Truth

Outside Nandu. Three streaks of flowing light sped past at extreme velocity. From the void ripples undulating beneath their feet, it was not difficult to tell that every one of these three possessed extraordinary attainments in the void. Even peak Void Piercing cultivators who had just planted a void Dao seed might not be able to rival them in the ways of the void. Among the three, one was none other than Gu Li, who had recently joined forces with Zhen Xuanyuan in the Heavenly Dao Sect and still came close to having his grotto-heaven shattered by a single sword strike from Yaoguang. Another... Any true disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect would recognize him immediately as another Supreme Elder of the sect, Supreme Elder Buzhou. Yet at this moment, both deferred to a man who looked to be in his thirties, though his hair was stark white. Ordinary disciples—or even many true disciples—might not recognize this man upon seeing him, but to all Void Piercing cultivators, especially the veteran ones, he was the glory of the Heavenly Dao Sect. In the absence of Dao Lord Juntian, he was second only to Venerable Golden Book as the pillar that kept the Heavenly Dao Sect running smoothly. An invincible Void Shattering cultivator ranked among the top ten on the Dao Lord Candidate List—True Monarch Jinghong. "Senior Brother, you have no idea how arrogant that Yaoguang has become. He barged straight into the sect and murdered Supreme Elder Jing Yuntian." As they hurried along, True Monarch Buzhou recounted the events to True Monarch Jinghong: "Senior Brother, you should still remember Supreme Elder Jing, right? He has always been completely devoted to our Heavenly Dao Sect! Not only him, but the Jing clan has been deeply rooted in our Heavenly Dao Sect for thirty thousand years, serving us as far back as thirty millennia ago. You were brought into the sect directly by Master, so you might not know this, but back in your day, the elder in charge of assessing new disciples was actually from the Jing clan." True Monarch Jinghong's expression remained placid, showing little sign of pleasure or anger in his eyes. He barely responded. For most of the journey, True Monarch Buzhou spoke while True Monarch Jinghong listened. This atmosphere... It weighed somewhat heavily on Supreme Elder Gu Li's mind. Judging by the current dynamic... True Monarch Buzhou's words might not carry all that much weight with True Monarch Jinghong. Right at that moment, True Monarch Jinghong suddenly halted in midair. Before Gu Li and True Monarch Buzhou could figure out what was happening, a figure abruptly appeared in the void ten li ahead of the trio. Throughout the entire process, if not for True Monarch Jinghong sensing it beforehand, neither of the other two would have noticed the slightest anomaly. "It's Yaoguang!" Gu Li suddenly cried out. "He's the Yaoguang who slaughtered at will within our Heavenly Dao Sect, treating the sect's rules and regulations as nothing!" "Yaoguang!?" Alerted by Gu Li, True Monarch Buzhou also recognized the figure who had suddenly appeared, and said in a heavy voice, "Such insolence! Knowing we were coming, not only did he refuse to flee, he showed himself voluntarily. He clearly has no regard for any of us!" "Flee? Why should I flee?" Yaoguang said calmly. "Everything I did was reasonable and lawful. Everyone else in the Heavenly Dao Sect has already recognized my decision. What is the issue?" "Reasonable and lawful? Hearing those words come from your mouth is an irony in itself." True Monarch Buzhou's divine sense resonated with rising agitation. "Supreme Elder Jing Yuntian fought across the realms for our Heavenly Dao Sect over countless years and rendered innumerable meritorious services, yet because of a single accusation from you, he was brutally murdered without any investigation whatsoever! After such tyrannical conduct, you still dare claim your actions were lawful?" "Without investigation? I believe I investigated it with utmost clarity, and the evidence is conclusive," Yaoguang said calmly. "Ha! You think a single shadow-recording stone is enough to convict a Supreme Elder? Since when did a Supreme Elder of our Heavenly Dao Sect become so worthless? Or..." True Monarch Buzhou's expression turned harsh. "...did you never consider yourself a member of the Heavenly Dao Sect in the first place, itching to use every excuse to weaken our sect's strength?" Yaoguang paid no heed to his hostility. "You should learn from Supreme Elder Gu Li. He would never spout nonsense in front of me." He gave a faint smile. "Or is it that because you brought True Monarch Jinghong along, your courage has returned?" Supreme Elder Gu Li remained silent. After that recent battle, fear had indeed taken root in his heart toward Yaoguang. After all... Jing Yuntian had been slain by Yaoguang right before his eyes. And as for his own strength... It was roughly on par with that Supreme Elder's. "Ha! Claim I spout nonsense or lack justification all you want. Today, you will pay the price for what you have done," True Monarch Buzhou said coldly. "Is that so?" Yaoguang turned his gaze to True Monarch Jinghong. "The most valued personal disciple of Dao Lord Juntian, True Monarch Jinghong of the Dao Lord Candidate List's top ten—what do you have to say?" "Regardless, Jing Yuntian was a Supreme Elder of our Heavenly Dao Sect. As Buzhou said, even if his merits were overlooked, his toil cannot be denied. For you to execute him unilaterally without a decision from the Supreme Elder Council was wrong." True Monarch Jinghong pondered for a moment before giving his stance. "Then there is nothing more to say." Yaoguang looked calmly at this foremost expert beneath the Dao Lords in the Heavenly Dao Sect. "Come. Let me see to what extent you have cultivated your Grand Dao of Truth." True Monarch Jinghong shook his head, however. "I am not saying what you did was necessarily wrong in essence. I merely want to tell you that since you joined our Heavenly Dao Sect, you must abide by the sect's rules. You cannot rely on your formidable cultivation to kill indiscriminately. You must know that there is always someone stronger, and a mountain taller than the last. If everyone indulged in vigilante justice like you, wouldn't everything within the Heavenly Dao Sect have fallen into chaos long ago?" "Vigilante justice? Who defines what is private punishment and what is public justice? You? By that logic, the Heavenly Dao Sect must be your personal monolith. When you punish and kill, it is righteous; when we punish and kill, it is forbidden. If things continue as you say, the Heavenly Dao Sect is finished sooner or later," Yaoguang said. "Every strong expert believes what he does is right, because his power represents might, and his very strength embodies truth..." At this point, True Monarch Jinghong paused slightly, nodding in agreement. "I accept this premise." Hearing this, Yaoguang could not help but be slightly surprised. This True Monarch Jinghong was remarkably straightforward. "Therefore, I cultivate diligently and delve into the Grand Dao of Truth so that those cultivators who consider themselves strong enough to ignore reason will calm down and sit obediently before me. Only then can I properly explain to them the truth as I understand it..." True Monarch Jinghong looked at Yaoguang. "And through my many practical demonstrations, this method has proven... very effective." "As expected of a cultivator of the way of truth; you truly have touched upon truth." Yaoguang felt a desire to mock the absurdity, yet was not even sure where to begin. Instead, he simply brought out the Swimming Dragon Sword. "Come, let me listen to your truth! And allow yourself to verify mine! Let us see which of the two of us truly commands the truth." "Very well." True Monarch Jinghong nodded, and then... A book appeared in his hand. The instant this book appeared, Yaoguang immediately recognized that it was a high-grade Dao artifact. "Though you achieved Void Shattering through the Dao of the Void, truth cannot be profaned! Otherwise, you shall suffer the backlash of the void!" He spoke aloud. The moment the words left his mouth, Yaoguang instantly felt a Dao power brutally interfere with his innate perception of the void. Within moments, the Dao of the Void seemed to be swayed by his words and began to repel him. Even his sensory connection to the void weakened sharply, and the Dao seed within his grotto-heaven world seemed to droop dispiritedly. "Great True Word Technique!" Yaoguang quickly realized that this was a Dao art bred from the Grand Dao of Truth. With a shift of his thoughts, the Wuji Sword activated within his body. The Grand Dao of the Void descended, instantly expelling the power of the Grand Dao of Truth. Simultaneously, the Swimming Dragon Sword flashed with golden light, condensing void power as a Void Sword rapidly took shape. When Yaoguang activated the Wuji Sword, True Monarch Jinghong seemed to sense something, and a flicker of astonishment crossed his eyes. "To think..." Yet seeing Yaoguang's Void Sword take form, his reaction was extremely swift. "Truth requires a vessel to bear it; sacred words require space to be practiced! The void shall walk alongside truth, utilized in unison with me." Buzz! The moment his words concluded, the Void Sword condensed by Yaoguang was infused with a brand-new power. That was... The power of the Grand Dao of Truth. Infused with this power, the Void Sword grew even mightier, yet slipped completely out of control. Harnessed by truth, the void actually reversed direction and slashed straight toward Yaoguang. The speed was so astonishing that it caught him completely off guard. *Swoosh!* Void power flashed. Yaoguang's figure appeared hundreds of li away. Immediately, the Swimming Dragon Sword unleashed another slash, sending void power condensed to the utmost cleaving toward True Monarch Jinghong once more. True Monarch Jinghong repeated the feat, seizing control of Yaoguang's Void Sword yet again. At the same time, another page turned in the book held in his hand: "The void is the sturdiest shield in the world, the foundation that stabilizes all things, unshakeable by any power." Sturdy! Stable! Unshakeable by any power! With that single utterance, Yaoguang felt as though even his Void Flicker could barely be triggered. The Grand Dao of the Void truly seemed to have become extraordinarily rigid and stable, no longer easily torn apart or traversed at will. Right from the start of the battle, Yaoguang was plunged into complete disadvantage. And at the core of what caused this disadvantage, beyond True Monarch Jinghong's Grand Dao of Truth, was the Grand Dao of the Void itself. Because... The Grand Dao of Truth was extolling the Grand Dao of the Void. This praise was not an attack from another Grand Dao; it was filled with positive acclaim, so much so that the Grand Dao of the Void was entranced by it. As a result, when Yaoguang, a cultivator of the Grand Dao of the Void, channeled it to cast Dao arts, achieving the effect of one measure of power required expending ten measures. "My actions and my words are truth! The rules of all things are decreed by me!" With a sweep of True Monarch Jinghong's hand, the Void Sword under his control slashed toward Yaoguang once more. Although Yaoguang brought out his Starlight Glazed Body immediately and retreated rapidly, nonetheless... This power of decreeing reality with words was still enough to inflict suffocating pressure upon any opponent. "So this is the Grand Dao of Truth." "Is this called 'Truth,' but in reality, an earnest Dao of Flattery?" Yaoguang remarked in wonder: "By continually affirming and encouraging the Grand Dao of the Void, you lower its resistance against the Grand Dao of Truth, allowing the Grand Dao of Truth to infiltrate and then seize control... It's practically equivalent to turning the Grand Dao of the Void that I comprehended against me." "This is not turning it against you. It is that what I describe is the objective, physical truth. Naturally, my words become law, embraced by the rules of all creation," True Monarch Jinghong said. "Unless you have already merged with the Grand Dao and become the Dao itself, no matter how great you are, you can never surpass the truth of the world." "Is that so?" Within Yaoguang's body, the Dao seed of the Torrent of Time gradually stirred to life. "Your Grand Dao of Truth has already acknowledged the Grand Dao of the Void as the foundation of all things. In that case, if the Dao arts I command consist of more than just the Grand Dao of the Void, and that Dao art is just as powerful, how will your truth praise and describe it with objective impartiality?"