"The Grand Dao of Reincarnation is one of the core Grand Daos—perhaps even the core among cores. Due to the ubiquity of the Grand Dao of the Void, many even believe that Reincarnation ought to be one of the Four Supreme Grand Daos, standing alongside Time, Karma, and Fate."
Within Yaoguang's mind, the myriad profound mysteries of the Grand Dao of Reincarnation flowed one after another.
Naturally, he did not agree with those who thought Reincarnation should replace the Grand Dao of the Void.
As the foundation that bore all things, the importance of the Grand Dao of the Void was beyond question.
In fact, viewed from the bottom up, the Grand Dao of the Void deserved to be called the Paramount Dao, its importance surpassing Time, Karma, and Fate.
The reason people felt Reincarnation should replace the Grand Dao of the Void as one of the Four Supreme Grand Daos was simply that the Grand Dao of the Void was too accessible.
What came easily was seldom cherished.
Even if its importance was indispensable.
Just as no job or status could compare to one's own physical body.
Yet rarely did people look for work from the perspective of their health.
"Reincarnation," Yaoguang murmured. "I wonder if my original condition counted as rebirth or reincarnation?"
As he pondered, he slightly revised his original plan.
The Grand Dao of Flowing Light, Grand Dao of Chaos, and Grand Dao of the Five Elements were temporarily set aside.
Four other Grand Daos were added in their place: the Grand Dao of Reincarnation, the Grand Dao of Life, the Grand Dao of Death, and the Grand Dao of Creation.
Among these, the Grand Daos of Life, Death, and Creation also enjoyed considerable popularity. While not quite as widely pursued as the Grand Daos of the Void and Flowing Light, they were comparable to the Grand Daos of Destruction and Darkness.
However, the Grand Dao of Creation could easily touch upon Dao Sovereign Zaohua behind the Sanqing Sacred Hall, as well as the Creation Group—one of the nine major conglomerates of the Immortal Realm. Thus, Yaoguang remained cautious.
"I'll assemble nine Grand Daos first. If anything changes, at worst I can just swap some out," Yaoguang thought.
He had full confidence to say such a thing.
Among the three thousand Grand Daos, how to cultivate almost any Dao art to perfection to touch the Dao Integration realm was something he knew like the back of his hand.
As for cultivation after Dao Integration...
Raising one's realm and seizing shares.
In terms of combat, he could follow the path of a Heavenly Immortal: combining Dao arts into immortal arts, and immortal arts into composite immortal arts.
With a plan in place, Yaoguang calmed his mind.
Over the next fifty years, leveraging the foundation and resources left behind by the Xingri Sect, he began forging the pinnacle Dao artifacts—and even semi-immortal artifacts—that he desired.
With his current level of artifact-crafting mastery, forging a pinnacle Dao artifact took roughly eight to ten years.
Crafting four Dao artifacts in fifty years was more than enough time.
The reason he had set a fifty-year timeframe was precisely to avoid cutting things too close.
Moreover, his projects were not limited to pinnacle Dao artifacts.
The Xuanguang Boat required repairs.
The Xingri Sect's immortal artifact palace, Xingri Hall, also needed minor modifications.
This palace was ideally suited to serve as the formation hub. Yaoguang intended to make it the core anchor for an immortal formation he would lay down at the Gate of Fuyao in the Fuyao Realm.
The combination of an immortal artifact and an immortal formation would be even stronger than the Xingri Sect's sect-protecting grand formation.
With a few Dao Lords presiding over it, even if a resistance force like the Star Slayer Alliance swarmed it en masse, they would have no hope of breaching it.
"This trip to the Xingri Sect has yielded no small number of gains. My only regret is not encountering a true Dao Sovereign."
As Yaoguang spoke, he looked at a dossier in his hand.
Daoist Po Suo.
According to the Xingri Sect's internal records, this mighty being rumored to carry the title of Dao Sovereign actually hailed from the Yongsheng Sect.
As for his purpose in coming to the Xingri Sect...
It was naturally because the Xingri Sect was considered one of the most formidable powers on the periphery of the Yongsheng Sect's sphere of influence.
The current Sect Master of the Yongsheng Sect was a visionary, ambitious figure. Despite having had multiple opportunities to ascend to the Immortal Realm, he chose to linger in the cosmos, clearly harboring ambitions of unifying the universe.
Daoist Po Suo was an Invincible Dao Lord dispatched by the Yongsheng Sect Master on a probe against the Xingri Sect.
However, the Xingri Sect had displayed unyielding strength, nipping Po Suo's probing actions in the bud by forcefully suppressing Sun Xing, leaving Po Suo with no pretext to exploit in the future.
Faced with this, Daoist Po Suo could do nothing. Furthermore, the Xingri Sect had indeed been at the height of its power back then, boasting over forty Dao Lords in total. Waging war recklessly carried too great a risk, so this Invincible Dao Lord—powerful enough to be hailed as a "Dao Sovereign"—had been forced to withdraw.
"The Yongsheng Sect," Yaoguang murmured.
The Yongsheng Sect was twenty billion light-years from Beihai Star, but just over ten billion light-years from the Xingri Sect. If that visionary Sect Master wished to expand outward and unify the cosmos, he would naturally have to deal with forces like the Xingri Sect sooner or later.
Several hundred years ago, unable to do anything against the Xingri Sect, they had been forced to back down. But now...
The Xingri Sect was gone.
Unless he was willing to stay and guard this Gate of the Immortal Realm indefinitely, it would likely fall into the hands of the Yongsheng Sect before long.
Yaoguang reviewed the intelligence on the Yongsheng Sect gathered by the Xingri Sect.
This faction truly lived up to its reputation as a behemoth intent on unifying the cosmos.
The number of Gates of the Immortal Realm within its territory exceeded three.
It openly fielded over a hundred Dao Lords, making it more than twice as powerful as the Xingri Sect.
Yet after browsing through the reports for a moment, Yaoguang withdrew his gaze.
"There isn't enough time."
The Yongsheng Sect was simply too far from Beihai Star.
Unless he had his Time Avatar ascend, he lacked the time to go deal with them.
Besides, a distance of twenty billion light-years was likely beyond the Yongsheng Sect's reach as well; extending their rule all the way to Beihai Star would be no simple feat.
With that in mind, Yaoguang settled down, focusing on crafting pinnacle Dao artifacts while studying the Dao arts inherent in each Grand Dao, preparing for the day he would synthesize them into immortal arts and subsequently into composite immortal arts.
***
Fifty years passed in the blink of an eye.
During these fifty years, with Yaoguang presiding over the Xingri Sect, everything remained calm and peaceful. He showed no sign of outward aggression, finally allowing the planet to regain a measure of vitality.
Some True Monarchs who had achieved Void Piercing during this time traveled to the palace where Yaoguang resided, hoping to discern his true intentions, but without exception, none so much as caught a glimpse of him.
Helpless, they could only offer local specialties from the planet to demonstrate their sincerity.
Because his stance remained an enigma, the cultivation world of this planet became remarkably tranquil; no cultivator dared to stir up any major disturbance.
For low-level cultivators, these were the most peaceful fifty years of their lives.
As the fifty-year mark arrived, the Dao Lords who had heard that Yaoguang was auctioning ascension quotas for the Gate of the Immortal Realm arrived at the outskirts of the Xingri Sect.
Their numbers were immense, reaching no fewer than a hundred.
Yaoguang was not surprised by this.
On Beihai Star, each Dao dispute drew one or two hundred participants at a minimum, and three to four hundred was not unusual.
Though a great many Dao Lords had fallen to him after he arrived in this star domain, the total casualties still numbered under a hundred; it was only natural that over a hundred Dao Lords remained.
When these Dao Lords looked at Yaoguang, their eyes were filled with unmistakable fear and apprehension.
Naturally, there were also naturally bold individuals who eyed him with curiosity.
Yaoguang paid them no heed and proceeded directly to host the auction.
The hundred-plus Dao Lords practiced thirty-four different Grand Daos in total.
For the Grand Daos where competition was fierce, the quotas fetched four to five portions of immortal artifact materials—equivalent to five or six hundred billion.
Meanwhile, quotas with no competitors were secured with a single portion of immortal artifact materials.
By the time the auction concluded, Yaoguang had gained over a hundred portions of immortal artifact materials.
In the time that followed, he did not drive away the Dao Lords who had failed to secure ascension quotas. Instead, he allowed them to stay and witness the orderly ascension of the thirty-four quota winners under his supervision.
All the Dao Lords were immensely grateful for this.
Being able to witness predecessors ascending to the Immortal Realm and attaining immortality was a rare, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It was not just them—Yaoguang felt the same.
He too wished to witness the ascension of Dao Lords firsthand, to determine whether any hidden perils lurked behind ascension into the Immortal Realm, and thus prepare for his own upcoming ascension on Beihai Star.
***
At the Xingri Sect's Gate of the Immortal Realm.
Compared to the Gate of the Immortal Realm in the Fuyao Realm, there was little difference between the two.
The only distinction was that one was exposed in the open, accreting energy and matter to form a continent, while the other was rooted deep within the planet, functioning almost as part of its planetary core.
A century ago, the Xingri Sect's Gate of the Immortal Realm had already entered an "opened" state, emanating a massive attractive force.
By now, that attractive pull had reached its peak.
However, compared to the forceful traction that descended upon Yaoguang when his Void share rose above nine, the traction from the Gate of the Immortal Realm was far gentler. As long as a Dao Lord ventured deep inside, they could ride this pulling force straight into the Immortal Realm.
Had that not been the case, even with a Supreme Sacred Artifact at his side, Yaoguang might not have dared approach the Gate of the Immortal Realm.
"Dao Sovereign," Dao Lord Zongmai said, offering a bow.
Yaoguang glanced at him.
This was a Dao Lord who cultivated the Grand Dao of Life. Unfortunately, another Dao Lord practiced the same Dao in this cycle. Though that rival's strength was inferior to Zongmai's, fortune had favored him with three portions of immortal artifact materials, allowing him to win the ascension quota.
"It is about time. Let us begin," Yaoguang said, waving his hand toward the thirty-four eager Dao Lords who had waited so long.
"Our thanks to Dao Lord for granting us this opportunity."
The thirty-four Dao Lords stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and then stepped toward the Gate of the Immortal Realm with immense excitement.
The moment they entered the Gate of the Immortal Realm, their bodies were caught in the pull, drawn inexorably inward.
At that exact moment, four Dao Lords manifested simultaneously, each unleashing the powers of the Grand Dao of the Void, Grand Dao of Flowing Light, Grand Dao of Illusion, and Grand Dao of Darkness.
Their coordination was flawless, as though rehearsed countless times.
The Grand Dao of Darkness concealed their auras, the Grand Dao of Illusion disrupted the surroundings, and the Grand Daos of Flowing Light and the Void propelled their speeds to the absolute limit.
Having gathered their strength beforehand, they lunged straight toward the Gate of the Immortal Realm—so fast that even an integrated cultivator like Zongmai, who possessed peak Dao Lord combat strength, failed to react in time.
Unfortunately, nothing they did could escape Yaoguang's notice.
Almost the moment the four burst forth, Yaoguang had already unleashed the Dao Pagoda. A world expanded outward, effortlessly sweeping all four Dao Lords inside.
As the spatial ripples faded, the four Dao Lords vanished without stirring up even the slightest ripple.
Witnessing this, terror struck the hearts of the other Dao Lords present.
Who knew how many had harbored similar notions, only to feel as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over their heads. Shivering to the bone, they extinguished every lingering thought.
"The Dao Sovereign's divine might is boundless!" a Dao Lord suddenly shouted in excitement.
Immediately, this cry was echoed by all.
"Truly worthy of a Dao Sovereign—peerless in all the world, reigning supreme over the universe!"
"With Dao Lord Yaoguang overseeing the allocation of ascension quotas, what scoundrel would dare act brazenly?!"
"Our gratitude to the Dao Sovereign for presiding over this situation and averting bloodshed!"
Dozens of Dao Lords transmitted their spiritual sense one after another, and the atmosphere grew impassioned.
With his sheer strength, Yaoguang had proven to everyone that he possessed the power to guarantee the smooth ascension of all successful bidders.
Yet Yaoguang did not lose himself in the flattery.
"Proceed," Yaoguang said, urging the thirty-four Dao Lords on their way.
The Dao Lords hesitated no longer, plunging swiftly into the Gate of the Immortal Realm.
Amidst a violent tremor of the Grand Daos, the thirty-four Dao Lords disappeared from sight.
Ascension to the Immortal Realm.
At the same time, Yaoguang pushed his perception to its peak, his gaze locked unblinkingly onto the Gate of the Immortal Realm as he probed deep inside, unwilling to overlook a single detail.
Chapter 522