Persuasion

"Are you really planning to ambush and slay Dao Lord Wujin?" Dao Lord Penglai froze for a moment before shaking her head. "It's not that I don't want to help you, but Dao Lords of the Void are as shrewd as monkeys. I can't kill him." "Then what if I use myself as bait and lay down a rank-fifteen grand formation to trap Dao Lord Wujin, preventing him from escaping the battlefield with the power of the Void? Would you have a way to kill him then, Dao Lord?" Yaoguang asked. "Use yourself as bait?" Dao Lord Penglai furrowed her delicate brows. "What exactly are you trying to do? Why must you target Dao Lord Wujin?" Yaoguang pondered in silence, ultimately deciding against telling her the secret that the number of Dao Lords was fixed. After all, he could not guarantee the information he had obtained was completely accurate. Earlier, he had even guessed that a Dao Lord's breakthrough was related to karmic luck. Furthermore... News of this sort was simply too shocking. It was not widely known even within immortal circles; only a handful of high-tier immortals and Immortal Venerables ever truly came into contact with such secrets. Telling her ahead of time might not necessarily be a good thing. "Rumors outside say that I intend to sublimate my spirit at the moment of forging a pinnacle Dao artifact to attain the Great Dao. There is some truth to those rumors, except what I wish to forge is not a pinnacle Dao artifact, but..." "A semi-immortal artifact?" Dao Lord Penglai asked. Yaoguang nodded and immediately brought out the Endless Tower. "The reason I still used immortal artifact materials to forge this Dao artifact—even when I already had the capability to craft a pinnacle Dao artifact—was precisely to guarantee success without fail. Once I obtain the Sky Forbidden Tower and extract the Spirit Rhyme Mystic Crystal within, this Dao artifact in my hands will rapidly transform! When that happens... I am ninety percent certain I can become a Dao Lord on the spot!" "Ninety percent certain?! Become a Dao Lord on the spot?!" Dao Lord Penglai looked astonished. Attempting the breakthrough to Dao Lord was by no means an easy feat. The process of integrating oneself with the Dao took one or two years at the fastest, or even a dozen to several dozen years at the slowest. Now, not only did Yaoguang claim he could become a Dao Lord on the spot, but he also asserted a certainty as high as ninety percent?! One had to know, even if she—the foremost Dao Lord of Beihai Star—were to attempt the breakthrough again, her chances would be fifty-fifty at best. Ninety percent certainty... That was virtually no different from a guaranteed ascension. Once Yaoguang succeeded in becoming a Dao Lord... Immortal artifacts and immortal formations might be hard to promise, but semi-immortal artifacts and quasi-immortal formations would be well within reach. When the time came, even if she ascended to the Immortal Realm, the legacy of the Penglai Immortal Sect would remain secure and worry-free. Moreover... Befriending a Dao Lord who was peerless in both formations and artifact crafting meant that even in the Immortal Realm, they could support each other and strive toward even higher realms together. "Are you truly ninety percent certain?" Dao Lord Penglai could not resist asking again. "Yes!" Yaoguang nodded solemnly. "Good!" Dao Lord Penglai could not hold back her excitement. "Then we'll do as you say! Set a trap, lure out Dao Lord Wujin, kill him, and seize the Sky Forbidden Tower from his hands!" She looked at Yaoguang, her eyes shimmering with faint excitement. "What is your plan?" Yaoguang could not help giving this Dao Lord a glance, feeling that she was not exactly the most peaceable person either. Even so, he quickly continued, "Integrating the Spirit Rhyme Mystic Crystal into my Endless Tower can allow it to transform into a semi-immortal artifact. If Dao Lord Wujin were to get his hands on my Endless Tower, he could likewise trigger the pinnacle Dao artifact's transformation by fusing the crystal into it. In other words, as long as we let that piece of information reach him, we won't even need to lure him out—Dao Lord Wujin won't be able to resist making a move himself." Pausing briefly, he added, "The most crucial part is to draw you away." "Me?" Dao Lord Penglai glanced at him. "If I am drawn away, wouldn't you being targeted by Wujin mean..." "Just like how we dealt with Yuanxu," Yaoguang smiled and said. "As long as I can hold off Wujin for a brief moment until you arrive to reinforce me, Dao Lord, every problem will be easily resolved." "You are making it sound far too simple," Dao Lord Penglai said bluntly. "Dao Lords are far more cautious and possess vastly more means than you imagine. With Dao Lord Yuanxu serving as a precedent, whoever strikes next will undoubtedly strive for absolute certainty. In other words, unless they know for sure that I have no chance of rescuing you, or they truly possess the ability to slay you before I can even react, they will never repeat Yuanxu's mistake of charging into a formation and getting trapped." "It's not about them charging into a formation, but about having the ability to kill me before you can react," Yaoguang replied. "Other Dao Lords are exceedingly cautious when dealing with experts of their own level; facing you, they would be on guard with every ounce of vigilance. Yet conversely, toward any cultivator below the Dao Lord level, they harbor absolute, overbearing confidence. So long as you show yourself in the Deep Blue Sea, letting those Dao Lords know you aren't with me, and I happen to leave the Heavenly Dao Sect or Nandu at that exact moment, any Dao Lord harboring malicious intentions will strike without hesitation." "I don't deny that," Dao Lord Penglai nodded. "Because from their perspective, the moment they strike, there is no other outcome except you being captured alive on the spot. Since there is no risk to themselves, they naturally won't hesitate in the slightest." Having said that, she looked at Yaoguang. "You aren't trying to tell me that without relying on the formations of the Heavenly Dao Sect or Nandu, and without the aid of Venerable Golden Book's power, you can actually withstand a Dao Lord for any length of time, are you?" "That is correct," Yaoguang nodded. "That is precisely where my confidence lies in using myself as bait." "Impossible. You simply have no idea how formidable the power of a Dao Lord truly is." Dao Lord Penglai shook her head outright. "That is an existence surpassing stars, surpassing the primal cavern level. No single celestial body can compare to it. The Great Dao power they channel ultimately means what you are confronting... is the entire starry sky, the entire universe!" "I know," Yaoguang said. "I faced Dao Lord Yuanxu myself. When that Heavenly Abyss collapsed downward, it truly exceeded what any cultivator could contend with. But... before me, was there anyone who dared claim ninety percent certainty in achieving Dao Integration? Since I dare utter such words, I naturally have the foundation to back them up." Hearing this, Dao Lord Penglai could not help looking him up and down once more. Only after a good while did she say, "Are you serious?" "Once I am fully prepared, you might as well test me, Dao Lord. If you feel I cannot hold out against you for even a short while, it won't be too late to reject my proposal," Yaoguang said with a faint smile. Seeing Yaoguang so full of conviction... Although reason told her that the gap between a Dao Lord and a Void Shattering cultivator was so vast that, let alone fighting back temporarily, merely surviving a brief pursuit by a Dao Lord would be enough to go down in the history of Beihai Star, nevertheless... Yaoguang truly seemed beyond ordinary reasoning. Just as before her own rise, who would have believed someone could cultivate to become a Dao Lord in such a short time? Moreover... Compared to her, Yaoguang, who had attained Void Shattering within a century, possessed even more astonishing talent. At this thought, Dao Lord Penglai also smiled. "I accept your reasoning. Geniuses cannot be measured by common sense. However, capturing and killing a Dao Lord with just this is still exceptionally difficult." She said plainly, "Dao Lords of the Void are inherently nimble, able to advance and retreat at will. Once Dao Lord Wujin realizes he cannot take you down quickly, caution will naturally prompt him to retreat and flee. And once a Void Dao Lord like Wujin sets his mind on fleeing, even I might not be able to stop him." "I alone cannot, but what if we add a rank-fifteen trapping formation?" Yaoguang said. "A rank-fifteen trapping formation?" Dao Lord Penglai was taken aback. "Like I said, just like dealing with Dao Lord Yuanxu, we recreate that scenario," Yaoguang said. "You aren't suggesting setting up a rank-fifteen formation somewhere in advance, are you? The energy required to drive a rank-fifteen formation, even on Beihai Star, must span at least ten thousand li, drawing upon the earth veins across that expanse and requiring numerous formation masters. With such a massive commotion, how could a Dao Lord fail to notice?" Dao Lord Penglai looked at him with puzzlement. "I have a method to establish a rank-fifteen formation within my own body and unleash it at the critical moment, but this will require your assistance, Dao Lord." Yaoguang added, "Help me forge one more pinnacle Dao artifact." "Using an artifact as a formation?" Dao Lord Penglai had clearly heard of such an approach. Yaoguang was renowned as peerless in both artifacts and formations; embedding a rank-fifteen formation within a pinnacle Dao artifact seemed entirely reasonable. "All right, then." Dao Lord Penglai nodded, looking at Yaoguang with mounting curiosity. "I truly want to see how you plan to contend with a Dao Lord using only the strength of Void Shattering... Even if you forge a speed-type pinnacle Dao artifact for me, rushing here from my sect will take at least the time to drink a cup of tea. How do you intend to withstand Dao Lord Wujin's initial assault and keep him trapped within the formation for that long?" "Once we finish forging this Dao artifact and I make a few more preparations, you will see, Dao Lord," Yaoguang said with a smile. Dao Lord Penglai nodded upon hearing this. "Fair enough. I shall wait with anticipation." Yaoguang nodded and asked, "Which speed-type Dao art is Dao Lord most proficient in?" "Speed-type Dao arts are naturally centered around the Void and Streaming Light. Back then, to hunt down Demon Saint Yulin more easily, I specifically cultivated the Void-type art Worlds Apart," Dao Lord Penglai said. Yaoguang had already guessed as much from the speed she displayed when rushing from the Deep Blue Sea to reinforce the Heavenly Dao Sect. This Dao art took slightly longer to activate, lacking the nimbleness of Void Flicker, but once a step was taken, it truly turned vast horizons into mere inches. "Then I shall tailor a pinnacle Dao artifact for you based on this Dao art." "Good. Is there anything you need my cooperation on?" "When I require your assistance, Dao Lord, I will let you know," Yaoguang said. Dao Lord Penglai nodded. With their agreement settled, the Dao Lord did not linger long in Tianqi Valley. To cooperate with Yaoguang, she had already been away from the Penglai Immortal Sect for over a decade. If not for Demon Saint Yulin having cornered her not long ago and now staying dutifully concealed deep within the Nine Demon Immortal Lineages out of fear that she might set a trap, he probably would have already been unable to resist stirring up trouble. Then again... She had just acquired a pinnacle Dao artifact; perhaps she could beat him at his own game and draw Demon Saint Yulin out. With myriad thoughts turning in her mind, Dao Lord Penglai quietly departed. Only after Dao Lord Penglai left did Yaoguang turn his gaze back to another embryo for a pinnacle Dao artifact that had already been prepared in Tianqi Valley. "Eight Desolations Mirror." Yaoguang looked at this pinnacle Dao artifact. Once this Dao artifact was completed, all that remained would be the rank-fifteen formation. However, as to where this rank-fifteen formation should be laid, he already had a plan. Unlike the grotto-heavens of others, his grotto-heaven had incorporated the Heart of the Void. With a bit of filling and refinement, it could serve completely as the medium for a pinnacle grand formation.