Form of Address

"Sure enough, walking the Human Immortal path to completion before Dao Integration is virtually impossible," Yaoguang murmured. Pinnacle Dao artifacts had already exceeded the bounds of ordinary and high-grade Dao artifacts; they were equivalent to Dao projections. Yet the power of a mere Dao projection was clearly not enough. To see the Human Immortal path through, one had to possess a Great Dao power that was entirely one's own. A Human Immortal path built upon such projections was like the moon in a mirror or flowers in water—an impractical castle in the air. It was so insurmountable that he could not even manage to pour all his essence, qi, and spirit into the three pinnacle Dao artifacts. At most, he could only utilize the three pinnacle Dao artifacts alongside the uniqueness of the Human Immortal path to drastically amplify his essence, qi, and spirit. "I cannot reach the heavens in a single bound, but that is only reasonable. Moreover, the way my essence, qi, and spirit were amplified by the three pinnacle Dao artifacts was by merging into the Dao projections, allowing me to mobilize Great Dao power as effortlessly as if I were in Dao Integration... Though it is merely projection power, the manner of controlling the Great Dao is already entirely different..." Yaoguang sensed the transformations within himself and the three pinnacle Dao artifacts shining brilliantly inside his body, emotion stirring in his heart. Previously, when cultivators wanted to channel the power of the Great Dao, they had to rely entirely on Dao arts to evoke it. Yet now... He could touch it directly. It was like the difference between texting and video chatting. And further above that... Would be meeting the person in the flesh. Amid his thoughts, Yaoguang brought out a jade talisman and sent a message: "It's about ready." Soon, Dao Lord Penglai's response came through: "I estimate that Dao Lord Juntian will arrive in half a year. It's about time your message arrived, or we'd be running out of time." Yaoguang smiled and said, "Then we proceed as planned. The pinnacle Dao artifact I am refining for you is about to enter a critical stage and cannot withstand interference from any faction. To keep such disturbance to a minimum, you intend to rein in every faction that might make a move against the Heavenly Dao Sect..." "Let's make it Demon Venerable Black Moon." Dao Lord Penglai selected her target: "The reason your Southern Domain halted its campaign against the Shadow Moon Sect recently was out of dread for this demon venerable's might, fearing he wouldn't follow the rules and would strike directly at you. Moreover, this demon venerable took part in the siege against me not long ago, making him the most suitable opponent." Having said that, her divine sense fluctuated with ease: "Of course, Demon Venerable Black Moon excels at self-preservation, so he won't bungle the act. Likewise, he isn't skilled in direct head-to-head combat, so once Dao Lord Wujin shows himself, pulling myself away will be effortless." "Very well." Yaoguang nodded. "Handle it as you see fit, Dao Lord." With a smile, he added, "Would you like to test my current level to see if I can hold off Dao Lord Wujin for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea?" "Forget it. I'd rather have some faith in you. In any case, the greatest danger lies with you. At most, I am merely doing what I originally planned to do. Even if something goes wrong on your end, I will have only made an unnecessary trip." Dao Lord Penglai did not insist. Though they got along well, there still had to be a sense of boundaries between them. "Then thank you for your trust, Dao Lord. I will adjust my condition and prepare for the final moment," Yaoguang said. "All right," Dao Lord Penglai replied, her presence fading away. Yaoguang then sent a message to Zhen Xuanyuan, who had already returned to the Heavenly Dao Sect: "Have the reception proceedings for Dao Lord Juntian been arranged?" "Everything has been properly arranged. As soon as the Dao Lord arrives, they will be launched in full. We will certainly ensure the Dao Lord sees the Heavenly Dao Sect's respect and support for him," Zhen Xuanyuan responded immediately. "Good. We'll set out when the time comes," Yaoguang said. "Understood," Zhen Xuanyuan replied again. However, sensing that Yaoguang was about to end the transmission, he voiced his concern: "Sect Master, must we really go out into the extraterrestrial starry sky to welcome him?" "The other factions will all be holding their own welcome ceremonies, and some are venturing even farther out than our Heavenly Dao Sect. If our Heavenly Dao Sect makes no gesture, what will the Dao Lord think of us? What will other factions think of us?" Yaoguang gave the order directly: "Follow the plan." "Sect Master, your situation is somewhat different..." "I know what you want to say, but you are overthinking it," Yaoguang said with absolute confidence. "The cautionary tale of Dao Lord Yuanxu's demise is right before everyone's eyes. Anyone daring to act rashly must carefully consider whether they would follow in Dao Lord Yuanxu's footsteps. Furthermore, the distance we travel to meet them will take less than half an hour. More importantly, four other Dao Lords are traveling alongside him. What wicked scoundrel would have the gall to try anything against me at such a moment? Wouldn't that be a direct slap in the face to all five Dao Lords?" Hearing this, Zhen Xuanyuan was put at ease. Upon closer reflection, he felt he had placed too much weight on Yaoguang. Even if a Dao Lord truly intended to make a move, it would be aimed at the Artifact Saint behind Yaoguang. Yaoguang himself... Was not yet significant enough to warrant a Dao Lord offending five other Dao Lords at the critical juncture of the Dao Dispute! As for Yaoguang being brimming with talent and having hopes of becoming a Void Dao Lord in the future... That was a matter for the future. No matter how brilliantly gifted a Void Shattering cultivator was, achieving Dao Integration was a nine-deaths-and-one-life endeavor. In history, even the person ranked first on the Dao Lord Candidate List had barely a ten or twenty percent chance of becoming a Dao Lord, let alone those ranked second or third. Those Dao Lords who envied geniuses might not mind snuffing out an exceptionally talented Void Shattering cultivator if it could be done in passing. But if forced to take tremendous risks just to assassinate a Void Shattering cultivator... Nine out of ten would hold back. With that, Zhen Xuanyuan suppressed his excessive worries and immediately said, "I will proceed with the final preparations at once and ensure nothing goes wrong with the reception protocol." "Go ahead," Yaoguang said, ending the communication. He sat in Tianqi Valley, taking in his surroundings. At the same time... He examined himself. "Without realizing it, I've already turned two hundred," he murmured. Although more than half of those two hundred years had been spent refining several pinnacle Dao artifacts... it was still a fact that his cultivation time had surpassed two hundred years. Dao Lord Penglai had taken two hundred years to advance to Void Shattering. And he... After two hundred years, was still in the Void Shattering realm. From that perspective, even if his talent surpassed Dao Lord Penglai's, it was still on the same level. Fortunately... "Finally... the decisive moment is approaching. Whether I can step into a vaster world depends entirely on this," Yaoguang murmured. Only after quite a while did he call out, "Fenghua, Yaoxue." "Sect Master." The figures of Tang Fenghua and Su Yaoxue appeared one after the other. Yaoguang's gaze fell upon the two. Over the years, with Yaoguang's help during his spare time, Tang Fenghua had also broken through to the Void Piercing realm. However, he had never joined the Heavenly Dao Sect, let alone become a true disciple, and thus could not enjoy junior sect master-level treatment. As for Su Yaoxue... Yaoguang scrutinized her closely and gave a slight nod. "Not bad. Your Void Refining realm has stabilized." "It is thanks to the diligent guidance of the Sect Master and Dao Lord," Su Yaoxue bowed. Back when Su Yaoxue broke through to Void Piercing, Yaoguang had kept her by his side, personally guiding her cultivation. Recently, when he and Dao Lord Penglai refined the two pinnacle Dao artifacts, the Eight Desolations Mirror and Worlds Apart Diagram, the Dao Lord had also generously given her pointers. Thus, six years ago, eighty-two years after advancing to Void Piercing, she stepped into the Void Refining realm. Yaoguang accepted Su Yaoxue's bow. After all... Without guidance from him and Dao Lord Penglai, given her natural talent and comprehension, she truly could not have broken through to the Void Refining realm in such a short time. Even with abundant resources, that timeframe would have stretched tenfold. And if she had to earn her own resources like other Void Refining cultivators... Whether she could ever reach the Void Refining realm in this lifetime would have been a question mark. "From the Void Refining realm to the Void Shattering realm, the demand for realm comprehension is relatively low, whereas the demand for resources is higher. As for resources, I have already prepared them for you; Yaoyu will hand them over when the time comes. For everything else, you will have to rely on yourself," Yaoguang instructed. "Thank you, Sect Master," Su Yaoxue bowed once more. "Sect Master..." Hearing this form of address, Yaoguang pondered for a moment and said, "You can do as Yaoyu does and call me by my name." Su Yaoxue froze, intense emotional ripples surfacing in her calm, rational eyes. Beside her, Tang Fenghua glanced at her, his eyes brimming with envy. At present, as Yaoguang's status continued to rise, only two people were qualified to call him directly by name. One was Su Yaoyu. The other was Li Hanqiu. In fact, out of consideration for Yaoguang's dignity as the Sect Master of the Heavenly Dao Sect, Li Hanqiu addressed him as "Sect Master" in public on many occasions. Su Yaoxue now possessing the privilege of directly addressing Yaoguang by name was indisputable proof... That she had gained his full recognition. Su Yaoxue's emotions churned for quite a while before she softly spoke: "Yaoguang." "Mm." Yaoguang nodded. "Over all these years of cultivation, you haven't relaxed for a single moment. You're working yourself too hard. I'll give you a year off to spend time with Yaoyu, as well as Yaoshuang, Yaoqin, and the others." However, Su Yaoxue immediately asked, "Are you coming as well?" Yaoguang's instinct was to decline. Yet upon catching the hint of longing in Su Yaoxue's eyes, he hesitated. After a long pause, Yaoguang finally said, "It seems I haven't been back to Nandu in some time..." He lifted his head. "Then let us go take a look, and see how the Nine Cauldrons Sect is developing these days." At that, he chuckled softly. "As I recall, in recent decades, several people from the Nine Cauldrons Sect's core seeds broke through to the Void Piercing realm?" "Yes: Lin Xia, Xu Nianhua, Shen Qinglian, Sect Master Li..." Su Yaoxue answered. Where there was success, there was failure. Leng Jun, Huang Tianhao, and Lou Yuyu had all fallen on the path to Void Piercing. Among them, Lou Yuyu was fortunate enough to transition into a Void Piercing Battle Immortal, retaining a chance to salvage the situation; Leng Jun and Huang Tianhao, on the other hand, had been completely obliterated into ash and smoke. Even though Yaoguang had provided them with the finest cultivation methods and the resources he provided allowed each of them to accumulate up to the peak of the Deep Blue Golden Core, still... Failure and death remained unavoidable. "Let's go. We'll visit the Nine Cauldrons Sect once more to see those old acquaintances," Yaoguang said. After this meeting, the gulf between their statuses... Would become like heaven and earth.