Protector

"Top ten among Void Shattering cultivators." Yaoguang smiled, choosing not to debate the matter with Li Hanqiu. While the gaps dividing Void Piercing, Void Refining, and Void Shattering were not insurmountable chasms, the gap between an ordinary Void Piercing cultivator and himself… was likely hardly inferior to the gap separating a Void Shattering cultivator from a Dao Lord. The battleship cleaved through the sky, and the Penglai Immortal Sect was already near at hand. Although Yaoguang had visited the Penglai Immortal Sect's territory more than once or twice, he had always skirted the periphery on each occasion, stopping at places like the Biyou Immortal Market. This was his very first time arriving at the Penglai Immortal Sect's actual stronghold. As the sect headquarters—comprising one hundred and eight islands of varying sizes—fell within the scope of Yaoguang's Awareness, an exclamation escaped his lips. "The Penglai Immortal Sect… really is immense." Indeed. Immense. The entire mountain gate of the Penglai Immortal Sect headquarters spanned over three hundred thousand li in both length and breadth. Some sect disciples of lower rank and lesser aptitude might well never leave the boundaries of headquarters in their entire lifetimes. Yet… Aside from its sheer size, the Penglai Immortal Sect seemed to possess little else worthy of praise. If one looked for formations, there were none of note; if one looked for resources, there were none; if one looked for blessed lands, there were none either. Of course, it was not completely devoid of them, but compared to the Heavenly Dao Sect, the Penglai Immortal Sect headquarters fell short by a clear margin overall. It was roughly on par with the Southern Domain's development level from before, making it hard to imagine this was the stronghold of a top sect. When the battleship arrived in the skies above the Penglai Immortal Sect, streaks of radiant light shot straight into the clouds, and a rainbow bridge glowing with myriad colors extended outward from deep within the sect. Immediately after, led personally by Acting Sect Master Shi Lin, palace masters at the Void Refining realm stood waiting at the skyport for the battleship to dock properly. When a Void Shattering cultivator entered the territory of another supreme faction, notification was generally required in advance to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. Accordingly, Yaoguang had naturally informed the Penglai Immortal Sect beforehand of his intention to pay a visit to Dao Lord Penglai. With the arrival of an eminent figure who was not the Sect Master of the Heavenly Dao Sect yet wielded authority surpassing one, no one in the Penglai Immortal Sect dared show the slightest negligence. In particular, the recent update to the Dao Lord Candidate List that ranked him among the top ten made everyone acutely aware of his true prowess. It was precisely for this reason that Shi Lin, the Acting Sect Master, had personally come to the skyport to receive him, fully demonstrating the sect's high regard for his arrival. After a round of pleasantries, Shi Lin introduced the various Void Refining palace masters who had come to receive him. Yaoguang maintained a smile, nodding to each of them in turn. These palace masters were filled with pleasant surprise and excitement at Yaoguang's presence. Rumors had long circulated in the outside world that Yaoguang shared close ties with the Penglai Immortal Sect, though he had never openly acknowledged it, and rumors had later emerged from within the Heavenly Dao Sect claiming it was merely talk spread by people with ulterior motives to prevent the Penglai Immortal Sect from attaching itself to him. Yet now, immediately after entering the Dao Lord Candidate List, Yaoguang had paid an official visit to the Penglai Immortal Sect… The speculation was undoubtedly confirmed to a certain extent. At the thought that their Penglai Immortal Sect had ties with such a pinnacle Void Shattering expert, the Void Refining palace masters held their heads high, feeling deeply honored. After a cordial exchange of greetings, Shi Lin smiled and said, "Master has already learned of Sect Master Yaoguang's arrival. I will guide you to her cultivation grounds at once." "Thank you for the trouble." Yaoguang gave a slight nod. Leaving Li Hanqiu and the others behind, he followed Shi Lin deeper into the Penglai Immortal Sect. However, just as they were about to enter the innermost core formation of the sect, he seemed to sense something and glanced in a certain direction. There, Vice Sect Master Leng Qingqiu—who was also counted among the reception party—betrayed a flicker of jealousy upon seeing that he possessed the qualification to meet Dao Lord Penglai directly. Yet the moment Yaoguang's gaze swept over, the Void Refining vice sect master turned her head away in fright, not daring to meet his eyes at all. News of Yaoguang suppressing the Shadow Moon Sect through his sole strength was now common knowledge. Beneath such towering, formidable might, who would dare show him disrespect? Even though Leng Qingqiu was a personal disciple of the Dao Lord and the vice sect master of the Penglai Immortal Sect, she lacked the courage to display the slightest displeasure to his face. At most… she could only wag her tongue behind his back. Nothing more than a clown. With a faint smile, Yaoguang withdrew his gaze and stepped alongside Shi Lin into this fourteenth-grade formation, which had been laid down through sheer brute force and miraculous expenditure. *** Inside the formation, the first thing to meet his eyes was a lotus pond so vast it seemed nearly boundless. Countless luxuriant lotus blossoms filled Yaoguang's field of view, appearing at first glance to span a dozen li around… Numerous wooden walkways crisscrossed the pond. Walking along them felt akin to strolling through a sea of lotus flowers. After Shi Lin led Yaoguang forward for a short while, they reached a small wooden pavilion-house built upon an islet within the lotus pond. Inside, a woman with cascading dark hair leaned against a pavilion bench, gazing out at the vast sea of lotuses. Shi Lin brought Yaoguang up to the small wooden house. It was not large, measuring less than a hundred square meters, and was built entirely in an open style. A cool breeze drifted through, setting the many silk screens swaying continuously, lending the place a peculiar aesthetic charm. "Master…" Shi Lin greeted her respectfully. "You're here." Dao Lord Penglai glanced at the two of them, beckoned with her hand, and pointed to the wooden… tatami mats beside her? "Sit." Yaoguang stepped forward. He looked at Dao Lord Penglai leaning barefoot against the windowsill, then at the spotless… mats. In the end, he took off his shoes before sitting down. Dao Lord Penglai gave him a half-smile before remarking, "This is my childhood memory of my family home. What left the deepest impression on me was that lotus pond… Whenever summer arrived, my mother would bring me and my younger sisters there to escape the heat and play…" Yaoguang felt a touch of surprise hearing this. Dao Lord Penglai's fame had only risen after she entered the Tianhai Sword Pavilion. Prior to that, she had been thoroughly obscure. According to rumors outside, she had not originated from Beihai Star itself, but from an ordinary planet under the jurisdiction of the Tianhai Sword Pavilion. After cultivating to a certain level on that world, she had arrived on Beihai Star aboard one of the Tianhai Sword Pavilion's battleships, much like an ascension. Later on, that planet had seemingly been destroyed by the demon race… Well, that was not the point. The point was… Her family actually owned a lotus pond spanning a dozen li across? Just how extravagant and wealthy had they been?! A true magnate. Truly, outrageously rich. To the side, Shi Lin acted like a handmaiden, pouring tea for both Yaoguang and Dao Lord Penglai. "If you needed something, you could have simply sent me a message. Coming all this way with such fanfare… are you planning some major move? One that might draw the attention of other Dao Lords?" Dao Lord Penglai asked curiously. "Yes." Yaoguang pondered for a moment. Considering that Shi Lin's weight in Dao Lord Penglai's eyes differed from her other disciples, he answered truthfully, "Over the coming period, I intend to purchase artifact refining materials on a large scale…" He paused briefly. "Materials for forging pinnacle Dao artifacts—and even immortal artifacts." "Pinnacle Dao artifacts? Immortal artifacts?!" Dao Lord Penglai was taken aback. "You can forge immortal artifacts?" With that, she looked at him again. "You haven't achieved Dao Integration." "It is merely to forge several pinnacle Dao artifacts capable of advancing into immortal artifacts in the future. Moreover, the higher the quality of the materials invested, the easier it becomes to craft a pinnacle Dao artifact," Yaoguang said. "Which is somewhat reckless and wasteful," Dao Lord Penglai retorted immediately. "Yet I am confident that I will inevitably upgrade these pinnacle Dao artifacts, forged with immortal artifact materials, into true immortal artifacts in the future," Yaoguang said. Having elevated his [Artifact Refining] branch to level sixteen, he possessed precisely this confidence. In fact, were it not for the limitations of his cultivation realm, he would already be able to attempt forging immortal artifacts right now. Of course, because he had only just reached level sixteen, the chance of failure would be extremely high; at best, he could only rely on piling up immortal artifact materials to produce a pseudo-immortal artifact. "Very well. But let alone immortal artifact materials, even materials for pinnacle Dao artifacts are exceedingly exorbitant. What's more, those are considered strategic supplies—hardly anyone ever offers them for sale…" "Refusing to sell merely means the price offered is not high enough," Yaoguang said. "The auxiliary materials for a pinnacle Dao artifact cost at least one hundred million each, while the primary materials start at one billion, rivaling the price of an entire Dao artifact. Immortal artifact materials are a hundred times more expensive than those of pinnacle Dao artifacts… But what if I double that price, or even triple it? What if I spend twenty billion, or even thirty billion, to purchase a single auxiliary material for an immortal artifact?" "You will become a fat sheep in the eyes of the Dao Lords," Dao Lord Penglai said with a smile. "Especially the Dao Lord of the Void, who already wouldn't mind strangling a future Dao Lord of tremendous potential in the cradle. If you flaunt your wealth like that… let alone the Dao Lord of the Void, even I would be tempted." She looked at Yaoguang. "After all, no matter how exquisite your smithing skill, crafting a single immortal artifact requires at least one primary material and two auxiliary materials—often four or five auxiliary materials. Even calculating by merely doubling the price, the cost for you to forge a pinnacle Dao artifact with immortal artifact materials would exceed two hundred and fifty billion. Many Dao Lords do not possess that much wealth to their names." Yaoguang knew that Dao Lord Penglai spoke the truth. One should not assume that Dao Lords viewed high-grade Dao artifacts as trifles simply because those on the Dao Lord Candidate List often possessed one or two. In truth, every person on the Dao Lord Candidate List was being nurtured as a prospective Dao Lord, with considerable effort invested in them by their backing Dao Lord. Furthermore, since high-grade Dao artifacts were of limited utility to Dao Lords themselves, they were willing to bestow them upon those Void Shattering cultivators. For many newly ascended Dao Lords, their entire net worth amounted to merely one or two hundred billion. Those with fortunes in the trillions were the pinnacle figures among Dao Lords. Dao Lord Penglai, as a newly ascended Dao Lord, could casually hand over more than a hundred billion in materials to Yaoguang partly because he was helping her forge a pinnacle Dao artifact—which was worth every bit of that price. On the other hand… the materials she provided came largely from the Tianhai Sword Pavilion and Demon Saint Yulin. Having plundered two supreme factions, she was naturally wealthier than ordinary Dao Lords. If he were to reveal that he possessed hundreds of billions in wealth… being targeted and plundered by Dao Lords as a fat sheep was by no means an empty concern. "Which is why I have come to seek your assistance, Dao Lord," Yaoguang said with a faint smile. "I cannot protect a fortune of hundreds of billions, but your illustrious prestige is more than enough to deter all petty schemers." "Oh? And what do you propose…?" "The outside world already knows that our Southern Domain possesses an Artifact Saint. What if that Artifact Saint, commissioned by you, Dao Lord, intends to attempt forging a pinnacle Dao artifact, and thus requires large quantities of materials for pinnacle Dao artifacts and even immortal artifacts? That sounds entirely reasonable, does it not?"