Sealing the Mountain

"Sect Master Yaoguang!" Demon Lord Jinni dodged and parried the Void Swords Yaoguang swung down while sending out frantic ripples of divine sense: "I'm the only one who knows where that secret treasury is! Even though I obtained a few Dao Lord talismans, I never managed to enter its core area. The most valuable treasures are still inside! If you can claim this secret treasury, you'll surely take your cultivation to the next level. Successfully achieving Dao Integration and rising to Dao Lord in the future will be well within reach!" "Do you know the greatest difference between an immortal cultivator and an ordinary mortal?" Without waiting for an answer, Yaoguang continued, "The greatest difference is that when mortals are pushed to the brink of despair, they can at least rely on a burst of hot-blooded valor for a slight chance to drag their enemy down with them. But immortal cultivators... in the presence of the strong, the weak don't even have the right to commit suicide. They cannot even hide the secrets buried in the depths of their souls." Four strands of Great Annihilation Sword Qi descended at that exact moment. The Grand Dao of Destruction contained within them relentlessly obliterated his demonic body, grinding away the heavenly demon origin at the very core of its constitution. "The weak!" Despair flashed through Demon Lord Jinni's eyes. Following that despair came an indescribable fury and madness. "Yaoguang, we are both in the Void Shattering realm! Did you truly believe I wouldn't have the slightest power to fight back in your hands?" In the next instant, the heavenly demon origin blazed furiously upon his body. Talismans materialized around him one after another, rapidly detonating alongside his personal Dao artifact. "Don't even dream of getting anything from me! Hahaha..." Amid these wild shrieks, the Void Shattering demon lord staked everything he had. Even though Yaoguang attempted to suppress him with the Heaven-Sealing Stele, it proved futile. In the end, Yaoguang only managed to forcibly bind a single strand of heavenly demon origin from the detonating true demon body. This outcome made Yaoguang frown slightly. *A Void Shattering cultivator detonating with all his might... is truly difficult for me to stop. Of course, that also had to do with the numerous powerful talismans Demon Lord Jinni held in his hands,* Yaoguang thought to himself. With those talismans serving as trump cards, the threat posed by this demon lord had hardly been inferior to Zhen Xuanyuan's. However... Soon, he took out the portion of heavenly demon origin and activated it with the Origin Tracing divine ability. In an instant, he sensed tens of thousands of targets with an aura close to this heavenly demon origin. Yet among those tens of thousands, the ones that truly drew his attention were a few located deep within the starry sky. "And that's how you find it," Yaoguang said with a light chuckle. Naturally, the location was quite distant, and as for where it was specifically... He would likely have to deduce it based on the starry coordinates Demon Lord Jinni had traveled over the years. And the task of searching through the records of Jinni's cosmic travels could simply be handed over to the Heavenly Dao Sect. A moment later, Yaoguang composed himself. *Even Demon Lord Jinni was fleeing back, so the remaining demon lords...* With a shift of his body, he sped toward the headquarters of the next demon lord. Before long, a sprawl of palaces constructed among the mountains came into view. Sure enough, the cultivators at and above the Void Piercing realm in these palaces had already fled, leaving the place empty. Yaoguang captured several Golden Core cultivators and sensed their traces for a moment using Origin Tracing, only to discover that the Void Shattering demonic cultivators from this valley were already nearing the Shadow Moon Sect's headquarters. Historically, the Shadow Moon Sect had produced a Dao Lord who specialized in formations, who had laid down a level-fifteen formation. With that formation present, even if Yaoguang's strength were doubled, he would have no confidence in breaching the Shadow Moon Sect's mountain gate. Pursuing them was therefore pointless. Without delay, he turned away, spending some time to arrive at the Tianzhou Sect. Looking at the area cloaked in formations, Yaoguang restrained his aura. *A level-thirteen formation cannot stop me. I should slip inside and destroy the teleportation formation first to keep from being surrounded if the Shadow Moon Sect pours out all their experts.* At that thought, Yaoguang paused abruptly. *Wait! The Shadow Moon Sect only had eleven relatively active Void Shattering cultivators. Earlier, I already killed two demon lords, Bahuang and Darkness, leaving nine. And ever since I stepped into the Shadow Moon Sect's territory, I've slain six more Void Shattering cultivators: Zhanpo, Chihun, Guiye, Tianyu, Shanie, and Jinni. In other words, out of their active Void Shattering cultivators, only three remain?* Running the numbers, Yaoguang suddenly realized he had nearly killed off all of the Shadow Moon Sect's Void Shattering experts. *If I act fast and ambush Demon Lord Zhouyin, only two demon lords will be left in the Shadow Moon Sect. Adding Sect Master Yue Wuying, that makes just three Void Shattering experts...* He weighed the feasibility of this plan. *Those remaining three are of very high quality. Xue Ming is someone who can contest Zhen Xuanyuan. Combined with how skilled demonic cultivators are at preserving their lives, this Chief Supreme Elder of the Shadow Moon Sect is in some respects even stronger than Zhen Xuanyuan. Yue Wuying is no weakling either, likely on par with Zong Wenxian. Perhaps his direct combat prowess is a bit lower, but he still possesses nearly 90 million combat power. Plus, there is another ordinary demon lord with around 70 million combat power...* High. As long as he brought himself back to peak condition, the feasibility of this plan was very high. Yet a moment later, he suppressed the idea. *Forget it. Yue Wuying and Xue Ming are both personal disciples of Demon Venerable Heitian. They might very well possess Dao essence like True Monarch Jinghong did. Faced with such treasures, I would be forced to reveal all my trump cards. Moreover, if they flee with everything they have, I might not be able to completely stop Yue Wuying and Xue Ming once they deploy Dao essence. If even one of them escapes, my trump cards will be exposed for everyone to see...* Yaoguang shook his head. *Exposing other trump cards is one thing, but exposing a pinnacle Dao artifact will inevitably draw the attention of Dao Lords of the Void...* Dao Lords of the Void path were already reluctant to see a new Void Dao Lord emerge. Add the revelation of a pinnacle Dao artifact on his person... With that pinnacle Dao artifact as temptation, they would not hesitate in the slightest to descend in their true bodies. Even if they walked away empty-handed, nipping a threat in the bud would make the trip worthwhile. As for whether that would offend Dao Lord Juntian... What a joke. If a Dao Lord deliberately concealed their tracks, other Dao Lords might not uncover any clues at all. Even if they did, so what? At worst, they would fight it out. As fellow Dao Lords, who was afraid of whom? *Once I finish off Demon Lord Zhouyin, this operation can draw to a close.* Yaoguang smiled faintly. *The Shadow Moon Sect brought about True Monarch Buzhou's death. For me, Yaoguang, to plunge into the heart of the Shadow Moon Sect alone and slaughter seven Void Shattering experts to avenge him—anyone who hears of this will have nothing but praise for me.* With a flash of his silhouette, he stepped into the Tianzhou Sect. Guided by the light of his true spirit, he locked onto Demon Lord Zhouyin with precision. At this moment, the demon lord remained on high alert, prepared to merge with the power of the defensive grand formation at the first sign of danger. Unfortunately... Yaoguang directly brought out a Dao artifact infused with the Grand Dao of Darkness and drove it straight into one of the formation's operating nodes. Instantly, the highly vigilant Demon Lord Zhouyin felt his connection to the grand protective formation severed. "This is..." The demon lord froze slightly. Yet his reflexes were extraordinarily fast. A traitor! A traitor had leaked the inner workings of the Tianzhou Sect's grand protective formation! And the enemy's purpose in halting the formation's operation... "Not good!" Demon Lord Zhouyin bolted, lunging toward the teleportation formation without a second's delay. Yet almost the instant he sprang toward it, Yaoguang had already unleashed the Heaven-Sealing Stele, scooping him and the space around him inside in one fell swoop. Immediately after, Yaoguang executed a Void Flicker, appearing hundreds of thousands of li away from the Tianzhou Sect in an instant. As Yaoguang swept him away from the Tianzhou Sect, the demon lord struggled violently, unleashing all manner of lethal Dao arts and sending tremors running through the Heaven-Sealing Stele. To prevent the stele from being damaged, Yaoguang performed three consecutive Void Flickers until he was over a million li away from the Tianzhou Sect, then hurled the demon lord out. Breaking free of the Heaven-Sealing Stele, Demon Lord Zhouyin saw the completely unfamiliar surroundings, and his face instantly turned pale... "I... was abducted?" Disbelief filled his eyes. Within his own sect, with the grand protective formation fully activated, someone had waltzed right in, ignored the defensive array entirely, and abducted a formidable Void Shattering demon lord like him to a spot outside the Tianzhou Sect?! Just how vast was this gap between them?! Without the slightest hesitation, the demon lord did not even try to leap back and flee. Instead, he immediately bowed low: "Zhouyin greets Sect Master Yaoguang! I am willing to lead all cultivators of the Tianzhou Sect to submit to Sect Master Yaoguang, to serve as your vanguard, and to obey your every command!" A wise man submits to circumstances! This demon lord chose to surrender directly in an attempt to preserve his life. "Obey my every command? Then I command you to kill yourself," Yaoguang said. Demon Lord Zhouyin froze. Yaoguang also realized that what he said was somewhat ill-considered. "Never mind." A Void Shattering demonic cultivator could at least yield a massive chunk of experience for the [Demon Hunting] branch. Letting him kill himself for nothing would be such a waste. In the next instant, the Void Sword cleaved straight down. *** Shadow Moon Sect. Looking at the message from the Soul Lamp Hall, Yue Wuying crushed the transmission jade in pure rage. "Fool! Idiot! What a colossal fool!" The Shadow Moon Sect Master roared in fury: "I told him to bring his people back to the sect! Jinni died because there wasn't enough time to build a teleportation formation in his territory, but what about you, Zhouyin? Facing an expert on par with True Monarch Jinghong, how did you expect to hold out? With what? With your life?!" Down below, in the conference hall that had been teeming with talent not long ago, only a single Void Shattering cultivator remained. Looking at the empty hall, that cultivator's face was filled with sorrow and grief. "Recall the Supreme Elder, and then... pull back our forces... Seal the mountain for a thousand years. We shall discuss venturing out only after Lord Demon Venerable returns!" The Void Shattering Supreme Elder sighed. "Yaoguang's momentum is even more terrifying than True Monarch Jinghong's. While True Monarch Jinghong possesses remarkable cultivation, he does not understand the Grand Dao of the Void. Many elders could at least run if they couldn't win. But Yaoguang has not only mastered the Grand Dao of the Void, his natal Dao art is the exceptionally agile Void Flicker. Anyone weaker who catches his eye has nowhere to run but toward death. In that respect, he is far more dangerous than True Monarch Jinghong." He looked at Sect Master Yue Wuying. "Our losses have already reached such a scale... the Shadow Moon Sect cannot hold out any longer. Unless we defy Lord Demon Venerable's orders and recall the elders guarding the Gate of the Immortal Realm at the planetary core, sealing the mountain and ceding all territory bordering the Southern Domain is our only choice to preserve the sect's foundation."