Formation

Upon arriving in Nandu, Yaoguang did not even activate the Tiandu Dragon Slaying Formation to conceal or screen the sight. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he spent three days and three nights refining True Monarch Crimson Fiend alive. Not long ago, many had heard that their Domain Lord possessed formidable strength, having previously refined and killed a Void Refining demon cultivator from the Shadow Moon Sect. Yet... Hearing rumors a thousand times could never compare to the shock of witnessing it firsthand. During the three days and three nights he spent refining True Monarch Crimson Fiend, order throughout Nandu was smoother than ever before. Within the city, let alone the vendettas and bloodshed forbidden by the sect, not even petty squabbles or petty theft occurred. Administrators and commoners, merchants and customers all became harmonious and amicable. Doors were left unlocked at night, and lost articles lay undisturbed on the streets. Fathers were kind and sons filial; elder brothers were benevolent and younger brothers respectful. Nandu seemed to transform directly into a pure land on earth. Every corner was filled with an overwhelming sense of security, moving countless beings longing for peace to deep emotion. *** "Mas... Sect Master is truly a divine being." Qi Sha, who was overseeing order in Nandu, gazed toward the Domain Lord's estate, his eyes filled with awe. Li Hanqiu, on the other hand, wore a look of concern. "First there were several Void Cavity demon cultivators and a Void Refining demon cultivator, and now another Void Refining demon cultivator. What makes it worse is that this one was the personal head disciple of a Void Shattering demon cultivator. This is no different from thoroughly offending that Void Shattering demon cultivator. Moving forward... the Shadow Moon Sect is unlikely to let the matter rest." "True Monarch Li need not worry. With the Tiandu Dragon Slaying Formation here, even if that Void Shattering demon cultivator comes in person, the Sect Master has what it takes to ensure he never returns," Chi Yu said with a smile. He was clearly very confident in Yaoguang and the Tiandu Dragon Slaying Formation, a level-thirteen formation. "Moreover, our Southern Domain is not an isolated faction; we still have the Heavenly Dao Sect standing behind us." "The Heavenly Dao Sect is behind us, true... but Yaoguang and the sect master of the Heavenly Dao Sect seem to..." Li Hanqiu trailed off. Chi Yu understood what he meant and said, "The sect master does indeed secretly suppress outstanding deputy sect masters. However, such suppression must have justifiable pretexts and can never be carried out in the open. Otherwise, the Heavenly Dao Sect would have long fallen into chaos. Furthermore, if the Shadow Moon Sect goes so far as to send a Void Shattering expert, that is tantamount to declaring open war against the Heavenly Dao Sect. The Heavenly Dao Sect will never take it lying down. No matter how much the sect master might wish to borrow someone else's knife to do away with a rival, he would still have to dispatch supreme elders to reinforce us immediately." To the side, Qi Sha chimed in, "If Zong Wenxian, as sect master, stood by and did nothing while a deputy sect master overseeing a domain was attacked by a Void Shattering demon cultivator, he would not only lose his position as sect master; if the Dao Lord flew into a rage, he might even be put to death alongside him to uphold the sect rules! If Zong Wenxian loses the competition against our Sect Master, he will merely lose the seat of sect master while remaining one of the supreme elders. But if he defies the sect rules and enrages the Dao Lord, he will lose his life. Which of the two is weightier? Surely Sect Master Zong Wenxian can distinguish that for himself." Beside them, Chi Yu nodded in agreement. Void Shattering! Standing at the pinnacle of the world! Yet in the eyes of a Dao Lord, they might not hold much weight at all. Violating sect rules was tantamount to defying the Dao Lord—how could that Dao Lord let him off lightly? After all, as long as a Dao Lord was willing, raising a Golden Core cultivator to the Void Shattering realm would hardly take much time. Shi Lin, the acting sect master of the Penglai Immortal Sect, was the prime example. Hearing this, Li Hanqiu relaxed slightly. *** Inside the Domain Lord's estate. Yaoguang had now finished refining the Void Refining cultivator. The Yin Fiend Heavenly Demon origin within his true form was comparable to a top-tier heavenly treasure, directly pushing Yaoguang's Void Refining cultivation up by another layer. Of course, completely purging the corrosion inflicted by the yin-fiend qi upon his grotto-heaven would require some time, but that amount of time meant nothing to Yaoguang. "Demon cultivator origins, demon true forms, human grotto-heavens, God race divine kingdoms... of all these, the easiest to refine is indeed the origin of a demon cultivator." Yaoguang felt the growth in his cultivation. The matter and energy his grotto-heaven could contain had grown by no less than fifty percent compared to before. In terms of estimated combat power, it had risen from twenty million to thirty million. Naturally, this referred purely to the amplification provided by his grotto-heaven. In reality, the strength of the grotto-heaven merely represented the baseline; Dao arts, Dao artifacts, and combat experience all acted as multipliers. Amplified by Dao arts, Dao artifacts, rich combat experience, and realm mastery, that thirty million combat power would easily double. In other words, in terms of combat power, he had fully stepped into the realm of Void Shattering. He had even surpassed those who had newly ascended to Void Shattering. Of course, this was under the premise of factoring in Supreme Human Sovereign and Torrent of Time. "Bit by bit, growing stronger every day." Yaoguang thought to himself, rather captivated by the feeling. A moment later, as if recalling something, he swiftly immersed his mind into the ancient tree within his spiritual realm. The [Demon Hunting] branch had accumulated a substantial amount of energy. And from the transaction involving the Dao artifact, the Black Sky Shroud, the energy on the [Merchant] branch was likewise considerable. Investing this energy into the [Immortal Path · Void Shattering] branch should push his realm to around fifty-nine percent. This time, however, he did not use this energy right away. "Although I have yet to touch the true domain of a Dao Lord, many ancient records—along with my own judgment—make it clear that Void Cavity, Void Refining, and Void Shattering are essentially a phase akin to Foundation Establishment. The ultimate goal is to let the cultivator achieve Dao Integration and possess the foundation to truly charge toward becoming an immortal," Yaoguang mused. To the common masses, the moment of Dao Integration was already considered becoming an immortal. Every Dao Lord who achieved Dao Integration wielded immeasurable might. Across the vast starry expanse, they roamed at will. Even Void Cavity cultivators could traverse the void, and Dao Lords did so with far greater efficiency. Traveling from Beihai Star to the Cangwu Realm would likely take very little time. The sun, moon, and stars were to them like earthen mounds and sand sculptures that could be shattered and erased at whim. Such beings were the most wondrous, greatest miracles in the starry cosmos. Placed before many technological civilizations, they would surpass imagination and overturn their understanding of the universe. Even to Void Cavity, Void Refining, and Void Shattering cultivators, such beings needed only step through the Immortal Realm Gate to achieve true ascension into immortality. Therefore, cultivation during the Void Shattering phase was no longer about elevating raw combat power, but about understanding the Dao—comprehending the Three Thousand Grand Daos. Such understanding was not particularly urgent for him right now. After all, he was only at Void Refining; he was still far from needing to comprehend the Grand Dao and charge toward Dao Integration. The pressing matter was to resolve the predicament before him. And to resolve the looming crisis... On one hand, he needed to forge the Wuji Sword as soon as possible. Failing that, he at least needed to let the Swimming Dragon Sword, Two Realms Ruler, and Heaven-Sealing Stele complete their metamorphosis. On the other hand was expediting his cultivation. If he could refine another seven or eight—or ten—Void Refining demon cultivators without needing any other resources, his grotto-heaven would immediately grow powerful enough to drive mastery-level Dao arts, shatter the void, touch upon the Three Thousand Grand Daos, and step into the Void Shattering realm. Unfortunately, both methods required time. The second method carried a tremendous risk as well. If he really went over to the Shadow Moon Sect and slaughtered seven or eight Void Refining demon cultivators, no matter how reluctant they might be, the Shadow Moon Sect would have no choice but to wage an all-out war against the Heavenly Dao Sect. When that happened, as the prime culprit who triggered the war, he would likely face a siege by several Void Shattering cultivators at once. The entire Southern Domain would also be razed to scorched earth as a result. "Neither method is feasible in the short term. In that case, I can only rely on external forces to forge a truly secure zone." Yaoguang looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through the void to behold the Tiandu Dragon Slaying Formation fused with Nandu. "The formation is a fine formation. In theory, with this formation around and with my current strength, I could sit back and relax without worry. Yet as luck would have it... this formation is like a sieve..." His eyes flickered. "Unless I can repair some of this formation's flaws... No, not repair, but alter it!" Altering the formation. Setting up a level-thirteen formation required at least the caliber of a level-thirteen formation master. The "experience" needed for a level-thirteen formation master, converted into growth for the ancient tree's branch, was not much less than going from Void Refining to Void Shattering. However... merely introducing some variations on the original foundation of this formation, especially when he already held control over it... "A level-twelve formation master will suffice," Yaoguang murmured. It would also serve to preserve Nandu's vitality for the great battle bound to come, keeping the city from being ruined by the flames of war... The next moment, he focused his mind onto the [Formation] branch, which had remained dormant for a long time. Immediately, this branch—noticeably inferior in development compared to [Artifact Crafting] and [Immortal Path · Void Shattering]—began to grow frantically. Level ten, level eleven, level twelve... Yet to Yaoguang's surprise, an amount of experience equivalent to raising [Immortal Path · Void Shattering] by only fourteen to fifteen percent actually propelled his formation master level all the way to level thirteen. Furthermore, even after reaching level thirteen, there was still leftover experience. This outcome was well beyond his expectations. "Aren't levels thirteen to fifteen supposed to correspond to Dao Lords? Or rather... do levels sixteen to eighteen truly represent the Dao Lord realm?" He glanced at the remaining experience and tested it directly. Instantly... The remaining experience pushed his level-thirteen formation level forward by another eleven percent! After a brief calculation, Yaoguang quickly arrived at a conclusion. "Hunting about three Void Refining cultivators, capturing six Dao artifacts, or crafting and selling a dozen or so Dao artifacts should be enough to elevate my formation level to level fourteen." Level fourteen. A level-fourteen formation provided an enhancement even to Dao Lords. Although it could not match a level-fifteen formation which, when presided over by a Dao Lord, could trap and kill another Dao Lord, a Dao Lord backed by a level-fourteen formation could turn the tables when confronting a rival Dao Lord who was originally stronger. "So did I miscalculate? Do levels sixteen to eighteen correspond to Dao Lords? Or was it because Martial Path, Qi Path, and Divine Path fused to form the Immortal Path, causing the required experience to surge drastically and leading to my misjudgment?" Yaoguang was somewhat amazed. Regardless of the reason, however, this change truly filled him with pleasant surprise. Having his formation tier elevated all the way to level thirteen not only allowed him to dramatically alter the Tiandu Dragon Slaying Formation, but in certain aspects even strengthen and perfect it. After all, the person who had laid down this formation was a Dao Lord, not a level-thirteen formation master. That Dao Lord had relied on transcendent cultivation and comprehension of the Grand Dao, using brute force—proving the Dao through might—to forcibly endow a formation with level-thirteen power. If perfected by him, a genuine level-thirteen formation master... While transforming it into a level-fourteen formation was naturally impossible, enhancing its overall performance would be effortless.