Sweeping Ahead

On the other side of the second Star Gate. Six Dao Lords rushed to the scene. They could clearly tell that an intense battle had taken place in this region. Bizarrely, however, the traces of that battle seemed to have been warped and veiled by some power, to the point that they could detect no specific anomalies at all. Knowing full well something was wrong yet having no idea where the problem lay left all six Dao Lords feeling deeply unsettled. “Where are the elders? Where on earth did they go?” “It looks like the other elders intercepted that intruder, didn't they? But where are they? Where did everyone go?” “Could the intruder possess some supreme void treasure that dragged the elders directly into another space, which is why we can't see them?” “Impossible. I cultivate the Void Dao myself. If a supreme void treasure had formed another space in this region, there is no way I wouldn't be able to tell.” One by one, the Dao Lords searched their surroundings, to no avail. Finally, one composed Dao Lord said, “We had better pass word to Sect Master Changqing and the three Hall Masters. This intruder is likely far stronger than we anticipated—perhaps he has already reached the ‘Dao Sovereign’ level, on par with the sect master and the three hall masters.” “That must be close to the mark. None who manage to become a Dao Lord are fools. For this intruder to be so bold as to invade our Yongsheng Sect entirely alone, without the strength of a Dao Sovereign it would be nothing short of suicide. We should request one of the hall masters to come and handle him before this turns into a disaster.” “I have already notified Hall Master Po Suo, and he is on his way! He is a Dao Sovereign specifically in charge of external campaigns, boasting astounding might. He will surely capture and slay this intruder in a single stroke.” The several Dao Lords quickly reached a consensus. Right at that moment, Yaoguang's figure reappeared. The six Dao Lords, who had just reached an agreement, paused in slight surprise. Their first thought was... “He's trying to flee!?” “Hall Master Po Suo will be here soon! Stop him!” “No one dares run wild in our Yongsheng Sect's territory and walk away unscratched!” In the span of a thought, the six Dao Lords charged toward Yaoguang of their own accord. This move on their part... Saved Yaoguang the trouble of hunting them down. Facing the six charging Dao Lords, Yaoguang unfurled and cast out the Grand Dao Pagoda, scooping all six of them inside at once. They were like six large fish leaping willingly into a net—so obliging that Yaoguang felt it would almost be an insult to their enthusiasm if he didn't finish them off. The moment the six Dao Lords were swept into the Grand Dao Pagoda, they felt the bombardment of over a dozen Great Daos from within this supreme sacred artifact. Trapped inside, they were like grain falling into a millstone of the Grand Dao. Despite struggling with all their might, they could not escape the fate of being obliterated one by one. “How could this be...” “An immortal artifact! An immortal artifact! This is definitely an immortal artifact! A Dao Sovereign bearing an immortal artifact!?” “Quick! Send word out! Tell the other elders that unless more than ten elders form a battle array... do not engage! Do not engage! Do not engage!” The violent tremors within the Grand Dao Pagoda lasted only a moment before swiftly settling back into calm. Having crushed and slain these six outer Dao Lords, he turned once more and reentered the Star Gate. He estimated that at the next Star Gate down the line, the Dao Lords should have finished assembling. He wondered how many there would be this time. As he traversed the interstitial spaces between Star Gates, Yaoguang cast his gaze toward the surrounding planets. There were quite a few planets here, but the vast majority were inhabited by cultivators who, at best, had not even reached the Golden Core stage. Yet this was only natural. Apart from special environments like large void nodes, it was exceedingly difficult for Golden Core cultivators to emerge in ordinary regions. As for Void Piercing, Void Refining, Void Shattering, and even Dao Integration, they could only be nurtured in areas where the Gate of the Immortal Realm was located, along with an exceedingly rare few extraordinary places. Such was the restriction of environment. Why was Beihai Star so chaotic? In truth, it was because far too many practitioners from surrounding regions like the Cangwu Great World had congregated on Beihai Star. With many people and scarce resources, strife and contention were inevitable. Amid the fighting, cultivators were rapidly depleted until a balance was reached. That balance took the form of structures like Beihai Star's Ten Immortal Sects, Nine Demon Immortal Lineages, and Ten God Races. After enduring for ten thousand years, this order would be shattered once more during the Dao Contention, inaugurating a new cycle of Samsara. Throughout this process, vast numbers of cultivators would be expended, while many factions would seize the opportunity to rise. “What restricts the development of a sect or the evolution of a civilization has never been numbers, but environment and resources.” The Yongsheng Sect had become the foremost force in the universe precisely because they occupied an abundance of resources. Each of their three hundred and sixty true disciples was an individual comparable to the top ten of Beihai Star's Dao Lord Candidate List. As for their inner disciples and deacons who also belonged to the Void Shattering realm, they were countless. Yet on ordinary planets, only low-level cultivators could eke out an existence. “The entire world is a pyramid. One ten-thousandth of living beings hoard ninety-nine percent of the resources. Even if they let it go to waste, they will not disperse it downward. That is the norm; there is no such thing as universal benevolence.” Yaoguang found nothing strange about this. “A Dao Lord will not dedicate himself to nurturing a hundred Void Shattering cultivators in the hopes that another Dao Lord might arise from their ranks. Instead, they will only plunder the resources of those Void Shattering cultivators and squeeze out their value so they themselves can travel further along the path of a Dao Lord. They will even erect barriers to prevent Void Shattering cultivators from breaking through to become Dao Lords and threatening them.” Not only Dao Lords operated this way, but also those below them—Void Shattering, Void Refining, Void Piercing, and Golden Core. Exploitation cascaded downward, tier after tier. Amid these wandering thoughts, he crossed another Star Gate and arrived in yet another starry expanse. By now, he had reached the deeper regions of the Yongsheng Sect. He only needed to cross one more Star Gate to enter the Yongsheng Sect headquarters directly. In fact... From within this Star Gate, he could already sense the headquarters' location. If the Yongsheng Sect were compared to Beihai Star, he would now be at the equivalent of the site where he had fought the decisive battle against the Dao Lords of the Lightless Alliance. Any further forward, if a battle of Dao Lords broke out, regardless of the outcome, the unleashed power of Dao Lords would inflict staggering losses on the Yongsheng Sect. When Yaoguang stepped out of this Star Gate, thirteen Dao Lords who had hurried over upon receiving the news had already gathered. Although this group numbered thirteen, identical to the previous wave, their quality was a cut above, including four peak Dao Lords. At this moment, however, these thirteen Dao Lords swiftly gathered before a warship carrying six other Dao Lords, cupping their hands in salute toward a figure on the deck. “Hall Master.” If any surviving members of the Star Slayer Alliance were present, they would instantly recognize this figure as Daoist Po Suo, who had represented the Yongsheng Sect in plotting to claim the Xingri Sect's territory. He was also one of the three Hall Masters of the Yongsheng Sect. A supreme existence whose strength stood above invincible Dao Lords, bearing the title of “Dao Sovereign.” Of course, he referred to himself merely as “Daoist Po Suo” and had never claimed to possess the strength of a Dao Sovereign. “Hall Master, we just tried contacting the interceptors at the first two Star Gates, but they... all seem to have lost contact. Curiously, however, we haven't sensed the fall of any Dao Lords either. Aside from losing contact, no other word has come from the elders... We suspect they may have been trapped.” The four peak Dao Lords boarded the deck and cupped their hands in report. “Losing contact once or twice could be dismissed as falling into a trap, but for the six reinforcing Dao Lords who followed to lose contact as well only proves... the intruder's strength exceeds our expectations. He must be a powerhouse at the ‘Dao Sovereign’ level.” As Daoist Po Suo answered, he was simultaneously holding a swift exchange with the person beside him: “Yuan Kong, how many high-tier immortal spirits are currently on record? It is exceedingly rare for natives of this universe to cultivate to the titled ‘Dao Sovereign’ level. The so-called titled ‘Dao Sovereigns’ spoken of in the outside world are actually Tier-17 immortal spirits from our side. Thus, I suspect this intruder is one as well. I just wonder which faction's trump card he is, having the nerve to shake down our Changsheng Group.” “I can recall a few high-tier immortal spirits, but they are all quite a distance from this starfield. Still, we cannot rule out competitive tactics from other conglomerates.” Beside him, the Dao Lord named Yuan Kong wore a grave expression. “Has the competition above grown so fierce that they've begun pulling the rug out from under us directly in the lower realms? Without lower-realm Dao Lords securing the final share, what if an Immortal King appears out of nowhere and attains the rank of Dao Ancestor in an instant? Wouldn't that introduce another uncontrollable variable?” “Presumably, they think the Ancient Immortal Realm can no longer mount any decent resistance, and the surviving Immortal Kings are like stray dogs, terrified to show themselves under the joint encirclement of the conglomerates.” Daoist Po Suo let out a slow breath. “Regardless of who he is, we capture him first. If he's a native, we will interrogate him to find out what legacy he obtained and how he managed to cultivate to titled Dao Sovereign. If he's an immortal spirit, we will make the conglomerate behind him trade shares for his release—otherwise, they can't blame us for showing no mercy and grinding him to dust.” Dao Lord Yuan Kong nodded. Though his own strength had not reached the level of those Tier-18 immortal spirits, it was still at Tier 17; otherwise, he would not stand on equal footing with Po Suo. With his authority, he needed only wait for the Gate of the Immortal Realm to open next time to step straight into the Immortal Realm and elevate himself to the Immortal Venerable realm in an extremely short time. Hence, even though this intruder was a “Dao Sovereign” level figure, he remained full of confidence in himself. It was precisely in this situation that Yaoguang's figure strode out from the Star Gate. “Subdue him first!” As Daoist Po Suo spoke, immortal light surged skyward behind him. He had been in this world for less than three thousand years—a relatively brief span—and had only forged a few semi-immortal artifacts. Yet amplified by these semi-immortal artifacts, he still managed to condense a Reincarnation immortal art in an instant, intent on reducing his opponent to his original, primal form. This was, shockingly, a Dao Lord who cultivated the Grand Dao of Reincarnation. Yet at the very instant he unleashed the Reincarnation immortal art, Yaoguang had already sensed it. “An immortal art?” With a shift of his thought, the phantom of the Grand Dao Pagoda materialized behind him. Dao arts of the Void, Time, Destruction, Five Elements, and Yin-Yang surged simultaneously. The five Great Daos overlapped and complemented one another, ultimately coalescing into a torrential deluge of the Grand Dao that engulfed all the Dao Lords, including Daoist Po Suo. Before they could even react, it swept down in a super-spatiotemporal state! This was... A composite immortal art! Spacetime Collapse Art!