"The Heart of the Void is indeed remarkable. If I choose to walk the path of the Earth Immortal in the future, I could completely remodel my grotto-heaven into a blessed land. Then, by finding a scenic realm of mountains and waters in the Immortal Realm to fuse my grotto-heaven—augmented by the Heart of the Void—with the heaven and earth of the Immortal Realm, I would immediately possess the foundation to become an Earth Immortal."
Sensing the state of his grotto-heaven, which was vastly different from those of other Void Shattering cultivators, Yaoguang mused, 'When that time comes, I'll only need to find an innate spirit root of tremendous potential to nourish the blessed land, and the path of the Earth Immortal will naturally follow.'
The core of the Human Immortal path required three immortal artifacts or treasures to bear one's essence, qi, and spirit.
The core of the Earth Immortal path, on the other hand, was land and a spirit root.
Why was the ranking of the five classes of immortals traditionally ordered as Ghost Immortal, Human Immortal, Earth Immortal, Divine Immortal, and Heavenly Immortal?
It was not because an Earth Immortal was inherently stronger than a Human Immortal, but because a Human Immortal had to rely on three external items, whereas an Earth Immortal required only two. The ascension difficulty of the latter was merely two-thirds of the former.
A lower difficulty naturally made it easier to secure a greater share and step into higher realms.
As for Divine Immortals...
The only external factor they relied upon was their chosen Great Dao.
Heavenly Immortals relied entirely on themselves.
This was the reason behind the ordering and distinction in standing among the five paths.
However, these thoughts lingered in Yaoguang's mind for only a moment before he brushed them aside.
"In the end, I simply have too many choices, so other ideas keep popping into my head and leading my thoughts astray. Unlike other Dao Lords, who would be ecstatic just to possess a single complete path and cultivation method..."
He smiled self-deprecatingly.
Adjusting his grotto-heaven slightly, he soon began inscribing the Ten Prisons Dragon-Confining Formation—which he had long since chosen—into the Heart of the Void.
As the formation took shape, the entire grotto-heaven seemed to undergo a subtle shift.
'Using the Heart of the Void as the formation's foundation to trap a Dao Lord... might very well end up destroying it. Even so, cultivating the path of the Human Immortal inherently requires lodging one's essence, qi, and spirit into three great immortal artifacts or treasures. Once the essence, qi, and spirit constituting the grotto-heaven are poured into immortal artifacts, the grotto-heaven can no longer sustain itself and will collapse anyway. Even if the Heart of the Void is destroyed, at least it will shine one last time before I make my push for Dao Integration.'
Having made his decision, Yaoguang hesitated no further. He cast his stored Dao artifacts around the Heart of the Void one after another to amplify the power of the Ten Prisons Dragon-Confining Formation.
Naturally, alongside arranging the formation, he did not neglect the crafting of the Eight Desolations Mirror and the Worlds Apart Diagram.
Between these two pinnacle Dao artifacts, one would serve as Yaoguang's natal Dao artifact to hold his "spirit," while the other was his promised compensation to Dao Lord Penglai for helping him deal with Dao Lord Wujin. He naturally had to give it his full devotion.
While Yaoguang concentrated on refining these two pinnacle Dao artifacts, Beihai Star maintained a surface calm, even as ripples surged in secret.
On one hand, many Void Refining and Void Piercing cultivators had begun relocating their entire clans away, noticeably increasing the number of battleships and flying boats traversing the extraterrestrial starry sky.
On the other hand...
The earliest batch of Dao Lords had begun to return.
Figures such as Dao Lord Dihui of the Taiyi Immortal Sect and Dao Lord Biluo of the Tongtian Sect made public appearances.
Alongside these returning Dao Lords, God Venerable Radiance—who caused Yaoguang no small amount of pressure—also appeared within the territory of the Light God race.
Furthermore, this God Venerable seemed to have forged a tacit alliance with Demon Venerable Black Moon of the Shadow Moon Sect and Demon Saint Yulin of the Nine Demon Immortal Lineages, specifically to counter Dao Lord Penglai.
These developments forced the forces of the Southern Domain, who had already swallowed up more than half of the Shadow Moon Sect, to noticeably rein in their actions.
If not for the fact that True Monarch Xujin and others were leading the charge at the very front, Yaoguang might have even had to consider ordering a retreat.
After all, neither Dao Lord Juntian of the Heavenly Dao Sect nor Dao Lord Qingya of the Golden Crow Sect had returned to Beihai Star yet.
Were it not for Dao Lord Penglai serving as a deterrent—preventing those Dao Lords from casually venturing far from their headquarters or showing themselves alone—the Southern Domain forces pushing into the Shadow Moon Sect and the Golden Crow Sect forces advancing into Light God territory would have long fallen into dire jeopardy.
In this tense atmosphere, a full cycle of sixty years quickly slipped by.
With his techniques growing ever more proficient, the refinement of Yaoguang's final two pinnacle Dao artifacts reached its decisive climax.
With Dao Lord Penglai's assistance, an endless stream of Dao rhyme was drawn into the two pinnacle Dao artifacts, nourishing their origins.
Finally...
Upon reaching a critical threshold, the two pinnacle Dao artifacts underwent a complete metamorphosis, releasing continuous fluctuations of the Great Dao that rippled outward in all directions.
"It's done."
Whoosh!
Dao Lord Penglai reached out and took the Worlds Apart Diagram into her hand.
On the other side, Yaoguang swiftly collected the Eight Desolations Mirror.
Because different materials had been used, even though both pinnacle Dao artifacts were completed simultaneously, there was an unmistakable difference in quality between them.
Yet Dao Lord Penglai did not mind in the least. Instead, she was full of admiration. "Even Dao Lords skilled in artifact crafting usually spend several centuries to refine a single pinnacle Dao artifact, or upwards of a millennium for the slower ones. Yet you crafted two pinnacle Dao artifacts in sixty years... Such efficiency is truly breathtaking."
"On one hand, my method differs from conventional crafting techniques. On the other..." Yaoguang stroked the Eight Desolations Mirror in his hand and smiled. "Is it possible that those Dao Lords simply wanted to slack off, or deliberately exaggerated the time required just to show how laborious and demanding crafting a pinnacle Dao artifact supposedly is?"
Dao Lord Penglai was taken aback, then nodded in solemn agreement. "It seems that must be the case."
However, the two of them were clearly doing those Dao Lords an injustice.
If a Dao Lord went all out, they could indeed drastically compress the time required.
However, the materials for a pinnacle Dao artifact were exceedingly valuable.
Even Dao Lords would feel immense heartache over wasting such precious ingredients.
Not to mention, Dao Lords mostly crafted artifacts for others, and those capable of commissioning them were usually fellow Dao Lords.
Under such circumstances, prudence and steady caution naturally took precedence during the crafting process.
With all these factors combined, taking several times longer than strictly necessary to produce a pinnacle Dao artifact was entirely reasonable.
Besides, Dao Lords had their own affairs to attend to; how could they devote themselves entirely to artifact crafting without cultivating at all, as Yaoguang had in recent years?
"Is the next step to put the plan into action and lure Dao Lord Wujin into making a move?" Dao Lord Penglai asked.
"Yes," Yaoguang nodded. "Several decades ago, I had True Monarch Xujin secretly contact Dao Lord Wujin. Given how cautious Wujin is, he wouldn't believe half a word from Xujin. But Xujin's words were a seed, letting Wujin know there was an avenue to obtain a semi-immortal artifact and drastically improve his chances of prevailing in the Dao Contention. After several decades, the seed should have sprouted. Now it's just waiting to bloom, bear fruit, and finally be harvested."
Dao Lord Penglai nodded upon hearing this.
Often, when desperate scoundrels pushed into a corner sought a slim chance of survival through plunder, the first targets they considered were those around them.
Yet if someone suddenly brought up an outsider who possessed considerable wealth...
The scoundrel would immediately shift targets.
"Next, all we need is an opportunity for you to step outside the protective arrays of the Heavenly Dao Sect or the Southern Domain. But this opportunity must appear completely natural and reasonable," Dao Lord Penglai said.
"Completely natural and reasonable," Yaoguang said with a smile. "Dao Lord Juntian of our Heavenly Dao Sect will return to Beihai Star in ten years. If I personally lead a group into the extraterrestrial starry sky to welcome him, wouldn't that be a reasonable excuse?"
Dao Lord Penglai looked slightly surprised. "Juntian is finally arriving?"
"Yes." Yaoguang nodded. "And he's traveling in the company of several other Dao Lords. Any well-informed Dao Lord could easily catch wind of this news."
With a wave of his hand, Yaoguang displayed a map showing Beihai Star and the extraterrestrial starry sky. "Traveling from the Heavenly Dao Sect to the extraterrestrial starry sky, an hour is plenty at our speed. In other words, I will effectively only be outside the Heavenly Dao Sect's domain for an hour. Furthermore, an hour later, Dao Lord Juntian will return, accompanied by several friendly Dao Lords... What's more, I will have several Void Shattering cultivators traveling at my side... From any angle, the sense of security will appear airtight."
He looked up with a smile. "Therefore, setting out under these conditions..."
"Is entirely reasonable," Dao Lord Penglai said with a smile. "Your Heavenly Dao Sect signed a strategic alliance agreement with the Taiyi Immortal Sect, and Dao Lord Dihui seems to acknowledge it. Once Dao Lord Juntian of the Heavenly Dao Sect returns, you will effectively have three Dao Lords backing you. While this lineup might not completely extinguish the jealousy and murderous impulses of every Void Dao Lord, it will be enough to deter ninety-nine percent of them from acting rashly. In other words, this will be Dao Lord Wujin's absolute last chance to strike at you."
"What's more, he probably still believes he is concealed in the shadows. Even if the move carries some risk, his delusion of catching us off guard will be more than enough to overshadow his caution," Yaoguang said.
Dao Lord Penglai nodded. "Then during these ten years, both you and I should get thoroughly accustomed to our Dao artifacts and prepare for this battle."
She glanced at Yaoguang. "I am truly curious how you intend to trap a Dao Lord for the span of a cup of tea when the time comes."
"You will see, Dao Lord," Yaoguang said with a smile.
After conferring further, Dao Lord Penglai soon took her leave.
Yaoguang also briefly mentioned the welcoming of Dao Lord Juntian to the upper echelons of the Heavenly Dao Sect, instructing them to make all necessary preparations.
As sect master, issuing this order followed standard protocol to the letter, leaving no room for anyone to object or suspect anything.
After giving the command, Yaoguang returned once more to Tianqi Valley.
'All three pinnacle Dao artifacts are in place. Although I cannot embark on the true path of the Human Immortal without having achieved Dao Integration, merely practicing the corresponding cultivation... refining the three pinnacle Dao artifacts into my essence, qi, and spirit should still grant a massive leap in my strength!'
Yaoguang took a deep breath.
This next step...
Was the most vital phase for him!
It was also the moment that would allow his combat prowess to undergo a total metamorphosis, reaching a level on par with special existences like Venerable Golden Book!
Chapter 460