A Monster

Inside the Domain Lord's Manor. Yaoguang had not hidden his exchange with the three Supreme Elders—Zhen Xuanyuan, Gu Li, and Chiyun—from Li Hanqiu, Qi Sha, Wu Changfeng, Wan Liugui, and the others. When they finished listening to the conversation between the two sides, their eyes widened one after another, their faces filled with utter disbelief. It was hard to imagine that Yaoguang had merely been gone for such a brief time, yet had pulled off such an earth-shattering feat. Charging alone into the Shadow Moon Sect's headquarters and slaying seven Void Shattering Supreme Demon Lords of the sect... such a battle record... It was nothing short of legendary! Once Qi Sha digested the news, an unprecedented reverence and yearning erupted in his eyes. He already regarded Yaoguang as his lifelong aspiration, someone to gaze up toward for the rest of his days. Wu Changfeng, on the other hand, felt immense relief settle into his heart. With such a pinnacle powerhouse presiding over the Southern Domain, they could rest completely easy from this day forth. As for Li Hanqiu and Wan Liugui, their heads were spinning. Every time they heard news of Yaoguang, he brought them shock and miraculous performances, but this time... Overpowering an entire sect single-handedly! And a top grand sect like the Shadow Moon Sect among the Six Demon Sects at that! This had completely surpassed their wildest imagination. Never in their dreams had they dared to imagine that one day, the Cangwu Lineage could produce an eminent figure standing at the pinnacle of Beihai. After all, several decades ago, their only extravagant hope had been to cultivate a single true Void Piercing cultivator. Though that Void Piercing expert would have differed from an ordinary one—being comparable to a sect's young master and having a chance to compete for deputy sect master of the Taiyi Immortal Sect in the future. Yet... Be it a junior sect master or a deputy sect master, even figures who helmed the paramount sects, such as the sect masters of the Taiyi Immortal Sect and the Heavenly Dao Sect, paled in comparison to the glorious feat of suppressing an entire sect alone. Such an expert... Even when standing before a Dao Lord, he would command a Dao Lord's high regard. "How fortunate our Cangwu Great World is to have produced someone like Sect Master Yaoguang, who can stand at the pinnacle of Beihai," Wan Liugui remarked with heartfelt emotion. Li Hanqiu nodded heavily. "Yaoguang... is a Void Shattering expert who came from our Nine Cauldrons Sect." Seeing that Yaoguang, who hailed from the Nine Cauldrons Sect, could reach this height, Li Hanqiu genuinely felt at this moment that even if his life were to end right now, he would have no regrets. Especially since it was not just Yaoguang. With the unreserved funneling of various resources in the Southern Domain toward them, the Nine Cauldrons Sect had produced batch after batch of pinnacle experts in under a century. As of today, there were even several who had condensed Deep Blue Golden Cores. Judged purely by cultivation time, which of these individuals could not rival Jiang Tianzun? Of course, they had reached this step because they received far more abundant cultivation resources than Jiang Tianzun—one could even say an unlimited supply of resources. In terms of talent, they were clearly far inferior to Jiang Tianzun, but... Judge the results, not the process. The fact remained that they had attained the same achievement as Jiang Tianzun. As long as resources were limitless, anyone could be Jiang Tianzun. After a long time, Li Hanqiu calmed his mind. Looking at Yaoguang, who now stood at the summit of Beihai and was bound to be ranked on the Dao Lord Candidate Roll, the Void Piercing cultivator hesitated for a moment before asking, "Should we... find some time to make a trip back to the Cangwu Great World?" He immediately followed up, "Although we brought all our elites to Beihai Star last time, quite a few people still have family and descendants back in the Cangwu Great World. Now that we have established a solid foundation and achieved enough here, should we...?" "The Cangwu Great World..." Yaoguang did not hesitate much before nodding. "The Shadow Moon Sect has sealed its mountain, so the latent threat facing the Southern Domain has been resolved. With Zhen Xuanyuan, Chiyun, and Gu Li helping keep watch, the Southern Domain will not face any danger either. Let us find time to make a trip to the Cangwu Great World, then." He glanced across Li Hanqiu, Wan Liugui, and the others. "When I charged into the Shadow Moon Sect and slew seven Supreme Demon Lords this time, I seized quite a few flying vessels and battleships. Once I refit and repair them a bit, they will serve as mobile fortresses capable of housing and sustaining massive numbers of cultivators. When the time comes, after you refine these vessels, forget hundreds of thousands or a million—even if several million, tens of millions, or even dozens of millions wish to come to Beihai Star, we can bring them all back." "Understood!" Li Hanqiu and Wan Liugui answered in unison. Yaoguang glanced at the numerous Dao artifacts in his possession. If he were to sell these Dao artifacts one by one, it would undoubtedly cause a massive sensation. However, over the years, Yaoguang had taken on quite a few custom orders for Dao artifacts. Although the queue stretched out thousands of years, some of the finished pieces currently on hand met the criteria for near-term deliveries; he would only need to spend a year or two making minor modifications to fulfill the orders scheduled for the next several centuries. As for the remainder... Several hundred years from now, he would have raised [Artifact Crafting] to Tier 16 or even Tier 17 regardless. If things went smoothly, his cultivation realm would also have advanced to [Dao Integration]. By then, crafting a Dao artifact each year would be no trouble at all, and taking eight or ten years would be plenty to clear all the accumulated orders on his hands. However, for now... "Summon Chu Gushan, Qin Shiyue, and the others. Let them see if any of these Dao artifacts in my hands suit them. If there are, I can lend the artifacts to them first so they can comprehend Dao arts. If not, then in a year or two, Wu Changfeng, you will host an auction to sell these Dao artifacts one by one and convert them into materials," Yaoguang instructed. "Understood," Wu Changfeng promptly agreed. Although he was only a Void Refining cultivator, with Yaoguang backing him—especially a Yaoguang who had just battered the Shadow Moon Sect into sealing its mountain—no one would dare cause trouble if he hosted an auction for eight or ten Dao artifacts. Thereupon, Yaoguang assigned the tasks. At the same time, he passed the news along to the people of the Nine Cauldrons Sect; those who wished to return for a visit could also travel with them to the Cangwu Great World. *** While Li Hanqiu and the others organized personnel to prepare for the return to the Cangwu Great World, under the Shadow Moon Sect's active promotion—sparing no expense even to their own sect's face—the glorious feat of Yaoguang suppressing an entire sect alone spread swiftly. The sheer shockwave this news brought far exceeded that of his previous slaying of the two demon lords Bahuang and Darkness, or his defeat of Zhen Xuanyuan and Gu Li within the Heavenly Dao Sect. When the two demon lords Bahuang and Darkness fell, everyone assumed Yaoguang had relied on the advantage of formations. As for what had transpired inside the Heavenly Dao Sect... Who could say whether the Heavenly Dao Sect had deliberately built momentum for Yaoguang? Even though Jing Yuntian had fallen in that battle, at most people speculated that Yaoguang's strength had reached a level rivaling Zhen Xuanyuan. Strength on par with the Dao Lord Candidate Roll? No one believed that a newly ascended Void Shattering cultivator—especially one who had cultivated for a mere century in total—could be powerful to such an extent. It was highly likely that the Heavenly Dao Sect was putting on a show to generate hype for him. But the Shadow Moon Sect being battered into sealing its mountain... No matter how influential the Heavenly Dao Sect was, they could never get their bitter enemy, the Shadow Moon Sect, to collaborate in putting on a show. Particularly not in a manner that utterly disgraced them. This was tantamount to Yaoguang trampling the entire Shadow Moon Sect underfoot by his own power. The last person to accomplish such a feat had been Dao Lord Penglai of the Penglai Immortal Sect. The news of Yaoguang overpowering a sect alone and slaying seven Void Shattering demon cultivators was already seismic on its own, and with Dao Lord Penglai now drawn into the comparison... At once, the news swept through every corner of Beihai Star like a raging tempest. Not only forces like the Ten Immortal Sects, the Three Immortal Martial Sects, and the Four Great Immortal Dynasties, but other races and factions—such as the Nine Demon Immortal Lineages, the Ten Direction Ancestral Gods, and the Six Demon Sects—knew of it as well. In particular, those factions within the human race that did not rank among the Ten Immortal Sects felt as though their news had been utterly flooded by Yaoguang lately. After the news broke, everyone did their utmost to verify it. Once people across the world confirmed through various channels that the Shadow Moon Sect had indeed suffered heavy losses among its Void Shattering cultivators and been forced to seal its mountain, the fervor surrounding this news surged to a brand-new peak. Foreign races acted as if facing a mortal threat, vexed that another pinnacle powerhouse had arisen among the human race. Within human territory, especially among the Ten Immortal Sects, many felt extraordinarily exhilarated. Countless people speculated on just how terrifying the strength of Yaoguang was to overpower an entire sect alone and beat the Shadow Moon Sect into sealing its mountain. Where would he rank if placed on the Dao Lord Candidate Roll? Meanwhile, leaders of the factions located near the Heavenly Dao Sect were on pins and needles. With another pinnacle powerhouse added to the Heavenly Dao Sect, none knew what impact it would have on the surrounding region. If he wished to expand the Heavenly Dao Sect's territory... Would they yield, or not? In particular, the Heavenly Demon Sect—which did not directly border the Heavenly Dao Sect but was not far away—was already deliberating whether to follow the Shadow Moon Sect's example and pull back their own forces to avoid being picked off piecemeal. It could be said that winds of change stirred across the entirety of Beihai Star following Yaoguang's meteoric rise. *** "Sect Master." At the Taiyi Immortal Sect. Supreme Elder Yuhuang hurried into the palace where Sect Master True Monarch Taiyuan handled sect affairs, an irrepressible shock visible in his eyes. "The rumors circulating outside..." "They are true." Knowing what he wanted to ask, True Monarch Taiyuan gave an immediate affirmative response. He looked at Supreme Elder Yuhuang. "Your intelligence network has obtained a definitive answer as well, hasn't it?" "Yes, it is just that..." Supreme Elder Yuhuang instinctively wanted to deny the information he had personally verified multiple times, but ultimately, faced with the undeniable truth, he could only let out a breath. "This is simply too unbelievable. I knew Yaoguang's talent was terrifying and his future achievements would be limitless, but never did I expect him to perform to such an extent..." "In truth, there were signs beforehand. When Yaoguang defeated Zhen Xuanyuan and Gu Li two-on-one, his strength had already revealed a tip of the iceberg. Now, when taking vengeance for the invasion back then, charging in to slay seven Void Shattering Supreme Demon Lords and beating the Shadow Moon Sect into sealing its mountain is... could be said to be... perhaps... within reason as well..." As True Monarch Taiyuan spoke, he found himself unable to go on. Was this reasonable? Was this truly reasonable? Yet the evidence flowing in from every quarter forced him to accept the reality. Ultimately, the sect master of the Taiyi Immortal Sect could only sigh with a bitter smile: "Especially... he has only cultivated for a century up to this day..." Hearing the sect master speak in almost the exact same tone as himself, Supreme Elder Yuhuang was rendered speechless, yet his mind quickly calmed down. Turns out, he was not the only one who found this absurd. Thus, he said, "Geniuses simply cannot be judged through the eyes of ordinary people. Just like that Dao Lord Penglai, she took two hundred years back then to reach Void Shattering, five hundred years to ascend the Dao Lord Candidate Roll, and then... and then..." She was already five hundred years old when she made it onto the Dao Lord Candidate Roll!? And Yaoguang right now... Was only a little over a hundred. Instantly... Supreme Elder Yuhuang trailed off once more. The atmosphere in the hall suddenly froze solid. After a long silence, Supreme Elder Yuhuang and True Monarch Taiyuan, two Void Shattering experts of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, exchanged a glance and sighed in unison: "What a monster."