Positioning

"Such a phenomenon isn't impossible. Based on what I saw, the power of the Immortal Realm has been almost completely restrained by the Hunyuan Realm, to the point that its energy cannot project across. The Gate of the Immortal Realm has to absorb energy on its own before it can grow, mature, and eventually open." Yaoguang came to a realization. "Perhaps in the most ancient era, the power of the Gate of the Immortal Realm originated from the Immortal Realm itself, supplied by the realm through the Three Thousand Great Daos and similar channels. Once cultivators attained the Void Piercing realm, they could rely on their comprehension of void energy to step across the Gate of the Immortal Realm, enter the Immortal Realm, and cultivate the Three Thousand Great Daos." He understood this now. Dao Integration! Dao Integration! With every additional figure who integrated with the Dao, an extra burden was placed on the Three Thousand Great Daos. Moreover, the Three Thousand Great Daos were interconnected. When the others were already occupied by Dao Integration practitioners, the few surviving Dao Ancestors holding on bitterly still could not sustain things. The fall of the Time Dao Ancestor and the Void Dao Ancestor had been the turning point. From that moment on, the tipping of the scales became irreversible, and the destruction of the Ancient Immortal Realm was sealed. "The Lord of Yuanxi behind the Hunyuan Realm is sparing no effort to support immortal spirits entering the Ancient Immortal Realm, hoping they will become immortals, Immortal Venerables, and advance further to become Immortal Kings. In the final analysis, this is a method of warfare. Every Great Dao is a battlefield. Such combat sheds no blood, yet it is far more brutal than any bloody clash, because what it ultimately influences is the form of two universes. Once the Ancient Immortal Realm falls, all cultivators will be knocked into the dust and turned into mortals." Yaoguang paused as he spoke. "No! It's even worse than becoming mortals! Everything in this universe—including all living beings—was evolved and formed through the Three Thousand Great Daos. Once the Ancient Immortal Realm fails, all matter and every living creature in this universe will cease to exist, devoured clean by the Hunyuan Realm." Such a consequence... It was suffocating! This was a war with no possibility of surrender! It could only end with the total destruction and obliteration of one side. What was even more terrifying... "If the Three Thousand Great Daos of the Ancient Immortal Realm are devoured, will I... die, or will I reincarnate back into the Hunyuan Realm?" Yaoguang questioned inwardly. Yet he already knew the answer without asking. "It seems there is no other choice." Having prepared himself mentally long ago, Yaoguang's mood turned immensely calm at this moment. No other choice. Since... Since no other path remained, he could only walk this single road to the very end. "Abandon all illusions! Prepare for total war!" Two solutions to break the impasse soon emerged in his mind. The first was to comprehend the Three Thousand Great Daos and forge a path of his own. With the foundation he had built in the Void Shattering realm, he was capable of taking that step. However... Even if he forged a path of his own, he might not necessarily be able to overcome the Hunyuan Realm— Or defeat an existence like the Lord of Yuanxi within the Hunyuan Realm. A newly birthed Great Dao was weak and would not necessarily be much stronger than his current self. Furthermore... Even with his ability to comprehend the Three Thousand Great Daos with ease, whether he could create a Great Dao truly his own remained an unknown. This path... It was exceedingly difficult! That left only the second path. "Converge the Three Thousand Great Daos." The Hunyuan Realm had digitized the Three Thousand Great Daos, dividing them into ten thousand shares each; reaching the required share granted mastery over that Dao. In that case, he could use the supreme sacred artifact in his hands—the Great Dao Pagoda—as his foundation to converge the Daos one by one, ultimately securing all shares of the Great Daos for himself. Though this method carried staggering risks for him, it possessed far greater feasibility. The only issue was that his actions would inevitably draw interference from the Lord of Yuanxi, a presence far more terrifying than an Immortal King. When that time came, he would face the Lord of Yuanxi directly. Yaoguang pondered for a while. Ultimately, he cast aside all other thoughts. "Let it be so." His expression gradually regained its composure. Compared to his previous state of utter bewilderment, he at least knew what to do now. That in itself was a massive step forward. Besides... At this moment, Yaoguang had made a discovery in his heart. "The Glazed Treasure Tree and Higher-Dimensional Cognition are not the same thing." At least... Not the same thing as he understood it. After all, if the Glazed Treasure Tree was truly left behind by the Time Dao Ancestor and the Void Dao Ancestor of the Ancient Immortal Realm, its miraculous nature was simply too astonishing. That leap at the very last moment—he distinctly felt it had not come from the power of the Glazed Treasure Tree, but rather... From himself. Yaoguang raised his head. His gaze seemed to pierce through Beihai Star, through the starry sky, and through the Ancient Immortal Realm, seeking to see straight through the Hunyuan Realm. Himself. The Ancient Immortal Realm. The mist. The dimension where Higher-Dimensional Cognition resided. "If the Hunyuan Realm is that mist obstructing my vision... then where exactly am I positioned?" ... Yaoguang lingered at the Nine Cauldrons Sect for several decades. During that time, he found a moment to set up a Level 15 quasi-immortal formation, using a potent semi-immortal artifact as its formation core. The main reason he did not lay down a true immortal formation was that doing so took far too long. Even with his mastery of formations, a hundred and fifty years was nowhere near enough time. Although the formation before him was only Level 15, Yaoguang had specially refined the semi-immortal artifact specifically for it. With the artifact and the formation complementing one another, and bolstered by several Void Shattering cultivators, ordinary Dao Lords would find it difficult to breach in a short span of time. Once the formation was complete, he chose not to waste any more time. He had already begun making preparations. He would leave Shaohua behind in the lower realm. If the Three Thousand Great Daos were to be united in the future, he would use Shaohua's hands to sweep aside all the Dao Lords of the lower realm, gathering the myriad Dao shares into a single body. As for his true self, he would ascend to the Immortal Realm to see what it truly looked like. He also wanted to see whether, once he reached the Immortal Realm and drew closer to the higher-dimensional world, he could finally unravel what his cognition truly was. Without delay, he returned to the Heavenly Dao Sect and, in his own name, summoned every Dao Lord with whom he shared ties, with the sole exception of Dao Lord Penglai. Given the prestige he held across Beihai Star, representatives from the Ten Immortal Sects, the Four Great Celestial Dynasties, and the Three Immortal Martial Sects naturally arrived in full force. Once everyone had assembled, Yaoguang waved his hand and summoned the Great Dao Pagoda. The Grand Dao of the Void and the Grand Dao of the Soul surging from within almost completely locked down the entire area. This sight caused a brief stir among the assembled Dao Lords. However, recalling Yaoguang's overwhelming might and knowing that if he truly meant them harm he would have no need for such elaborate measures, they quickly calmed down. "I have summoned everyone here today to discuss the opening of Beihai Star's Gate of the Immortal Realm." As Yaoguang spoke, his gaze swept across the more than twenty Dao Lords present. Among these twenty-odd Dao Lords, while some cultivated the same Dao, most cultivated different ones. It was precisely because of this that the alliance among them had managed to hold together. "Please instruct us, Dao Sovereign Yaoguang." The Dao Lords stood up in unison, solemnly voicing their compliance. They had long hoped Yaoguang would step forward to suppress this Dao Contention, securing an opportunity for them to ascend smoothly. Otherwise, once the Dao Contention erupted, even with casualties at just ten or twenty percent, some among their fellow Daoists would inevitably perish. "Before speaking of the Gate of the Immortal Realm, there is something I must tell you all. The Immortal Realm... is not as wonderful as you imagine." Yaoguang looked at the Dao Lords. "There are even cultivators in the Immortal Realm who specialize in hunting down other Dao Lords. If you go there, then several tens of thousands of years from now, scarcely a handful among you will likely survive." The moment these words fell, the faces of all the Dao Lords drained of color. Dao Lord Shilong could not help blurting out, "Dao Sovereign Yaoguang, are you... speaking the truth?" "I have no reason to deceive you. Standing here today, I am merely stating a fact for the sake of our past acquaintance. If you choose not to ascend, you still have tens of thousands of years of carefree life ahead of you. If you ascend to the Immortal Realm... you will likely face the peril of death before long. As for whether you believe it, the choice is yours," Yaoguang said. In sharing this news with the Dao Lords, he was simply doing what he could and leaving the rest to fate. More precisely, it was an accounting for the ties they shared. At the end, he added, "Furthermore, once we leave this place, I will no longer acknowledge these words, nor should you spread them abroad. Otherwise, it will swiftly bring disaster down upon your heads." Hearing this warning, the Dao Lords exchanged glances, realizing that Yaoguang's words were unlikely to be baseless rumors. Dao Lord Dihui, who shared closer ties with him, could not resist asking, "Dao Sovereign, what exactly is the situation in the Immortal Realm? Why do you say the risks are so immense?" "This is all I can tell you." Yaoguang was unwilling to say more. Sharing even this much had already placed him at great risk, potentially exposing him ahead of time to the gaze of the Nine Great Corporations. Saying more served no purpose. The wills and convictions of many Dao Lords were exceptionally resolute, far beyond what a few words from another could sway. Had he been cold-blooded, slaughtering all these Dao Lords would have been the correct choice, as it would slow the Hunyuan Realm's erosion of the Ancient Immortal Realm. Yet because of their past association, he simply could not bring himself to do it. The Dao Lords fell silent, many even exchanging divine sense communications. After a long while, Dao Lord Taiqing of the Sanqing Sacred Hall stepped forward, offering a wry smile. "It has been over sixty thousand years since I attained the Dao Lord realm; more than half my life has already passed. Perhaps various perils await us upon entering the Immortal Realm, but... ascending to the Immortal Realm has been an obsession of mine ever since I set foot on the path of cultivation. After becoming a Dao Lord, that obsession only grew stronger. Even if the road ahead is treacherous, I still intend to see it for myself. If I fall because of it... that too is my own choice. I have no regrets." "I have been a Dao Lord for eighty thousand years," Dao Lord Danding spoke up in agreement. "Over these years, I have watched with my own eyes as those around me ascended, perished, or journeyed deep into the starry sky never to return. Now that a chance to ascend finally stands before us, if I do not seize it and make the attempt, even death would leave me filled with regret." The other Dao Lords nodded in deep agreement. The allure of ascension lay right before their eyes. Even if they harbored no doubts about Yaoguang's warning, they were still unwilling to let the chance slip by. Just as Dao Lord Taiqing had said, this had been their lifelong goal since stepping onto the path of cultivation. "In that case..." Yaoguang was not surprised in the least, giving a faint nod. "Then let it be so. When the Gate of the Immortal Realm opens, all of you may ascend. As for the other Dao Lords..." His tone gradually turned frigid. "I will grant them all one month to leave Beihai Star. One month from now, anyone who has not departed Beihai Star and attempts to ascend to the Immortal Realm will be... executed on the spot!"