Invincible

"Immortal King." Yaoguang silently recited the two words in his mind. Whether the former or the latter, it inevitably stirred a question in his heart: Why had these mighty beings reincarnated here in the first place? Or was it that near other Gates of the Immortal Realm, just as many Dao Sovereigns, Ancestor Gods, and Human Sovereigns appeared? Yaoguang could not explain it. However... Judging by the power commanded at the level of a Dao Sovereign, all reincarnating in the vicinity of Beihai Star seemed far too concentrated. Shallow waters could hardly nurture true dragons. It was like cramming a dozen ten-meter-long fish into a small, square-mu pond... It defied all logic. Still... Yaoguang cast a glance toward the farthest reaches of the starry cosmos. Although he was no longer absorbing and refining any share of the Grand Dao of the Void, he could still sense a terrifying entity coiled within the Grand Dao of the Void governing this region of the cosmos. Like a dreadful dragon coiled atop a mountain peak, deep in slumber. If any living being around the mountain made the slightest violent disturbance, it would awaken the beast, courting unpredictable and shocking consequences. After pondering for a moment, Yaoguang replied, "I don't know what a true reincarnated immortal is like, but there are no memories of another immortal in my mind. I am myself; that has never changed." Dao Lord Penglai did not press the matter after hearing this, merely smiling. "Whether you are a reincarnated immortal or not doesn't matter. When the Gate of the Immortal Realm opens this time, we will likely both enter the Immortal Realm. Meeting again in the Immortal Realm won't be bad either." Yaoguang nodded. After a moment, he said, "Still, what you urged before did resonate with me. A tree that rises above the forest will be battered by the wind. If I hadn't been so high-profile lately, why would the God Race and the Void Dao Lords have joined hands to ambush us? It seems I should keep a lower profile for the coming period." "A low profile?" Dao Lord Penglai looked at Yaoguang. "Hearing those words come from your mouth feels rather unnatural." With a light chuckle, she added, "However, after slaying so many Void Dao Lords and God Race God Venerables in succession, your gains must be immense. Keeping a low profile to digest them is indeed prudent." Yaoguang nodded. "Give me the Human Emperor Sword. I'll stay in Tianqi Valley to focus on artifact crafting and keep to myself for a while." "Thank you." Delight showed on Dao Lord Penglai's face as she readily handed over the Human Emperor Sword. "Do you need any help?" "No." Taking the sword, Yaoguang replied, "You can go survey how the ley lines of Penglai Immortal Sect should be drawn. When the time comes, I'll set up the formation for you." "All right." Dao Lord Penglai nodded. Conversing along the way, the two returned to Beihai Star. Upon arriving at Beihai Star, they parted ways, heading respectively toward Heavenly Dao Sect and Penglai Immortal Sect. *** Yaoguang and Dao Lord Penglai were now unmistakable figures of legend on Beihai Star. Every move they made drew countless eyes. Their joint venture deep into the starry cosmos naturally sparked rampant speculation and inquiries. Yet before anyone could glean an answer, the shockwaves of Daos collapsing from the fall of Dao Lords began to arrive in rapid succession. In particular, the tremors across the Grand Dao of the Void... They nearly numbed the Dao Lords who were closely monitoring these shifts. The disturbances even overshadowed the fall of the other Dao Lords. Based on these enduring Dao tremors, all the Dao Lords unanimously deduced that at least three or more Void Dao Lords had fallen. Otherwise, the tremors in the Grand Dao of the Void could never be so violent. Nor could they persist for so long. Coupled with the fact that Yaoguang and Penglai, the two peak Dao Lords, had left Beihai Star one after the other... Everyone realized who had brought about the demise of the three Void Dao Lords. And that speculation was swiftly confirmed once the Destruction and Slaughter God Venerables fled back to the Ten Directions God Race in disarray, and word leaked from the two Void Dao Lords who had fled earlier. Yet the ultimate truth was far more horrifying than anyone had imagined. The fallen Dao Lords were not just the three to five people guessed. The number was as high as eleven. Among them, the Void Dao Lords were not merely three as presumed, but a full nine. Two belonged to the God Race, while seven were Void Dao Lords who had not established factions on Beihai Star. Among them was Dao Lord Hunxu, whose fame had been established for ages. When the news spread, the world was in an uproar. Every Dao Lord across Beihai Star was stunned to the core. Seven Void Dao Lords! Four God Race God Venerables?! Was this chopping cabbages and slicing melons? One had to know that across past Dao Contentions, though hundreds of Dao Lords participated, only ten to twenty percent actually perished in the end. At times, if the combat was not fierce enough, the casualty rate dropped below ten percent. Two hundred and forty thousand years ago, during one particular Dao Contention with one hundred and eighty-six participating Dao Lords, only fifteen had fallen—the lowest toll in nearly a million years! An entire Dao Contention! A clash lasting hundreds of years had seen only fifteen Dao Lords perish! Yet from the moment Yaoguang had risen to fame until now, how many Dao Lords had fallen to him and Dao Lord Penglai?! Seventeen! A full seventeen! In other words, before this iteration of the Dao Contention on Beihai Star had even begun, the number of Dao Lords killed by Yaoguang and Penglai joined together had already surpassed the total casualties of that contest two hundred and forty thousand years ago. When this number was tallied, a sense of numbness washed over every faction on Beihai Star. It was too terrifying. Too terrifying for any Dao Lord. In particular, several Dao Lords who had little confidence to begin with and had merely come to join the excitement and see if an opportunity arose instantly shared the same thought: Flee! Leave Beihai Star! While there was still time to reach other opening Gates of the Immortal Realm, the farther they ran, the better. This iteration of the Dao Contention on Beihai Star... Was simply too dreadful. It was said that on the day the Destruction and Slaughter God Venerables returned, God Venerable Radiance of the Ten Directions God Race hid into his Immortal Divine Kingdom overnight, not daring to show himself outside again. Two Demon Venerables from the Six Demon Sects also plunged into deep space to search for fortunes elsewhere. Clearly, they had abandoned participating in this Dao Contention on Beihai Star. As for the Dao Lords of the Ten Immortal Sects, Three Immortal Martial Sects, and Four Great Celestial Dynasties, who belonged to the human camp alongside Yaoguang... They were left practically numb by the news. Eleven Dao Lords! Perished just like that! What kind of strength was this? Even an Invincible Dao Lord likely couldn't accomplish such a feat. After all, being an Invincible Dao Lord meant one could contend against ten Dao Lords; it did not mean one could wipe them all out while surrounded by a dozen of them. If an Invincible Dao Lord truly fought ten Dao Lords to the bitter end, he might eventually slay all ten and emerge victorious, but the far greater likelihood was that the ten Dao Lords would drag him down with them at the heavy price of losing most of their number. Yet Yaoguang's current level of terror... *** "Could our Heavenly Dao Sect be about to produce another Dao Sovereign?" This thought sprang into Dao Lord Juntian's mind. "Is this era the era of Dao Lord Yaoguang? Will he follow the footsteps of past Dao Sovereigns who dominated their eras, carving out his own legend?" Dao Lord Dihui of Taiyi Immortal Sect harbored similar thoughts. The bearing of a Dao Sovereign had already manifested. As for Dao Lords Taiqing, Taiwei, and Taixuan of Sanqing Sacred Hall, they looked at one another in silence. After a long while, Dao Lord Taiqing spoke: "Change the generous gift we previously prepared. It's too light—completely unworthy of Dao Lord Yaoguang's... Dao Sovereign's status." Dao Lord Taiwei nodded in deep agreement. "In my view, our focus in this era should be preserving our vital strength and biding our time. Dao Lord Yaoguang, Heavenly Dao Sect... we should not compete with them." "Not just Dao Sovereign Yaoguang. We should also tread carefully around Dao Lord Penglai," Dao Lord Taixuan said with a sigh. "Originally, I had my doubts about whether she truly possessed peak Dao Lord combat strength. Her title as Beihai Star's foremost Dao Lord... we veteran Dao Lords merely laughed it off, taking it with a grain of salt. Looking at it now... she may truly be far more formidable than we imagined." Dao Lord Taiwei nodded and added, "Especially considering how close she is to Dao Sovereign Yaoguang." "They have advanced and retreated together all these years. Could they have already become Dao companions?" Dao Lord Taiqing speculated. "Dao companions?" Taixuan and Taiwei exchanged glances. Both Dao Lords stood at the pinnacle of the world. And their ages were quite close. Both were juniors under two thousand years old. Becoming Dao companions... It was truly a match made in heaven, a pair of extraordinary talents. If they could enter the Gate of the Immortal Realm together when it opened and ascend hand in hand, it would become an enduring legend on Beihai Star. "There haven't been any rumors circulating outside, but with the two of them so close, joining forces and standing shoulder-to-shoulder in every major battle, even if they aren't Dao companions yet, they can't be far from it," Dao Lord Taixuan said. "In short, from now on, whenever we deal with either of them, we must treat them as a single entity." "Two peak Dao Lords joining forces... or even two Invincible Dao Lords joining forces. Truly... unrivaled in Beihai!" Dao Lord Taiwei marveled once more. "Unrivaled in Beihai..." Hearing Taiwei's assessment, Taiqing and Taixuan ultimately nodded in agreement. Perhaps for either of them alone, reigning supreme across Beihai Star would be difficult, but if the two joined forces... Unrivaled in Beihai was by no means an empty boast. *** The external discussions did not end there. Moreover, it was foreseeable that Yaoguang's title as an Invincible Dao Lord would spread farther and wider, eventually echoing across cosmic reaches of billions or tens of billions of light-years, making his name resound throughout the starry cosmos. Yaoguang did nothing to curb the spread of his fame. Upon returning to Heavenly Dao Sect, he went straight to Dao Lord Juntian. "I would like to learn about the information regarding Dao Sovereign Hongmeng." He immediately added, "Also, information on Dao Sovereign Diyi, Dao Sovereign Zaohua, Human Sovereign Shang Tang, Martial Emperor Panwu, and the rest. If there are records of beings who surpassed the Dao Lord realm like the Original Demon Ancestor, the Final Ancestor God, and the Great Sun Buddha, bring those to me as well... Oh, and please gather any rumors concerning such figures from other star domains." Dao Lord Juntian froze slightly upon hearing this, before quickly realizing something. "Are you... trying to make an attempt at the realm of a Dao Sovereign?" This reason... Yaoguang did not bother explaining, simply accepting it. "I have that intention." "Good, good, good! I'll prepare it for you right away." Dao Lord Juntian was overjoyed. "Besides, regarding Dao Sovereign Diyi and Dao Sovereign Zaohua, Taiyi Immortal Sect and Sanqing Sacred Hall have more comprehensive records. Once I organize Founder Hongmeng's materials, I'll pay them a visit. As for records of Dao Sovereigns from other factions and data from other star domains, that will take some time." "Thank you for your trouble. I can afford to wait." Yaoguang nodded slightly.