All in Place

"The Star Abyss Realm?" Hearing the name of this material, Yaoguang felt a surge of pleasant surprise. The Star Abyss Realm was the core material required to forge the Heavenly Abyss Pagoda. He had lined up several candidate immortal artifacts to anchor his "essence," and among them, his personal favorite was the Heavenly Abyss Pagoda. The Heavenly Abyss Pagoda could absorb and contain all attacks. Even though exceeding its absorption capacity would destroy the immortal artifact—making it somewhat akin to a single-use treasure in certain respects—its sheer performance was simply undeniable. Before taking fatal damage, it practically rendered its bearer invincible. As for the pagoda being destroyed... While that would indeed set back his cultivation, he was an accomplished artifact master in his own right. If an immortal artifact was destroyed, he could simply forge another. It was like an ordinary man gifted with immense regenerative abilities: if he took up martial arts, he would naturally choose secret techniques that pushed the body to its limits yet yielded catastrophic power, thereby maximizing the advantage of his rapid recovery. Now that he had obtained the Star Abyss Realm from the Taiyi Immortal Sect, forging the Endless Pagoda—a simplified Dao artifact version of the Heavenly Abyss Pagoda—would be smooth sailing. From this moment on, the prerequisites for his path toward becoming a Human Immortal were virtually all in place. "Sect Master Yaoguang, allow me to wish that you and the Artifact Saint behind you fulfill your aspirations, forge a pinnacle Dao artifact, and stand as the foremost artifact master of Beihai Star." True Monarch Taiyuan chuckled as he retrieved a peculiar prismatic crystal. This crystal was a supreme spatial treasure, yet what it held inside was no ordinary object, but an entire stellar rift. Peering through the gemstone, Yaoguang, Zhen Xuanyuan, and the others could clearly see the Star Abyss sealed within. "Thank you." Yaoguang accepted the crystal. Following that, both sides exchanged warm courtesies and conversational pleasantries. In his capacity as Sect Master of the Heavenly Dao Sect, Yaoguang then signed a mutual defense pact with True Monarch Taiyuan, Sect Master of the Taiyi Immortal Sect. The treaty stipulated that should either sect fall under attack by a third party, the other was obligated to dispatch forces to their aid. For the time being, the Taiyi Immortal Sect was clearly getting the better end of the bargain. After all, the Heavenly Dao Sect now boasted two figures ranked in the top ten of the Dao Lord Candidate List—Yaoguang and True Monarch Jinghong. The Taiyi Immortal Sect, on the other hand, had only one Supreme Elder on the list, placed all the way at twenty-sixth. In terms of sheer weight and influence, they could hardly rival the Heavenly Dao Sect. With the agreement finalized, the Taiyi Immortal Sect delegation took their leave in high spirits. Yaoguang personally saw them off. Once everyone had departed, Yaoguang summoned Qi Sha, Chu Gushan, and the newly appointed Lineage Chiefs of the Heaven Lineage and Dao Lineage—recommended by the Supreme Elder Council—to charge them with the sect's everyday governance. After delegating the responsibilities, Yaoguang had Qi Sha remain behind. "I have critical matters to attend to for a period of time, so I will leave sect affairs in your hands. You command the Battle Lineage, which means all forces below the level of Supreme Elder and Peak Master are at your disposal. Lineage Chief Chu is one of our own, and the other two Lineage Chiefs should dutifully keep the sect running without causing trouble..." Yaoguang instructed. In truth, whether he gave these instructions made little difference. True Monarch Jinghong was fully behind Yaoguang's rise to sect master, leaving no room for dissident factions to take root within the Heavenly Dao Sect. Furthermore, having successively slain nine Demon Masters of the Shadow Moon Sect and seven God Emperors of the Light God race, his prestige on Beihai Star had soared to unprecedented heights. Outsiders were already comparing him to the top three giants of the Dao Lord Candidate List—True Monarch Tianxiao, True Monarch Kongxuan, and True Monarch Wusheng—debating endlessly over who among the four was truly superior. A powerhouse capable of tearing through a top-tier sect single-handedly... With the Dao Lords yet to return, his deterrent power was already second to none. Under such circumstances, barring complete madness, no one in the Heavenly Dao Sect would dare openly oppose Yaoguang. It was no exaggeration to say the entire sect had become his personal domain. Even so, Qi Sha nodded earnestly at the directive. "Understood. I will not let the Sect Master down." "Good," Yaoguang acknowledged, then added, "Please summon True Monarch Liaochen to see me." "Right away." Qi Sha withdrew. Before long, True Monarch Liaochen, one of the sect's Supreme Elders, entered the Huangtian Great Hall. "Sect Master." Though both were in the Void Shattering realm, the Supreme Elder bowed with distinct deference. Yaoguang recalled the information he had gathered regarding this man. True Monarch Liaochen maintained a relatively low profile within the sect, largely because his interests had conflicted with Zong Wenxian's, leading to his suppression. Originally, he had allied with Zhen Xuanyuan and Chiyun to counterbalance Zong Wenxian, but... Compared to the forceful and crafty Zhen Xuanyuan and Chiyun, this Supreme Elder possessed a noticeably milder disposition. Consequently, Zong Wenxian had found him easier to push around. He had not even been able to refuse perilous assignments, such as venturing into the outer starry sky to intercept the God race. Yet despite his lack of assertiveness relative to other Supreme Elders, he stood as the foremost formation master in the current Heavenly Dao Sect. Unfortunately... on Beihai Star, martial strength reigned supreme. All cultivators poured their efforts into cultivating and breaking through realms in pursuit of Dao Integration, leaving their studies of formations, alchemy, and artifact forging far behind. Even as the Heavenly Dao Sect's premier formation master, True Monarch Liaochen's expertise only reached the twelfth rank. At best, under extraordinarily favorable geographic conditions, he might have a slim chance of laying down a Level 13 formation. "You're here," Yaoguang said, waving a hand. A projection of the entire Heavenly Dao Sect materialized before them, dotted with an arresting constellation of interconnected points of light. True Monarch Liaochen studied the glowing nodes for a moment before hazarding a guess. "Is this... a formation?" Yet what manner of formation it was... lay far beyond his comprehension. Seeing his confusion, Yaoguang did not bother explaining. He manipulated the projection directly, quickly marking out over three hundred luminous points. "I need you to lead the sect's formation masters to erect formations across these designated areas. The specific types have already been inscribed; you only need to oversee the execution." True Monarch Liaochen froze for an instant before promptly responding, "Understood." If it was merely setting up formations according to pre-inscribed blueprints, he could handle it. "The designs and the necessary materials are all inside here." Yaoguang handed a spatial item to True Monarch Liaochen. "This is your upcoming assignment. Complete it as swiftly as possible." True Monarch Liaochen nodded. He swept his divine sense through the contents of the spatial item and cried out in shock, "This is..." The materials within were worth well over ten billion! There were even four entire Dao artifacts. At that moment, he sensed a trace of familiarity in the diagram he had just examined. "Sect Master... have you enlisted a supreme formation grandmaster to repair the Twelve Fiendgod Heavens-Sealing Formation?" "Simply carry out the task I have assigned you," Yaoguang replied without offering further elaboration. Seeing this, True Monarch Liaochen felt his suspicion confirmed and dared not probe any deeper. "I will convene the sect's formation masters at once to finish this task with utmost speed." "Go then." Yaoguang nodded. He had claimed a considerable quantity of forging materials from the Heavenly Dao Sect's reserves. Rather than taking them for nothing, he intended to upgrade the sect's defensive formation to rank fifteen. A monumental contribution of this magnitude to the sect's foundation was more than enough to offset the cost of the materials he had taken. Naturally, part of his motive stemmed from his lack of faith in the existing barrier's security, as well as his distaste for the Twelve Fiendgod Heavens-Sealing Formation. For a lineage with such ancient heritage to possess a mountain-protecting formation of a mere fourteenth rank... It was simply too shabby. *** After attending to the sect's various affairs, Yaoguang finally made his way into the depths of the Heavenly Dao Sect, arriving at Heaven Abandoned Valley. This valley was the very place where Dao Lord Hongmeng had forged the Great Dao Golden Book in ancient times. For countless eras, it had been preserved as the Heavenly Dao Sect's dedicated forging sanctuary. Moreover, because the sect had periodically produced Dao Lords capable of forging high-grade or even pinnacle Dao artifacts throughout its history, the valley had been maintained continuously. Its equipment and the earth veins channeled through it were leagues ahead of anything in Nandu. Thus, while he had left his facilities in the Nine Cauldrons Sect intact, he had relocated his primary forge to this valley. Leveraging the ancient installations left here, his forging success rate would increase by at least ten percent, and his efficiency would jump by thirty percent, significantly cutting both cost and time. *** Deep within the valley. Formations arranged and inscribed by generations of Dao Lords channeled the planetary core's energy from deep within the earth veins, giving rise to nine blazing furnaces, each over a hundred meters tall. The energy pouring through these nine furnaces was guided by formations toward a circular casting dais at the center. At this moment, three clusters of radiance rotated endlessly atop the dais: The Bahuang Mirror, the Endless Pagoda, and... the Human Sovereign Sword, specially forged for Dao Lord Penglai. Within each cluster, rich Dao rhythms swirled. It seemed as though any single ray of light drawn from them could forge a Dao artifact from nothingness. Yet thanks to the formations here, even the stray Dao rhythms spilling from the lights were tightly contained within a bounded space. Among the three, the most brilliant glow emanated not from the Human Sovereign Sword, which he had promised to deliver within sixty years, but from the Endless Pagoda. In theory, the Bahuang Mirror not only suppressed the soul and fended off curses, but also heightened a cultivator's comprehension of space and the soul, making it the most advantageous tool for Dao Integration. Yet for Yaoguang, as the ripples he created across Beihai Star grew larger, he felt his sense of security steadily diminishing. Spurred by this sense of vulnerability, he had resolved to forge the Endless Pagoda first—a defensive Dao artifact intended to integrate directly into his physical body. As for the Human Sovereign Sword... "The crafting conditions in Heaven Abandoned Valley far surpass those in the Southern Domain. With this environment, I can easily refine two Dao artifacts at the same time. If all goes smoothly, the Bahuang Mirror and the Human Sovereign Sword can both take shape within forty to fifty years. Then, with Dao Lord Penglai's assistance, another eight to ten years will see both artifacts through their final transformation..." Calculating the forging progress of the three pinnacle Dao artifacts, Yaoguang gave a slight nod. "Perfect."