Killing with Praise

At present, the power Yaoguang displayed had already surpassed the Shadow Moon Sect's breaking point. Although they still had their three strongest Supreme Elders at the star core... Recall them? Completely out of the question. Otherwise, what they would have to face was the wrath of a Dao Lord. If the Shadow Moon Sect was useless and incapable of handling even the slightest matter, what reason was there for its existence? And unable to recall their personnel from the star core... Sealing the mountain... It was truly their only remaining choice. In an instant, the rage that had gripped Yue Wuying dissipated, as if all strength had been drained from his body. "To think that our Shadow Moon Sect, one of the grand Six Demon Sects, has been driven to seal our mountain by a single person from the Heavenly Dao Sect..." Humiliation! A monstrous humiliation! "While the green hills last, there'll be wood to burn. Yaoguang has bared all his sharp edges this time. He will soon ascend the Candidate Dao Lord Board, and as one of the highest-ranked candidates at that. Once that happens, there will inevitably be Void Dao Lords who fear him and seek to stifle him in the cradle... Especially Dao Lord Yuanxu... Having lived for one hundred and twenty thousand years, he despises seeing young geniuses who reach Void Shattering on the Path of the Void more than anything else! And what he enjoys most of all is slaughtering brilliantly talented Void Shattering geniuses of the Void!" The demon lord calmly stated, "Once Yaoguang falls, we will naturally reclaim every bit of our lost territory, piece by piece." Hearing this, some vigor seemed to be injected back into Yue Wuying's drained body. A tree that stands out in the forest is bound to be torn down by the wind. For a genius like Yaoguang, walking other paths would be one thing, but he was currently walking the Path of the Void, yet acted with such high-profile arrogance, single-handedly beating their Shadow Moon Sect into sealing their mountain... He was courting his own demise. "Seal the mountain!" Yue Wuying said immediately. "The Shadow Moon Sect seals its gates starting today!" Having said that, he added, "Furthermore, spread the word: Yaoguang possesses extraordinary talent and is bound to become a Void Dao Lord in the future... Moreover, he encountered a great fortuitous opportunity and obtained a pinnacle Void Dao artifact. It was precisely because of this that he could single-handedly carve through our Shadow Moon Sect and beat us into shutting our gates!" The sect master of the Shadow Moon Sect sneered coldly. "Things have reached this point, so we can no longer care about the sect's dignity. We shall use the fame of our Shadow Moon Sect as a stepping stone to elevate him high into the sky, and then... laugh as we watch him plummet from the heights, dashed to pieces on that day." Hearing this, the demon lord nodded slightly. Whether anyone believed the tale of a pinnacle Dao artifact was unimportant. As long as it could sway the thoughts of pinnacle Void Shattering experts—or even Dao Lords—who had the strength to kill Yaoguang, even by a mere fraction, the rumor would have served its purpose. Next... Watch him raise high towers, watch him feast guests, watch his tower collapse. What is too rigid is easily broken. On Beihai Star, Dao Lords were the true masters. A genius like Yaoguang... The more ostentatious and sharp someone was, the faster they died. "Just wait. He won't be gloating for long," Yue Wuying, the sect master of the Shadow Moon Sect, offered as his final, stubborn assessment. *** Tianzhou Sect. For thirty thousand li around the Tianzhou Sect, a layer of the land had been sheared flat away by Yaoguang's Great Annihilation Sword Qi. Mountains and rivers had shifted; seawater hung suspended upside down. At this moment, he sat atop a boulder. The boulder lay at the bottom of a colossal canyon. Looking toward either side, towering cliffs rose over three thousand meters high, resembling two immense walls or conjoined skyscrapers hundreds of stories tall, soaring into the clouds and blotting out the surrounding sky so that anyone gazing up from the canyon floor could see only a narrow strip of sky. The canyon's interior was exceedingly vast as well, spanning over three thousand meters across—holding large-scale ball games or even building an entire city nestled at the bottom would pose no difficulty at all. And this canyon, three thousand meters deep and one hundred thousand meters long... It was merely the furrow left behind as a single stroke of Yaoguang's sword qi skimmed across the ground. When tearing open the earth, he had discovered a treasury in this region. Although everything inside combined was not even worth a single Dao artifact, he had a massive following from the Nine Cauldrons Sect behind him; with such a large enterprise to maintain, nothing would go to waste. After taking inventory of the spoils, he did not depart immediately, but once again directed his mind toward his spiritual world. "A bit faster than I anticipated." Yaoguang looked at the experience appearing on the [Demon Hunting] branch. Then... He turned his gaze toward the [Merchant] branch, which had likewise accumulated a considerable amount of experience. "Every time I slay a Void Shattering demon cultivator, not only can I obtain sufficient energy through the Demon Hunting branch, but after seizing their Dao artifacts, Merchant can also reap substantial returns. Therefore... although I only slew seven Void Shattering demon cultivators on this trip, this experience is already enough to raise the Merchant branch to level 15. Even filling out the level 15 progress bar won't require much more..." He recalculated and quickly reached a conclusion. If every subsequent Void Shattering alien had three Dao artifact-level spoils... "Six should just about do it." Six Void Shattering aliens carrying three Dao artifacts each would allow the ancient tree in his spiritual world to completely transform, turning into a translucent glazed treasure tree. "However, I can't keep slaughtering the Shadow Moon Sect. On one hand, they have fully retreated, hiding inside a level-15 sect-guarding grand formation that my current abilities might not be able to breach. On the other hand... if I push any further, the Shadow Moon Sect will probably call on the Dao Integration cultivator backing them for help." Currently, he was no match for the might of Dao Integration. After pondering for a moment, Yaoguang leaped up, shooting straight into the air above the vast, pale expanse of the Tianzhou Sect. He then summoned his flying boat, flew out of the Shadow Moon Sect's territory, and headed toward the Southern Domain. Although he traveled by flying boat rather than the Two Realms Ruler, returning from the Shadow Moon Sect to the capital of the Southern Domain still took little time. At this moment, the Southern Domain was still on high alert as if facing a formidable enemy. In particular, the teleportation formation had been set to semi-active mode. If the need arose, the Southern Domain and the Heavenly Dao Sect headquarters would be linked immediately, allowing Supreme Elders Zhen Xuanyuan, Chiyun, and the other Void Shattering cultivators in the sect to rush to the southern capital to stabilize the situation. But now... It was no longer needed. "Shut down the teleportation formation," Yaoguang's divine sense transmitted into the Domain Lord's Estate. "Sect Master!" "Master, you've returned!" "What happened? I heard Supreme Elder Gu Li brought people over... Supreme Elder Buzhou and Supreme Elder Jinghong?" The moment his divine sense arrived, the highly tense group immediately came forward to welcome him. Li Hanqiu, Wan Liugui, Qi Sha, and Wu Changfeng were all present. "It's fine. The matter has passed. True Monarch Jinghong has already realized that only under my rule can the Heavenly Dao Sect truly embrace a bright future, and he won't be causing us any more trouble." As Yaoguang spoke, he added, "Additionally, I made some repairs to the Heavenly Capital Dragon-Slashing Formation, introducing a low-energy-consumption mode. Although this mode will still consume millions of Pure Yang Great Pills each year, that sort of expenditure is trivial to us now. Going forward, we will keep it running in this mode on a daily basis." "Understood, I'll go activate the formation right away." "Has the Sect Master convinced True Monarch Jinghong? Wonderful! If True Monarch Jinghong raises no objections, the position of Sect Master will be beyond all doubt!" "Congratulations, Sect Master!" Smiling broadly, they offered their congratulations one after another. Yaoguang nodded to them. "Follow me." Leading them along without offering detailed explanations, he moved swiftly into a palace hall outfitted with numerous communication formations and divine sense projection formations. Activating the formations within the hall, he projected a strand of divine sense directly into the array. Through the power of the formation, this divine sense instantly crossed the void and appeared at the Heavenly Dao Sect's receiving formation. That formation was also guarded by a Void Piercing elder. Sensing Yaoguang's divine sense, he hastily rose to his feet. "Sect Master Yaoguang." "Mm. Summon Supreme Elders Zhen Xuanyuan and Chiyun to see me," Yaoguang instructed. Then, as if an afterthought struck him, he added, "Has Supreme Elder Gu Li returned? If he has, summon him as well." "Supreme Elder Gu Li has returned. I will summon them at once," the Void Piercing elder promptly replied. Yaoguang's official status was merely deputy sect master; theoretically, he possessed no authority to demand that three Supreme Elders come meet him. Yet the Void Piercing elder felt nothing amiss about Yaoguang's words. It seemed entirely natural that three Supreme Elders should come to see him of their own accord. Before long, Supreme Elders Zhen Xuanyuan and Chiyun hurried over. Supreme Elder Gu Li, who had returned not long ago, bore a grave expression, yet when he saw Yaoguang, his face stretched into a smile that was polite yet decidedly awkward. He spoke up immediately: "Sect Master Yaoguang, what happened earlier was truly a misunderstanding. I have already ordered a lavish gift prepared and dispatched to the Southern Domain... I hope Sect Master Yaoguang can show leniency, seeing that we belong to the same sect..." "Easy enough to say," Yaoguang replied calmly, revealing no discernible attitude whatsoever. "Sect Master Yaoguang, what in the world happened... True Monarch Buzhou...?" Zhen Xuanyuan, who had arrived alongside them, could not help but ask. "True Monarch Buzhou was unfortunately slain by the two demon lords Chihun and Zhanpo. I have already sent someone over with a replica projection stone. At that time, you may make the announcement to the sect and hold a memorial service for him. However..." Yaoguang said calmly, "I have also avenged Supreme Elder Buzhou. Sword in hand, I marched alone into the heart of the Shadow Moon Sect and consecutively slew five demon lords: Guiye, Tianyu, Shanie, Jinni, and Zhouyin. I left the Shadow Moon Sect with severed heads rolling and rivers of blood, finally forcing them to pay their blood debt in full. As for the veracity of this news, I believe the informants you placed in the Shadow Moon Sect will confirm it for you soon enough." He recounted the events in an even, tranquil tone, yet the content caused Zhen Xuanyuan, Chiyun, and Gu Li to gasp in unison. The reports they had received indeed indicated that Yaoguang had barged into the Shadow Moon Sect and gone on a slaughter spree. However, those informants had limited status; their intelligence only revealed that Yaoguang had stormed the Shadow Moon Sect's territory and wreaked utter havoc, with no specifics about what had actually transpired. Hearing Yaoguang recount it in person now... "Guiye, Tianyu, Shanie, Jinni, Zhouyin... five Void Shattering demon lords..." Zhen Xuanyuan felt his voice turn completely dry, even the rotation of his divine sense slowing down. "They're... all dead?!" "Dead," Yaoguang gave a slight nod. "And not just them. The two demon lords who murdered Supreme Elder Buzhou, Zhanpo and Chihun, are also dead. I have avenged Supreme Elder Buzhou." "Adding Zhanpo and Chihun..." "The Shadow Moon Sect lost seven Supreme Demon Lords?!" "Heavens above..." In that moment, let alone Chiyun and Gu Li, even Zhen Xuanyuan, the Chief Supreme Elder standing at the pinnacle of Void Shattering, sank into an unspeakable state of shock and terror.