Yaoguang frowned. He channeled the "experience" into the branch for [Immortal Dao: Void Shattering], merely pushing the progress from 36% to 45%—not even 10%. "That's less than refining and killing a Void Refining demon cultivator. Slaying Evil Pupil alone gave me around 11% 'experience,' yet two Dao artifacts yielded only 9%?" Such efficiency... Was very slow. Moreover, of that 9%, the Void Sword likely accounted for only 3%, while the Thunder War Halberd accounted for 6%. "Following this trend, if I rely solely on selling Dao artifacts to elevate my realm to the Dao Lord level, it would take more than thirty Dao artifacts. My current efficiency in crafting Dao artifacts averages around five years each. If luck is poor, it might stretch to ten or twenty years. In other words, to max out the remaining 55% of experience would take nearly a century even if everything goes smoothly." A century could not truly be called slow. Yet compared to his total cultivation time so far, calling it slow hardly did it justice—it was atrociously slow. Therefore... "To advance quickly, I still need to put effort into [Demon Hunting]." Yaoguang pondered for a moment, recalling the situation he currently faced... "The Yinyue Faction." With a wave of his hand, a sheet of light and shadow appeared before him. Soon, Chi Yu's figure materialized. "Sect Master." "Are there any movements from the Yinyue Faction?" As Yaoguang spoke, something came to mind, and he added, "Also, the Lu family, Li family, Jing family, and that Wu Changfeng—have there been any unusual moves from them?" "Yes," Chi Yu replied immediately. However, his expression was slightly odd. "Though... it is rather strange." "Strange in what way?" "Isn't the date for the tribute approaching soon? We originally thought the Lu family, Li family, and Jing family would obstruct the resource levies to force us to fill the deficit with our own materials. Yet... it went very smoothly." Chi Yu said, "Whether it was the Lu family, the Li family, or the Jing family, all of them were surprisingly cooperative. Our people barely had to arrive before successfully collecting all the resources. There won't be any problem with the sect's decennial tribute." "Oh?" Hearing this, Yaoguang gave it some thought and understood why these families had behaved themselves. Previously, they had opposed him, first because they were unaware of his true strength, and second because they believed his arrival in the Southern Domain was poaching fruits from Zong Wenxian's hands, and Zong Wenxian would certainly not let it slide. With Zong Wenxian's methods, he would likely be suppressed before long, becoming obedient just like the sect master in the Northern Domain. Even if he acted boldly and tried to carve out great achievements, he would inevitably end up like Song Youque—targeted when an opportunity arose and picked apart. But now... The situation was clearly different. The abilities he had displayed... while not necessarily threatening Zong Wenxian, at least made it difficult for Zong Wenxian to produce any effective countermeasure against him in the short term. His future had become unpredictable. Under such circumstances, factions like the Lu family, Li family, and Jing family naturally dared not act rashly anymore, lest they become collateral damage in this sect-master-level clash and be reduced to ashes. "I can believe that the Lu and Li families have quieted down; after all, only peak masters stand behind them, not even lineage masters, so their interests are not as deeply tied to Zong Wenxian, and their confidence is lacking. But would the Jing family really bow their heads and submit so obediently?" Yaoguang said, then directly commanded: "Increase surveillance on the Jing family!" Having said that, another thought occurred to him, and he shook his head. "Forget it. Now that the auction has ended, the Tiandu Dragon Slaying Formation naturally cannot be kept active continuously. Without the formation's cover, sending your people to monitor the Jing family would easily expose you. I'll follow up on this personally. Just focus on your duties and make sure the tribute is properly prepared." "Yes," Chi Yu responded at once. Once Chi Yu departed, Yaoguang wasted no time. With a flicker of his figure, he silently slipped out of Nandu. With his current mastery of Void Flicker, let alone Nandu where the strongest were merely Void Refining cultivators, even a Void Shattering expert could not hope to detect him in the slightest unless their mind was constantly focused on the area he occupied. With a few flickers, he had already arrived at a city one million li away from Nandu. In the great rift valley north of this city lay the habitat where Carefree Grass grew. Originally, most of the Jing family's personnel resided in Nandu, the core of the Southern Domain. But with Yaoguang taking control of Nandu and seizing the Tiandu Dragon Slaying Formation, unable to guarantee their personal safety, the Jing family had naturally retreated to their family's second most important stronghold: the area they called Carefree Valley. The core of this valley was encompassed by an immense formation spanning three thousand li. Its rank was only Level 11, but over the years, through the Jing family's continuous maintenance and reforging, it was in no way inferior to a Level 12 formation when it came to trapping and killing enemies. However... Yaoguang was already a Level 10 formation master himself and possessed exceedingly refined void Dao arts. Moreover, this formation, whose detection capability was merely Level 11, could not possibly remain operating at full capacity around the clock. Within a few flickers, Yaoguang had penetrated straight into the core of the formation. "Its offensive capability is comparable to a Level 12 formation, and with a Void Refining expert like Jing Zhengyang presiding over it... it likely has the ability to trap and kill a Void Refining cultivator," Yaoguang remarked with a smile after observing it for a moment. Next, surveying the surroundings, he arrived at a cliffside. He hollowed out a cave five meters deep and three meters high in the rock face, and without disturbing the operation of Carefree Valley's formation, he set up a layer of warding to conceal himself. Then, utilizing the radiance of his true spirit, he reflected and observed Jing Zhengyang and the others less than a hundred li away. "If I wanted to kill someone, I could easily suppress Jing Zhengyang into the Heaven-Sealing Stele before he even has time to react, and then leave Carefree Valley with a single Void Flicker before they can activate the formation. However... killing is easy, but dealing with the subsequent investigation would be troublesome. Behind the Jing family stands Grand Elder Jing Yuntian, a Void Shattering expert." Yaoguang pondered. While maintaining the true spirit's radiance to track Jing Zhengyang and the others, he also diverted some energy into digesting the two Dao arts he had recently obtained: Sovereign Human Emperor and Torrent of Time. Although he could not practice them practically here, as he continuously digested them, his comprehension of the two Dao arts grew steadily deeper. Fortunately, Jing Zhengyang and the rest of the Jing family did not keep Yaoguang waiting long. Or rather, with four billion Pure Yang Great Pills of profit dangling before them, both the Yinyue Faction and Jing Zhengyang found it difficult to sit still. Only three days after Yaoguang infiltrated the cliff, another Void Refining demon cultivator's aura appeared within the perception of his true spirit's radiance. "Here already." Yaoguang immediately circulated Taishang Selflessness, making his divine sense fluctuations meld completely into heaven and earth. Maintaining the form of his true spirit's radiance, he swiftly moved outside a pavilion built in the valley. Then... He took out a shadow-recording stone. *** "So it is True Monarch Crimson Fiend, the eldest disciple of the Eight Desolations Demon Lord? Forgive my lack of welcome." Watching this Void Refining demon cultivator arrive like a plume of black smoke, Jing Zhengyang greeted him with as friendly an attitude as possible while maintaining his vigilance. "Patriarch Jing, this new Lord of the Southern Domain from your Heavenly Dao Sect is rather lacking in regard for the rules." The demon cultivator known as True Monarch Crimson Fiend transmitted his divine sense, the fluctuations carrying a chilling coldness. "It's not as if you're unaware of our Heavenly Dao Sect's tradition. Every deputy sect master is sent to local regions for tempering; only by withstanding the sect master's suppression in the future can they become the new sect master. It is precisely because of this method of grooming that every sect master of our Heavenly Dao Sect has been a dragon among men, ensuring the Heavenly Dao Sect's enduring prosperity across countless years. Therefore, this deputy sect master's attitude does not represent that of our sect master," Jing Zhengyang explained. "Precisely because we understand this, Master sent me personally to coordinate regarding the cooperation Patriarch Jing proposed, so as to demonstrate our sincerity." True Monarch Crimson Fiend continued directly, "We, the Yinyue Faction, want Yaoguang. What is your aim?" "Want him? That won't do. The Yinyue Faction may only take away Yaoguang's corpse. Our Jing family ancestor, as well as the sect master, would never allow a living deputy sect master to reach the Yinyue Faction." Jing Zhengyang said, "As for our goal... we only want Yaoguang to leave the Southern Domain as a corpse, so that peace may return to the Southern Domain." True Monarch Crimson Fiend's emotional fluctuations showed a hint of surprise. "The Dao artifacts on Yaoguang, as well as the four billion he just gained from the auction—you want none of it?" "Those are your spoils of war; naturally, we will not press you for them," Jing Zhengyang said. True Monarch Crimson Fiend looked somewhat astonished. Then, as if realizing something, he said, "You will only allow us to carry Yaoguang's corpse out of the Southern Domain... because you want the mysterious Artifact Saint behind him?" "Whether there is an Artifact Saint is still uncertain," Jing Zhengyang smiled faintly. "We are merely taking a gamble." "Is that so?" True Monarch Crimson Fiend said flatly. "Then let us return to the crux of this collaboration." The demon cultivator's divine sense locked onto Jing Zhengyang, sensing every subtle shift in his emotions. "Does the Jing family truly have a way to sabotage the Tiandu Dragon Slaying Formation and prevent it from being activated properly?"