Showdown

Outside the Heavenly Dao Sect. The Dao Lords had assembled. Yaoguang swept his gaze across them; two were missing. They belonged to the Three Immortal Martial Sects. Without needing to guess or ask, he knew what choice those two Dao Lords had made. Yet it did not matter. Yaoguang had never expected to rely on these Dao Lords for this battle. "Dao Sovereign..." Dao Lord Biluo of the Tongtian Sect stepped forward, intending to offer Yaoguang an explanation. Yaoguang simply waved his hand and turned to Dao Lord Taiqing and the others. "In this battle, I will lead the main offensive while you hold the perimeter. When you see the Wuguang Alliance begin to collapse, intercept as many Dao Lords as you can." With that, he added, "Of course, once the Wuguang Alliance scatters, plenty of Dao Lords will flee in all directions. Intercept those who are vengeful and petty as you see fit. For those of decent character, stop them if you can, but do not force the issue if you cannot." Seeing Yaoguang already making arrangements for the aftermath of routing the Wuguang Alliance, the assembled Dao Lords were taken aback. This... Was he not taking the Wuguang Alliance lightly to an absurd degree? That was a force of one hundred and sixty-six Dao Lords! In past Dao Contentions, the sparser ones had barely totaled around one hundred and sixty Dao Lords altogether. Yet in Dao Sovereign Yaoguang's eyes, they were treated as nothing more than dry bones in a grave, waiting to be butchered. "Dao Sovereign, the Wuguang Alliance is fully prepared and waiting. Relying solely on you..." Dao Lord Dihui began, only to be cut off directly by Yaoguang. "Enough." He said calmly, "If these one hundred and sixty-six Dao Lords belonged to a single faction like the Yongsheng Sect, coordinating with one another, sharing identical interests, and possessing sufficient trust, breaking them would indeed pose some difficulty. But an alliance hastily formed just a month ago, where every Dao Lord harbors their own thoughts and calculates their own gains..." He paused. "Ultimately, they are nothing but a rabble." Many Dao Lords exchanged glances, inwardly smiling wryly. If an assembly of over one hundred and sixty Dao Lords like the Wuguang Alliance was a mere rabble, what did that make their own group of twenty-some Dao Lords? "Let us go to the Wuguang Alliance." Yaoguang soared into the air, flying straight beyond Beihai Star. This time, he had not notified Dao Lord Penglai. Dao Lord Penglai had actually guessed his objective in dealing with these Dao Lords, but such actions seemed to be illegal in the Hunyuan Realm. She could only pretend to know nothing. Thus, the two did not fight side by side this time. For one hundred and sixty-six Dao Lords to form an alliance just to fight him... Without realizing it, he had already grown into a final boss figure in the minds of all these Dao Lords. Thinking carefully about it, it was somewhat bizarre. A man who only wanted to peacefully enjoy life had actually received such treatment. Still, reflecting on the war between the Ancient Immortal Realm and the Hunyuan Realm... He wanted to kick back and properly enjoy his days as a cosmic overlord. Yet... Circumstances did not allow it. To secure a better environment to lie back in, he had no choice but to step forward and fight with all his might—for survival, and for the future. ... *Whoosh!* Streaks of light tore through the void. Before long, Yaoguang had led the ten-odd Dao Lords from the Ten Immortal Sects and other factions beyond Beihai Star. After half a day's journey and traversing a spatial node, another expanse of starry space came into view, filled with Dao artifact-grade battleships. Aboard every battleship stood at least one Dao Lord, and often several. As Yaoguang and his companions arrived, the atmosphere among these Dao Lords grew noticeably tense. Soon, Dao Lord Wudi, the leader of the Wuguang Alliance, led sixty Dao Lords out from the ranks, barring Yaoguang's path. "Are these all the Dao Lords you could rally in a month?" Yaoguang looked at Dao Lord Wudi, who headed the group. "Do you need a little more time to gather more Dao Lords and ensure nothing goes wrong?" These words caused Dao Lord Wudi to stare blankly for a moment. More time... Every Dao Lord who could be gathered in the surrounding starry space was already here. While a few remained elsewhere, they all feared Dao Sovereign Yaoguang's renowned might and refused to intervene any further in Beihai Star's Dao Contention. Even if Yaoguang gave him another eight or ten years, he could at best persuade three to five more Dao Lords. And in a battle of this scale, adding three to five more Dao Lords would hardly make a difference. Of course, that was not the point. The point was that their side had rallied one hundred and sixty-six Dao Lords, which gave them the leverage to bargain with this Dao Sovereign Yaoguang. No matter how formidable or capable Dao Sovereign Yaoguang was, no matter if he was an immortal reincarnated, he surely would not dare take on one hundred and sixty-six Dao Lords simultaneously. He came from the Yongsheng Sect, which also possessed powerful beings claiming the title of Dao Sovereign. Yet even they had to avoid the brunt of thirty or forty Dao Lords joining forces to surround and attack them. Though those Dao Sovereigns were somewhat inflated in reputation, he now had nearly twice that number beside him; even against a true Dao Sovereign, they should not fall short. With these thoughts, the top Dao Lord took a deep breath and said in a grave voice, "Dao Sovereign Yaoguang, we respect your strength. But... all we seek is an opportunity to step through the Gate of the Immortal Realm and ascend. For me, and for countless people here, that is our lifelong pursuit. Why must you sever our path forward? If Dao Sovereign Yaoguang is willing to grant us a chance, we are willing to present a generous gift to express our gratitude..." "Enough." Yaoguang waved a hand, cutting him off. Go to the Immortal Realm? What outcome awaited these Dao Lords once they entered the Immortal Realm? Nothing more than being hunted down by the immortals of the Nine Great Corporations to strip their shares. It was tantamount to walking straight into the slaughterhouse as prey. Therefore... "I can give you one final chance. I will count to ten. If you leave now, I will let bygones be bygones. In the future, if you insist on ascending, you may seek other Gates of the Immortal Realm. If you choose not to ascend, you still have ten thousand, tens of thousands of years left to live. With your cultivations as Dao Lords, you can live very well without throwing your lives away in vain. But once time is up, if you still refuse to withdraw..." Behind Yaoguang, the phantom of the Grand Dao Pagoda gradually materialized. A pressure that seemed imbued with the power of numerous Great Daos radiated from the phantom, instilling a sensation that made one's very thoughts slow down. "You will be slain without exception." Hearing Yaoguang's words, Dao Lord Wudi and the many other Dao Lords felt anger surge within their hearts. They were Dao Lords, after all. Figures standing at the pinnacle of the cosmos. Not only did they number as many as one hundred and sixty-six, but they had also spoken in a conciliatory manner, yielding and offering a generous gift in exchange for a single step back. Yet what of him? He did not place these one hundred and sixty-six Dao Lords in his eyes at all! Arrogant! Utterly and completely arrogant! Several advanced in age who would lose virtually all hope of ascending to the Immortal Realm if they missed this Dao Contention even felt a surge of desperate courage—a desire to fight him to the death, even knowing they were outmatched. Even through Dao Lord Wudi's mind, that thought flickered briefly. However... Carefully sensing the pressure radiating from Yaoguang's Grand Dao Pagoda, that burst of bloodthirsty courage and burning desire for a fight to the death was instantly suppressed and cooled by the reality before their eyes. Too strong! This Dao Sovereign... Was far too strong! Especially when he summoned this supreme treasure suspected to be an immortal artifact, it made them feel as though any step forward meant certain death. Under this threat of death, the top Dao Lord forced himself to regain his composure from his burning rage. "Dao Sovereign Yaoguang..." He opened his mouth to speak, but Yaoguang had already begun counting. "Ten." "Dao Sovereign Yaoguang, when possible, one should show mercy. Even if you want the human Dao Lords behind you to ascend smoothly, they only account for half the ascension quotas at best! The remaining dozen or so slots could easily be conceded to us. Why let them go to waste?" "Nine." "Must you push things to such an extreme? Our side still boasts one hundred and sixty-six Dao Lords! We admit that in single combat, none of us is your match. But no matter how formidable you are, if all of us charge at once, you might not be able to kill us all!" "Eight." "Dao Sovereign Yaoguang, if you won't think of yourself, you must at least consider the factions behind you! If you frighten us off this time, you offend every single one of us. You can't avoid ascending forever, can you? Once you ascend to the Immortal Realm and leave behind one hundred and sixty-six Dao Sovereign-level enemies, how could the Ten Immortal Sects and the legacies you leave behind ever have peace? We—" Dao Lord Wudi, a top Dao Lord, laced his words with veiled threats. Yet almost the instant his threatening words left his mouth, Yaoguang's counting abruptly halted. "You are right." Dao Lord Wudi started, momentarily thinking he had swayed Yaoguang. Just as delight began to show on his face, he heard Yaoguang continue: "So I should never have given you a chance by counting to ten. To eliminate all future trouble once and for all... it is better to kill every last one of you!" The moment the words left his mouth, the manifested Grand Dao Pagoda jolted violently, simultaneously churning Void, Time, Destruction, Origin, Soul, and several other Great Daos as it smashed brazenly toward Dao Lord Wudi at the front. Dao Lord Wudi, however, had long realized that Yaoguang might strike without warning. Almost the instant Yaoguang unleashed the Grand Dao Pagoda and hurled it downward, the top Dao Lord and alliance leader roared, "Block him!" In a flash, sixty-one Dao Lords led by him acted in unison. Every Dao Lord unleashed a Dao art directly tied to their respective Great Dao. The resonance between Great Daos and Dao arts seemed to weave a colossal, invisible web. Through this web, the power of all the Great Daos formed an endless, self-sustaining cycle. Certain Great Dao powers continually canceled each other out in the circulation, while others steadily amplified. Crashing into it, the Grand Dao Pagoda was like an iron sphere striking a vast net; no explosive impact occurred, yet the clash between Dao and Dao ground to a precarious stalemate, deflecting tremendous momentum with subtle leverage. For a moment, it was impossible to tell whether the Grand Dao Pagoda would smash through the Dao network forged by the sixty-one Dao Lords first, or if the great web woven from sixty-one Great Daos would bind the Grand Dao Pagoda until it could not budge an inch.