The Truth

Over the following period, Su Yaoxue, Lin Xia, Li Hanqiu, Wan Liugui, Li Qingshan, and others came one after another to visit Yaoguang. Yaoguang turned no one away, chatting and laughing freely with them. He even made a special point of offering guidance to Wu Qingying regarding her alchemy. His own alchemy had already reached the apex of Level 15; it was just that as his realm advanced, the skill had become somewhat obsolete, so he had never displayed it. Now, guiding Wu Qingying—who was only equivalent to a Level 11 alchemist—finally allowed the ability to be of some use. With Yaoguang reappearing in the Nine Cauldrons Sect, the Dao Lords who harbored deep dread of his immense strength all wished to pay their respects as well. Although many of them had no conflict of interest with Yaoguang whatsoever and had no real connection to him, still... If everyone else came to visit and you didn't, weren't you practically asking Dao Sovereign Yaoguang to write your name down in his little ledger? However, after this continued for a short while, Yaoguang called an end to it. Right now, all he wanted was to spend these remaining hundred-plus years in peace. Translated into mortal terms, would this mindset probably be called enjoying one's twilight years in tranquility? ... The bustling excitement lasted for over a month before gradually settling down. Calming along with it was Yaoguang's own state of mind. Only at this moment was he truly, fully prepared to face any consequence with composure. Including... The truth of the world that was about to be unveiled. ... Buzhou Peak. A peak named by Yaoguang in memory of the Su family's Buzhou Group. This peak had now become Yaoguang's residence within the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Ordinarily, only a select few like Su Yaoxue and Su Yaoyu were qualified to set foot upon it. This time, however, Yaoguang took the initiative to activate the formations atop the peak, signaling that he was not to be disturbed. Then, he sat quietly in a pavilion at the mountain's summit. "It's about time to begin. Whatever the outcome, I can accept it." Yaoguang focused his mind upon the glazed ancient tree. "Whether you are the source of power born from the unification of the Time Dao Ancestor and the Void Dao Ancestor, or... an even more mysterious, grand substance, I am ready to accept you. After all... the life I have today was granted by you. You shaped who I am, and I shall naturally bear whatever consequences come with that accomplishment." He glanced at the [Demon Hunting] and [Merchant] branches, which had long since condensed to massive proportions. Wiping out the Nine Demon Immortal Lineages, sweeping clean the Five Demonic Sects, and crushing the Ten Directions God Race—along the way, he had slain more than thirty Dao Integration cultivators. The experience gathered was already enough to elevate the [Artifact Crafting] branch from its 86% progress all the way to Level 20. "Level 19 represents the realm of Dao Ancestors. What realm would a Level 20 Great Dao artifact represent?" Yaoguang pondered inward. "Or will it get stuck at 100% of Level 19 and advance no further? After all, whether it's the Time Dao Ancestor or the Void Dao Ancestor, they were merely at the level of Dao Ancestors, which corresponds to Level 19..." Of course, he could not rule out the possibility that the two Dao Ancestors had merged the path of Time and the path of Void, taking a step onto a path beyond Dao Ancestor. Regardless... Whatever the result, he was confident he would see it very soon. Hum! With a shift of his thought, the [Artifact Crafting] branch, which had been resting at 86%, began to grow rapidly. Throughout this process of growth, his perspective and his perception of all things in the world were elevated once more. Beihai Star, the starry cosmos, the Immortal Realm at the center of the cosmos, and... the entire world. However, between him and his desire to perceive the full scale of the entire world and the cosmos, there seemed to lie a shroud of mist. Yet this time, as his [Artifact Crafting] branch climbed continuously until its progress surged all the way to 100% in a single breath, he seemed to be trying to see through the mist—to break through it. Yet as if lacking sufficient power, the process remained stalled. It was as though this layer of mist were a shackle, trapping him firmly inside, not allowing him to break through in the slightest. "Mist?! The power of the Hunyuan Realm?!" Submerged in this state, Yaoguang's thoughts churned. "I can sense it—I have this ability! But why can't I break through?!" He poured his mind entirely into his "vision." Or rather, into that extraordinarily special "Higher-Dimensional Cognition." This cognition... vaguely allowed him to transcend the limitations of the glazed treasure tree, truly entering a certain "higher-dimensional" perspective. A perspective that seemed detached from time and liberated from the shackles of the void. The instant this sensation arose, inspiration struck Yaoguang like divine insight. He took a sudden leap toward the direction of the mist. A leap! Not charging through the mist! Nor ascending into the realm where the mist lay! Rather... A leap! It was an experience impossible to describe in words. It was like a craft that had previously only flown within an atmosphere. No matter how much it accelerated, atmospheric drag prevented it from reaching speeds beyond imagination. But one day, the craft suddenly underwent a revelation; it began flying upward, and then, with a great leap, vaulted straight out of the atmosphere into the vacuum beyond. Instantly... Without atmospheric interference, its speed surged to an unprecedented pinnacle. At this very moment, Yaoguang found himself in such a state following that "leap." The moment he "leaped" out of it all, the entire world seemed completely different. He saw the entire universe. He saw the full panorama of what Dao Lord Penglai called the "Ancient Immortal Realm." Endless starlight filled a chaotic void that defied description, and at the very center of that starlight lay a radiant brilliance so dazzling that his meager vocabulary could not begin to describe it. Three thousand streams of light resembled three thousand intersecting tracks, existing independently yet mutually dependent, extending outward from the intensely brilliant center of starlight to convey certain powers to every corner of this universe. The spectacle was so breathtaking that even Yaoguang, who had journeyed across vast expanses of the cosmos, felt an indescribable stir in his heart. It was... the joy of witnessing the birth and growth of a brand-new life. The deep emotion of seeing the possibility of continuation. He could not comprehend it. Yet he was profoundly shaken. Yet around the edges of such a dazzling, radiant universe, a shroud of gray mist hovered. This gray mist seeped relentlessly toward this universe, seemingly intending to blanket it entirely and drag it fully within. And the method by which they advanced their cover was tracing along those three thousand energy-transmitting tracks, driving straight toward the brilliant center of the universe. From the inside out, utilizing the operating mechanisms of this universe itself, the gray mist was spreading to every corner of the cosmos. And as of now, they had already succeeded. The scattered starlight along the periphery was relatively fortunate, with sparser gray mist, but at the very center of radiant brilliance, the gray mist was already ubiquitous, almost completely eclipsing the light shining from within. In this instant, an epiphany suddenly dawned in Yaoguang's mind. "The Hunyuan Realm!" This was the Hunyuan Realm! The Hunyuan Realm was dragging the Ancient Immortal Realm into its own world, intending to devour and dissolve it until it became part of the gray mist! No! It wasn't gray mist! It had to be rules! Yaoguang had not yet discerned the complete form of the gray mist, but he could tell that this was an entirely different kind of rule power, of Great Dao power. A form of rules completely distinct from the radiant starry sky of the Ancient Immortal Realm. "So... different Great Daos, different rules?!" In that moment, Yaoguang had a sudden realization. Great Dao artifacts beyond Supreme Sacred Artifacts were based upon the Three Thousand Great Daos, deriving entirely new Great Daos from them. Forging a path that belonged entirely to oneself! If the Three Thousand Great Daos were compared to textbooks, no matter how thoroughly one mastered them, one could never surpass the authors of those textbooks—meaning one could never surpass the evolution of this universe itself. Only through ceaseless cultivation and learning, by carving out a path completely distinct from the Three Thousand Great Daos—a path grounded in them yet wholly one's own—could one truly take another step forward, reaching a realm with the promise of supremacy, perhaps even rivaling the entire Ancient Immortal Realm. The infiltration of those completely different rules from the Hunyuan Realm was the clearest example. Almost the instant Yaoguang grasped this truth, his form began to plummet, falling, falling... In the midst of his descent, he penetrated the mist. Passing through it, what he saw was the fission of countless rules. This fission resembled data. All the gray mist was in fact a colossal torrent of data, constantly eroding the Ancient Immortal Realm, seeking to digitize the entire realm. This process was proceeding at an extreme speed. Just as Yaoguang intended to keep "looking," he was already torn away from this "gray mist" composed entirely of data, plunging at extreme speed toward the starry universe, toward Beihai Star, until... "Hoo!" Yaoguang snapped his eyes open. At the same time, the [Artifact Crafting] branch, which had been stalled at 100% of Level 19, had at some point advanced to 1%! Although it had only moved by a single percentage point, Yaoguang knew that this had been the key enabling him to accomplish that "leap." "Great Dao artifact!" Realization dawned in Yaoguang's heart. This was the Great Dao artifact above Supreme Sacred Artifacts. Comprehending the Three Thousand Great Daos without needing to undergo Dao Integration—instead, through learning from the Three Thousand Great Daos, forging one's own path and then manifesting that path to form a Great Dao artifact. "So Dao Integration was a false path all along?" Understanding crystallized in Yaoguang's mind. "Or rather, Dao Integration is fundamentally a method by which the Hunyuan Realm invades the Ancient Immortal Realm. By digitizing Dao shares and similar means, Dao Lords are allowed to seamlessly integrate with the Daos, occupying the Three Thousand Great Daos until they can no longer circulate... Without the Three Thousand Great Daos, the universe of the Ancient Immortal Realm effectively loses its vitality. It becomes equivalent to being culled by the Hunyuan Realm, reduced to 'prey' to be devoured whole." He even began to wonder: was it possible that the cultivation system of Yunji Star Harbor was the most orthodox, ancient system of this Ancient Immortal Realm universe? At the Void Cavern realm, one could utilize comprehension of the Grand Dao of the Void to shatter space and ascend directly into the Immortal Realm. Then, cultivate step by step in the Immortal Realm, progressing past Void Refining Mysterious Immortal and Void Shattering Golden Immortal before making an attempt at an even higher realm—attaining the Dao to become a Great Luo Golden Immortal who transcended the three realms and existed beyond the five elements.