Immortal Arts

"It is over." Seeing Yaoguang appear and slay the Dao Lord who had tangled with him using the might of the Grand Dao Pagoda, Dao Lord Taiqing sighed and stepped aside. Gazing upon that peerless immortal pagoda shrouded in the Grand Dao and radiating a suffocating pressure, this Sanqing Sacred Hall Dao Lord—whose actual combat prowess was in no way inferior to that of top-tier Dao Lords—wore an expression filled with complicated emotions as well as deep awe. In this battle, which had lasted under two hours, he had watched with his own eyes as this Grand Dao Pagoda obliterated over a hundred and fifty Dao Lords. In other words, across the entire clash, the Dao Lords from the Wuguang Alliance who had truly been fortunate enough to escape numbered a mere dozen or so. A Dao Sovereign must stand against a hundred alone and suppress their era. And standing against a hundred alone to suppress an era had never been achieved through boasting or rumors, but through battle after actual battle, proving the invincible stature of that Dao Sovereign. Right now... Yaoguang had done it. With a glorious record that fell short of no Dao Sovereign's meteoric rise, he had proven his strength to everyone in the world. Hundreds of thousands of years from now, the starry cosmos would surely echo with the name of Dao Sovereign Yaoguang. Like Zaohua, Hongmeng, Yuanchu, Yuanshi, Zhongmo, Fanjing, Huanyin, and other figures of the Dao Sovereign rank, he would leave an indelible mark upon this cosmos, remembered by the world and sung by later generations. ... The battle came to an end. Taiqing, Taiwei, Dihui, Juntian, Biluo, Shilong, and dozens of other Dao Lords exchanged glances, walked up to Yaoguang, and bowed deeply to him in unison. "Greetings, Dao Sovereign." At this moment, they no longer harbored the slightest doubt regarding Yaoguang's "Dao Sovereign" level strength. Yaoguang looked at them and merely gave a slight nod, offering few words: "I must take stock of the battlefield. Please carry on as you see fit. Once the Gate of the Immortal Realm opens, you may ascend on your own. Those who share the same Grand Dao should confer among yourselves. Enough Dao Lords have fallen today. The Dao Contention of Beihai Star has lasted millions of years, and having over a hundred and fifty Dao Lords perish in battle can be considered the most in its history. I hope no more Dao Lords on Beihai Star will suffer needless casualties over the ascension quotas." "We respectfully obey the Dao Sovereign's decree." The dozens of Dao Lords assented respectfully in unison, showing not the slightest disobedience. As Yaoguang waved his hand, the Dao Lords, including Dihui and Juntian, withdrew one after another. Yaoguang also calmly gazed out at the chaotic void and the starry sky filled with violent ripples of energy. At this moment, he gained a new understanding of the title "Dao Sovereign." A Dao Sovereign was not a realm of cultivation. It was an honorific. Anyone could call themselves a Dao Sovereign. Yet if one wished for everyone to truly acknowledge them as a Dao Sovereign and accord it the genuine weight it carried, it could only be achieved through fighting. Only by pulling off the monumental feat of standing against a hundred alone and imposing supreme awe over an era could one earn everyone's recognition. "A Dao Sovereign is not powerful because he is venerated as one; rather, he is venerated as a Dao Sovereign because he is powerful enough to overawe the starry river, peerless and invincible." Yaoguang's expression was serene. In this battle, over a hundred and fifty Dao Lords had been slain. During the clash, more than one Dao Lord had begged him, pleading for him to show mercy and spare them just once. Countless Dao Lords had apologized, offered compensation, and vowed never to step foot on Beihai Star again. Naturally, those who cursed and reviled him were hardly few either. Yet not the slightest regret stirred in his heart. Because he knew that once he decided to inherit the stances of the Time Dao Ancestor and Void Dao Ancestor to fight the Hunyuan Realm to the very end, such scenes would be inevitable. The Nine Great Conglomerates held the vast majority of the shares in the three thousand Grand Daos, with a small portion scattered among the native cultivators of Beihai Star. If he wished to possess the strength to contend with the Lord of Yuanxi and fight the Hunyuan Realm in the future, he had to reclaim all these Grand Dao shares. In other words... What he intended to do was sever their path forward and shatter the prospects of every cultivator at or above the level of Dao Lord. Such a course of action was tantamount to destroying their world! Compared to that prospect, right now... the deaths of over a hundred and fifty Dao Lords were merely the prologue before the grand curtain rose. Standing in the starry cosmos, Yaoguang sensed the energy hanging heavy on the [Demon Hunting] and [Merchant] branches of the Glazed Treasure Tree in his spiritual world. This time, he did not choose to upgrade the [Artifact Refining] branch again. On the one hand, his prior attempt had shown that raising the [Artifact Refining] branch to level 20 would require at least a thousand, if not several thousand Dao Lords. On the other hand, he needed sufficient strength of his own to cope with the perils he would face upon heading to the Immortal Realm. Driven by this need, all the energy poured entirely into the [Dao Integration · Void] branch, and the progress of this branch immediately began climbing at astonishing speed. Over a hundred and fifty Dao Lords! Plus the accumulated wealth of over a hundred and fifty Dao Lords! Although many of their Dao artifacts had been crippled or shattered during the fierce battle, and some Dao Lords had thoroughly depleted all their life-saving items, the experience and energy that the remaining materials could provide to [Merchant] was still considerable. When all this energy channeled into the branch representing his cultivation base, its progress surged in increments of roughly a hundred at a time. 300, 400, 500, 600... In moments, the progress representing the [Dao Integration · Void] branch rose from just over 100 to surpass 800, only grinding to a halt when it reached 811/10,000. Throughout this surge, Yaoguang's own understanding of the Grand Dao of the Void grew at an unbelievable pace. Through the scenes he had witnessed via higher-dimensional vision when pushing [Artifact Refining] toward level 20, he seemed able to clearly sense the weight that the Grand Dao of "Void" held within the entire Ancient Immortal Realm. It was like a Grand Dao, yet also like the very substance representing the Grand Dao itself, bringing the concept of "existence" into this world. Only with the void could there be existence. As this epiphany arose, coupled with his current cultivation realm, he seemed to perceive how the shares of the Grand Dao of the Void were allocated. "One Immortal King! Over twenty Immortal Venerables! Over three hundred immortals, and... more than a thousand Dao Lords." Yaoguang arrived at this somewhat hazy figure in his mind. Yet across all tiers, the ones holding the largest share were not the twenty-odd Immortal Venerables; the shares held by those twenty-odd Immortal Venerables likely did not exceed three thousand Grand Dao shares. The true controller and sovereign of the Grand Dao of the Void was that Void Immortal King! His personal control over the shares of the Grand Dao of the Void alone exceeded three thousand! Three thousand shares! By now, he realized that once an Immortal King's share of a certain Grand Dao exceeded 3,333, he could pinpoint the precise locations of other Immortal Venerables, immortals, and Dao Lords. Once his possession of that Grand Dao's shares exceeded 5,000, the shares of the Grand Dao of the Void would spontaneously gravitate toward him. In other words, without any need to actively collect them, any shares freed upon the demise of Dao Lords, immortals, and Immortal Venerables would automatically gather into him. Unless another Dao Lord happened to be right nearby waiting to inherit those shares. And once his control over a certain Grand Dao's shares exceeded 6,666, his comprehension and application of that Grand Dao would reach absolute mastery. No one along that same Grand Dao would ever be able to challenge his majesty again. Before him, they would not even have room to resist. "That Void Immortal King... his share does not exceed five thousand, likely around three thousand five hundred. Yet he seems to possess some secret method—or perhaps obtained certain privileges—allowing him to spontaneously absorb ownerless shares from the starry cosmos..." Yaoguang sensed it carefully. Those Immortal Venerables, immortals, and Dao Lords seemed clustered in groups across nine regions. As for that Immortal King, he belonged to yet another region. Yaoguang estimated briefly and quickly reached a conclusion. The Nine Great Conglomerates and the starry cosmos. "In the starry sky, there are roughly six hundred Void Dao Lords," Yaoguang murmured. Barring any surprises, unless those six hundred Void Dao Lords could join the Nine Great Conglomerates and secure their protection, the moment they entered the Immortal Realm, they would instantly become prey for that Void Immortal King—hunted down and refined into shares. "Therefore, Void Dao Lords must not ascend. Their ascension will only make that Void Immortal King stronger." As Yaoguang spoke, a flicker of anguish flashed across his eyes. "Not just those Void Dao Lords—even I, upon entering the Immortal Realm, would face certain death if I cannot join one of the other eight conglomerates besides the one the Void Immortal King belongs to." In fact, he could not even guarantee his own safety were he to join the other eight conglomerates. What if the reason the other eight conglomerates kept those Immortal Venerables and immortals of the Void Dao was not to compete with that Void Immortal King on this path, but simply to sell them for a handsome price...? Then after he ascended, his dozens of shares would undoubtedly be treated as merchandise handed over to the Void Immortal King in exchange for something of greater value. Such as... shares of other Grand Daos. "So after spirit stones, Pure Yang Great Pills, Void Dao Pills, and Dao artifacts, Dao Lords are the currency of the Immortal Realm?" A sliver of irony touched the corners of Yaoguang's lips. "The higher a Dao Lord or immortal's realm, the more shares they carry, and the greater their value? If one were to grade them like spirit stones, does a Dao Lord equal an ordinary spirit stone? An immortal equals a high-grade spirit stone? An Immortal Venerable equals a top-grade spirit stone?" Though sarcasm marked his face, an indescribable wrath and irritation churned in his heart. He knew this was a war between two realms, that the world needed to develop, and that it was beyond right or wrong. Yet these emotions still welled up uncontrollably. "So this is the true difference between me and those supreme powerhouses? Those top figures possess the true heart of the strong—to achieve their goals and pursuits, not only can they disregard their own life and death, but they do the same with everyone else's! Whereas I..." Flames seemed to burn in Yaoguang's eyes. "All I ever wanted was to cultivate upward, and once my strength grew enough to ensure my personal safety, simply enjoy life?" Gathering his focus, he quietly sensed the colossal influx of information granted by driving his Immortal Venerable realm progress all the way to 811 in a single breath. Moments later, the fiery intensity in his eyes—hot enough to reduce one to ash—was completely supplanted by a chill that pierced straight to the marrow. Because this information contained immortal arts that would vastly elevate his combat prowess! Composite immortal arts! A vast array of composite immortal arts!