Attention

Three days later. Qi Sha handed over all the captured Dao artifact-grade spoils into Yaoguang's hands. Yaoguang selected portions useful to him and the members of the Battle Lineage, bestowing them as rewards. Among these supplies were Dao artifacts. After all, Dao artifacts were practically useless to him now. His ability to unleash such terrifying combat strength when facing one Dao Lord after another came entirely down to his grasp and application of the Grand Dao of the Void at the level of an Immortal Venerable. Setting that aside, even with three pinnacle Dao artifacts at his side, his advantage over those Dao Lords would never have been so overwhelming. "True Monarch Xujin, you will lead our people to garrison the Shadow Moon Sect for the coming period," Yaoguang instructed True Monarch Xujin, who had arrived to pay his respects. He then turned to Qi Sha. "Take the personnel of the Battle Hall and continue hunting down the remaining dregs of the Shadow Moon Sect across the regions." "Understood." Both bowed respectfully in unison. After learning that Yaoguang had smoothly integrated with the Dao to become a Dao Lord—and had leaped straight into being a pinnacle Dao Lord at that—the six Void Shattering cultivators led by True Monarch Xujin no longer harbored the slightest improper notions toward him. In fact, every one of them felt honored to have the privilege of serving a Dao Lord. After all, compared to Dao Lord Yuanxu, who had treated them merely as disposable tools, Yaoguang treated them infinitely better. Once he finished delegating what they needed to handle, Yaoguang's gaze shifted toward a Dao artifact battleship tearing through the sky. Before the battleship had even come to a full stop, the people of the Nine Cauldrons Sect aboard had already flown down. Leading them... ...was none other than the current master of the Southern Domain and Sect Master of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, Su Yaoxue. Indeed. After consultations between Li Hanqiu, Wan Liugui, Li Qingshan, and the others, they had decided to let Su Yaoxue assume the mantle of Sect Master of the Nine Cauldrons Sect. The Nine Cauldrons Sect owed its present accomplishments entirely to Yaoguang's immense support. Yet with Yaoguang's current stature, it was impossible for him to care about a tiny Nine Cauldrons Sect anymore. Even if they wished to repay or thank him, the chasm between them was simply too vast; pouring all the sect's resources together would still be utterly useless and offer him no help whatsoever. Under these circumstances, having Su Yaoxue, who shared a familial bond with him, take charge of the Nine Cauldrons Sect as sect master was the best possible choice. That way, if Yaoguang were to assist the Nine Cauldrons Sect again, it would be akin to placing resources into his own family's basket. They would merely be basking in his reflected glory. Otherwise... Continuing to accept Yaoguang's endless assistance would truly weigh on their consciences. "You're here," Yaoguang greeted them. "Dao Lord." In public, Su Yaoxue, Li Hanqiu, Wan Liugui, and the rest still addressed Yaoguang by his respectful title. "For the coming period, I will be redesigning and re-laying the Shadow Moon Sect's formations. This process will take ten years at the quickest and thirty at most. During this time, the Nine Cauldrons Sect may send a group of disciples to serve at my side. When I have leisure, I will guide their cultivation." Yaoguang glanced at Su Yaoxue and the others as he spoke. "The same goes for all of you." Su Yaoxue, Li Hanqiu, and Wan Liugui all beamed with joy. "Thank you, Dao Lord!" A Dao Lord was virtually the embodiment of the Great Dao itself. Every gesture and every word carried the subtle flow of Dao rhythms. Ordinary cultivators who lived in the same environment, bathed in these Dao rhythms, could easily advance by leaps and bounds in their daily practice. Wan Liugui in particular. Not long ago, simply standing face-to-face with Yaoguang had stirred his insight. If he could truly meditate on the Dao rhythms radiating constantly from Yaoguang in the days to come... Taking that next step and attaining Void Refining would be no extravagant fantasy. "Go and select your people," Yaoguang instructed. "Yes." Li Qingshan promptly went off to carry out the order. Yaoguang, meanwhile, walked directly into the deepest core of the Shadow Moon Sect. Here lay an immense chasm known as the Cold Moon Abyss, plunging so deep it reached straight down to the depths of the earth. Yaoguang had contemplated venturing deep into the subterranean planetary core to take a look at the shut Gate of the Immortal Realm, but with no small number of matters to settle at present, he put that thought on hold for the time being. Instead, he took up residence in a palace beside the Cold Moon Abyss that had originally belonged to Demon Venerable Black Moon. Naturally, without needing any orders, Tang Fenghua had already taken the initiative to remodel the palace's living style, redesigning it to align with Yaoguang's personal tastes. Having stayed at Yaoguang's side for so long, he handled such trivial matters with effortless skill. ... Inside the palace, Yaoguang focused his mind on the [Formation] branch. Over the past few days, he had poured all the experience gained from [Demon Hunting] into [Artifact Crafting]. It had to be said that the share from a single Dao Lord could add four progress points to the [Dao Integration: Void] branch, but when invested into [Artifact Crafting], it surged by 31% progress directly. The effect was remarkably pronounced. Still, after a bit of mental calculation, Yaoguang realized it was roughly comparable. In fact, compared strictly to the progress value of the [Dao Integration: Void] branch, it was slightly less. And that was even after taking into account the experience from Void Shattering and Void Refining cultivators like Yue Wuying. Though what they provided toward [Artifact Crafting] was negligible compared to a Dao Integration cultivator, every little bit still counted. In addition, slaying Demon Venerable Black Moon and seizing the wealth of the entire Shadow Moon Sect had yielded hundreds of billions. After applying the diminishing returns of "labor costs," this hundreds-of-billions-level gain added roughly 4% progress. Combined with Yaoguang's original 1%, it ultimately pushed the [Artifact Crafting] branch to 36%. "Thirty-six percent progress... The crafting methods involved are primarily centered around ordinary immortal artifacts. From this, it can be deduced that this tier of artifact crafting encompasses ordinary immortal artifacts. Only upon reaching Level 17 will I be able to forge high-grade immortal artifacts used by Immortal Venerables, and at Level 18, pinnacle immortal artifacts suited for Immortal Kings?" Thinking up to this point, Yaoguang could not help but wonder. What kind of existence would Level 19 forge? Sovereign Sacred Artifacts? Dao Divine Artifacts? And beyond Level 19? Would the creations forged then be capable of breaking through the shackles of a "Dao Ancestor"? He had no answer. Yet he believed that as long as he advanced step by step, growing with steady caution, he would ultimately uncover the truth of it all. "Even though [Artifact Crafting] hasn't broken through to Level 17, my success rate in crafting immortal artifacts has grown significantly higher. At this rate of progress, I probably qualify as a high-tier artificer within the immortal artifact tier. Still, my current need isn't forging immortal artifacts, but semi-immortal artifacts..." Yaoguang made a quick estimate. Originally, upgrading the pinnacle Dao artifacts in his possession to semi-immortal artifacts would have taken hundreds of years. Now... A hundred years would suffice. Three artifacts would take only three hundred years. By then, the general environment on Beihai Star would just be entering the Dao dispute phase. With that thought, Yaoguang reigned in his mind and turned his thoughts to designing the layout of the formations in this area. The Shadow Moon Sect's original mountain-protecting grand formation was already Level 15. Evidently, this land possessed the conditions to support a Level 15 grand formation. Furthermore, since a formation already existed here, what he truly needed to do was alter its fundamental nature. If laying an entirely new formation from scratch was akin to building a house, what he needed to do amounted to changing a door or merely replacing a lock. The workload was substantially reduced. This was why he had said he could complete the formation layout in as little as ten years. "However, with my current formation proficiency, setting up an immortal formation... is far too difficult. On one hand, my skill remains limited; on the other, an immortal formation demands immense external conditions. To truly establish such a super formation, I would probably have to draw earth vein energy from the Heavenly Dao Sect, the Shadow Moon Sect, and even the Penglai Immortal Sect far overseas to serve as its foundation." Yaoguang sighed with feeling. Of course, he could set up the immortal formation directly within the planetary core, using the core's energy as its foundation... but doing so would lengthen the opening cycle of the Gate of the Immortal Realm, at which point every Dao Lord would leap out in opposition. In the time that followed, Yaoguang remained within the Shadow Moon Sect setting up the formation, keeping to himself and quiet. This turn of events... ...caused quite a few Dao Lords among the Ten Immortal Sects to heave a secret sigh of relief. ... "Fierce indeed. To slay a Dao Integration cultivator in such a short span of time." At this moment, within a special realm constructed by a Dao artifact, six Dao Lords from the Ten Immortal Sects were gathered together in lively discussion. This was a pinnacle Dao artifact of the Sanqing Sacred Hall known as the Heaven-Connecting Mirror. Forged hundreds of thousands of years ago by a Dao Lord possessing supreme mastery over artifact crafting, it had incorporated immortal artifact materials and had nearly been crafted into a semi-immortal artifact. Any cultivator needed only to leave a wisp of divine sense within this artifact to communicate and exchange messages regardless of distance. It was precisely thanks to this artifact that several Dao Lords of the Ten Immortal Sects, despite having tempered themselves across different star systems, were able to travel together along the latter half of their journey home. Among these six, in addition to familiar faces like Juntian, Dihui, Qingya, Danding, and Taiwei, Dao Lord Taiqing—who carried the quiet prestige of the foremost leader of the Immortal Dao—was also present. "His strength as a pinnacle Dao Lord is well-deserved. In fact, his sharp brilliance is so fierce that even Dao Lord Penglai might pale slightly in comparison." "A tree that towers above the forest will be destroyed by the wind. This time, Yaoguang and Penglai dealt a harsh slap to the face of the Six Demon Sects, slaying Demon Lord Black Moon right before the eyes of several Dao Lords. The Six Demon Sects will never let this lie. Given an opportunity, they will surely stir up trouble." "Not just the Six Demon Sects. Yaoguang's strike against Black Moon clearly proves he has no intention of letting Radiance off, either. If given the chance, Radiance will surely make a move as well." The Dao Lords conversed. Toward the end, Dao Lord Danding offered Dao Lord Juntian a reminder: "For the coming period, you had better advise Fellow Daoist Yaoguang to keep a low profile and minimize traveling outside, lest he be plotted against and fall into peril." Dao Lord Juntian nodded. "I will caution him to take care." "There is no need to worry excessively. After all, Yaoguang is a pinnacle Dao Lord. Even if he took things too far, what of it? In the end, this is a world where strength speaks. As long as one has enough strength, every word and action can represent righteousness and truth." Dao Lord Dihui chuckled, easing the atmosphere. Hearing this, the other Dao Lords acknowledged the point, yet Dao Lord Taiwei added, "Being cautious is never a mistake. There is always someone stronger, and beyond every mountain lies another peak. Lacking vigilance and reverence, one will eventually capsize in the gutter." "The universe is vast; none can know what perils lie hidden. In certain perilous domains, even Dao Lords would not dare guarantee emerging unscathed." Dao Lord Taiqing echoed in mild reflection. Hearing what this Dao Lord said, Dao Lord Juntian decided he would definitely remind Yaoguang again upon returning. At this moment, Dao Lord Qingya suddenly spoke up: "Compared to everyone's concern over Dao Lord Yaoguang's safety and strength, I am more interested in Dao Lord Penglai..." He glanced around at the others. "Did any of you notice that when Dao Lord Penglai fought the three demon venerables—Xiantian, Huangquan, and Jiuyou—there were signs of her using a Dao artifact?" "A Dao artifact?" Qingya's words gave the Dao Lords pause. Dao Lord Taiwei quickly made the connection. "A pinnacle Dao artifact!" He was astonished. "Since when did Dao Lord Penglai possess a pinnacle Dao artifact?" "A pinnacle Dao artifact?!" The moment those words were spoken, Dao Lord Juntian and Dao Lord Dihui—the two who knew Yaoguang best—seemed to connect the dots at once, their pupils constricting sharply! "Could that Artifact Saint... have finished forging the Dao artifact meant for Dao Lord Penglai?!" "So quickly?! Just how long has it been?!"