The Cangwu Great World.
The battleship Cangbei glided slowly into view, immediately drawing every eye.
One Golden Core and Dharma Idol cultivator after another emerged, gazing toward the warship.
Worry lingered in many eyes, uncertain whether the newcomer was friend or foe.
Yet most gazes converged upon a middle-aged man possessing the strength of a Void Piercing Battle Immortal.
Although a Void Piercing Battle Immortal lacked the endurance of a true Void Piercing cultivator, he was still an existence capable of roaming across a stellar system—or even destroying one entirely.
Yet even an expert capable of traversing star systems and roaming the cosmos felt profound powerlessness before the boundless universe.
No one knew what terrors and perils lurked in the cosmic depths, nor what caliber of powerhouse might exist there.
Thus, his gaze was equally grave as he watched the approaching Dao artifact battleship.
"True Monarch Xie Wu, they slowed down upon reaching our Cangwu Great World. Judging from that, they probably bear no hostility, right?" Qiao An asked cautiously.
"This battleship... is of very high grade. The newcomer's background must be extraordinary," the Void Piercing Battle Immortal known as Xie Wu said. To avoid causing too much panic, however, he added, "Still, the strongest forces in our vast star domain are concentrated on Beihai Star, and the Taiyi Immortal Sect behind me is one of Beihai Star's Ten Immortal Sects, standing atop Beihai. With that credential, they should give us face."
He studied the ship. "After all, judging by its style, it still leans toward the human domain."
"Could it be..."
At this moment, Ye Lin of the Myriad Beasts Sect whispered, "Has that sect returned?"
That sect?!
Though she had not mentioned it by name, everyone present understood which power she referred to.
More than a decade ago, True Monarch Xie Wu had returned from Beihai Star to the Cangwu Realm.
Yet his purpose in coming was not to transform this world into the Tianzun Realm, but rather...
To transform it into the Yaoguang Realm.
It was only then that everyone learned that Yaoguang, who had already demonstrated astounding potential back in the Cangwu Realm, had achieved such colossal feats on Beihai Star.
Not only had he achieved the Void Piercing realm—a level capable of dominating a galactic system—ahead of Jiang Tianzun, but he had subsequently attained Void Refining at an incredible pace, rising to deputy sect master of the Heavenly Dao Sect, another of the Ten Immortal Sects, and taking command of an entire domain.
Across Beihai Star, such an existence was a truly momentous figure.
Had he wished, countless factions comparable to the Cangwu Great World would have flocked to pledge allegiance.
Yet that was still not his peak.
Shortly afterward, within the Southern Domain under his governance, he had utilized the power of formations to slay two Void Shattering realm Supreme Demon Lords.
Void Shattering Demon Lords!
The power of such figures almost exceeded their comprehension.
Jiang Tianzun, whom everyone across the Cangwu Great World had schemed to curry favor with, had earned their unreserved backing not only because of his own talent, but even more importantly because he had apprenticed under Supreme Elder Yuhuang of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, becoming a personal disciple of that Void Shattering powerhouse perched atop Beihai.
And now...
Yaoguang possessed the power to slay two Void Shattering figures...
How could they not be terrified and shaken?
After all, great figures of the Cangwu Lineage had returned specially, bringing copious cultivation resources to remodel the Cangwu Great World and revive the Nine Cauldrons Sect, showing every sign of turning the entire Cangwu Great World into the Yaoguang Great World.
Hearing Ye Lin's words, Xie Wu pondered for a moment before nodding. "It's very likely."
With that, he wasted no more time. "In any case, let us go forward to meet them. Whether friend or foe, this step cannot be avoided."
Ye Lin, Feng Ao, Qiao An, Miller, Zhan Ke, and the other Golden Core and Dharma Idol cultivators nodded and followed Xie Wu.
Yet before they could reach the battleship, a figure dashed out ahead of them from the vessel.
"Xie Wu? What are you doing here?"
Sensing the somewhat familiar divine sense, Xie Wu started, then breathed an immense sigh of relief.
"True Monarch Wan."
Looking at the appearing Wan Liugui, he instantly recognized who had arrived and asked with some apprehension, "Could it be... that esteemed lord has arrived?"
Wan Liugui did not answer, merely looking pensive.
Xie Wu was actually here in the Cangwu Great World...
It seemed this was another demonstration of sincerity from the Cangwu Lineage.
Wan Liugui gave a slight nod.
"He really came!"
Xie Wu took a deep breath, his expression instantly turning restrained and reverent.
"That lord..."
Qiao An's pupils constricted, and he blurted out, "Did Yaoguang come too?"
Back then, the relationship between the Wuji Astral Palace and Yaoguang had been far from friendly.
"Insolence!"
The moment the words left Qiao An's mouth, Wan Liugui barked sharply. The might of a Void Piercing Battle Immortal, paired with divine sense fostered by near-mastery of the Nine Refinements of the Star Ring, crashed into Qiao An's mind with thunderous force. The Golden Core Battle Immortal's consciousness shuddered violently, his face turning deathly pale as he struggled to maintain his Golden Core state.
The Void Piercing Battle Immortal swept a frigid gaze over the pale Qiao An, as well as the panicked Lu Xi, Feng Ao, Zhan Ke, and the others. "Is Sect Master Yaoguang's name something you can casually utter?"
Beside him, Xie Wu hastily berated the group as well: "What kind of exalted figure is Sect Master Yaoguang? Who gave you permission to speak his name directly?"
Wan Liugui's gaze swept over each of them.
The crushing pressure of his formidable divine sense bore down on everyone present, whether Dharma Idols or Golden Core Battle Immortals, like a mountainous tidal wave. Those Battle Immortals whose Golden Cores were already shaky felt their minds plunge into chaos and their cores spin out of control, threatening to destabilize and detonate where they stood.
"True Monarch Wan... we... we know our fault..." Miller stammered through trembling divine sense.
"I think you have yet to grasp the reality of the situation."
Only now did Wan Liugui slightly rein in his divine pressure. "The one whose presence you face is the youngest Void Shattering cultivator in the Heavenly Dao Sect's history, Sect Master of the Heavenly Dao Sect, Lord of the Southern Domain, an exalted figure on the Dao Lord Candidate List who swept through the Shadow Moon Sect single-handedly, slew seven of their Void Shattering demon cultivators in a single battle, and forced one of the Six Demon Dao Sects to seal its gates!"
At those words, Xie Wu's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
Void Shattering?!
Hadn't he been at Void Refining?
How had he become Void Shattering?
He broke through to the Void Shattering realm?!
How could he be so fast?!
And the rest of what was said...
Swept through the Shadow Moon Sect single-handedly, slain seven Void Shattering demon cultivators in one battle, and forced the Shadow Moon Sect into isolation?!
How...
How was this possible?!
How long had Yaoguang been cultivating? How could he have reached such a height?!
As for Miller, Zhan Ke, Ye Lin, Feng Ao, and the rest, they were struck dumb with terror.
Earlier, when Xie Wu informed them that Yaoguang had utilized formations to barely slay two Void Shattering demon cultivators, they had already been terrified to their cores, hoping only that should they meet Yaoguang in the future, he would have forgotten insignificant nobodies like them.
Little did they expect...
A mere dozen-odd years later, Yaoguang had...
Accomplished yet another staggering feat?!
Sweeping the Shadow Moon Sect, one of the Six Demon Dao Sects?!
Slaying seven Void Shattering demon cultivators?!
Beating a demonic legacy on par with the Taiyi Immortal Sect and the Heavenly Dao Sect into sealing its mountain?!
What...
What unimaginable might was this?!
"A petty Golden Core Battle Immortal like you, not even a genuine Golden Core—what right do you have to speak Sect Master Yaoguang's name!"
Wan Liugui pressed his hand downward in the empty air, and that Golden Core Battle Immortal's already unstable Golden Core completely spiraled out of control and collapsed...
"No! No! True Monarch Wan, I know my wrong, I—"
Qiao An let out a terrified shriek.
Yet Wan Liugui was on the verge of a breakthrough; far from struggling against a mere Golden Core Battle Immortal, even a true disciple of a grand sect who had formed a Deep Blue Golden Core could not contest him in the slightest.
Under his strike, the Wuji Astral Palace's Golden Core Battle Immortal had no room even to beg for mercy; the Golden Core within him collapsed directly into a dazzling burst of light.
Before that brilliant light could fully erupt, the true monarch clenched his hand, warping space to crush and grind away all the contained energy down to nothing.
Throughout the entire process, Xie Wu, though also a Void Piercing Battle Immortal, could only watch helplessly, not daring to move an inch, much less intervene.
As for the other Golden Core cultivators of the Wuji Astral Palace, they stood muted like cicadas in winter, trembling from head to toe.
The despair of being fish on a chopping block permeated every inch of their bodies.
At that moment, another figure appeared.
Seeing this figure, a flicker of hope surfaced in the eyes of Ye Lin and Fu Long. "True... True Monarch Li..."
Yet when Xie Wu caught sight of Li Hanqiu stepping forward, his eyes widened in utter disbelief. "Wait... this aura..."
His face was filled with shock. "Void Piercing?! A true Void Piercing cultivator?!"
Li Hanqiu gave him a nod.
Toward these Void Piercing Battle Immortals who had ventured out to fight on the Beihai battlefield for the future of the Cangwu Great World back then, he owed at least a measure of respect.
After all, without them, the subsequent Cangwu Great World would not exist.
Therefore...
"From this day forth, the Cangwu Great World shall become the private territory of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, and this world shall be renamed the Nine Cauldrons Realm..." Li Hanqiu declared.
This was the decision they had agreed upon during the journey.
None of the Su family members had returned with him to the Cangwu Realm, so Yaoguang had no intention of renaming the Cangwu Realm the Yaoguang Realm.
Furthermore, with Li Hanqiu's strength as a genuine Void Piercing cultivator, claiming dominion over an entire world was well within his right and standing.
"As for the other factions of the Cangwu Great World, you may either depart immediately or submit to the Nine Cauldrons Sect and become its members. From this day forward, no force other than the Nine Cauldrons Sect shall exist within the Nine Cauldrons Realm."
Having said that, Li Hanqiu turned his gaze toward Xie Wu. "I must trouble True Monarch Xie to escort those who wish to leave back to Beihai Star."
"Understood. Leave it to me," Xie Wu replied at once.
He then added, "In fact, ever since I returned to the Cangwu Realm over a decade ago, I have been vigorously developing the Nine Cauldrons Sect. After more than ten years of growth, the sect has already reached considerable scale. Not only has it reclaimed all its former territory, but it has also absorbed several neighboring regions."
It was not hard for Li Hanqiu to guess his motive, and he gave a slight nod. "You have been thoughtful."
"To be of service to the Nine Cauldrons Sect is my honor," Xie Wu responded with a broad smile.
He had arrived in the Cangwu Great World early and thrown his full support behind the Nine Cauldrons Sect precisely to hear these words.
"Three months from now, no faction other than the Nine Cauldrons Sect shall remain in the Cangwu Great World."
Li Hanqiu once again gave a stern warning to the Golden Core Battle Immortals of the Wuji Astral Palace, the Immortal Alliance, and the other factions. Then, completely indifferent to whether they agreed, he waved a sleeve. "Enter the Cangwu Realm."
Chapter 430