"Too fast!"
Every Dao Lord was thoroughly shaken.
Especially Dao Lord Juntian and Dao Lord Dihui, who had been involved in the matter almost from the very beginning.
With a slight calculation, they realized that from the moment the mysterious Dao Lord behind Yaoguang initiated the attempt to forge a pinnacle Dao artifact to Dao Lord Penglai actually wielding it, the entire process had taken a mere hundred years?!
Forging a pinnacle Dao artifact in only a hundred years?!
Such forging technique...
"That Artifact Saint's crafting attainment... is actually so formidable?"
Dao Lord Taiwei felt a chill in his heart.
"In the past, although I paid attention to this matter, I didn't take it too seriously. On one hand, that mysterious Artifact Saint might not have been able to forge a pinnacle Dao artifact without being a Dao Lord. On the other hand... even if he truly managed to forge one, how long would it take? Paying too much attention was rather pointless! But now... not only has this mysterious Artifact Saint forged a pinnacle Dao artifact, he compressed the crafting time to under a hundred years..."
As Dao Lord Danding spoke, he couldn't help drawing a sharp breath. "Too fast! This kind of efficiency... is utterly staggering! If he can truly devote himself fully to forging pinnacle Dao artifacts, wouldn't that mean in the next few hundred years, he could craft at least seven or eight pinnacle void Dao artifacts? Increasing the strength of seven or eight Void Dao Lords by ten or twenty percent?!"
The moment these words were spoken, the remaining Dao Lords realized at once the benefits this Artifact Saint could bring.
For a time, the Dao Lords exchanged glances.
Ultimately, their gazes converged on Dao Lord Juntian.
"Perhaps... we should invite Dao Lord Yaoguang over to talk?"
"Indeed, invite Dao Lord Yaoguang here to ask, and we'll know the specific circumstances regarding that mysterious Artifact Saint."
"Isn't Dao Lord Yaoguang looking to take revenge on those who struck at him during his Dao Integration? But Radiance is already on guard. With Yaoguang alone, even if he possesses the strength of a pinnacle Dao Lord, he cannot breach the God race's hinterlands to kill Radiance, even if Penglai pins someone down by his side. However, if the Dao Lord behind him truly possesses the ability to forge a pinnacle Dao artifact within a century... and is willing to lend a hand... it wouldn't be impossible for our Ten Immortal Sects to unite and wage a great war against the Ten Directions God Races."
The various Dao Lords spoke up.
Yet Dao Lord Juntian seemed not to hear their words, remaining silent in deep thought.
After quite a while, he suddenly asked, "Regarding that mysterious Artifact Saint, do any of you know why word originally spread that he wanted to forge a pinnacle Dao artifact?"
"The original reason for forging a pinnacle Dao artifact..."
Dao Lord Dihui understood this quite clearly. "It was to test his limits, using an unorthodox method to enter the Dao through his craft, turning the impossible into reality, and taking advantage of the moment the pinnacle Dao artifact was forged to achieve mental sublimation and step into Dao Integration..."
At this point, he suddenly halted.
Not just him—the other Dao Lords likewise realized something, their eyes widening involuntarily.
"Th-this is impossible, surely?"
"Absolutely impossible! How could such a genius exist in this world? It would be one thing to possess such monstrous talent in cultivation, but to have this level of attainment in artifact crafting as well?"
"More than that. As far as I know, he has considerable proficiency in the Dao of Formations too."
One Dao Lord after another instinctively pushed back.
Yet Dao Lord Dihui spoke with a solemn expression, "In fact, I had Taiyuan conduct a detailed investigation into Yaoguang. Even back in his homeworld, Yaoguang displayed peerless cultivation talent. In an environment lacking even a single formal Golden Core cultivator, he cultivated to the Heavenly Fire realm in just a few decades. Moreover, in that world, he also bore a glorious title—a master of both formations and artifacts! He was both adept in the Dao of Formations and skilled at crafting spirit treasures! The Jiuzhou battleships currently selling so well across our human race were originally designed and developed by him."
"A master of both formations and artifacts?!"
"It's bizarre enough that he is so formidable in artifact crafting, but where did formations come from now?"
Dao Lord Taiwei and Dao Lord Danding felt this was growing more and more preposterous.
But Dao Lord Juntian seemed to recall something and hurriedly said, "The formations are real. Our Heavenly Dao Sect's mountain-protecting formation, the Twelve Heaven-Sealing Divine Demon Formation, was indeed formidable before, but it fell slightly short compared to a true pinnacle formation. Yet after Dao Lord Yaoguang took charge of the Heavenly Dao Sect and became our sect master, in just several decades he completely redesigned the Twelve Heaven-Sealing Divine Demon Formation, granting it the true power of a pinnacle grand formation... In his terms, a Level 15 formation!"
"I also know something of this," Dao Lord Taiqing nodded slightly. "Back then, when Dao Lord Yuanxu harbored ill intentions toward Yaoguang, he and Venerable Golden Book relied precisely on the optimized Twelve Heaven-Sealing Divine Demon Formation to withstand that Dao Lord's assault, ultimately holding out until Dao Lord Penglai arrived to reinforce them. From this perspective, that formation truly reached the pinnacle... that is, the level of a Level 15 formation."
"This..."
"If he can set up a Level 15 formation, then forging a pinnacle Dao artifact seems... not entirely impossible after all?"
"A master of both formations and artifacts—could it actually be true?!"
Dao Lord Taiwei, Dao Lord Danding, and the others were completely dumbfounded. Their emotions...
even held a trace of despondency.
It was the intense psychological dissonance born from the massive chasm between reality and their preconceptions.
After a long while, Dao Lord Taiqing sighed with deep emotion. "Back when Yuanyi was beaten by Penglai until he shut himself away behind closed doors, I told him never to view true peerless geniuses through an ordinary lens... Though every one of us has achieved Dao Lord, standing at the summit of Beihai and even the pinnacle of the cosmos, our comprehension and talent beyond doubt, we clearly fall short when compared to the brilliance of those truly peerless figures! Just like Penglai... and just like Yaoguang."
Dao Lord Juntian said nothing, but his mind involuntarily conjured the figure of Dao Sovereign Hongmeng, the founding patriarch of their Heavenly Dao Sect.
Not just him; Dihui, Taiwei, and the others also involuntarily thought of the greatest figures in their own sects' histories.
Dao Sovereign Diyi.
Dao Sovereign Zaohua.
In their respective eras, had they not also dazzled an entire age, suppressing other Dao Lords under their sole might until they could barely breathe and had to flee far into the starry skies to avoid their brilliance?
"Regardless, we must ask Fellow Daoist Juntian to make the trip and invite Dao Lord Yaoguang. Now that he has achieved Dao Lord, he naturally deserves a seat within the Heaven-Connecting Mirror," Dao Lord Taiqing said.
Dao Lord Juntian nodded slightly. "I have already gone to invite him."
"Craft approaching the Dao, a mental sublimation... Perhaps only this can explain how he achieved it in a single leap, attaining Dao Integration on the spot," Dao Lord Dihui murmured from the side.
"Compared to reaching Dao Integration immediately after mental sublimation, I still lean toward him being the reincarnation of an immortal," Dao Lord Qingya said with a wry smile. "Otherwise... the disparity between people would truly be far too absurd."
Dao Lord Taiqing gave a faint smile.
When the gap between one person and another grew so immense that words failed to explain or describe it, people often imagined all sorts of bizarre reasons to fill in the blanks.
Ancient records in their Sanqing Sacred Hall noted...
Back then, Dao Sovereign Zaohua had also been claimed to be the reincarnation of an immortal.
The Heavenly Dao Sect's Dao Sovereign Hongmeng likely had a similar history.
Yet this was somewhat self-deceiving.
Was immortal reincarnation really that easy?
If so, legends of reincarnated immortals would have spread all across the cosmic void long ago.
Furthermore, even if it were truly easy, why reincarnate specifically onto Beihai Star?
Could Beihai Star hold some treasure worthy of immortals reincarnating one after another, descending upon it in relentless waves?
During past Dao Contentions, there had also been Dao Lords hailing from other star domains.
Those star domains possessed Gates of the Immortal Realm as well.
And because those Gates of the Immortal Realm were surrounded by top-tier overlord factions, their development was even superior to that of Beihai Star.
Not only did pinnacle Dao Lords emerge there in endless succession, but invincible Dao Lords reputed to fight ten opponents at once existed there as well.
If an immortal truly wished to reincarnate, they ought to have reincarnated in a region with such thriving cultivation environments.
The Dao Lords had not spoken for long when Dao Lord Juntian suddenly spoke up: "I have conveyed the method to enter the Heaven-Connecting Mirror to Dao Lord Yaoguang. He has arrived."
As soon as his voice fell, a figure manifested into view.
It was none other than Yaoguang.
Having just appeared, Yaoguang was slightly surprised.
He sensed his own state and examined his surroundings...
He couldn't help finding this world remarkably familiar.
Virtual Spirit Realm technology?
"Fellow Daoist Yaoguang."
"Hahaha, Fellow Daoist Yaoguang is here."
"In just a few short months, Fellow Daoist Yaoguang has slain another Demon Venerable of the Six Demon Sects. Truly awe-inspiring and unmatched by ordinary men."
One Dao Lord after another greeted Yaoguang with smiles.
Yaoguang also drew his mind back from the space opened up by the Heaven-Connecting Mirror.
His gaze swept across the crowd, and he smiled faintly. "On the way, Dao Lord Juntian already mentioned why everyone invited me here."
Having said that, he glanced at Dao Lord Juntian. "In fact, I originally intended to explain this to the Dao Lord after settling the matters at hand. I hadn't expected you to deduce it on your own first."
Dao Lord Juntian froze for a moment, quickly realizing that this was likely the good news Yaoguang had mentioned earlier...
Immediately following that, he and the other Dao Lords reacted in an instant, their hearts shaken to the core.
"You mean..."
"It is just as you guessed."
Yaoguang acknowledged it without reservation.
Having achieved Dao Lord and possessing combat prowess that ranked among the very top even among Dao Lords, he no longer had any need to keep it a secret.
He stated candidly, "The mysterious Artifact Saint spoken of all this time by the world, and the one who promised to help Dao Lord Penglai forge a pinnacle Dao artifact, was me all along."
Even though they had prepared themselves mentally, hearing Yaoguang admit it personally still made the Dao Lords gasp sharply.
"It really is you?!"
"You can truly forge pinnacle Dao artifacts?! That is, what you call... a Level 15 artifact crafter?"
"A master of both formations and artifacts! Not only is his cultivation talent dazzling beyond compare... but his talent in formations and artifact crafting is equally unfathomable..."
Several Dao Lords lost their composure at the same time.
"Previously, my strength was weak. If I had exposed my ability to forge pinnacle Dao artifacts, it inevitably would have provoked various Artifact Saints into taking action against me, so I had no choice but to conceal my identity," Yaoguang explained.
Of course, he would not mention that his alchemy attainment was scarcely inferior to his crafting or formations.
However, crafting artifacts and setting up formations had already taken up too much of his time.
As for pills and elixirs...
They were exceedingly effective at lower realms, but as his cultivation grew, at least now that he had reached the Dao Integration realm, they offered little assistance.
There was no need to say more.
"Now that I possess sufficient strength, making my artifact crafting attainment public poses no problem. Furthermore..."
Yaoguang looked at the Dao Lords with a smile. "If any of you wish to have a pinnacle Dao artifact forged, you may entrust it to me as well. Of course... you must provide the materials."
Chapter 484