"You finished refining it so quickly? Fantastic."
Dao Lord Penglai wielded the Human Sovereign Sword in her hand, admiring it fondly as though unable to bear letting it go.
"The two of us have been thrust to the crest of the storm," Yaoguang said with a smile. "Without sufficient strength, I'm afraid we would become the tall tree in the forest that the wind inevitably destroys."
"Previously, I was indeed somewhat worried. But now, with this Human Sovereign Sword in hand... as long as a dozen Dao Lords don't swarm me all at once, even if three to five corner me, slaying them one by one will merely be a matter of time."
Dao Lord Penglai spoke with eager anticipation. "I wonder if God Venerable Destruction and God Venerable Slaughter plan to seek vengeance on me. If they do, I wouldn't mind taking another trip into the starry sky to give them a chance to strike. Even fighting one against six, I would definitely manage to cut down at least Slaughter or Destruction."
Yaoguang could not help but feel slightly surprised.
While he was growing, Dao Lord Penglai's progress was equally swift.
She was truly worthy of being someone who achieved Dao Lord in a mere thousand years.
"It seems that with this semi-immortal artifact in hand, you truly possess the might of an invincible Dao Lord," Yaoguang remarked.
"Thanks to your help," Dao Lord Penglai said, glancing at the Human Sovereign Sword in her hand, and then at Yaoguang.
For a long while, she seemed about to say something, but then remembered certain taboos and forcibly suppressed the question in her heart.
"What is it?" Yaoguang asked.
"It's nothing. Just thinking about how we'll soon ascend to the Immortal Realm and embark on the path to charge toward the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm suddenly made me a bit uneasy," Dao Lord Penglai replied.
"The Immortal Realm."
Upon hearing this, Yaoguang's expression grew solemn.
Seeing his reaction, Dao Lord Penglai seemed curious. "Actually, I noticed this long ago. Whenever other Dao Lords mention the Immortal Realm, every single one of them is filled with envy and yearning. Yet you... every time, your expression is grave... Are there descriptions of the Immortal Realm in your memories?"
"Memories?" Yaoguang shook his head. "I am no reincarnated immortal." He paused for a moment. "As for this information... you can just take it as me stumbling upon some sort of legacy by chance."
"A legacy?" Dao Lord Penglai pondered, then suddenly asked, "I've examined the cultivation methods practiced by the core members of the Nine Cauldrons Sect... Do you... come from the Creation Group?"
When these words were uttered, Yaoguang's heart jolted. The gaze he turned toward Dao Lord Penglai shifted immediately.
Yet outwardly, he showed not the slightest trace of abnormality. "Creation Group?"
"Don't forget, I also obtained an opportune legacy," Dao Lord Penglai winked at him. "This is a secret that cannot be publicly proclaimed. But if we are both people who received such legacies, and both have attachments to things in this world, leaving something behind for our juniors, then we are of the same kind. If so, we can exchange our secrets."
Hearing this, Yaoguang vaguely sensed that Dao Lord Penglai was hinting at something deeper.
Weighing his thoughts, he still asked, "How much do you know about the Immortal Realm?"
"All creatures competing for freedom under the frosty sky," Dao Lord Penglai said. "Becoming a Dao Lord grants authority, enduring the trial of the Gate of the Immortal Realm brings ascension, and then striving with all one's might to charge toward the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm!"
She looked at Yaoguang with a smile. "Isn't that how it is?"
"Strive with all one's might to charge toward the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm."
Yaoguang thought of his own understanding of the Immortal Realm.
If the Immortal Realm was truly as he surmised...
All Dao Lords were indeed holders of authority, filtered through the Gate of the Immortal Realm, charging toward becoming immortals, Immortal Venerables, and Immortal Kings, all the way to claiming the supreme throne of Dao Ancestor.
However...
Could a Dao Ancestor truly represent the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm?
"Are you worried about the fierce competition in the Immortal Realm? Do all that is humanly possible, then leave the rest to fate," Dao Lord Penglai said with a laugh. "If it really doesn't work out, living out this life like an ordinary mortal is fine too. Having had this experience, our lives have already been magnificent enough, the envy of countless beings."
She stretched lazily and casually, her graceful, slender waist fully revealed. "Gain is my fortune; loss is my fate."
"You certainly take things lightly," Yaoguang remarked with a sigh. "Yet the entire reason I cultivate to this day is to guarantee my own safety. If I cannot even achieve that, wouldn't it run entirely counter to the very purpose of my cultivation?"
These words gave Dao Lord Penglai pause.
Her body language, which had suddenly turned relaxed, casual, and loose, involuntarily tightened back to normal.
Returning to her usual demeanor, she appraised Yaoguang once more and nodded slightly. "You are right."
Yaoguang looked at her, keenly sensing that something had been unusual about this Dao Lord.
Not right now, but in that brief moment earlier...
"Alright, what are your plans next?" Dao Lord Penglai brandished the Human Sovereign Sword in her hand. "Do you want to strike against the Six Demon Sects and the Ten Directions God race?"
Yaoguang pondered for a moment before saying, "During this period, I've browsed numerous ancient records regarding Dao Sovereigns. I plan to enter secluded cultivation to see if I can glimpse the sights of the Dao Sovereign realm. This will likely take three to four hundred years."
"A Dao Sovereign..." Dao Lord Penglai looked at Yaoguang, hesitating slightly before saying, "Rumors outside claim that every Dao Sovereign is actually a reincarnated immortal. Otherwise, how could an ordinary cultivator step into the Dao Sovereign realm? In other words, creatures of the lower realm cannot cultivate to become Dao Sovereigns."
"I want to give it a try," Yaoguang said.
Hearing this, Dao Lord Penglai urged him no further and nodded. "What do you need me to do?"
"Just keep an eye on the Nine Cauldrons Sect for me," Yaoguang said.
"No problem. If the Six Demon Sects and the Ten Directions God race stay hidden, so be it, but if they dare emerge, I'd love to test just how sharp this semi-immortal artifact Human Sovereign Sword is."
Dao Lord Penglai agreed briskly.
The two conversed a little longer before Dao Lord Penglai took her leave.
However, as she departed, Yaoguang distinctly felt that this Dao Lord...
seemed to linger for a fraction of an instant, as if wanting to ask something.
Yet in the end, she said nothing more and vanished beyond the bounds of the Heavenly Dao Sect.
*Perhaps she wanted to talk in depth about our Immortal Realm legacies? However, the Immortal Realm is cruel...*
Yaoguang pondered for a moment, deciding that when the Gate of the Immortal Realm opened, he would give her a subtle warning, suggesting she solidify her foundation thoroughly in the lower realm before ascending.
Otherwise, given the conditions of the Immortal Realm...
An ordinary Dao Lord's situation after ascension might not be very good.
Not long after Dao Lord Penglai left, Yaoguang summoned Dao Lord Juntian and explained that he intended to enter seclusion.
He handed over all authority and responsibilities over matters large and small in the Heavenly Dao Sect.
Receiving this news, Dao Lord Juntian breathed a sigh of relief and promptly said, "The Dao Contention approaches, and Fellow Daoist Yaoguang has already established the prestige of an invincible Dao Lord. No one dares challenge you lightly anymore. It is indeed time to prepare properly for when the Gate of the Immortal Realm opens. Go ahead with your secluded cultivation; you can leave the Heavenly Dao Sect's affairs to me."
Having said that, he added, "I will also watch over the Nine Cauldrons Sect, so nothing will happen to them either."
"Thank you for your trouble," Yaoguang said.
"By the way, hasn't Su Yaoxue already reached Void Shattering? How about handing the position of Heavenly Dao Sect Master over to her?" Dao Lord Juntian asked.
During the three-plus centuries Yaoguang spent in closed cultivation, the core members of the Nine Cauldrons Sect had essentially remained by his side, continuously steeped in the Dao rhymes of the void. Their cultivation had progressed by leaps and bounds.
Furthermore, Yaoguang had slain eleven Dao Integration figures in one go, amassing wealth measured in the trillions; they lacked no cultivation resources whatsoever.
Over the centuries, let alone Su Yaoxue, even Lin Xia, Li Hanqiu, Wan Liugui, and Tang Fenghua had been bodily pulled by him into the Void Shattering realm.
"When one attains the Dao, even their dogs and chickens ascend to heaven"—nothing exemplified this better.
After all, Yaoguang's own mastery over the Dao of Void was exceptionally profound. When guiding those in Void Piercing and Void Refining, he invariably struck straight at the crucial points.
Coupled with his willingness to guide them, it was hardly surprising that a whole cluster of Void Shattering cultivators had sprouted up.
"Heavenly Dao Sect Master..."
Yaoguang pondered slightly.
Considering that Su Yaoxue's future focus would have to center on the Nine Cauldrons Sect—namely, expanding within the former territory of the Shadow Moon Sect—he replied, "Leave Yaoxue out of it. Dao Lord, choose someone yourself to take over as the Heavenly Dao Sect Master."
"I choose..."
The exceptional figures among the younger generation flashed through Dao Lord Juntian's mind.
Five hundred years had passed since Yaoguang entered the Heavenly Dao Sect.
Five hundred years was enough for the exceptionally gifted true disciples of his era to cultivate from a Deep Blue Golden Core to the Void Refining realm.
Yet that was only the Void Refining realm.
Moreover, only a mere handful, including Lingxi, had managed even that.
As for breaking through from Void Refining to Void Shattering...
"Then let Shen Junyan take over as sect master," Dao Lord Juntian said.
"Very well," Yaoguang nodded slightly.
Because of Supreme Elder Chiyun, this deputy sect master had acted quite warmly toward him...
Furthermore, having served as deputy sect master for over a millennium, he possessed ample experience in managing the sect. Taking over the sect master seat now could be considered his long-awaited ascent.
The two discussed a few more matters. Yaoguang reinforced the formations of Heaven-Abandoned Valley once more, raising them to the fourteenth rank, and arranged for Tang Fenghua to stay behind and preside over them in person.
This way, unless a Dao Lord arrived personally, virtually no one could force their way in.
And whenever Dao Lords were involved, Dao Lord Juntian would naturally step forward.
If all else failed...
Yaoguang instructed Tang Fenghua that if an insurmountable crisis arose, he could seek aid from Dao Lord Penglai.
Once everything was settled, Yaoguang wasted no time.
With a flicker of his figure, he appeared directly in the vast starry sky outside Beihai Star.
Given his current mastery over the Dao of Void, it was impossible for anyone to notice his departure.
After leaving Beihai Star, he summoned a high-grade Dao artifact battleship.
This was a spoil of war seized from God Venerable Xuhuang of the God race.
Its speed was mediocre, but its interior was exceedingly luxurious.
Evidently, for many Dao Lords roaming the starry sky, a comfortable environment was of great importance.
"I'll remodel it on the way and refine it into a pinnacle Dao artifact to increase its speed. Otherwise, traveling to my chosen destination... would take far too long."
With a thought from Yaoguang, a cluster of light projected onto the large screen of the battleship's main control room, quickly coalescing into a star chart.
A route was mapped across the star chart.
This route passed through two locations.
One location, three billion light-years away, was a brand-new Gate of the Immortal Realm.
The other point lay even farther, ten billion light-years away.
It was also the domain of an overlord faction spanning a ten-billion-light-year diameter:
The Xingri Sect.
This journey...
Round trip, even with his void mastery rivaling that of an Immortal Venerable, would still take three hundred years.
Chapter 497