Fuyao

"The only purpose of a Gate of the Immortal Realm is to allow Dao Lords at Dao Integration to ascend. If other Dao Lords aren't told about it, it holds no value whatsoever," Yaoguang mused. He had an idea in mind: each time the Gate of the Immortal Realm opened, he could sell ascension slots to the Immortal Realm. Even if he demanded immortal-artifact-grade materials, those Dao Lords would surely do whatever it took to scrape them together. And going by the average of over thirty Dao Lords successfully ascending each cycle on Beihai Star... A single cycle could yield several dozen, or even over a hundred portions of immortal artifact materials. If many of these immortal artifact materials were refined, they could well be used to forge high-grade immortal artifacts. After a few more cycles, he would have all the resources needed to craft one. Worst-case scenario, leaving this Gate of the Immortal Realm to his successors would still provide a permanent enterprise capable of enduring for generations. Of course, to make all the Dao Lords pay up obediently rather than falling into the kind of chaos seen on Beihai Star, one needed sufficient power to suppress the entire situation. Factions like the Xingri Sect and Yongsheng Gate not only produced Invincible Dao Lords every cycle, but also possessed dozens of Dao Lords within their ranks—sometimes even over a hundred. When a hundred Dao Lords worked in unison, even if two or three hundred other Dao Lords joined forces, they might not be able to contend with them. One side belonged to the same sect and possessed a natural foundation of trust. Even if the other side held superior numbers, they were nothing more than a disorganized mob. Not only did each harbor ulterior motives, but the moment losses grew too severe, they would scatter in an instant. Yaoguang had no intention of monopolizing the Gate of the Immortal Realm like the Xingri Sect, but wanting to put its ascension slots up for sale still required immense strength. At the very least... One had to be able to withstand the assault of a hundred Dao Lords. Even if they were merely a hundred Dao Lords united on a whim. Otherwise, rashly pursuing such a venture would only invite colossal trouble upon himself. "At the very least, a combination of a rank sixteen immortal formation and an immortal artifact, plus the guarantee of having a Dao Lord stationed here at all times, would be necessary to hold down this enterprise," Yaoguang calculated briefly. A rank sixteen immortal formation... If anchored to this world, it could indeed be arranged. He had immortal artifacts as well. And as for Dao Lords... After learning the secret of "shares," he felt his odds of nurturing a Dao Lord were far higher than anyone else's. "An immortal artifact can essentially amplify a Dao Lord to near the level of an Invincible Dao Lord. Add an immortal formation on top of that... and even an Invincible Dao Lord daring to charge in alone would meet certain death. If the one wielding the immortal artifact and presiding over the immortal formation possessed astonishing combat prowess to begin with... taking on a hundred enemies with that setup wouldn't be difficult at all." After all, his idea of taking on a hundred merely meant obliterating ten or twenty of them while facing an assault of a hundred Dao Lords. With such heavy casualties, the remaining Dao Lords naturally wouldn't dare act rashly. Even if someone rallied them again in the future, with such brutal losses before their eyes, no one would risk their life. Even if a hundred Dao Lords could theoretically break this immortal formation by fighting to the bitter end, it wouldn't make a difference. Who could be sure they wouldn't be the one to die in a fight to the death? When spending a little money could safely purchase an ascension slot, who would risk their life for it? As he pondered, Yaoguang's figure arrived before the Gate of the Immortal Realm. Unlike the Gate of the Immortal Realm on Beihai Star, which lay deep within the planet's core, the gate here was situated at the center of this world. Upon seeing it, Yaoguang understood why it was called a "gate." The entire Gate of the Immortal Realm somewhat resembled a black hole. Yet, because the laws of the Three Thousand Grand Daos manifested around it, it did not appear as a simple black hole, but rather took on diverse forms. There was the crimson glow of flame, the dark, deep purple of destruction, the crystalline clarity of mind, and the profound ash-white of soul. Moreover, the Three Thousand Grand Daos interwove around the perimeter of this circular, black-hole-like "gate," forming an adornment resembling a doorframe that bestowed an ineffable artistic beauty. For... The Three Thousand Grand Daos were themselves the ultimate embodiment of beauty and art in the world. Compared to the Gate of the Immortal Realm, the surrounding landmass resembled the "accretion disk" of a black hole. However, relative to the gate itself, the proportions of this "accretion disk" were vastly larger than an actual black hole's accretion disk, causing it to look like a colossal continent floating in the starry cosmos. "The Gate of the Immortal Realm." Yaoguang gazed at the Dao charms of the Three Thousand Grand Daos emanating from the gate. Any cultivator who spent years cultivating near a Gate of the Immortal Realm could often comprehend a trace of the profundities of the Three Thousand Grand Daos. From that trace, they would create divine abilities, continually refine them, and transform them into Dao arts. Dao Lords who had mastered Dao arts could then use their own realm as a foundation to observe the Gate of the Immortal Realm and create even more Dao arts. In theory, any of the Three Thousand Grand Daos could be comprehended from the Gate of the Immortal Realm. However... Just as only forty-nine Grand Daos had been comprehended from Beihai Star's Gate of the Immortal Realm over all these years, how much one could truly comprehend ultimately depended entirely on innate comprehension. Or rather... "Shares." Yaoguang fell into thought. The fewer shares of a Grand Dao that remained adrift outside, the harder it was to comprehend from the Gate of the Immortal Realm. Conversely, if large amounts of a Grand Dao's shares were scattered outside, unheld by immortals, Immortal Venerables, or Immortal Kings, it would be that much easier for cultivators to comprehend from the gate. "If this conjecture holds true, then the Gate of the Immortal Realm... should be a naturally formed creation, a stroke of fortune for any low-level cultivator." Following this line of thought, he was reminded of the Grand Dao of the Void's flourishing legacy on Beihai Star. That heritage seemed to diminish in proportion the further one traveled from Beihai Star. For instance, in this patch of starry sky, a mere three billion light-years from Beihai Star, the ratio of Void Dao Lords dropped to three in ten... Of course, what the exact situation was would have to wait until he visited the Xingri Sect's territory to determine. But if the logic held... "Could a major figure of the Void Dao... at least a pinnacle Immortal King, have fallen in the cosmos surrounding Beihai Star, thereby sparking a flourishing era for the Void Dao across a range of over a billion light-years around Beihai Star?" He thought of the "disaster" ring belt—with a diameter of fully one billion light-years—that he had mapped out on the star chart... And the various Dao Sovereigns reincarnated around Beihai Star... He had already vaguely guessed something. "Are they looking for the treasure left behind when that Immortal King perished?" What was that treasure?! Yaoguang's mind involuntarily focused on the precious tree within his spiritual world. "Could it be..." He murmured to himself. This precious tree was the culprit behind his transmigration. It was something he had obtained before coming to this world, not after. Unless... The cosmos where he lived in his past life and the cosmos he currently inhabited belonged to the same world. Yet that wasn't right! He had observed the starry skies above on more than one occasion and had never found any celestial distribution matching his memories. The Milky Way? The Local Group? The Virgo Cluster? None of them existed. It was precisely for this reason that after achieving success in his cultivation, he had never searched the cosmos for his "homeland." Therefore... "It shouldn't be," Yaoguang thought. But if not, what was the "Higher-Dimensional Cognition" bestowed by this precious tree? And how had he come to this world? "Still unable to solve it..." Yaoguang let out a long breath. He looked up at the Gate of the Immortal Realm. Making a rough estimate... At the rate this Gate of the Immortal Realm absorbed energy, it would open in three thousand years. Three thousand years... Ascension to the Immortal Realm. Perhaps only after reaching the Immortal Realm in the future would he be able to truly unravel the mystery in his heart. After a good while, Yaoguang composed himself. "Since this Gate of the Immortal Realm belongs to me now, it will no longer use its former name. Moreover, this gate will be made known to the public in the future to grant every Dao Lord an opportunity to ascend, wishing them to soar on the whirlwind straight to the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm. This Gate of the Immortal Realm shall be called the Gate of Fuyao, and this world shall be called the Fuyao Realm." Yaoguang Great World, Gate of Yaoguang—those would have been fitting as well. However, that earlier world was already named the "Yaoguang Realm," so there was no need to reuse it here. Furthermore, between Fuyao and Yaoguang, only one character differed, so it worked out fine. ... Over the next decade, Yaoguang remained busy rearranging the Hundred Tribulations Realm Refining Formation. Although his [Formation] skill had reached rank sixteen, it had never advanced further and was not vastly superior to a rank fifteen formation master. Naturally, modifying a rank fifteen formation required considerable effort. Moreover, he had merely adjusted the formation to make this region more concealed; re-laying it completely would be even more difficult. "It seems I'll need to find time to level up my Formation skill. With rank sixteen mastery, setting up an immortal formation would take several thousand years at the least. I need to raise my formation attainment to at least rank seventeen before laying down an immortal formation becomes somewhat easier. And that's assuming the derived divine abilities align well; otherwise, even a rank seventeen formation master would take several centuries to set up an immortal formation in the Fuyao Realm." Yaoguang looked at the finished formation with a hint of regret. To the side, Shaoguang had already maneuvered the warship and was waiting there. Yaoguang glanced at him, having entertained the thought of having his avatar hold down this place. However, considering the primary purpose of his journey was to help his avatar advance to Dao Integration, leaving him here would be putting the cart before the horse. "I'll leave an imprint inside the formation for now, so if someone truly barges in, they'll know it's already claimed..." At that point, Yaoguang laughed softly at himself. This was a Gate of the Immortal Realm; how could it truly be claimed or unclaimed? Whoever occupied it owned it. The crux of the matter... Was simply whoever proved stronger. He would leave an imprint within the formation, fully displaying his might as an Invincible Dao Lord. Yet if the other party still forcibly occupied the gate... Then they would settle it with their own methods when the time came. Right then, channeling the Grand Dao of the Void, he carved the character "Yao" directly into the void not far from the Gate of the Immortal Realm. Relying on his Immortal-Venerable-grade mastery over the Grand Dao of the Void, the character seemed embedded into the fabric of space, radiating a colossal void pressure. This pressure would not diminish even over a thousand years. Having done this, Yaoguang boarded the warship. With a single shuttle, he vanished from the Fuyao Realm and set off toward the Xingri Sect. Wasting no further time, the journey across more than seven billion light-years passed quite swiftly. Eighty years later, just as Yaoguang had finished upgrading the Endless Tower into the Heavenly Abyss Pagoda, the sphere of influence of the Xingri Sect appeared right before his eyes.