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Huangtian Great Hall. A vital hub where the Heavenly Dao Sect Master exclusively handled matters both great and small. Over three thousand formations of varying sizes were laid out here, linking precisely to every major department of the Heavenly Dao Sect. They ensured that as long as the Sect Master wished to know, any information occurring within the sect—and across Beihai Star as a whole—would reach him at the earliest possible moment. At that moment, a group of Supreme Elders led by Zhen Xuanyuan, together with Yaoguang, summoned Venerable Golden Book once more. Venerable Golden Book proceeded to hand over to Yaoguang the various talisman seals that only a Sect Master had authority to control. While refining the talisman seals one after another, Yaoguang also scrutinized Venerable Golden Book. Compared to before, this time Yaoguang noticed something new upon seeing him. Venerable Golden Book himself... Was likely a semi-immortal artifact. Not referring to what he had become after repeated evolutions, but to the very period when he was first forged. The Golden Book of the Grand Dao had been personally forged by the founder of the Heavenly Dao Sect, Dao Lord Hongmeng. Dao Lord Hongmeng held another title: Dao Sovereign Hongmeng. Supreme of the Grand Dao. Unlike Dao Lord Penglai, who held the title of number one in Beihai, Dao Sovereign Hongmeng possessed talent unmatched by anyone in his era, completely dominating his age through sheer might. By his strength alone, he had subdued and defeated every Dao Integration cultivator on Beihai Star. Be it the Human race, Demon race, God race, Insectoid race, Star race, or any other, countless Dao Integration experts were powerless before him. That was the most brilliant and glorious era of that Dao Lord's life. It was precisely because the founder was such a legend who had left behind numerous treasures and inheritances that the Heavenly Dao Sect was able to become one of the rare apex powers on Beihai Star whose line of Dao Lords had never broken, persisting down to the present day. Not only was his cultivation overwhelming, but his artifact-refining technique was equally staggering, having reached at least the peak of rank fifteen and perhaps even barely stepping into rank sixteen. By gathering numerous materials from all over the world, he had forged the Golden Book of the Grand Dao directly into a semi-immortal artifact. Later, successive Dao Lords of the Heavenly Dao Sect also infused their own Grand Dao insights into the Golden Book of the Grand Dao. Combined with fortunate collections of immortal artifact materials refined into its pages, this semi-immortal artifact had long since reached the limits of what an ordinary semi-immortal artifact could attain. If brought into the Immortal Realm in the future, its transformation into a true immortal artifact was only a matter of time. No! Not the future! Yaoguang had a premonition that once he formally stepped into the Dao Lord realm and advanced his [Artifact Refining] technique a bit further—no need for rank seventeen, just over twenty percent progress—he would possess the ability to directly guide the Golden Book of the Grand Dao through its transformation from a semi-immortal artifact into a true immortal artifact. Having finished his inspection, he could not help feeling a twinge of regret. "If only I could dismantle the Golden Book of the Grand Dao, all the materials I need to forge pinnacle Dao artifacts would be complete." Venerable Golden Book, who was in the middle of condensing the talisman seals one by one, suddenly felt that something was amiss. Yet he could not put his finger on what was wrong. In the end, following the rules and regulations of the Heavenly Dao Sect, he transferred all the talisman seals into Yaoguang's hands. With the transfer complete, Venerable Golden Book did not linger. "Very well. The future development of the Heavenly Dao Sect is entrusted to you. I hope you will handle all the sect's affairs well. I shall take my leave." "Venerable, please wait a moment," Yaoguang called out, getting straight to the point. "Our Southern Domain plans to forge a pinnacle Dao artifact and is still short of many materials. I wonder if you hold any materials in storage, Venerable?" "Forge a pinnacle Dao artifact?" Venerable Golden Book glanced at him. *You, an artifact refiner, are asking me, an artifact spirit, if I have artifact-refining materials?* "I do not. Farewell." The next instant, Venerable Golden Book vanished directly. Seeing Venerable Golden Book leave in such haste, Yaoguang nodded slightly. This way, even if he temporarily "borrowed" some top-tier materials from the Heavenly Dao Sect's reserves, Venerable Golden Book would presumably not jump out to stop him, would he? Especially when no one in the Heavenly Dao Sect would dare inform on him. Before that, however... "Let us contact Dao Lord Juntian," Yaoguang said. Zhen Xuanyuan nodded, and together with Yaoguang, he made his way to a nearby palace. This palace had no roof, but numerous formation patterns were etched across its interior. To Yaoguang's current level of cultivation, these patterns did not merely involve communication, space, truth, and flowing light; they even reached into the mysteries of karma and time. At most, the depth of these Grand Daos contained within was simply less profound than that of the Void, Truth, and Flowing Light. Holding the talisman seal, Yaoguang quickly activated the formation. At once, the formations in the core region of the Heavenly Dao Sect seemed to channel energy into this one, causing it to emit a unique wave of energy. It traversed the barriers of space and time, launching into a domain whose underlying principles even Yaoguang could not discern for the moment. "Next, we wait patiently for the Dao Lord's response," Zhen Xuanyuan said. "Depending on the Dao Lord's distance and what he is occupied with, he may respond quickly if all goes well. If not... or if he is delayed by other matters and the transmission fails, it is entirely normal to wait three to five years before receiving a reply." Three to five years? Hearing that, Yaoguang was somewhat speechless at the efficiency. Still, considering that the range of this communication likely spanned millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of light-years, waiting that long to establish contact was hardly incomprehensible. Taking advantage of the interval, Yaoguang pondered the two Dao artifacts he needed to forge next. "The Guixu Mysterious Crystal is a supreme treasure of the Void containing a trace of soul mysteries. If my ability is sufficient, it could be forged into either a Void immortal artifact or a Soul immortal artifact..." He checked through the various materials in his possession. As it turned out, soul-attribute materials were more abundant than void-attribute materials. This was primarily because there were many Void Dao Lords who had squandered void materials, leaving soul-attribute materials behind instead. "The core of forging my three Dao artifacts lies in Dao Integration and smoothly merging with the Grand Dao of the Void, so Void must be primary and Soul secondary... Moreover, the three Dao artifacts need to replace my own essence, qi, and spirit..." Combining the properties of the Guixu Mysterious Crystal, Yaoguang soon identified an immortal artifact that fit well. The Ten Directions Heavenly Mirror. This was an immortal artifact capable of enhancing both Void affinity and soul awareness. It was equivalent to combining the traits of the Child of the Void with the Light of the True Spirit Dao art. Furthermore, beyond these auxiliary effects, the immortal artifact possessed immense resistance against soul attacks and curse-type immortal arts. Naturally, what Yaoguang needed to adapt at this stage was a simplified version of this immortal artifact—a pinnacle Dao artifact version: the Bahuang Mirror. Although its efficacy was far lower, it lacked none of the essential functions. "The Dao artifact to merge with 'spirit' will be the Bahuang Mirror, while the Dao artifact to merge with 'essence'—that is, the Dao artifact shaping the 'physical body'—will be the Boundless Pagoda, the Dao artifact version of the immortal artifact Tianyuan Pagoda... It contains an endless sky abyss inside, capable of bearing massive amounts of Dao art and immortal art attacks until the boundless sky abyss is pushed to bursting... Of course, the specifics still depend on what types of materials I acquire. If the materials do not match, I will have to choose a different immortal artifact to emulate..." Pondering this, Yaoguang quickly reviewed alternative options to the Boundless Pagoda in his mind. *** Perhaps because the opening of the Gate of the Immortal Realm was drawing near, this communication took only six days for Dao Lord Juntian to provide a response. As brilliant light circulated over the communication formation, a fluctuation of divine sense radiating a faint Dao charm was condensed by the formation's power, ultimately manifesting the figure of a man who appeared to be in his early thirties. Feeling the Dao charm on this man—which, though countless times weaker than Dao Lord Penglai's, was undeniably familiar—Yaoguang recognized his identity at once. Dao Lord Juntian. A powerful existence who had lived for over thirty-nine thousand years. This age... Could hardly be called young among Dao Lords, yet saying he was in the prime of his life was no exaggeration. If one grew any older, a cultivator's mind would gradually be clouded by the endless weight of years accumulated over a prolonged life, and mental acuity as well as external perception would slowly decline. Once past one hundred thousand years of age, this decline could even alter a Dao Lord's temperament. Just as locking a mortal in a pitch-black room for ten days or a fortnight could drive them insane, the vast weight of years would likewise corrode a Dao Lord's mind. It would gradually cause a Dao Lord—who theoretically possessed infinite lifespan—to lose control over their own power and slide toward destruction. This was the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, spoken of with dread by everyone in the cultivation world. Particularly after crossing the one-hundred-and-twenty-thousand-year threshold of the major life-and-death limit, a Dao Lord of that age would have their mind utterly covered in dust, making their behavior impossible to judge by ordinary logic. Naturally, due to this mental clouding, whenever a Dao Lord of that stage operated their divine sense or thoughts, it was as if they bore heavy shackles of accumulated years. Just as elderly people found it difficult to concentrate on tasks, even in combat their mental state, heart state, and soul state could hardly be brought to peak condition, causing their actual combat strength to plummet significantly. Add to that the fact that Dao Lords who had lived over one hundred thousand years were usually immensely wealthy... There were even factions in the cosmos dedicated to forming hunting squads to prey upon such Dao Lords. While Yaoguang was lost in thought, Zhen Xuanyuan had already stepped forward to bow respectfully. "Greetings, Dao Lord." Yaoguang also cupped his hands in greeting. Dao Lord Juntian glanced at Zhen Xuanyuan, then swept his eyes over Yaoguang nearby. "The day for the Gate of the Immortal Realm to open should not have arrived yet. What is the reason you have contacted me?" Immediately after, he asked, "Where is Zong Wenxian? Is he still the current Sect Master?" "The Southern Domain under Sect Master Yaoguang's governance has flourished with each passing day, eclipsing the Central Domain. He has now succeeded Sect Master Zong Wenxian's duties to oversee the Heavenly Dao Sect," Zhen Xuanyuan said, hurriedly making way for Yaoguang. "This is Sect Master Yaoguang." "Oh?" Dao Lord Juntian's gaze settled upon Yaoguang. Likely due to the vast distance, although this strand of divine sense contained many marvelous qualities of a Dao Lord, none could be brought to bear. Therefore, after looking him over, the Dao Lord gave a slight nod. "Jinghong mentioned your matters to me. To achieve such results within a mere century of cultivation... is not bad." This attitude undoubtedly acknowledged the transition of the Heavenly Dao Sect's Sect Master position. "Thank you for the praise, Dao Lord." "I am not praising you; I simply trust Jinghong's judgment. For the coming period, govern the sect well." Dao Lord Juntian said, calculating briefly, "I am already on my way back to Beihai Star. Within one to two centuries at best, or three to four centuries at most, I will arrive at the Heavenly Dao Sect." He gave Yaoguang an encouraging look. "Once I return, if you face any difficulties in your cultivation, you may ask me. With your talent... it is not impossible for you to take another step forward in the future and strive toward the Dao Integration realm."